Thursday, August 14, 2025

Our Spiritual Giftedness Lane

Meditations on

Staying In the Grace for Today 

August 14, 2025

Our Spiritual Giftedness Lane

“. . . try to have a sane estimate of your capabilities

by the light of the faith that God has given to you all.

Through the grace of God we have different gifts.

Romans 12:3,6 (J.B. Phillips New Testament) 

Many years ago, I worked on Missions for my Annual Conference. In advance of our Council of Ministries meeting we were given a book on spiritual gifts to read. The book included a survey to help identify our spiritual gifts. When we arrived at the meeting, we wrote the three gifts we had identified on our name tag. When we were meeting in our specific ministry groups, we first shared with our group our spiritual gifts. In my group of twelve people, almost all the gifts mentioned by Paul in 1 Corinthians 12 were present.

We all have spiritual gifts. When we focus our time and energy on our specific spiritual gifts, we will flow in God’s grace. When we don’t, we will find ourselves on a bumpy road. I have been on a bumpy road for several months. For thirty-five years I have served as a spiritual director for weekend retreats. I have been quite effective in this role. Then I was asked to serve as the community spiritual director for the group that hosts these retreats. This job requires a different skill set, a skill set I do not possess. It has not been a good experience for me, and I am comforted to know my term is quickly winding down.

Brother J. B. Phillips would say I didn’t have a very sane estimate of my capabilities. He would be correct.

My Takeaway: There have been other times when I have leaped to accept an invitation to serve, and I didn’t take the time to seek Godly wisdom before accepting. In those times I became very much aware that I was not flowing in God’s grace. Do you recall the placard that says, “The Main Thing is to Keep the Main Thing the Main Thing? The main thing is to stay in our spiritual-giftedness lane. 

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.

 

Wednesday, August 13, 2025

The Disciples Worshiped Jesus

Meditations on

Staying In the Grace for Today 

August 13, 2025

The Disciples Worshiped Jesus

When they climbed back into the boat, the wind stopped. Then the disciples worshiped him. “You really are the Son of God!” they exclaimed.

Matthew 14:32-33 

First, a bit of context for today’s scripture. Verses 32-33 are the response of the disciples as they had yet again been out in their boat when a storm arose. As they feared for their lives, they saw Jesus walking toward them, walking on the water! Peter thought he saw a ghost and challenged the “ghost” to command him to walk on the water. Jesus did and Peter walked on the water until he took his eyes off Jesus and focused on the wind and waves. Then Peter began to sink and shouted for the Lord to save him. The Lord did and as the two of them climbed into the boat the wind and waves abated. Then the disciples worshiped Jesus.

This phrase, “the disciples worshiped him,” caught my attention this morning. I don’t recall seeing that phrase any other time in the Gospels. I searched Bible Gateway and found only the reference in Matthew above. The disciples, as a group, didn’t worship Jesus after he raised the dead, healed the sick, and fed thousands with meager supplies. What was different when Jesus walked on the water to them.

I believe it was because they were acutely aware they needed saving! This miracle was deeply personal because it was their lives at stake.

My Takeaway: My worship of God is truly authentic, worship in spirit and truth, when I am acutely aware of how God has saved me, how God has blessed me, how God has called me to live in the F O G, the favor of God. The more I focus on laying hold of Him who has laid hold of me, the more I stay in His grace for today.

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.

Tuesday, August 12, 2025

Infinite Patience

Meditations on

Staying In the Grace for Today 

August 12, 2025

Infinite Patience

And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.

Romans 5:4-5 

Have you ever doubted your salvation, your right standing with God? I have. The Apostle Paul wrote, “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” (2 Corinthians 5:17) Paul said if I belong to Christ, my old life is gone. Yet, there is no doubt the vestiges of my old life still make their presence known in my life today. Paul’s last phrase helps me reconcile my new life in Christ. He says, “a new life has begun.” I am not complete yet. As Paul wrote in 1 Corinthias 13:12, “All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.”

My Heavenly Father knows me completely. And he is infinitely patient with me as He works to form Christ in me. I am learning to accept the vestiges of my old life as evidence that God is still at work within me.

My Takeaway: And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.” (Philippians 1:6) 

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.

Monday, August 11, 2025

Eyes to See the Unseen

Meditations on

Staying In the Grace for Today 

August 11, 2025

Eyes to See the Unseen

He gives power to the weak

    and strength to the powerless.

Isaiah 40:29 

Below is a portion of a poem written during WW2, on the wall of a cellar in the Nazi concentration camp near Cologne:

I believe in the sun even when it is not shining.

And I believe in love,

even when there’s no one there.

I believe in God even when he is silent. 

