Seeking the Life in Christ: October 2025

Friday, October 31, 2025

You Will Always Be with Me

Meditations on

Staying In the Grace for Today

October 31, 2025

You Will Always Be with Me

When everything is ready, I will come and get you,

so that you will always be with me where I am.

John 14:3

I am writing this meditation just a few days after receiving the news that a friend is now with Christ. Currently, Cheryl and I have twenty-four names we bring before the Lord in our daily prayers. At least eight of them may be with Jesus any day. This reality makes Jesus’ promise, quoted above, so comforting to me. And the meditations of the last two days can so ground us in our faith that when Jesus comes for us, we will have no fear as our faith becomes sight.

This promise of Jesus is the tipping point of my response to all the claims he has made on my life. My willingness to entrust my life to God, so that He can use everything in my life for His purpose of transforming me to become like Jesus, rests on this promise of Jesus. My willingness to be an ambassador for Christ and to exchange my human point of view for God’s world view, rests on this promise of Jesus. Because I choose to believe God is love, and that God the Father Almighty, the Creator of heaven and earth, is very fond of me, I know there will be no fear or apprehension in me when Jesus comes for me.

My Takeaway: The first three of Stephen Covey’s Seven Habits implore us to be proactive, beginning with our end in mind, and not to allow the urgent to overshadow the important. My end that I always keep in mind, is that I will always be with Jesus. This ‘end’ allows me to determine when and how to be proactive and how to identify the important priorities in my life. This helps in my being trained in righteousness, the fruit of which is no fear in meeting my Savior face to face.

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.

Thursday, October 30, 2025

God Is Love

Meditations on

Staying In the Grace for Today

October 30, 2025

God Is Love

We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them.

1 John 4:16

Our question from yesterday’s meditation returns today: How different would our life be if we actually believed God is love? I believe this is an essential question that will help us build a firm foundation for our life in Christ. If we believe God is love, can we see how this will help us understand every aspect of our life. Brennan Mannings helps us here. Remember yesterday Manning asked, “Do you honestly believe that God likes you?" He goes on to assert, “If you could answer, "The Father is very fond of me," there would come a relaxedness, a serenity and a compassionate attitude toward yourself that is a reflection of God’s own tenderness.” (I think I first read this story in Manning’s book, Ruthless Trust)

Can you see how true belief changes our lives? As we come to grasp God’s complete love and care for us, our lives relax, and we now have a serene and compassionate attitude toward ourselves that reflects God’s own tenderness for us. Our new, Christ like, attitude invites us to reflect on the verse quoted above. What does it mean, in my life, that God is love? It can only mean that ALL that God is, is love. EVERY decision God makes, is rooted in His love. EVERY thought God has for me, and you, are completely grounded in love. In God there is no evil, nor bitterness, no cruelty. Just love. Pure, vast, passionate love.

My Takeaway: Our life in Christ is training in righteousness. (2 Timothy 3:16) Our training is made effective when we are grounded in the truth, God is LOVE.

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, October 29, 2025

God’s Plans

Meditations on

Staying In the Grace for Today

October 29, 2025

God’s Plans

“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord.

“They are plans for good and not for disaster,

to give you a future and a hope.”

Jeremiah 29:11

Brennan Manning told a delightful story about a man taking an early morning walk with his uncle. The man noticed a smile on his uncle’s face and observed, “You look very happy.” “I am.” His uncle replied. “Why?” “Because the Father of our Lord Jesus is very fond of me.” Manning next asked his readers, “If the question were put to you, "Do you honestly believe that God likes you?" -- not loves you because theologically he must, but does He like you -- how would you answer?”

Manning’s question is like that of the spiritual director who asserts, “God loves you! How different would your life be if you actually believed that?” The truth is many of us live as functional atheists. Yes, we say we believe in God, and we even believe God loves us. But we live as though our entire life depends on our work, our efforts to secure love, acceptance and a good sense of self-worth. To this dilemma Jeremiah would add a word.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”

Now, the question returns: How different would our life be if we actually believed Jeremiah?

My Takeaway: I believe Jeremiah’s promise. And I believe the Apostle Paul’s take on Jeremiah’s promise: “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.” (Romans 8:28) Choosing to so believe keeps me 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.)

