Seeking the Life in Christ

Friday, January 2, 2026

I Trust Him with All My Heart

Meditations for the Season of Christmas

January 2, 2026

NOTE: I hope you have experienced the unfailing love of God throughout this Advent and Christmas Season. On Monday, January 5, 2026, I will resume my meditations on Staying in the Grace for Today.

I Trust Him with All My Heart

“The Lord is my strength and shield. I trust him with all my heart.”

Psalm 28:7

Jesus taught his disciples “with God everything is possible” (Matthew 19:26). Sometimes our faith is tested because we do not see answers to our prayers. Can we still believe, even though we do not see? The writer of the letter to the Hebrews makes clear that faith is the unwavering determination to trust God, to believe God, even when we do not see the results we want.

“Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see” (Hebrews 11:1).

Because God is the Lord of the impossible, bringing life out of death, bringing success out of apparent failure, we can look at seemingly impossible circumstances and choose the way of the psalmist:

“The Lord is my strength and shield. I trust him with all my heart.”

In the first portion of this psalm, David seems overwhelmed with the corruption of society. He steadfastly believed in the judgment of God and did not want to be caught up in God’s judgment of the wicked. As David prayed to the Lord, his rock, he asked for mercy. Then, amid his lament, his prayer for mercy turned into a prayer of praise,

“Praise the Lord! For he has heard my cry for mercy.”

What caused his change?

I believe the Apostle Paul helps us understand this change. In Romans 8: 15-16 Paul writes,

“So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children.”

When we come to God in faith, God participates in our prayers. God’s Spirit bears witness to our spirit, and God’s Spirit thus helps us stand firm in our faith, even when our circumstances have not changed.

My Takeaway: Consider this wonderful promise as 2025 has ended and we have entered the New Year, 2026: With the Holy Spirit’s help, we can trust God with our lives. Thank God for the fulfillment of Jesus’ promise. He did not leave us alone.

Hallelujah!

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.

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.

Thursday, January 1, 2026

Adoration

Meditations for the Season of Christmas

January 1, 2026

Adoration

Let your bearings towards one another

arise out of your life in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 2:5 New English Bible

Yesterday, on New Year’s Eve, Cheryl and I enjoyed a nice afternoon walking through the Biltmore Estate House filled with Christmas decorations and lights. After an early dinner with our neighbors, we returned home for our very important New Year’s Eve tradition. We gathered in our living room and poured all the slips of paper from our Blessing Jar into a basket. Then, one by one, we relived all our many blessings from 2025, and our Blessing Jar was overflowing with the goodness of God. (And, on Sunday, January 4, 2026, we will start filling in the jar once again!)

Reviewing all our many blessings in 2025 was especially meaningful to me as last year was also filled with many health-related challenges. I was placed under anesthesia five times for various diagnostic procedures and two surgical procedures. But, as the old saying goes, “all’s well that ends well” and Praise God, I am entering 2026 in excellent health.

As I thought about entering 2026, my 79^th year, the scripture quoted above came immediately to me. This scripture is the inspiration for my personal mission statement: Seeking the Life in Christ as my way of life. My goal is for all my relationships to be governed by my life in Christ Jesus. The Apostle Paul wasn’t just waxing eloquent when he urged the followers of Christ join him as he proclaimed,

“My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20)

On this first day of the New Year, I invite you to join me in this prayer of Adoration and let it be the rule and guide for our journey throughout 2026, and all the years that follow.

Adoration

O Lord, our Lord,

how excellent is Thy name in all the earth;

I worship Thee.

With all angels and saints I adore Thee.

I acknowledge Thee to be by Creator and my God.

I render Thee the homage of my being and my life.

I am not my own,

I am Thine.

By creation and redemption

I am Thine.

I will devote myself to Thy divine service

this day and forever.

O grant me grace for this, dear Lord.

Amen

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.)

Wednesday, December 31, 2025

Our Sufficient Guide for Faith and Practice

Meditations for the Season of Christmas

December 31, 2024

Our Sufficient Guide for Faith and Practice

But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone.’”

Jesus replied, “The Scriptures say, ‘You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’”

Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’”

Lule 4:4,8,12

Read: Luke 4:1-13

There are two primary obstacles for the Christian seeking to live the life in Christ as their way of life. The first obstacle is ourself. What the Apostle Paul calls our flesh, or our fallen nature, is tempted to sin, that is to seek our self-gratification over the will of God in our life.

The other obstacle is the evil one. Jesus tells us the evil one comes to kill, steal and destroy the people of God. Jesus says he is a liar, the father of all lies; the truth is not in him (John 10:10). The liar’s mission is to disrupt and destroy the work of building for the Kingdom of God.