If I had been in that person’s shoes, would I have been able to express faith with such conviction? Of course, I can’t answer that question. But pondering this poem, and reading Isaiah 40:29, I am reminded of three scriptures from the New Testament.

First and second: 2 Corinthians 5:7,

For we live by believing and not by seeing,”

and Hebrews 11:1,

Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see.”

The writer of this poem had eyes that chose to see the unseen.

And third, Romans 8:26-27,

“And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words.  And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will.”

I do not have to rely on my strength to express my faith with conviction. The Holy Spirit is working within me to give me strength and power.

My Takeaway: As I seek to remain steadfast in God’s grace for today, I remember with the Apostle Paul, “My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.” (Galatians 2:20)

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.

Friday, August 8, 2025

I Am Safe

Meditations on

Staying In the Grace for Today

August 8, 2025

I Am Safe

We know that when Jesus was raised from the dead

it was a signal of the end of death-as-the-end.

Never again will death have the last word.

Romans 6:6 (MSG) 

I hope you will read Romans 6 from The Message. I believe Mr. Peterson’s translation of this chapter is some of the most powerful prose in The Message. Today I am focused on his delightful phrase, “the end of death-as-the-end. Never again will death have the last word.” After reading today’s passage, what word do you take away? For me, it is the word, safe. I am safe in the love of Jesus.

Because I believe the resurrection of Jesus, it is safe for me to believe the rest of the story which includes all the imperatives in this week’s meditations to make the life in Christ my way of life. As arduous as the pursuit of love and truth may be, I am safe to engage in this pursuit because I know death will not have the last word for my life. Jesus gets that last word and his word is, “I am going to prepare a place for you When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.” (John 14:2-3)

My Takeaway: “Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying.” The resurrection was not an event. The resurrection is a person, Christ Jesus. My life’s quest is to lay hold of him, Christ Jesus, who has laid hold of me. I am safe in his grasp. I am safe to give myself to God as He forms Christ in me. I am safe!!! 

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.

 

Thursday, August 7, 2025

Love and Truth

Meditations on

Staying In the Grace for Today

August 7, 2025

Love and Truth

Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne.

    Unfailing love and truth walk before you as attendants.

Psalm 89:14 

The Apostle Paul describes the Christian life in Ephesians 4:15: “Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.” This is how we live when God has changed us, inside out. This is how we will live when our bearing towards one another arises out of our life in Christ Jesus. As we pursue this way of living, this life in Christ as our way of life, we will have undertaken the most arduous pursuit of our life. Nothing can be more elusive than coupling love and truth as our way of life. Love in truth. Truth in love. One cannot come at the expense of the other.

On August 4, I wrote about weddings. Think about the wedding procession and the attendants preceding the groom and bride. Unfailing love and truth walk before our God as attendants. So also, is this the will of God for His children.

My Takeaway: The pursuit of love and truth is our singular calling. 

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.

Wednesday, August 6, 2025

Inside Out

Meditations on

Staying In the Grace for Today 

August 6, 2025

Inside Out

Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out.

Romans 12:2 (MSG) 

The NLT renders this verse as, “let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.” As we seek the life in Christ as our way of life, God is working within us to change the way we think about Him, our neighbors and ourselves. God’s mission to form Christ within us changes us from the inside. The Apostle Paul affirms this thought in Philippians 2:5 when he wrote, “let your bearing towards one another arise out of your life in Christ Jesus.” (NEB 1961)

One of my wife Cheryl’s favorite prayers is, “Please God show me your perspective on this.” Mostly this is a prayer to understand circumstances or a particular situation. However, we can also apply this prayer to our personal life by asking God to show us his perspective on our thoughts and our desires. As an example, the Al Anon program teaches participants the acrostic, HALT. When you are Hungry, Angry, Lonely, or Tired, you are especially susceptible to your addictions or to your codependent behaviors. This prayer of asking God for his perspective can help us go deeper in understanding our ways of thinking that are contrary to our life in Christ Jesus.

My Takeaway: We saw on August 1, 2025, that God wants to restore our soul. (Psalm 23) When God changes us inside out, God is restoring our soul.

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.

 

Tuesday, August 5, 2025

I Feel His Pleasure

Meditations on

Staying In the Grace for Today 

August 5, 2025

I Feel His Pleasure

Commit everything you do to the Lord.

Trust him, and he will help you.

He will make your innocence radiate like the dawn,

and the justice of your cause will shine like the noonday sun.

Psalm 37:5-6

Psalm 37 is a collection of wise sayings that contrast the lives of the wicked with the lives of those who are faithful to God. The psalmist’s wisdom and experience had taught him that the spoils of the wicked are “like grass, they soon fade away. Like spring flowers, they soon wither” (Psalm 37:2), but the blessings of God are eternal.

