Mark 10:18
“So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God.”
INSIGHT
-This exposition about the attributes of God is geared towards helping us know God more, appreciate Him for who He is and continually worship Him. It is not possible to exhaust the attributes of God, but we will attempt to cover a few. Only God is good. Sometimes we attempt to be good basing our thoughts, character and behaviors based on our own standards. As we do this, we sometimes look to our works and the power of our flesh and realize that our righteousness is like filthy rags and we fade as a leaf, like an unclean thing (Isaiah 64:6). We are reminded to keep relying on God and pursue the righteousness of God that is in Christ Jesus. We should also realize that our sufficiency is God who alone is good and has good plans for us (Jeremiah 29:11). Other times we consider ourselves good and tend to judge others and risk being judged and condemn others and fall under condemnation (Luke 6:37). Apostle Paul considered his life as nothing so that he may finish the race, complete his task and preach the gospel even though he was cautioned of his arrest by the Holy Spirit (Acts 20:24). We are called to submit ourselves to God with humility in our hearts, for humility comes before honor. We are also reminded to totally rely on God, His mercy, grace, truth and salvation, that we may realize His calling for each one of us. Only God is good and we are called to revere Him and worship Him alone.
PRAYER
Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker. Only You Abba Father are good, we praise You are worship Your holy name. We give thanks to You Lord for You are good and Your mercies endures forever. We give thanks to You God of gods for Your love endures forever. We give thanks to You Lord of lords, for Your love endures forever. To You who alone does great wonders, Your love endures forever. By Your understanding made the heavens, Your love endures forever. Who spread out the earth upon the waters, Your love endures forever. You made the great lights, Your love endures forever. The sun to govern the day, Your love endures forever. The moon and stars to govern the night, Your love endures forever. We thank You Lord for Your faithfulness and mercy upon our lives. Only You are Holy, only You are Righteous, we rely on Your holiness and righteousness merciful Savior. Only in You dear Jesus do we have redemption through Your precious blood and the forgiveness of sins in accordance with the riches of Your grace. Forgive us dear Jesus for the many times we have judged and condemned others. Forgive us dear Jesus for the many times we have gone against Your holy will and have harbored unforgiveness in our hearts. Wash us with Your precious blood and make us whole, we humbly implore You. You have been a pillar of hope in our lives and families, Your love endures forever. Remember with mercy Lord all those who are sick and suffering in our nation and other nations of the world. Deliver the nation of China from the disaster they are faced with and show them Your salvation. Give us God-fearing leaders come next year merciful Savior and impart in our president the gift of wisdom. Strengthen us when we are weak and sick, that Your righteous right hand may deliver and strengthen us. Be our ever present help in times of need dear Jesus and answer all our hearts desires. Empower us to do all that You have called us to do, through the riches of Your grace. Thank You Lord for the good plans You have for us, plans to prosper us and not to harm us, plans to give us hope and a future. We worship You and glorify Your name Lord. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us now and forever more. Amen
Further reading: 2 Corinthians 3:5, Psalms 136
Hebrews 13:8
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”
INSIGHT
-God changes not, He is the same yesterday, today and forever. Circumstances and people change, which may cause us great disappointments and pain, but God changes not. God is dependable, trustworthy, faithful and we can comfortably put all our trust in Him. In situations when we do not feel loved, God’s love for us never changes. God is love and nothing can separate us from His love (Romans 8:35-39). Our God is still the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, He keeps His promises and has blessed us with an eternal inheritance. We are the seed of Abraham, we who belong to Christ, according to the promise (Galatians 3:29). God is the true word, He changes not. He is faithful to perform His word (Jeremiah 1:12). He is the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last (Revelation 22:13). God was there before the beginning and will be there in eternity, He changes not. He will never leave us nor forsake us, therefore; let us put all our trust in Him.
