This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. Ephesians 4:13-15 (NLT)
During this focus on growth the past year, I took to studying the names of God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. I tried to ignore the idea. I like to think I know God, we go way back. I was hit in the face with the idea at every turn. I finally surrendered when I was at the grocery store with my husband and there at the checkout was a small book entitled “The Names of God.” It is broken down into the three persons of God.
Each name reflects a different aspect of God’s character. If I was made in the image of God, and I was (we are), those characteristics should also be present in my life. It is a tall order, and certainly not one I have attained even remotely. In this growing process, I need to be actively seeking to be more like Him and that means I must understand His character. And then I have to allow those characteristics grown in me to be known by Him.
Some of the scriptures that challenged me were:
He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. Isaiah 40:29 NLT
But true wisdom and power are found in God; counsel and understanding are His. Job 12:13 NLT
Truly God is good to Israel, to those whose hearts are pure. Psalms 73:1 NLT
But you, O Lord, are a God of compassion and mercy, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness. Psalms 86:15 NLT
But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 1 John 4:8 NLT
The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent. 2 Peter 3:9NLT
For the Lord is good. His unfailing love continues forever, and his faithfulness continues to each generation. Psalms 100:5 NLT
But God is my helper. The Lord keeps me alive! Psalms 54:4 NLT
My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever. Psalms 73:26 NLT
We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. Hebrews 12:2NLT
You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. And we are witnesses of this fact! Acts of the Apostles 3:15 NLT
He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone. This is the message God gave to the world at just the right time. 1 Timothy 2:6 NLT
He will sit like a refiner of silver, burning away the dross. He will purify the Levites, refining them like gold and silver, so that they may once again offer acceptable sacrifices to the Lord. Malachi 3:3NLT
Then all the churches will know that I am the one who searches out the thoughts and intentions of every person. And I will give to each of you whatever you deserve. Revelation 2:23 NLT
This letter is from Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus, appointed by the command of God our Savior and Christ Jesus, who gives us hope. 1 Timothy 1:1 NLT
asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God. Ephesians 1:17NLT
And the Spirit of the Lord will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. Isaiah 11:2NLT
But we belong to God, and those who know God listen to us. If they do not belong to God, they do not listen to us. That is how we know if someone has the Spirit of truth or the spirit of deception. 1 John 4:6NLT
And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. Romans 8:2 NLT
But there is a spirit within people, the breath of the Almighty within them, that makes them intelligent. Job 32:8NLT
God himself has prepared us for this, and as a guarantee he has given us his Holy Spirit. 2 Corinthians 5:5 NLT
and he has identified us as his own by placing the Holy Spirit in our hearts as the first installment that guarantees everything he has promised us. 2 Corinthians 1:22 NLT
He made their hearts, so he understands everything they do. Psalms 33:15 NLT
This is just a few weeks of the scriptures I have been meditating on, by far not an exhaustive list of the characteristics of God. I know Christ as Savior. I know God as Jehovah Jirah, He has shown to be my provider time and time again. I know the Holy Spirit as my Comforter, He showed Himself in that during the decline and death of my mother.
So I started with characteristics that I need God to make real in my life. Each one challenged me in areas I need to grow. I started to share the specifics that God showed me with each scripture, but I think God comes alive to each of us in different ways. What stands out to me in these Scriptures, may seem irrelevant to the reader. Besides, I still have to allow God to grow this in my life. I have come to know for myself that the areas that God has operated to me, is what I allow Him to operate through me. I have to take this head knowledge and grow it into a heart knowledge that can not be taken away from me. The seed has been planted through these Scriptures, I must let them take root so I can grow like Christ.
This blog is part of a #Write31Days series on growth. 31 Days is an online writing challenge, where bloggers pick one topic and write a post on that topic every day.
Restoring Voice 