The essential message of the psalm is in verses 5-6 quoted above. This is a very profound, yet simple, way to pattern our life. First, we commit our life to God. Second, we exercise faith in God by trusting Him with our life. Third, God will act. The psalmist is not very specific about how God will act, but the description is rather breathtaking. The psalmist is trying to describe the wonder, beauty and awe associated with being in the presence of God. The reward for faithfulness to God is being in perfect peace as you rest in the presence of your Heavenly Father. Seven times the psalmist refers to the blessing of God as, “The godly will possess the land and will live there forever” (Psalm 37:29). This means the reward is eternal.

Verse 4 of this Psalm, “Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires,” reminds me of the 1981 historical sports film, Chariots of Fire.  The film is based on the true story of Eric Liddell, a devout Scottish Christian, who runs for the glory of God in the 1924 Olympics. In the film, while talking with his sister, Liddell says, “God made me fast and when I run, I feel his pleasure.”

My Takeaway: God made each of us for His specific purpose. When we ‘run’ in His purpose for us, we feel his pleasure! 

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.

Monday, August 4, 2025

Who Am I

Meditations on

Staying In the Grace for Today 

August 4, 2025

Who Am I

Your children will commit themselves to you, O Jerusalem,

    just as a young man commits himself to his bride.

Then God will rejoice over you

    as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride.

Isaiah 62:5 

My experience as a presiding minister at weddings was sweet and sour. The sour part was enduring some long rehearsals with wedding directors seeking perfection. The sweet part was premarital counseling where I formed a relationship with the bride and groom. And the sweetest part was watching the groom standing next to me as he saw his bride walking toward him. One time, the groom gasped, “She’s so beautiful,” and his knees buckled. His best man and I caught him just in time.

Our savior, Christ Jesus, is the groom and we, members of his church are his bride. Take a moment and imagine God rejoicing over you as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride. On July 17, 2025, I mentioned the opening lyric of the song, Who Am I by the group Casting Crowns: “Who am I, that the Lord of all the earth would care to know my name?”

God knows your name! And God rejoices over you as his beloved child.

My Takeaway: On July 30, 2025, I wrote about Bernard of Clairvaux’s four stages of personal growth. Stage 4 is loving ourselves God’s Sake. Our deep acceptance of God rejoicing over us as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride is the pathway of experiencing the peace of God that passes all understanding. And it will keep us grounded in God’s grace for today! 

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.

Friday, August 1, 2025

He Restores My Soul

Meditations on

Staying In the Grace for Today 

August 1, 2025

He Restores My Soul

he restores my soul.

He leads me in right paths

for his name’s sake.

Psalm 23:3 

Since I often quote Philippians 2:13, I want to note today that Philippians 2:13 is certainly a confirmation of “He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake.”

The first part of verse 3 captured my attention this morning: “he restores my soul.” On July 14, 2025, my meditation was on Jeremiah 1:5 where God said he formed Jeremiah in his mother’s womb. The essence of this passage in Jeremiah is that God has a master plan for my life, and yours. Today, God’s work is forming Christ in us and that really is his master plan. When God is restoring my soul, He is forming Christ in me so that my life today will reflect Christ in me, as Paul wrote in Colossians 1:27, “Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory.”

Two points are important to me in this section of verse 3. I am acutely aware that my body is aging. There are so many things, physically, I can no longer do. My stamina isn’t what it once was. All my present-day physical limitations will be restored to their intended purpose by God, in his time. I am reminded of the wonderful promise of Paul in 1 Corinthians 13:12, “All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.”

However, Psalm 23:3 is very much a present-day affirmation of God’s loving care of his children. God is continually restoring my soul. Taken as a whole, verse 3 and Philippians 2:13, tell me God is working in me, keeping me very much aware of his loving kindness and his mercies that never come to an end. (Lamentations 3:22-23)

My Takeaway: It is my practice, when receiving the bread and cup in Holy Communion, to respond as I receive each element with, “Thanks be to God.” This is my personal affirmation that the sacrament is a means of grace, God’s work to restore my soul. 

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.

Thursday, July 31, 2025

A Living and Holy Sacrifice

Meditations on

Staying In the Grace for Today 

July 31, 2025

A Living and Holy Sacrifice

And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.

Romans 12:1 

For most of her two-thousand-year history, the various parts of the Christian church have debated who is responsible for the epistle to the Hebrews. Many today just say the authorship, since the letter is unsigned, is unknown. When the ‘church’ developed the litmus test for material to be included in the New Testament of whether the author was a person who had been with Christ, some people believe Hebrews was assigned to the Apostle Paul just so it could be included. Others say Hebrews was a sermon delivered by the Apostle Paul.

