Results

Meditations for Seeking the Life in Christ

The Season of Advent 

December 12, 2025

Results

“But wisdom is shown to be right by its results.”

Matthew 11:19b 

Read Matthew 11:16-19

Jesus ends his discussion about John the Baptist by using a children’s game to compare his ministry and John’s ministry. Of John, who was austere and always serious, Jesus said, “. . . so we played funeral songs, and you didn’t mourn.” That is, John preached repentance for the Kingdom of God, and the people did not respond. Oh, some, maybe even many, did respond for a while. Ultimately, the people went on with their life, and the powerful people killed John.

Of his own ministry, Jesus said, “. . . ‘We played wedding songs, and you didn’t dance.” Jesus’ ministry contrasts with John’s as Jesus was a friend of tax collectors and sinners and feasts and drinks with them. As with John, the people did not respond. Oh, some did respond for a while, but ultimately the powerful killed Jesus.

So, what are the results that reveal wisdom? Jesus’ answer to John’s disciples are the results:

 “. . . the blind see, the lame walk, those with leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor.” (Matthew 11:5)

My Takeaway: Today we see all sorts of contrasting styles in ministry. Some people meet in an informal manner, cups of coffee in hand and the speaker in an untucked shirt. Others gather in pomp and circumstance, clergy adorned in robes and colorful paraments throughout their sanctuary. These styles are all well and good if wisdom is shown to be right by its results: are disciples being made, is the Good News being preached to the poor?

Sē’lah

My book on prayer,

First Think, Then Pray

is now available on Amazon Kindle.

 

(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

 

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

 

Copyright © 2025 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

 

I Wish God Moved Faster

Meditations for Seeking the Life in Christ

The Season of Advent 

December 11, 2025

I Wish God Moved Faster

“I tell you the truth, of all who have ever lived, none is greater than John the Baptist. Yet even the least person in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he is!

Matthew 11:11

Read Matthew 11:11-15

Jesus was not diminishing John the Baptist when he said the least in the Kingdom of Heaven are greater than John. Jesus was pointing to a complete reordering of the world. Jesus is saying, from the perspective of God, all that is happening in nation capitals, pales in comparison to what is happening in our churches this Sunday. This is where real and lasting progress toward a society that loves mercy and acts justly is being nourished.

This truth calls me to confess that there are times when I am impatient with the ways of God. I wish God moved faster to answer prayers, punish injustice and renew the face of the earth. My impatience is accompanied by anxiety and worry.

I have learned that when I am worrying, it is because I am not nourishing the life of Christ in me. Worrying means there is something over which I cannot have my own way. Worry or disappointment is evidence of my personal irritation with God. Ouch! The truth hurts! The purpose of prayer is to nourish the life of Christ within me. Worrying means I am more focused on my circumstances than I am on becoming the person God created me to be.

My Takeaway: Because I am prone to stumble in my impatient ways, I pray daily,

“I am not my own, I am Thine. By creation and redemption, I am Thine. I will devote myself to Thy divine service this day and forever. O grant me grace for this, dear Lord. Amen.”

Sē’lah

My book on prayer,

First Think, Then Pray

is now available on Amazon Kindle.

 

(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

 

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

 

Copyright © 2025 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Come to Me

Meditations for Seeking the Life in Christ

The Season of Advent 

December 10, 2025

Come to Me

Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.

Matthew 11:28

Read Matthew 11:28-30

Many years ago, I discovered, in Clearwater, Florida, a place of prayer on the shores of Tampa Bay. Near one of the buildings, there was a rose garden, and in the center of the rose garden, there was a ten-foot-high statue of Jesus, the Good Shepherd, with a lamb across his shoulders. That statue captivated me because of the way it expressed the gentleness and kindness of Jesus. When I was in Israel, I chose as a keepsake to bring home an olive-wood carving of Jesus, the Good Shepherd. My sense of Jesus, the Good Shepherd, the seeker of lost sheep, is the reason I focus on the words weary, rest, gentle, humble, easy, and light in today’s passage. However, if I am not careful, I will miss the point Jesus was making. That point is within a word used twice in the passage: yoke.

