I AM

All living organisms are classified into groups based on their basic and shared characteristics. Organisms within each group are then further divided into smaller groups which makes it easier for them to be studied. This obviously mean that they all have an origination, they all have a source that can tell us who they are and how they existed. And everything that comes into being will surely go out of being.

Don't be alarmed, this isn't a Science class but to help in further understanding what we'll be discussing.

God introduced Himself to Moses as I Am that I Am or as other Bible versions put it as I Am who I Am. God's absolute being means He never had a beginning, He just is.  The word 'Am' is an inflection of 'Be' meaning to exist. Notice God said 'I Am' making Him present.  The question I would have asked if in Moses' shoes was 'I Am What/ Who exactly?'

Along the years we've been able to put in words as to who He is during certain times of our lives. If God had said 'I Am King' it will mean He is the King and He wouldn't be more than a King, but I Am Who I Am gives us a space to add who He is because He didn't specifically tell us who exactly He is.

It's similar when asked the name of a certain individual, and the reply turns out to be 'My name is Steve,' meaning He's been defined as that name and He can't bear the name John because it's not who he is neither can he be more than Steve.  But God just said I Am...

Now it's left for us to fill in the blanks. Whenever you are faced with difficulties or challenges you call unto the I AM THAT I AM and at that moment He becomes who you want Him to be. He could be your provider at that moment, your Mighty God in battle, your deliverer, your helper, your King, your Savior and the list can go on and on. He can be what and who you need at that moment because He Is Who He Is. He is Who you want Him to mean to you.

He is present, He exists, His throne is everlasting, I Am who I Am, meaning He is not dependent on anything or anyone to bring Him into being or support His existence. He is not limited and He exists till eternity.

I AM     The Help you Need.
              The Love you Seek
              The Care you Want
              The Life you Want
              The Health you Need
              The Breath of Life
              The Bread of Life
              The Shield in your Battle
              The Wealth you Desire
              The Confidence you Seek
              The Fulfilment you Seek
              The Satisfaction you Need
              The Wisdom you Want

It goes on and on because He is Who He Is, all through the Scriptures we see WHO HE IS. It is assuring to know that He can still do the same Miracles and He still remain the Same because He doesn't grow old or out of form. As generations come and go He REMAINS I AM THAT I AM. Now we know why He's called the Ancient of days, because He is Eternal.

No matter what you might be facing wake up each morning knowing I AM THAT I AM is by your side. He has done it in times past and He'll keep doing it.

Isn't it Awesome!

Leaders Are Servants

[NIV] Matthew 23:11 The greatest among you will be your servant.

Why would Jesus Christ tell his disciples that before they can be great, they must be servants? In this passage, He was speaking to His disciples about humility. The Pharisees and similar religious leaders serve as examples of those who loved to broadcast their good deeds. They took pride in their public righteousness and often forgot that Jesus Christ warned to avoid practicing it in front of others. By doing so, they risked receiving a reward from their Heavenly Father.

It is unfortunate that "Christians" like these Pharisees still exist today. Jesus warned his disciples to be weary of those who expect praises from men and love to be honored with every passing opportunity. This type of leadership is usually not effective because they spend majority of their time protecting their status, instead of doing what is required of them.

Who is a servant? 

A servant is one that offers help to another person of some kind. The attitude of a servant was demonstrated through Christ Himself. Despite being the Son of God, He showed humility by washing the feet of His own disciples. Jesus Christ also stated that he did not come to be served but to serve. That is service and that is humility. Leaders who are servants view their leadership as an act of service.

Servant leadership is service to others. It is not about lobbying for a position, nor politicking for power. Instead it is about looking for opportunity to serve. Servant leaders avoid the limelight and serve in ways that often go unnoticed, such as taking out the trash or making the coffee at work. These acts do not have to be grand in order to be noticed by God, remember He searches the intent and content of man's heart, the little things we think might be too small to be noticed by Him are the things He actually takes note of. To be a Servant leader you must be ready to be criticized by the world, because you'll seize to do what they expect. No matter what Jesus Christ did, He was always critized by the Pharisees, the always wanted to make Him guilty, but Jesus wasn't a bit bothered by them, He went on with His purpose.He didn't love His life to please the Pharisees, He lived His life to please His Father. He was bent on been the King they wanted Him to be, He was more interested in the heavenly Kingdom and didn't care what the Pharisees thought about Him, so far He pleased His Father.

