{"id":14163,"date":"2013-08-23T01:00:49","date_gmt":"2013-08-23T06:00:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/?p=14163"},"modified":"2013-08-22T21:43:42","modified_gmt":"2013-08-23T02:43:42","slug":"i-can-only-imagine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/2013\/08\/23\/i-can-only-imagine\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8220;I AM&#8221; Chapter 7 &#8211; Day 5: I AM&#8230;with Christ in Eternity!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>I would like to invite you to listen to this video before reading today&#8217;s blog.\u00a0 Close your eyes, if you will; \u00a0allow the Holy Spirit to surround you and speak to your heart. \u00a0(You will <em>definitely<\/em> want to turn up the volume!)<\/p>\n<p><center><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/K_OB7d-B1Vw\" height=\"315\" width=\"420\" allowfullscreen=\"\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/center>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em>I can only imagine<\/em> what it will be like when\u00a0I walk by His side&#8230;<em>I can only imagine<\/em> what my eyes will see when His Face is before <span class=\"GINGER_SOFATWARE_noSuggestion GINGER_SOFATWARE_correct\">me&#8230;<em>I<\/em><\/span><em> can only imagine<\/em>!\u00a0 How about you?!?\u00a0 Does your heart not yearn for our Lord&#8217;s return?\u00a0 Do you not have your heart set on life eternally spent in the Presence of the Great I AM?\u00a0 Can you hardly wait?!?<\/p>\n<p>King Solomon, a man graced by God with more wisdom than any other man,\u00a0wrote the following.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">He has made everything beautiful in its time.\u00a0 He has also set eternity in the human heart;<br \/>\n<span class=\"GINGER_SOFATWARE_correct\">yet<\/span> no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.<br \/>\nEcclesiastes 3:11<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">God did this!\u00a0 He put\u00a0a strong desire to dwell forever with the Great I AM in the human heart!\u00a0 We understand this, don&#8217;t we?\u00a0 <em>I can only imagine&#8230;.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>In our final lesson today, Teresa shared with us that we have <strong>REASON<\/strong>, we have <strong>HOPE<\/strong>, and we have\u00a0<strong>PROMISE<\/strong> to cling to.\u00a0 (Please insert your name in the blanks.)<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>REASON<\/strong>:\u00a0 \u00a0(_______) needed a Savior&#8212;<strong><em>John 3:16 and 17<\/em><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>HOPE<\/strong>:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 (_______) is awaiting the Lord&#8217;s return&#8212;<em><strong>Philippians 3:20<\/strong><\/em><\/li>\n<li><strong>PROMISE: <\/strong>(_______)\u00a0will have a new, perfect body&#8212;<strong><em>Philippians 3:21<\/em><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Please personalize this, my friends!\u00a0 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\u2014the blood of Jesus\u2014then, I<em> can only imagine<\/em>&#8230;.<\/p>\n<p>And check this out!\u00a0 Here is another promise&#8230;we <strong>shall see Him<\/strong>; how AWESOME is this?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we <strong>shall see face to face<\/strong>.<br \/>\n1 Corinthians 13:12<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Blessed are the pure in heart, for they <strong>shall see God<\/strong>.<br \/>\nMatthew 5:8<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Hope remains for God&#8217;s children (us! <em><span class=\"GINGER_SOFATWARE_correct\">you<\/span> <\/em>and<em> me<\/em>!) We have these beautiful promises from our Faithful God&#8212;we SHALL SEE Jesus face-to-face.<em>\u00a0 I can only imagine&#8230;.<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Beloved, we are God&#8217;s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared;<br \/>\n<span class=\"GINGER_SOFATWARE_correct\">but<\/span> we know that <em>when He appears<\/em> we <em>shall be like Him<\/em>,<br \/>\n<span class=\"GINGER_SOFATWARE_correct\">because<\/span> <em>we shall see Him<\/em> as He is.<br \/>\n1 John 3:2<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>From this glorious verse we are assured of THREE things:<br \/>\n\u2014<span class=\"GINGER_SOFATWARE_correct\">we<\/span> <em><strong>know<\/strong><\/em> that He will appear;<br \/>\n\u2014<span class=\"GINGER_SOFATWARE_correct\">we<\/span> <em><strong>know<\/strong> <\/em>that we shall be like Him;<br \/>\n\u2014<span class=\"GINGER_SOFATWARE_correct\">we<\/span> <strong><em>know<\/em><\/strong> we shall see Him.<\/p>\n<p>To <strong>KNOW <\/strong>and be assured of these things gives such comfort and joy to our hearts, doesn&#8217;t it? This is TRUTH to speak to ourselves every day!\u00a0 To remind ourselves that I AM God&#8217;s child, I AM going to be like Him (like HIM!!!\u00a0 amazing!), I AM going to see the Lord.\u00a0 The truth contained in the Scriptures is our standard, upon which we can stake our very lives because God has spoken it.