God is Love – Earthly Eyes or Heavenly Vision? As we talk about who God is, it is challenging to focus on just one of His attributes because His different attributes work together perfectly. In fact, we can miss something important when we look at each attribute in isolation. Take the statement “God is Love ” as an example. To appreciate what that means, we also need to understand that God is Omniscient—He knows everything. God knows what will happen next week, next year, etc. He knows our thoughts, our motivations, our weaknesses, and how our actions impact others. He knows what will ultimately bring us true joy, peace, and comfort. Now take that knowledge and combine it with the truth that God is love. WOW! We have a God who knows absolutely everything about us—and yet He loves us perfectly. He doesn't love us because He doesn't know our faults. He loves us knowing everything about us. How blessed are we to be called His children! This short video clip, John Piper - The Love of God, is a good reminder of the importance of how we define love – whether through earthly eyes or heavenly vision. It is so easy for us to evaluate whether God is loving based on our own standards and our limited understanding. It’s interesting that we can struggle with trusting that God’s love is perfect, but we understand that a young child should not be given everything they want but instead needs guidance. Do we think too highly of ourselves and fail to understand God’s greatness? Or do we not understand what a perfect Father’s love looks like? When we talk about God's love, we often describe it as unconditional love contrasted with the love we experience from people. We emphasize that God continues to show love toward us even when we fail. And that is absolutely true. However, in 1 John 4:8 and 1 John 4:16, John doesn't simply say that God loves. He says: “God is love.” That is a profound statement. Love isn't simply something God does. Love is part of who God is. This means God's love isn't something that gets turned on and off based on our behavior. His love doesn't depend on whether we had a good day or a bad day, whether we succeeded or failed, or whether we feel worthy of being loved. God loves because God is love. And there is something incredibly comforting about putting God's attributes together. God knows everything about me. God knows everything that lies ahead of me on earth and eternity. God knows what is ultimately best for me. And the God who knows all of that… loves me perfectly. That brings us back to the idea of earthly eyes or heavenly vision. From our earthly perspective, we see only a small piece of the story but God sees the whole picture. And our Father who sees the whole picture is not distant or indifferent—He is love . I like the way A.W. Tozer captures this thought: “We are often tempted to wonder how God could love us, but honest as this feeling is, it is nevertheless the result of a wrong way of looking at things. God does not love us because we are hard or easy to love; He loves us because He is God, not because we are good or bad or more attractive or less so. God’s love is not drawn out of Him by its object; it flows out from God in a steady stream because He is love .” — A.W. Tozer Personal Reflection – Take time to contemplate God’s love and the questions below. • Do I find it tempting to think of God’s love in relationship to whether He acts the way I think is ‘right’? • Am I trying to earn God’s love? Additional Resources

God is Gracious – Earthly Eyes or Heavenly Vision? I ran across the following statement from Billy Graham that is a good reminder that there is an impactful difference between viewing God’s grace with earthly eyes rather than a heavenly vision. Are we looking at God through our expectations, goals and ‘rights’ or through God’s expectations and plans? “Your human mind, with its philosophy of an equal return for favors done, can hardly comprehend the full meaning of this grace of God. But when you catch, by the inspiration of God, its full meaning, you will leave the limits of human reasoning and revel in the spiritual riches of divine truth and privilege .” – Billy Graham Now take that knowledge and combine it with the truth that God is love. WOW! We have a God who knows absolutely everything about us—and yet He loves us perfectly. He doesn't love us because He doesn't know our faults. He loves us knowing everything about us. How blessed are we to be called His children! Grace is undeserved favor, blessing or kindness. In human terms, we can see people extend grace or we can show grace to others. However, the word grace in relationship to God’s character takes on a much more powerful meaning. Grace is God choosing to bless us rather than curse us as our sin deserves. We would all agree that God is gracious, but do we consistently remember that we have done NOTHING and can do NOTHING to deserve God’s favor. That can be difficult for us to fully accept because our earthly way of thinking tends to keep score. We naturally think in terms of earning, deserving, fairness, and receiving something in return for what we have done. We may not say it out loud, but sometimes our thinking can sound like -- “I'm a good person” , “I'm trying my best”, “I go to church”, “I help other people”, “I give money to charity”, “I do more good than bad ”. But that isn't the picture Scripture gives us at all. In Romans 3:23-25 we read that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. It doesn’t say some have really fallen short and some have only fallen a little short. All means ALL . “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,24and are justified by His Grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in His divine forbearance He had passed over former sins. ” - Romans 3:23-25 “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” – Ephesians 2:8-9 God is gracious, but He is also righteous and just. Our sin could not simply be ignored as though it didn't matter. There needed to be a propitiation (atonement) for our sins and the cross demonstrates both the seriousness of our sin and the incredible depth of God's grace. Christ became the sacrifice through which our redemption is possible. We can understand grace intellectually and still slip back into living as though God's favor must somehow be earned. The more we commune with God and know Him personally through the Holy Spirit, the more we will recognize how undeserving we are—and at the same time, how incredible His grace is. Personal Reflection – Take time to meditate on God’s grace and the questions below. • Am I rejoicing and praising Him that I need to do NOTHING to earn God’s favor? • Am I acting as if I believe that I need to do NOTHING to earn God’s favor? Additional Resources

