Our God is Good and Holy and Loving and Just

Do you hear people separating how God is good from His holiness? Or celebrating His love but not His justice?

During college, I worked at a jewelry store in a local mall. So I learned the cuts and facets of diamonds and other gems.

The multi-faceted parts of these stones make each one brilliant and stunning.

In the same way, our heavenly Father bears many characteristics.

But we often only focus on the feel-good parts of His character. Like how our Father is good and loving, but not how He is also holy and just.

Yet, all the attributes of the Lord working together are what make Him God. Each fascinating facet of the Almighty makes His glory brilliant and stunning.

When we practice separating His goodness from His holiness or His love from His justice, we lose the full nature of our heavenly Father. 

In essence, we detach who He is from what He does. But the two are one and the same. 

We often only focus on the feel-good parts of our God. Like how He is good and loving, but not how He is also holy and just. Share on X

Our God: Good and Holy

Good and loving and holy and just are not only who the Lord is, but also what He does! 

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Your Life is Worth the Cross

If you were the only person on earth, Jesus would have come and died on the cross for you.

Because your life is worth the cross. 

Still, it’s easy to believe things that are not true.

Like God loves others but not me.

Or it’s hard to make the cross and empty tomb personal—Jesus suffered, died, and rose from the dead all for me. 

Say this quietly in your heart or out loud:

My life is worth the cross. 

This is how much God loves you and me.

Yes, Christ came for the whole world, but He also came for you.

Think about that, meditate on it in your heart. 

Let’s look at supporting scriptures.

(1.)  Jesus loved you so much, He died for you: Worth the Cross.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 (ESV) 

Read John 3:16 again, inserting your name in place of “world” to make it personal. 

1 John 4:19 says, “We love because he first loved us” (ESV).

God created love and demonstrated love on Calvary’s cross through His Son—a show-and-tell affection.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, Thank You for loving me and Your provision of grace through Your Son. Help me to believe and know it was for me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

If you were the only person on earth, Jesus would have come and died on the cross for you. Because your life is worth the cross.  Share on X

(2.)  Jesus took on your sin and spilled His blood to redeem you.

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Why Spiritual Hindsight is Always 20/20

Have you heard the saying, Hindsight is 20/20? 

Growing up, my vision was always great, until it wasn’t. Years ago, I lost distance vision from working at a computer for my job. An eye doctor explained how vision we no longer use, we lose.

Our eyes make the adjustment, Oh, this is the distance you’re going to see.

Now, I’m near sighted and have glasses for when I need to see far away. 

Often, the same holds true in spiritual vision. We wish we could see what God’s doing in our life—how He’s working for our good. 

So we lose spiritual vision because we fail to use it, we fail to trust God is God and on His throne. And we become near sighted, only putting our faith in God when we can actually see His works come to fruition. 

But the people mentioned in the Hall of Faith, Hebrews 11, believed God would fulfill His promises even though many of them never “saw” these promises come to pass. 

“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” Hebrews 11:1 (NIV)

“Assurance about what we do not see” is the hardest part. 

Maybe I can’t see things at a distance, but my faith eyes can have full assurance in God for on down the road and into the future.

Maybe I can’t see things at a distance, but my faith eyes can have full assurance in God for on down the road and into the future. Share on X

Spiritual Hindsight Helps Us Trust God

Spiritual hindsight is how I’ve learned to trust God. And it’s always 20/20.

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The ABC’s for Life in Christ

Sometimes we lose sight of our life in Christ. But these elements of Christianity set us apart from the world and other religions.

Because they are essential to help us grow in our relationship with Christ. And the spiritual tools we need to live as a believer.

So, here are the ABC’s for a life in Christ.

Life in Christ: Abide

Abide in Christ. “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing” John 15:5, ESV.

Believe God. Believe what God says and who He is. Because when the journey turns bumpy, our Christian beliefs carry us over life’s potholes. “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness” Romans 4:3b, NIV.

Confess. Confess our sin against God, own it, and take responsibility for when we go in the wrong direction. Because sometimes we fall into sin or we fail to walk in the direction God instructed (Proverbs 28:13 and James 4:17).

Declare God’s glory and works. We declare His glory and works to others and ourselves. In other words, preach it. Then preach it to the choir. “Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples!” Psalm 96:3, ESV.

Encourage other believers. “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up” 1 Thessalonians 5:11, NIV.

Forget what’s behind. Looking back on our life may help us move forward. But Jesus never intended for the past to paralyze us (Philippians 3:13-14).

Abide in Christ. “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing” John 15:5, ESV. Share on X

Hope in the Hope-Giver

Give all. We give our heart and life to Jesus. Yet, it never ends there. Giving Christ everything: our cares, desires, goals, and relationships (1 Peter 5:7, Romans 12:1).

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Not Leaning on Our Own Understanding

“Our limited understanding can lead us astray.”

~ Beckie Lindsey

My beautiful writing friend, Beckie, passed away recently after a long battle with ovarian cancer. I initially met her at a Christian writers conference and we stayed connected. And we wrote guest posts for each other’s blog sites. Beckie penned this amazing article I’m sharing with you this week.

By Beckie Lindsey

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV

This passage in Proverbs tells us if we trust in the Lord, we cannot also depend upon our own ability to understand everything God is doing.

However, most of us have a desperate desire to understand.

And yet in so many areas, we must acknowledge we cannot always understand. It’s often frustrating and sometimes downright infuriating. 

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV Share on X

The tension that we feel from our limited understanding is eased by a further look into Scripture. Here are a few reasons we are not to lean on our own understanding but rest in God’s:

Not Leaning: We don’t have a clear picture, but God does. 

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