Seeking the Life in Christ: April 2025

Wednesday, April 30, 2025

The Lord’s Prayer

Meditations on

Staying In the Grace for Today

April 30, 2025

The Lord’s Prayer

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.

Matthew 6:11-12

One aspect of my worship experience in the Anglican Church that has been especially comforting to me is how the Lord’s Prayer is incorporated in the ebb and flow of our church life. The congregation says the Lord’s prayer before the Prayer of Humble Access as we prepare to come to the Lord’s Table for Holy Communion. And at the end of our pastor’s teaching in Sunday School, and Wednesday evening Bible Study, he will say, “The Lord be with you.” The congregation responds, “And with thy spirit.” Then we all say the Lord’s Prayer. We end Sunday School and Wednesday Bible Study this way, every week.

I’ve taught studies on the Lord’s Prayer where we looked at each phrase and came to understand how this seemingly simple prayer can order every aspect of our lives for the Kingdom of God. The two verses above reveal this truth. We want to stay in the grace for today, so we realize our daily sustenance comes from God, daily! And daily I need, I so very much need, to seek God’s forgiveness of my sins.

The forgiveness line in this prayer always reminds me of Henri Nouwen’s teaching on The Return of the Prodigal Son:

I am the son of my compassionate Father. I am an heir, as son and heir I am to become successor. I am destined to step into my Father's place and offer to others the same compassion that he has offered me. The return to the Father is ultimately the challenge to become the Father. But do I really want to be son and heir with all that that implies?

My Takeaway: “Being in the Father's house requires that I make the Father's life my own and become transformed in his image." I am learning the only way to become transformed in his image, is to remain in the 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.

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, April 29, 2025

Christ Is the Soul’s Familiar Friend

Meditations on

Staying In the Grace for Today

April 29, 2025

Christ Is the Soul’s Familiar Friend

Come close to God, and God will come close to you.

James 4:8a

On Monday, the Third Week of Lent, (March 24) I read a devotion by Harriet Beecher Stowe. (A Time to Turn, Anglican Readings for Lent and Easter Week) Ms. Stowe’s theme captured my heart: “Christ is the soul’s familiar friend.” As I pondered this devotion, I realized that I had twenty-three names on my daily prayer list, but my name wasn’t there. And it should have been. The next day I had an appointment with a specialist to discuss the shortness of breath I had been experiencing. And, in a few more weeks I am scheduled for an endoscopic ultrasound as a follow-up to an endoscopy I had a few weeks ago. These two appointments have certainly been on my mind. Why wasn’t I talking to Jesus about them?

Maybe, because of the unknowns, I rationalized they weren’t serious enough for Jesus’ time. But the unknowns were serious enough for me to worry. Ms. Stowe’s devotion showed me how my silence before Jesus was distracting my attention span while participating in the liturgy of the church. My worrying was taking my focus away from staying in God’s grace for each day.

My Takeaway: Throughout each day, I often stop what I am doing, and simply pray, “I love you, Lord.” I sense I am close to God, and that He has drawn close to me. But that is not the same as kneeling before Him, and saying, “Lord, I am worried . . .”

I’m still learning how to make the life in Christ my way of life. My thanks to Harriet Beecher Stowe for drawing me close to my soul’s familiar friend on Monday, the Third Week of Lent.

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.)

Monday, April 28, 2025

The Power and Message of The Cross

Meditations on

Staying In the Grace for Today

April 28, 2025

The Power and Message of The Cross

And Jesus replied, “I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

Luke 23:43

Several times during my pastoral ministry, I was with people who knew they were dying. They knew their end was in sight. Do you remember how the Apostle Paul faced the end of his life?

The time of my death is near. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful. And now the prize awaits me—the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of his return. (2 Timothy 4:6b-8a)

I was saddened that many of these people I was with did not embrace Paul’s optimistic faith. They might have said, “Well that’s good for Paul, but look at all he accomplished in his life!” True. But let’s also remember the last line of Paul’s statement to Timothy – it is verse 8b, “And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to his appearing.”

