The Truth Will Set You Free

August 4, 2016

The Truth Will Set You Free

So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free

John  8:36

If fear of the LORD is the foundation of wisdom (Proverbs 9:10; Psalm 111:10), then the next step is a good reality check! The people Jesus addressed in John 8:30-36 were in desperate need of a reality check, but Jesus held out hope and promise to them: the truth will set you free.

They had lost sight of reality because the most compelling nature of sin is its capacity to blind you to the truth. The people were living under the yoke of the oppressive Roman occupation of their country, yet they had the audacity to tell Jesus they weren’t slaves. If they couldn’t grasp that reality, was there really a hope they could see their slavery to sin and death? Jesus thought so.

The first step in a reality check is to ask God to give us eyes to see the truth. If Jesus’ audience would have asked God to open their eyes, they could have seen that just being descendants of Abraham did not automatically win them favor with God. Abraham was justified by faith, and they too could only be reconciled to God by faith. Jesus was calling them to a faith that invites God to change their lives.

Change can be scary because it takes us out of control. While we may vacillate a bit deciding whether we really want God to change our lives, let us never lose sight of the wonderful promise Jesus makes to us: ^“So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free” (John 8:36).

Sē’lah

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

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

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

·        Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

·        The second edition of  First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

·        Meditations on The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ has been released as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188.

I AM Who I AM

August 3, 2016

I AM Who I AM

Jesus continued, “You are from below; I am from above. You belong to this world; I do not. That is why I said that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I AM who I claim to be, you will die in your sins.”

John  8: 23-24

Jesus’ “I AM” statements in the Gospel of John are rooted in God’s self-disclosure of His own identity to Moses at the beginning of the first exodus: “But Moses protested, “If I go to the people of Israel and tell them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ they will ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what should I tell them?”  God replied to Moses, “I AM Who I AM. Say this to the people of Israel: I AM has sent me to you” (Exodus 3:13-14). Twice in today’s passage, Jesus applies God’s self-disclosed identification to himself: “for unless you believe that I AM who I claim to be”; and “So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man on the cross, then you will understand that I AM he” (John 8:24b and John 8:28a, Emphasis mine).

Throughout John’s Gospel, Jesus seamlessly weaves an interrelationship between himself and God, his Heavenly Father. The more the life in Christ becomes my way of life, the more I see this way of Jesus impacting my life. I find that I move seamlessly from directing my thoughts to my Heavenly Father and to Jesus, not only within the same prayer, but within the same statement or thought. If I am leading prayer in a group setting, this may be a bit confusing to my listeners, but not to me. Someone may approach me after the prayer and ask, “Were you praying to God or to Jesus?” “Yes” I respond.

For me this is no small matter. By faith, the Holy Spirit has revealed to me that Jesus is God, just like Jesus said he would: “my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being” (Matthew 16:17). God is not only sovereign in taking the initiative to save us; He is also sovereign in taking the initiative to reveal Himself to us. That’s good news to me because I need all the help I can get!

Sē’lah

<><  <><  <><  <><

(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. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription.

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

·        Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

·        The second edition of  First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

·        Meditations on The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ has been released as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188.

“I AM the Light of the World”

August 2, 2016

“I AM the Light of the World”

“If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness,

because you will have the light that leads to life”

John  8: 12b

In today’s passage, Jesus makes his second ‘I am’ statement: “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12).  Jesus says he does not judge anyone. He doesn’t have to because the light is its own judge. Jesus, as the light of the world, brings God’s holy presence into the world. God’s presence is the very essence of holiness, goodness, mercy, love and grace. Light overcomes darkness by exposing the darkness. Inherent within the light is judgment because the light exposes sin.

I take great comfort in the simplicity of Jesus’ promise: “If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life” (John 8:12b). However, today’s passage is also intriguingly complex as Jesus points to the interrelationship between himself and his Father: “The Father who sent me is with me” (John 8:16b), and “Since you don’t know who I am, you don’t know who my Father is. If you knew me, you would also know my Father” (John 8:19). These statements by Jesus reveal both the sovereignty of God and the unity of God the Father and Jesus which constitute the core of Christianity.

John’s Gospel will continue to build the foundation of Trinitarian faith in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, who are in complete unity and harmony with each other.  John will also affirm the absolute sovereignty of God who takes the initiative to save and establish a right relationship with His children.

In our human brokenness, we are easily ensnared in the temptation to applaud our wisdom in choosing to follow Jesus. Silliness. We owe a debt of gratitude to the Apostle Paul for helping us clearly understand our right relationship with God: “God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago” (Ephesians 2:8-10).

May we never lose sight of God’s sovereignty in our salvation.

Sē’lah

<><  <><  <><  <><

(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. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription.

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

·        Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

·        The second edition of  First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

·        Meditations on The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ has been released as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188.

Grace Greater Than Sin

August 1, 2016

Grace Greater Than Sin

Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman,

“Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?”

“No, Lord,” she said.

And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.”

John 8: 10-11

The most ancient Greek manuscripts do not include John 7:53–8:11. Even so, the account of Jesus and the woman “caught in the act of adultery” (John 8:3) is entirely consistent with the character of Jesus revealed in all four Gospels. In this episode the religious leaders manufactured an incident in an attempt to paint Jesus into a corner. Would Jesus condone sin and thus prove he is not the Messiah, or would he side with the law and risk alienating the masses? Jesus chose neither option. Instead he demonstrated that as the Messiah, he did in fact have the wisdom of a true King. (Like that of King Solomon when he famously settled the issue between two women of who was the true mother of the child. (1Kings 3: 16-28)

When Jesus told the woman he did not condemn her, he was saying he forgave her. He was not saying her sin did not matter. He was saying his grace was greater than her sin. To receive his grace, and to live in his grace, meant that she would go forth with an ambition to sin no more.

Today’s passage reveals two truths important to our growth in Christ. First, the light calls for a response. The religious leaders recognized, if just temporarily, that because of their sin, they were not in a position to judge. The woman recognized her sin and was given the opportunity to turn away from it.

The religious leaders also revealed the nature of evil. For as much as there are people who embrace the holiness, goodness, mercy, love and grace of God’s presence with us, there are others who choose darkness over light. Chapter 8 begins with the religious leaders wanting to stone to death a woman. Jesus intervened and both the woman and the religious leaders got an opportunity to step back and examine their lives. We don’t know for sure what life changes the woman may have made, but the religious leaders made no change in the direction of their lives. Chapter 8 will end with these same religious leaders wanting to stone Jesus to death.

Sē’lah

<><  <><  <><  <><

(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. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription.

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

·        Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

·        The second edition of  First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

·        Meditations on The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ has been released as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188.