“I am the LORD”

Ex 6:2 "And God spoke to Moses and said to him: 'I am the LORD'."

Here we are again. Reminders. Things got tougher. Moses and Aaron approached Pharaoh and asked him to allow the children of Israel to go out into the wilderness to sacrifice for three days and Pharaoh's response was what God said it would be. "No." In fact, in that "no" answer Pharaoh decided to make things tougher for the children of Israel. Now they would have to gather their own straw in order to make bricks with the same quota of bricks expected. Here is where the grumbling started. No wonder. They had to do twice the work in the same amount of time and when they didn't they felt the wrath of their foremen. I probably would have grumbled too. This time, the guy that they doubted 40 years earlier came in and made life harder for them. They blamed Moses. And Moses? He blamed God. In fact he got in God's face and said: "Ever since I came and did what you told me to do, you haven't done anything." Bold.

God's response: I AM. God's response: "I am the LORD." God's response: "I Jehovah." I exist. I always have. I always will. I am the One that is in charge. No matter what you may see, no matter what you may think, no matter what you may feel, know this: "I am the LORD". This message was so important that it was repeated five more times in this chapter. The name LORD is throughout. The existing One. I exist. I AM.

This is huge. This has not changed. Israel was going through it and God was the LORD. Israel seems like they continue to go through it and God is the LORD. The world seems so out of control right now with radical Islam, and economic structures crumbling, and earthquakes, and hurricanes..."I am the LORD". Our country, frankly, seems to be a mess but: "I am the LORD". And any time that my life seems to be spinning out of control I need to remember: "I am the LORD". "I exist. I am eternal. I have everything under control. No matter how things look, I am in charge...I always have been...I always will be."

This is our rock. This is our foundation. This is my assurance. It was for Moses. It was for the children of Israel. And frankly, it was a warning to Pharaoh as it is a warning to those who think that they are in charge today. God is. I AM. LORD.

“I Will”

Ex 4: 12 "Now therefore, go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall say."

I don't always listen well. Just ask my wife. She will tell me something and it will not register for some reason. Weeks later I will say: "Hey, what about….?" And she will say: "Don't you remember? I told you that…".

I think that Moses was in that "not listening" mode. God just got done telling him who He was. He just got done telling Moses: "I am the eternal One. I exist. I am all that you need." And then Moses, in his lack of listening once again questions God and basically said: "Hey. Don't You know me? I can't speak well. How am I going to go to Pharaoh and these people and explain to them that they are going to be released from their captivity and who You are?" Once again, God had to remind Moses of who He was and He said: "I WILL". I will be with your mouth. I will teach you what to say. "Remember Moses, I am God. I am all sufficient. I have this thing under control. Don't doubt Me."

Unfortunately, I am a lot like Moses. I get my eyes off of who God is and I place them on who I am. When that happens either I make a dumb move or an unwise decision because I am relying on my own smarts, or I don't step out because I don't believe. That was probably Moses' problem. It wasn't a problem with his hearing…maybe he heard God say: "I AM"…he just didn't believe it.

Today, as I walk through my day, I need to know and remember and practice the fact that God is all I need. He is my mouth. He will teach me what to say in all circumstances. He is my wisdom. He will guide me in the right direction. When I have an opportunity to plant the seed of His truth, let Him speak through me. I really don't know what to say sometimes, but God is all I need. He will take my words and mold them into what is needed for the hearer. Believe it. Believe Him.

“I AM”

Ex 3:14 "And God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM." And He said, "Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.' "

This weekend I had the privilege of being involved in a wedding. It is really an honor when someone asks you if you can participate in something like this. Beyond a great event, you have the opportunity to meet people that you would have never met before. In this case, I had the chance to meet a violinist who played with some of the guys in our band and who accompanied us. When I met this individual one of the first things he said to me was: "Hi. I am Larry." I am sure that if you were to look at his birth certificate the name "Larry" would be on there. And I am sure that it is on his social security card, and his driver's license, and his bank accounts, and his W-2 form, and his mail, and frankly, all over the place. His name is his identification.

Moses had a similar experience. He kind of met Someone new. While out tending sheep he had a weird encounter with a bush that was burning but it was not consumed. As he approached it a voice spoke from the bush. Now, I don't know about you, but if I went up to a bush that was burning and not consumed that talked to me, I would freak. Not Moses. He talked to the bush. And right away God did something. He introduced Himself. He said: "I am the God of your father – the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob." Right from the beginning of this conversation, Moses knew who he was talking to. And God said something that ties in with what I wrote yesterday: "I have seen, heard, know and have come down." This is the God who pays attention. This is the God who acts. And He was about to act in a dramatic way through the life of Moses by using him to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt.

