I Am

Exodus 3:14 "God said to Moses, "I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.' "

The past couple of days I have been thinking a lot about the phrase "I am". Think about how often we say it. "I am hungry." "I am tired." "I am grumpy." On and on it goes. But what does it really mean to say I am (fill in the blank). When we say that we are taking on that characteristic and defining ourselves with it.

Jesus said this of Himself in many different contexts. He said, "I am the vine", "I am the bread of life", "I am the resurrection and the life." So He was defining Himself by that characteristic. Where did that all begin?

In Exodus, Moses had an encounter with all mighty God. And when Moses asked Him who he should say sent him to the Israelites, God replied "I am who I am." To me what this says is that God is the embodiment of all characteristics. He defined them all. And so when Jesus says He is the resurrection and the life - He is not just saying that He represents resurrection - he is saying that He is the resurrection. All that the resurrection and the life means is wrapped up in Him. He is the embodiment of it.

Each of these statements that Jesus made about Himself are then applied to us. If I believe that Jesus is what He says of Himself then I am believing that Jesus is the vine, Jesus is the bread of life and Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life. And what this means to me personally is that I take my spiritual nourishment from Him and that my resurrection and my life is secured in Him.

Believing this then should impact the way that I live. Taking my spiritual nourishment from Him means that I seek after Him with all of my heart, soul, mind and body. No matter what the circumstances of life deal to me I need to stay connected to the one true vine for all the strength that He provides.

Dying to self means living in the resurrection. Living in the resurrection means that sin and its penalty are paid for and I can live in the light of His grace. No longer bound by the chains of the past or the fear of the future. New life blooms.

Maybe it is just me but "I am" has taken on a whole lot more meaning to me. "I am His and He is mine."

Inauguration

The past couple of days I have been thinking a great deal about the inauguration. The hoopla of the press, the expense, the whole thing. It took me back to 8 years ago. It was January 2001 and I was sitting in a small apartment in Connecticut with one of my dearest friends. My world was teetering on the brink of disaster. A new president was being sworn in - and all I could think about at that time was "who cares."

Fast forward eight years. Much of the pending disaster that was on the table in 2001 happened. My world did crash. My family did suffer through tremendous heartache. My life spun out of control. And yet, there was God. He was there, reaching out to me, rescuing me from the sin and shame that I had brought on myself. And a new passion for Him ignited.

We are on the cusp of a new administration. A new personality will now govern our great land. And there is still a very real part of me that says "who cares." It is not that I don't love our country - I do. It is mostly that I realize more and more that I am not really a citizen here. My home is with my Father who saw me through all the pain and heartache of the past decade. All of what happens here is but a moment in time. I desire to focus on the eternal.

Some day there is going to be an inauguration that will make our feeble attempts seem small and insignificant. I thought about the verses in Isaiah 6:1-3

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory."

The whole earth will be filled with the glory of the Lord Almighty. Every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the Glory of God the Father. This inauguration will far surpass anything that man has ever seen or contemplated in his heart or mind.

So maybe saying "who cares" about our presidential inauguration is wrong. It probably is. Maybe it is more of a "ho hum". I know that my Father who has created both heaven and earth sees and hears all that is transpiring now. And He has allowed it all. But, there will come a day, and it may be soon when the haughty hearts of man will be humbled and the rightful ruler will be inaugurated. All praise, glory and honor be given unto the Lamb that was slain!

All hail King Jesus!

Back in the Saddle Again

Okay, so it is 2009 and I am nearly 14 days into and no blog entries. It is not that I have had nothing to write - it is because I have not had a computer (personal) to do my blogging on.

What happened? Well, right before Christmas I committed the cardinal sin and had a drink close to my laptop. And as you can imagine the worst thing happened. The chair bumped the laptop which bumped the glass which proceeded to spill on the keyboard. Suddenly I heard the snap of electricity and water colliding. For those of you who have never heard it - it is one of those sounds that makes you get a bit sick inside. Sizzle, crack and pop and suddenly no picture, no computer and therefore, no blog.....

But just like MacArthur - "I have returned!" Hopefully, this year will be better than last with my writing and sharing with you what God has done in my life. 2008 certainly was a year of great growth. Some of it came through pain and some came through the lessons learned from others. But, all of it was good. All of it was from the hand of God to teach me and draw me nearer to Him. I am so blessed!!!

I decided to pick a verse for 2009 to pursue and to challenge my walk. It is probably a familiar one to many of you.

Psalm 90:12 "Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom."

A heart of wisdom. And that all starts with the fear of the Lord. I walk in humble fear of the Father. I know that He has great plans for me in this year and that it will require perseverance and diligence. I pray that in the months to come that you will follow along in my journey and I commit to you that I will be as genuine as I can be to express His heart through my words.

To those who have been wondering where in the world is Carol - well now you know.

Stay tuned!!!