Pastor Alistair Begg, of Parkside Church near Cleveland, Ohio, in his sermon, The Power and Message of The Cross, proclaims the truth of Jesus’ words quoted for today. In this sermon, which is available on YouTube, he presupposes what it might have been like when the thief on the cross next to Jesus arrived in heaven. He might have been asked many questions seeking to establish why he should be admitted to heaven, and for which he had no answers, except to say,

“The guy on the middle cross said I could come.”

Hallelujah and amen! That is the exact statement the Apostle Paul made, and it is the exact statement I can make when my time comes.

My Takeaway: Any service, any sacrifice I’ve made for God, pales in comparison to the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. Like the thief on the cross next to Jesus, all I can pray is, “Jesus, remember me.” And, like the thief on the cross next to Jesus, I’ll hear Jesus respond, “I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.” Why? Because Jesus’ grace is sufficient for today, and every day!!

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.)

Friday, April 25, 2025

Deep Within

Meditations on

Staying In the Grace for Today

April 25, 2025

Deep Within

For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.

Romans 1:20

After Timothy urges us to intercede in prayer for all people, including those with authority over our lives, he writes: “This is good and pleases God our Savior, who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth.” (1 Timothy 2:3-4) Together with our passage quoted above, I am encouraged to know God is revealing Himself, through His prevenient grace, to all people, everywhere.

I am also encouraged to know that God’s prevenient grace continues to be at work within me. I am so very blessed to be living in the stunningly beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains, the oldest mountains on our planet. Every time I walk outside my home, I am surrounded by the wonders of God’s creation. Every winter, when spring is maybe just a month away, Cheryl finds Forsythia buds starting to come out. She will take some cuttings and place them in a vase. Then, in the warmth of our home, they blossom. We have God’s creation, springtime in wintertime, in our home. God uses these moments to remind me that for God, who looked at a world that did not exist, and spoke it into being by the power of His word, nothing is impossible. (Genesis 1 - The phrase "God looked at a world that did not exist" refers to the biblical concept of creation ex nihilo, where God brought forth the universe and everything within it from nothing.)

My Takeaway: The wonder of God’s self-revelation in His creation helps me 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.)

Thursday, April 24, 2025

Penitence

Meditations on

Staying In the Grace for Today

April 24, 2025

Penitence

Oh, what joy for those

whose disobedience is forgiven,

whose sin is put out of sight!

Yes, what joy for those

whose record the Lord has cleared of guilt,

whose lives are lived in complete honesty!

Psalm 32:1-2

The psalmist continues in verse 3, “When I refused to confess my sin, my body wasted away, and I groaned all day long.” Yes, as I wrote yesterday, God has united us to Christ in His death, burial, resurrection, and enthronement. And for all eternity. Yes, Christ in us is our hope of glory. (Colossians 1:27) However, it is also true that our old nature, the Apostle Paul calls this our flesh, wars against our divine nature. Our calling is to take seriously this raging war between two natures, and to do our part to work cooperatively with God as he works to form Christ in us.

This point was emphasized to me on the second Monday of Lent when our Lenten devotion recalled the Apostle Paul writing, “I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.” (1 Corinthians 9:27) I believe Paul understood that if he didn’t take seriously his part in the raging war, he may well lose God’s calling on his life to preach the Gospel.

(see Revelation 2:5) But Paul did take seriously his part in this war, as revealed in Galatians 2:20, “My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

My Takeaway: Unconfessed sin can erode our intimacy with God and we, like the psalmist today, can feel as though our life is wasting away. But “If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9 NRSV) And “Oh, what joy for those” who stay in the 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.)

Wednesday, April 23, 2025

Friends of God

Meditations on

Staying In the Grace for Today

April 23, 2025

Friends of God

I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves.

Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me.

John 15:15

So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God

because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.

Romans 5:11

I have written often on this passage from Hebrews 12:28-29,

“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, for indeed our God is a consuming fire.”

