Thursday, April 10, 2025

          There are some powerful four-word sentences that can change us.  “I believe in you” can be a blessing and encouragement to kids and adults.  “How can I help” may be the difference between someone failing or succeeding.  “I can do it” may help us to toughen our resolve and make it through some challenging days.  In Leviticus 22 and 23, we find another powerful, incomparable four-word sentence...I am the LORD.  This one sentence is a familiar and repetitive theme in these two Old Testament chapters.  “I am the LORD” is a statement of confidence and conviction that God gave to the people of Israel.  If we break down all four words, we learn that each one has something important to say about the character and ways of God.
            First, we find the word “I.”  We know “I”, in the English language, as a first-person pronoun.  As a stand-alone letter, “I” is the fifth most used letter in the English language.  In the context of faith, the word “I” means that God is personal.  He is not a force or immovable object.  He is not a phantom or ethereal being.  God is personal.  And because He is personal, He can be known.  He has revealed Himself to us in creation, His Word and most fully in His Son Jesus who is fully God and fully man.  We can approach God.  We can speak with God.  We can come into His presence.  We can trust that He goes with us.  He is real.
            Second, we find the word “am.”  Note that the present tense is used.  God is alive.  God has always existed.  He will never cease to exist.  You may recall that God revealed Himself as the great I AM to Moses.  He is the One who causes all things to be or to exist. In Him, all things hold together.  God never ceases to be anything that He claims to be. God does not shift or change His roles or identity as we might.  For example, a woman could be a wife, a mother, a coach, a dentist and a volunteer but serve in each role at different times and ways.  God is always the same and never shifts from one role to the next.  He never has to abandon one role to assume another.  He is our Savior at the same time that He is our healer.  He is always the Good Shepherd, the Light of the World, the Bread of Life and our Savior.  God exists eternally and not compartmentally.
            Third, we find the word “the.”  In English, “the” is a definite article and calls attention to something that is distinct.  “The winner” is different from “winners.”  God is “the” only LORD.  He is the One and only sovereign ruler of the universe who has revealed Himself as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. 1 Samuel 2:2 says, “There is no one holy like the LORD; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God.”  Psalm 113:5-6 says, “Who is like the Lord our God, the One who sits enthroned on high, who stoops down to look on the heavens and the earth?”  God has no equal.  He has no counterpart.  He has no opposite. He stands alone above all creation.
            Fourth, we find the word “LORD.”  In all capital letters, LORD refers to God’s revealed name to Moses in Exodus at the burning bush...the great I AM.  He is the King
of kings and LORD of lords.  He is the One who “causes all things to be.”  Your name is the way others know you and call out to you.  The name of God is the LORD—the great and incomparable I AM who has existed eternally through the ages.  LORD means that God has no needs.  He lacks for nothing.  He needs nothing from us.  There is nothing we can give to Him that He does not already own and possess.  Psalm 24:1 says, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.”  Michael Reaves wrote, “Here we see that God does not receive his name, identity, or existence from anyone or anything else. He does not depend on anything to be who he is. He simply and eternally is.”
            We give thanks today that we can build our faith on four powerful words...I am the LORD.  That conviction never changes.  It never loses power or potency.  It stands written in the heavens as the creation testifies to His glory.  He is real, eternal, personal and powerful.  Have a great Thursday!  This coming Sunday is the beginning of Holy Week as we celebrate Jesus’ triumphal and final entry into Jerusalem on a day that we call Palm Sunday. The cross is looming!  And the good news is Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners!