Blessed Are the Merciful

Meditations on the Sermon on the Mount

March 13, 2020

Blessed Are the Merciful

“God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy.”

Matthew 5:7

In the Beatitudes, Jesus is taking us to a much deeper understanding of what it means to be in a right relationship with God. In this beatitude, Jesus takes us deeper into an understanding of forgiveness. I believe there are three levels at which we can understand Christian forgiveness.

The Apostle Paul wrote to the Colossians: “Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others” (Colossians 3:13b). We forgive because the Lord commanded it. This is the first level of forgiveness.

However, Jesus wants us to go deeper. As we mature in Christ, we will understand that it is in our best interest to forgive. We realize our Heavenly Father really does know best. We come to understand why mercy is an essential part of God’s triad of purpose for us: “And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8 NIV). We learn that in the absence of forgiveness, all that is left are bitterness, anger and revenge.  We learn that when we practice forgiveness, when we extend mercy, our lives physically, emotionally and spiritually are enhanced. It is in our best interest to forgive, so we think of forgiveness not as something we have to do, but as something we get to do. This is the second level of forgiveness.

The closer we get to Christ, the more we become aware that “God is working in (us), giving (us) the desire and the power to do what pleases him” (Philippians 2:13). We find ourselves in the third level of forgiveness. We become like God and extend mercy because we want to. We are delighted with what God is doing in our life, and the desire of our heart is to share it with others.

My Takeaway: As we progress in our transformation to become like Christ, this promise of God becomes our reality.

“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.”

2 Corinthians 3:16-18

The Message

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.

Copyright © 2020 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.

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.

Blessed Are Those Who Hunger for Righteousness

Meditations on the Sermon on the Mount

March 12, 2020

Blessed Are Those Who Hunger for Righteousness

“God blesses those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.”

Matthew 5:6

There are again echoes of Psalm 37 in this Beatitude, as well as David’s Psalms 4 & 17. In Psalm 4, David begins by calling out to God, “Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness!” (Psalm 4:1 NASB). David was in a right relationship with God because God called and anointed David to be King over Israel. God made David righteous, that is, in a right relationship with God.

It has been my experience that Christians fall into three basic groups with regard to their understanding of righteousness. The first two groups constitute the vast majority of all Christians. One group hasn’t yet grasped the concept of a relationship with God and thus is more focused on trying to be ‘good enough’ to please God, than on resting in God’s acceptance of them. The second group just assumes righteousness comes with being saved, and they don’t spend much time thinking about righteousness, much less hungering and thirsting for righteousness.

The third group is those who Jesus blesses with the promise they will be satisfied.

When Jesus speaks of righteousness in this Beatitude, he is not talking about the righteousness of the world that can be earned through good works. He is saying I am called to a different kind of righteousness. This is the righteousness that comes through faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. In this righteousness, the life of Jesus becomes visible in my life as I live in a way that expresses the merciful, forgiving, reconciling will of God.

Jesus is blessing those who hunger, who long, and who thirst from the depths of their souls to be made right with the God of all creation. Because of the immeasurable love of Jesus, I am now and forever more in a right relationship with God: “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).

My Takeaway: Therefore, I can rejoice with the psalmist in saying:

“Because I am righteous, I will see you.

    When I awake, I will see you face to face and be satisfied” (Psalm 17:15).

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.

Copyright © 2020 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.

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.

Blessed are The Meek

Meditations on the Sermon on the Mount

March 11, 2020

Blessed are The Meek

“God blesses those who are humble, for they will inherit the whole earth.”

Matthew 5:5

We know from the Gospels that the Psalms had a great influence on Jesus as he quoted them often. While he does not quote a particular psalm in the Beatitudes, the influence is clear. His pronouncement, “God blesses those who are humble, for they will inherit the whole earth” is an affirmation of the old and very wise teacher who crafted Psalm 37. The essential message of the psalm is in verses 5-6: “Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun.” Jesus’ reference to the meek is for those who surrender control of their lives to God.  The meek are those who are willing to be an instrument of grace used by God. This is a very profound, yet simple, way to pattern your life.

