I Am Jesus

November 8

(Acts 22:6-10 NIV) ““About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me. {7} I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, 'Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?' {8} "'Who are you, Lord?' I asked. "'I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting,' he replied. {9} My companions saw the light, but they did not understand the voice of him who was speaking to me. {10} "'What shall I do, Lord?' I asked. "'Get up,' the Lord said, 'and go into Damascus. There you will be told all that you have been assigned to do.””

(Exodus 3:13-16 NIV) ““Moses said to God, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' Then what shall I tell them?" {14} God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.'" {15} God also said to Moses, "Say to the Israelites, 'The LORD, the God of your fathers--the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob--has sent me to you.' This is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation.””

Paul never forgot the misdeeds of his past. Most of us can identify. But he also never forgot the day he met Jesus. It was the defining moment in his life. You don’t come face to face with the great I Am and not remember it. It wasn’t a pleasant moment, but it was a blessed moment. Paul was knocked to the ground and blinded by one who said, “I Am Jesus.”, and then lifted up and given eyes to see by the mercy and grace of our Lord. How we met Jesus is a crucial part of every Christian’s story. Think about it… when you think of Paul, what comes to your mind? Do you think persecutor/murderer? No! You think Damascus Road. Culture even uses the term “Damascus Road Experience” to describe a dramatic turn-around in a person’s life. We would do well to spend less time remembering how bad we were, and more time testifying to the life change that came when we met Jesus. -- Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day