For Jesus, the yoke represents obedience to God. To take Jesus’ yoke is to be obedient to His commandments about the Kingdom of God. It means a willingness to serve others with humility and mercy. His yoke is easy, and his burden is light, not because there is little to do for His followers; this is a yoke he is offering, not a hammock. Being yoked with Jesus means, in a world that can be very hostile to God’s Kingdom, we will affirm each day our desire to fulfill God’s will in our lives. I made such an affirmation this morning as my prayer at the close of my devotion time included this line:

“Drive far from us all wrong desires, incline our hearts to keep your law, and guide our feet into the way of peace . . .”

My Takeaway: Even though Jesus’ yoke calls me to a self-sacrificial life, it is appealing to me because his yoke is the only place my soul has found true comfort, rest and satisfaction. That’s because being yoked to Jesus is where I was created to be.

Sē’lah

My book on prayer,

First Think, Then Pray

is now available on Amazon Kindle.

 

(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

 

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

 

Copyright © 2025 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Birth of Jesus Foretold

Meditations for Seeking the Life in Christ

The Season of Advent 

December 9, 2025

The Birth of Jesus Foretold

Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.”

Luke 1:38a

Read Luke 1:26-38

There is much for us to ponder in this very familiar passage foretelling the birth of Jesus. Today’s passage follows the foretelling of the birth of John the Baptist. In that passage, God invited Zachariah to take a leap of faith. Zachariah was serving in the Temple, the place where God would be expected to speak to His people. An angel of the Lord spoke, and Zachariah balked. In today’s passage, Mary received her invitation from the Lord, and she didn’t balk: “Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true” (Luke 1:38). The trained theologian balked; the laywoman believed.

We also see an introduction of our Trinitarian understanding of God introduced in this passage. God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit are all present in this passage. This first advent of Christ is the decision and active will of all members of the Trinity.

The angel Gabriel’s greeting to Mary, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” (verse 28 NIV) gives me another point to ponder. We have no definitive information of the age of Mary when she became pregnant with Jesus, but the best guess is fifteen or sixteen. As I reflect Gabriel’s greeting to Mary, I believe God had long been preparing Mary to be the mother of Jesus, perhaps even before she was born.

My Takeaway: I think I need to read and mediate on Psalm 139.

   ¹³ For you created my inmost being;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well.
¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you
    when I was made in the secret place,
    when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
¹⁶ Your eyes saw my unformed body;
    all the days ordained for me were written in your book

before one of them came to be.

Sē’lah

My book on prayer,

First Think, Then Pray

is now available on Amazon Kindle.

 

(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

 

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

 

Copyright © 2025 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

 

Jesus Heals a Paralyzed Man

Meditations for Seeking the Life in Christ

The Season of Advent 

December 8, 2025

Jesus Heals a Paralyzed Man

And immediately, as everyone watched, the man jumped up, picked up his mat, and went home praising God.

Luke 5:25

Read Luke 5:17-26

In my mind’s eye, I can see Jesus was grinning as the paralyzed man was lowered through the roof, although I don’t think the homeowner was as amused. As Jesus speaks to the paralyzed man, “Young man, your sins are forgiven” (Luke 5:20), I can also see Jesus offering a knowing wink to his disciples. Jesus knew what was coming next; the Pharisees objected to his audacity in forgiving sins. Jesus’ point here is not that the man’s sins caused him to be paralyzed; his point is that he has the authority to heal broken spirits through the forgiveness of sins, as well as the power to heal broken bodies. The Pharisees missed the point because they were jealous that Jesus was offering the forgiving, healing power of God apart from their Temple and religious establishment. 

Because of their jealousy, the Pharisees could not see how God honors faith.  The paralyzed man desperately needed to come to Jesus, but couldn’t, not on his own. His friend’s believed God was present in Jesus and were desperate to place their friend in the company of Jesus. Their actions remind me of the words from the praise song, Breathe,

“And I I'm desperate for you; And I I'm lost without you.

