Post by Les Brewer on Mar 18, 2024 18:21:44 GMT
“I AM” By: Kenneth Petersen
Click here for the Audio Message
God said to Moses, “I am who I am.”
Exodus 3:14
Today's Scripture & Insight :
Exodus 3:11–15
Jack, a professor of philosophy and literature, had a brilliant mind. He’d declared himself an atheist at the age of fifteen and in adulthood adamantly defended his “atheistic faith”. Christian friends tried to persuade him. As Jack put it, “Everyone and everything had joined the other side.” But the Bible, he had to admit, was different from other literature and stories. He wrote of the Gospels: “If ever a myth had become fact, had been incarnated, it would be just like this.”
One Bible passage became most influential to Jack—Exodus 3. God was calling Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. Moses asked God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh?” (v. 11). God responded, “I am who I am” (v. 14). This passage is a complex play on words and names but reflects God’s eternal presence from the beginning. Interestingly, later Jesus echoed the same when he said, “before Abraham was born, I am!” (John 8:58).
Jack, better known as C. S. Lewis, was deeply persuaded by this passage. This was all that the one true God should need to say—simply that He is the “I am”. In a life-changing moment, Lewis “gave in, and admitted God was God”. This was the beginning of a journey for Lewis towards accepting Jesus.
Perhaps we struggle with belief, as Lewis did, or maybe with a lukewarm faith. We might ask ourselves if God is truly the “I am” in our lives.
Reflect & Pray
What does it mean to you to hear God say, “I am”? How might it influence your days ahead?
Dear God, I come to You in awe of who You are. You are the “I am” in my life, and there is no other.
SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
God’s name is more than just a way to identify Him. It’s also a revelation of His person and character. When Moses encountered Him in the burning bush, God identified Himself as “I am who I am” or the “I am” (Exodus 3:14). Scholars say the Hebrew can also be rendered as “I will be what I will be.” One of the amazing realities contained in this title is that God is beyond time. Even more, He’s completely unaffected by it—though in His mercy He chooses to work within time. This reality is reaffirmed in the New Testament, where we read, “I am the Alpha and the Omega . . . who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty” (Revelation 1:8 ). In the person of Jesus, our timeless God stepped into time to give us an eternity unbounded by time.
Bill Crowder
Exodus 3:11-15
King James Version
11 And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?
12 And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain.
13 And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?
14 And God said unto Moses, I Am That I Am: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I Am hath sent me unto you.
15 And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, the Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.
Click here for the Audio Message
God said to Moses, “I am who I am.”
Exodus 3:14
Today's Scripture & Insight :
Exodus 3:11–15
Jack, a professor of philosophy and literature, had a brilliant mind. He’d declared himself an atheist at the age of fifteen and in adulthood adamantly defended his “atheistic faith”. Christian friends tried to persuade him. As Jack put it, “Everyone and everything had joined the other side.” But the Bible, he had to admit, was different from other literature and stories. He wrote of the Gospels: “If ever a myth had become fact, had been incarnated, it would be just like this.”
One Bible passage became most influential to Jack—Exodus 3. God was calling Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. Moses asked God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh?” (v. 11). God responded, “I am who I am” (v. 14). This passage is a complex play on words and names but reflects God’s eternal presence from the beginning. Interestingly, later Jesus echoed the same when he said, “before Abraham was born, I am!” (John 8:58).
Jack, better known as C. S. Lewis, was deeply persuaded by this passage. This was all that the one true God should need to say—simply that He is the “I am”. In a life-changing moment, Lewis “gave in, and admitted God was God”. This was the beginning of a journey for Lewis towards accepting Jesus.
Perhaps we struggle with belief, as Lewis did, or maybe with a lukewarm faith. We might ask ourselves if God is truly the “I am” in our lives.
Reflect & Pray
What does it mean to you to hear God say, “I am”? How might it influence your days ahead?
Dear God, I come to You in awe of who You are. You are the “I am” in my life, and there is no other.
SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
God’s name is more than just a way to identify Him. It’s also a revelation of His person and character. When Moses encountered Him in the burning bush, God identified Himself as “I am who I am” or the “I am” (Exodus 3:14). Scholars say the Hebrew can also be rendered as “I will be what I will be.” One of the amazing realities contained in this title is that God is beyond time. Even more, He’s completely unaffected by it—though in His mercy He chooses to work within time. This reality is reaffirmed in the New Testament, where we read, “I am the Alpha and the Omega . . . who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty” (Revelation 1:8 ). In the person of Jesus, our timeless God stepped into time to give us an eternity unbounded by time.
Bill Crowder
Exodus 3:11-15
King James Version
11 And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?
12 And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain.
13 And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?
14 And God said unto Moses, I Am That I Am: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I Am hath sent me unto you.
15 And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, the Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.
