I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life

The boldest of statements which effectively draws a line in the sand that must be crossed.  Simply put, a decision must be made, but not without the entire body of knowledge given prior to this, or else it doesn't make sense.

John 14:6  "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father, except through Me."

These words are often called Jesus' parting words to His disciples. Since He spent three years teaching and training them, we should take that into consideration before making the claim to an unbeliever.  Why would I want to take the chance of alienating someone without the benefit of introducing them to the compassionate Savior first?

His great compassion
At the beginning of our relationship with Him, we only love Him because He first loved us.  To think differently is to think more highly of ourselves than we ought to.  We are not capable of godly love until we are regenerated by the Holy Spirit, whose task it is to continually remind us of just how much God loves us.  How can we not respond to that?

Recently at church we were singing the chorus (only the chorus) to a Journey song called, "Open Arms." If you know the song, disregard all but this part:

So now I come to you with open arms,

nothing to hide, believe what I say,

So here I am with open arms

hoping you'll see what your love means to me

...open arms.

I know it's not a hymn or a worship song, but it brought to mind a vivid word picture of my Jesus, with outstretched arms, beckoning me to come into His embrace.  I've been saved since I was nineteen, but this was an effective and creative tool the worship team used to show just how approachable our Savior is, especially to the lost sheep.

Our declaration of faith
He is the Way.  When we affirm this, we have seen the light of the truth and the error of going our own way. He is the Truth.  When we affirm this, we reject worldly wisdom as foolishness and express our sorrow in departing from His Truth somewhere along the way. He is the Life. When we affirm this, we attest to His infinite power and omniscience, gladly accepting that He alone is the source of abundant life—apart from Him we can do nothing good.

As the gospels come to a close, we are left to make the same decision the disciples had to make upon His death.  In the quietness of Saturday, they must have pondered all He'd claimed and wondered what the future held. When Sunday dawned, their world was turned upside-down with His resurrection, and they were never the same again.

Our own encounter with Him is much the same.  Our world should be turned upside-down by His resurrection power, and we should never be the same again.

In Jesus' Name, Amen.

We often learn by osmosis; just the fact that we are around particular people, in a certain environment or culture we absorb details, facts, even mannerisms.  A boy will swing a hammer the same way his dad does, or a daughter will copy mom's way of doing housework or even putting on lipstick in a particular way.  We absorb what is modeled for us and it's no different in the church.

While studying a lesson for kids' church concerning prayer, I was trying to compose a teaching that was extremely simple, yet meaningful, that would help take away the mystique of praying—especially praying aloud.  It felt as though the kids were repeating things they had heard from parents or other adults without realizing what they were saying.

I asked them if they'd ever heard people saying (or shouting) "Amen."  Most of them said yes, but none could tell me what it actually meant, so we began right there, defining the word as: truly, or, so be it.  What a revelation that turned out to be—nobody under thirty really says truly or so be it anymore, either, but it felt good knowing they could say the word with a newfound comprehension.

What about, "In Jesus' Name?"
In the manner in which we normally hear it said, it almost sounds like a magic phrase like, "Bibbity, bobbity, boo."  No offense intended, it's only that people throw it in at the last second like an ending salutation on a business letter—sincerely yours, amen.

His Name is the authority by which we pray, ask or declare.  Jesus said, "All authority has been given to Me..." and "whatever you ask for in My Name I will do it..."

His Name assures that we will fix our desires on His will, not our own.  We can be confident that He hears us whenever we ask for things that please Him (1 John 5:14).

He receives glory when our prayers are answered.  As Christians we desire to bring honor to the Lord in our living, giving and serving, so when we talk about the things that He has done in our lives it brings glory to God.

Next time you use the phrase, "In Jesus' Name, Amen," think about its meaning and use it intentionally.

Who deserves to be blessed?

It's been more than a week and I was actually away from a computer for 5 days... it was pretty relaxing, although I feel a little out of touch.  I've been thinking a lot about receiving from the Lord—His love and His blessings—which leads me to the discussion of receiving by faith.

"I ask you again, does God give you the Holy Spirit and work miracles among you because you obey the law?  Of course not! It is because you believe the message you heard about Christ." Galatians 3:5 NLT

I promise, this is not law-bashing, as the bible states that there is "no conflict between the law and God's promises."  The law has a purpose in that it:

• points us to Christ by exposing our sinful state
• restrains evil in society through punishment
• serves as a guide to godly behavior in daily life

Paul is emphatic about placing faith in Christ alone, however, and not in anything we do—right or wrong.  Through Him we obtain both salvation and blessings we know we don't deserve... that is what makes it so incredible!  If you and I could earn them, then Jesus died for no reason.  Instead, God graciously gives us the Spirit with all of its fruits (Gal 5:22) and gifts (1 Cor 12), and He works miracles in our midst with His mighty power.