Tuesday, October 28, 2025

Your World View

Meditations on

Staying In the Grace for Today

October 28, 2025

Your World View

So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now!

2 Corinthians 5:16

From verse 16, to the end of chapter 5, is a very concise summary of the Good News, the Gospel, of Christ. After learning to see things from God’s point of view, God’s world view, we realize we who belong to Christ are a new creation. This new life in Christ is a gift from God, and with our new life in Christ we are given a mission from God. We are ambassadors for Christ; telling others that Christ, who was without sin, sacrificed his life for them so that they too could be made right with God and thus become a new creation in Christ.

I find these six verses very helpful in my desire to remain in God’s grace for today, and every day. Taken together the six verses provide the context for verse 16, which for me is a foundation stone for staying in God’s grace for today: stop evaluating others from my human point of view. That’s it. My world view is firmly established when I adopt God’s world view and stop evaluating others from my human point of view. My desire is to see others from God’s point of view. God sees all people, all people everywhere, as a person for whom Christ died and rose again!

Can life be this simple? Yes, because this is how God sees our world. As I sit before these verses, I am very much aware of how diametrically opposed is God’s world view from the human point of view in our world today. What are we going to do?

My Takeaway: The Wednesday evening Bible study I attend is spending a year on the Book of Isaiah. Last week we looked at Isaiah 6:8, “Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?” I said, “Here I am. Send me.”

In 2 Corinthians 5:20, the Apostle Paul commissioned me as an ambassador for Christ. The only question is whether I, like Isaiah, will respond, “Here I am, Send me.”

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, October 27, 2025

God’s Faithfulness

Meditations on

Staying In the Grace for Today

October 27, 2025

God’s Faithfulness

And my God will meet all your needs

according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:19 (NIV)

The verse above is a succinct summary of Paul’s letter to the Philippians. Throughout this letter, Paul assures us that God has been working and will continue to work in our lives. Throughout this letter, he extols the virtues of God and sets our knowing Christ as our highest and most glorious ambition. He crowns this magnificent letter with the promise that God will meet our every need because God has an eternal supply of riches within the glory that is Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior.

Paul also makes clear in this letter that God’s desire to come to us, to meet our needs, does not rest on the prerequisite of our faithfulness. God is faithful to us even when we are unfaithful because our relationship to Him is forever sealed through the faithfulness of Jesus. Do you remember our password to enter the Kingdom of God? We get in because Jesus said we may come.

The miracle of Jesus feeding the five thousand is recorded in all four Gospels. Why did each author believe this miracle needed to be included in their record of Jesus’ life and ministry? Perhaps to illustrate the words of Jesus in Matthew 19:26, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.” Yes, Jesus is the Lord of the impossible.

My Takeaway: There are situations in my circle of friends and family that desperately need miracles. I want to trust that God who sees what I cannot, who understands what I do not, is moving in those circumstances out of the abundance of riches and glory in Jesus. My lack of faith wants to equivocate, to focus on what seems, humanly speaking, impossible. Rather, I want to focus instead on God, for whom everything is possible.

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, October 24, 2025

They Know What Heaven Holds

Meditations on

Staying In the Grace for Today

October 24, 2025

They Know What Heaven Holds

In the same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels

when even one sinner repents.”

Luke 15:10

Luke 15 gives us four examples of God’s saving grace and is a magnificent declaration of God’s desire that everyone be saved. (1 Timothy 2:4) Jesus’ words, quoted above, imply that God’s angels know something that we do not. Maybe it is more that their appreciation of life in Christ is so much deeper than ours. We are surrounded by the reality that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. The angels are surrounded by a different reality.

Where the angels are, and where we, the followers of Jesus, are destined to be, is literally another world. God’s angels’ dwell where arguments have ceased, jealousy does not exist, where there are no secrets, and where sin no longer exists. All fear and insecurity have been left behind. Love is pure and holy. The angels are where God’s will is fulfilled completely. There is joy in the presence of God’s angels because the angels know what is in store for God’s children who have been redeemed by the love of Jesus. They know what heaven holds.