Interestingly, the evil one does not tempt us with overt evil. Jesus was not tempted to kill, steal or destroy people; he was tempted to prove he was God’s Messiah. The people were poor and hungry. After fasting for forty days, wouldn’t it have been a good thing for Jesus to turn the stones into bread and feed himself as well as feed the people? The alternative ways to fulfill his role of Messiah offered by the evil one were essentially shortcuts that avoided suffering or crucifixion for the Messiah.

There were no shortcuts for Jesus, and there are no shortcuts for his followers. The Christian vocation is unique to each person, as we each have our own gifts and graces given to us by God. Developing our Christian vocation takes dedication and hard work, just as a musician must apply these attributes in learning to play a musical instrument.

We all will be tempted to take short cuts which, if taken, will compromise our Christian integrity. However, Jesus has shown us the way to respond to temptation. No dilly dallying, no debate, just immediate responses using the Word of God as our authority. Since the Reformation, Protestant churches have maintained that the Bible is our sufficient guide for faith and practice.

My Takeaway: Certainly, if the scriptures were sufficient for Jesus, so shall they be for his followers. In addition, daily I affirm my life does not belong to me. My life belongs to God. By creation and redemption, my life belongs to God.

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.)

Tuesday, December 30, 2025

You Bring Me Great Joy

Meditations for the Season of Christmas

December 30, 2024

You Bring Me Great Joy

One day when the crowds were being baptized, Jesus himself was baptized. As he was praying, the heavens opened, and the Holy Spirit, in bodily form, descended on him like a dove. And a voice from heaven said, “You are my dearly loved Son, and you bring me great joy.”

Luke 3:21-22

Read: Luke 3:15-38

Our reading today tells us three things about the Messiah.

First, the inclusion of Jesus’ ancestry all the way back to Adam reveals the Messiah is coming for the entire human race, not just Israel.

Secondly, John the Baptist’s preaching reveals the dual mission of the Messiah. The Messiah will judge the oppressors and set free the oppressed. God’s justice, which is the process of making us justified in His presence, will work into the world through the lives of the followers of the Messiah.

And thirdly, God’s message to Jesus, the Messiah, at his baptism is both endearing and chilling: “You are my dearly loved Son, and you bring me great joy.” The endearing part is obvious.

The chilling part is in the similarity of the words to the witness of two other Biblical passages: Isaiah 42:1, “Look at my servant, whom I strengthen. He is my chosen one, who pleases me.” Isaiah 42 reveals the Messiah of God as the suffering servant; and Genesis 20:2 says, “Take your son, your only son—yes, Isaac, whom you love so much . . .” This is God’s call for Abraham to sacrifice his only son. Ultimately Abraham did not sacrifice Isaac; instead, God sacrificed his only son.

God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son to save the world. When a person is reconciled to God through faith in the Messiah Jesus, God speaks into the life of the believer the same words He spoke to Jesus, ““You are my dearly loved son/daughter, and you bring me great joy.”

Could it be that God expects all his children to live sacrificial lives that proclaim God’s saving grace in the Messiah?

Could it be that God expects all his children to live sacrificial lives that work God’s justice into the world?

My Takeaway: Yes!

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.)

Monday, December 29, 2025

Favor with God

Meditations for the Season of Christmas

December 29, 2024

Favor with God

Jesus grew in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and all the people.

Luke 2:52

Read Luke 2:41-52

Today’s reading tells the story of twelve-year-old Jesus in the Temple in Jerusalem. The way Luke tells the story has an interesting similarity to another story Luke will tell: the two disciples on the road to Emmaus in chapter twenty-four. In both stories, there is a period of three days where Jesus was ‘lost’ and then found again. In both stories Jesus used an imperative to explain what happened: “I must be in my Father’s house”; “the Messiah would have to suffer all these things.” From Jesus’ perspective in both stories, he is not the one who is lost; he is just doing what was necessary for the Messiah to do.

Jesus’ perspective creates a dichotomy for me. On one hand, I know from the Apostle Paul that nothing can separate me from Christ, because Christ lives in me. (Romans 8:35-39 & Colossians 1:27) But on the other hand, from Luke’s account, Jesus is going to be doing what Jesus needs to do, and it is possible that I might lose sight of him.

Our previous reading about baby Jesus being dedicated to the Lord ended with the affirmation that Jesus “was filled with wisdom, and God’s favor was on him.” (v40) Today’s reading ends with a similar affirmation: “Jesus grew in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and all the people.” (v52) Do you know that it is God’s will for us that such affirmations apply to our lives? Yes, God’s will for us is to walk with Him in His wisdom and His favor.

My Takeaway: What if I do lose sight of Jesus? I can rest in the knowledge that he can be found again. I just must look in the right place. For me, my go-to place is at the Altar receiving Holy Communion.

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.)

