Wednesday, July 27, 2016

"I AM... HE IS... YOU ARE"


"I AM… HE IS… YOU ARE"


   No simpler truth graces the pages of Scripture than the straightforward declaration that God is.

   "He that cometh to God must believe that He is" (Hebrews 11:6).

    Everything we know and believe about our Lord begins with the fact of His being and existence.  Just as all mathematics rests upon the foundation that one plus one equals two, so do believers stand upon the rock of God's "I AM".  Our new birth in Christ originates this truth in personal terms as the mental and emotional recognition that "HE IS" becomes personalized within the spirit of our hearts.  When we believe in the Lord Jesus, the Holy Spirit enters the innermost sanctum of our being, bringing with Him the living assurance of God's being as realized by His presence within us.  Upon this foundation, we then proceed to increasingly live our lives in the awareness whereby we frequently affirm to our Lord, "YOU ARE".

    Consider, for example, the blessings of life, all of which come from our Heavenly Father - "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above" (James 1:17).  When such goodness comes our way, the experience begins with the reception and enjoyment of the gift.  We breathe a breath of air, for example.  The experience constitutes the most basic of physical functions, but the truth of "I AM" graces the current we inhale.  Sometimes we still ourselves to contemplate that both the breath and our capacity to breathe proceeds from God, bearing witness that "HE IS".  We look gratefully to Heaven with the worshipful affirmation that "YOU ARE".  The simplest truth thus offers opportunity for profound remembrance and pious devotion.

    Times of trouble also beckon us into the light of "I AM… HE IS… YOU ARE".  Our Lord assures us in His Word that He is "a very present help in trouble" (Psalm 46:1).  However, challenge, difficulty, sorrow, and pain often tempt us to feel as if we are alone in our trial.  "I watch, and am as a sparrow alone upon the housetop" (Psalm 102:7).  By His Spirit, His Word, and His church, our Heavenly Father reminds us that we are not alone.  In fact, the "I AM" who is always near becomes "very present" in our troubles.  We thus remember that "HE IS".  "YOU ARE dear Father," we respond, perhaps through tears, but even more through the Holy Spirit's presence, enabling, and assuring of our hearts.  The simplest truth thus becomes the deliverance of our hearts from lonely despair unto living devotion.

    We build upon the foundation of God's being, believing many truths about Him, as proclaimed in Scripture.  All, however, rests upon the simplicity of our Lord's "I AM", eliciting our remembrance of "HE IS", and our personal response directed to Him, "YOU ARE".  We will journey far and forevermore in such faith, but never will any experience of God's faithfulness exclude this most basic, but most profound, of all realities.  "I AM… HE IS… YOU ARE".

"I am the Lord" (Exodus 6:2).
"He is the Lord" (I Chronicles 16:14).
"Thou art the Lord" (Nehemiah 9:7).

Weekly Memory Verse
    Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God.
(Psalm 20:7)
   
   

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