He Is Beautiful

COMMENTS

Normally, I do something quiet and calm before I go to bed; but last night, I had a Christmas project that I wanted to finish.  You guessed it—when I got in bed, my mind was spinning; and I couldn’t go to sleep.  After several minutes, I realized what was happening and decided to focus on my God to settle my wandering mind.  My first words to Him were, “You are beautiful….”

NOTES

I’m not typically one who pauses to give thought to common words.  I pretty much take things for granted.  When someone asks me the meaning of a word, I often have a general concept but have difficulty giving a definition.  Lately, however, God seems to be hitting my “pause” button when it comes to some of those everyday words. 

That’s what happened last night as soon as I thought, “You are beautiful.”  What do I mean when I say “beautiful”?  When I think of God, I don’t think of a gorgeous hunk of man.  I can’t even say that I think of God as having a handsome face.  So, what do I mean when I state that He is beautiful?  I need to figure that out.  It’s important for me to know what I'm saying.

Let’s backtrack for a moment.  Have you ever seen a woman who was stunningly beautiful or a man who was breathtakingly handsome?  Those statements typically refer to the outward appearance.  What if this beautiful woman or handsome man is selfish, bad-tempered, and mean.  After you realize what they’re like on the inside, somehow the outside isn’t as lovely.  Conversely, a homely man or woman who is unselfish, kind, and giving becomes attractive.

All of these thoughts went through my mind as I considered the meaning of “beautiful”, and I realized that—even though I have no idea what God “looks” like—He is beautiful because of who He is on the inside.  Faithful, perfect, holy, righteous, good, merciful, forgiving, loving, just, friend to the friendless, father to the fatherless, wise, generous…  I can never find enough words to describe Him.  He is beautiful!

You are beautiful beyond description
Too marvelous for words
Too wonderful for comprehension
Like nothing ever seen or heard
Who can grasp your infinite wisdom?
Who can fathom the depth of your love?
You are beautiful beyond description
Majesty enthroned above

And I stand, I stand in awe of you
I stand, I stand in awe of you
Holy God to whom all praise is due
I stand in awe of you

--Mark Altrogge ©1987

He Is Holy

COMMENTS

God is holy.  Holy.  What does that even mean?  My secular dictionary defined it as “belonging to or derived from or associated with a divine power”.  That definition seems quite shallow.  I need to know more….

NOTES

As I was thinking about God’s holiness, I remembered a scripture I learned:

“I am the Lord your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy.”  (Leviticus 11:44)

My first reaction to that was that it’s impossible for me to be as holy as God is.  Why would He command me to do something that cannot be done?  That, of course, set my mind spinning.  I know that I can never be who God is—as faithful, as perfect, as holy, as anything.  God doesn’t expect me to be Him.  But I also believe that if God asks me to do anything, it can be done in His power.  I appeared to have a conflict here:  God was commanding me to do something (be holy because He’s holy) that could not be done.  Since God doesn’t lie, the problem had to be with the interpreter (me!).

So I pulled out the reference books and looked up that scripture.  God’s holiness conveys the idea of separation—that He is separate from all that He created.  It also refers to the ethical (for lack of a better word!) nature of His character.  Things that are connected with our Holy God are often referred to as holy, as well.  The temple was holy.  Moses stood on holy ground.  The priests and Levites were holy men.  People and things had to be “sanctified” or “consecrated” before they came before the Living God.  That involved following certain procedures to ensure cleanliness—washings, avoiding touching certain things, avoiding eating certain things, etc.

Those are Old Testament references.  What about the New Testament?  We are New Testament saints, aren’t we?  Jesus didn’t discard the old teachings; He took them to a deeper level.  The Old Testament said not to commit adultery.  Jesus said not to look upon another with lust in your heart.  The old teaching was taken to a deeper level.  So, as we speak of holiness, it is no longer sufficient to wash our hands and feet, to avoid touching a dead body, or to stop eating pork.  Jesus took us deeper.  It is now our hearts and minds that must be clean, our lives and characters that must be holy.  It is internal, not external.

