His Name is “I AM”

His Name is “I AM”

One of the attributes of God is that He is the “I AM.” Go back to eternity when there was no universe, and the I AM is there. Go forward to that eternity where the universe is no more, and the I AM is there. David described God’s presence in these two eternities in this way: “Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever You had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God” (Psa. 90:2).

The reason His name is I AM is that He is eternally the same. He has never changed. God in the Old Testament is not what God was like and the God of the New Testament what God became. Emmanuel is no different from the Old Testament Jehovah. His name shows that it is impossible for Him to change. James calls God the Father of lights and then adds, “With whom there is no variation or shadow of turning” (Jas. 1:17).

The fact that He cannot change demands that no single attribute of His nature can change. This is why a knowledge of the Bible is so important. Since the beginning, He has dealt with sinful men. He is “…long-suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Pet. 3:9). The atoning blood of the cross reaches forward to cleanse us, but it flows backward to pay the price of redemption for those who sinned under the Old Testament (Heb. 9:15). He so loved the world that He gave His Son so that whoever believes in Him will be saved (John 3:16). He has put no difference between Jews and Gentiles. The righteousness of God comes “…through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23).

His eternal nature shows that in both the Old Testament and the New Testament He punished all men who turn against Him. “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap” (Gal. 6:7). The writer of Hebrews looks back to the message of the Old Testament which was spoken through angels and described the uniformity of God’s message to mankind. “Every transgression and disobedience received a just reward” (Heb. 2:2). The God who brought judgment against Sodom and Gomorrah and the God who destroyed the world by the flood will judge all men and destroy our world by fire. His justice demands it.

On the other hand, never forget that the I AM who was the God of Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph and David is our God. His mercy and presence in their lives is the same in our lives. Read those stories of the providence of God and know that the eyes of I AM were over them, and the eyes of I AM are over us. He is eternally the same!

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Election Reflection

Election Reflection

Is it possible that we have lost focus in the midst of all the political turmoil seen in the last election? Can you recall a time when so many people felt so strongly about the choice of a new president and the direction each of them would take our nation? Social media has reflected the division in a land envisioned as being “one nation under God, indivisible…”

Is it possible that we have forgotten that “our citizenship is in heaven” (Phil. 3:20)? Those Old Testament saints understood this. Abraham left the luxury of an easy life in the city of Ur, and he and his family spent the rest of their lives in tents. By faith they saw the promises of God were in the future and “…embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth” (Heb. 11:13). “They desire a better, that is a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them” (Heb. 11:16). Is it possible that we have lost sight of this fundamental truth and that God is ashamed to be called our God? We must never forget our true citizenship.

Paul says that we are soldiers of the cross and our lives demand that “we must endure hardship” (2 Tim. 2:3). He then describes the focus every Christian must have. “No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please Him who enlisted him as a soldier.” Has the turmoil in our lives caused us to get entangled with worldly affairs?

How many Christians are there whose lives have centered on the election? Let me ask you a simple question. Have your posts on social media and conversations with others talked more of the affairs of this world than on the souls of the lost? Are you still seeing souls rather than the political ideas they hold? Are you one who has lost focus?

So, what do we need to do about all that is happening? Hear the words of Paul again about that which is first of all in these matters. “I exhort first of all that supplication, prayers, intercession and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority” (1 Tim. 2:1-2). Remember who the king was Paul had in mind—it was Nero Caesar! What should we pray about? “That we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence” (1 Tim. 2:3). It makes no difference who won the election, we must pray for those in Washington—of both parties.

The next verse sums it all up. God “…desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” This is heaven’s focus on the world, and it must be ours. The destiny of our nation does not lie in converting others to our political persuasion, but in converting them to Christ!

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Peter, Stephen, & Paul: Plague of “itching ears”

Peter, Stephen, & Paul: The plague of “itching ears”

PETER: “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know—Him being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death; whom God raised up having loosed the pains of death…” (Acts 2:22-23)

RELIGIOUS LEADERS: “Peter, you really should not use guilt in your sermons. You should focus more on love and grace. People are not brought to Christ through tough preaching like that. We really would appreciate it if you could make your lessons more uplifting and edifying. Build people up, don’t tear them down. Love them. Be nice to them, and then maybe they will want to know more about your life.”