To help me order my life in reverence and awe of God, I often affirm in my prayers

that I am not my own; I belong to God. By creation and redemption, I belong to God. This thought helps me realize the life in Christ I am seeking as my way of life is not a self-improvement program – it is NEW LIFE!

This new life is expressed in terms of a total change in identity. The Christians in the Middle Ages understood this. When a person came for baptism, they were given a new name – usually from the Bible – and thus came the tradition of referring to your first name as your Christian name. When we come to God through faith in Christ, God accepts all that we have to offer, which is nothing other than our sinful nature. But because we have a desire for forgiveness, God accepts us and then exchanges our old sinful nature with new life in Christ.

In this new life in Christ, we, like Jesus, become the beloved child of God, with whom God is delighted and upon whom God’s favor rests. In this new identity, Christ becomes our life. Because Christ is our life, God, our Father, declares that we have right standing with Him, just like Jesus. He further attests that this right standing, since it was given to us as a gift, is not based on our behavior. We are not his new creation because of what we did, or we are doing, or what we have refrained from doing. Rather, we are His children because of what He has done in uniting us to Christ in His death, burial, resurrection, and enthronement. And for all eternity.

My Takeaway: As God’s new creation, we have become friends of God. I want this truth to be embedded deeply within me and influence every thought and deed in my life.

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.)

Tuesday, April 22, 2025

Fire in My Heart

Meditations on

Staying In the Grace for Today

April 22, 2025

Fire in My Heart

“I take joy in doing your will, my God,

for your instructions are written on my heart.”

Psalm 40:8

I well remember the first time I encountered these words of Jeremiah:

But if I say I’ll never mention the Lord

or speak in his name,

his word burns in my heart like a fire.

It’s like a fire in my bones!

I am worn out trying to hold it in!

I can’t do it!

Jeremiah 20:9

I had been a lay speaker and a Sunday school teacher, but Jeremiah’s words resonated deeply within me, and I sensed God had other plans for me. Within a few years of reading Jeremiah’s words, I received my first pastoral appointment. The fire burned in me for the thirty-two years I was in a pulpit and has continued to burn for the last thirteen years as I write these meditations. Early in Lent this year, as I began to ponder what I would write after Easter, I had a passing thought that maybe it was time to retire from writing these meditations. Fifteen minutes later I had developed this theme and began writing. The fire still burns within, and like Jeremiah, I cannot hold it in!

God has a plan for all his children. When you are flowing in God’s will for you, you will experience the same joy as our psalmist for today. How do you discern God’s will for your life? The best place to start is by praying. Then ask your pastor for assistance. You can also Google spiritual gifts and discover a plethora of available materials that help you understand your spiritual gifts.

My Takeaway: In my church, our service of Holy Communion concludes with a prayer asking God to assist us with his grace to continue in holy fellowship with him and do all such good works as he has prepared for us. We are asking God to help us take joy in doing his will for us.

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.)

Monday, April 21, 2025

Stay in the Grace for Today

Meditations on

Staying In the Grace for Today

April 21, 2025

Stay in the Grace for Today

^“All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet:

“Look! The virgin will conceive a child!
She will give birth to a son,
and they will call him Immanuel,
which means ‘God is with us.’”

Matthew 1:22-23

In February 2014, First United Methodist Church in Hendersonville, NC hosted a Spiritual Formation weekend. The guest speaker was William Paul Smith, the author of The Shack (Windblown Media, 2007). One phrase used by Young that weekend has since been embedded in Cheryl and me: “stay in the grace for today.”

Today, I am beginning a series of meditations on this phrase from Wm. Paul Young, which can also be characterized as Grace for the Moment. On the second day of Lent, My Takeaway included gaining more awareness of my response to troubles or obstacles I encounter and learning to discern whether I am fully trusting in God. Earlier that week my cardiologist scheduled me for a stress test because I had been experiencing shortness of breath on the tennis court. I was concerned and I worried; I worried a lot. I was convinced I would be back in the hospital for another heart procedure. On that second day of Lent, I read again my meditation and immediately was convicted of my sin. (Later that day I received an all-clear message from my doctor.)