When Moses heard that, he hesitated. He doubted. Even though this was God that was speaking to him, he questioned God. How many times do I do that? Even though I know it is God who is clearly speaking to me, I wonder…I doubt…I question. Who am I? Who was Moses? Who are we to question God? But we do. And he did. And the next question is amazing. "If they ask who sent me, who do I say You are?" Give me a break. God just told him who He was but apparently Moses needed another introduction. So God boiled it down to the basics and said: "I AM".

"I AM". The word that is used here is: Exist. Kind of interesting, but the name Jehovah also means: "The existing One". God's very nature is that He is. He was. He always will be. He is eternal with no beginning and no ending. When He wanted someone to know who He was He nailed it by saying: "I am the eternal One who has always been in existence." Why this characteristic? Why would He emphasize His eternality? I think because it sets Him apart from all others. Everything else, whether human or animal or plant or any other created thing had a beginning. Not God. He has always been around. That is part of what makes Him God. And He will never end. He will never die.

The other cool aspect of the fact that He said: "I AM" is that He was explaining to Moses and all of the people that Moses would talk to that He is all they need. I am your strength. I am your power. I am your sufficiency. I am your Guide. I am your Leader. I am your Lord. I am your joy. I am your help. I am your protector. I am your mercy. I am your love. I am everything that you need for the adventure ahead.

Since God is eternal. Since God never changes. God is my I AM as well. He is my strength today. He is my wisdom today. He is my help today. He is my guide today. He is all that I need today. And He always will be.

This is the God that Moses was introduced to. It is the God that I know.

(If you want to read a book that nails it, read: I am not, but I know I AM by Louie Giglio. Great book.)

Paying Attention

Ex 2:25 "God saw the sons of Israel, and God took notice of them."

I love it when someone actually pays attention to what I am doing. It probably is an ego thing, but when someone says: "Glen, I have been watching you and I appreciate…", that does something. It gives me a boost of confidence. It helps me know that I am, hopefully, doing something right. Or when someone says to me: "Glen, I just want you to know that I have been praying for you because I can see that something is going on in your life." That, again, gives me hope. It helps me see that someone cares. And it allows me to see that I am not in this thing alone.

That is what this verse basically is saying. Only it is coming from the God of the Universe. It is coming from the God who has all authority and power and dominion. It is coming from the Ruler and Sustainer of it all. And this God did two things.

First, He saw. He was watching. He could see that the sons of Israel were afflicted by the Egyptians. To think that God sees, that God watches, that God knows what is going on in this world, and in my country, and in my community, and in my church, and in my family, and in my life is astounding. God is paying attention to all that is going on in this world, and He is not just paying attention to the whole world, but He is paying attention to what is happening in my life. He sees the big picture and the small picture. He stares at all of it. This God of all sees it all.

Second, He takes notice. This is different than just seeing what is going on. This is personal knowledge. This God inserting Himself into what is going on. It is God taking upon Himself the responsibility to act. After seeing what was going on, God knew that He had to do something.

Amazing that God would be concerned. Amazing that God would see and insert Himself into our life situations…but He does. He loved Israel that much and He loves us that much that He inserted Himself in the most dramatic way. He came to this earth and died. Talk about seeing. Talk about noticing. Talk about taking action. But this is our God. This is just like Him. To see everything, to know everything and then come up with a solution to man's most pressing problem.

The thing is, He didn't just do it for Israel in Egypt. He didn't just do it when Jesus came to this earth. He is continually doing it. He is always at work. He is always seeing and noticing and acting. Right now as I sit here, He is seeing and noticing and acting. As I go on my day today He will be seeing and noticing and acting. As I go through my life next week, He will see and notice and act. He can't help it. It is who He is. A very personal, real, powerful God…in my life. Wow.

Affliction = Growth

Ex 1:12a "But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew."

I think that the children of Israel understood the saying: "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger." After Joseph brought seventy people from his family to Egypt something happened. They had kids. And more kids. And more kids. After a while, they got huge and the king in Egypt who did not know Joseph (he must not have known his Egyptian history) got scared. He thought that Egypt would be taken over by the Jews so he made their lives hard. Not just hard, but painful. Not just painful, but excruciating. "They made their lives bitter with hard bondage…" v14, and they were living what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. The more they afflicted them, the harder it became, the more pain they endured, the more they multiplied and grew.

I know that I am a wimp. I don't like hard stuff. I don't like it when things get tough. I would rather stay in my comfort zone and have smooth sailing. Unfortunately, that is not what life brings all the time. Life has a tendency to get hard. Life has a tendency to bring pain. Life sometimes can get excruciating. Life can bring us failure and loss and hardship. The weird thing is, the very thing that you think will take you down can bring you up. The difficulty that looks like it will destroy you actually makes you multiply and grow.

