Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings. It is good for our hearts to be strengthened by grace.

Hebrews 13:8-9

Meditation 

While God is far beyond our full comprehension, Scripture affirms that He has made Himself truly knowable—not exhaustively, but sufficiently.

However, much confusion about God arises because people look in the wrong places. Often, we attempt to construct our theology through the lens of our life experiences, making our personal, subjective experience the foundation of our understanding. For example, if someone unknowingly makes money an idol, their financial experiences will shape their view of God. A bad financial deal might lead them to believe money is the root of all evil and that God endorses this view. Conversely, a life of wealth and great experiences might lead that same person to conclude that money is the path to happiness and that God blesses His followers with riches for a good life. This problem of using an internal reference point pervades nearly every aspect of our lives.

The author of Hebrews offers the correct path: if you want to know God, don't look at your life; look at Jesus. When we use our experiences and feelings—which are always moving targets—as our reference point for knowing God, we invite confusion. This path is a recipe for theological uncertainty.

Instead, use Jesus as your reference point. You will find much less confusion because He is fixed. The author of Hebrews states in chapter 13, verse 8, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." This means Jesus is always constant, like north on a compass—fixed, reliable, and a helpful guide for direction. Don’t build your view of God through your life. Build it through the life of Jesus.

Question for Reflection

How have your life experiences shaped the way you look at God? How does looking at Jesus’ life and words change that?

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

Isaiah 55:8-9

Meditation 

In some ways, we can know God and imitate him in his attributes. God is holy. Therefore, we should try to be holy (even though we will fall short). God is merciful. Therefore, we should be merciful to friends, strangers, and our enemies. These attributes are called communicable attributes. 

In other ways, we only have a limited knowledge of God and can’t imitate some attributes of our Heavenly Father. For example, God is infinite. We are finite. God is omnipresent. We can’t be everywhere at once like he is. These attributes are called incommunicable attributes. These are characteristics of God that are nontransferable.

God states in Isaiah 55 that his thoughts and his ways are beyond our comprehension. In other words, our thinking and our actions can’t match God’s. We are limited. God behaves in ways that surpass our capacity. The attributes of God's incommunicable nature teaches us that we can’t put God in our small “God box”. God’s nature, actions, and plans break our categories. This is not just the breaking of our theology; it’s also the breaking of our lives.

You got plans? Sorry, God knows better, so he gets to mess them up. You think you have understanding? Sorry, God is going to do things beyond your comprehension. Get used to it. Think your loves are off-limits? Sorry, God is going to orient your loves toward the right things in the right ways and smash your idols. The incommunicable attributes get to rock your world without an explanation and without an apology.

With the communicable attributes of God, know them and use them to be like him. With the incommunicable attributes of God, embrace mystery and surrender. Trying to figure out what you can never figure out reveals pride and ends in frustration. Trying to be what you can never be is miserable. Appreciate the distinction between God and us. Submit to God and trust his ways, which are beyond yours.

Question for Reflection

How do the incommunicable attributes of God challenge your daily understanding or experience of faith? What steps can you take to deepen your trust in God, releasing the need for complete control and certainty in every situation?

As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”

1 Peter 1:14-16

Meditation

Yesterday's devotion focused on God's incommunicable attributes. Today, we turn our attention to His communicable attributes—those qualities we are called to emulate.

As a proud father, I've seen my two adult sons embody Christ-like love for people. My oldest son models patience, kindness, and unwavering love while working with children with special needs. He serves this beautiful part of our church family without expecting anything in return. Occasionally he gets a smile or a hug. He never views these children as a burden, but as a joy.

My middle son is a nurse who has served the elderly. He listens to their stories, plays games with them, and helps them get around. He even handles the difficult, messy task of changing adult diapers. For him, this literal "dirty work" is a way to advance God's Kingdom.

Both of my boys reflect the unconditional love and inclusiveness of their mother. My wife genuinely loves the "unlovable," welcomes everyone, and shows practical care for the outcasts others would prefer to avoid. My boys mirror what they saw their mother doing growing up.

For any parent, there is no greater joy than seeing a child copy what is good. Friends, God's communicable attributes are worth copying. Peter instructs Christ-followers, "Be holy, because I (God) am holy." Jesus during His earthly ministry provided the perfect model for us. His purpose was not merely to save our souls but to show us how to live out the Kingdom of God by being holy. We are expected to mirror His behavior.

