November 21, 2024

“I AM” Chapter 4 – Day 3: I AM The Way

July 31, 2013 by

John15_11

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“I AM THE WAY”  is a bold statement.  It’s an exclusive statement and an inclusive statement.

 These three words have powerful meanings:

Bold ~  assured, confident

Exclusive ~ the only one

Inclusive ~ covers all cost

 The definition of “The Way” ~ “an opening for passage”

Do you see it?

We have a definite and planned path to get to the “I AM.”

John 14:6  Jesus answered, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

The Bible does not teach, “For God so loved the world that He gave the world many ways to himself.”  What does John 3:16 say?

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever (that’s the INCLUSIVE PART)  believes in Him (that’s the EXCLUSIVE part) should not perish but have everlasting life.

When Jesus uses the phrase, “I AM,” in Exodus 3:14 He is claiming the name for Himself. He is announcing Himself to us as the One who has come to fulfill His covenant and keep His promise.

When Jesus uses the word “I” in John 14:6,  He declares Himself to be the embodiment of “The Way.”  His planned path is wrapped up in a person.

Without the way there is no going

Without the truth there is no knowing

Without the life there is no living

People are always challenging this verse from the Bible, but this verse will help us to see God has bridged the gap between man and God and Jesus is the one who succeeded in making this bridge the reality for each of us.   Let’s look a little carefully at the statements in this verse:

  •  I Am The Way ~ this statement is not saying He is showing us the way, but that He is the way, He is the journey, He is the opening of the passage, He is the way for us to God, He spans the distance between sinners and God.  When we are all alone, or lost in our daily path we walk, we must remember Jesus is the path. Jesus spells it out so that there can be no mistake of how we get to Him. No one comes to the Father except through Him. No matter how important we think we are. No matter how religious or spiritual we are. No matter how many followers or friends we have, or how many people we have influenced. No matter how good or kind we are.  No matter how devoted we are. No matter how genuine we are.  Everyone who rejects Jesus Christ cannot come to God.
  • I Am The Truth ~ the Bible teaches that truth is not just something that is simply intellectual; it also has a moral dimension to it. John 3:21a refers to doing the truth: “But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light…” Jesus reveals God and exposes guilty people. Hebrews 13:8 states: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever”.

Do you remember that scene from “A Few Good Men” when Jack Nicholson said to Tom Cruise, “You can’t handle the truth?” Well what about it? Can we handle the truth?  Let’s not run away from what is right in front of us!

Pilate voiced the question on many minds today. Even though Jesus was standing right in front of Him, he asked in John 18:38: “What is truth?” He didn’t take the time to find out.  We will find what we are looking for in Christ as John 8:32 declares: “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

  • I Am The Life ~ the Bible describes life in Genesis 2:7 as “breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.”  God Himself gave life when He formed man and breathed life into him and He gave us life again when He gave us His Son to die for our sins.   In simple words God gave us His Life, then and today. We would be dead without His Life. We become alive when we surrender ourselves to Him. John 5:24 says : “I tell you the truth, whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.”  Since Jesus is life, we will only find meaning when we commit to His Lordship. John 1:4 says: “In Him was life, and that life was the light of men.”

BOLD ~ Acts 4:12: “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”

Jesus is bold all throughout Scripture that He is the only way to the Father, to heaven.  Are we being bold enough with others in our daily walk to teach them the same, or are we holding back from telling others of this truth and giving them the same opportunity to knowing who “The Way” is?

EXCLUSIVE ~ 1 Timothy 2:5-6: “For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all to be testified in due time”

Jesus is exclusive all throughout Scripture sharing truths of Him being the only One, the only Way to Him.  He is the only God who is not still in a tomb! He arose and is waiting for us.  Have we shared these truths with others or are we allowing them to somehow think there are other ways to heaven?

INCLUSIVE ~ John 6:37 states: “All those the Father gives me, will come to me and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.”

Jesus is inclusive all throughout Scripture describing to us that He covered the cost of salvation for us and all we have to do is say “yes”.

Dr. David Jeremiah stated in one of his devotions: How did Jesus provide the way, truth, and life? Did He just say the words and walk away to do something else? No. He backed up what He said, He made good on His words by acting on them. He gave His own life on the Cross.  He died on Calvary’s tree to provide us the way, the truth, and the life. To not accept Jesus on this very point is to declare (I’m afraid), “Jesus, you can’t be trusted,” or even worse, “Jesus, you’re not telling the truth.” By God’s grace and goodness, we know better than that.

With the answer to this verse now explained you may be asking “How do I get to “the way, the truth and the life?”   It’s simple:  Romans 10:9-10 says, “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.  So confess, believe and receive today!

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Let’s Pray:

Dear Lord, I pray for every person who has read Your Word and this lesson and I lift them to You right now asking You to speak boldly to the hearts of the ones who may have never received You as Savior and open their eyes to this new truth they just learned today; that You are “The Way, The Truth and The Life” and the only way to You is through You.   Help them to say yes to You today, Lord, and receive the best gift ever given.  Help the ones who are already believers in You to share this same truth with the world and bring new souls to Your kingdom.  We know better —so let’s show it better, in Your name I pray.