I am thinking of a friend right now, Joe. Joe has battled cancer for years. At one point in time, they thought he had it beat. Unfortunately, cancer has this thing about rearing its ugly head and it returned. Now they are trying to figure out where it is coming from. And Joe? He keeps getting stronger. He keeps growing. He said to me the other day: "They can take my body but they can't take my spirit." What an example.

Then I think of another friend of mine who is trying to work through a difficult marital situation. I am watching him walk through this and am praying for him and his wife daily. The thing that I am seeing is that this guy is growing. He is not just enduring, he is getting stronger.

After all this is what James said: "My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance." James 1:2 It doesn't produced failure. It doesn't produce loss. It doesn't produce weakness. It produces endurance, growth, multiplication.

I just hope and pray that when tough times come, I can see multiplication and growth…just like the Israelites, just like the early church, just like my friends.

Bookends

Rev 22:13 ""I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last."

Bookends are great things. Really. I can't stand it when there is a bunch of books that sit on the shelf and they keep falling over. It is kind of irritating. I always want a bookend, or those metal library things to keep the books up so that they are orderly. I guess I am kind of weird.

Do you ever get the feeling that something is really important? I know that when my wife wants me to remember to do something, she usually has to remind me a few times. She has to repeat herself in order for it to sink into this thick skull of mine. She has to use mental bookends to keep me orderly.

I get the idea that God wants us to get something in the book of Revelation. He wants us to see that this book is held up. It is held up by bookends that He put in the first and last chapter of Revelation. He does not just want us to see that this earth is going to be in a world of hurt. Not just the fact that He is coming back to rule and reign in a new heaven and a new earth. I think He wants us to get this: Bookend at the beginning: Rev 1:8 "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End," says the Lord, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty." Rev 1:11 "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last," Bookend at the end: Rev 21:6 "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts." And now this: "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last."

The thing that I think God wants us to get is that it is all God. He is the Bookends. He is the One who holds it all together. He is the One who keeps everything standing. The future is God's. The past is God's. The Present is God's. It is all God. In fact, it is all Jesus because a few verses down we read: "I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches." v16 If there is any question whether the Father and the Son are One, this should put that question to rest. God the Father and Jesus the Son are the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. Eternal. Forever.

And the massiveness of this should just blow me away. There is no way that I can get my feeble brain around the fact that this Triune God has always been in existence. This Triune God has no maker. This Triune God has always been in control. This Triune God is the only One I should worship. This Triune God is the only One that I should obey. This Triune God is in all, above all, and through all. This God is God. Oh, I can be drawn to many other things. My allegiance can be divided. But God is saying: "It is Me and Me only. I am Alpha and Omega. I am the Beginning and the End. I am the First and the Last. I am the One…the only One. Listen to Me. Obey Me. Be committed to Me. Pursue Me. Spend time with Me. Have a relationship with Me."

Only Jesus. That is what Revelation is all about. He is what holds me up. He is what will hold everything together. We can trust Him simply because of who He is.

No More Screw Ups

Rev 21:4 "And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away."

This is after Satan is thrown into the bottomless pit for 1000 years and then cast into hell. This is after God creates a new heaven and a new earth. This is what it is going to be like. No more tears. (That is not just the name for a baby shampoo…that is going to be reality.) No more death. No more sorrow. No more crying. No more pain.

The new heaven and the new earth where God Himself lives with people, where God the Father and God the Son illuminate the place, will eliminate everything negative that we can imagine, and will be filled with only goodness and grace and life and joy.

As I think about it, if there are no more tears, if there is no more sorrow, if there is no more crying, if there is no more pain then there are not going to be any more screw ups on our part. After all, a lot of the crying and pain and sorrow that we experience on this earth is because of our sin. Because we don't listen. Because we don't obey. Because we want to go our own way…and the consequences are tears, and sorrow and crying and pain. In the new heaven and the new earth, there will only be perfection. Only perfect lives. We humans will not act like humans any longer…that is we will not be imperfect. Every decision we make will be right. Every word we say will be proper. Every thought we have will be pure. No more doubt. No more guilt. No more screw ups.

Beyond that, however, the things that we can't control, no more sickness. No more injuries. No more disabilities. (No need for lawyers like me.) No more death. I know that this is going to be an amazing time. All of the people that I know who are believers who have back problems…gone. All of the people who are there who had cancer…gone. All of the people who have MS, or CP, or spina bifida, or Parkinsons…it is all gone. And death is abolished forever. It is really hard to imagine a place like this. All I know is what I have experienced in my 56 years here on this earth, and because of Adam and Eve's original screw up, we have to deal with these things. But, not any more. Because of what Jesus did we have hope. We have life. We have perfection.

So the people that I prayed for this morning…Joe and Ronnie and Frank and Mike, no more sickness. And the couples that I prayed for this morning…no more strife.

Thank God, no more screw ups.