"That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weakness, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." 2 Corinthians 12:10.

The influence behind this devotional comes form the song "I Am" by Influence Music & Melody Noel ft. William Matthews (Influence Music & Melody Noel ft. William Matthews - I Am (Official Music Video)). God speaks to us at times while we are up and while we are down; he is always there and he has a funny of way sometimes of showing it. God put this song in my life at the right time last year. I was searching and looking for worship songs to listen to, since most of music is filled with curse words (it is good to have a Jesus song or two on the playlist). This song is so powerful, and it is based off some of the most powerful scripture statements in the Bible, the "I Am" statement of God. These statement range from Old Testament to New Testament. God used them constantly in the Old Testament. Exodus 3:14 says,         "God said to Moses, 'I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.'" There is immense symbolic power behind the I am statement. When you say "I am" you are claiming something, you are taking ownership of something you did or are. That is what God is doing with the I am statement. He is taking ownership of everything, he is taking ownership that he is everything. He is the light, the moon, the stars, the good, love, strength, wisdom, he is the calming hand over our heart and mind; he is life. He is the one and only one that we should be following. God uses "I am" in replacement for himself, most people hate it, but in a way it is so much cooler to talk in the third person. You are narrating your life, and that is who God is. God is the narrator, he is the author. The I am statements were not limited to our God in the Old Testament, but our God of the New Testament did the same. There were seven (God's number - for you Bible nerds) in the New Testament Gospel of John. Jesus said he is the bread of life (6:35, 6:48), the ight of the world (8:12)  the door (10:7), the good shepherd (10:11), the resurrection of life (11:25), the way, the truth, and the life (14:6), and the vine (15:5). There is nothing that can stop our God. He is the great I AM. One of the most amazing that that I love about the song "I Am" is the music video. During the music video, there was a wall with picture of people on it with the statement "I am." Then during the music video, a new person would come up and write there own I am statement. The would write "I am…" "saved", "free", "blessed", etc., you get where I am going with this. This is what inspired my "I Am Me" poster. Every year I make a poster for my dorm room, freshman year (American Traditional Eagle and Snake fighting around a dagger), sophomore year (Music Is Everything), junior year (The Incredible True Story), now this year (I Am Me). One of my biggest obsessions in life is Easter Eggs (why my favorite book, besides the Bible, is Ready Player One), so I throw them in my a great deal, about 98%, of my pieces (there is always meaning behind everything I do, I believe if there is no meaning or purpose behind anything you do, then why do it, it is just wasted energy). The first Easter Egg is that there are red and black words tattooed onto the arm (the Easter Egg is not that they are tattooed, but it is the color scheme behind them). These words represent the I am statements. The positive I am statement are tattooed in red. They are red because of the Red Letter Bibles, all of Jesus's words are written in red. Jesus is the light of this world, is the positive influence in all our life. He is the one that has died for our sins, he is the reason why we have a second chance at life everyday we wake up. He is the reason why we are free, saved, loved, blessed, and so on. He is the reason why all the negative and darkness in our life is cancelled. Hence Easter Egg numero dos, every negative word is written in black, but crossed out in red. Like I said, every negative statement and thought in our life is no match to the love and power of Jesus. Jesus died in order for us to be free and saved. When we accept Jesus into our life and get baptized we kill our old self and make our self new in the power and grace of Jesus. Easter Egg tres, the negative words are made into scars and there are also scars on the arms. Scars are something that we all have. There are a few different symbolic reason to the scars, one being the suicidal thoughts of my past which left figurative scars on my arms and my heart, two being a homage to the people in my life and around the world that took the route of cutting themselves to let them know they are not alone and to let them know they are not the only one who has scars from the troubles of life, and three that scars are things of the past (they are past wounds that are HEALED). Scars of the past, they are in a hence not me, but what helped shaped the man I am today. We cannot be scared of our scars and faults, because we are not the only one with them, there are billions of people on this earth and not one of them is perfect. We cannot let the scars of the past define us, but we have to embrace them. We can learn from the scars, learn from every fall by getting up. Easter Egg numero cuatro and cinco is there are hidden words in the "Am" and "Me". In the "Am" I wrote the statement "Who God made me to be" (I am… who God made me to be). Genesis 1:27 says, "So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them."         We are all beautifully handcrafted. We are not just handcrafted off of any template, but from the template (the image) of God. All our "faults" (are just that "") are worldly faults. All our "imperfections" are perfect in the eyes of God. He gave them to us for a reason, for his glory. John 9:1-12, is the perfect example of this. "…this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him"         (John 9:3). We are all different and we all have imperfections, but God gave them to us for a reason. We have to embrace them and trust in God. We have to use them for our advantage. Like I said before there are billions of people on this world and not one of them is perfect, there are people with similar scars and imperfections. We are called to help each other; get to know them, bond with them, talk with them, share stories, take and give advice, learn from their mistakes and how they got over them, and do the same for them tell them how you fell and got back up. This is what God wants, he wants us to coexist. In the "Me" I wrote: family, Jesus Christ, friends, baseball, drawing, love and music. These are all things that on a daily basis shape me to be the man I am today. Every single thing is something that is close and near dear to my heart. God uses these things to help me grow as a man and close to him on a daily basis. The awesome thing is that God does not limit it to just these few things, there is something new and different new every day. God uses so much for his glory and for our benefit. Everything that happens in our life happens for a reason, it is used to shape us to be the people we are meant to be. We learn and grow everyday, there is nothing that we cannot learn and grow on each day. God is always there and he is the great I AM. "So do not fear, for I AM WITH YOU; do not be dismayed, for I AM YOUR GOD. I WILL strength you and help; I WILL uphold you with MY righteous right hand" (Isaiah 41:10).

Lord, thank you. You are the great I AM, there is nothing more powerful then you. There is nothing that can stop you. You have made us new. You have killed us of our old selves. Allow us to continually be made new in your name. Continue to guide us and shape us to be the men and women you want us to be. I pray this all in your son's glorious awesome amazing name, Amen.

#LetsBeAMovement