HE, "I AM"!

In order for God to become real to us, first, we have to hear the Truth, for How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? 15 And how shall they preach unless they are sent? (Romans 10:14-15)

We can "hear" the Truth in many different ways, mainly by hearing the Word of God as recorded in the 66 books of the Bible. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,... (2 Timothy 3:16) And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; 20 knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, 21 for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. (2 Peter 1:19-21)

However, God has put the knowledge of Himself in all of creation and every creature, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead,... (Romans 1:19-20) This is why everyone struggles with whether to believe in God or not, even if they choose to ...suppress the truth... (Romans 1:18) because, He has put eternity in their hearts,... (Ecclesiastes 3:11)

So, we have to hear the Truth and then secondly, we have to decide if we "...believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." (Hebrews 11:6) Once we confirm our belief in God and His Word, we have to accept His "free gift" of salvation; For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. 10 For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. (Romans 5:7-10)

Finally, ...if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek [non-Jew], for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. 13 For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. [Joel 2:32]” (Romans 10:9-13)

Now that we understand how we come into a personal relationship with God the Father and Creator of us all, let's try to understand the Godhead a little better based on what He says about Himself. The books of Isaiah and John are great to study to get a better understanding of the "Trinity" that we're introduced to in Genesis 1-2: God the Father, Lord God [the Word in flesh], and the Holy Spirit.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.[Genesis 2:4-7] ... And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. ... No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him. (John 1:1-18)

And John [the baptizer] bore witness, saying, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. 33 I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.” (John 1:32-34) When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. 17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven [God the Father], saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:16-17; Mark 1:9-11; Luke 3:21-22) The "Trinity", together clearly for all to witness!

God the Father remains in heaven, ...for in Him we live and move and have our being,... (Acts 17:28) If He were to move, all the worlds and universes would go into chaos. "Have you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? 22 It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in." (Isaiah 40:21-22)

That's why God sent His Beloved Son, Lord God, Christ Jesus in a flesh body to dwell among us and become "The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29)  ...but now [God] commands all men everywhere to repent, 31 because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.” (Acts 17:30-31) “Behold! My Servant whom I uphold, My Elect One in whom My soul delights! I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice..." (Isaiah 42:1) 

Lord God prophesied of His coming through the prophet Isaiah, and why He was coming, hundreds of years before Christ Jesus' birth:

10 “You are My witnesses,” says the Lord,
“And My servant whom I have chosen,
That you may know and believe Me,
And understand that I am He.
Before Me there was no God formed,
Nor shall there be after Me.
11 I, even I, am the Lord,
And besides Me there is no savior.
12 I have declared and saved,
I have proclaimed,
And there was no foreign god among you;
Therefore you are My witnesses,”
Says the Lord, “that I am God.
13 Indeed before the day was, I am He;
And there is no one who can deliver out of My hand;
I work, and who will reverse it?” (Isaiah 43:10-13)

That's why Christ Jesus could boldly declare, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.” (John 8:58); because, it was Him, Lord God who had originally made the same declaration to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” (Exodus 3:14)

‘I, the Lord, am the first; and with the last I am He.’” (Isaiah 41:4)
"Is there a God besides Me? Indeed there is no other Rock; I know not one.” (Isaiah 44:8)
"...there is none besides Me. I am the Lord, and there is no other;" (Isaiah 45:6)
"For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me," (Isaiah 46:9)
"I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last. ... Surely I am coming quickly.” Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus! (Revelations 22:13,20)

7, 8, 9 Things!

While studying and listening to various messages the last few weeks, I found it interesting that the Bible has so many different lists. A few that really stuck with me and should be a guide and encouragement to us in our every day lives are the following seven, eight and nine things:

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall...
1. tribulation, or
2. distress, or
3. persecution, or
4. famine, or
5. nakedness, or
6. peril, or
7. sword? (Romans 8:35)
These seven things are pretty serious and can really cause us to become discouraged and wonder if God really loves us and will provide all our needs. Most of them can be caused by outside forces and we may have very little control over them.  

