Familiarity breeds contempt. It’s human nature. However, we must never become complacent with God. God is our Father in heaven and we’re his beloved children with 24/7 access to Him through prayer. He is still Almighty God and we must approach the throne of grace humbly and with fear. By fear I mean we are to always approach God with the awe, reverence and respect he deserves. One way to always be humble and fearful before God is to take time to meditate about God on a regular basis. I keep a list of the 21 attributes of God referenced in the Bible. Take time to reflect on a particular attribute of God. What evidence of this attribute of God can you see in creation? What evidence of it do you see in how God treated nations and individuals in the Bible? How has that particular attribute of God been reflected in your life? It’s impossible to meditate about God without seeing how small and unimportant we are in comparison to Father God. If that won’t make you humble nothing will. It’s impossible to meditate about God without getting a sense of God’s glory and majesty. If that won’t generate fear in your heart nothing will.
ATTRIBUTES OF GOD:
1. Holy – Absolute purity and goodness; God’s most prominent attribute. You can see why God cannot allow sin to enter heaven.
2. Love – Unselfish concern; seeking our highest good. I list love second because Scripture says God is love. God made us and dearly loves us.
3. Merciful – Grants forgiveness and salvation. God delights in showing mercy.
4. Righteous – This means the same as justice. This means God dispenses moral equity. You reap what you sow; you get what you deserve. No favoritism. No exceptions. This is why Jesus had to shed his blood on the cross. Man sowed sin and God, in his mercy and grace, reaped the consequence in our place to keep us out of hell while still being a righteous God.
5. Gracious – Unmerited favor. Because we have a giving God who abounds in love and mercy he dispenses grace abundantly without our asking and without us doing anything to deserve it.
6. Good. God is kind, cordial, benevolent, friendly, sympathetic and full of grace. This attribute tells us we have a friend in God and it makes me want to keep close to God for protection.
7. Sovereign – God is the absolute ruler of the universe and what he says goes. God is our King, our Lord, our Savior and our Master.
Witnessing for Christ