My Takeaway: Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person, because the old life is gone, and a new life has begun, thus we can begin living with the joy of God’s angels today. This joy will keep us grounded in God’s grace for today. (2 Corinthians 5:17)

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, October 23, 2025

You Don’t Love Me

Meditations on

Staying In the Grace for Today

October 23, 2025

You Don’t Love Me

“But I have this complaint against you.

You don’t love me or each other as you did at first!

Revelation 2:4

The verses quoted below, when the Apostle Paul met with the disciples from Ephesus, are a compelling vision of the Godly love for one another that Jesus prayed for the church in John 17.

“When Paul had finished speaking, he knelt down with all of them and prayed. They all wept as they embraced him and kissed him. What grieved them most was his statement that they would never see his face again. Then they accompanied him to the ship”. (Acts 20:36-38)

However, the love so deeply held among the disciples in Ephesus was almost totally lost. Revelation 2:4, quoted above, is when the church in Ephesus is next mentioned in the Bible. Here Jesus rebukes them, “Look how far you have fallen! Turn back to me and do the works you did at first.” (Revelation 2:5) The situation in Ephesus reminds me of the fable, "The frog in the kettle.” The analogy illustrates that a frog placed directly in boiling water would jump out, but one placed in cool water that is slowly heated would not perceive the threat until it's too late and is then boiled to death. This fable warns against complacency.

The Apostle Paul implores Timothy, and us, to “guard what God has entrusted to you.” (1 Timothy 6:20) I believe it is vitally important for us to know what we believe, and to pray and live what we believe. One of the enduring gifts of the ancient confessions and liturgies of the Christian church, is that they can keep us grounded in the truth of God in Christ Jesus. Paul modeled what it looks like to have our lives hidden in Christ and where we live, move and have our being in Him. Seeking the life in Christ as our way of life is a 24/7 endeavor and requires constant vigilance so that we can strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. Then we can run with endurance the race God has set before us as we fix our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. (See Hebrews 12:1-2)

My Takeaway: Will you pray with me? “Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid: Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you, and worthily magnify your holy Name; through Christ our Lord. Amen” (Collect for Purity, BCP)

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, October 22, 2025

Why Do We Worship God?

Meditations on

Staying In the Grace for Today

October 22, 2025

Why Do We Worship God?

I give you thanks, O Lord, with all my heart;

I will sing your praises before the gods.

I bow before your holy Temple as I worship.

I praise your name for your unfailing love and faithfulness;

for your promises are backed

by all the honor of your name.

Psalm 138:1-2

Psalm 138 addresses the question, why do we worship God? by focusing on two virtues of God: His Word and the fulfillment of His purpose.

Every church has an underlying theme that permeates their public worship services. For some churches, the theme centers on the act of worship, whether joyful and full of energy, or thoughtful and steeped in the traditions and harmonies of ages past. Others may focus on summoning the Army of the Lord to overcome the evils of society through ministries of peace and justice, while others will seek to rightly divide the Word of God through preaching and teaching the Bible.

Many in the congregations specifically chose their church because of the attraction of the theme, while many others may gather out of habit, and may not be consciously aware of the worship theme. Psalm 138 can serve as an invitation to examine our heart. How do we understand our experience of God? How does our understanding of God’s nature lead us in worship? If you feel uncertain in answering these questions, I encourage you to turn to the magnificent 40^th chapter of Isaiah. Read the chapter aloud, purposefully. I am convinced your heart will resonate in awe of God, our Savior.

A voice cries out: ‘In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our God will stand for ever.

He will feed his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms,

Lift up your eyes on high and see: Who created these? He who brings out their host and numbers them, calling them all by name;

Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.

but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.

Isaiah 40: 3,8,11,26,28,31 (NRSV)

My Takeaway: You may recall, one of my life verses is from Hebrews 12: 28, “. . . worship with reverence and awe,” so it is not surprising as I read these verses from Isaiah 40 aloud, and purposefully, my heart resonated in awe of God, our Savior.

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, October 21, 2025

Do Something

Meditations on

Staying In the Grace for Today

October 21, 2025

Do Something

I will show you my faith by my good deeds.

Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless?

Just as the body is dead without breath,

so also faith is dead without good works.

