Before Abraham was, I am

Do you listen to Jesus' words as if your life depended on it? Jesus made a claim which only God can make - "if any one keeps my word, he will never see death." St. Augustine of Hippo (354-430 AD), explains this verse from John 8:51:

"It means nothing less than he saw another death from which he came to free us - the second death, eternal death, the death of hell, the death of the damned, which is shared with the devil and his angels! This is the real death; the other kind of death is only a passage" (Tractates on the Gospel of John 43.10-11).

When God established a relationship with Abraham, he offered him an unbreakable "everlasting covenant" (Genesis 17:7). Jesus came to fulfill that covenant so that we could know the living God and be united with him both now and for all eternity. God made us to know him and to be united with him and he gives us the gift of faith and understanding so that we may grow in the knowledge of what he has accomplished for us through his Son, Jesus Christ.

Jesus challenged the people of Israel to accept his word as the very revelation of God himself. His claim challenged the very foundation of their belief and understanding of God. Jesus made a series of claims which are the very foundation of his life and mission. What are these claims? First, Jesus claims unique knowledge of God as the only begotten Son of the Father in heaven. Since he claims to be in direct personal communion with his Father in heaven, he knows everything about the Father. Jesus claims that the only way to full knowledge of the mind and heart of God is through himself. Jesus also claims unique obedience to God the Father. He thinks, lives and acts in the knowledge of his Father's word. To look at his life is to "see how God wishes me to live." In Jesus alone we see what God wants us to know and what he wants us to be.

When the Jewish authorities asked Jesus who do you claim to be? he answered, "before Abraham was, I am." Jesus claims to be timeless and there is only one in the universe who is timeless, namely God. Scripture tells us that "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever" (Hebrews 13:8). Jesus was not just a man who came, lived, died, and then rose again. He is the immortal timeless One, who always was and always will be. In Jesus we see the eternal God in visible flesh. He is God who became a man for our sake and for our salvation. His death and resurrection make it possible for us to share in his immortality. Do you believe the words of Jesus and obey them with all your heart, mind, and strength?

Lord Jesus, let your word be on my lips and in my heart that I may walk in the freedom of your everlasting love, truth and goodness.

source: From the desk of Don Schwager, 

hosted by Kairos Europe and the Middle East

St. Augustine of Hippo

Trust the past to the Mercy of God, 

the present to His Love, 

and the future to His Providence.

~ St. Augustine ~

Saint Augustine became a Christian at 33, a priest at 36 and a full bishop of Hippo at 41.

Augustine was born on 13 November, 354 in the town of Thagaste, North Africa (region known as Algeria today). His mother, Monica (St. Monica, whose feast is celebrated on 27 August), was a Christian, and his father Patritius, a pagan for many years ( became a Christian before his death). At one level he always found something attractive about Christ, but in the short run he was more interested in the attractions of sex, fame, and pride in his own cleverness. After his conversion to Christianity and his baptism in 387, Augustine developed his own approach to philosophy and theology. 

In 391 Augustine was ordained a priest in Hippo Regius (now Annaba), Algeria and 395 he was made coadjutor Bishop of Hippo, and became full Bishop "Augustine of Hippo" shortly thereafter; and he gave his property to the church of Thagaste. Augustine, bishop of Hippo died 28 August 430 in Hippo Regius, Numidia at the age of 75. Augustine was canonized, and later recognized as a Doctor of the Church in 1298 by Pope Boniface VIII. St. Augustine of Hippo feast day is celebrated on 28 August, the day he died. He is the patron saint of brewers, printers, theologians, and sore eyes.

Prayer

O Lord God, the light of the minds that know you, the Life of the souls that love you, and the strength of the hearts that serve you: Help us, following the example of your servant Augustine of Hippo, so to know you that we may truly love you, and so to love you that we may fully serve you, whom to serve is perfect freedom; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Faith is to believe what you do not see; 

the reward of this faith is to see what you believe.

Saint Augustine

It was pride that changed angels into devils; 

it is humility that makes men as angels.

Saint Augustine

If you believe what you like in the gospels, 

and reject what you don't like, 

it is not the gospel you believe, but yourself.

Saint Augustine

Pray as though everything depended on God. 

Work as though everything depended on you.

Saint Augustine

Do you wish to rise? 

Begin by descending. 

You plan a tower that will pierce the clouds? 

Lay first the foundation of humility.

Saint Augustine

If two friends ask you to judge a dispute, 

don't accept, because you will lose one friend; 

on the other hand, 

if two strangers come with the same request, 

accept because you will gain one friend.

Saint Augustine