Approachable Jesus

Meditations on

Staying In the Grace for Today 

January 22, 2026

Approachable Jesus

He remembered us in our weakness.

His faithful love endures forever.

Psalm 136:23 

There are twenty-six verses in Psalm 136. Each verse ends with, “His faithful love endures forever.” In this Psalm, the psalmist took twenty-six verses to plumb the depths of God’s covenant love. The first three verses call Israel to worship God. The next six verses extol God as their Creator. The next sixteen verses praise God’s redemptive love that brought the Jews through the Exodus, from a life of slavery in Egypt, and established them in the Promised Land. The psalmist then closed with a reaffirmation of his call to worship.

Eugene Peterson, in his translation of 2 Corinthians 3, wrote, “God is a living, personal presence, not a piece of chiseled stone.” I believe the psalmist would agree. Too often our visual image of worshipping God is influenced by a wooden cross between two brass candlesticks on a wooden altar as opposed to Peterson’s living, personal presence. Chiseled stone or wood and brass do not invite the intimacy that is approachable. But God wants us to approach Him. He calls us to cast our burdens on Him and that He keeps our tears in His bottle and that He is for us! God wants us to affirm, in the words of a popular praise song, “I am a child of the Most-High God, and the Most-High God is for me.” (Ben Fuller, Who I Am, 2022)

My Takeaway: I am blessed in this season of my life to worship in a setting where there are many ways to express that I am in the living personal presence of God. And I am finding I am taking some of those expressions into my daily life and they are helping 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.)

 

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 © 2026 by Alex M. Knight

 

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.

The House of the Lord

Meditations on

Staying In the Grace for Today 

January 21, 2026

The House of the Lord

I will live in the house of the Lord
    forever.

The one thing I ask of the Lord—

    the thing I seek most—

is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,

Psalm 23:6, 27:4 

Was the psalmist David seeking a physical place to live? These psalms were written before the Temple of God was built by King Solomon. Was David thinking of God’s Heavenly home? I have had the blessed experience of being in the presence of two precious saints whose mortal life ended as these words of Psalm 23 were spoken, “And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” This experience shaped my sense that the psalmist was speaking of that place of our eternal destiny.

However, after spending time contemplating these Psalms, I believe David wasn’t seeking to go away to where God dwells. I think his desire was for an abiding awareness that he was in the presence of God. Jesus pointed to this reality when he said, “And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20)

As I read Psalm 23, I see how the first six- and one-half verses speak of very present realities. Surely, the last line also speaks of the presence of the Lord in our life, today and always!

My Takeaway: Like David, I seek an abiding awareness that I am in the presence of God. This awareness of God’s gracious presence in my life, seals me in His 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.)

 

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 © 2026 by Alex M. Knight

 

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.

Sowing Seeds of Peace

Meditations on

Staying In the Grace for Today 

January 20, 2026

Sowing Seeds of Peace

‘Plant the good seeds of righteousness,

    and you will harvest a crop of love.

Hosea 10:12 

We are seeking to stay in God’s grace for today. One of the best ways to remain in God’s grace is to consciously be about the business of His Kingdom. Looking to the Beatitudes helps us focus on Kingdom values. For instance, Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” (Matthew 5:9 NRSV) How can we sow seeds of peace?

I have a friend who carries packages of M&M’S in her purse. She gives them out to random people she encounters during the day, and in every instance receives a smile in return. In Romans 14, and again in 1 Thessalonians 5, Paul instructs us to encourage each other and build each other up. We can make a conscious effort to be encouragers of those we encounter each day, especially those who may be serving us in some way.

Remember when Jesus taught about the farmer? Jesus said the Kingdom of God is like a farmer who scatters seed on the ground and while he’s asleep the seed sprouts and grows, but the farmer does not understand how it happens. (Mark 4:26-27) In the same way, we can sow kindness, we can offer encouragement, we can consciously seek to edify those we encounter each day. Good things will happen. We don’t need to know how or why they happen. We just get to participate in God’s Kingdom as His peacemakers.

My Takeaway: As I begin this day, I am recalling how I felt when someone encouraged me or expressed appreciation for my work. Today, I am asking God to order my steps and lead me to pass on this gift of grace.

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.

 

Copyright © 2026 by Alex M. Knight

 

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.

Dress For Success

Meditations on

Staying In the Grace for Today 

January 19, 2026

Dress For Success

This body that can be destroyed

must clothe itself with something that can never be destroyed.

And this body that dies

must clothe itself with something that can never die.

1 Corinthians 15:53 (NCV) 

Does God care how we are dressed?

Apparently, He does! Scripture tells us how God has clothed us.

Instead, clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. And don’t let yourself think about ways to indulge your evil desires. (Romans 13:14)

 

For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes. (Galatians 3:26-27)

When we are united with God through faith in Christ Jesus, we receive spiritual garments that only God can give, and only heaven can see. This is how the prophet Isaiah expressed this truth:

I am overwhelmed with joy in the Lord my God!

    For he has dressed me with the clothing of salvation

    and draped me in a robe of righteousness. (Isaiah 61:10a)

For me, this knowledge of my spiritual garments informs me about my personal appearance. I am unstylish, and drab in dress on my stay home days. And I will never be called chic or fashionable when I am in public, but on church days I am much more conscious of my appearance as I want my physical appearance and bearing to witness to the reverence and awe I have for God, my Savior. In 1 Corinthians 11, Paul admonishes the church to examine themselves before receiving Holy Communion, lest they eat the bread or drink this cup of the Lord unworthily. In a similar way, I examine my appearance before entering the sanctuary.

