I AM Today: Living in the Moment!

             My son and I spent our “Quiet Time” studying God’s Word today, and our discussion took many turns and headed into many different directions.

However, I posed a question to him I wanted both of us to discuss and contemplate.  And the question was this:

“Is it possible to go an entire day without sinning?”

            My son’s immediate response was, “No, that’s impossible.”  Even at the age of 13, he understood that sinning wasn’t just about bad “doing,” but it also included bad "thinking" and a bad “being” (i.e., our attitude).

            However, I reminded him that Jesus successfully did it (lived without sin) for 33 years; therefore, doing it for just one day shouldn’t be impossible.  Should it not?  And he agreed.

            So we agreed to change the question from, “Is it possible NOT to sin for a day?” to, “HOW could we make it possible?” 

            This question alone changed our focus and allowed us to examine HOW Jesus did it and the challenges that could prevent us from doing the same. 

            In this process, we discovered the following four lessons:

1. Jesus was successful because he was willfully obedient to God.

2. Jesus was totally surrendered and submitted to God in his thoughts, emotions, and actions (i.e., what he did and said).

3. We struggle (as human beings) with being totally surrendered and submitted to God because we think, feel, and act in reaction to our yesterdays and tomorrows (i.e., we constantly worry about what happened and what will happen).

4. All things are possible in Christ Jesus when we willfully choose to take life beat by beat, breath by breath, moment by moment, and step by step (i.e., truly live in the moment).

            Our conclusion was, if we could learn to concentrate on obedience, surrender, and submission in the “NOW moments” of our lives, then the great I AM would spiritually sustain us throughout the day.  And those days would eventually add up to a bunch of tomorrows. 

            So until next time, stay in the moment, and stay in His grip!