I am excited to announce the near release of my first publication: God’s Attributes: Rest for Life’s Struggles.
The Format:
This booklet is written as a devotional. Over the course of 4 weeks you are taken through 16 attributes of God. Each week you study four attributes.
- Week 1: Attributes of Love — God is personal, God is grace, God is good, and God is patient.
- Week 2: Attributes of Essence, — God is omnipresent, God is eternal and unchanging, God is beauty, and God is blessed.
- Week 3: Attributes of Wisdom — God is omniscient, God is just, God is truth, and God is order and peace.
- Week 4: Attributes of Power — God is wrath and jealous, God is sovereign, God is omnipotent, and God is free.
For each attribute your study will consist of four parts.
- Definition — This is a brief 4-6 sentence definition of each attribute to orient your devotional reflection.
- Scripture Passages — For each attribute 3-5 passages of Scripture are given that demonstrate this attribute of God.
- Rest Questions — A series of 4-6 questions are given to help you assess how well you are resting in this attribute of God.
- Emulation Questions — A series of 4-6 questions are given to help you assess how well you are emulating this attribute of God.
Here is a sample from the first day of study on “God is personal.”
GOD IS PERSONAL: God has the ability to relate interpersonally and does so. God is neither aloof nor disinterested in His creation. God is aware of and concerned about the details of our lives. God is able to sympathize with the struggles we face in a fallen world. It is God’s nature to be active and involved.
Passages Describing God as Personal – Matthew 10:28-31; Psalm 56:8-11; Romans 8:26-27; Hebrews 4:14-16
Diagnose Resting in God as Personal – Do you struggle to believe that God cares for you personally? Do you believe God only loves you generically (because He loves everybody)? Do you believe God is only concerned about the “big events” of your life, making the day-to-day choices drab or meaningless? Do you look for God in the small pleasantries of your day and express gratitude that He created a world with things that match your preferences and taste? What would life and faith be like if God were not personal?
Diagnose Emulating God as Personal – Do you avoid being vulnerable with others? When do you resist making yourself known because of a fear of rejection or giving others power over you? How does this reveal a desire to be approved by people (the fear of man) greater than a desire to be approved by God (the fear of the Lord)? Are you skilled at using self-disclosure to make others feel comfortable and more willing to be vulnerable with you? How does being personal open conversation towards God and the Gospel?
At the end of each week you are provided with a series of reflective questions to help you assess whether you have a balanced view of God. Too often we emphasize one attribute of God over the others (i.e., emphasizing God’s love over His power, or God’s wisdom over His presence, or some other combination).
The result is that we begin to live in response to a false view of God. Our emotions, relationships, and walk with God will be distorted to the degree we are wrong. For this reason, at the close of each week there are questions to help you ensure your understanding of each attribute is in balance with you understanding and emphasis of the other attributes.
Ordering Information:
You can purchase a pre-order copy now on Amazon.
You can preview the first six pages through P&R.
You can also review other booklets in The Gospel for Real Life series.
- Vulnerability: Blessing in the Beatitudes by Brad Hambrick
- Anxiety: Anatomy and Cure by Bob Kellemen
- Cutting: A Healing Response by Jeremy Lelek
- Abuse: Finding Hope in Christ by John Henderson
- Borderline Personality: A Scriptural Perspective by Cathy Wiseman