During this season of “21 Days of Prayer”, worship and praise God for WHO HE IS. Tozer in Knowledge of the Holy finds 18 characteristics of God in the Bible. (You can remember the attributes of God they are presented in this acronym: WISH TO FLOSS, JIM EGGO.) Today let’s look at “J” and “I” and “M” of “JIM” – God is Just; He is Immutable; He is Merciful.
Just
God is righteous and holy, fair and equitable in all things. You can trust Him to always do what is right. We can read in the Bible that God is just; it’s not simply an attribute of what He does, but His character of “who He is”, as well.
When there are evil acts, justice demands a penalty. God is perfect and has never done evil. However, because of His love, God paid the penalty for our deeds by going to the cross Himself. “For all who believe in Jesus, the justice has been satisfied.” ~ Tozer
Scripture:
Deuteronomy 32:4 ~ “He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is He.”
Romans 3:25-26 ~ “God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance He had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— He did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the One who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.”
Immutable
This means that God never changes. All that God is, He has always been. All that He has been and is, He will ever be. He is ever perfect and unchanging. This is why Hebrews 13:8 reads: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”
Scripture:
Numbers 23:19 ~ “God is not human, that He should lie, not a human being, that He should change his mind. Does He speak and then not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?”
Psalm 102:25-27 ~ “In the beginning You laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but You remain; they will all wear out like a garment. Like clothing You will change them and they will be discarded. But You remain the same, and your years will never end.”
Merciful
Mercy is the attribute of God which reveals His compassion as infinite and inexhaustible. God waits and works now for all people to turn to Him and to live under His justification. His mercy will never end, since it is part of His nature.
Scripture:
Deuteronomy 4:31 ~ “For the Lord your God is a merciful God; He will not abandon or destroy you or forget the covenant with your ancestors, which He confirmed to them by oath.”
Nehemiah 9:31 ~ “But in your great mercy You did not put an end to them or abandon them, for You are a gracious and merciful God.”
Hebrews 2:17 ~ “For this reason He had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that He might make atonement for the sins of the people.”
He is merciful and patient. One of my favorite verses is:
II Peter 3:9 ~ “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead, He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”
Prayer:
God, You are a just God. You see everything that happens. You see injustice. You see oppression. Yet, You are ever-patient in Your justice, wanting ALL to come to repentance. You are a restorative God. You are gracious and merciful. You are unchanging. You are the same God who parted the waters. You are the same God who pardoned the thief on the cross beside You and said, “Today you will be with me in Paradise.” You are the same God who healed and restored lame people, lepers, the blind, the crippled, the tormented… And You continue to heal, forgive, restore those who come to You through Jesus Christ. Thank You.
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I love that He is unchanging, yesterday today and tomorrow. I can trust Him, His love is always there, what a great feeling