Holy Week: Who Is God?

Jesus by the Jesus Painter

     One of my favorite times of year is upon us.  I know that the majority of people get pumped up about Christmas, and while I do enjoy that holiday, Holy Week and Easter are my favorite.  Probably because I feel like that it is the one week of the year that TRUTH shines bright and you can't deny it.  Sure, you can try to cover it up by chocolate covered bunnies and savvy marketing, but you can't deny the truth:  Easter is a holiday that shows the world the truth about God.  This week, in honor of TRUTH, I'm devoting my blog to the love of my life.

    God laid on my heart a few weeks ago to journey through the book of Isaiah with Him.  Now Isaiah would not be my first choice for a quiet time study, but it is just blowing my mind away with truth about God and myself.  It definitely is re-calibrating my heart to the rhythms of His love and grace and providing my heart with some much needed healing.  Here are some truths that God has laid on my heart about who He is:

1. God is PURE (Isaiah 1:25).  When we sin, God is clear that He will clean us and purify us because that is His nature.  Sometimes that purification process involves God doing a purging of things in our lives.  While it can be painful to let go of sin habits that keep us separated from God, take comfort that the discipline will only make us more like Him.
2. God demands our UNDIVIDED hearts (Isaiah 2:22).  As the first commandment states, "You shall have no other Gods before god."  How easy it is to divide our hearts these days!  We may not do it with a carved statue that we bow down to, but it can subtly happen with our culture of busyness, comparison, and perfection.  We may be so focused on something else that we lose sight of our God, even if that thing we focus on is a good blessing from God.  God wants us to seek Him with our whole hearts.
3. God is a PROMISE KEEPER (Isaiah 3:10).  God makes promises to His people, and if we are faithful and obedient, He will bless us.  If you are going through a difficult time and you feel that God has forgotten you, take heart.  He has overcome the world and will reward your faithfulness.  Keep pressing onto Him even when it looks impossible.
4. God is HOLY and we are NOT (Isaiah 6:5).  When Isaiah comes into the full presence of God, he cannot keep from crying out about his uncleanliness.  Lately, I've found the more I've allowed God's presence into my heart, the more I feel absolutely wrecked.  I am not worthy of His lavish love.  But because of His Kindness, His Grace, I am made clean, just as Isaiah was, and can now stand in a relationship with THE HOLY GOD, even when I am not.
5. God is my SALVATION (Isaiah 12:2).  I love this verse so much!  It reminds me that God is my salvation...He has redeemed me for eternity.  The next line cuts right to all the worry and control I try to have over my life:  "I will trust and not be afraid."  If I can trust God with my eternal salvation, then I can trust Him no matter what life throws at me.  I can live my life outside of fear, because I know that God will take care of me.