The Lord Looks at the Heart

Meditations for Ragamuffins

April 19, 2024

The Lord Looks at the Heart

The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

1 Samuel 16:7b 

When the Bible speaks of the heart, it is referring to our mind, will and emotions, our soul, the very essence of who we are as a person. I find this very comforting. The LORD knows us from the inside out. He knows why we are the way we are. He knows our hurts, our fears, our brokenness, our dreams, and our hopes. The LORD loves us for the entirety of who we are. Think of the returning prodigal son being embraced by his father; that’s how the LORD loves each of His children.

 This love of God for me inspires me to both love myself, just as I am, and to be willing to allow God’s goodness and love to transform my brokenness. As I told the Twelve-Step group I counseled,

 it is OK not to be OK,

but it is not OK to stay that way.”

God is transforming His children to become like Jesus (Romans 8:28-29), and the tenderness of His love gives me the ability to release my past as “I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:12b NASB).

Because of how I see this truth of God being worked out in my life, I am sensing God working patience into my life as I interact with others, especially those whom I perceive as difficult to get along with. God is teaching me to see their heart, just as He sees my heart, to see their brokenness just as He sees mine.

My Takeaway: Because I know how much I need the LORD to see my heart, it is becoming easier to follow Jesus’ command: “Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you” (Matthew 7:12).

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.

 

Copyright © 2024 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.

For Just Such a Time As This

Meditations for Ragamuffins

April 18, 2024

For Just Such a Time As This

Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this?”

Esther 4:14 

Mordecai’s question to Queen Esther helped her understand God’s purpose for her life, and his question is just as pertinent to each of us. Substitute for the word Queen one of the many identifiers that reveal your roles in the world, for we each play many roles. In each of our roles, we play our part in one of two ways (or perhaps a combination of both): by following the norms of the world’s culture, or by trusting God. We would like for our choices to be a no-brainer, as trusting God certainly is the way for the followers of Jesus. But trusting God is seldom easy and often puts us in direct conflict with our environment, thus most of us find ourselves drifting between the ways of the world and trusting God.

The parade of the unseen cloud of witnesses in Hebrews 11 makes it clear that the way of faith, of trusting God, is the road less-traveled. As the writer of Hebrews put it, “All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it” (Hebrews 11:13). Even so, Queen Esther and these other witnesses bequeathed a compelling heritage to us. When the Queen made her leap of faith and seized the moment, she told Mordecai, “. . . though it is against the law, I will go in to see the king. If I must die, I must die” (Esther 4:16b).

 My Takeaway: In each of the roles we play, there may well come the moment when we are called by God to make our own leap of faith, to seize the moment, and take our stand, trusting in God. When our next moment comes, let’s remember we are not alone and we can take our stand next to Queen Esther and the other saints: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith. . .” (Hebrews 12:1).

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.

 

Copyright © 2024 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.

 

Living in the Present

Meditations for Ragamuffins

April 17, 2024

Living in the Present

“So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.”

Matthew 6:34

Two of the greatest temptations facing the followers of Christ is living in the past and living in the future. In Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, he addressed this issue and encouraged his friends to not worry. Easier said than done for most of us!

Sometimes we find ourselves in the grip of regret about our past. All Christians struggle with this, not the least of which was the Apostle Paul. We first encounter Paul while he is holding the coats of those who martyred Stephen. Next, we learn that he has been promoted to the leader of those making brutal assaults on the followers of Christ. Certainly, Paul had plenty from his past that could have haunted him and immobilized him in service to God. But Paul fully accepted God’s forgiveness and embraced his calling to proclaim the Gospel of grace. The foundation of his ability to live in the present moment is contained in two verses:

“But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me has not been in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:10 NRSV), and,

“. . . but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead” (Philippians 3:13).

We can also get easily snared in the trap of fretting about what tomorrow holds. Jesus didn’t sugar-coat his counsel: don’t worry about tomorrow because today has more than enough issues to keep us occupied. Whether we find ourselves tempted to be obsessed with our past failures or consumed with worry about what may happen in the future, the result is the same; we miss out on what is happening right now, where God has placed us.

Today, someone may cross your path who needs a word of encouragement. Today you will have an opportunity to engage an issue for which God has uniquely prepared you. Today, our great God needs you to be ready and willing to be used as His vessel of grace.

My Takeaway: I don’t want to miss my assignment from God because I am distracted by regretting my past or pre-occupied with what may happen down the road. 

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.

 

Copyright © 2024 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.

 

Peace is Our Norm

Meditations for Ragamuffins

April 16, 2024

Peace is Our Norm

You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!

Isaiah 26:3

Have you ever experienced perfect peace? I suspect the Apostle Paul had in mind Isaiah’s perfect peace when he wrote of “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding” (Philippians 4:7). Both Paul and Isaiah envisioned peace for those who trusted in God.

I have experienced moments of perfect peace, but I know I have not yet fully manifested the life in Christ as my way of life so that God’s perfect peace is a characteristic of the normal ebb and flow of my life. Like joy, peace is the norm for the followers of Jesus. Also, like joy, our ability to experience God’s peace is influenced by our own brokenness. The foundation of joy is our awareness of the goodness of God who loves and accepts us just as we are today! The foundation of peace is trust.

I have found that I need to spend equal time considering the One I want to trust, and considering all the ways cultural conditioning has taught me to fend for myself. The more time I spend meditating on the character and integrity of God, as revealed in scripture and the life of Jesus, the more willing I become to trust in God to completely meet my needs for love, acceptance, and a sense of self-worth. The more I practice the discipline of pausing before I speak, act, or write, the more I become aware of how cultural conditioning has ingrained within me a need to find my needs for love, acceptance and self-worth fulfilled through my own performance.