However, the following seven things can separate of from the love of God because they come from within us:
These six things the Lord hates,
Yes, seven are an abomination to Him:
1. A proud look,
2. A lying tongue,
3. Hands that shed innocent blood,
4. A heart that devises wicked plans,
5. Feet that are swift in running to evil,
6. A false witness who speaks lies,
7. And one who sows discord among brethren. (Proverbs 6:16-19)

We're all guilty of committing at least one of the above abominations towards God, and very few of us can stop all together because we are natural, in flesh bodies, and God is very clear regarding mankind, "...that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." (Genesis 6:5) "For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts,..." (Matthew 15:19)

But thanks be to God that ...if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world. (1 John 2:1-2) That's why we can have full confidence in the following eight things:
For I am persuaded that...
1. neither death nor life,
2. nor angels
3. nor principalities
4. nor powers,
5. nor things present
6. nor things to come,
7. nor height nor depth,
8. nor any other created thing,
...shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39)

And just so we wouldn't have to wonder from day-to-day, "Am I really saved?", "Does God really love me?", "Will I really go to heaven when I die, especially if I haven't asked for forgiveness of every sin I've committed?"; Jesus promised, “If you love Me, keep My commandments. 16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth,..." (John 14:15-17)

We can rest assured in ...the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. (Ephesians 4:30) If we're filled with the Holy Spirit of God, we're saved and we will start producing the nine "fruit" of evidence in our lives, as He continues to change us from the inside out:
...the fruit of the Spirit is...
1. love,
2. joy,
3. peace,
4. longsuffering,
5. kindness,
6. goodness,
7. faithfulness,
8. gentleness,
9. self-control.
Against such there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23)

God's Sense of Humor!

I've gotten some of my best laughs from reading the Bible! Even if the context and consequences were very serious, people's reactions and responses to the situations are often hilarious.  6,000 years later and human beings are still acting like human beings...

9 Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?”
10 So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.”
11 And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?”
12 Then the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.”
13 And the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”
The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” (Genesis 3:9-13)
"The man blamed the woman, the woman blamed the serpent, and the serpent didn't have a leg to stand on!" (Unknown) LOL

15 Then God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. 16 And I will bless her and also give you a son by her; then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall be from her.” 17 Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, “Shall a child be born to a man who is one hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” (Genesis 17:15-17) ... 
9 Then they said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” So he said, “Here, in the tent.” 10 And He said, “I will certainly return to you according to the time of life, and behold, Sarah your wife shall have a son.” (Sarah was listening in the tent door which was behind him.) 11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age; and Sarah had passed the age of childbearing. 12 Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, “After I have grown old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?” 13 And the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh,..." (Genesis 18:9-13)
Honestly, a 100 year old and a 90 year old having a baby...I probably would have laughed too! But the Lord's response put all doubt to rest, "Is anything too hard for the Lord?" (Genesis 18:14)

Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance. 7 And it came to pass after these things that his master’s wife cast longing eyes on Joseph, and she said, “Lie with me.” 8 But he refused...
11 But it happened about this time, when Joseph went into the house to do his work, and none of the men of the house was inside, 12 that she caught him by his garment, saying, “Lie with me.” But he left his garment in her hand, and fled and ran outside. 13 And so it was, when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and fled outside, 14 that she called to the men of her house and spoke to them, saying, “See, he has brought in to us a Hebrew to mock us. He came in to me to lie with me, and I cried out with a loud voice. 15 And it happened, when he heard that I lifted my voice and cried out, that he left his garment with me, and fled and went outside.” 16 So she kept his garment with her until his master came home. (Genesis 39:6-16)
How embarrassing and deceptive, but absolutely hilarious at the same time!

16 So the Lord said to Moses: “Gather to Me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and officers over them; bring them to the tabernacle of meeting, that they may stand there with you. 17 Then I will come down and talk with you there. ... 18 Then you shall say to the people, ‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat; for you have wept in the hearing of the Lord, saying, “Who will give us meat to eat? For it was well with us in Egypt.” Therefore the Lord will give you meat, and you shall eat. 19 You shall eat, not one day, nor two days, nor five days, nor ten days, nor twenty days, 20 but for a whole month, until it comes out of your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you, because you have despised the Lord who is among you, and have wept before Him, saying, “Why did we ever come up out of Egypt?”’” (Numbers 11:16-20)
Every parent can relate to this, when you just want to tell your child(ren) ... STOP WHINING!!!

