Facing a Need? Let me Introduce you to I AM He

Mornings are like treasures. It’s here, in the still silence, that all the spinning thoughts slow down, recalibrating to the cadence of my King. I don’t know about you, but I have a tendency to speed ahead in mental disbelief, trying to work things out in my own will & way.

There’s a song called, “House on a Hill”, that captures what happens when we allow time to pause before our Savior & Lord.

The chorus says,

Allow Me to introduce Myself again

I'm the One that knew you before time began

I've been waiting for you to let Me be your friend

Everything you ever need is everything I am

So beautiful, right? I know Him, but sometimes I need to become reacquainted with  the everlasting & unchanging I AM.

This is how Jesus introduces himself in John 8. The people know Him as a teacher & prophet, but when He introduces Himself as, “I AM who I claim to be,” they still demand, “Who are you?”

Like, you say that YOU are I AM, but what does that really mean?

He says many things in reply, & right in the midst of it all, He says again, “When the Son of Man is lifted up on the cross, then you will understand that I AM he.”

It caused me to pause & ask, “What am I lifting up? Is it anything but He?”

It I can be easy to get caught up with the good things in life or focus on the not-so-good things, but either camp holds the same temptation - to lift the things before us, blocking the view of our state of being God Who always was, is & ever will be our great I AM.

I sense Him whispering reminders to each of us this morning, re-introducing Himself as our Source of everything…

“My Beloved,

I AM your Helper.

I AM your Sustainer.

I AM your Source of joy.

I AM your Foundation when everything is shaking.

I AM The One, when you are undone, Who holds it all together.

I AM your Messiah & Mediator, the only One Who makes eternity in heaven possible.

What I AM not, is a deserter. I will not abandon you.

Those that live in unbelief, are forever undone, when they die in unbelief. Choose this day Whom to believe.

All you’ll ever need is believe that I AM who I say I AM, The All Sufficient One.

Come! Follow Me!

After all, I AM The Way, The Truth & your very source of Life! 

#OneYearBible

May 15th One Year Bible Readings

1 SAMUEL 17:1-18:4

JOHN 8:21-30

PSALM 111:1-10

PROVERBS 15:11

Tempted to Judge? Remember that The Sinless One, Who had the Right to Cast the First Stone, Didn’t.

A mob of angry Pharisees ascend the Temple stairs early one morning, interrupting Jesus’s teaching. They shove a woman who’d been caught IN THE VERY ACT 😳 of adultery before the crowd & remind them that the law of Moses says to stone her. Then, they ask Jesus this leading question:

“What do YOU say?”

Seemingly unbothered by the rude interruption, He doesn’t respond. Instead, The Word, being reminded of The Word, bends down & pens something in the dust.

What’d He write?

The men continue to pepper Him, demanding an answer. He finally stands & says one of the most compelling statements of all time:

“All right (He agrees!), but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!”

The One who came to fulfill the law, agrees with the Law, & augments it with a question that arrests the men in honest humility.

They knew how many times THEY’D ascended the temple stairs to make a sacrifice for their OWN sins, so they begin slipping away until Jesus was left with the woman.

The men were right that this was wrong, but they were not called to become judge, jury & executioner!

The only One Who’d never sinned & had the RIGHT to cast the first stone, DIDN’T!

Oh, how my eyes leak at the care, patience & compassion of our Savior! He loves us even when we are caught in the act! He doesn't shrink back in disgust or react. He agrees with the accusers & gives them permission to fulfill the law IF they had no sin.

The very hand of God penned The Law & here, The Son of God, penned the impossibility of that Law with one statement. Nobody could cast a stone because they were ALL sinners…& SO ARE WE!

We are living in a time where it’s easy to become judge, jury & executioner, but woe to us when we do!

Jesus asks the woman if anyone was left to condemn her.

She replies, “No, Lord.”

And just like the dust blowing away in the wind,  He says, “Neither do I. Go & sin no more.”

Did you catch that she called Him, “Lord”?

In that brief interaction, she experiences an inexplicable, undeserved love that woos her to give ownership rights to Jesus.

He won her heart with love & revealed what was in the Pharisees’ hearts with that same love.

How might WE love with This love?

#OneYearBible

May 14th One Year Bible Readings

1 SAMUEL 15:1-16:23

JOHN 8:1-20

PSALM 110:1-7

PROVERBS 15:8-10

The Importance of Sifted Words

When I was in grade school & our photos arrived, we’d cut apart our pics & swap. My 4th grade photo wasn't all that stellar. My hair was a mess, my glasses seemed huge & I think I forgot it was picture day because I didn’t wear anything cute.

When I handed my photo to a friend, she said, “Oh Kimmy, you’re so beautiful!”

I was like, “Is she looking at MY photo?

I quickly replied, “No, my hair was a mess-you can be honest, I know I look bad.”

I remember the moment like it was yesterday because what she said next was so full of wisdom, that it felt like a verbal spanking.😳

“Why would you speak about yourself that way?  You are a daughter of the Most High God Who created you, why would you dishonor Him with such negative self talk?”

My eyes welled up with tears because she was right (& I was a little embarrassed.)

It’s a silly example, but I think it’s easy to talk to self in a similar way when we mess up. (I’d lose many friends if I spoke to them with the same sneer of contempt that I’ve spoken to myself. 😬)

Solomon likens gentle words to a tree of life. The word for “gentle” comes from a root that means wholesome & healthy, giving cure & health.

The rest of the proverb gives the flip, telling how a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit. I confess that there’ve been occasions where my self-talk matches the definition of deceitful: twisted, vicious, & overturned.

When we fail at something, it can be easy to allow thoughts or words that overturn Truth & rob us of the life that God intends.

Philippians 4:8 gives us a clear filter for our words. What if the next time we miss the mark (or someone else messes up?) we ask these questions:

Are these thoughts or words:

True

Noble

Right

Pure

Lovely

Admirable

Excellent or praiseworthy?

If they don’t promote health & give cure to the hearer, they aren’t from God & can’t be good.

Jesus, You said he who seeks to honor the one who sent him speaks truth, not lies. Remind us of Your Truth that we are fearfully & wonderfully made in Your image & that our past has no power when the Holy Spirit reigns. Remind us that there’s  nothing that can separate us from your love. Sift our words, thought or spoken, to match Yours!

#OneYearBible #siftedwords #thesiftedlife

May 12th One Year Bible Readings

1 SAMUEL 12:1-13:23

JOHN 7:1-30

PSALM 108:1-13

PROVERBS 15:4