The whole world by Gary Rose

This picture reminds of the song: “He's got the whole world in his hands”. I found a nice version on the net; below please find the link. I hope you like it!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNrpun-SOPo

The above led me to think about God and the creation of all things. Naturally, I started at the beginning. The Bible says...

Genesis 1 ( World English Bible )

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
2 Now the earth was formless and empty. Darkness was on the surface of the deep. God’s Spirit was hovering over the surface of the waters.
3 God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
4 God saw the light, and saw that it was good. God divided the light from the darkness.
5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” There was evening and there was morning, one day.
6 God said, “Let there be an expanse in the middle of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.”
7 God made the expanse, and divided the waters which were under the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse; and it was so.
8 God called the expanse “sky.” There was evening and there was morning, a second day.
9 God said, “Let the waters under the sky be gathered together to one place, and let the dry land appear;” and it was so.
10 God called the dry land “earth,” and the gathering together of the waters he called “seas.” God saw that it was good.
11 God said, “Let the earth yield grass, herbs yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit after their kind, with its seed in it, on the earth;” and it was so.
12 The earth yielded grass, herbs yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit, with its seed in it, after their kind; and God saw that it was good.
13 There was evening and there was morning, a third day.
14 God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of sky to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years;
15 and let them be for lights in the expanse of sky to give light on the earth;” and it was so.
16 God made the two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He also made the stars.
17 God set them in the expanse of sky to give light to the earth,
18 and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. God saw that it was good.
19 There was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.
20 God said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of sky.”
21 God created the large sea creatures, and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed, after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind. God saw that it was good.
22 God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.”
23 There was evening and there was morning, a fifth day.
24 God said, “Let the earth produce living creatures after their kind, livestock, creeping things, and animals of the earth after their kind;” and it was so.
25 God made the animals of the earth after their kind, and the livestock after their kind, and everything that creeps on the ground after its kind. God saw that it was good.
26 God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the sky, and over the livestock, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
27 God created man in his own image. In God’s image he created him; male and female he created them.
28 God blessed them. God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
29 God said, “Behold, I have given you every herb yielding seed, which is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree, which bears fruit yielding seed. It will be your food.
30 To every animal of the earth, and to every bird of the sky, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food;” and it was so.
31 God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. There was evening and there was morning, a sixth day.

This is a chapter of the Bible that most people have either heard of or know or have studied. However, I have a few thoughts I would like to share with you for your reflection:

There is a creator.

Everything that you can perceive with your senses ( and more ) is created by him.

Everything that He made is very good.

There is a pattern that he made in his creation.

God made it in HIS own time and HIS own way, according to HIS desire.

Human beings are the pinnacle and stewards of God’s creation. We are not the product of the theory of evolution. We are special in this world and are caretakers of all creatures, by God’s decree.

If God decides that tomorrow he will destroy any or all of his creation- it is HIS right to do so.

Because God created everything; HE is therefore in everything.

These are but a few thoughts, but even considering one of them is worthwhile and time well spent. The more that I consider the nature and actions of God, the more I begin to grow as both a person and as a follower of Jesus ( a Christian ). It is my prayer that you will too!

Victory by Gary Rose

No matter who you are, you are growing older with every minute. This is an undeniable F-A-C-T. You might be a very nice person or the complete opposite. Young or old, rich or poor, someday your earthly body will fail you and you will die. Depressing isn’t it?

However, one of the reasons I follow Jesus of Nazareth is hope. Hope that someday I will be victorious over death and decay. I WILL BE VICTORIOUS BECAUSE JESUS WAS VICTORIOUS! Because Jesus lives, I will live. His resurrection from the grave is what is in store for me. This past Lord’s day, I heard an excellent lesson about the resurrection of Jesus. The good news is: It was the first of several lessons on the topic from the 15^th chapter of the book of 1^st Corinthians.

The Bible says...

1 Corinthians 15 ( World English Bible )

¹ Now I declare to you, brothers, the Good News which I preached to you, which also you received, in which you also stand,

² by which also you are saved, if you hold firmly the word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.

³ For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,

⁴ that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,

⁵ and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.

⁶ Then he appeared to over five hundred brothers at once, most of whom remain until now, but some have also fallen asleep.

⁷ Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles,

⁸ and last of all, as to the child born at the wrong time, he appeared to me also.

⁹ For I am the least of the apostles, who is not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the assembly of God.

¹⁰ But by the grace of God I am what I am. His grace which was bestowed on me was not futile, but I worked more than all of them; yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.