Do you want to honor God? Strive to be like Him. You will not achieve perfection, and your efforts won't save you because salvation is by grace through faith in Christ's finished work. Nevertheless, all who call themselves Christians should seek to delight God's heart by imitating His Son. God has modeled holiness in Christ. Our calling is to reflect it.

Question for Reflection

What are some attributes of Jesus’ character (for reference see Galatians 5:22,23; Colossians 3:12,13)? How does your life reflect the character of Jesus, and how does this obedience bring delight to God? 

The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here. For it is written:

“‘He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”

Jesus answered, “It is said: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

Luke 4:9-12

Meditation

A common mistake in Bible study is asking, “What does this text mean to you?” This question is fundamentally flawed because it operates from the mistaken belief that the Bible is primarily a tool for personal self-discovery. The truth is, the Bible's main purpose is not to tell you about yourself.

Instead, the Bible is God's direct communication regarding the nature of reality and how humanity is called to submit and conform to God's perspective on life. Therefore, the proper question isn't "What does this text mean to me?" but rather: "What is God communicating to us today through the original author's intent, and how would the original audience have understood it?" Our personal application for today must flow out of obedience to the text—in our thoughts, feelings, and actions. The question is not "How does this make me feel?" but "What is God commanding me to do?" based on a historically sound interpretation of the scripture.

Consider Jesus' temptation in the desert. Satan, who arguably knows scripture better than any of us, quotes Psalm 91:11-12: “'He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.'” Satan's sin here is not a lack of knowledge, but an attempt to get Jesus to reinterpret the text based on his feelings. Out of this, Satan was essentially inviting Jesus to jump.

Jesus' powerful reply, using scripture in its proper context for the purpose of obedience (not personal enrichment) was Deuteronomy 6:16: “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”

God is not concerned with your emotional reaction to the Bible as much as He is with your allegiance to its truth. Do not twist scripture for personal fulfillment. Read it to obey it.

Question for Reflection

Do you read the Bible as a tool for personal enrichment or as an act of obedience-based discipleship?

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:37-40

Meditation

Much of Biblical truth lies in managing healthy tensions. Heresy is not merely the absence of truth, but often the mismanagement of it—either under-applying or over-applying a theological principle. Good theology is often characterized by balancing two opposing ideas.

John Calvin observed, “The knowledge of God and the knowledge of self always go hand in hand. There is no true knowledge of self apart from the knowledge of God. The doctrine of God shows us the distance between a transcendent God and His created image-bearers, and it simultaneously draws us toward imitation.”

We live in an age where self-care, awareness, or knowledge is either radically condemned or radically embraced. An older generation often dismisses any focus on the "self" as evidence of a self-absorbed, egoistical, or narcissistic younger generation. In turn, the younger generation sometimes views the older as "out of touch with their feelings" or "repressed" due to an excessive external focus of doctrine, the Bible, etc. The truth likely involves a combination of both perspectives.

It is essential for followers of Christ to have self-awareness (emotionally, mentally, etc.) and a healthy focus on self-care. Jesus commanded us to "love your neighbor as yourself." It is impossible to love your neighbor well without a foundational self-love anchored in the Bible. Furthermore, I argue it is difficult to love God well without it.

This necessary self-love is not a product of your own inherent greatness, but of two theological realities. First, you are a loved sinner. Your self-worth stems from the fact that you are worthy of love—not because you earned it, but because God loved you even when you were unlovable. Though we are depraved, we are profoundly loved, which is the grounds for self-acceptance.

Second, you are created Imago Dei. The Latin phrase Imago Dei means "image of God" and affirms that humans are created in God's likeness. Knowing yourself well is a means of knowing God better. This does not mean you are divine or perfect, but that you can learn about God by observing His traits manifested in you. Are you creative? So is God. Are you organized? So is God. Are you passionate about injustice? So is God. Just as a good parent loves seeing aspects of themselves in their children, we discover union and relationship with God when we see His characteristics reflected in ourselves.

It is permissible and healthy to know and love yourself, but the crucial caution remains: ensure that self-awareness and self-care do not cross the line into self-absorption or self-worship.

Question for Reflection

Do you tend to be self-loathing and have a low view of yourself? Or do you tend to be prideful and self-absorbed? How do you hold a balanced view of yourself based on God’s view of you?