40 Days Closer to Christ

What if they decided to hold a concert and every member of the orchestra showed up with their instruments tuned anyway they wanted? I’ve been to a few middle school concerts and I have to tell you that it wouldn’t be good. There must be some standard to which all the instruments are tuned, or else you end up with a cacophony. But not only do the instruments need to be tuned, but they need to be tuned to a Master note.

In my house I have three guitars. (Actually since my kids played rock star with one of them only two are playable, but for illustration purposes lets suppose all three can be played.) If I tune one of them to with a pitch pipe or with an electronic tuner than I am pretty sure that it is conditioned for optimal performance. Now I can go to the second guitar and tune it by the first one. And I can get around to tuning the third one by using the second. Theoretically, all three should be tuned up just right. But if I strum a note on the third one, and check it with the tuner, more than likely it will be a little flat or a little sharp. It is just not quite in tune. No matter how good my ear is, a little variation sneaks in as they get tuned down the line. All three guitars have different tones and pitches but if they are all tuned with the electronic tuner and to the same standard then they sound good together.

It is the same way with us. We can get pretty close to where we should be in our spirituality, in our righteousness, and in our walk with God by sharpening ourselves against each other, but we will always be a little off. We need to go back to the Master to make sure that we are where we need to be. It is Christ alone who is the standard by which we measure ourselves. And it is by Him alone that we will be able to perform as we should. That is why we take forty days leading up to Easter and use it to draw closer to Christ and to reestablish our discipleship.

Forty days is the optimal period to form a new habit, to establish a new practice, and to change the pattern of your life. 40 Days – Closer to Christ is an activity (we won’t use the word program) that can change your life.

Forty is a significant number in the scriptures. When God brings about change, the scriptures often represent a significant event as having a forty day duration. Noah’s world was changed forever in forty days. Moses saw God face to face and in forty days received the word which is still the basis for law and government. The city of Nineveh repented in sackcloth and ashes and turned away God’s wrath in the space of forty days. David became a hero after all Israel cowered under Goliath’s forty day challenge. Elijah lived by faith for forty days after God sustained him with one meal. The disciples were given the mysteries of the kingdom as they were taught by the Lord during an intensive forty day seminar after the resurrection. Jesus prepared with a forty day fast for a ministry which culminated in the salvation of mankind.

We can grow closer to the Savior as we study His life and His appearances throughout scripture. We become the people we should as we strive to lead a life of diligent discipleship. In these forty days we can review and renew the vital things that bring us to the Lord. We can refresh our memories and recall the eternal truths of who God is, who we are, and how we can have a close relationship with Him. 40 Days – Closer to Christ is an opportunity to more fully develop that relationship, so that we may see as we are seen and know as we are known.

Sunday, March 7, 2010

Day 15 ~ I Am (Exodus 3:14)


There is power in knowing the name of something. Usually, by simply knowing the name you remove much of the mystery of the unknown. Things only become personal when we know their names. Some names we should be familiar with but we must not treat them in a casual way. The Lord's name is one of these. His name reveals His greatness.

The Lord revealed His name to Moses in the wilderness at the burning bush. Moses was to return to Egypt to free his people from the most polytheistic nation in history. The Egyptians worshiped more than 2200 gods (that we know about). Their Hebrew slaves had learned to worship these gods. Therefore, Moses asked God, "Which God shall I tell them sent me?"(Exodus. 3:13). In other words, "What is your name?" God replied, "I AM WHO I AM" (v. 14).

"I AM WHO I AM. SAY UNTO ISRAEL... I AM HATH SENT YOU. "I Am" to the Jews is the most solemn and sublime of all the divine names. In a misguided attempt at reverence the holy name is not to be spoken by man. Jewish expressions are substituted to distinguish Him such as "the Name," "the great and terrible Name," "the unutterable Name," "the peculiar Name," "the incommunicate Name," "the Holy Name," "the separate Name," "the ineffable Name," "the distinguished Name." Because of this the original pronunciation has been long lost. We simply have "the name of the four letters" known as the Tetragrammaton YHWH or JHVH (Yahweh or Jehovah). Because ancient Hebrew is written with no vowels Jehovah became an artificial English word put together from the four Hebrew consonants JHVH and the vowels from the Hebrew word for Lord (Adonai). When the Jews came to the "four letters" they would not pronounce Jehovah but would instead read LORD. Later the name LORD (in small capital letters) was written into the scriptures where YHWH appeared. Today we pronounce the Holy Name as Jehovah. Most scholars believe the original pronunciation was probably Yahweh or Yaveth.

Etymology aside, the name I Am contains each tense of the verb "to be." It conveys a sense of permanence. It means "the existing one." We can translate it "I was, I am, and I shall always be." He is the eternal "I AM." the same yesterday, today and forever. There is comfort in knowing He is there. He has always been there when we need Him, and He shall continue to be there. I Am reflects an ancient and forgotten past where He stepped forward to the Father's call and said Here I Am, send me. It reminds us of the preservation and faith of the fathers when "Before Abraham was, I AM" (John 8:58). It bespeaks our darkest nights when our cries have ascended to heaven for relief and the Holy One has responded I Am here. We trust Him to always be there.

I Am reflects more than His omnipresence - it reveals His perfection. In a very real sense, we are all on a journey of "becoming." We are all on our way to becoming something that we ultimately decide by the choices we make. We left the heavenly realms wanting to become like Heavenly Father. Our mortal experience is specifically designed to show us our true hearts through the choices we make on this journey of "becoming." We shall become like the Father or we shall be something else. Jehovah, however, was not on a journey of becoming. He had attained Oneness with the Father in purpose, attribute, and personality. He was God from before the world began.

Jesus used His divine name "I Am" to communicate His divine attributes: I Am the bread of life (John 6:35); I Am the Light of the world (John 8:12); I Am the door (John 10:9); I Am the good shepherd (John 10:11); I Am the resurrection and the life (John 11:25-26); I Am the way, and the truth, and the life (John 14:6); I Am the true vine (John 15:1).

He asks us "What manner of men ought ye to be?" We can answer with all faith and hope that one day we can reach the ideal. But He alone among His brethren has ever come to the place where He is what men should be. Only He could say "Verily I say unto you, even as I Am." (3 Nephi 27:27)
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