\u00a0\u00a0 <em>I can only imagine<\/em>&#8230;.<\/p>\n<p>Jesus&#8217; followers\u00a0have always believed that He will come again.\u00a0 He promised the apostles: &#8220;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&#8221; <strong>John 14:3<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Paul related the same promise: &#8220;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&#8230;&#8221; <strong>Titus 2:11-14<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>The Church today believe this, too.\u00a0 We wait for His return!\u00a0 When Jesus was finishing giving Revelation to John, at the\u00a0very end\u00a0He says,<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">He who testifies to these things says, &#8220;Yes, <strong>I\u00a0AM<\/strong> coming soon.&#8221;<br \/>\n<em><strong>Amen. Come, Lord Jesus<\/strong><\/em>.<br \/>\nRevelation 22:20<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;<\/p>\n<p>Friends, this concludes our study of \u2018<strong>I AM<\/strong>, <strong><em>Discovering the Character of God through the Revelation of the Scripture<\/em><\/strong>.\u2019\u00a0 Has this study been EVEN MORE than you had hoped?\u00a0 It certainly has for us!\u00a0 We pray that Teresa\u2019s book, the accompanying blogs written over the past 7 weeks, and our group study has been a great blessing in your life.\u00a0 God has certainly knit our hearts together as we have studied the truth of His Word together.\u00a0 God bless you! &lt;3<\/p>\n<p>And, Teresa,\u00a0we just would like to communicate our love for you and our thanks!\u00a0\u00a0At the opening of your book, you invited your readers to dig in and \u2018find ourselves\u2019 in the pages of God\u2019s Word.\u00a0 Oh! My!\u00a0 How amazingly that has happened!\u00a0 We remain so very thankful for your obedience to the leading of the Holy Spirit as He taught you&#8230;and you taught us!\u00a0 We are so thankful to God for all that He has worked in your heart, Teresa.\u00a0 May He continue to make Himself known as He leads you along this path He has placed you on!\u00a0 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&#8230;in Jesus\u2019 name.\u00a0 Amen.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">_____________________<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Ladies, may I pray for you<\/span>?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">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.<br \/>\n<em>Numbers 6:24-26<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Lord, I thank You for each and every one of Your daughters <span class=\"GINGER_SOFATWARE_correct\">who<\/span> I have been privileged to journey with\u00a0through this &#8220;I AM&#8221; study.\u00a0\u00a0 We have shared this journey&#8212;the growth, the challenges, the struggles, the peace, the joy&#8212;and grown closer together.\u00a0 Thank You for that, Lord!\u00a0 I pray for each of these dear hearts that You would continue to draw them <span class=\"GINGER_SOFATWARE_correct\">close<\/span> to\u00a0Yourself.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 Thank You, Lord, for their hearts, their\u00a0lives, and their loved ones.\u00a0 In Jesus our Lord&#8217;s name.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Amen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I would like to invite you to listen to this video before reading today&#8217;s blog.\u00a0 Close your eyes, if you will; \u00a0allow the Holy Spirit to surround you and speak to your heart. \u00a0(You will definitely want to turn up the volume!) &nbsp; I can only imagine what it will be like when\u00a0I walk by [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":14264,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[8],"tags":[3383,3378,235,3376,3374,3380,425,3385,2974,3381,554,3382,3375,662,681,724,1224,3384,3442,1052,2978,3379],"class_list":["post-14163","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-womens","tag-1-corinthians-1312","tag-1-john-32","tag-coleen-hayden","tag-ecclesiastes-311","tag-eternity","tag-final-day","tag-girlfriends-coffee-hour","tag-hope-in-jesus","tag-i-am-study","tag-i-can-only-imagine","tag-jesus","tag-john-143","tag-john-316-17","tag-matthew-58","tag-mercy-me","tag-online-bible-study","tag-philippians-320-21","tag-return-of-christ","tag-revelation-2220","tag-teresa-bolme","tag-the-great-i-am","tag-titus-211-14","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/i-can-only-imagine.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p39pHp-3Gr","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14163","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14163"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14163\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14201,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14163\/revisions\/14201"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14264"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14163"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14163"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14163"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}