It is easy to be tempted to believe God should be more concerned with the forces of evil terrorizing His people across the globe, than He is with me learning to rest in His provision for my life, especially in the seemingly mundane things in life. It is an easy temptation because it seems to make perfect sense, but it doesn’t make for perfect peace.

My Takeaway: We can trust in the supremacy of Christ, (see Colossians 1:15-20), who confronts the forces of evil even while being fully invested in our life. Such trust brings about perfect peace.

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.

 

Copyright © 2024 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.

Joy is Our Norm

Meditations for Ragamuffins

April 15, 2024

Joy is Our Norm

“Now I am coming to you. I told them many things while I was with them in this world so they would be filled with my joy.

John 17:13 

When Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit,” he was addressing those of us who realize that our spirits are broken and separated from God by sin. Jesus said these people are blessed because he offers healing and wholeness for our broken spirits. Through his healing we “become a new person” (Matthew 5:3 & 2 Corinthians 5:17). However, it is not only our spirits that are broken. We also have broken emotions and broken bodies. While our new life in the spirit is instantaneous the moment we believe, our emotional healing and the healing of our bodies may take a lifetime and may not be fully realized until the Age to Come. I thought about this truth this morning as I read Jesus’ words in John 17.

Most of the people who encountered Jesus in the Gospels experienced exceeding joy. Sometimes their joy was simply cheerful, as when they toasted and danced at the wedding in Cana, or when a multitude found more than enough food for all as they gathered to hear Jesus teach. For others, their joy was beyond their wildest dreams as Jesus raised their loved ones from the dead. Still others responded to Jesus with an incredibly beautiful and intimate joy as they anointed Jesus. (See Luke 7 and John 12) My point is simple; joy is the norm for the followers of Jesus.

My Takeaway: When the church sings, The Lord of the Dance, there is within me a smoldering wick that wants to get up and sing and dance with my Master. As I press on to fully experience life filled with the joy of Jesus, I hold on to Jesus’ promise, “I came that (you) may have life and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10b NRSV)

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.

 

Copyright © 2024 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.

What a Friend

Meditations for Ragamuffins

April 12, 2024

What a Friend

In all their suffering he also suffered, and he personally rescued them. In his love and mercy he redeemed them. He lifted them up and carried them through all the years.

Isaiah 63:9 

1-    Who is the one person for whom you never doubted their love?

2-    Who is the one person with whom you can talk freely and honestly about your deepest thoughts, feelings, and emotions?

3-    Who is the one person, above all others in your life, who you desire to spend quality time?

Perhaps you have one person in your life who possesses all three of these qualities, perhaps three different people fill these roles in your life, or perhaps you haven’t yet entered a loving relationship with such a person(s). If you are still drawing a blank trying to answer these questions, that’s OK. Keep reading because I think I can offer you help.

First, for those who have a person, or persons, in mind for each of those three roles in your life, do you know that Jesus very much wants to be one of those persons? Jesus wants you to know him in a deep, intimate relationship. Jesus wants you to experience him responding to you with unconditional love, with tenderness and compassion. Some friends who love us unconditionally fall into the realm of co-dependency and offer mercy and compassion because they don’t want to hurt us with the truth. Jesus is the perfect model for speaking the truth in love. He confronts us when we need to be confronted, but always he comes to us with a love that empowers us to fulfill our destiny as the beloved children of our Abba Father.

My Takeaway: For my friends who are still holding a blank sheet of paper, unable to come up with the names of persons who fill those needs in your life, there was a time in my life when my paper was blank. I turned to Jesus and this song by Delirious? became my personal anthem:

 Jesus Friend Forever

 

What a friend I've found

Closer than a brother

I have felt your touch

More intimate than lovers

 

Jesus, Jesus

Jesus, friend forever

 

What a hope I've found

More faithful than a mother

It would break my heart

To ever lose each other

 

Jesus, Jesus

Jesus, friend forever

Oh, Jesus, yeah, Jesus

Jesus, friend 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.

 

Copyright © 2024 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.

 

Make Much of Jesus

Meditations for Ragamuffins

April 11, 2024

Make Much of Jesus

So the Word became human and made his home among us.

John 1:14a 

I know of a minister who travels a great deal to speak at churches and conferences. He always makes the same prayer request: “Pray that I would make much of Jesus.” Amen. I find his prayer request quite refreshing because I have become so weary of church meetings and gatherings where the name of Jesus is seldom, if ever, mentioned.

The Gospels reveal Jesus as a person. Fully human, Jesus is the revelation of humanity as God intended our lives to be. Jesus in the Gospels is truthful, blunt, emotional, non-manipulative, sensitive, compassionate, and unwilling to compromise his integrity. Jesus perfectly models the life his Father is committed to transforming our lives to become.

And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns” (Philippians 1:6)

 “For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him” (Philippians 2:13)

Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).

The New Testament church, when speaking of Jesus said, “There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). Not only is Jesus the perfect model for our lives, but he is also the center of our existence as Christians, and he is the center of the church that gathers in his name. In Colossians 1:15-20, the Apostle Paul’s prose extolling the supremacy of Christ is unparalleled.

My Takeaway: Paul described our life in Christ as, “In him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28). When this is true, we make much of Jesus. Sometimes this witness may be subtle; nevertheless, Jesus is visible in our mortal flesh. At other times, we are called to boldly proclaim that the core of our identity, the ground of our hope in life is in the person of Jesus Christ. 

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.

 

Copyright © 2024 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.