----------------------------------

⁵⁴ But when this corruptible will have put on incorruption, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then what is written will happen: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”

⁵⁵ “Death, where is your sting? Hades, where is your victory?”

⁵⁶ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.

⁵⁷ But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁵⁸ Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the Lord’s work, because you know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

AND

1 John 5 ( WEB )

⁴ For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world: your faith.

If you believe the documented fact that Jesus died for our sins and that he now is living, your faith will be rewarded at the moment of your demise. And that reward is not temporary, it is permanent! Until that day, I will live in the knowledge that with Jesus Christ, I WILL BE VICTORIOUS. Can you say that? If not, then put aside whatever is preventing you from obeying the Gospel and become a Christian NOW!

Be all that you can be by Gary Rose

Unlike my normal way of doing things, I chose this “Sermon Starters” picture. First, I am NOT preaching a sermon AT You. Next, this picture brought back a memory from about 1972. It was about 4am and I was sitting at my desk in the quality control office and I said to myself: now what? Why? Because I was in early 20’s and had a job that many were envious of; a quality control supervisor.

A friend had recently given me a copy of the “Living Bible” and I was reading through it with joy. It seemed to me that the things within this book was the pinnacle of human existence, the highest goal that a person could possibly achieve, namely, being a genuine Christian.

Five decades have come and gone, but this one fact remains: If you aim high in your goals, you just might reach unexpected heights. Even if never reach your goals and fall flat on your face, you just might be covered in stardust.

Think about what you would like to do with the rest of your life and then consider what God can do. The Bible says…

John 3 ( New American Standard Bible )

¹⁶ “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

THE TRUTH by Gary Rose

When I saw this picture, I thought: Is this real or a fake? Being the skeptic, I think it is a fake. However, just suppose this picture genuinely represented a natural phenomenon in the sky? How marvelous that would be! Today, people use technology to cleverly twist and manipulate the truth to the point that it is difficult to determine what the truth is. Even before our advanced technology, people manipulated THE TRUTH and this was happening when the Apostles wrote the New Testament. Consider the following Bible passages...

2 Peter 1 ( World English Bible )

16 


For we didn’t follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.

17 For he received from God the Father honor and glory when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” ( see also 1:17 Matthew 17:5; Mark 9:7; Luke 9:35 )

18 We heard this voice come out of heaven when we were with him on the holy mountain.

Galatians 1 ( WEB )

¹ Paul, an apostle (not from men, neither through man, but through Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead),

² and all the brothers who are with me, to the assemblies of Galatia:

³ Grace to you and peace from God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ,

⁴ who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us out of this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father—

⁵ to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

⁶ I marvel that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ to a different “good news”;

⁷ and there isn’t another “good news.” Only there are some who trouble you, and want to pervert the Good News of Christ.

⁸ But even though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you any “good news” other than that which we preached to you, let him be cursed.

⁹ As we have said before, so I now say again: if any man preaches to you any “good news” other than that which you received, let him be cursed.

¹⁰ For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? For if I were still pleasing men, I wouldn’t be a servant of Christ.

¹¹ But I make known to you, brothers, concerning the Good News which was preached by me, that it is not according to man.

¹² For neither did I receive it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came to me through revelation of Jesus Christ.

¹³ For you have heard of my way of living in time past in the Jews’ religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the assembly of God, and ravaged it.

¹⁴ I advanced in the Jews’ religion beyond many of my own age among my countrymen, being more exceedingly zealous for the traditions of my fathers.

¹⁵ But when it was the good pleasure of God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me through his grace,

¹⁶ to reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I didn’t immediately confer with flesh and blood,

¹⁷ nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia. Then I returned to Damascus.

¹⁸ Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Peter, and stayed with him fifteen days.

¹⁹ But of the other apostles I saw no one, except James, the Lord’s brother.

²⁰ Now about the things which I write to you, behold, before God, I’m not lying.

²¹ Then I came to the regions of Syria and Cilicia.

²² I was still unknown by face to the assemblies of Judea which were in Christ,

²³ but they only heard: “He who once persecuted us now preaches the faith that he once tried to destroy.”

²⁴ And they glorified God in me.

Two apostles, two very different men, but one truth; THE TRUTH from God. Now, whether or not that picture of a heart in the sky is the genuine article or not is really of no consequence. But, any attempt to say that THE WORD OF GOD is untrue can lead to some very terrifying consequences, namely eternal punishment. Believe the Apostles of Christ, for almost all of them (the exception being john) were martyrs for the Gospel of Christ. Believe what the Bible says and do what it tells you to do and live forever. Choose Jesus and live because of HIM. Think about these things, because your very life depends upon it!

