Listen For The Voice Of God

June 16, 2017

Listen For The Voice Of God

“O come, let us worship and bow down,

   let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!

 For he is our God,

   and we are the people of his pasture,

   and the sheep of his hand”

Psalm 95:6-7 (NRSV)

Psalm 95:1 is a beautiful Call to Worship:

“Come, let us sing to the Lord!

Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation.”

This psalm is also a warning, as the psalmist remembers the failures of Israel to trust and obey God during their journey through the wilderness: “Don’t harden your hearts as Israel did . . . ‘They will never enter my place of rest’” (Psalm 95:8, 11b). This remembrance of Israel’s wandering in the desert for forty years is brought forward to the New Testament church in the book of Hebrews where the writer of the epistle quotes Psalm 95 five times in chapters 3 and 4. He forcefully made strong the admonition of the psalmist: “If only you would listen to his voice today!” (Psalm 95:7b)

I believe we desperately need to hear God’s voice each and every day! God’s people have always been long suffering. Sometimes our suffering comes through persecution for being the people of God. Sometimes our suffering comes as a result of our own willful disobedience to the commands of God. Sometimes our suffering comes as the consequences of mistakes or misjudgments we have made. No matter our circumstances, in the midst of our suffering, Psalm 95 calls us to listen for the voice of God. May I suggest the best place to listen is here:

“O come, let us worship and bow down,

   let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!

 For he is our God,

   and we are the people of his pasture,

   and the sheep of his hand” (Psalm 95:6-7 NRSV).

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.

Copyright © 2017 by Alex M. Knight

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, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Lord Is My Fortress

June 15, 2017

The Lord Is My Fortress

“O Lord, the God of vengeance,

    O God of vengeance, let your glorious justice shine forth!

 Arise, O judge of the earth.

    Give the proud what they deserve.”

Psalm 94:1

How you respond to these opening lines of Psalm 94 depends on your own personal history, as well as your sense of connectedness to all humanity. I believe John Donne said it best when he wrote No Man Is an Island, which includes the lines, “No man is an island, Entire of itself. Each man's death diminishes me, for I am involved in mankind. Therefore, send not to know for whom the bell tolls, It tolls for thee.”

For those who have personally experienced oppression, discrimination or persecution, and for those who hurt for the sins against humanity, the psalmist brings good news. God knows, and in God’s time, justice will prevail.

This is not just an Old Testament theme. In Luke 18:7-8, Jesus affirmed the day of God’s justice is coming, “So don’t you think God will surely give justice to his chosen people who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will grant justice to them quickly! But when the Son of Man returns, how many will he find on the earth who have faith?”

This theme has also been carried forward for all Christians to affirm in the Nicene Creed: “He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.”

Even so, this psalm presents us with a dilemma. If we believe in the coming of God’s justice, what do we do now? Should we be passive and wait, perhaps not so patiently, for the Lord? Should we be seeking to impose justice and vengeance now? No!

As followers of Christ we are called to be co-laborers with Christ, building today for his coming Kingdom. (1 Corinthians 3:9) However, we need always to be sure we are focusing much more attention on our own sins than we are on the sins of others. The more we seek to make the life in Christ our way of life, the more fruit we will produce for our communities.

In the meantime, always remember:

“But the Lord is my fortress;

    my God is the mighty rock where I hide.”

Psalm 94:22

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.

Copyright © 2017 by Alex M. Knight

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, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

A Crisis Of Change

June 14, 2017

A Crisis Of Change

The Lord is king! He is robed in majesty.

    Indeed, the Lord is robed in majesty and armed with strength.

The world stands firm

    and cannot be shaken.

Psalm 93:1

The only thing certain about life is its uncertainty. Things change. Some changes are relatively inconsequential. Other changes may entirely reorder our lives. Some of these changes are positive; some are what we perceive as negative, at least initially. Some changes create a sense of adventure; some changes bring fear and anxiety. The psalmist in Psalm 93 seems to be responding to a national crisis. We don’t know the date this psalm was written, or the exact circumstances. We do know the psalmist was in the midst of a crisis of change, and he was looking for safety and security. Psalm 93 is the affirmation that Israel’s safety and security is in God the Father Almighty.

The psalmist found safety and security in God’s reign, “Your throne, O Lord, has stood from time immemorial. You yourself are from the everlasting past” (Psalm 93:2).

The psalmist found safety and security, a safe harbor, in the midst of the storms of life, “But mightier than the violent raging of the seas, mightier than the breakers on the shore— the Lord above is mightier than these!” (Psalm 93:4).

The psalmist found safety and security in God’s House and in the Word of God, “Your decrees are very sure; holiness befits your house, O Lord, for evermore” (Psalm 93:5 NRSV).

Through our faith in Jesus, we too can rest safe and secure in God’s eternal love for us:

“Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory” (Romans 5:1-2).

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.

Copyright © 2017 by Alex M. Knight

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, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

An Eternal Perspective

June 13, 2017

An Eternal Perspective

But the godly will flourish like palm trees

and grow strong like the cedars of Lebanon.

For they are transplanted to the Lord’s own house.

They flourish in the courts of our God.

Psalm 92:12-13

Psalm 92 is a call to worship God. In verse 5, the psalmist extols the virtues of God’s wisdom and power: “O Lord, what great works you do! And how deep are your thoughts.” As followers of Christ, the Apostle Paul teaches us that these virtues are fulfilled in Christ: “(God) is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins.  He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding. I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 1:7-8,19-20).

Our understanding of the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him is so very necessary in this present age when it seems as though the forces of evil have the upper hand. Almost daily, the terrorists strike at the innocent, and our civil society is becoming more and more hostile and angry. Against this backdrop, it is helpful for me to remember this is not the first time in history that societies have gone off the rails. History teaches us we can recover, and more importantly, history teaches us that God is faithful and His church will prevail. 

Psalm 92 is a reminder to us that our life in Christ, made possible by the grace of God, is eternal and can never be diminished or destroyed. God views our lives from an eternal perspective, and those workers of iniquity, who seem to be prospering now, while denying God, will be held accountable when Christ comes to judge the world:

“But you, O Lord, will be exalted forever.

 Your enemies, Lord, will surely perish;

    all evildoers will be scattered.”

Psalm 92:8-9

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.

Copyright © 2017 by Alex M. Knight

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, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.