Any leader that is preoccupied with personal interests, protection of status, and preservation of positions, may not be a good ambassador of Christ. True leaders are those who strive to please the Lord through their lives with integrity. The Bible is full of great people who were exalted because of their humble hearts. David, Joseph, Solomon and Samuel are a few. They learned how to serve people and God. Even as kings, they were lowly at heart and were able to be used as a vessel of honor. 

To be great you must first learn how to serve in a humble manner. Jesus Christ said, those who humble themselves will be exalted and 1st Peter 5:5 tells us God opposes the proud. A person who is proud or has pride is indirectly contending with God and would therefore not be exalted. Jesus Christ served for the glory of God. His ultimate service was laying down His life in love. Even though the Son of God, He was always ready to offer Himself. Our Lord Jesus is a perfect example of a servant leader.

THE WAY THE TRUTH THE LIFE

[NIV] Hebrews 13:15 Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name.

The word through means passing from one side of an opening to the other. To go to the other side you have to walk pass the first opening. No wonder our Lord said, '[NIV] John 14:6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

The Bible has made us understand that Jesus is the only way to God. In time past, there were different ways that God used to reveal Himself to humanity. He spoke through dreams, or through supernatural happenings, but now God communicates with us through His son Jesus Christ. Everyone that seeks the Father finds Him through the Son.

To get to God you have to go through Jesus Christ, you cannot skip protocol. One cannot say they know God and they don't know Jesus Christ, you cannot claim to have a relationship with God and exclude Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the way, He is the door, He is the entrance, the path, the key, He is like a portal to another dimension. You need the key to open the door.
Jesus is the only way through which men can be saved. Everything that God has can be inherited only through the Son. There is no way you can deeply understand the character and nature of God except it is revealed through the Son.

Through the Son we understand God's love for us, His faithfulness, His goodness, patience, kindness etc. We see that the glory of the Father is shown in this world through the Son; through the Son, we know how righteous and holy the Father is. Now we see why Jesus Christ said, [NLT] John 14:13 You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father.

Jesus Christ holds everything in His hands. He and His Father are one. That is why you cannot claim to know one and not know the other. Everything you do must come through Jesus Christ: prayers, Thanksgivings, requests, petitions etc. To be united with God or to have a glimpse of who He is you must first come to Jesus, you have to pass through Jesus Christ and when you pass through Christ you meet the Father because the Father and the Son is one and you become one with them.

[NLT] John 14:6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.

A way is a direction, a road, a path from one place to another. And Jesus said He is the way. Have you asked yourself, the way to what? He is the way to the Father. He is the path to follow, He is the direction. Since Jesus said He is the way, it means anyone who think they have gotten to the Father leaving Jesus out of it is on the wrong path. Anyone who is pledging an allegiance to God without Jesus is on the wrong path. Jesus Christ is the way to many things, because the Father can do many things. Whatever it is you seek: job opportunity, school admission, marriage, fruit of the womb, peace of mind, genuine happiness, love, a stable home, whatever it is you are struggling with that you think there is no way out, I have a news flash for you, there is a way. You don't need to struggle alone. Jesus Christ is the way. Just take the road, take the path, take the Way and He will lead you to the right part!

Jesus Christ went further to say He is the truth. Truth reveals what is real, a deeper sense of something, Spiritual or genuine reality.  

When you come to Jesus Christ with a genuine heart, the veil that once covered your mind stopping you from believing in Christ will be removed. The sense of who you are will be revealed to you, you see how dirty you have been, you see how unworthy you have been. A deeper sense of Christ grace and salvation will be revealed to you, His light will shine in your heart and all you can see is your nakedness. Jesus Christ is the truth to everything, whatever it is that you want, whatever it is that confuses you; He is the Truth. Anything outside Christ is a lie, anything preached outside Christ is a lie, anything done outside Christ is a lie.

Any Christian living a life that is outside Christ is a pretender because He is the Truth and the Bible says, the Truth shall set you free. When you know the Truth about Christ, you'll know you are no longer under the bondage of sin, you won't be easily tossed by false doctrines, you won't be deceived by the devil. You want to find out more about Christ, you want to become firm in the word? Hold on to the Truth, study His Word.

