Have you thought about the amazingness of the name of God, I AM? He is not I Was or I Will Be, but I Am! He is the God of the present!

This year, I want to put aside my views of God and get to know who He really is. Would you come on the journey with me? It is easy to say we know Him. Truly knowing Him requires much more from us. When we truly see God for who He is, our lives will change. Our lives will be different. We will realize our extreme unworthiness and His love. We will also realize our worth in Him as He was willing to give His all for us. His love makes us worthy. We are nothing in ourselves.

Do you know God? I mean, really know Him? What is He like? What is His character? What pleases Him? Often, our perception of what God is like is surface or from our own notions.

There are some severe warnings in Scripture.
Titus 1:16, “16They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.” Saying we know God is one thing, but doing things against Him and His Word shows that we do not no matter what we say. Actions speak louder than words.

Matthew 15:8, ” 8This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.” It is easy to say we honor God when our heart is very far from Him. Where is your heart?

There is good news. For, you see, we are human and therefore very fallible. We sin (go against his law) and are imperfect. Yet, He has given us His Son to pay the price for our sin so that we may have a relationship with Him. Then, if we draw near Him, He will draw near to us. (James 4:6-10) Think of it as a child lifting up his or her hands for a father to pick them up. They can’t pick themselves up into their father’s arms. All they do is show their desire. The Father does the work. Oh, how much more our Father loves us! He made us and knows our frailties! (Psalm 103:13-14)

In Exodus 3:1-15, we read the story of when Moses learned God’s name as I Am. As you read that record of God’s working in Moses’ life, what can you learn about God? Can you see His power? sovereignty? provision? Almighty Hand? What a wonderful God we serve!

Here are some of the I Am’s we see in God’s love letter to us.

• Leviticus 11:44, “⁴⁴For I am the LORD your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy: neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.” He is a holy God and expects His followers to be Holy. (1 Peter 1:16) Is your life holy? Are you willing to set aside things in your life that are not pure and clean for His sake? Are you willing to ask confess these things to Him and repent (turn from them)?
• John 6:48-51, “⁴⁸I am that bread of life. ⁴⁹Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. ⁵⁰This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. ⁵¹I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. ” Bread is the sustenance of life. Jesus is the sustainer of life. He not only gave His life that we may live eternally, but He sustains us daily! WOW!
• John 8:12, “¹²Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” Jesus lights our way. His Light shines in a dark world exposing the darkness and leading us in the right path. His Light draws us to Him. He is the Light of the World!
• John 10:7-10, “⁷Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. ⁸All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. ⁹I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. ¹⁰The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” Jesus is the door to the sheepfold. He is the one that is come to save us and help us, to give. We simply have a choice to make. Will we enter the door?
• John 10:11-15, “¹¹I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. ¹²But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. ¹³The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep. ¹⁴I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. ¹⁵As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.” There is such richness and fullness in the statement, “I am the Good Shepherd.” He will give His life for us, provide for us, everything. He is there for us. Psalm 23 says it all!
• John 14:6, “⁶Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” There is only one way to God. Jesus. He is the only way. There is only One Truth. There is only Life through Him. He is the way, the truth, the life.
• John 15 This passage is so rich that I could not separate it out. Read it. Study it. Meditate on it. I challenge you. It can be used to change your life!
• Revelation 1:8, “⁸I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.” What comfort in this. He is Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. He is always there. He does not change. He is the I Am. He is Jehovah. He is Almighty. (Malachi 3:6)

Will you take the challenge to get to know Him? Will you let Him change your life? It is an adventure. It is an experience you will never forget. You will never be the same.