Be Comforted 9-14-08

“Be Comforted” - Chew on these thoughts

Statement of Comfort - “I am not, but I know I AM”

Forms of the verb: “to be”

Present tense:
I am, you are, He/She, It was, We are, You are, They are

Past tense:
I was, You were, He/She/It was, We were, You were, They were

Perfect Form (past participle):
I have been, etc.

Progressive Form (present participle)
I am being, etc.

It is hard for us to wrap our human minds around this concept of always being.

This life is a tale of two stories – one finite and frail, the other eternal and enduring. The tiny one – the story of us – is as brief as the blink of an eye. Yet somehow our infatuation with our own little story – and our determination to make it as big as we possibly can – blinds us to the massive God Story that surrounds us on every side.

Story of “What was I thinking? Story of the Sinking boat in Mexico.

How can I sink a boat in the middle of the ocean with out knowing that I am sinking a boat in the middle of the ocean? I think the same way you can live your entire life completely oblivious to the grand story of the Creator of the Universe that is unfolding all around you. The same way you can spend your days making so much of someone as small and transient as you or me, and so little of someone as glorious and eternal as God.

John 8:57-59
57 Then said the Jews unto him, You are not fifty years old, how have you seen Abraham?58 Jesus said to them, truely, I say unto you, before Abraham was, I am. 59 Then took they up astones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so bpassed by.

Would you find comfort in these words and verses in the Bible?

John 6:51:"I am the living bread.
John 8:23: And He said to them, "You are from beneath; I AM from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.
John 8:12: Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I AM the light of the world. He who follows me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life."
John 10:9: "I AM the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture."
John 10:11: "I AM the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.
John 11:25: Jesus said to her, "I AM the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me, though he may die, he shall live.
John 14:6: Jesus said to him, "I AM the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
John 15:1: "I AM the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.
John 19:2: Therefore the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, "Do not write, 'The King of the Jews,' but, 'He said, "I am the King of the Jews."'"
Acts 9:5: And he said, "Who are You, Lord?" And the Lord said, "I am Jesus.

Jesus means (The Lord IS salvation). In Act 9:5 - Jesus is stating that in He and only He can salvation ever be found.

Exodus 3 - Moses asked ‘what is your name?’

Moses and the Burning Bush
1 Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the desert and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.
2 There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up.
3 So Moses thought, "I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up."
4 When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, "Moses! Moses!" And Moses said, "Here I am."
5 "Do not come any closer," God said. "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground."
6 Then he said, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob." At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.
7 The LORD said, "I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering.
8 So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites.
9 And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them.
10 So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt."
11 But Moses said to God, "Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?"
12 And God said, "I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you [a] will worship God on this mountain."
13 Moses said to God, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' Then what shall I tell them?"
14 God said to Moses, "I am who I am . [b] This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.' " – Can you image this exchange between Moses and pharaoh? Who sent you? I AM, you are what? To be. To be what? No, He is. Who is? He was? He was what? He has always been and will forever be. What? My God. Jehovah, Yod Heh vav Heh. YaWEH
15 God also said to Moses, "Say to the Israelites, 'The LORD, [c] the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.' This is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation.

May I AM comfort you in your time of need.
May I AM bring you to a place of hope, peace, and of joy.
May you hear the “Lord IS salvation” – Jesus’ call for you to “Come to me all who are weak and are carrying heavy burdens and I will give you REST (comfort).
This week may you Be Comforted by “I AM”.