Finally Jesus Christ said He is the Life. Life means having Life, that's it. Anything that doesn't have Life is dead and if Jesus Christ says He is the Life, this means anybody that is not living in Christ is dead. This also means that anybody that has not come to Christ is dead, and by dead I mean the person is living in sin or dwelling in sin which can lead to spiritual death. The Bible makes us to know that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). When a person encounters Jesus, He become a new a new person thus the new Life of Christ. He makes everything a fresh both physically and spiritually, there is a newsense of peace, joy, happiness, love of Christ in your heart and the more you let Him, the more He transforms you. That is why Apostle Paul said in

[NLT] 2 Corinthians 5:17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! 

Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth and the Life. You cannot go to the Father except you go through Him. Why don't you give Him a chance and unlock a door to many opportunities.

Don't Live As A Slave

Everyone is in need of Redemption. Redemption has been giving to us but some Christians are still living as slaves, they don’t understand the price that has been paid for them; we underestimate the sacrifice God has made for us. Though we are but dust and worms, God did give His son for our- redemption, essentially God Himself, the maker of the universe, coming to be conceived in a human womb and to be born as human. Not only that, He subjected Himself to the limitations of man and was maltreated by His own creatures; all just for you and me not to perish in hell fire but to be with God forever.

It is pathetic to see Christians living in sin and leaving the case of redemption to unbelievers. Jesus Christ has paid the ultimate price to redeem us back to God, He has freed us from being ransomed, and our debt has been paid off. He bought us out of the slave market; He didn’t purchase us for Himself as a slave but to free us. You may wonder what exactly Jesus freed us from. The Bible tells us that we are all slaves and no man is free, everybody in the world is a slave in their sinful nature. Another question to ask is who is the captor? Who has held everyone in bondage? 

John8:34 says “men are slaves to sin” Romans 7:14 says “men are sold under sin” Romans 7:23 “men are controlled by sin” Romans 8:21 says “In bondage to corruption” Who then or what is the captor of men? Sin, sin is. Sin is the captor that holds men down. Sin demands a price to be paid to release its victim. What is the price? Romans 6:23. The price or wage of sin is death; in order to purchase a person from sin there must be death. Hebrews 9:22 without death there is no remission of sin.

Sin is what Jesus Christ came to free us from, sin is what He came to deliver us from, and sin is what He bought us out from. His life was the debt that he used to pay off; he acquired us from sin so we don’t live a life of bondage, so we don’t live as slaves to sin. 

But we still see some Christians still living as slaves in a free market, John 8:34. So called Christians acting as an undercover, in church they showcase one personality at home or with friends they showcase another one. Some are even suffering from multiple personality disorder spiritually. Or what do you say about “Christians” that indulges in sexual immorality, adultery, jealousy, greed etc and refuses to repent from it. One sin that has been trivialized in modern times is lying.

Today the world has classified lies; you have lies that cannot hurt a fly, white lies, blue lies, heavy weight lies, feather weight lies, business lies, normal lies, ministerial lies etc. If you are a lover of lies, you are far from being righteous; you are living as a slave in a free market. Even if you keep away from every other sin but still tell lies you are on your way to hell. How do I know this? Revelations 21:8, Revelations 22:15. The Bible bluntly said all liars and all who love to live a lie, their fate is in the fiery lake of burning sulfur.

Jesus Christ has paid everything for us to live above sin. Apostle Paul urged us to stay free and to stay above sin Galatians 5:1 because we have been redeemed. The world might tell you it is impossible, but the life that was given as a ransom for all will tell you it is possible. 

There are lots of benefits that comes with redemption but can only be received through genuine repentance and not by been tagged ‘a Christian or by going to church’. If you don’t repent you cannot experience redemption. Make up your mind today to start living above sin. It is a day-to-day battle of enforcement and resistance that will be “painful”. The flesh is not going to like your stance but you must let it know you are dead to it, you are no longer a slave to it, you’ve been set free and it cannot rule over you.

Make no provision for the flesh. You must not disgrace your buyer, a very high price has been paid for you, do not disappoint Him.