PRAYER
I lift up my eyes to the mountains; where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. You will not let my foot slip; You will not slumber or sleep. Thank You Lord for You are our ever present help in times of need. We look to You alone dear Jesus, we shall not be moved. We are more than conquerors in You Jesus, we shall not be moved. Lord we thank You for this beautiful day that You have given us. Thank You for You are always with us and in us. Thank You for loving us with an everlasting kind of love, You change not. Thank You for blessing us with an eternal inheritance. You are the same, yesterday, today and forever, You change not. We look to You Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith, we put all our trust in You. You are the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last, Hosanna to the highest heaven. We humbly beseech You to protect our children as they go back to school. Give them wisdom and understanding, to grasp all that they learn. Guide them in Your path of truth that they may fear You Lord and walk in Your light. Provide for their parents all that they need and grant them peace. Remember all those who are sitting for their exams and those who have presentations, that You favor may be upon them. Be with all those who are undertaking projects, that You may lead them and prosper them. Bless all those who are waiting on You for breakthroughs, that You may answer them according to the riches in glory. Open many supernatural doors for us dear Jesus and prosper all our ways. All glory, honor, power, praise, victory and salvation belongs to You Jesus, now and forever. Amen
Blessed Tuesday
Further reading: Malachi 3:6, Psalms 90:2, Psalms 121
Isaiah 40:28
“Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.”
INSIGHT
-God is everlasting, He lives forever. He gives eternal life to all those who believe in Jesus Christ, that we may never perish but have everlasting life. He has promised us that no one will snatch us out of His hand for we belong to Him (John 10:28). God loved the world and He gave us His only Begotten Son that we who believe in Him should not perish but have everlasting life; like Him. He died once and for all so that we may live forever with Him.
PRAYER
Lord You are our everlasting Father, let all the earth worship You, let all the heavens acknowledge that You are God. Every knee should bow in heaven, on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ You are Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Jesus You are highly exalted, You live forever. Your name is holy, revive the spirits of the lowly and the hearts of the contrite, come to our aid when we call on You merciful Savior. Grant us the gift of excellence dear Jesus and distinguish us in our work, studies, interactions, presentations, investments, purpose, achievements, ministries and all that we do. Empower us for we are the salt and light of the world; that many may see us and be drawn to You, for the glory and honor of Your name. You are the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through You Jesus, draw many among our friends, relatives, colleagues and members of the society to Yourself merciful Savior. May Your church always be a source of hope and transformation to many dear Jesus. May we decrease as You increase loving Savior. May we experience Your presence when we sleep and when we awake. May we see You dear Jesus in every situation in our lives, families, work, studies, churches, leadership and nation. Show Yourself strong unto us. Bless all our sports men and women in the Tokyo Olympics and grant them victory in every area dear Jesus. Our Father who art in heaven; hallowed be Your name; Your Kingdom come; Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptations but deliver us from evil; for thine is the Kingdom the power and the glory; forever and ever. Amen
Further reading: Isaiah 57:15, Romans 6:23
Psalms 119:90
“Your faithfulness endures to all generations; You established the earth, and it abides.”
INSIGHT
-God is faithful. Faithfulness is His nature and He cannot deny Himself. He is faithful, even when we are faithless; He remains faithful (2 Timothy 2:13). God is faithful in all He does (Psalms 33:4). The works of His hands are faithful and just, and all His precepts are trustworthy. They are established for ever and ever, enacted in faithfulness and uprightness (Psalms 111:7-8). God is faithful and keeps His covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments (Deuteronomy 7:9). God is faithful in keeping His promises. When He promised Sarah a son, He delivered and remained faithful to accomplish His promise (Genesis 21:1-2). He also fulfilled His promise to king Solomon, who succeeded his father David to became king in Israel, and later built the temple (1 Kings 8:20). No matter how many promises God has made, they are Yes in Christ, and through Him the Amen is spoken by us to the glory of His name (2 Corinthians 1:20). God requires that we too become faithful, in little things and in much, and He will reward us (Matthew 25:21).
