God’s characteristics and why they matter
July 13-19, 2025 | Always Peachy Devotionals | Who Is God? Week 3
Do you know the difference between attributes and character?
Being tall. Having blue eyes. Being physically fit enough to run a one-minute mile. These are physical attributes of a person, and there are all sorts of things you can deduce about a person by analyzing their attributes. But one thing you can’t tell just by seeing is who this person is inside.
Attributes don’t determine character. They actually have nothing to do with character. A person’s character is who they are inside, the person they are when no one else is looking. While attributes don’t determine character, character determines how a person will use their attributes.
In order to understand who a person is truly you have to pay attention to what they do. Actions speak louder than words, after all.
This is why it’s vital to understand God’s character as much as His attributes. We may not be able to mimic His attributes (because He’s holy, He’s all-everything, He’s God), but we can mimic His character. We can choose to live a life informed by God’s heart and His motivation and His perspective.
Once we understand God’s character, we can see how He has worked throughout history and even in our own lives, demonstrating His attributes. So what is God’s character? Who is He as a person? That’s what we’re going to look at this week. We can’t cover everything, so we’re going to hit the highlights.
Monday - God is Loving (1 John 4:16)
Tuesday - God is Good (Psalm 25:8-10)
Wednesday - God is Just (Deuteronomy 32:4)
Thursday - God is Merciful (Deuteronomy 4:30-31)
Friday - God is Wise (Daniel 2:20-23)
We can find so many examples throughout all of the Bible to help us understand God’s character. Some people believe that God in the Old Testament is different than God in the New Testament, but that’s not the case at all. If you read the Old Testament and trace how the history of Israel unfolded, it becomes very clear how patient and how gracious God is. Some are concerned because God had Israel wipe out entire nations and civilizations, but God sent warning signs and even prophets to those nations. He communicated clearly to them to stop the wickedness of their lifestyles (burning babies alive, perverted sexual practices as worship, etc) and turn to Him as God, but they refused. He gave them every opportunity, and then He used Israel to carry out His judgment.
It’s harsh if you think about it from a human point of view, but when you come at it from God’s perspective, what more could He do to convince people that He is God? That their evil choices lead only to destruction?
You can see God’s love and faithfulness and honor all throughout the Bible, but there is no better picture of who God is than Jesus Himself. And that’s where we get our verse for the week, John 1:18.
The first chapter of the Book of John is one of the most beautiful ever written. It’s a personal favorite. And this is a testimony from John, the disciple who Jesus loved, that Jesus and God are One. Jesus is God in human skin. There has never been another person like Him. There has never been another Messiah, and there never will be. Only Jesus.
But Jesus didn’t just come to earth to save us from our sins. He came to introduce us personally to God Himself. He came to invite us into personal, individual, intimate relationship with the God of the Universe. He came to bridge the gap that our failings had created.
If you want to know who God is, get to know Jesus.
Praying for you guys this week!
Amy
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Exciting! Enjoy your Sunday!