Our reading in John opens with Peter exclaiming a second and third time..."I AM NOT." In yesterdays reading in John we witness Jesus stepping forward and asking, "who is it you are looking for?" It is no accident that Jesus states three times...I AM! Let's look again at John 18:5-8 They answered Him, “Jesus the Nazarene.” He said to them, “I am He.” And Judas also, who was betraying Him, was standing with them. 6 So when He said to them, “I am He,” they drew back and fell to the ground. 7 Therefore He again asked them, “Whom do you seek?” And they said, “Jesus the Nazarene.” 8 Jesus answered, “I told you that I am He; so if you seek Me, let these go their way,” 
John 18:37-38 “You are a king then?” Pilate asked. “You say that I’m a king,” Jesus replied. “I was born for this, and I have come into the world for this: to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to My voice.” 38 “What is truth?” said Pilate. Pilate did not hear HIS voice! How horrifying to know that you had the author and giver of life, creation, the universe standing before you and you missed HIM. What is truth?John 14:6 Jesus *said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.
How would you like your name to go down in the history of the World as "crucified under Pontius Pilate?"
The Nicene Creed is still recited around the world in churches.
We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen. We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father; through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven, was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary and became a human being. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end. We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father [and the Son], who with the Father and the Son is worshipped and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets. We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen. Hebblethwaite, B. (1996). The essence of Christianity : A fresh look at the Nicene Creed (1). London: SPCK.
You and I will not have our names quoted in any Christian creed, praise God, but each of us will be just as accountable before a holy God.
Do you love what the world loves? Do you pursue the same things that the World pursues? Do I? Am I radically different since my encounter, coming to faith, with the sovereign and living God? Have my affections, desires and longings changed? Do I constantly hunger and thirst for more of Jesus? IF NOT, THEN I HAVE TO WONDER IF I AM A CHILD OF
GOD AT ALL!
YOU CANNOT LOOK AT THE CROSS, BEHOLD THE CROSS AND WALK AWAY UNCHANGED UNLESS YOU ARE NOT AMONG HIS SHEEP...HIS SHEEP KNOW HIS VOICE AND FOLLOW HIM...THE COMMAND IT TO TAKE UP OUR CROSS AND FOLLOW HIM EACH AND EVERY DAY!
FATHER IN HEAVEN,
When we are asked...are you a disciple of Jesus, enable us by your Holy Spirit to say joyfully I AM!
love,
m