Determination by Gary Rose

 

Over the past few months, my wife and I have found ourselves watching “Heartland” almost daily. Much to my surprise, I have begun to genuinely appreciate the relationship between a human and a horse. Heartland often shows how horses gradually develop the ability to jump a hurtle and I wondered if the same process would apply to dogs.

When I saw this picture, I realized that the answer was a resounding “YES”. How, I wonder is this achieved? The answer is love, discipleship and repetition coupled with determination.

The achievement I just mentioned, also applies to humans who wish to excel at something as well. Well, how about Christians?

Consider the following passage from the book of Hebrews…

Hebrews 6 ( World English Bible )

¹ Therefore leaving the teaching of the first principles of Christ, let us press on to perfection—not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works, of faith toward God,

² of the teaching of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.

³ This will we do, if God permits.

⁴ For concerning those who were once enlightened and tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Spirit,

⁵ and tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the age to come,

⁶ and then fell away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance; seeing they crucify the Son of God for themselves again, and put him to open shame.

⁷ For the land which has drunk the rain that comes often on it, and brings forth a crop suitable for them for whose sake it is also tilled, receives blessing from God;

⁸ but if it bears thorns and thistles, it is rejected and near being cursed, whose end is to be burned.

⁹ But, beloved, we are persuaded of better things for you, and things that accompany salvation, even though we speak like this.

To my fellow Christians I say: NEVER GIVE UP, NEVER! Love Christ and your brethren, make every effort to develop your discipleship in all aspects and be a determined Christian. If you do these things you will overcome any and all obstacles that Satan may throw your way ( with help from God Almighty, of course ). In short, you will be a winner ( just like that dog ).

Perspective adjustment by Gary Rose

 

Recently, I found this picture of a rainbow. Its uniqueness is found in the description- a rainbow is actually a circle, not just the arc that we see from the ground. Over my lifespan, I have seen literally thousands of rainbows, some in the skies, but even more in pictures from the internet. Today, I find that my perception of them is far too small, for I have thought of them just from a ground perspective. This revelation brought forth another thought in the form of a question: I wonder, has my conception of Christianity, the Godhead and the Gospel suffered from a lack of perspective as well?

The Bible says...

Ephesians 1 ( World English Bible )

¹ Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God, to the saints who are at Ephesus, and the faithful in Christ Jesus:

² Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ;

⁴ even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and without blemish before him in love;

⁵ having predestined us for adoption as children through Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his desire,

⁶ to the praise of the glory of his grace, by which he freely bestowed favor on us in the Beloved,

⁷ in whom we have our redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,

⁸ which he made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence,

⁹ making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he purposed in him

¹⁰ to an administration of the fullness of the times, to sum up all things in Christ, the things in the heavens, and the things on the earth, in him;

¹¹ in whom also we were assigned an inheritance, having been foreordained according to the purpose of him who works all things after the counsel of his will;

¹² to the end that we should be to the praise of his glory, we who had before hoped in Christ:

¹³ in whom you also, having heard the word of the truth, the Good News of your salvation—in whom, having also believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,

¹⁴ who is a pledge of our inheritance, to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of his glory.

After a bit of reflection, I realize that I need to adjust my perspective in a number of areas, namely; time, space, power, blessing and the sheer scope of existence ( both now and eternal ).

In short, my perspective is way too small. God’s Gospel, power, blessings and will are of an eternal nature, with unlimited understanding, power and precision. This makes my understanding of reality far too small to understand the totality of God Almighty. God views reality from a spiritual perspective, which results in a physical reality. I can only see the physical existence and partially understand the spiritual.

Frankly, I think the world is headed towards global thermonuclear war. If this should happen, then what? Well, my thoughts turn to something that was said in Kevin Heaton’s adult bible class yesterday morning. If it wasn’t for Moses interceding with God, then The Almighty would have just wiped Israel off the face of the map and started all over again. Could not God, with his unlimited power do the same for all of humanity? I believe God could do this and far more.

With power that is beyond my humble understanding, there is nothing that any Christian should really worry about for God really does have everything under control, whether or not I can understand it. About this moment, I recalled the words of the prophet Habakkuk…

Habakkuk 3 ( WEB )

¹⁶ I heard, and my body trembled. My lips quivered at the voice. Rottenness enters into my bones, and I tremble in my place, because I must wait quietly for the day of trouble, for the coming up of the people who invade us.