FAITH 'For my tho ughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For 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 If we lived day to day with this verse driving our perspective on the days events, we would have a different outlook that would bring about deep joy brought about by the peace we can have in complete faith in God's ways in all situations. Our God is an omniscient (all-knowing) God that loves us unconditionally and wants us to achieve great things for Him. We get in the way of those plans when we focus on the present situations and an earthly focus. Decreasing focus on ourselves is in stark contrast to what today's society promotes and our natural tendencies. However, there is great reward in shifting our focus. If we place complete faith in the sovereignty of God we will find a peace that comes only from the Holy Spirit. This means no matter the situation you can trust that God can work it out for good. The 'good' being good in the view of God, not necessarily what we may think is good based on our limited understanding and perspective. The more we understand and meditate on who God is, the more we will follow will follow his direction. Not because we are following a set of rules, but because God's ways will lead us to true JOY and PEACE . When we lose faith in who God is and how all of His attributes work together, we tend to think we know better. This is obviously in direct opposite of what we understand from scripture, specifically in Isaiah 55:8, Do we believe God's ways are better than ours? Do we believe God wants what is best for us? Are we willing to put aside your solutions for God's solutions?

God is Unchanging – Earthly Eyes or Heavenly Vision? What a blessing that our God is immutable—He does not change, and He cannot change. We live in a world where almost everything seems to change. People change. Circumstances change. Culture changes. Our plans change. Even our own thoughts, feelings, and priorities can change from one day to the next. But God does not change. His character does not change. His plans do not change. His truth does not change. That is remarkably different from the world around us. When we truly understand God's immutability, it gives us something the changing world cannot give us: confidence in who God is and trust in His promises. God's Character Does Not Change God's perfection is inseparable from His immutability. Because God is and has always been perfect, He cannot become better and cannot become worse in any way. God doesn't have changing moods that alter His character. He doesn't become distracted or have a bad day. He isn’t influenced by circumstances or external pressures. Therefore, God is always completely and consistently who He is . The following A.W. Pink quote captures this topic well: “He cannot change for the better, for He is already perfect; and being perfect, He cannot change for the worse. Altogether unaffected by anything outside Himself, improvement or deterioration is impossible .” – A.W. Pink, The Attributes of God Think about the implications of that truth. When we fail, God doesn't become less loving. When circumstances change, God doesn't become less faithful. When we don't understand what He is doing, His character hasn't changed. Our circumstances may change, but God doesn't. “For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed. ” - Malachi 3:6 God's Plans Do Not Change God's plans and purposes come from an omniscient—completely all-knowing—God. When we change our minds, there is usually a reason. We may learn something we didn't previously know. Circumstances may change. We may realize that our original plan wasn't as good as we thought. But God never receives new information. He already knows what we will discover tomorrow. He already knows how circumstances will unfold. He already knows the beginning, the middle, and the end. That means God never has to say, “I didn't see that coming”. His plans aren't reactions to circumstances. His plans account for circumstances. We may not understand the plan, but we can trust the Planner . God's Truth Does Not Change God's promises will be fulfilled. His Word does not shift to accommodate changing cultures, opinions, or circumstances. Human ideas change. Human laws change. What society considers acceptable can change dramatically over time. But God's truth does not need to be updated. “God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it ?” – Numbers 23:19 But that isn't the picture Scripture gives us at all. In Romans 3:23-25 we read that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. It doesn’t say some have really fallen short and some have only fallen a little short. All means ALL . With earthly eyes, we can become overwhelmed by everything that is changing around us. We can feel uncertain because our plans change, our circumstances change, and the world changes. But with heavenly vision, we remember: God's character doesn't change, God’s plans don't change and God's truth doesn't change. Personal Reflection Consider one of God’s unfailing promises that brings you comfort and/or joy. Does the truth that God’s character cannot change impact your day today?