James 2:18,20,26

The Epistle of James is attributed to James, traditionally recognized as a prominent leader in the early Christian Church and the brother of Jesus. He surely did not sugarcoat his counsel. As harsh, and to the point, as his teachings are, he is not encouraging us to earn our right standing with God by our good deeds. He is showing us how acting on our faith will help us remain in God’s grace for each day.

Cheryl and I often include this Collect for Guidance in our morning prayers:

Heavenly God, in you we live and move and have our being: We humbly pray you so to guide and govern us by your Holy Spirit, that in all the cares and occupations of our life we may not forget you, but may remember that we are ever walking in your sight; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

This prayer is asking the Holy Spirit to help us stay in God’s grace for the day and thus fulfill God’s purpose for us each day. The good deeds in James’ imperative do not require rocket science to accomplish. Our work for the Lord can include writing a letter, asking for forgiveness, intercessory prayer for someone, adding extra food for a food bank to our shopping cart.

My Takeaway: Today I will do something that demonstrates my faith in Christ. Will you join me?

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, October 20, 2025

Your Name

Meditations on

Staying In the Grace for Today

October 20, 2025

Your Name

“. . . rejoice that your names are written in heaven.

Luke 10:20b (NRSV)

Your name is important. It is important to you, and to God. I was named for a 17^th Century relative who was an educator and Methodist preacher. In elementary school, I received a good bit of teasing for my name and for a few months pondered changing my name. I’m glad I didn’t; the older I become, the more important my heritage becomes to me.

I can remember walking out of a very crowded stadium and getting separated from my group; then I heard my daughter call me by my first name. I stopped and turned around. There is something about hearing our named called. I had a similar experience with my wife recently. We were sailing on a Tall Ship excursion in Halifax harbor. I was standing near the wheelhouse taking a picture of the sails unfurling with the wind. The captain offered to take a photo of me, and I wanted Cheryl to join me, but with the noise and ship’s movement I couldn’t get her attention. Then I called her name, and she turned towards me. (We got a great photo!)

Our names are so important to God, He has recorded them in heaven. Our names are so important to God, that in the moment we embraced Jesus as our Savior, heaven’s sky lit up like Boston Harbor on the 4^th of July.

My Takeaway: Let’s purpose in our heart to sit quietly before the Lord and listen for Him calling our name. Let’s also purpose in our life to rejoice here, as much as heaven’s rejoicing, when we learn of a person giving their heart to 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.)

Friday, October 17, 2025

The One Who Stands by Us

Meditations on

Staying In the Grace for Today

October 17, 2025

The One Who Stands by Us

Jesus wept.

John 11:35 (KJV)

The story of Lazarus’ death and resurrection is recorded in John 11:1-44. The full context of this story makes clear Jesus fully knew what had happened to his friend Lazarus, and more importantly, what he was going to do. This story is hugely important to us for affirming that resurrection is not an event, it is a person: “Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying.” (John 11:25) If Jesus knew he was going to command Lazarus to live again, why did he weep?

The Prophet Isaiah answers this question for us:

“For the Lord has comforted his people

and will have compassion on them in their suffering.

Can a mother forget her nursing child?

Can she feel no love for the child she has borne?

But even if that were possible,

I would not forget you!

See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands.

Isaiah 49:13-16

This passage from Isaiah, and ten thousand more, is why the Apostle Paul could affirm that we do not grieve like people who have no hope. (1 Thessalonians 4:13) Our hope is both in the eternal life of the followers of Jesus, and on the One who stands by us as those we have loved are lowered into the grave.

My Takeaway: Paul also wrote, “All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.” (1 Corinthians 13:12b) I take great comfort knowing that God knows me completely, and that He stands by me. This truth helps me stay 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.)

Thursday, October 16, 2025

Christ, the Eternal Word

Meditations on

Staying In the Grace for Today

October 16, 2025

Christ, the Eternal Word

In the beginning was the Word,

and the Word was with God,

and the Word was God.

John 1:1 (NRSV)

The Gospel of John presents the words and actions of Jesus and includes an interpretative meaning or theological significance of all that Jesus did and spoke. John is very clear about why he wrote the gospel: “that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have life by the power of his name” (John 20:30).