PRAYER
You are compassionate and gracious our Lord and King, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness. Thank You for Your great love upon our lives, we love You Lord. Your compassions are new every morning, they never fail, great is Your faithfulness our Lord and King. How excellent is Your name Oh Lord in all the earth. You set Your glory above the heavens, Your mercies endures forever. You change the times and the seasons; but Your faithfulness never changes. You remove kings and raises up others, grant us a wise president to lead us Your people next year, a man after Your own heart dear Jesus. You give wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding, great is Your faithfulness, grant us the gift of wisdom and understanding Holy Spirit. Open our eyes to see the areas in which we have not been faithful and open our hearts to repent when You correct us merciful Savior. You have promised that You will never leave us nor forsake us, great is Your faithfulness. Thank You for protecting us, providing for us, sustaining us, healing our wounds, guiding us, keeping Your promises, blessings us including our descendants, saving us together with our generations, great is Your faithfulness Abba Father. You are our Father and Friend, great is Your faithfulness. There is no other God but You Oh Lord, great is Your faithfulness. Amen
Further reading: Hebrews 10:23, Psalms 86:15
1 John 4:7-8
“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.”
INSIGHT
-God is love. In His nature and in all His actions, God is so loving and caring. In His nature and image, He created us in love and calls us to love. God’s love for us is everlasting and He requires us to love Him and one another as ourselves, for whoever does not love, does not know Him. It is in God’s nature to love, and since we have been created in His image and likeness we should also love. We love because God loved us first. We abide in love by the empowerment of the Holy Spirit who lives in us. By keeping His commandments, we abide in God as He abides in us. Those who love God should first love their neighbors whom they see.
SUMMARY
To truly understand the nature of God, we need to love. 1 John 4:8 reveals that, “whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love”. It is through love that we are united with God who made us heirs of His kingdom. If God is love and we are created in the nature of love, we should then be patient, kind, humble, selfless, meditate on good and that which is good, rejoice in truth, and endure all things for the sake of Christ, because love never fails (1 Corinthians 13:4-8). We have also reviewed the nature of God in other ways but not conclusive because no one can really comprehend His mind. Zophar the Naamathite urges Job to repent in Job chapter 11 verse 7 to 9 saying, “Can you search out the deep things of God? Can you find out the limits of the Almighty? They are higher than heaven what can you do? Deeper than Sheol what can you know? Their measure is longer than the earth and broader than the sea.” God’s thoughts are higher than our thoughts and His ways are higher than our ways (Isaiah 55:9). Only God is good and He has good plans for us. Plans to prosper us and not harm us plans to give us hope and a future. By His love He gave us His only begotten Son, that we who believe in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. God is eternal and He incorporated us in His salvation plan that we may live forever with Him. God is faithful to keep His promises unto us and we should always put our trust in Him. He is the same yesterday, today and forever, and His promises are yes and amen. God has revealed His nature to us in various ways including His enduring word. He calls us to read and meditate on His word, as we abide in Him and His word, that we may know Him more, serve Him and worship Him for who He is. God is gracious and full of compassion, and righteous unto the upright, wherein arises light in the darkness (Psalms 112:4). He is the Light of the world and illuminates us by His truth, we may become the salt and light of the world, that many may see us and glorify the Father in heaven.
PRAYER
Lord you are our everlasting Father, Your mercies and love endures forever. Abba Father You are loving and kind, slow to anger and rich in love, thank You for loving us and for redeeming us with Your precious blood. Thank You for making us Your own and assuring us that no one can snatch us from Your hands. By Your mercies Lord we are not consumed, because Your compassions fail not, thank You for loving us. Cleanse us by Your precious blood and make us whole. Make us complete in Your love dear Jesus and enable us to be in one mind, and to live in peace with everyone. Teach us to love You truthfully, and to love our neighbors as ourselves. Grant us contrite hearts that we may demonstrate Your love in our homes, family units, work places, hospitals, churches, ministries, nation and the entire world. Grant us hearts of compassion that we may demonstrate love to the less fortunate in our societies. Thank You for Your eternal blessing unto us and to all our descendants. Bless us, our children, nation and the entire world. Teach us Lord to seek first Your kingdom and Your righteousness. We worship You and magnify Your precious name. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God and fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us now and forevermore Amen.
Further reading: 2 Corinthians 13:11