All Christians

Meditations in the Season of Lent 

April 2, 2025

All Christians

Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it.

1 Peter 3:15

Read: 1 Peter 3:8-16

I believe the context of this passage is seen perfectly in the quote I had in my meditation, both on March 12, 2025, and March 28, 2025:

“Beloved brethren…[we] are philosophers not in words, but in deeds;
we exhibit our wisdom not by our dress, but by truth;
we know virtues by their practice rather than through boasting of them;
we do not speak great things but we live them.”

Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage, A.D. 256

Peter was urging his congregation to live out their faith. This reminds me of a series of sermons James Moore preached using the title: When You're a Christian...The Whole World Is From Missouri. (Dimensions for Living (October 1, 2010)) Missouri is the ‘show me’ state. When you live your life by faith in Christ, with Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection at the center of your life, people will notice. They will observe if your life aligns with the world’s culture or follows the ways of Christ.

In the last five years, there have been many challenges with the pandemic, shortage of commodities, war in Ukraine and Israel, and inflation. Much of the prevailing culture has responded with a spirit of fear, hoarding, and anger. Like we saw in the Epistle of James, Peter is beckoning the followers of Jesus to a patient lifestyle that participates in God’s mission. Remember, it is not about our control; rather, we seek a lifestyle trusting in God.

My Takeaway: As we live hopeful lives, entrusting the future confidently to God, our neighbors will notice. If they ask about our hope as a believer, let’s always be ready to offer them Christ.

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 © 2025 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.

 

Husbands and Wives

Meditations in the Season of Lent 

April 1, 2025

Husbands and Wives

In the same way, you husbands must give honor to your wives. Treat your wife with understanding as you live together. She may be weaker than you are, but she is your equal partner in God’s gift of new life. Treat her as you should so your prayers will not be hindered.

1 Peter 3:7

Read: 1 Peter 3:1-7

First, as we read today’s passage, we will want to hold tightly to what we saw in yesterday’s meditation. Jesus is the center of our life, and we are all, husbands, and wives, equal before him, and each other.

There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:28)

Secondly, stand back and look at the full context of Peter’s instruction. We are all creatures of habit; we typically sit in about the same place every week in church. We also tend to follow social norms for behavior and dress. Peter is cutting against the grain of the social customs and norms of his day. Peter is encouraging the wives in his church to know and hold tightly to the beauty of Christ Jesus within them. That beauty outshines anything the culture has to offer. For the husbands, Peter goes completely countercultural and calls the husbands to treat their wives with respect as they are an “equal partner in God’s gift of new life. (v.7)

My Takeaway: In today’s reading, some may latch on to words such as authority, obedience, and weaker and take these words literally. To do so is to miss Peter’s point. He was not making a case for complementarianism; he is making God’s case that we are one in Christ.

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 © 2025 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.

 

Jesus Always at the Center

Meditations in the Season of Lent 

March 31, 2025

Jesus Always at the Center

Once you were like sheep who wandered away. But now you have turned to your Shepherd, the Guardian of your souls.

1 Peter 2:25

Read: 1 Peter 2:18-25

In quoting from Isaiah 53, Peter has firmly laid the foundation for his faith and for the faith of the followers of Jesus. The life, death and resurrection of Jesus is the center of our faith and of our life together. In this passage, and the next passage which deals with husbands and wives, Peter is affirming that those who may be slaves to earthly masters are free in Christ, and those who are slaves to God are free in Christ. Within the church, we are all equal before God, and so should we be with each other. This was a very timely message as many of the members of the new community of believers were slaves, and slave owners as well.

There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:28)

Peter is not endorsing the system of slavery which was a prominent part of his culture. Rather, he is insisting our priority in all things, is to see ourselves in Christ as we seek to make the life in Christ our way of life.

My Takeaway: “Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.” (Romans 12: 17-18)

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 © 2025 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.

Live as Servants of God

Meditations in the Season of Lent 

March 28, 2025

Live as Servants of God

Beloved, I urge you as aliens and exiles to abstain from the desires of the flesh that wage war against the soul.

1 Peter 2:11 (NRSV)

Read: 1 Peter 2:11-17

Remember, our life belongs to God, by creation and redemption, our life belongs to God. Peter is appealing to this truth by referring to the new community of believers as aliens and exiles. We are called to live in the world, but not be a part of the world, or as Peter wrote earlier, do not let the world corrupt us.

When these first Christian communities were challenged about their ideas, they pointed to their actions. They believed that their behavior said what they believed; it was an enactment of their Gospel message. A Bishop of the church said it this way:

“Beloved brethren…[we] are philosophers not in words, but in deeds;

we exhibit our wisdom not by our dress, but by truth;

we know virtues by their practice rather than through boasting of them;

we do not speak great things but we live them.”

Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage, A.D. 256

Later in this epistle, Peter will encourage the church to, “Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you.” (1 Peter 3:15 NRSV) But the primary means of evangelism of the early church was through their lifestyle. Their love for one another, and their holding fast to their moral and ethical beliefs, over and against the world’s culture, was their boldest witness. In the Fifth Century, Saint Patrick would follow this same model when he returned to Ireland. His witness forever changed Ireland, England and much of Europe.

My Takeaway: Churches are increasingly aligning their beliefs with worldly culture. And more and more, I am seeing churches embrace partisan politics. We must always remember our calling is to witness for God’s Kingdom.

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 © 2025 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.

New Community

Meditations in the Season of Lent 

March 27, 2025

New Community

You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.

1 Peter 2:9

Read: 1 Peter 2:4-10

In making his point that believers in Jesus have become a new community, a holy nation, Peter uses six Old Testament citations in these seven verses. Yes, our faith rests securely on the death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus. Our faith also rests on the revelation in Jesus Christ of God’s plan for our redemption that is foretold throughout the Old Testament.

Peter has made it clear that our new life in Christ is a dynamic life. Paul noted in 2 Corinthians 5: 17, “anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!”. Peter has already identified several implications of this new life in Christ. Here, Peter shows that God is forming the believers into a new community, or as he calls it, a holy nation or royal priesthood. Our transformation into the children of God, as Christ is formed in us, happens within this new community of believers.

My Takeaway: Jesus prayed in John 17 that the unity of the believers would be a witness to the world that Jesus is God’s Messiah. Peter is showing how Jesus’ prayer can become a reality within the new community. We cannot over emphasize the importance of our local congregations to our spiritual formation and to our witness for Christ to the world. The covenant relationship between the individuals in a congregation is no less important than God’s New Covenant relationship with us.

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 © 2025 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.

Good News

Meditations in the Season of Lent 

March 26, 2025

Good News

For you have been born again, but not to a life that will quickly end. Your new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God.

1 Peter 1:23

Read: 1 Peter 1:22-2:3

I love the way Peter ties our promised eternal life with the eternal word of God. Following verse 23, Peter quotes Isaiah 40:6-8, which ends, “The grass withers and the flower fades. But the word of the Lord remains forever.” He then proclaimed, “And that word is the Good News that was preached to you.” Remember the Kerygma? That is the Good News Peter was preaching. As we continue our journey through the Season of Lent, let’s continue to reflect on how consistent our life in Christ is with the Kerygma. Our eternal life is rooted in the eternal word of God, which Peter says is the Good News, the Kerygma. We need often to plumb our beliefs and insure they are staying moored to God’s eternal Good News.

Peter again affirms our need to examine our lives to ensure we are living in a manner consistent with the Good News we have received. He then urges us to go on to perfection: “Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment, now that you have had a taste of the Lord’s kindness.” (2:2-3) Here Peter reminds me of the first three of Covey’s Seven Habits: be proactive, with the end in sight, and don’t let the urgent trump the important. (The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen R. Covey)

My Takeaway: Peter quoted Isaiah 40 to affirm the word of the Lord remains forever. So did James. How do Peter and James’ reliance on the word of God inform our faith?

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 © 2025 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.

A Call to Holy Living

Meditations in the Season of Lent

March 25, 2025

A Call to Holy Living

But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy.  For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.”

1 Peter 1:15-16

Read: 1 Peter 1:10-21

Peter had in mind several passages in the Book of Leviticus in asserting “You must be holy because I am holy.” (v.16) What is the reason for aiming for such a significant goal? Peter tells us: “For you know that God paid a ransom to save you . . .  And it was not paid with mere gold or silver, which lose their value. It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God.” (v.18-19)

During this Season of Lent, the only motivation we need to seriously examine the way we are living is to reflect on the core value of the Christian faith: God ransomed our soul through the blood of Jesus!

In the first three verses of today’s reading, Peter is looking back to the Old Testament prophets, Isaiah and Zechariah, and their foretelling of God’s promised Messiah. Peter will elaborate on this in 2 Peter 3:8-9, “But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day. The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.”

This passage reminds me that God is patient. He is working inexorably across the centuries to accomplish his mission, and in the fullness of time He has disclosed himself in Jesus Christ. Patience is hopeful: It entrusts the future confidently to God.

My Takeaway: Let’s affirm Peter’s words in verse 21: Through Christ I have come to trust in God. And I have placed my faith and hope in God because he raised Christ from the dead and gave him great glory. 

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 © 2025 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.