Daniel went in to the king and asked for time, so that he might interpret the dream for him…During the night the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision. Then Daniel praised God of heaven and said, “Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever…He reveals deep and hidden things; He knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with Him.” Daniel 2:16, 19-20, 22.

The time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God. 1 Peter 4:17.

(Jesus) told them, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone.” Mark 16:15.

And continuing the 351 Old Testament prophecies, the promises of God, fulfilled in Jesus Christ, we come to number 21: The Great “I AM”. Exodus 3:13-15: Then Moses said to God, “Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you.’ Now they may say to me, ‘What is His name?’ What shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” God, furthermore, said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘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, and this is My memorial-name to all generations.” And, John 4:26; 8:58: Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He.” Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I AM.”

I loved this today in My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers: “The Christian servant must never forget that salvation is God’s idea, not man’s; therefore, it has an unfathomable depth. Salvation is the great thought of God, not an experience. Experience is simply the door through which salvation comes into the conscious level of our life so that we are aware of what has taken place on a much deeper level. Never preach the experience – preach the great thought of God behind the experience. When we preach, we are not simply proclaiming how people can be saved from hell and be made moral and pure; we are conveying good news about God. In the teachings of Jesus Christ the element of judgment is always brought out – it is the sign of the love of God.”

We rewatched the movie I Can Only Imagine 2 last night and it brought home the exquisitely personal way Creator God – Father, Son, Spirit, works with each one of us as we live and interact with others with whom God is also working. We don’t live in a vacuum and God’s love is for all of His children deeply wounded and trying to grapple with the life they are living. As one of the characters based on real people said, suffering brings empathy and God is in the fire and in the storms and it is beautiful. Creator God – I AM WHO I AM – is and will always be our LORD and Savior and He is the only One who knows the way forward that is Life, real Life that we can live now with Him. The problems don’t magically go away. It’s in the fire and storms that He works in us and others His perfect Will. As we experience His help through the fiery trials of this life, how can we be afraid of His Love, a consuming fire of everything that brings suffering in this fallen world? What needs to be consumed in the fire of His Love? Sin, pride, hate, lies, violence, death. We die to them a little each day as we trust Him. And each time we trust Him for the help we so desperately need, we emerge into hope that as that character said in the movie is gratitude. Gratitude! Our right and beautiful relationship lived with our Creator God! Give praise to the God of heaven – Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever. He reveals deep and hidden things. He knows what lies in darkness. Light dwells with Him!