April 20, 2024

“I AM” Chapter 7 – Day 5: I AM…with Christ in Eternity!

I would like to invite you to listen to this video before reading today’s blog.  Close your eyes, if you will;  allow the Holy Spirit to surround you and speak to your heart.  (You will definitely want to turn up the volume!)

 

I can only imagine what it will be like when I walk by His side…I can only imagine what my eyes will see when His Face is before me…I can only imagine!  How about you?!?  Does your heart not yearn for our Lord’s return?  Do you not have your heart set on life eternally spent in the Presence of the Great I AM?  Can you hardly wait?!?

King Solomon, a man graced by God with more wisdom than any other man, wrote the following.

He has made everything beautiful in its time.  He has also set eternity in the human heart;
yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.
Ecclesiastes 3:11

God did this!  He put a strong desire to dwell forever with the Great I AM in the human heart!  We understand this, don’t we?  I can only imagine….

In our final lesson today, Teresa shared with us that we have REASON, we have HOPE, and we have PROMISE to cling to.  (Please insert your name in the blanks.)

  • REASON:   (_______) needed a Savior—John 3:16 and 17
  • HOPE:         (_______) is awaiting the Lord’s return—Philippians 3:20
  • PROMISE: (_______) will have a new, perfect body—Philippians 3:21

Please personalize this, my friends!  When we recognize and believe that the Great I AM has made a way from the beginning for (______) to be saved and redeemed and bought back with a precious and costly price—the blood of Jesus—then, I can only imagine….

And check this out!  Here is another promise…we shall see Him; how AWESOME is this?

For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face.
1 Corinthians 13:12

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
Matthew 5:8

Hope remains for God’s children (us! you and me!) We have these beautiful promises from our Faithful God—we SHALL SEE Jesus face-to-face.  I can only imagine….

Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared;
but we know that when He appears we shall be like Him,
because we shall see Him as He is.
1 John 3:2

From this glorious verse we are assured of THREE things:
we know that He will appear;
we know that we shall be like Him;
we know we shall see Him.

To KNOW and be assured of these things gives such comfort and joy to our hearts, doesn’t it? This is TRUTH to speak to ourselves every day!  To remind ourselves that I AM God’s child, I AM going to be like Him (like HIM!!!  amazing!), I AM going to see the Lord.  The truth contained in the Scriptures is our standard, upon which we can stake our very lives because God has spoken it.   I can only imagine….

Jesus’ followers have always believed that He will come again.  He promised the apostles: “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am” John 14:3.

Paul related the same promise: “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness…” Titus 2:11-14.

The Church today believe this, too.  We wait for His return!  When Jesus was finishing giving Revelation to John, at the very end He says,

He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I AM coming soon.”
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
Revelation 22:20

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Friends, this concludes our study of ‘I AM, Discovering the Character of God through the Revelation of the Scripture.’  Has this study been EVEN MORE than you had hoped?  It certainly has for us!  We pray that Teresa’s book, the accompanying blogs written over the past 7 weeks, and our group study has been a great blessing in your life.  God has certainly knit our hearts together as we have studied the truth of His Word together.  God bless you! <3

And, Teresa, we just would like to communicate our love for you and our thanks!  At the opening of your book, you invited your readers to dig in and ‘find ourselves’ in the pages of God’s Word.  Oh! My!  How amazingly that has happened!  We remain so very thankful for your obedience to the leading of the Holy Spirit as He taught you…and you taught us!  We are so thankful to God for all that He has worked in your heart, Teresa.  May He continue to make Himself known as He leads you along this path He has placed you on!  We pray for you and your loved ones asking the Great I AM to continue to bless you, keep you and make His face to shine upon you…in Jesus’ name.  Amen.

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Ladies, may I pray for you?

