October 11, 2017

31 Attributes of God, Day 11: He Is Just

October 11, 2017/ Julie Moore

I absolutely love the way God's many attributes dovetail and compliment one another in a beautiful kaleidoscope that reveals Himself to us in such a neat and detailed way!

Yesterday, we looked at God's jealousy, an attribute that may rub us wrong on the surface. But God can be righteously jealous because He is also just. The online dictionary describes just as "behaving according to what is morally right and fair." If we trust that God is morally right and fair - and we do - then we can rest assured that His jealousy is just.

October 10, 2017

31 Attributes of God, Day 10: He Is Jealous

October 10, 2017/ Julie Moore

Talking about God's jealousy almost feels anti-Christian. Aren't we commanded not to be jealous or envious? Isn't jealousy a sin? How, then, can our Good God also be a jealous God?

There is a big difference between our sinful jealousy, which we are definitely commanded to repent from, and God's jealousy, which is righteous and pure. Whereas our jealousy is nearly always rooted in sin, the Creator God has a right to desire our praise, our attention, and our hearts and thus is right to be jealous when we give these things to someone other than Himself.

October 09, 2017

31 Attributes of God, Day 9: He Is Infinite

October 09, 2017/ Julie Moore

When I was little, I didn't fully grasp the concept of infinity. (Actually, I probably still don't!) As I learned more about math and numbers, I gained greater clarity on the topic because I could see how someone could keep on counting forever and never reach an end.

In fact, math is an excellent way for our finite minds to get a small taste of how God can be infinite. But numbers are infinite because the God who made them is infinite; that's why the creation helps us better understand the Creator.

October 08, 2017

31 Attributes of God, Day 8: He Is Holy

October 08, 2017/ Julie Moore

How often do you think of God's holiness? And how often do you live as though you serve a Holy God? Although I try to remember God's holiness, I must admit that I don't always live my life as though God is holy. I'm not diligent to root out my sin; somehow, some sins seem to be excusable and I don't ruthlessly fight to live a holy life the way I should.

But God's holiness should compel us to strive, with His help, to live a blameless life.

October 07, 2017

31 Attributes of God, Day 7: He Is Good

October 07, 2017/ Julie Moore

Do you have trouble believing God is good? Many people do. We see the brokenness of the world we live in, and it's tempting to ask how God could be good and yet allow the tragedies that we see happening all around us.

But that's where faith in God's Word comes in. He promises over and over that He is good despite how bad our Earthly situation is.

October 06, 2017

31 Attributes of God, Day 6: He Is Gentle

October 06, 2017/ Julie Moore

How often do you think about God being gentle? While I frequently think about His greatness, His power, and His sovereignty, I usually forget that He is also gentle. But this is a very important attribute to study because it balances His strength and might.

Let's see what Scripture has to say about God's gentleness:

2 Samuel 22:36 - " You have also given me the shield of Your salvation; Your gentleness has made me great" (NKJV).
Matthew 11:29 - " Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls" (NKJV).

October 05, 2017

31 Attributes of God, Day 5: He Is Faithful

October 05, 2017/ Julie Moore

What comes to mind when you hear the word faithful? For me, I think of continued loyalty or supportive consistency.

Maybe your thoughts on faithfulness are similar to mine. Or maybe you've not had a good example of faithfulness in your own life and you really don't know what true faithfulness is.

Whatever your experience with faithfulness - good or bad - God's Word tells us that God is faithful. The online dictionary describes f0aithfulness as "constancy, loyalty, stability, and dependability." And I would say that all of those words could be said of our Heavenly Father!

October 04, 2017

31 Attributes of God, Day 4: He Is Everlasting

October 04, 2017/ Julie Moore

I've always found it fascinating that other world religions put their faith in dead people. Muhammad is gone; Gandhi has passed away; Joseph Smith has died. But Christianity is so vastly different. We place our trust in the living, Eternal God, who was and is and is to come, who has no beginning and no end, who will never die. Yes, Jesus Christ was crucified and died, but He rose again!!

October 03, 2017

31 Attributes of God, Day 3: He Is the Creator

October 03, 2017/ Julie Moore

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." Genesis 1:1, NKJV.

Although familiar, these are powerful words. God created everything we see and know in a mere seven days simply by speaking it into existence.

It's important that we know and believe that God created our world - that it didn't evolve or get here by chance. If God was powerful enough to create the universe with a spoken word, He is powerful enough to rescue us from sin and death. If God purposefully designed the world we live in, He is capable of caring and providing for us.

October 02, 2017

31 Attributes of God, Day 2: He Is Compassionate

October 02, 2017/ Julie Moore

If there's something that doesn't come naturally to me, it's compassion. Does that surprise you? While I love being a cheerleader and encourager, when I see someone sick or injured, my first (very STRONG) inclination is to run as far in the opposite direction as possible.

Maybe it's my aversion to blood. Maybe it's my phobia of all things vomit-related. I don't know what triggers it, but you know I'm not the compassionate one in our family when a sick child comes to our bedroom door at night and asks for Daddy, not Mommy! (I know, I know, that's very pathetic, but it's also very true.)