First, you commit your life to God.

Second, you exercise faith in God by trusting Him with your life.

Third, God will act.

This pattern is simple in form, but very difficult to implement in our lives. We live in a culture that values strength, independence, and self-reliance. Meekness and humility? Not so much. The psalmist is not very specific about how God will act, but the description is rather breathtaking; “. . .  your vindication like the noonday sun.” The psalmist is trying to describe the wonder, beauty, and awe associated with being in the presence of God.

The reward for faithfulness to God is being in perfect peace as you rest in the presence of your Heavenly Father. Seven times the psalmist refers to the blessing of God as, “The godly will possess the land and will live there forever” (Psalm 37:29). This means the reward is eternal. This is what it means to “inherit the whole earth.”

My Takeaway: The Good News is that God’s blessings are His presence with us, now and forever.

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.

Copyright © 2020 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.

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.

Blessed are Those Who Mourn

Meditations on the Sermon on the Mount

March 10, 2020

Blessed are Those Who Mourn

“God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”

Matthew 5:4

“God blesses those who mourn” is often quoted at funerals or when someone is going through a time of personal suffering or grief. As I noted in the preceding Beatitude, while God certainly cares deeply for all people, including those who are suffering and grieving, Jesus has in mind here those who mourn over their sins and the sins of the world.

One way to think about the core values of the life in Christ is to remember the three essential H’s:

hunger for God,

heart for people, and

hatred of sin.

Those who are blessed as spiritual beggars in the first Beatitude are spiritually poor because they have a hunger for God. Those who mourn in this Beatitude grieve for the way their sins have hurt God, and diminished their own life. As a Christian, my life belongs to God; by creation and redemption, I belong to God. My sins not only cause pain and suffering in my own life, they are an affront to God and to Christ Jesus, “who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20b). Jesus is pronouncing a blessing on those who are brokenhearted over the way they have allowed sin to diminish their humanity. Jesus is pronouncing a blessing on those who grieve over how their sins have insulted the character and integrity of their Abba.

In the spirit of this second Beatitude, there is a verse that is often used in the liturgy for Holy Communion which I believe should be a part of our daily devotions: “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).

My Takeaway: Sin is trying to live our life apart from God. I invite you to join me in this Lenten season to contemplate all the ways, overt and subtle, we try to work out the meaning of our life on our own terms, and thus miss life from 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.)

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.

Copyright © 2020 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.

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.

Blessed Are the Poor in Spirit

Meditations on the Sermon on the Mount

March 9, 2020

Blessed Are the Poor in Spirit

“God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.”

Matthew 5:3

A few weeks ago, Mike Slaughter, the speaker at our Spiritual Formation Weekend, commented that the Sermon on the Mount is the constitution for the Christian church. I agree. I have tried to make it a discipline to read the Sermon once or twice a year. My meditations until Holy Week (April 6, 2020) will be based on my reading of this Sermon Jesus preached on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee.

The first portion of the sermon is the Beatitudes. The Beatitudes are Jesus’ description of the life in Christ. These pronouncements by Jesus reveal the character traits of the citizens of the Kingdom of God. Each of the Beatitudes begins with the statement, “Blessed are” which can also be translated, “Happy are” or “Joyful are.” Six of the Beatitudes promise a future reward; while two, “Blessed Are the Poor in Spirit” (v. 3) and “Blessed are the Persecuted” (v.10) promise a present-tense blessing.

“God blesses those who are poor” is sometimes thought of as God’s concern for the economic poor. While God certainly cares deeply for all people, including the poor, the widows and orphans, Jesus has in mind here the poor in spirit. Tom Long calls Jesus’ intended audience, “spiritual beggars” and I think that is entirely appropriate (Matthew, Thomas G. Long, (Westminster John Knox Press, Louisville 1997) page 48). When we are spiritual beggars, we recognize we need help; we recognize we can’t save ourselves, no matter what we do.  All we can do is plead for mercy. Jesus says this is the key to our right-standing relationship with God.