Also, later that second day of Lent, I read the scripture quoted above, and I realized I was overlooking the One thing that God has given me to help me stay in the grace of today: Jesus is, Immanuel; Jesus is God with us.

My Takeaway: I don’t have to wonder if my sin has been forgiven. Because Jesus is Immanuel, my sin is forgiven. I don’t have to wonder if my name is written in heaven. Because I have given my life to Jesus, who is Immanuel, my name is in God’s Book of Life. No matter my circumstance, because Jesus is Immanuel I can pray, “Thou art with me . . .” (Psalm 23:4)

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.)

Friday, April 18, 2025

Sinful Man Was Arresting God

Holy Week 2025

April 18, 2025

Good Friday

Sinful Man Was Arresting God

“Who are you looking for?” (Jesus) asked.

“Jesus the Nazarene,” they replied.

“I AM he,” Jesus said”

John 18:4-5

Read: John 18:1-10

There is a beautiful symmetry in the way the Biblical writers tell the story of God. There was the first exodus of God’s people, from slavery in Egypt, led by Moses. The Gospels tell of Jesus, God’s Messiah, leading the second exodus, from slavery to sin and death. In the book of Genesis, we read of the Garden of Eden inhabited by Adam. In John 18, the setting is another garden, the Garden of Gethsemane. In the first Garden, God, in the cool of the evening, came looking for Adam. In the second Garden, in the cool of the evening, sinful man comes looking for Jesus, God’s second Adam. (The Apostle Paul writes much about the ‘first’ and ‘last’ Adam in Romans 5 and 1 Corinthians 15) Yet a third Garden will be the setting for Jesus’ resurrection.

“Who are you looking for?” (Jesus) asked. “Jesus the Nazarene,” they replied. “I AM he,” Jesus said” (John 18:4-5). The disciples, and perhaps even Judas who was with the soldiers, in the Garden that evening heard much more than a simple reply, “I am he.” They hear; “I AM.”

“I AM The Bread of Life.”

“I AM The Light 0f The World.”

“I AM The Gate.”

“I AM The Good Shepherd.”

“I AM The Resurrection and The Life.”

“I AM The Way, The Truth and The Life.”

‘I AM The Vine.”

With the memory of these seven ‘I AM” statements echoing through the Garden, the absurdness of the moment was overwhelming: sinful man was arresting God. The soldiers drew back and fell. Did they understand the absurdity of the moment? Perhaps it was the humility of Jesus and his lack of resistance that shocked them. I don’t know for sure why the soldiers drew back and fell to the ground, but as I meditate on that scene, falling on my knees seems an appropriate response for me.

I pray you will worship our Risen Savior on Easter Sunday with reverence and awe.

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.)

Thursday, April 17, 2025

One Of You Will Betray Me!

Holy Week 2025

April 17, 2025

Thursday of Holy Week

One Of You Will Betray Me!

Now Jesus was deeply troubled, and he exclaimed, “I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me!”

John 13: 21

Read: John 13:18-30

Jesus had washed the feet of all twelve disciples. Now they were reclining at the dinner table partaking of their meal. That they were reclining is a very important detail. The customs in Israel at that time provided that only those who were free reclined while eating; slaves and servants ate either standing or seated. Although the Israelites were living under Roman occupation and oppression, Passover celebrated God setting them free from slavery in Egypt, and every Jew would partake of the Passover meal while reclining at their table. Reclining people gathering around the table are touching one another; the Passover was a very intimate meal for Jesus and his disciples. The text includes the detail, “Jesus responded, “It is the one to whom I give the bread I dip in the bowl” (John 12:26a). In first-century Israel, sharing a meal together was yet another indication of intimacy and right-standing relationships.

As Jesus looks around the table at his disciples, his friends, he knows one will betray him to the religious authorities, one will publicly deny even knowing him, and all but one of the remaining men will scatter into hiding after he is arrested. Even so, Jesus reclined at the Passover table with his disciples; even so, Jesus washed the feet of all twelve.