October 01, 2017

31 Attributes of God, Day 1: He Is Awesome

October 01, 2017/ Julie Moore

In my Californian pop-culture environment, I've sadly lost a bit of the weightiness of the word "awesome." Where I live, the beach is considered awesome, the weather is awesome - almost anything that's even remotely pleasant is considered awesome.

So to say that God is awesome almost seems to imply that He's cool or neat.

But the true definition of "awesome," according to the online dictionary, helps fill in what my culture is missing: "extremely impressive or daunting; inspiring great admiration, apprehension, or fear."

That's some pretty heavy stuff, isn't it?

September 30, 2017

31 Attributes of God: Introduction

September 30, 2017/ Julie Moore

Earlier this summer, I sat down to list out the attributes of God. I'd studied His attributes as a child, but aside from remembering the the triple "Omnicient, Omnipotent, and Omnipresent" attributes, I couldn't recall most of the others. While I don't remember exactly how many we studied when I was little, I somehow had the idea that there were 10 or 12 total.

As I began writing down all the attributes I could think of, I realized that there were far more than I had first thought. I began hunting online for more of His attributes. As my list continued to grow, I was surprised to realize how far off my original estimate of 10-12 truly was. I continued searching, and as of this writing, my list is at 55, and I'm still adding to it.

Even though I've been a Christian for a long time and have studied God's Word in depth, this one study alone showed me just how little I truly know of our Great God. I shared with Jon what I was learning, and his reply was excellent.

"Isn't it nice to know that our capable Heavenly Father isn't confined to a short little list?"

September 30, 2016

Day 1: Pray Without Ceasing

September 30, 2016/ HallwayInitiative

Day 1: pray without ceasing Welcome to Day 1 of the 31 Days to Hallway Praise challenge! I'm so thankful you're here.

If you've been around my blog for very long at all, you know that prayer is my number one recommended action when it comes to handling hardship. So it should come as no surprise that it's the first step in our challenge.

In 1 Thessalonians 5:17 we're commanded to "pray without ceasing." That seems like a huge undertaking, and it is. And when put into the context of praying without ceasing during a time of crisis, well, it seems insurmountable.

But my goal is to encourage you, not to overwhelm you.

If you're new to prayer, start small. Pray first thing in the morning when you wake up; before your meals; and before bed. Those are pretty standard routines for almost everyone, so they're easy places to start adding in prayer.

If you have an active prayer life already, you can always go deeper. If you need some ideas, there are some excellent pins on my prayer Pinterest board. Or you can read about my new discovery on prayer right here. I pray a lot throughout the day, but for this challenge, I want to commit to purposeful prayer every morning instead of my usual way of praying haphazardly as prayer requests come to mind.

I would also challenge you to start your prayers with praise and thanksgiving to God for Who He is and what He's done for you (sending His Son to die in your place, giving you life, caring for you) before asking Him to remove the trial at hand. Or, if He's already brought you through your most recent trial, praise Him for sustaining you and for what He taught you during the hard season.

Even though the commandment to pray without ceasing may seem impossible, we can cultivate a constant attitude of prayer where we're willing to pray at a moment's notice. We can develop the habit of turning to the Lord in prayer for any and every circumstance.

If you need more inspiration, be sure to visit ArabahJoy.com. Arabah encourages Christians to pray through the promises of God's Word. A pop-up should appear on her page where you can sign up for her next Praying the Promises challenge.

Prayer is an amazing gift that the Lord has given to us as believers. Because of Christ's work on the cross, we have direct access to the Father through Jesus! We no longer need a priest to intercede on our behalf, because Christ has done it all. That right there is cause for celebration, and it's the first step toward praising God during a hallway.

Today's action steps: Choose a time to spend in prayer. This could be in the morning when you first get up, in the afternoon when your little ones are asleep, or whenever it fits into your schedule. Remember to thank the Lord for His blessings!

Don't forget to check in tomorrow, when we'll talk about the benefits of memorizing Scripture.

Day 1: pray without ceasing

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September 29, 2015

31 Letters to My Little Princess

September 29, 2015/ HallwayInitiative

Dear Little Princess,

Starting tomorrow, I want to write a letter to you every day about some of the most important things in life. There is so much more that I want to teach you than can possibly be jotted down in 31 letters, but I hope to include some of the greatest truths here for you to read and reread in the years ahead. Some of the topics I want to cover are salvation, modesty, God's grace, and life's hardships. I'll post each day's link onto this landing page so that you can easily access them any time you want to.

More than anything else, I want you to know that as much as I love you, God loves you even more. He created you for His glory, and everything we do in life should be for His further glory. Let's learn to honor Him together.

All my love,

Mommy

Day 1 - I'm Thankful to be Your Mommy

Day 2 - I'm An Imperfect Mommy

Day 3 - Jesus Is Our Perfect Example

Day 4 - You Are Created in God's Image

Day 5 - Protect Your Modesty

Day 6 - Learn to be A Good Friend

Day 7 - Do Hard Things

Day 8 - Don't Forget To Rest

Day 9 - Learn to be A Good Sister

Day 10 - Focus On Inner Beauty