Earthly Eyes or Heavenly Vision? Earthly Eyes or Heavenly Vision How we see the world matters. Our perspective influences what we think, the decisions we make, and how we respond to the circumstances of everyday life. Earthly eyes start with us. Heavenly vision starts with God. Read More God's Greatness is Unfathomable Most of us would agree that God’s ways are higher than ours. Do you agree? We need to be continually reflecting on the greatness of God to draw us to the point of impacting how we think, how we make decisions, and how we respond to the circumstances of everyday life? Read More Importance of Knowing God The weekly reflections on this site will focus on the character, attributes, and greatness of God. But why is it so important that we continually remind ourselves of who God is? Isn't meditating on the same topic get routine or mundane? Read More HeavenlyVision Earthly Eyes or Heavenly Vision? When we look at life through earthly eyes, we tend to begin with our circumstances, our expectations, our desires, and what we believe should happen. We may even find ourselves asking, "How does God fit into what I want or what I think should happen?" Heavenly vision turns that perspective around. It starts with who God is—His character, His greatness, His purposes, and His ways. Instead of measuring God by what we can understand, we begin to look at our circumstances in light of who He is. The focus throughout this site is to continually bring us back to this important question: Are we seeing life through an earthly perspective, or are we learning to see it through a heavenly one? Changing our perspective begins by changing where we start. Rather than allowing our circumstances to shape our view of God, we need to continually reset our thoughts on the greatness of God and allow who He is to shape how we view our circumstances. Read the Reflections God is Unfathomable " For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For 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 We often approach life assuming that our understanding of a situation is enough to determine what is best. We make plans, establish expectations, and sometimes struggle when things don't unfold the way we believe they should. We may even question God's goodness, wisdom, or direction when His ways don't make sense to us. But how can we expect to fully understand the plans and purposes of an infinite God when we see only a small part of what He sees? God is not simply a wiser or more knowledgeable version of us. He is infinitely greater than we can comprehend. His wisdom, knowledge, power, love, and purposes are beyond our ability to fully understand. Recognizing this should humble us, draw us closer to Him, and strengthen our desire to trust Him. The more we reflect on the greatness of God, the more we will see how limited our own understanding is—and how much we need to depend on Him. Read the Reflections Unfathomable Importance of Knowing God "What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us." ― A.W. Tozer (The Knowledge of the Holy) The weekly reflections on this site will focus on the character, attributes, and greatness of God. But why is it so important that we continually remind ourselves of who God is? We can accumulate a tremendous amount of knowledge about God without allowing that knowledge to change how we see the world or live our lives. We can know the right answers, understand biblical truths, and recognize God's attributes without allowing those truths to shape our everyday thinking. There is a difference between knowing about God and truly knowing God. As we grow in our knowledge of Him, that knowledge should do more than fill our minds with information. It should change our perspective, strengthen our faith, deepen our relationship with Him, and lead us to trust His ways—even when we don't understand them. The goal isn't simply to learn more about God. It is to know Him more deeply, trust Him more completely, and allow that relationship to transform us as stated in 2 Corinthians 3:18 - "And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another ". Read the Reflections Importance About Us The purpose of this site is to encourage us to look at life through a different lens—one that begins with God rather than ourselves. We often approach life through what we call earthly eyes. We start with our circumstances, our expectations, our desires, and what we believe should happen. We then try to understand where God fits into our plans and how He might help us achieve what we think is best. But what if we started somewhere else? Heavenly vision starts with God. It begins with who He is—His character, His greatness, His wisdom, His purposes, and His ways. Rather than measuring God by what we can understand, we learn to view our circumstances in light of who He is. This site is intended to be a place where we can continually remind ourselves of that distinction. Through weekly reflections centered on the attributes and character of God, Scripture, and other resources, we hope to grow in our understanding of who God is and how that knowledge should shape the way we think, make decisions, and respond to everyday life. This is not about us trying hard to change our perspective. It is about allowing a greater understanding and knowledge of God to transform our perspectives that will also transform our lives. 