Seeking the Life in Christ

Monday, March 23, 2020

Be Perfect! Seriously?

Meditations on the Sermon on the Mount

March 23, 2020

Be Perfect! Seriously?

But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.

Matthew 5:48

Seriously? I wonder if Jesus was smiling when he said that. Maybe he gave a wink and said, “Just kidding.” Jesus’ statement seems like such hyperbole that we are tempted to pass over it. In truth, we know we can never measure up to this standard. Then, we remember something else Jesus said: “Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible” (Matthew 19:26). OK then, if raising us up to a level of Godly perfection is within the realm of possibilities for our Heavenly Father, perhaps we can look at Jesus’ examples of behavior that more closely reflect the heart of God.

Jesus’ teaching on anger, marriage, and our relationships with others (Matthew 5:21-48) can all be traced back to his beatitudes. God is seeking to form Christ within us, to replace our narcissistic, self-absorbed hearts, with hearts of compassion that have love for our neighbors and enemies alike. The first step in this process is to know ourselves. As we truly grieve for the ways our natural instincts are the opposite of the life in Christ, we can begin to hunger, to long, and to thirst from the depths of our souls to be made right with the God of all creation. As we do, the words of scripture liberate our souls: “For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:21). Now we can shout it from the rooftops, “With God everything is possible.”

My Takeaway: As we live in the reality of our right-standing with God, we express the merciful, forgiving, reconciling will of God. This is living our life in Christ; this is being perfect, even as our Father in heaven is perfect.

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.

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.

Sunday, March 22, 2020

Jesus Calms the Storm

Jesus Calms the Storm

Mark 4:35-41

“Who is this man?” they asked each other.

“Even the wind and waves obey him!”

Mark 4:41b

The morning I visited the Sea of Galilee and looked eastward toward the Golan Heights, the Sea was very calm with barely a ripple on the surface. The Sea is situated in a valley and the weather is temperamental as winds funnel down through the mountains. Other than the fishermen on the Sea of Galilee, the Jews were not people of the water. They feared the sea and believed that evil, or monsters, came out of the sea. (See Daniel 7) They believed that only God was greater than the power of the sea. (See Psalms 65; 89; 93; and 107) In this passage from Mark, I imagine the disciples were incredulous that Jesus curled up and took a nap as they sailed across the Sea. The disciples kept a careful watch for the dangers they knew lurked in the Sea.

Although the disciples had witnessed Jesus perform miraculous healings, and even the raising of a boy from the dead, those memories faded into the background when the storm struck and all the fears they associated with the sea became very real. They knew they were about to die, and snoozing Jesus didn’t even seem to care.

Jesus calmed the storm in a demonstration of his authority over all creation and asked his disciples “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?” (Mark 4:40). In the face of a very real peril threatening the disciples, Jesus’ questions seem harsh. Jesus’ words needed to be strong because they were an invitation for the disciples to process something more terrifying than their fear of the sea: “The disciples were absolutely terrified. “Who is this man?” they asked each other. “Even the wind and waves obey him!” (Mark 4:41).

It is Jesus, who has been “given authority, honor, and sovereignty” over all creation (Daniel 7:13-14) for whom even the wind and sea obey.

In this season of social separation and quarantines, I invite you to join me in this devotional exercise.

What do you identify as your greatest fear?

Let’s take a moment and concentrate on your fear and allow yourself to feel your anxiety.

Now, in your mind’s eye look up and see Jesus walking to you.

See him sit next to you.

With his presence so close to you, erase any preconceived notions you have about your fear, and drop any assumptions you may have about what Jesus may say about your fear, or what he may do.

Sit quietly in his presence and listen for the Holy Spirit to speak to our soul.

Remember, the person in the boat with the disciples was Jesus. The disciples didn’t have to be afraid.

Neither do I.

Neither do you.

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.)

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.

Friday, March 20, 2020

Old vs. New

Meditations on the Sermon on the Mount

March 20, 2020

Old vs. New

For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 5:20 (NRSV)

There was a pretty large crowd assembled on the shores of the Sea of Galilee as Jesus delivered his Sermon on the Mount. I can just hear the crowd murmuring when Jesus made the statement quoted above. They were incredulous. How could they outdo the scribes and Pharisees? If the religious leaders tithed – paid 10% to the Temple, would they have to pay 15%? If the religious leaders fasted two days per week, would they have to fast three? No.

By “exceeds,” Jesus wasn’t referring to a quantitative measure of the lives of the religious elite; he was referring to the quality of their offerings to God. Remember Saint Paul’s affirmation of God’s mission to form Christ within us: “For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him” (Philippians 2:13). God is not looking at how well we do stuff that we feel we have to do to please Him. God is looking at our heart; how well do we love doing the things that please God?