(Breathe ©1995 Mercy / Vineyard Publishing Words and Music by Marie Barnett)

I receive the paralyzed man’s story as an invitation to look deep within myself. Where does my self-sufficiency end? For what am I desperate for God? Where am I lost without God?

My Takeaway: I also see another invitation. The paralyzed man’s friends took huge risks to help their friend who could not help himself. Their friendship demonstrated love that is self-sacrificing, for the good of another. Is there anyone in my life who needs me to love like that? Am I willing to love like that?

Sē’lah

My book on prayer,

First Think, Then Pray

is now available on Amazon Kindle.

 

(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

 

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

 

Copyright © 2025 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Jesus Heals the Blind

Meditations for Seeking the Life in Christ

The Season of Advent 

December 5, 2025

Jesus Heals the Blind

They went right into the house where he was staying, and Jesus asked them, “Do you believe I can make you see?” “Yes, Lord,” they told him, “we do.” Then he touched their eyes and said, “Because of your faith, it will happen.”

Matthew 9:28-29 

Read Matthew 9: 27-31

Jesus said it was because of their faith that he could make the men see. These men revealed their faith in two ways. The first was in the way they addressed Jesus: Son of David and Lord. These titles indicated that Jesus was the Messiah and that they were acknowledging his authority. Secondly, “They went right into the house where he was staying” (Matthew 9:28a). Their faith was active, and I suspect the Apostle James could have used them as an example of “be doers of the word, and not hearers only” (James 1:22a).

These men had processed all they had heard about Jesus and reached the conclusion that he was Son of David and Lord. Their faith contrasts with the lack of faith of the Pharisees who said, “He can cast out demons because he is empowered by the prince of demons” (Matthew 9:34). The Pharisees not only heard about Jesus, but with their own eyes, they witnessed the blind receiving sight. However, they reached a different conclusion about Jesus.

The blind men were driven by desperation. Jesus was their only option, and they were compelled to believe that Jesus was in fact who he said he was. The Pharisees weren’t so limited in their options for life.

My Takeaway: I believe the blind men epitomize these words of Jesus, “God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs” (Matthew 5:3.) I want to be counted in their company, how about you?

Sē’lah

My book on prayer,

First Think, Then Pray

is now available on Amazon Kindle.

 

(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

 

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

 

Copyright © 2025 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Building on a Solid Foundation

Meditations for Seeking the Life in Christ

The Season of Advent 

December 4, 2025

Building on a Solid Foundation

“Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock.”

Matthew 7:24

Read Matthew 7:21, 24-27

Today’s passage is near the end of the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus has invited all people to come to him and receive eternal life. Jesus has painted a beautiful picture of the Kingdom of God. He has described a way of living that I want to be my way of life. Jesus is also telling his followers there is no cheap grace. There is a cost to discipleship. Jesus wants to be very clear so that people know that while they have been invited to come as they are and live under the reign of God, when they come in, they will want to change the way they are living.

I believe Eugene Peterson’s rendering of this passage in Matthew’s Gospel captures Jesus’ intent perfectly:

“Don't look for shortcuts to God. The market is flooded with surefire, easygoing formulas for a successful life that can be practiced in your spare time. Don't fall for that stuff, even though crowds of people do. The way to life—to God!—is vigorous and requires total attention”

(Matthew 7: 13-14 The Message).

In this digital age, where we can be overwhelmed with information and misinformation, finding our way to the life in Christ can seem quite daunting. However daunting the task may be, it is not impossible to find the truth because Jesus has promised,

“For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened (Matthew 7:8).

My Takeaway: Twenty-six times in the Gospel of Matthew Jesus says, “I tell you the truth.” In John 14:6, Jesus says “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” Jesus is the Truth we seek amidst the issues of our times.

Sē’lah

My book on prayer,

First Think, Then Pray

is now available on Amazon Kindle.

 

(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

 

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

 

Copyright © 2025 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.