LifeLink Devotional

Thursday, March 12, 2020

In one month we will celebrate the greatest event to have ever occurred, the resurrection of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. To prepare for the official holiday, and to make us aware of the daily hope produced by living in His resurrection power, I think it would be appropriate to spend the next month studying fifteen sayings of Jesus. Eight of the sayings declare who He is, and seven of the sayings He uttered from the cross where He paid for our redemption.

The Gospel of John contains seven of Jesus’ “I am” statements, and each one is significant. There is another “I am” statement in the Book of Revelation. The “I am” statements in the Gospel of John point back to the Old Testament and into the kingdom. They prove that Jesus is God and was the God of the Old Testament.

When God revealed Himself to Moses in the burning bush, He told Moses His name is “I AM,” and “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I AM has sent me to you’” (Ex 3:14b).

I AM is the term God used to describe His self-existent nature. He is eternal, with no beginning or end, and exists with no need for input from any other source. We are human, finite beings, with a distinct beginning point in time. God is and always was, since He inhabits eternity.

Jesus authoritatively said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58). The Jews knew what Jesus meant and that’s why they tried to stone Him, but Jesus hid Himself from them because it wasn’t His time (John 8:59). Jesus existed in eternity before Abraham. Like us, there was a time when Abraham did not exist. Jesus directly tells us He existed before Abraham. Therefore, He must be God – and He is!

Over the next few weeks we will discover the incredible truths of Jesus Christ’s identity, His mission, His love, His suffering, and His sacrifice for sin. I am excited to be refreshed in the fundamental principles of the Gospel. Join me tomorrow as we begin our study with Jesus telling us that He is the Bread of life.

Begin praying that the grace of God would overwhelm your heart with the joy of our salvation, and that our love for Jesus would grow.

Pastor John