Excerpt from Church Newsletter:
God Is: Everyone has an Opinion
It seems often that in every direction we look today someone different is telling us what to believe about who God is or who God is not. It can become confusing on who to believe and who to trust when it comes to theological and spiritual matters. This week there has been huge debate, discussion, disagreement, and arguments towards a popular pastor and author in the Christian world who in his latest upcoming book begin to question the validity of a real Hell if God is a loving God. A stunning statistic arose while presented the controversy on Good Morning America revealed that even though the word Hell is found a literal 54 times throughout the bible, only 59% of American Christians believe that there is a literal Hell. It is obvious that there is confusion in the Christian world on Who God is and Who He is not.
We know who God is not because of His word. God is not a wimp. We all know the wimp; he starts out correctly, speaks truth, and insists that his point of view is correct. However at the first wind of controversy, the wimp changes his tune; the wimp is wishy-washy. God is not a wimp (Jn. 3:36).
God is not trendy. 
How many of you have ever bought an item only to be told the next week that it was no longer "the trend"? Trends change with the wind, trends don't make sense, and trends never last. There are those that try to make God trendy so that He fits in where ever the current trend of society may be. God is not trendy, He does not change (Ps. 102:25-27). God is not American Love. The definition of the word love in America is so distorted that it is often hard to even explain the Gospel using the word love, because American's do not understand the word. God's definition of love includes adjectives such as discipline, sacrifice, and unending. America's definition of love includes adjectives such as cheap, selfish, and short. There is much controversy over whether a loving God can do this or whether a loving God can do that; the problem is not whether or not God is a loving God, the problem is America doesn't know what love is, they don't know who God is. God is not American Love (Jn:16-17). We know who God is not because of His word.
We know who we are, because of His word. 
God's Grace is overwhelming. Our Pastor preached this past Sunday on the thief on the cross and pointed out the irony that there were two thieves on the cross; one believed, one did not; one is spending eternity with God forever, one is not. As Blain brought this word, I was overwhelmed with how unbelievable God's grace really is. I know through His Word that I am a thief! I am a sinner! I should have no hope! But for some unimaginable reason, God being rich in love and mercy has provided me with eternal life! We know who we are because of His Word (Eph 2:4-6).
We know who God is, because of His Word. God is Holy (Isa 6:1-6). He 
is set apart, He is without sin, and it is this character that sets Him apart from His Creation. It is God's Holiness that demands eternal separation of sinful mankind from Him. There is a real hell, and we are all really headed there apart from the blood of Jesus Christ. God is Independent (Acts 17:24-25). God does not need anyone of us, but yet we all need Him; God is independent from all creation in that He is not dependent upon anyone else - He is sufficient. To contrast, we are dependent upon God for EVERYTHING! There is nothing that we are not dependent upon God for: life, breath, food, water, knowledge, wisdom; we having nothing without God. God is eternal (Ps. 90:2; Job 36:26). God is unchanging and timeless. There was never a time that He was not, He just is; God never gets a makeover, God never upgrades, God never changes His mind or broadens His horizons. God is all-knowing, unchanging, and is timeless. God is eternal. We know who God is, because of His Word.
In this time that we live in, it is easy to become confused who God is not, who we are, and who God is. I challenge you to know the word of God; it is only through this knowledge of God's word that we will have a correct understanding of who we are and who He is.
To God Be All Glory,
Jonathan
