365 Ways to Know God by Elmer Towns June 18

365 Ways to Know God by Elmer Towns

(Devotional Readings on the Names of God)

June 18

JESUS: I AM

Now when He said to them, "I am He," they

drew back and fell to the ground.

JOHN 18:6

Jesus is the I AM, the eternal all-powerful Lord. Moses asked the Lord what His name was. The Lord answered, "I AM WHO I AM .... Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you"' (Exodus 3:14). The name "Lord" comes from the Hebrew verb that means "to be"; it is first person, repeated twice. When you say "Lord," you are saying, "I AM I AM." God exists in Himself and by Himself.

Lord Jesus, You are the great I AM; You are without beginning and

without end. You exist by Yourself and of Yourself You are the Lord.

Jesus used metaphors to tell people what He was like. Jesus said, "I AM the Bread," "the Light," "the Door," "the Good Shepherd," "the Resurrection," "the True Vine" and more. But when Jesus used these metaphors, He was saying more than that He was Bread that satisfied or the Way to Heaven. Jesus was telling His listeners that He was the Lord who was revealed in the Old Testament. When the soldiers came to arrest Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus asked them, "Whom are you seeking?" (John 18:4). They answered, "Jesus of Nazareth" (v. 5). When Jesus replied in return, "I am He" (v. 6), He pulled aside His humanity, and His glorious deity came bursting out. The soldiers fell backward to the ground in response. How will you respond to His awesome glory?

Lord Jesus, I bow myself to the ground. You are the Lord God of glory.

I worship You, the great I AM. Amen.

Reading: Exodus 3:1-15

Key Thought: Jesus is the great I AM of the Old Testament.