As I first thought about what “holy” meant, I found myself thinking that it pretty much equated with “perfect”.  However, as I researched and did some more thinking, I realized that it is closer to “pure” or “clean”.  But none of that resolved my dilemma about God asking me to do the impossible.  Then, He spoke.  He never told me to be as holy as He is; He told me to be holy BECAUSE He is.  I can never reach His degree of holiness, but I can be holier than I am.  His holiness is not my unreachable goal; it is my example.  In this, as in all things, I must reflect Him.

Then, He spoke His encouragement into my heart.  I share it with you as we now go about our day:

“Consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am the Lord your God.  Keep my decrees and follow them.  I am the Lord, who makes you holy.”  (Leviticus 20:7-8)

He Is Perfect

COMMENTS

It seems that, lately, God has been impressing upon me different aspects of who He is, different character traits.  This morning, I was particularly aware of how perfect He is.

NOTES

Did you ever watch the movie, Mary Poppins?  Mary was described as being “practically perfect in every way”.  Well, our God isn’t “practically” perfect or “almost” perfect.  He is absolutely perfect!  He is perfect love, perfect peace, perfect wisdom, perfect knowledge.  Everything He does is perfect.  Everything He thinks is perfect.  Everything He says is perfect.  He NEVER makes a mistake!  He never has to apologize.  He never has to try to figure out how to fix a mess He’s made.

Can you imagine?  Being perfect.  Without fault.  I’m what people call a perfectionist.  I expect everything I do to be done perfectly.  Now, you and I both know that’s impossible; but that doesn’t change my expectations or keep me from trying.  Somewhere inside me is the belief that I should be.

That can sound noble because most of us believe that we should do everything to the best of our ability.  However, to expect myself—or more unfairly, anyone else—to be perfect is unrealistic and, I would suggest, a form of idolatry.  I say this because I know my own heart.  Frequently, my motive is not so much to please my Lord and bring honor to Him as it is to please myself—or more honestly, to please and impress other people.  

I’m not sure exactly what to do with all of this.  All I know is that my God is Perfect.  I don’t want to be a perfectionist.  I want to be my Father’s daughter.  I don’t want to focus so much on being and doing everything perfectly.  Rather, I want to focus on the One Who IS Perfect.  I want to honor Him.  Ahhhhh.  That’s it:  I want to reflect HIS perfection.

He Is Faithful

COMMENTS

I was thinking this morning about how faithful our God is.  My mind went back to the Old Testament stories about God and His people, the Israelites—to how faithful He was to them and how unfaithful they were to Him.

NOTES

If you know the history of the Israelite people, you know that God called them out for Himself.  He blessed them, took care of them, and gave them a land of their own.  In spite of this, they continually chased after other gods; ironically, the gods of their enemies.  Finally, after years of slavery, they stopped worshipping the foreign gods.  However, fallen human beings can never “stay on track”; and at that point instead of continuing to worship their God, they began to worship their religion.  They worshipped the law that had been given to show them that they were incapable of keeping it.  Though they were unable to obey God’s law, they added more to it.  They worshipped the temple, God’s dwelling place, instead of the One who dwelled there.  Even after He withdrew His Spirit, they continued to worship the building.  Their unfaithfulness is just astounding!

What’s that old saying?  When I point at you, I have three fingers pointing back at me.  That’s very applicable here.  Are we—am I—any different?  My pride tells me I am; but how many times a day do I disappoint my Savior?  How easy it is for my motives and my actions to fall away from Christ’s purity.  I’m selfish; and if I don’t stay in touch with my God, I think the world revolves around me.

In a posting I made just before Thanksgiving, I noted that Thanksgiving is becoming a “non-holiday”—or as a friend of mine stated, it’s “in danger of being black-Friday eve”.  Easter is the Easter bunny and “spring-fashion Sunday”.  Christmas is decorations, parties, presents, food, and family.

Now, there’s nothing wrong with getting some new clothes.  There’s nothing wrong with making the house look beautiful, with enjoying good food, or with celebrating with family and friends.  Those are good things.  But let’s remember WHY we’re celebrating!

As we go through this Christmas season, I challenge each of us to remember how faithful our Lord is to us.  Let us not worship the tree or the presents or even our time together.  Let’s worship the One born to save us—the One who gave us a reason to celebrate.