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Important Points as We Discuss God's Attributes As we go through the different attributes of God, there are a few things are important we are keeping in mind. On this earth, we will not fully comprehend God, but as we spend more time with God, our appreciation will grow. We need to accept the biblical truths about who God is in faith and not try to manipulate who God is to fit our ability to understand . We will not solely look at one of God's attributes in isolation because all of God's character works together in perfection. God is Love God's love doesn't depend on whether we had a good day or a bad day, whether we succeeded or failed, or whether we feel worthy of being loved. God loves because God is love! Read More God is Gracious Grace is undeserved favor, blessing or kindness. In human terms, we can see people extend grace or we can show grace to others. However, the word grace in relationship to God’s character takes on a much more powerful meaning. Grace is God choosing to bless us rather than curse us as our sin deserves. Read More God is Immutable We live in a world where almost everything seems to change. People change. Culture changes. Our plans change. Even our own thoughts, feelings, and priorities can change from one day to the next. But God does not change. His character does not change. His plans do not change. His truth does not change. Read More God is Eternal The eternality of God means God is without a beginning or an end. It is challenging for us to wrap our minds around the idea of something without a beginning, but we know that God has always been and will always be. Read More God is Holy The word holy means “to be set apart.” When applied to God, it means He is completely distinct from all creation. This takes us back to what we discussed last week when God told Moses to tell the Israelites, “I AM WHO I AM.” God is unlike anyone or anything else. Read More God is All-Powerful God rules over all things with absolute authority, complete power, and total independence. He is not only all-powerful; He has the authority and freedom to exercise His power according to His will. Read More God is All-Powerful God rules over all things with absolute authority, complete power, and total independence. He is not only all-powerful; He has the authority and freedom to exercise His power according to His will. Read More God is All-Knowing God knows everything about everyone and everything—including the past, present, and future. That may sound like a simple truth, but consider how important it is and how difficult it is for us to comprehend. Read More

LOVE GOD DEEPLY 'For my tho ughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For 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 If we lived day to day with this verse driving our perspective on the days events, we would have a different outlook that would bring about deep joy brought about by the peace we can have in complete faith in God's ways in all situations. Our God is an omniscient (all-knowing) God that loves us unconditionally and wants us to achieve great things for Him. We get in the way of those plans when we focus on the present situations and an earthly focus. Decreasing focus on ourselves is in stark contrast to what today's society promotes and our natural tendencies. However, there is great reward in shifting our focus. If we place complete faith in the sovereignty of God we will find a peace that comes only from the Holy Spirit. This means no matter the situation you can trust that God can work it out for good. The 'good' being good in the view of God, not necessarily what we may think is good based on our limited understanding and perspective. The more we understand and meditate on who God is, the more we will follow will follow his direction. Not because we are following a set of rules, but because God's ways will lead us to true JOY and PEACE . When we lose faith in who God is and how all of His attributes work together, we tend to think we know better. This is obviously in direct opposite of what we understand from scripture, specifically in Isaiah 55:8, Do we believe God's ways are better than ours? Do we believe God wants what is best for us? Are we willing to put aside your solutions for God's solutions?

PEACE & JOY 'For my tho ughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For 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 If we lived day to day with this verse driving our perspective on the days events, we would have a different outlook that would bring about deep joy brought about by the peace we can have in complete faith in God's ways in all situations. Our God is an omniscient (all-knowing) God that loves us unconditionally and wants us to achieve great things for Him. We get in the way of those plans when we focus on the present situations and an earthly focus. Decreasing focus on ourselves is in stark contrast to what today's society promotes and our natural tendencies. However, there is great reward in shifting our focus. If we place complete faith in the sovereignty of God we will find a peace that comes only from the Holy Spirit. This means no matter the situation you can trust that God can work it out for good. The 'good' being good in the view of God, not necessarily what we may think is good based on our limited understanding and perspective. The more we understand and meditate on who God is, the more we will follow will follow his direction. Not because we are following a set of rules, but because God's ways will lead us to true JOY and PEACE . When we lose faith in who God is and how all of His attributes work together, we tend to think we know better. This is obviously in direct opposite of what we understand from scripture, specifically in Isaiah 55:8, Do we believe God's ways are better than ours? Do we believe God wants what is best for us? Are we willing to put aside your solutions for God's solutions?