As for me, I have often commented on the importance of Hebrews 12:28 in my life: “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable worship with reverence and awe.” (NRSV) The similarity between Romans 12:1 and Hebrews 12:28 is enough for me to agree the Apostle Paul created the epistle of Hebrews, either by writing or preaching.

What do my comments, thus far, have to do with staying in God’s grace for today? Let’s read Romans 12:2

Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

Tomorrow, I will go a little deeper on this point as we consider God restoring our soul. For today, I see this call to be a willful participant in God’s work to transform my life, by changing the way I think, as a foundation to staying in His grace for today.

My Takeaway: When I give my body to be a living and holy sacrifice to God, I am becoming a willful participant in His transformative work in my life. Being at the center of God’s will is how we remain in His grace for today.

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.

Wednesday, July 30, 2025

Love Self for God’s Sake

Meditations on

Staying In the Grace for Today 

July 30, 2025

Love Self for God’s Sake

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 

The Apostle Paul, writing about marriage relationships said, “. . . husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies. For a man who loves his wife actually shows love for himself.” (Ephesians 5:28) What Paul said about marriage relationships applies to all our relationships.

If I am at peace with myself, that peace is revealed in my relationship with others. If I am angry, if I am ashamed of myself, or disturbed by unresolved issues, my condition is revealed in my relationship with others.

Bernard of Clairvaux in his book, “On Loving God” put forth four stages of personal growth.

Stage 1: Love Self for Self’s Sake

We begin this way, taking responsibility to meet all our needs.

Stage 2: Love God for Self’s Sake

We hear John 3:16 and love God so we can be saved.

Stage 3: Love God for God’s Sake

We grow in faith and learn to love God with our heart, soul and mind.

Stage 4: Love Self for God’s Sake

We take God at His word and believe we are the beloved child of God

with whom He is well pleased and upon whom His favor rests.

How do we progress to stage 4 of Bernard’s teaching?

My Takeaway: Come to Jesus, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and he will give you rest. Let Jesus teach you, and you will find rest for your souls. And you will love yourself because that is God’s will for 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.

Tuesday, July 29, 2025

Hope and Confidence

Meditations on

Staying In the Grace for Today 

July 29, 2025

Hope and Confidence

For I hold you by your right hand—

    I, the Lord your God.

And I say to you,

    ‘Don’t be afraid. I am here to help you.’

Isaiah 41:13

Isaiah experienced God’s help. So did Jesus’ disciples, especially after Pentecost when they were filled with the Holy Spirit. The churches birthed by the Apostles also experienced God’s help.

These churches made the Lord their hope and confidence and they did great work building for the Kingdom of God. Through their hope and confidence in the Lord, the churches exhibited what theologian Origen called God’s “invisible power.” They had a bubbling energy—a bottom-up inner life—that had immense potential. This invisible power nurtured in the Christians the life of the Beatitudes and the life of love that Paul celebrates in 1 Corinthians 13. Through their hope and trust in the Lord, they entrusted their future confidently to God, and we today are the beneficiaries of their legacy.

Which is to say, what God did for Isaiah, what He did for the Apostles, what He did through the churches established by the Apostles, He will do for us today!

My Takeaway: I can make a list of hundreds of people and places that desperately need God to say, ‘Don’t be afraid. I am here to help you.’ However, I never, ever, want to lose sight of the number one place God wants to speak these words: My life!

God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.

Philippians 2:13

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.

Monday, July 28, 2025

Hope and Confidence

Meditations on

Staying In the Grace for Today 

July 28, 2025

Hope and Confidence

“But blessed are those who trust in the Lord

    and have made the Lord their hope and confidence.”

Jeremiah 17:7 

On July 18, I shared a quote from Pope Benedict when he knew his death was near. That quote from the Pope was relevant to me because Cheryl and I have been working with a terminally ill cancer patient and her primary caregiver. The caregiver was comforted by Pope Benedict’s personal sharing, the patient, not so much. The patient has been vacillating between hospice care or continued chemotherapy. Their predicament reminds me of the cartoon showing a man waist deep in a swamp, surrounded by alligators. The caption reads: “When you are up to your waist in alligators, it is hard to remember your original task was to drain the swamp.”

The point here is that when you are in the midst of the storm, it is difficult to begin grounding yourself in faith. Pope Benedict’s awareness of his friendship with God didn’t begin when he knew death was close at hand; his friendship was nurtured over decades of devotion to God.

Death is certain for all of us. Hopefully, we will, like Pope Benedict, be aware of our life’s end and be able to process the time in faith. If we are so blessed, we will rejoice that we have made the Lord our hope and confidence.

My Takeaway: Making the Lord our hope and confidence allows us to be comforted by these words of Jesus:

“Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.” (John 14:1-3)

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.