Friday, December 26, 2025

He Is Light

Meditations for the Season of Christmas

December 26, 2024

He Is Light

Simeon was there. He took the child in his arms and praised God, saying, “Sovereign Lord, now let your servant die in peace, as you have promised. I have seen your salvation, which you have prepared for all people. He is a light to reveal God to the nations, and he is the glory of your people Israel!”

Luke 2:28-32

Read: Luke 2: 21-40

Luke has done something most story tellers try hard not to do. He’s pretty much told us how the story is going to end, and we’re not quite through the first two chapters. It doesn’t look like he’s leaving much room for suspense. Why does Luke seem to give away the ending? I think it’s because he knows his first readers would be overwhelmed by the ending, so he is preparing them for the shock.

Like Simeon, many of Luke’s readers had been looking for God to redeem Israel. Unlike Simeon, their expectation of God’s way of redemption was completely different than what God was revealing through the births of John and Jesus. Today’s reading is a reminder to guard against thinking I know what, when and how God is going to act. God’s ways are not my ways, and if I allow myself to become rigid in my expectations, I’ll become like the many in Israel who missed the Messiah, because they were intently looking for something else.

One temptation that snares many in our time is the temptation to think that what God did in Christ, he did just for me. Sometimes we’re told to take John 3:16 and substitute the words ‘world’ and ‘everyone’ with ‘me’ and ‘I’. Yes, Christ is my salvation, but he’s not mine alone. At least twelve times in the first two chapters, Luke makes clear that God is at work in the lives of his people; not just Mary, Joseph, Elizabeth and Zachariah, but all of Israel. And, not just Israel; there are also several references to what God is doing for all the nations, all the world, through these miracle births. I am convinced that a major portion of being transformed by the renewing of my mind is in learning to think in terms of Kingdom values, in terms of inclusivity.

God’s Kingdom is revealed by bringing diverse people together. There are the young, Mary and Joseph; and the older, Elizabeth and Zachariah; and older still, Simeon and Anna. There are the well-off, Mary & Joseph (the gifts of the Magi made them so), and the poor, the shepherds. There are the people of God (the Church) and other people we didn’t know were included by God, the Magi.

My Takeaway: I have been blessed this Advent season in my weekly Bible Study class and our study of the prophet Isaiah. In just the first twelve chapters there are abundant Messianic prophesies. Simeon and Anna were grounded in these prophesies which enabled them to discern God at work in the baby Jesus. So also, if I want discernment into God’s continuing plan of salvation for the world, I need to be grounded in the Word of God.

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.)

Thursday, December 25, 2025

L’ENCHANTÉ

Meditations for the Season of Christmas

December 25, 2024

Merry Christmas

L’ENCHANTÉ

To whom can you compare God?

What image can you find to resemble him?

Isaiah 40:18

Every Christmas Season I love sharing the story of L’Enchanté. This beautiful story comes from the forest of Provence in southern France. It’s about the four shepherds who came to Bethlehem to see the Christ child. One brought eggs, another brought bread and cheese, the third brought wine. And the fourth brought nothing at all. People called him L’Enchanté.

The first three shepherds chatted with Mary and Joseph, commenting on how well Mary looked, how cozy was the cave and how handsomely Joseph had arranged it, and what a beautiful starlit night it was! They congratulated the proud parents, presented them with their gifts and assured them that if they needed anything else, they only had to ask.

Finally, someone asked, “Where is L’Enchanté?” They searched high and low, up, and down, inside and out. Finally, someone peeked through the blanket hung against the draft, into the crèche. There, kneeling at the crib, was L’Enchanté. – the Enchanted one. Like a flag or a flame taking the direction of the wind, he had taken the direction of love. Through the entire night, he stayed in adoration, whispering, “Jesu, Jesu, Jesu – Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.”

I’ve written often about God’s call on my life to respond to His grace with my reverence and awe. (See Hebrews 12:28) My reverence and awe find their fulfillment in my active participation in worship. My spirit is not content just listening to others speaking, praying and singing. I need to speak words of adoration, I need to pray, I need to sing. To this end, let’s find time during this Christmas Season to light a solitary candle. In quietness, we can gaze upon the simple candle and allow our heart to become enchanted with “Jesu, Jesu, Jesu – Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.”

(The story of L’ENCHANTÉ is from, Brennan Manning, The Relentless Tenderness of Jesus, Revell, 2004)

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.)

Friday, January 2, 2026

I Trust Him with All My Heart

Thursday, January 1, 2026

Adoration

Wednesday, December 31, 2025

Our Sufficient Guide for Faith and Practice

Tuesday, December 30, 2025

You Bring Me Great Joy

Monday, December 29, 2025

Favor with God

Friday, December 26, 2025

He Is Light

Thursday, December 25, 2025

L’ENCHANTÉ

Seeking the Life in Christ

About Me

Blog Archive

Followers

First Think - Then Pray

Books I Am Reading

Recent Books I Have Enjoyed