Devotions with Pastor Jared Ritchey

The chorus to the song “Awesome God” is one of my favorites, and has been since childhood. It says, "Our God is an awesome God, He reigns from Heaven above with wisdom, power, and love, our God is an awesome God!"
 
It wasn’t until adulthood that I really learned the verses to the song, which frames that awesomeness in the context of creation, redemption, and judgment. As my favorite children’s minister is fond of saying, “God loves you. He really really loves you!” The biblical truth that God loves us is a miracle since the almighty God who created and sustains the universe owes us nothing, least of all the unconditional agape love that would compel Him to send His only begotten Son to die on the cross.
 
However, it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that the same God that loves us unconditionally is the same God that flooded the earth, destroyed rebellious cities, and kicked our first parents out of Eden. He did all of this for the simple reason that He loves humanity too much to leave sin unpunished.
 
As Proverbs 3:11-12 puts it, “Do not despise the Lord’s instruction, my son, and do not loathe his discipline; for the Lord disciplines the one he loves, just as a father disciplines the son in whom he delights.”
 
His discipline and His love are two sides of the same coin. Our God is an awesome God!

Pastor Jared