The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace.
Numbers 6:24-26

Lord, I thank You for each and every one of Your daughters who I have been privileged to journey with through this “I AM” study.   We have shared this journey—the growth, the challenges, the struggles, the peace, the joy—and grown closer together.  Thank You for that, Lord!  I pray for each of these dear hearts that You would continue to draw them close to Yourself.  I ask, Lord, that as You have worked in each of their hearts, they would continue to seek You and find You through the Scriptures.  Thank You, Lord, for their hearts, their lives, and their loved ones.  In Jesus our Lord’s name.

Amen.

A Daughter’s Worth: Week 3 / Day 1 – You’re Beautiful

 

When reading the chapter titles in this study, my heart sank a little when I read “Embracing True Beauty”. That is something I struggled with BIG TIME for a majority of my life. I was interested what this week of the study would stir in my heart and yours. I cannot help but pray that as we tackle this week titled EMBRACING TRUE BEAUTY that we all come to find our beauty in God alone and to be confident of who we are in Him; BEAUTIFUL.

About three years ago, my sister sent me a text message that said, listen to Beautiful by Mercy Me, it reminds me so much of you, you have to hear it! When I saw that message I started to tear up. I did not understand how a song titled “Beautiful” could ever remind her of me. I thought I was the farthest thing from beautiful and I certainly did not think anyone else thought I was beautiful. I went home that same night she sent me the message and listened to Beautiful by Mercy Me. Listening to it brought me more tears, but the words also tugged so softly on my heart.

For all the lies you’ve held inside so long, they are nothing in the shadow of the cross.

That is my second favorite line in the whole song. What lies about who God created you to be do you believe? Do you actually believe you are beautiful? I believed I was ugly, unworthy, damaged, destroyed forever, and disgusting. Now all I see when I look at myself in the mirror is God’s beauty shining through. After all that truly is the most beautiful thing about each and every one of us. We have God’s beautiful spirit living inside of our hearts. The more we let HIS beauty that we have in our hearts overflow into the lives of everyone around us the more beautiful you become.

Think about it again, WHAT LIES ABOUT WHO GOD CREATED YOU TO BE DO YOU BELIEVE? Can you please write them down, and throw that paper away! They have no place in your life. It is time to embrace the beauty you have within! Psalm 139:14 says, I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well. Are you confident that this verse is true? Are you confident that you are wonderful and unique because you were made by a God who loves you so much? I struggle with the confidence from time to time, but thanks to this study bringing Isaiah 32:17 to my attention, I will now repeat what this verse says every time I start to lack confidence in my beauty. The fruit of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever.

I so strongly believe that there is nothing more beautiful than a precious princess of the King being confident in the beauty that the Lord has brought to her life, embracing it, and sharing it with others. I hope that every time you look in the mirror, that you see God’s beauty shining through. I pray that when you do look in the mirror you take a minute to thank Him and praise Him for YOU.

I remember the day I sent my sister a message that said, Beautiful by Mercy Me is on and I thought of you, I remember when you told me to listen to that song and I thought I would never believe those words, I finally believe those words, thank you! It is my prayer that you finally believe my favorite line of that song; YOU’RE BEAUTIFUL!

Let’s Pray: Lord, I lift every single person who reads this up to you. I pray that you wipe away any negative image they have of themselves, and that you give them YOUR eyes to see the beauty that they possess. I thank you and praise you for creating us. We are all special because we are created uniquely in YOUR beauty. Thank you Lord, and help us to embrace the beauty you have given us! We love you so much, Amen.

Be Beautiful Today and Always! Much Love,

Diane

Listen to Beautiful by Mercy Me Here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7C2o0jHNRuU

For the A Daughter’s Worth Bible Study, you will need the book, your Bible, pen or pencil, a highlighter and a quiet place. You can order the book right through our website from clicking the sign-up form button at the top of our webpage.

If you are interested in joining us in our GCH:decaf Teen Girls Ministry, please click the sign-up form button at the top of our webpage. Just follow the instructions on the form and hit submit. We’ll be happy to add you to one of our Online Bible Study Groups! Our new study is A Daughter’s Worth! Please email megan@girlfriendscoffeehour.com for more information.