22 Then God’s anger was aroused because he went, and the Angel of the Lord took His stand in the way as an adversary against him. And he was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him.
23 Now the donkey saw the Angel of the Lord standing in the way with His drawn sword in His hand, and the donkey turned aside out of the way and went into the field. So Balaam struck the donkey to turn her back onto the road. ... 27 And when the donkey saw the Angel of the Lord, she lay down under Balaam; so Balaam’s anger was aroused, and he struck the donkey with his staff.
28 Then the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?”
29 And Balaam said to the donkey, “Because you have abused me. I wish there were a sword in my hand, for now I would kill you!”
30 So the donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your donkey on which you have ridden, ever since I became yours, to this day? Was I ever disposed to do this to you?”
And he said, “No.”
31 Then the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the Angel of the Lord standing in the way with His drawn sword in His hand; and he bowed his head and fell flat on his face. (Numbers 22:22-31)
Balaam's better than me, because the first word out of that donkey's mouth, and I would have left it and the Angel right there!!!

11 Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul, 12 so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them. 13 Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “We exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches.” 14 Also there were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, who did so.
15 And the evil spirit answered and said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?”
16 Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. (Acts 19:11-16)

Moral of the story, don't play with demons! 

Something about being sent on your way, naked...
It happened after this that the king of the people of Ammon died, and Hanun his son reigned in his place. 2 Then David said, “I will show kindness to Hanun the son of Nahash, as his father showed kindness to me.”
So David sent by the hand of his servants to comfort him concerning his father. And David’s servants came into the land of the people of Ammon. 3 And the princes of the people of Ammon said to Hanun their lord, “Do you think that David really honors your father because he has sent comforters to you? Has David not rather sent his servants to you to search the city, to spy it out, and to overthrow it?”
4 Therefore Hanun took David’s servants, shaved off half of their beards, cut off their garments in the middle, at their buttocks, and sent them away. (2 Samuel 10:1-4)

43 And immediately, while He was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, with a great multitude with swords and clubs, came from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. 44 Now His betrayer had given them a signal, saying, “Whomever I kiss, He is the One; seize Him and lead Him away safely.” ... 51 Now a certain young man followed Him, having a linen cloth thrown around his naked body. And the young men laid hold of him, 52 and he left the linen cloth and fled from them naked. (Mark 14:43-52)

If you've ever been so bored in church that you fell asleep, don't feel bad.  At least no one recorded it for the world to know for centuries to come, hopefully... 

7 Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight. 8 There were many lamps in the upper room where they were gathered together. 9 And in a window sat a certain young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep. He was overcome by sleep; and as Paul continued speaking, he fell down from the third story and was taken up dead. (Acts 20:7-9)

There are also the common-sense, or at the very least thought provoking one-liners...

Job told one of his so-called friends that was trying to counsel him, "Oh, that you would be silent, And it would be your wisdom!" (Job 13:5) In other words, ...let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak,... (James 1:19) Along those same lines, Do you see a man hasty in his words?There is more hope for a fool than for him. (Proverbs 29:20)

The lazy man says, “There is a lion outside! I shall be slain in the streets!” (Proverbs 22:13) I guess this person doesn't subscribe to the motto, If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat. (2 Thessalonians 3:10)

As a woman, I don't know if I should be offended by the following or not... 
Better to dwell in the wilderness, Than with a contentious and angry woman. (Proverbs 21:19)
A continual dripping on a very rainy day and a contentious woman are alike; 16 Whoever restrains her restrains the wind,... (Proverbs 27:15-16)
My breath is offensive to my wife, And I am repulsive to the children of my own body. (Job 19:17)

And of course the ongoing joke as proof that there are no women in heaven...
When He opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. (Revelations 8:1)

A merry heart makes a cheerful countenance,... (Proverbs 15:13) A merry heart does good, like medicine,... (Proverbs 17:22) And there's nothing wrong with finding humor in the Word of God! We just have to be sure that in our joking, we don't cross the line; Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, ... (Ephesians 4:29) ...neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. (Ephesians 5:4) Thank God for His Word and for a sense of humor!