At our Sunday School class last week, we looked at the topic "Jesus is the Great I Am". "Jesus claims to be the eternal God."

God calls Himself "I AM WHOM I AM" (Exodus 3:14) when He was talking to Moses in the burning bush. Jesus was recorded as claiming to be, "I AM".

Here are several claims while Jesus walked this earth:

"I am the bread of life."
(John 6:35)

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"I am the light of the world."
(John 8:12)

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"I am the door of the sheep."
(John 10:7)

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"I am the good shepherd."
(John 10:11)

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"I am the resurrection and the life."
(John 11:25)

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"I am the way, and the truth, and the life."
(John 14:6)

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"I am the true vine."
(John 15:1, 15:5)

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In the writing it suggested that sometimes in our prayers, we could thank God for being some of those things. (i.e. "thank You that You are the light of the world"; "thank You that You are our good shepherd!"

We are in the midst of a sermon series at our church worship services weekly. It is the book of ! Peter which is five chapters. We don't take a whole chapter every week.

I decided to read that chapter and am a bit ahead of our worship verses. Today's Karen's Korner is a bit familiar but the words ring true in our daily lives. We need to be reminded:

"Let Him have all your worries and cares, for He is always thinking about you and watching everything that concerns you."

~ I Peter 5:7 LAB

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Bible Commentary:  "Carrying your worries, stress, and daily struggles by yourself shows that you haven't trusted God fully with your life. It takes humility, however, to recognize that God cares, to admit your need, and to let others in His family help you. Sometimes we think that struggles caused by our own sin and foolishness are not God's problem. But when we turn to Him in repentance, He will bear the weight even of those struggles. Letting God have your worries is active, not passive. Don't submit to circumstances, but to the Lord who controls those circumstances."

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Several of the Side Notes, vertical one-liners in the margins of the October/November issue of OUR IOWA magazine:

"Churches are filled 
with willing people - 
some willing to work
and the rest willing to let them."

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"In the midst of difficulty
lies incredible opportunity."

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"The best sermons are lived,
not preached."

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"Some people think
they are generous
because they give free advice."

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"No kind  action
ever stops with itself.
One kind action
leads to another."
~ Amelia Earhart

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"Always do right---
this will gratify some people
and astonish the rest."

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"Our greatest weakness lies 
in giving up.
The most certain way to succeed
is always to try
just one more time."
~Thomas Edison

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Recently read a 100-page book by Joseph Prince. The little booklet titled "Healing Scriptures" had about 100 Bible verses, complete with artwork and various fonts and sizes of type.

We tend to think of 'healing' as only physical. But sometimes there is emotional, mental, or spiritual healings as well. It is pretty obvious that God cares for us and wants us well!

Here are a couple of Prince's verses:

"O Lord my God,
I called to you for help
and you healed me."

~ Psalm 30:2 NIV

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""He nurses them
when they are sick,
and soothes their
pains and worries."

~ Psalm 41:3 LB

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"But I will restore you to health
and heal your wounds,"
declares the Lord."

~ Jeremiah 30:17 NIV
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Monday's Max Lucado:

CONFIDENT IN HIM

"Yes, life stinks. But it won’t forever. As one of my friends likes to say, 'Everything will work out in the end. If it’s not working out, it’s not the end.'

"In the meantime, don’t overreact. Psalm 37:7 (NLT) says, 'Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act. Don’t worry about evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes.' This is a toxic world. But neither do we join the Chicken Little chorus of gloom and doom: 'The sky is falling, the sky is falling!'

"Somewhere between Pollyanna and Chicken Little, between denial and blatant panic, stands the levelheaded, clear-thinking, still-believing follower of Christ. Psalm 27:3 says, 'My heart shall not fear—though war arise against me, yet I will be confident!'

"Confident in Him."

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"Listen closely to my prayer,
O God.
Hear my urgent cry. 
I will call to you whenever
trouble strikes,
and you will help me.

"Where among the heathen gods
is there a god like you?
Where are their miracles?
All the nations---
you made each one ---
will come and bow before you, Lord,
and praise your great and holy name.

For you are great,
and do great miracles.
You alone are God."

~ Psalm 86:6 - 10 LAB

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Bible Commentary:   "The psalm writer was asking God to revive his people. God is capable of reviving both churches and individuals. He can pour out his love on us, bringing us back to loving him. If we need renewal in our churches, families, or our personal spiritual lives, we need to ask God to give us a fresh touch of his love and kindness.

"The God of the Bible is unique! He is alive and able to work mighty miracles for those who love him. All man-created deities are powerless before him because they are merely inventions of the mind, not living beings. The Lord alone is 'worthy to receive the glory and the honor and the power' (Revelation 4:11). While people around the world believe in many heathen deities, we never have to fear that God is only one among many or that we may be worshiping the wrong God. The Lord alone is God."

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(I will be away from my computer all next week. Another Karen's Korner will be in your inbox on Monday, October 7.)

It was this date in 1969 when I was added to the Weld family as I married Jim. I have been and am, so blessed!

Here is Sarah Young's 'Jesus Calling' for September 27:

"Relax in my everlasting arms.
Your weakness is an opportunity to grow strong in awareness of My Almighty Presence. When your energy fails you, do not look inward and lament the lack you find there. Look to Me and My sufficiency, rejoice in My radiant riches that are abundantly available to help you.

"Go gently through this day, leaning on Me and enjoying My Presence. Thank Me for your neediness, which is building trust-bonds between us. If you look back on your journey thus far, you can see that days of extreme weakness have been some of your most precious times. Memories of these days are richly interwoven with golden strands of My Intimate Presence."

~ Deuteronomy 33:27; Psalm 27:13 - 14

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