Earthly Eyes or Heavenly Vision? The upcoming weekly reflections will center on one central idea: we need to be continually and intentionally considering the greatness of God—the Creator—in comparison to us, His creation. Both Isaiah 55:8-9 and Romans 11:33-34 remind us that God’s thoughts and ways are not merely a little different from ours. They are vastly different—so much so that we cannot fully comprehend them. " For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For 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 (ESV) “ Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?" – Romans 11:33-34 (ESV ) Most of us would probably agree that God’s ways are higher than ours. Do you agree? However, agreeing with this truth and living in light of that truth are two different things. Don’t we need to be continually reflecting on the greatness of God to draw us to the point of impacting how we think, how we make decisions, and how we respond to the circumstances of everyday life? Over the next few months, I’m hopeful that we can walk together down a path of adjusting from seeing our lives with Earthly Eyes to having a Heavenly Vision. This phrase is meant to raise the question of whether we are looking at ‘How do I fit into God’s plans (Heaven looking down)’ or am I looking ‘How does God fit into my plans’ (Earth looking up)? This is not only challenging because of our sinful nature, but the world around us strongly advocates that a ‘me first’ attitude is what will make us happy. The upcoming weekly reflections will focus on reminding us of the greatness of God and His ways. However, as we walk down this path together, we need to be reminded that we can accumulate a tremendous amount of knowledge about God without allowing that knowledge to change how we see the world. True knowledge of God should shape our perspective, strengthen our faith, and cause us to trust that God’s ways are better than our ways—even when we don't understand them. J.I. Packer captures this beautifully in the following quote from Knowing God: “How can we turn our knowledge about God into knowledge of God? The rule for doing this is simple but demanding. It is that we turn each Truth that we learn about God into matter for meditation before God, leading to prayer and praise to God. ” J.I. Packer , Knowing God Personal Reflection – Take time to meditate on God’s greatness and the questions below. Do I live like God’s ways are beyond my comprehension? Do I truly believe that God knows what will bring me peace and joy better than I do? Do I find it challenging to look at my situations with a Heavenly Vision? 8 9 33 34 Additional Resources

God is Eternal – Earthly Eyes or Heavenly Vision? As you think about God being eternal this week, my hope is that this is another attribute that causes us to take a step back in adoration of the greatness of God – recognizing how limited our human understanding is when we try to comprehend a God who is so far beyond us. As Psalm 90:2 states, God is from everlasting to everlasting. “Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. ” – Psalm 90:2 When Moses was commissioned by God to go to the Israelites, Moses asked what he should tell them if they asked who had sent him. God’s response is both simple and profound: “I AM WHO I AM”. “God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM.’ And He said, ‘Say this to the people of Israel: “I AM has sent me to you .”’”— Exodus 3:14 I love the picture of “I AM WHO I AM.” There is no comparison. There is no beginning that explains God, no ending that limits Him, and no one else is like Him. God simply is. The eternality of God means God is without a beginning or an end. It is challenging for us to wrap our minds around the idea of something without a beginning, but we know that God has always been and will always be. Another component of God’s eternality is that He is free from the continuous, chronological flow of events, moments, or things following one after another in a specific order and God is outside of time. The following quote from C.S. Lewis offers a helpful illustration of this aspect of God’s eternality and gives us a glimpse into something that is difficult for our human minds to comprehend. “If you picture Time as a straight line along which we have to travel, then you must picture God as the whole page on which the line is drawn. We come to the parts of the line one by one: we have to leave A behind before we get to B and cannot reach C until we leave B behind. God, from above or outside or all around, contains the whole line, and sees it all ."– CS Lewis, Mere Christianity To think that God sees the past, present, and future all as one and is outside of time is incredibly comforting and trust inspiring. We see what is happening right now. God sees what we cannot see. We see the circumstance; God sees the purpose. We see the question; God sees the answer. We see today; God sees yesterday, today, and tomorrow. God will never look at tomorrow and say, “I didn't see that coming.” Nothing surprises Him. Nothing catches Him off guard. Nothing is outside of His knowledge or His sovereign purposes. But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. ” -2 Peter 3:8 We live in time. God is eternal. Earthly eyes see the moment. Heavenly vision trusts the God who sees it all. Know God. Trust His Ways. See Differently. Personal Reflection How does thinking about God's eternality impact me? What would change if I looked at my current circumstances with a heavenly vision rather than earthly eyes? Additional Resources