Remember that you have received God's greatest blessing of salvation by faith.  We must trust in the perfect work of Jesus in order to receive His salvation.  It is His goodness, not ours.

Perhaps that is why the inexplicable sometimes happens.  We hear of someone being blessed that we think doesn't deserve it, or conversely, someone we feel quite deserving gets overlooked.  When trying to figure out the reason, we don't exactly have all the information, do we?  Instead of judging we should celebrate the grace of God.

When I start over tomorrow, in my waking breath I will declare that I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus, and all of His blessings are mine not because of anything I've done, but because I have been adopted into His family becoming an heir with Christ.  I will declare my trust in Him and His lovingkindness toward me knowing He has plans to prosper me and not to harm me.  I will thank Him for providing my every need (whether or not I see it) because that is what I believe He wants me to do.  I will believe by faith, which is not confined to what I can see, hear and touch.

How wide, how long, how high, how deep

Wow, I'm glad that today is the beginning of a new week, because the last one was full of challenges.  When I think about it, every day is filled with challenges and it's how I react to them that sets the tone for my day.  Where do my thoughts go?  What kind of words are coming from my mouth?  Do I advance or retreat?  I have to answer these questions in order to take my spiritual temperature.

Have you ever prayed, "Lord, make me more like you," or "Have your way in me?"  Rest assured that when you utter prayers like these, He begins the process of making you more Christlike, as that is the ultimate goal.  The interesting thing is that you can stop the process at any time by refusing to submit to God's molding or pruning efforts on your behalf.  We sometimes forget that what seems painful at the moment will surely be profitable in the long run.  We must yield to Him when He allows the inevitable testing of our faith.

I've come to the decision that my future is secure in Him, even if I don't understand what's going on. As a mathematical equation, it might look like this:

Circumstances + Emotions = Worry 

Circumstances + Trust = Faith

In order to keep on going and growing in the right direction, my prayers should reflect the trust and utter dependence I have on God, as Paul said in Ephesians 3:14-19:

"I pray that from His glorious, unlimited resources He will empower you with inner strength through His Spirit. Then Christ will make His home in your hearts as you trust in Him. Your roots will grow down into God's love and keep you strong.  And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love is.  Then you will be made complete with all the fulness of life and power that comes from God."

Can we grasp the enormity of His love for us? Before you and I react to anything, we should meditate on this love. When we do, we might better understand the incredible grace His love has afforded us and the reason we should not give in to despair, no matter what the situation may be.

My Heart is Good Ground

Where to start... 
I have sort of been avoiding writing this past week since I've been struggling privately with something I thought was no longer an issue.  Let me explain about the 15 year journey, the battle, the miracle, the relapses, the pain and the encouragement I received.

The fifteen-year journey was dealing with rheumatoid arthritis; which naturally worsens with time, disfiguring and immobilizing the joints, which in my case were wrists, knees, neck, elbows, feet and hands.

(it's so ugly, isn't it?)

The battle was the part of me which rose up in faith declaring that my God would heal me of this awful disease.  I had witnessed the miraculous healing my father received 35 years ago—same diagnosis—completely well again. In my heart, I hid the word, believing and declaring it for years which built my faith.

The miracle took place 2 1/2 years ago, when I needed a cane to walk and was unfit to drive, I experienced a touch from God when I was visiting another church.  I literally ran around the inside of the building that day and recovered mobility and lost the pain.

The relapses can be so disheartening.  Over the past two years there have been a few struggles with inflammation and pain, and since I've never attained 100% wellness, I remain under the care of a very kind doctor who has heard me testify time and again about God's healing power.  We are both waiting for the complete healing that I've been proclaiming for 30 months now.

The pain level in the last few days has been intense and has introduced some confusion into my thought life, so I knew trouble was brewing in my spirit.  This is not the way I normally think, yet I began to feel sorry for myself and questioned God's faithfulness.  Sometimes we get weary when we've been on the front lines of a battle for an extended period.  We tend to think that the small strides we've made don't matter anymore—we only want the big thing.

The encouragement came (finally) as I picked up a favorite devotional this morning.
If you cannot see this, click here for devotional: HERE



I truly hope this encourages you as it did me.  You may not be suffering physically; your struggle may be emotional or relational or even financial, yet the same faith applies to your specific need.  When you and I are waiting on God, we must make sure that our hearts are good ground which will yield the best crop.  How?  By affirming our trust in His goodness and faithfulness. Then we can rest assured that He has a plan that includes building our character in the difficult times, just like a good parent would do for a child he dearly loves.

I AM—What's this got to do with contentment?