As you ponder Jesus’ interaction with his disciples, what do you hear God saying to you? Do you have an attitude toward someone that God wants you to adjust?

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.)

Wednesday, April 16, 2025

A Daunting Challenge

Holy Week 2025

April 16, 2025

Wednesday of Holy Week

A Daunting Challenge

And when (the Advocate) comes, he will convict the world of its sin,

and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment.

John 16:8

Read: John 16:1-15

God’s people have always longed for the day when God’s justice will prevail throughout the world. Jesus promised that with the coming of the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, God is working to answer the longing of our heart.

Jesus has promised that our Advocate will guide and empower us. Jesus is not saying that the Holy Spirit will be working independently of us to convict the world of sin, righteousness and judgment. Jesus is saying that the Holy Spirit, working in and through his followers, will bring justice to the world. When the followers of Jesus lead lives of honesty and integrity, they will stand apart from the ways of the world. Their lifestyle will contrast sharply with the ways of people who follow the world’s culture. When the followers of Jesus speak out against injustice in the world, their beliefs will contrast sharply with the ways of the world. When the followers of Jesus work diligently in ministries of mercy and justice, their ideals will contrast sharply with the ideals of the world. When the followers of Jesus live with the hope of God’s future in their heart, their sense of inner peace will contrast sharply with people living without hope. It will be through the lives of fully-devoted followers of Jesus that the Holy Spirit “will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment” (John 16:8).

The challenge of Jesus to his followers is to open our hearts and our lives to the Holy Spirit so that Jesus can live his life through us. This challenge is daunting because the persecution that confronted Jesus awaits his followers as well. However, Jesus has promised us that he will always be with us; nothing can separate us from him. We can do everything through Christ, who gives us strength. (Matthew 28:20, Romans 8:39, Philippians 4:13)

The Good News is that Jesus has sent the Holy Spirit to us. Are you up to the challenge that comes with receiving the Spirit?

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.)

Tuesday, April 15, 2025

Tuesday of Holy Week Bringing Glory to God

Holy Week 2025

April 15, 2025

Tuesday of Holy Week

Bringing Glory to God

“When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples.

This brings great glory to my Father”

John 15:8

Read: John 15:1-16

Imagine there will be a meeting at your church, Sunday afternoon at 3PM. Jesus’ Father, the Gardener, will meet with your congregation to cut off every branch that isn’t producing fruit. He will also prune the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. Ouch! I wonder how many people will show up to meet with the Gardener.

I believe our willingness to sit still for the Gardener is directly proportional to our ownership of Jesus’ expectation that we produce much fruit for him. Note that Jesus twice says that he expects much fruit from his disciples, not just some fruit. (John 15: 5 & 8) Our willingness to sit still for the Gardener is also directly related to our staying close to Jesus: “Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me” (John 15:4). Knowing I am in Christ, and he is in me emboldens me to allow the Gardener to cut and prune, even if I do cringe and cry ouch!

Our mission is to make disciples for Jesus for the transformation of the world. The fruit he is expecting us to produce is fruit that helps people know and love him. We are also called to produce much fruit in ministries of peace and justice that transform the world into the Kingdom of God. This passage should give us pause to examine our life for evidence that our focus, our priorities are aimed at producing much fruit for Jesus’ Kingdom. In this present age, our culture is in desperate need of the followers of Jesus speaking the truth in love. Truth will produce fruit for God’s Kingdom.

Do you have a personal expectation that you will produce much fruit for Jesus? If so, listen as Jesus says to you,

“When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father” (John 15:8).

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.)

Monday, April 14, 2025

Monday of Holy Week Jesus Is The Way, The Truth And The Life

Holy Week 2025

April 14, 2025

Monday of Holy Week

Jesus Is The Way, The Truth And The Life

Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.