God is Holy – Earthly Eyes or Heavenly Vision? Today’s topic, the holiness of God, is a challenging one to define. It is difficult because holiness is not simply one attribute of God; it speaks to the very essence of who He is. It is also difficult because the holiness of God is so vast that we cannot fully comprehend it. Yet it is important that we take time to meditate on His holiness and allow the Holy Spirit to deepen our understanding of who God is and what that means for us. The word holy means “to be set apart.” When applied to God, it means He is completely distinct from all creation. This takes us back to what we discussed last week when God told Moses to tell the Israelites, “I AM WHO I AM .” God is unlike anyone or anything else. But God's holiness goes beyond His uniqueness. It also speaks to His absolute purity and perfection. There is no trace of evil in Him, and He is incapable of doing evil. God cannot lie or make a wrong decision. He is blameless, sinless, and perfectly just. God's holiness extends to every aspect of His character . His love is holy. His grace is holy. His justice, wisdom, and power are all perfectly holy. Everything God does is consistent with the perfection of who He is. Consider Isaiah’s vision of God: “In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!’ And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: ‘Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts! ’”— Isaiah 6:1-5 What an awe-inspiring picture of God's holiness! The Lord is seated on a throne, high and lifted up. The Lord’s face and feet are covered because of His holiness. The heavenly beings declare His holiness three times: “Holy, holy, holy !” And when Isaiah encounters this vision of God, his response is not to celebrate his own goodness or compare himself with others. Instead, he recognizes his own sinfulness and cries out, “Woe is me! ” We want God’s holiness to mean He is good enough to admire, yet familiar enough to keep us comfortable. But His holiness means He is utterly unlike us—perfectly pure, untouched by sin, and never measured by our standards. In His presence, we discover how much we need His grace. When Isaiah saw the Lord in his vision, his only response was ‘Woe is Me ’. We tend to imagine God’s holiness by taking the best person we know and making that goodness infinitely greater. But God’s holiness is beyond every human comparison. He does not meet a standard of purity outside Himself; His own nature defines it. Understanding His holiness requires more than imagination—it requires God to reveal Himself through His Word and His Spirit. – Inspired by A.W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy. Through earthly eyes, we may feel good about ourselves by comparing ourselves with others. But as the Holy Spirit deepens our understanding of God’s holiness, we see our sinfulness and the splendor of His grace. This leads us not to despair, but to awe that our perfectly holy God extends His grace to sinners like us. Personal Reflection Does contemplating God’s holiness stir thoughts of fear, worship, or comfort? Additional Resources

Embracing God's Greatness – Earthly Eyes or Heavenly Vision? When we open our Bibles, are we ready to hear what God says even when it differs from what we hope to hear or feel realistic through our earthly eyes? We may want peace while assuming certain circumstances must change before we can experience it. We may seek assurance while looking for a promise that life will unfold the way we think it should. We may limit God’s greatness because we cannot understand it. We may even put a limit on what God has promised because we don’t have enough faith in the power of the Holy Spirit who lives within each of us Christians. But what if the peace the Bible promises and we seek centers around a focus on the greatness of God, rather than a better set of circumstances? Since retiring—and in the months leading up to it—God has been and is teaching me to find peace in what I cannot fully comprehend about Him and His ways. As I considered another technology position, I weighed financial concerns, the expectations of others, and my own ideas about productivity. Would retiring be irresponsible? Should I replace my career with a full-time volunteer commitment? As these questions arose, I kept returning to the priorities behind retirement: being there for Jen, strengthening our marriage, and making room for the opportunities God places before me. Focusing on those priorities as well as circumstances brought clarity to God’s direction. The step left for me was to believe God will provide. “Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable.” — Psalm 145:3 “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” — Matthew 22:37 Psalm 145:3 directs our attention to His incomprehensible greatness. Matthew 22:37 calls us to love Him wholeheartedly. Neither passage makes our worship dependent on understanding His plans or receiving the outcome we desire. God does not have to become more understandable—or our circumstances more comfortable—to be worthy of our wholehearted love. One of the greatest blessings of creating this newsletter every week has been the time spent reflecting on God's character leading to worship. It has helped me move beyond simply learning about God to spending more time meditating on who He is and worshiping Him for it. J.I. Packer writes in Knowing God that the joy, delight, and contentment that come from truly knowing God (not just knowing about God) are the best things in this life. I'm finding that the more time I spend reflecting on who God is, the more I understand what Packer means. “Let faith support us where reason fails, and we shall think because we believe, not in order that we may believe.” — A.W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy The A.W. Tozer quote above captures this topic beautifully and applies to God’s character and is also applicable to my peace, contentment, joy, where I want to spend my time, etc. I shouldn’t be putting limits on God’s promises because I don’t have faith that being in a closer relationship with God can and will change my perspective on everything in this life. Earthly eyes focus on what we think we should accomplish, what we think we can accomplish, what others think we should accomplish, and whether we are doing enough. Heavenly vision begins with God—who He is, what He values, and where He is leading us. Personal Reflection Am I allowing God’s Word to shape our expectations—or allowing my expectations to shape what I think His Word means? Am I limiting any of God’s promises by focusing on what I can or cannot do, rather than focusing on what He can do in me?