John’s Gospel is almost evenly divided. The first eleven chapters include a series of six signs that are written so “that you may continue to believe.” Chapters 12 - 21 present Jesus’ last days in Jerusalem, concluding in the seventh sign: the crucifixion and resurrection of The Messiah.

John begins his gospel with the same words the writer of the Book of Genesis used: “In the beginning.” John then describes the creative energy that God used to form the universe as God’s Word. For John, Word is not just words like we read in a book or hear a person speak. Word is the very essence of God. John tells us Jesus is God’s Word. He then concludes the opening passage by telling us that Jesus is God, and that Jesus has revealed God to us. John calls us to jump into the deep end of the theological pool in the very first passage.

The crowning achievement of the creation story in Genesis is God’s creation of humankind. As John opens his Gospel, he tells us God’s crowning achievement continues to be His care and love for His people. John writes that when we believe in Jesus, we are given the right to become children of God. We are reborn with a birth that comes from God. “From his abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another” (John 1:16).

My Takeaway: We have received grace upon grace! Yes, and Amen. And it is our heart’s desire to stay in this grace upon grace each 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.)

Wednesday, October 15, 2025

My Refuge

Meditations on

Staying In the Grace for Today

October 15, 2025

My Refuge

God is our refuge and strength,
always ready to help in times of trouble.

“Be still, and know that I am God!”

Psalm 46:1, 10a

Where is your refuge? I know today’s text affirms God is our refuge. I am asking, “where is your refuge as a particular location, your safe place?” I have two: my home and my church. They both have spaces used for different purposes, and I am blessed to know I am safe, secure, and loved in those spaces. Knowing my home as a refuge was especially realized by me after Cheryl and I took a long trip. We were away from our home, and church, for seventeen days. At the end of our trip, we both longed to be in our safe places where we are secure and where we especially experience God as our refuge and strength.

The Apostle John wrote, “For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.” (John 4:24) Because God is Spirit, God is with me 24/7, no matter where I may be. Yes, and amen. Even so, the familiarity of surroundings I know as my safe places is a blessing. In my home, I have a place to sleep, a place to prepare and consume food, a place to study and work, a place to welcome guests, and a place to relax. In my church, I have a place for worship and participation in the sacrament, a place for fellowship with brothers and sisters in Christ, and a place for study. In all these places, I know I am loved and accepted and valued.

My Takeaway: I wrote a few days ago about God’s heart, our home. (Psalm 91) My safe places here inspire be to become more comfortable with God as my true home. In God’s home for me, I receive his loving words of acceptance and His joy in calling me His own.

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, October 14, 2025

Grace

Meditations on

Staying In the Grace for Today

October 14, 2025

Grace

Because of his grace he made us right in his sight

and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life.

Titus 3:7

Today’s text reminded me of a sermon by Pastor Alistair Begg, of Parkside Church near Cleveland, Ohio. In this sermon, The Power and Message of The Cross, Begg asked what happened when the thief on the cross next to Jesus arrived in heaven. Begg suggests the thief 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! When all is said and done, this is the exact statement all the saints before me, like the Apostle Paul, or John Wesley, or Billy Graham made. And it is the exact statement I can make when my time comes. This is contrary to almost everything in our performance-based acceptance culture. Even so, we are called by God to get our right standing with Him settled; I have been made right by God not because of my faith, but because of the faith of Jesus. It is never about what I have done or refrained from doing. It is all about what Jesus did for me, because I am 100% incapable of saving myself.

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, October 31, 2025

You Will Always Be with Me

Thursday, October 30, 2025

God Is Love

Wednesday, October 29, 2025

God’s Plans

Tuesday, October 28, 2025

Your World View

Monday, October 27, 2025

God’s Faithfulness

Friday, October 24, 2025

They Know What Heaven Holds

Thursday, October 23, 2025

You Don’t Love Me

Wednesday, October 22, 2025

Why Do We Worship God?

Tuesday, October 21, 2025

Do Something

Monday, October 20, 2025

Your Name

Friday, October 17, 2025

The One Who Stands by Us

Thursday, October 16, 2025

Christ, the Eternal Word

Wednesday, October 15, 2025

My Refuge

Tuesday, October 14, 2025

Grace

Seeking the Life in Christ

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