What we will see as we continue to reflect on the Beatitudes, is that Jesus’ people do not have some Pollyanna, head-in-the-clouds, blind faith. Jesus’ people are most assuredly aware of the state of this world. We see the same abuses, oppression, war, sickness, droughts and famines as the rest of the world. But we also are convinced of the coming Kingdom of God when God will make all things right. For the followers of Jesus, the Final Judgement of God, the return of Jesus is the ultimate Good News.

My Takeaway: This first Beatitude brings a present blessing. Because the Kingdom of Heaven is ours now, we can rejoice in “our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us” (2 Corinthians 1:3b-4).

Hallelujah and amen!

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.

Copyright © 2020 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.

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.

Concluding Thoughts

Meditations based on readings from

The Story of My Life As Told by Jesus Christ

March 6, 2020

Concluding Thoughts

John 20:30-31

“The disciples saw Jesus do many other miraculous signs in addition to the ones recorded in this book. But these are written so 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 Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Movement stated,

“I am not afraid that the people called Methodists should ever cease to exist either in Europe or America. But I am afraid, lest they should only exist as a dead sect, having the form of religion without the power. And this undoubtedly will be the case, unless they hold fast both the doctrine, spirit, and discipline with which they first set out. What was their fundamental doctrine? That the Bible is the whole and sole rule both of Christian faith and practice.”

(John Wesley, Thoughts Upon Methodism, 1786)

I believe Wesley’s statement applies to all Christian churches, not just those of the Methodist movement. The Word of God is our hope for the life in Christ the Apostle John pointed to in John 20:30-31.

Since July 2019, I have been reading The Story of My Life As Told by Jesus Christ - this wonderful compilation of the four Gospels, and I have been so blessed to experience anew the life of Christ. I want to stay close to the words of Jesus. Beginning next week, I will begin a series on the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5-6-7, that will take us to Holy Week.

My Takeaway: “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:17 NKJV)

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.

Copyright © 2020 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.

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.

I Commissioned My Disciples & Ascended to My Father

Meditations based on readings from

The Story of My Life As Told by Jesus Christ

March 5, 2020

I Commissioned My Disciples & Ascended to My Father

Page 331-335

Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:8c, 14a, 15-28, 20;

Luke 24:44-49;

Mark 16:19; Luke 24:50-53

“Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age” Matthew 28:19-20.

Jesus has commissioned us to be a living testimony for his grace and mercy. When I think of being a living witness, I recall the words of Morgan Harper Nichols who is a Christian recording artist and songwriter. She wrote,

“Tell the story of the mountain you climbed.

Your words could become a page in someone else’s survival guide.”

When I think of our being a living testimony for Jesus, I know I can share about the mountain I climbed through my medical issues.  I share the prayer that sustains me in difficult times. It is from verse 4 of the 23rd Psalm: Thou art with me. That prayer was on my lips as I was rolled into the surgery suite for my open-heart surgery, and my wife tells me that the nurses told her that those words were still on my lips when I awoke from the anesthesia.

1 Thessalonians 5:11 calls us to edify, or build up one another. We can do this by being a living witness for Jesus, telling the story of the mountain we climbed, and become a page in someone else’s survival guide.

Recently, a young man shared that an older gentleman in his church had more peace than he did about a hard situation they were facing. The young man said, “You have more faith than me.” And the older gentleman responded, “No, I have more experience with a faithful God.” I suspect those words are now recorded in that young man’s survival guide.

My Takeaway: For me, the most important part of Jesus’ commissioning of his disciples is, “And be sure of this: I am with you always . . .”

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.

Copyright © 2020 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.

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.