¹⁷ For though the fig tree doesn’t flourish, nor fruit be in the vines; the labor of the olive fails, the fields yield no food; the flocks are cut off from the fold, and there is no herd in the stalls:

¹⁸ yet I will rejoice in Yahweh. I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!

¹⁹ Yahweh, the Lord, is my strength. He makes my feet like deer’s feet, and enables me to go in high places. For the music director, on my stringed instruments.

And then this passage from the book of Revelation…

Revelation 21 ( WEB )

¹ I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth have passed away, and the sea is no more.

² I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband.

³ I heard a loud voice out of heaven saying, “Behold, God’s dwelling is with people, and he will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.

⁴ He will wipe away from them every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; neither will there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain, any more. The first things have passed away.”

⁵ He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” He said, “Write, for these words of God are faithful and true.”

⁶ He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give freely to him who is thirsty from the spring of the water of life.

⁷ He who overcomes, I will give him these things. I will be his God, and he will be my son.

⁸ But for the cowardly, unbelieving, sinners, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their part is in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”

To those who really love God, I say… OVERCOME! God will work everything out, BECAUSE HE IS THE ONE AND ONLY TRUE GOD!

Now that is one huge perspective adjustment!

One Beautiful Rose by Gary Rose

Recently, the world situation has become increasingly more dangerous. It seems like a large part of the world is gearing up towards thermonuclear war. In the U.S.A. the nation is becoming more radicalized towards the left, with sins that were considered abominable fifty years ago, now considered “normal”. Have things gone crazy? Yesterday, I saw this picture on the internet and frankly thought it was the most beautiful rose I have ever seen. I hope you do as well!

After looking at that rose for awhile, I thought of the Apostle Paul’s comments to the Christians at Philippi…

Philippians 4 ( World English Bible )

⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always! Again I will say, “Rejoice!”

⁵ Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.

⁶ In nothing be anxious, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.

⁷ And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus.

⁸ Finally, brothers, whatever things are true, whatever things are honorable, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report; if there is any virtue, and if there is any praise, think about these things.

If all the world should in fact go crazy and if the entire planet is destroyed by their stupidity, we can rejoice in the fact that all who have CHRIST as their SAVIOR will live eternally! 

 

Today, think about the above passage and take solace in the fact that WE HAVE HOPE.

Am I resolved to... by Gary Rose

I saw this enclosed within a sign outside a church building. I could not adjust the rest of the picture to something that I could use, so I just deleted it and used this small portion and put in within a frame. Anyway, even though it is not the beginning of the year, we should do what it says; follow the Bible and yes, go to church. Straightforward, simple instructions, easy to understand, yet few will do these things.

Why? There are many possibilities, but I think most of the time it boils down that they simply do not want to obey Jesus. Consider the following passages…

1 Corinthians 15 ( World  English  Bible )

1 Now I declare to you, brothers, the Good News which I preached to you, which also you received, in which you also stand,
2 by which also you are saved, if you hold firmly the word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.
3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,
4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,
5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.
6 Then he appeared to over five hundred brothers at once, most of whom remain until now, but some have also fallen asleep.
7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles,
8 and last of all, as to the child born at the wrong time, he appeared to me also.
9 For I am the least of the apostles, who is not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the assembly of God.
10 But by the grace of God I am what I am. His grace which was bestowed on me was not futile, but I worked more than all of them; yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.
11 Whether then it is I or they, so we preach, and so you believed. 

 Romans 6 ( WEB )

1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?
2 May it never be! We who died to sin, how could we live in it any longer?
3 Or don’t you know that all we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?
4 We were buried therefore with him through baptism to death, that just like Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we also might walk in newness of life.
5 For if we have become united with him in the likeness of his death, we will also be part of his resurrection;
6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with him, that the body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be in bondage to sin.
7 For he who has died has been freed from sin.
8 But if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him;
9 knowing that Christ, being raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no more has dominion over him!
10 For the death that he died, he died to sin one time; but the life that he lives, he lives to God.
11 Thus consider yourselves also to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

One last passage from the Bible; Jesus said…

Matthew 28 ( WEB )

¹⁸ Jesus came to them and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth.

¹⁹ Go, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

²⁰ teaching them to observe all things that I commanded you. Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

Jesus is not just a king, HE is king of kings and Lord of Lords. 1 Timothy 6:15; Revelation 17:14 and 19:16. His will for you is to do what he told you to do. Paul knew this, the other apostles knew it and anyone who comes to The Scriptures with an open mind can easily know what to do in order to be saved from the consequences of their sins. Start today, reality is that it does not have to be the beginning of the new year to resolve to obey the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Why not now?