STEPHEN: “You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you. Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers, who have received the law by the direction of angels and have not kept it” (Acts 7:51-53).

RELIGIOUS LEADERS: “Stephen, your sermon is way too harsh. You need to tone things way down. Stop trying to make people feel guilty or else we are going to have to stone you. Stephen, if you would just try a more loving approach I’m sure more people would be convicted. Don’t you get it Stephen—today it’s all about easygoing preaching. We want a message that makes us comfortable and happy.”

PAUL: “Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained.”

RELIGIOUS LEADERS: “Paul, you need to be careful, otherwise people may leave. You’re way too brash. You are going to have people coming to us complaining. Focus more on love and an easy life and the people will be happy. Your message of repentance stirs up too much controversy. Just preach lessons on how to be happy and be kind. That’s what the people want to hear.”

Just a little reminder to all those who feel repentance, guilt, and strong preaching are out of touch—“ For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death” (2 Corinthians 7:10).

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The Lord Your God is Testing You

The Lord Your God is Testing You

“The Lord your God is testing you to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul” (Deut. 13:3). The most important question is how do I respond to the tests that the Lord sends? If I fail the test, then it makes no difference how fervently I may claim to love the Lord. It makes no difference how deeply I might feel that I love the Lord with all my heart. When I fail the test, God knows that this failure shows I really do not love Him.

What was the test God gave? Read the rest of the chapter, and you will see it involved false teachers and religious leaders who tried to keep men from obeying God. The test is simple. Does my love cause me to obey the Lord or to ignore what He says? “Christians” in America are failing the test!

“Christendom” in our land struggles how to deal with homosexuality. A quick Google search will reveal how many denominations are changing their teachings. Within the last year, the United Methodist Church has a major doctrinal shift and two distinct Methodist groups now exist. Others who have ordained homosexuals as church leaders included the Evangelical Lutheran Church (since 2010), the Presbyterian Church USA (since 2012), the Episcopal Church, the Disciples of Christ, the Reformed Church in America, the Mennonite Church in the USA (2013) and a host of others in our land are struggling in their conventions about what they should teach.

Internationally, the same is true. Ordination of homosexuals is practiced in the Anglican Church of Canada (since 2016); The Anglican Church in New Zealand; the Anglican churches in South Africa, Brazil, Wales, Ireland and South India. The same is true of the Reformed churches in Switzerland; the Protestant Church in the Netherlands; the Church of Sweden; The Danish National Church; the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland; the Church of Iceland and scores of others.

Homosexuality is just one aspect of the fact that mankind, while claiming to deeply love the Lord, has failed God’s testing of their love. The very basis of religious division and denominations is when we are ignoring what God says about a matter and then failing the test. Our world has failed the test of how to worship, baptism, the Lord’s supper, the role of women in the public assemblies and most important of all in teaching what one must do to be saved.

Let me appeal to every member of the Lord’s church. Read Deuteronomy 13, and see that those who are advocating changes in His church are failing the test. If we truly love the Lord, we will realize that God’s tests will confront us to allow us to visually see if our understanding of it means to know the depth of our love for Him. Pray about these matters.

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April Showers Bring May Flowers

April Showers Bring May Flowers

When I was a kid, my mother taught me a couplet: “April showers / bring May flowers.” This little rhyme is designed to encourage us to remember that just because it may rain one month doesn’t necessarily mean that things can’t be beautiful the next. We have had our share of rain! Nevertheless, we can expect great beauty to appear in this world because of it. Not too long ago, I was down in the Austin area taking photos at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. I love seeing all the wonderful blooming flowers. The Mountain Laurels gave such a fragrant odor!It is intoxicating. I could sit and smell them all day! God’s perfume is the best.

Flowers

Are you the fragrance of Christ?

I am reminded of 2 Corinthians 2:14-16: “Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life. And who is sufficient for these things?” Paul is talking about our influence and how we smell to others when they see our Christian life. Do we allow April showers to produce May flowers in our life? Does the aroma of Christ waft sweetly around us leading to life? I hope that all who know us will see that it does. The trials we bear ultimately produce sweet fragrance if we are obedient. Unfortunately, those who are perishing spiritually smell nothing but death and do not see the good in others’ lives.

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