The good news is that God doesn’t leave us to our own devices to sort all this out. Again, as Saint Paul affirms, it is God working in us giving us the desire and the power to make the life in Christ our way of life. In the next passage, Matthew 5:21-48, Jesus gives a half-dozen examples of what it looks like to exceed the righteousness of the religious leaders.

My Takeaway: Over the weekend, I invite you to join me in taking time to ponder this summary of the quality of life that fulfills Jesus’ teaching:

“Now we can serve God, not in the old way of obeying the letter of the law, but in the new way of living in the Spirit” (Romans 7:6)

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.)

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.

Thursday, March 19, 2020

Salt & Light

Meditations on the Sermon on the Mount

March 19, 2020

Salt & Light

“You are the salt of the earth.

You are the light of the world.”

Matthew 5:13a, 14a

With the Beatitudes, Jesus has given his disciples the characteristics of their life in him. The Apostle Paul reminds us our responsibility is to cooperate with God in His mission to form Christ within us: “For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him” (Philippians 2:13). Our Godly desire is to make the beatitudes, to make the life in Christ, our way of life. When we do, we become salt and light to the world.

It is so very essential that the followers of Jesus embrace and own his call: we are to be salt and light! I can see two obstacles immediately as I think of my life, both individually, and as a part of a local church. First, for me personally, I want to avoid conflict. However, it is into the fray we are called. I must admit there is hesitation within as I try to emulate Isaiah’s response to God’s call: “Here I am. Send me” (Isaiah 6:8). It is unnatural for me to want to be salt and light where discord and strife abound.

Secondly, we live in a culture where it seems only the mega-church is valued. Many smaller churches are little noticed and quickly forgotten by denominational officials and most parishioners alike. However, in Jesus’ economy, the lone individual offering a cup of water to a stranger is as highly regarded as the mega-church and her scores of mission teams dispatched far and wide. Salt and light are needed across the street, and across the sea.

My Takeaway: Jesus’ word to me today is a stirring reminder that my life matters to him. He can see all of the 7.5 billion people in the world, one at a time, including me. He knows me and knows where I am. The desire of his heart is for me to trust him, and allow him to be salt and light through me, wherever I may be, even, or perhaps especially, where discord and strife abound.

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.)

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.

Wednesday, March 18, 2020

Blessed are the Persecuted

Meditations on the Sermon on the Mount

March 18, 2020

Blessed are the Persecuted

“God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs”

Matthew 5:10

Let’s begin first with the blessing: “the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.” The New Testament is written from the perspective that human history is divided into two periods: the present age and the Age to Come. The Age to Come is when the Kingdom of Heaven is fully established on earth, and evil, sin and death have been banished. Jesus the Messiah inaugurated the Age to Come through his life, death, resurrection and ascension. The Kingdom of Heaven, or Age to Come, will not be some spiritual experience above and beyond life on earth; it will be new life on the earth, as the paradise God intended. Everything will be made right, and truth and justice will flourish. In this new age, life will be full of possibilities. There will be absolutely no barriers, or obstacles to fulfilling every Godly dream and ambition you have. Whether you long to create beautiful music or art, experience deep, fulfilling relationships, or any other noble pursuit, in the Age to Come, your dreams will come true. Often, those who live with abundance now assume that the culture in the Age to Come will operate the same as this present culture. However, Jesus taught that where this present age is wedded to materialism and performance-based acceptance, the Age to Come will be wedded to the magnificent grace of God.

As we seek the life in Christ as our way of life, it is vital that we, just like Jesus, keep our eyes on the prize. “We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne” (Hebrews 12:2). Jesus endured the cross because of the joy awaiting him; we can endure persecution because of our hope in the Age to Come.

In Revelation 19, the Apostle John teaches us that the Christian witness for God in times of persecution is the most powerful witness for God in the world. The faithfulness of God’s people in standing firm on the Word of God is crucial to the defeat of the forces of evil. In Revelation 21, we get a glimpse of what it will be like when the persecution of God’s people has ended. With the ultimate and final defeat of evil, God’s people will be completely unrestrained in worship. Worship will not be confined to times and places; worship will be a state of being as God is worshiped through everything that a person does, wherever he or she may be.

My Takeaway: The followers of Christ have been commissioned to speak God’s Word and God’s truth into this present darkness. Our commission is to remain diligent in our responsibility to honor God as we wait for Christ to come in final victory and fulfill all of his promises for the Age to Come.

