What's in a Name?

God said to Moses, "I am who I am."

Exodus 3:14

To the people of Israel, a name was more than an identification for an individual. It was a statement about who that person was. When Moses (whose name means "taken from the water") met God for the first time via the burning bush, Moses wanted to know God's name. Moses wanted to know who God was. God's reply was "I am." Derived from the Hebrew verb to be, this name let Moses know that the One he was speaking to was unlike anyone else. God not only is, but he always was and always will be. God alone was never created, and he exists totally independent from anyone or anything else. "I am" is the one unchanging, eternal God.

The Jewish people considered God's name so holy that they refused to say it aloud for fear of using it in a way that dishonored him. In the New Testament, however, Jesus not only spoke God's name, but he also used it to refer to himself. The people listening immediately tried to stone Jesus. They knew God's words in Exodus. They understood that Jesus was calling himself God.

When God told Moses his name, God revealed the essence of who he is - and confirmed in advance that the same essence was in his Son. In the same way that God introduced himself to Moses, this verse introduces you to God. It assures you that the "I am" of the universes is active and involved in life here on earth.

Understanding God's eternal nature, and that Jesus is wholly God, gives you the same assurance it did Moses. "I am" is with you, steadfast and unchangeable.

Source: The 100 Most Important Bible Verses

Pray to God and give thanks for he is unchanging and eternal in all his ways. ~ MME Team

A Love That Never Fails

God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.

1 John 4:16

When it comes to love, the Greek language is incredibly descriptive. It has four different words to distinguish between four kinds of love: the love of friends, familia love, sexual love, and unconditional love. This last kind of love, agape, is the one mentioned most frequently in the New Testament. It describes a love bestowed on those who are undeserving, in spite of the possibility of rejection or heart-break. Agape is so unique that, outside the Scriptures, it is found in only one ancient Greek text, where it describes parents' unshakable love for their only child.

God loves you like an only child. His love can't be earned or lost. He loves you simply because you are his. God is more than the source of agape. He is agape. His very essence, his nature, is love, given without obligation or expectation. He loves unconditionally because that is who he is.

Abide means "to dwell." When you invite God's Spirit to dwell in you, agape takes up residence. This gives you the ability to love others the same way God does, without condition. Whether you choose to use that ability is up to you. Unconditional love can lead to disappointment and sorrow. It led Jesus to the Cross, but that choice ultimately led to a victory that could not be gained in any other way. Allow Agape to help you love unconditionally. Others will catch a glimpse of God through you.

To share agape, you have to dwell in God and he in you. That kind of intimate relationship grows through spending time together in prayer and studying Scriptures.

Source: The 100 Most Important Bible Verses

Pray to God to reveal to you your true love; agape love for self and your neighbor even if it hurts.
God said to find him in the hurt, the disappointment, the unfairness of life. Not an easy direction to follow but when we submit to His will we will find victory in the doing. To God be the glory for happiness on earth as it is in heaven. ~ MME Team

Message to the Masses

God be merciful to us and bless us, and cause His face to shine upon us, that Your way may be known on earth, Your salvation among all nations.

Psalm 67:1-2

The Bible is filled with examples of how God blesses his people. In the Old Testament, God's blessings were typically physical ones, expressed in the form of personal provision, protection, and prosperity. In the New Testament, God's Spirit promised even richer blessings, such as peace, comfort, joy, hope, and eternal life - not to mention God's greatest blessing of all, the gift of his Son.

Like any loving father, God blesses his children simply because he loves them and delights in giving them pleasure. However, Psalm 67 reveals an even greater purpose behind God's gifts: God's blessings can provide the world with tangible evidence that he is active, involved, and graciously good.

One lesson this psalm teaches is that there is nothing wrong with asking God for his blessings. It also gives an Old Testament glimpse into God's New Testament plans. In the Old Testament, God primarily blessed the one distinct group of people he chose to demonstrate his love to and through - the people of Israel. Yet even then, God loved all the nations of the earth and wanted them also to experience his blessing of salvation. As the Israelites drew closer to God, their desires better reflected God's own. The same can be true for you. As God's love for the world fills your heart and your prayers, ask him to use every blessing he bestows on you to provide others with a clearer picture of who he is.

Consider the fact that every blessing can be a tool. Ask God to help you use your blessings wisely, in ways that draw others closer to him.

Source: The 100 Most Important Bible Verses

Pray to God for his blessings and feel secure in God's wisdom that he knows all that will occur in your life for he created you. He will not give you anything you cannot handle when you live with the grace and mercy of the Lord our God. ~ MME Team

Eternal Will and Testament

Christ is the mediator of the new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance - now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.

Hebrews 9:15

Words like mediator, covenant, and inheritance in the book of Hebrews give the impression of a legal document. Actually, the entire book of Hebrews differs in writing style from the rest of the letters in the New Testament. Its unknown author presents a thesis-like case, methodically stating why faith in Jesus is a logical and God-designed spiritual progression from Judaism.

The verse at the heart of what the author wanted his readers to understand proclaims that Jesus is both a mediator, "someone who makes peace between two parties," and a testator, "someone who determines the conditions and benefits of the inheritance he leaves behind." The words testament and covenant are interchangeable. The Old Testament and the New Testament could just as easily be called the Old Covenant and the New Covenant, since the two parts of the Bible really focus on covenant. Under the Old Covenant, or Old Testament, God accepted the sacrifice of animals as a way to cover up the wrongs people had done. Under the New Covenant, the wrongs were permanently erased by a different kind of sacrifice - Jesus's gift of his own life.

A last will and testament is valid only after someone dies, and then it is irrevocable. That means Jesus's death guaranteed your inheritance. Jesus saved your life by substituting his own in payment for every wrong you've ever done and ever will do. Because of this, you will receive what you never could have earned on your own - the ultimate freedom of living a life that never ends.

Jesus's testament to you is not only a guarantee, but it is also a true source of encouragement. When God makes a promise, it's like a legal document. He will fulfill every word.

Source: The 100 Most Important Bible Verses

Pray and give thanks to the Lord all mighty who gave us Jesus as the ultimate sacrifice so that we may be saved. Our part is to go to him, our Father, and declare that indeed we need saving. Let no man, woman or beast depart you from your Savior. Salvation is a personal matter and it begins with repentance. No matter where you are (work, home, church, homeless) reach out to him in prayer and testify all that you know to be true of yourself. For he knows you perfectly and loves you always. God is waiting to hear from you, to strengthen you with his love.  ~ MME Team