About halfway through the list of I AM statements, you might be wondering what this has to do with Philippians 4, my project for 2010.  This is the subject I'd like to address today, beginning with this question:

How do we handle life and relationships when things are not going the way we want?  (Can we remain content or do we become disgruntled?)  The answer to this says so much about our knowledge of God and His word, specifically who we say Jesus is and what part He plays in our daily life.

If you go back and read this post YHWH about the LORD God in the Old Testament, you'll find that this is the name He gave to Himself as revealed to Moses at the burning bush.  One translation says, "I AM," or "I AM the all-sufficient One." In other words, whatever man needed God to be, He was.

Since Jesus is the incarnation of God, He is truly I AM in the realm of humankind. He became, in flesh and blood, everything man needed, including the only way to God.  As He continues to reveal Himself throughout the gospel of John, we get a behind-the-scenes look at God's attempt to reach us through His beloved Son.

Right thinking about Jesus is necessary for faith and complete dependence on Him.  If we don't trust Him (see I AM the Good Shepherd and the Gate here), we won't believe that He wants to bless and protect us.  If we don't invite His light into our lives (see I AM the Light of the World here), we will never conquer habitual sin or feelings that are suppressed.  If we do not partake of Him, (see I AM the Bread of Life here), we will never be satisfied with what life has to offer.

Through Jesus, God the Father has communicated Himself and His character.  John 1:16-18 says:

"From His abundance, we have all received one gracious blessing after another.  For the law was given through Moses, but God's unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ.  No one has ever seen God.  But the Unique One, who is Himself God, is near to the Father's heart.  He has revealed God to us." (NLT, emphasis added)

We must see Jesus in all of His truth, all of His glory; in the fullness of His love and all of the authority of heaven behind Him.  He is the embodiment of God's unfailing love and faithfulness toward us as the scripture says. When you feel His eyes upon you, are you comforted, or are you ashamed?  Please understand this:  If you know Him as Savior, then your life is hidden in Him, and there is no cause for condemnation over your failures or shortcomings.

Nothing is concealed from His sight, so there is no reason to go on pretending or going through the motions.  Unburden yourself by casting all of your shame, your cares and worries on Him so you can experience His grace.  You will find contentment when you are able to see yourself as the object of His great love.

I AM the Resurrection and the Life

Perhaps no other claim is as important as this—that we must believe all life is derived from God.  In John chapter 11, we find that Jesus purposely delayed his return to Bethany when He was informed of Lazarus' illness.  Two days after hearing the news, Jesus and the disciples left for the two-day trip to Bethany.  The Lord already knew that His friend was dead (v.14).

As many of us would be, Martha (who came to meet Jesus on the road) was confused with a mixture of both grief and faith.  On one hand, she seemed to understand who He was and what He was capable of doing, yet her belief had limitations—she believed in healing—but resurrection from the dead?

Jesus told her, "Your brother will rise again."
"Yes," Martha said, "he will rise when everyone else rises, at the last day."
Jesus told her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in Me will live, even after dying.  Everyone who lives in Me and believes in Me will never ever die.  Do you believe this, Martha?"

In Strong's concordance, the Greek word for resurrection (pronounced an-as'-tas-is) can be interpreted also as standing up again; recovery of truth; and raised to life again. 

The crowd, including Martha & Mary, Jesus and the disciples, and a group of mourners then proceeded to the grave site, where Jesus instructed them to roll away the stone.  Martha protested that it had been four days, insisting the smell would be horrible, once again forgetting that Life itself was in her midst.  It makes me wonder what she thought Jesus was planning to do once Lazarus' body was revealed.

Jesus responded, "Didn't I tell you that you would see God's glory if you believe?"

The emergence of Lazarus from the tomb was a picture of the resurrection of the Lord soon to come; it was also proof of all that He had said to Martha that day.  With this incredible miracle Jesus sealed His reputation and His fate, as the religious leaders sought to arrest Him from that day on.

These passages tells me a few things:

• Jesus was intimately involved in the lives of His friends, since they felt they could call on Him when they needed comfort (v.3)
• Jesus had a plan that would bring glory to His Father (v.4)
• Jesus used the situation to teach the disciples who He really was (v.15)
• Jesus was patient with Martha even when her faith stumbled (v.21-29)
• Jesus was not a passive, ethereal presence on the earth, but quite the opposite.  He was angry over sin that caused death (v.33) and wept over the loss (v.35)

In a setting of grief and sorrow, we find the Lord ministering healing and life to those He loves.  That is you and I.  When we face difficulty and uncertainty, we can rest assured that the very LIFE of God is within us.  In what part of your life do you need resurrection power?  It may be time to stop grieving and mourning over the past, or worrying about the future, in order to fully embrace God's plan for right now.  We can take a cue from Martha, who ran up the road to meet Him, knowing we can trust Him in our time of need.