God's questions make us think about His Identity
March 12-16, 2024 | Always Peachy Devotionals | God's Questions Week 2
Identity is a major issue facing our culture these days.
It seems that our entire world has lost its sense of self for varying reasons, although I suspect the primary cause is looking to define ourselves in things that change. But have you ever wondered about God’s identity?
In most instances I think we refer to God’s identity as His Character. It’s who He is. And the way we know who He is comes from the Bible, which gives us example after example of God’s actions, His choices, His desires, and His extreme creativity.
But in our study of the questions God asks, maybe it would be worth taking a step back to consider that perhaps God is inviting us to experience His character on a deeper level.
Something that always makes me smile about Jesus is how He so frequently answered a question with another question. As puny, finite-minded little humans, our minds get stuck in a rut. We like to think inside the box where we were raised. And, well, Jesus created the box, and He can blow up the box whenever He feels like it—because He’s, you know, Jesus.
Sometimes that kind of answer makes you think again about your assumptions and your preconceived notions. Sometimes we need to be shaken out of the complacency where culture and our own expectations have put us, and we need to think about the question from Jesus’ point of view.
This week, we’re tackling a set of questions Jesus and God asked people that I feel reveal a lot about His Identity and cause us to second-guess our assumptions about who He is and what He wants.
Mar 12 - Truth: “Do you think I came to bring peace?” (Luke 12:49-53)
Mar 13 - Relational “Who touched me?” (Luke 8:44-45)
Mar 14 - Deserving: “Is it time for you to enjoy your houses while my house lies in ruins?” (Haggai 1:1-15)
Mar 15 - Worthy: “Should I accept from you such offerings as these?” (Malachi 1:13)
Mar 16 - Focus: “Was it really for me you were fasting?” (Zechariah 7:5)
Remember, if you’d like a complete list of the verses we’re studying this month, you can always download them.
It’s so important to listen to what God tells us about Himself. Honestly, the Bible is our opportunity to get to know God on a very personal level. It’s His love letter to us, His direct words to us, sharing everything we need to know about who He is and how wonderful His plan is.
So when God introduces Himself, it’s probably a good idea to pay attention. That’s what led me to choose Exodus 3:14 as our memory verse for this week.
You may recognize this familiar passage from the Charlton Hesston movie, The Ten Commandments. It’s the scene with the burning bush, where God speaks to Moses and tells him to take off his sandals because he’s on holy ground.
There are verses earlier in Scripture that indicate that people worshiped God by name (Genesis 4:26). So people knew God’s name, or at least one of His names. But this is the first time where God introduces Himself.
I AM. YHVH. The Self-Existing One. That’s who He is, God’s Identity, and this week we’re going to consider some of the questions God asks us. He wants us to know Him better, and He is inviting us to do just that.
I’m ready. Are you?
Amy
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