The Challenge 23
January, 2004
Been a really stressful
week this week. Lots of little things
happening that are causing me to not stay focused on the true path. Silly things really from heaters not working
to trains being cancelled to stupid greedy people trying to mess with the
closing of my mom's estate. Nothing to
write home about, just bothersome stuff that when piled up, are causing a lot
of stress. Nothing much else to report
this week. Sorry to all those around me
(wife, kids etc) who are bearing the brunt of my stress... I'm sorry.
I am
I think this week I may be writing this to myself
more than to each of you. I guess,
we'll see. The last couple of weeks I've been going through a study by RC Sproul
on the sayings of Jesus. Specifically,
we were studying some of the "I am" statements of Jesus and getting
to know Him better through His own words.
As I was reviewing those "I am" statements this morning I just
felt the urge to present them here for you (Scott this should be review for
you...).
"I am the bread of life, whoever comes to me
shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst." John
6:35
"I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me
will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." John 8:12
"I am the door.
If anyone enters by me, he will be saved..." John 10:9a
"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the
sheep." John 10:11
"I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet
he shall live..." John 11:25
"I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through
me" John 14:6
"I am the true vine, and my father is the
vinedresser" John 15:1
"Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was,
"I am"" John 8:58
When the little things of life start stressing you
out and you start getting distracted from the true path... like I have been
lately... it helps to focus on who it is that we are supposed to be clinging
to.
He is the food that feeds my soul, the light in a
very dark world, the door that I need to go through, He gave His life for me,
He has given me a free gift of eternal life with Him, He is the only way, He is
truth, He is the Vine that I have been connected to and He is all these things
because He is the Great "I am"... who was and is and always will be!
Look at the verses again. Listen to the still small voice coming from your heart. What is the Holy Spirit saying to you? Who are you focusing on today? Take a minute and see if you can block out
all distractions including this email and focus on the Great "I am"
and listen to that still small voice coming from inside your heart.
Until next week ~ Dave
To make comments, to suggest topics you'd like me to tackle, to get past devotionals, or to be added to this weekly "devotional email" please write to: Dave Hansen at philip419@earthlink.net