AMEN!

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Captivating: Chapter 2 – What Eve Alone Can Tell

January 14, 2013 by

 

“And the Lord God cast a deep slumber on the human, and he slept, and He took one of his ribs and closed over the flesh where it had been, and the Lord God built the rib He had taken from the human into a woman and He brought her to the human.”  (Genesis 2:21-23 Alter)

Girlfriends, our journey today is going to take us to the beginning of creation, when God created the world that we see and marvel at.  The world before sin and destruction altered it.

Before it all came to be there was darkness, everything was formless and empty. In the midst of this darkness, a voice speaks and then there was LIGHT.  What a difference light makes in a room.  When it’s dark it seems as if the room you are in is small and empty but when you switch on a bulb or light a candle, you see everything as it supposed to be.

When Light came into the world it set in motion the creation of everything that we see, water, dry land, plants, trees of all kinds, the sun, moon and stars, animals, birds and fish of all kinds, big and small, long and short, beautiful and not so beautiful, creepy and even scary ones.  All of them were created and placed in their habitats.

Can you just picture how it looked like in the Garden of Eden, the grass was so green, the trees heavy with all kinds of fruits, the flowers were so beautiful, talk of the roses of all colors, lilies, daisies, name them they were all there beautifying the garden.  The lake was so full of fish that you love.  The animals were all in one place like a picture perfect zoo or national park. Picture the lion living together with the lamb and the zebra without thinking of them as food.

I could go on and on about this beautiful Garden which has a river with 4 river heads running through it.  I can picture how it was like seating down at the beginning or ending of a perfect day, watching the sunrise or the sunset.

All this beauty was created as a place where God’s own image would dwell.  This would be the home of Adam and Eve.

“The LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.”  (Genesis 2:7)

“It is nearing the end of the sixth day, the end of the Creator’s great labor, as Adam steps forth, the image of God, the triumph of his work. He alone is pronounced the son of God. Nothing in creation even comes close.  Picture Michelangelo’s David.  He is … magnificent.  Truly, the masterpiece seems complete. And yet, the Master says that something is not good, not right. Something is missing … and that something is Eve.”

The creation of Adam was different to the way God made the world.  He said the Word and it came into being but with Adam, He formed him from the dust of ground and then breathed life into him.  How awesome this is to know that we were created differently than everything else and that we bear the image of God.

Now Adam is in the Garden, he has seen everything, marveled at the beauty of it all, played with the animals, probably swam in the lake, ate a fruit or two.  He has met his creator and everything is just wonderful.

Wait! Did you hear that something is missing?  Yes you heard right! God says “It is not good for that man should be alone.  I will make him a helper comparable to him.”

Every living creature was made together with a partner and when Adam was given the task of naming them, there was “not found a helper comparable to him.”  Wow, for the first time Adam realized that he was alone.

Looking at this situation some people have concluded that Eve came as an afterthought but I don’t think that is true.  Eve’s creation was not an afterthought but a well thought out plan and God wanted Adam to appreciate the Woman who was brought to him.  Where am I getting all this?  Well from what the Lord did, He caused Adam to fall into a deep sleep and took a rib from him to create Eve.  Imagine the surprise and wonder of Adam when He woke up and saw Eve for the very first time.

I am trying to create a picture but I know I won’t do justice to her.  She is so perfect.  This first WOMAN! so beautiful, with flawless skin, long hair, the eyes, when she first set them on Adam. Talk about her body, her arms and legs….. A beauty to behold!

Now Eve is brought to Adam, he hears Eve speak for the first time.  I am sure Adam stammered in reply.  Was this a dream, no Adam, you are awake and this is your Woman.  No wonder he made this statement.  “This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh…”

“Given the way creation unfolds, how it builds to ever higher and higher works of art, can there be any doubt that Eve is the crown of creation? Not an afterthought. Not a nice addition like an ornament on a tree. She is God’s final touch, His piece de resistance. She fills a place in the world nothing and no one else can fill. Step to a window, Ladies, if you can. Better still, find some place with a view. Look out across the earth and say to yourselves, “The whole, vast world is incomplete without me. Creation reached its zenith in me.”

Dear girlfriend, you are Eve, the crown of creation.  It’s no wonder you feel the way you do, the way you long to be the beauty or the princess in your story.  I pray that you will allow the Lord to restore what has been lost so that you can take your rightful place.

Be Blessed,

Jackie

LET’S PRAY

Father, I am in awe of You because of the way You created me.  I am thankful that I wasn’t created as an afterthought, but as a crown of creation.  Help me to embrace this truth and live my life with this in mind. In Jesus Name. Amen.

YOUR ASSIGNMENT

 Before reading this Chapter, did you think that because God created woman second to man that women are second to men in the heart of God?

What does your heart do with being called the “crown of creation”?

 

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