Daily Devotional for Sunday, July 7

Characteristics of God

“How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light,” Psalm 36:7, 9.

In the first church that I was called to pastor, my children invited a couple of friends to come to church, and they showed up with their grandparents who were raising them. The grandfather’s name was Art, and he used to belong to the Hells Angels motorcycle club which is notorious for many unlawful things. While he was not a part of them anymore, he was still a very hard man and would sit in the back of the building with his arms folded and a scowl on his face. The children wanted to continue to come, and eventually, God convicted Art’s heart, and he was saved. In time, Art’s character changed greatly, and everyone could see that God made a difference in his life.

Because of God’s love for us, we can trust in Him (verse 7). As we begin to walk in the light of the Lord, we begin to see things in a different way (verse 9). We are instructed to “put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness” (Ephesians 4:24) and to put away the old person we used to be and the sin that was part of our character (Ephesians 4:20-32). As we begin to walk in His light, we begin to put on the characteristics of God in our own lives and the evidence can be seen: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law” (Galatians 5:22, 23).

REFLECTION
Would you rather be known as a person who has some of the same characteristics as God or as someone who resembles the world? Let the Lord guide your life.

Tim Chambers