My Takeaway: In a typical week, on Sunday and Wednesday, I am blessed to be in the sanctuary receiving Holy Communion. More than any other time during the week, my participation in Worship, and receiving the sacrament, enable me to stay in God’s grace for each day. On these occasions, I want my physical appearance to bear witness to my spiritual garments.

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.

 

Copyright © 2026 by Alex M. Knight

 

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.

 

Nothing Occurs to God

Meditations on

Staying In the Grace for Today 

January 16, 2026

Nothing Occurs to God

“. . . don’t you think that God will surely give justice to his people

who plead with him day and night?

Luke 18:7 NRSV

Has it ever occurred to you, that nothing occurs to God? The attributes of God are Omnipotence (all-powerful), Omniscience (all-knowing), Omnipresence (present everywhere), and Omnibenevolence (all-good/loving). As we saw in the preceding meditation, our Abba Father is active 24/7 in our lives. As we wait for God’s perfect timing to respond to our pleas and give us justice, we remember that God continues to be at work in us while we are waiting.

It clarifies the promise of Jesus in Luke 18, to remember he followed this teaching with his parable of the tax collector and the Pharisee. (Luke 18: 9-14) In this parable, who went away vindicated by God? It was the tax collector! This parable is an excellent illustration of justification by faith. The tax collector had little or no faith in himself, but he had great faith in his God of mercy. Jesus wants his followers to rest in their right-standing before God. Our right-standing comes not from our good work. Our right standing with God is based solely on our sure knowledge of God’s love for us. Brennan Manning understood this when he wrote, “God loves us unconditionally, just as we are, not as we should be. Because none of us are as we should be.”

My Takeaway: I see today as an invitation to meditate on my prayer life. Do I tend to hesitate in asking God for something because I don’t feel worthy?

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.

 

Copyright © 2026 by Alex M. Knight

 

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.

The New Way of Living

Meditations on

Staying In the Grace for Today 

January 15, 2026

The New Way of Living

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything.

Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.

Philippians 4:6 

In our human experience, we tend to be linear people. That is, we like progressing step-by-step in an orderly sequence. We tend to have relationships where we expect what we receive in the relationship to be proportional with what we put into the relationship. We also tend to have a linear relationship with God. But God exists in a realm separate from our human experience and is not linear. God wants us to know Him, but on His terms, and not within our linear thinking.

Sunday morning worship and Wednesday night Bible studies are our creation, not God’s. Our Heavenly Father seeks us to worship Him, and study His word, and whether we do so on Monday or Thursday, is the same as Sunday and Wednesday with Him. God calls us to worship Him at the Communion Table, and at our dinner table. When Paul told us God is working in us and will continue to do so until the return of Christ, (Philippians 2:13, & 1:6) he meant God is active within us 24/7. This truth caused Paul to counsel us to take our every thought captive to obey Christ, and to never stop praying, and after we have prayed, to keep on praying, keep on talking to God and listening for God’s response to our prayers. (See 2 Corinthians 10:5, 1 Thessalonians 5:17, and Romans 12:12)

My Takeaway: One of my favorite worship songs is, I Love You, Lord. The lyrics are thoroughly embedded within my soul and often during the day I find myself singing, “I love You, Lord, and I lift my voice to worship You . . .” My gracious Heavenly Father has used these lyrics to help transform me from my linear existence, to “the new way of living in the Spirit.” (Romans 7:6)

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.

 

Copyright © 2026 by Alex M. Knight

 

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.

Just Like Jesus

Meditations on

Staying In the Grace for Today 

January 14, 2026

Just Like Jesus

Let your bearings towards one another arise out of your life in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 2:5 (NEB 1961) 

The original title to Max Lucado’s book, Just Like Jesus, was, God Loves You Just The Way Your Are, But He Refuses To Leave You That Way. He Wants You To Be Just Like Jesus. Whew! It is easy to see why the publisher eventually shortened the title. Long title, or short, the title is scripturally correct. (See Romans 8:28-29)

Our Heavenly Father’s first step in transforming our lives is to thoroughly ground us in His love for us. Do you think God’s love for you would be stronger if your faith were stronger? If you think so, you would be wrong. Do you think God’s love for you would be deeper if you had more courageous faith? If so, you would be wrong again. People tend to be transactional in their love. When our performance excels, we receive more love from people. When we make mistakes, people tend to love us less. Not so with God’s love.

What separated Jesus, in his human nature, from every other human was his absolute assurance of his Heavenly Father’s love. Jesus’ faith, his courage, flowed from his Father’s love for him. God wants our lives to be just like Jesus’. 

My Takeaway: “Let your bearings towards one another arise out of your life in Christ Jesus.” My faith teaches me that I have died to this life, and my real life is hidden with Christ in God. (Colossians 3:3) My life in Christ teaches me that I am the beloved child of God with whom He is delighted and upon whom His favor rests. The more my everyday life embraces these truths, the more I am just like 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.)

 

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 © 2026 by Alex M. Knight

 

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.