John 14:6

Read: John 14:1-14

In Jesus, the Glory of God has been revealed. In Jesus, we see the heart of God the Father. Jesus, as the revealed Glory of God, washed the feet of his disciples, loved his disciples, and was the Passover Lamb who took away the sins of the world. Jesus is the revealed Glory of God. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. Jesus shows us the way home to paradise, the way home to God our Father. Jesus and God the Father are one.

Therefore, because of all that Jesus is, he can make the most comforting promise in the Bible: “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).

This one promise is the tipping point of our response to all the claims Jesus has made on our lives. Our fidelity to Jesus’ command for us to go and make disciples depends on our response to this promise. Our willingness to entrust our lives to God so that He can use everything in our life for His purpose of transforming us to become like Jesus depends on how deeply Jesus’ promise resonates within our soul. Is Jesus’ promise to you sufficient to earn your unconditional, unqualified obedience? If yes, Hallelujah; rest in his assurance that you will always be with him.

A few days ago, I found myself responding to this promise of Jesus as I sang along with the Chris Tomlin song, Lay Me Down,

“It will be my joy to say, Your will, your way.”

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.)

Friday, April 11, 2025

Closing Thoughts Part Two – Final Victory

Meditations in the Season of Lent

April 11, 2025

Closing Thoughts

Part Two – Final Victory

Today, I am closing my Meditations in the Season of Lent. On Monday, April 14, 2025, I will begin meditations for Holy Week, the week before Easter. Today’s meditation is my second takeaway from this Season of Lent.

Yesterday, I closed my meditation noting that the Kerygma is summarized in the Great Thanksgiving of the United Methodist communion liturgy: Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again. In this same Great Thanksgiving are the lines:

By your spirit make us one with Christ,

one with each other,

and one in ministry to all the world,

until Christ comes in final victory

and we feast at his heavenly banquet.

In this Season of Lent, both James and Peter asserted that the followers of Jesus understood their lives within the context of looking forward to Jesus coming again in final victory. I believe it is this same truth that enables us to make a difference in the world today. Even though Jesus has defeated the powers of sin and death, in our present time as we await Jesus’ return, we see the forces of evil are active in our world, as the wars in Ukraine and Israel testify. And we will experience persecution as we align ourselves with God’s Messiah, Christ Jesus.

As I consider these lessons from Lent, I am reminded of two portions of Apostle Paul’s second letter to Timothy. First,

For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. They will reject the truth and chase after myths. (2 Timothy 4:3-4)

I believe we are living is this time Paul predicted.

Secondly,

As for me, my life has already been poured out as an offering to God. The time of my death is near. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful. And now the prize awaits me—the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of his return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to his appearing. (2 Timothy 4:6-8)

Unlike Paul, I don’t think the time of my death is near, but like Paul, my heart’s desire is to continue fighting the good fight, to finish the race the Lord has assigned to me, and above all, to remain faithful to Him who called me.

My Takeaway: My Jesus is coming again in Final Victory to make all things right. Keeping my eye on this, the ultimate truth of our faith, helps me stay on course even though so many around me reject the truth of Christ and chase after myths.

Come Lord Jesus!

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.)

Wednesday, April 30, 2025

The Lord’s Prayer

Tuesday, April 29, 2025

Christ Is the Soul’s Familiar Friend

Monday, April 28, 2025

The Power and Message of The Cross

Friday, April 25, 2025

Deep Within

Thursday, April 24, 2025

Penitence

Wednesday, April 23, 2025

Friends of God

Tuesday, April 22, 2025

Fire in My Heart

Monday, April 21, 2025

Stay in the Grace for Today

Friday, April 18, 2025

Sinful Man Was Arresting God

Thursday, April 17, 2025

One Of You Will Betray Me!

Wednesday, April 16, 2025

A Daunting Challenge

Tuesday, April 15, 2025

Tuesday of Holy Week Bringing Glory to God

Monday, April 14, 2025

Monday of Holy Week Jesus Is The Way, The Truth And The Life

Friday, April 11, 2025

Closing Thoughts Part Two – Final Victory

Seeking the Life in Christ

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