I love infomercials.

I’m fascinated by miracle sponges, super knives, and amazing blenders, and I’d bet I’m not the only one. We live in a world that loves infomercials. Our world loves telling us what we need, what we want, and what we absolutely cannot live without.

But as the world clamors to tell us what we want, Jesus tells us that He is everything we need.

To those who don’t know where to go, Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” To those who are hurting, Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd.” To those who don’t think life is worth living, Jesus says, “I am the resurrection and the life.” God summarizes Himself to Moses by saying, simply: “I Am.”

The 2019 FLY Committee has chosen “I AM” for the convention theme, with the theme verses of Isaiah 45:5-6. Our prayer is that the FLY Convention won’t be seen as just another infomercial, but as a chance to know the God who actually is everything we ever need.

In these verses in Isaiah, God is talking to Cyrus the Great of Persia and preparing him for his mission to rescue the Israelites from captivity in Babylon. God says, “I am the Lord, and there is no other.” There is nothing else—no other religion, no other idea, no other god— that can accomplish what God can accomplish.

Cyrus’ rescue of the Israelites from Babylon sets the stage for Jesus’ rescue of all His people from their sin. God says, “I am the Lord, and there is no other.” No other religion, no other idea, and no other god can offer forgiveness, life, and salvation.

God longs to be known, and we pray that He will be known through the 2019 FLY Convention. We pray that God will be known as the great “I AM,” as everything we could ever want or need. We need the great I AM to be our fortress of stability and assurance in this unstable and uncertain world.

God speaks of equipping Cyrus for the work of letting people know about Him. We pray that this same goal is accomplished at FLY 2019 through the Bible studies, the times of worship, the games of basketball and Frisbee, the workshop breakouts, the sunrise hikes, and the evening sessions. We want our youth to know salvation through Christ. And we want to equip our youth to share about Christ.

God isn’t just another checkbox in your search for fulfillment or contentment. He’s not just another infomercial; He is the I AM. He is everything we ever need.

Please be in prayer for the FLY Convention. It’s not too early to lift up those students who might consider attending, and who need to hear about the God who longs to be known. Also, be in prayer about who you might invite to attend the FLY Convention in Estes Park, Colo., from July 1-6, 2019.

Andrew Kneeland
2nd Vice President on the FLY Committee

This article was written for the March 2018 issue of The Lutheran Ambassador