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.)

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.

Tuesday, March 17, 2020

Blessed Are the Peacemakers

Meditations on the Sermon on the Mount

March 17, 2020

Blessed Are the Peacemakers

“God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God.”

Matthew 5:9

Peace is a vitally important subject in the New Testament. Jesus spoke of peace over twenty times in the Gospels, and peace was discussed over sixty times in the rest of the NT. The Apostle Paul inspires us to become peacemakers from this affirmation: “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” (Romans 5:1). This truth inspired Paul to practice what he preached, and the short epistle of Philemon reveals Paul’s work as a peacemaker.

Paul wrote from his prison cell in Rome to a man named Philemon who lived in Colossae. According to Colossians 4:9, the letter was sent to Philemon together with Paul’s epistle to the church at Colossae. Philemon was a wealthy businessman who probably came to faith in Jesus when he heard Paul preach in Ephesus. Philemon opened his home in Colossae for a new community of faith to be established.

Onesimus was a slave owned by Philemon. He had deserted Philemon and had at some point come into contact with Paul, and like Philemon, had come to faith in Christ. Onesimus had grown in faith, and had become an important contributor to Paul’s ministry. Even so, Paul knew that true growth in Christ comes through accountability. Paul was seeking to be a peacemaker so that Philemon and Onesimus could be reconciled. Paul knew that for Philemon and Onesimus to live out the life in Christ in this manner would be a huge testimony to the community of Colossae about the authenticity of the church, and the power of Christ to change lives.

Paul does not share his counsel to Onesimus, but I think it is safe to assume his encouragement for Onesimus would have been substantially the same as we see for Philemon. Paul built his case by reminding Philemon of whom he was in Christ, and that the cause of Christ has priority over everything in our life. Paul appeals to Philemon to do the right thing, because that’s what followers of Christ do. What a powerful affirmation of the power of Christ that Onesimus returned to Colossae, and that Paul entrusted his friend Onesimus to Philemon.

My Takeaway: While we do not know for certain what became of this reunion, we do know that in the years following this reunion, the church in the area of Colossae elected a Bishop named Onesimus. Onesimus was quite an unusual name, and though we cannot be certain, it is quite possible that the slave Onesimus became the Christian Onesimus who then became Bishop Onesimus. And the Apostle Paul was a peacemaker and a child of God.

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.)

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.

Monday, March 16, 2020

Blessed Are the Pure in Heart

Meditations on the Sermon on the Mount

March 16, 2020

Blessed Are the Pure in Heart

“God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God.”

Matthew 5:8

Jesus again turned to the psalms for his inspiration in the Beatitude, Blessed Are the Pure in Heart: “Who may climb the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? Only those whose hands and hearts are pure, who do not worship idols and never tell lies. They will receive the Lord’s blessing and have a right relationship with God their savior. Such people may seek you and worship in your presence, O God of Jacob” (Psalm 24:3-6).

This Beatitude prompts us to consider our attitude about worship and to ponder just how pure are our hearts. First, what does worship mean to you? Generally, people tend to think of worship as an expression of adoration, praise and love to God. Certainly, such expressions are included within worship, but does that understanding truly get to the heart of worship? Perhaps we should first ask, why do we worship, what is the purpose, or goal, of worship?

Biblical worship, especially the worship described in the Book of Psalms, has but one purpose: to enter into the presence of God. When we experience the presence of God, our lives are healed and made whole, and we experience the transformation the Apostle Paul described in 2 Corinthians 3:18: “Nothing between us and God, our faces shining with the brightness of his face. And so we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him” (The Message). When the Bible describes worship, the people are bowing down; they are kneeling, in reverence and submission to God (See Psalm 95:6-7). I sense that the church in our culture is very casual and hardly submissive when gathering for Sunday morning worship services. Take a few minutes and ponder what it would be like if the church came together, and with hearts united with a longing to be in the presence of God, submitted to God’s righteous reign in our lives.

My Takeaway: Jesus promises us, that as we put our whole trust in him, we can allow God to transform our lives so that the things we desire, the things we do, are reflections of God’s heart for humankind. And, thus as we allow God to make our hearts pure, we will see God.

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.)

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.

Monday, March 23, 2020

Be Perfect! Seriously?

Sunday, March 22, 2020

Jesus Calms the Storm

Friday, March 20, 2020

Old vs. New

Thursday, March 19, 2020

Salt & Light

Wednesday, March 18, 2020

Blessed are the Persecuted

Tuesday, March 17, 2020

Blessed Are the Peacemakers

Monday, March 16, 2020

Blessed Are the Pure in Heart

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