There IS something in a NAME by Gary Rose

 

 

This flower is called a “Flame Lilly”. Good name, because if you look at it very quickly, it appears to be on fire. Now, I know that its not on fire, it just looks like it, but for a brief (and I do mean brief) moment, I thought… is it on fire? We all have situations like this; we look at something or experience something and ask ourselves… is it real?

Consider this passage from the book of Exodus…

Exodus 3 ( World English Bible )

¹ Now Moses was keeping the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the back of the wilderness, and came to God’s mountain, to Horeb.

² The angel of Yahweh appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.

³ Moses said, “I will turn aside now, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.”

⁴ When Yahweh saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the midst of the bush, and said, “Moses! Moses!” He said, “Here I am.”

⁵ He said, “Don’t come close. Take your sandals off of your feet, for the place you are standing on is holy ground.”

⁶ Moreover he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look at God.

⁷ Yahweh said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows.

⁸ I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey; to the place of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite.

⁹ Now, behold, the cry of the children of Israel has come to me. Moreover I have seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them.

¹⁰ Come now therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh, that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.”

¹¹ Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?”

¹² He said, “Certainly I will be with you. This will be the token to you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”

¹³ Moses said to God, “Behold, when I come to the children of Israel, and tell them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you;’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ What should I tell them?”

¹⁴ God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM,” and he said, “You shall tell the children of Israel this: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”

AND

John 8 ( WEB )

¹² Again, therefore, Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life.”

¹³ The Pharisees therefore said to him, “You testify about yourself. Your testimony is not valid.”

¹⁴ Jesus answered them, “Even if I testify about myself, my testimony is true, for I know where I came from, and where I am going; but you don’t know where I came from, or where I am going.

¹⁵ You judge according to the flesh. I judge no one.

¹⁶ Even if I do judge, my judgment is true, for I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sent me.

¹⁷ It’s also written in your law that the testimony of two people is valid.

¹⁸ I am one who testifies about myself, and the Father who sent me testifies about me.”

¹⁹ They said therefore to him, “Where is your Father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither me, nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also.”

²⁰ Jesus spoke these words in the treasury, as he taught in the temple. Yet no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come.

²¹ Jesus said therefore again to them, “I am going away, and you will seek me, and you will die in your sins. Where I go, you can’t come.”

²² The Jews therefore said, “Will he kill himself, that he says, ‘Where I am going, you can’t come?’”

²³ He said to them, “You are from beneath. I am from above. You are of this world. I am not of this world.

²⁴ I said therefore to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am he, you will die in your sins.”

²⁵ They said therefore to him, “Who are you?” Jesus said to them, “Just what I have been saying to you from the beginning.

²⁶ I have many things to speak and to judge concerning you. However he who sent me is true; and the things which I heard from him, these I say to the world.”

²⁷ They didn’t understand that he spoke to them about the Father.

²⁸ Jesus therefore said to them, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and I do nothing of myself, but as my Father taught me, I say these things. …...

⁵² Then the Jews said to him, “Now we know that you have a demon. Abraham died, and the prophets; and you say, ‘If a man keeps my word, he will never taste of death.’

⁵³ Are you greater than our father, Abraham, who died? The prophets died. Who do you make yourself out to be?”

⁵⁴ Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say that he is our God.

⁵⁵ You have not known him, but I know him. If I said, ‘I don’t know him,’ I would be like you, a liar. But I know him, and keep his word.

⁵⁶ Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day. He saw it, and was glad.”

⁵⁷ The Jews therefore said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?”

⁵⁸ Jesus said to them, “Most certainly, I tell you, before Abraham came into existence, I AM.”

⁵⁹ Therefore they took up stones to throw at him, but Jesus was hidden, and went out of the temple, having gone through their midst, and so passed by.

Moses saw a burning bush that was not consumed and soon learned that GOD was revealing HIMSELF as “I AM”. In the New Testament, God sent Jesus who referred to himself as “I AM” on multiple occasions. Coincidence? I think not. In John chapter eight, the Jews understood who Jesus claimed to be; The God who spoke to Moses at the “burning bush” and they wanted to stone him for it. The truth is that some will accept Jesus for who he really is and become his followers and others will not. I believe what Jesus said is THE TRUTH, do you?