Practice the Presence

Meditations for the Season of Advent

December 7, 2022

Practice the Presence

In (Christ) and through faith in (Christ)

 we may approach God with freedom and confidence

Ephesians 3:12 (NIV) 

One of the saints in the unseen cloud of witnesses that surrounds us (Hebrews 12:1) once noted, “Let nothing disturb you, let nothing frighten you. All things are passing. God alone remains.” (Therese of Lisieux, 1873-97) To live this way is to practice your faith in Christ Jesus as you bear witness to the freedom he has won for you. The practice of faith is about letting the truth of God inspire your heart and then transform your life. When the truth of God becomes incarnational, it takes on new life within you as you live your faith in Christ. The theologian Maurice Blondel said, “If you want to know what a person really believes, don’t listen to what he says but watch what he does.”

The practice of faith verifies to the world around us what we really believe about Jesus. In this Advent season, I want to take Blondel’s words to heart. I want to slow down, to pause and reflect on how my actions and my words reflect my heart’s devotion to Christ. Before I voice an opinion on the issues facing our culture, I want to first turn to Jesus and ask him, “Lord, what is your view on this?” Wherever I may be, my desire is to remain firmly fixed on the ultimate reality of my life, Christ Jesus. Brother Lawrence called this practicing the presence of Christ within us.

My Takeaway: The bottom line is simple. It doesn’t matter one bit what I say on these pages about what I believe about God in Christ Jesus. What matters is how my beliefs shape all my life, my actions as well as my thoughts. God is at work forming Christ in me and establishing my beliefs through my study of His Word, and especially as I receive the sacrament of Holy Communion.

Sē’lah

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(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 © 2022 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.