Seeking the Life in Christ

Monday, September 7, 2026

The Trinity Lives in Us

Meditations on

Staying in the Grace for Today

September 7, 2026

The Trinity Lives in Us

No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

1 John 4:12

In 2007, Wm. Paul Young published The Shack. Within a few years, the book became a phenomenal success around the world, due in part because people found so many points of identification within his story. One of the enduring memories I have of the book is the lively, very personal, edifying and uplifting relationship within the Trinity. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit were not abstract depictions of a complex, distant and unknowable deity; the Trinity was very much alive. The Apostle John is pointing to this truth as he encourages us to love each other.

If God lives in us, then the lively, very personal, edifying and uplifting relationship within the Trinity lives in us as well. This reality brings forward the teaching of Jesus and Saint Paul: “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:36 NRSV) and “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2). Can it really be that simple? Is sharing each other’s burdens how we obey the law of Christ? Yes! When Jesus gave his disciples a new commandment, he said their fulfillment of the commandment would be their witness to the world that Jesus was the Messiah. (See John 13:34-35)

Love is more than just putting up with one another. The love of God that is brought to full expression in us is lively, very personal, edifying and uplifting as we are merciful to each other, as we joyfully share each other’s burdens. It has been my experience that revealing the full expression of God’s love is the most difficult part of life for the followers of Jesus. When we try to love other people, instead of protecting our own self-interest, it cuts across the grain of every natural instinct within us. Maybe that’s why Paul kept urging his congregations to crucify their flesh.

My Takeaway: God has not given us an impossible assignment, because it is possible to do with training, what is impossible to do by trying. Take the first step and meditate on this passage for a week, or month, or maybe a year or so:

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus. . .” (Philippians 2:3-5).

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.

Friday, September 4, 2026

Thou Art with Me

Meditations on

Staying in the Grace for Today

September 4, 2026

Thou Art with Me

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil: for thou art with me;

Psalm 23:4a (KJV)

Popular contemporary psalmist and song writer, Dennis Jernigan, sings the 23^rd Psalm. In his version, he uses the King James translation, and verse 4a is repeated poignantly;

thou art with me, thou art with me, thou art with me.

I first heard his rendition when I was going through a very difficult time in my life, and that one line of Holy Scripture from the song is embedded deep within my heart:

thou art with me.

There are other passages of scripture that have captivated me just as deeply. Psalm 46 has long been one of my go-to passages when I am called to pray for a person, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1 NRSV). Verse ten of this precious psalm calls God’s children to “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10a NRSV). Is that enough for you? Is it enough for you to know that God is with you in your troubling circumstance, without an expectation that your circumstances will change? Is it enough to know that even though your circumstances may not change, you will be comforted by God’s presence (thy rod and thy staff they comfort me)?

The Apostle Paul affirms that God is “the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4). Paul didn’t say God was going to rescue us from our crisis. He affirmed God is present in our crisis with us, and that God’s presence is comforting. Is that enough for you?

My Takeaway: I can’t explain how or why, but there have been times in my life, when all I had to cling to was, “thou art with me.” In those times, I found God’s presence, God’s comfort was enough. I have come to the place where I can say, ‘Yes and Amen” to Paul’s testimony: “And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9 KJV).

Yes, and amen, God’s grace is sufficient for me!

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, September 3, 2026

The Main Thing, Is to Keep the Main Thing, the Main Thing

Meditations on

Staying in the Grace for Today

September 3, 2026

The Main Thing, Is to Keep the Main Thing, the Main Thing

I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

Philippians 4:12-13

The passage quoted above is the beginning of the Apostle Paul’s ‘Thank-You’ note to the Philippians. His friends in Philippi had sent provisions to Paul, and expressions of their love for him when he was in jail, probably in Rome. In the note, Paul told his friends in Philippi that he had learned the secret of living in every situation. Wouldn’t you love to know Paul’s secret? Wait, don’t run too quickly to verse thirteen, “I can do all this through him who gives me strength,” because that powerful affirmation from Paul is the result of knowing the secret, not the secret itself.

Paul gives us insight to his secret with the marvelous benediction he uses to close his Thank-You note: “And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen” (Philippians 4:19-20).

Paul’s passion for life flowed from his understanding of grace. Yes, grace is God’s unmerited favor, but it is so much more. The word translated as grace in the Bible can also be translated gift, and it is used to describe the gifts the Holy Spirit imparts to believers. Grace is one of the cornerstones of our faith that is a fruit of the Protestant Reformation. Sola Gratia, Latin for grace alone, describes how Paul could affirm “For in him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28a). It is by Sola Gratia that Simeon could ask Wesley the rhetorical question, “What then, are you to be upheld every hour and every moment by God, as much as an infant in its mother's arms?” and it is by Sola Gratia that Wesley could answer, “Yes, altogether.”

The Latin word, gratia, that is translated grace, can also be translated, gratitude. I believe that describes Paul’s secret. He lived Sola gratia, by grace alone, and by a heart flowing with gratitude for the gift of life imparted by God the Father Almighty.

My Takeaway: A Yiddish poem by Hirsch Oscherovitch, Der Ikker (The Main Thing) captures the importance of “Keep on asking, keep on seeking, and keep on knocking” until you discover for yourself Paul’s secret.

If your outlook

on things has changed –

this is not the main thing.

If you feel like laughing

at old dreams –

this is not the main thing.

If you recall errors

of which you are ashamed –

this is not the main thing.

Even if you know

that, what you are doing now,

you’ll regret some other time –

this is not the main thing either.

But beware lightheartedly

to conclude from this

that there is no such thing

as a main thing –

this is the main thing.

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, September 2, 2026

Jesus’ Swim Team

Meditations on

Staying in the Grace for Today

September 2, 2026

Jesus’ Swim Team

When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his tunic, jumped into the water, and swam the one hundred yards to shore.

John 21:7 (Paraphrase)

In the Gospel of John, Jesus appeared to Peter, and others, at least twice the first week after his resurrection. On Sunday evening Jesus came to the room where the disciples were hiding and imparted the Holy Spirit to them. Thomas was not present on that occasion, and Jesus returned a week later to encounter him. On neither occasion is there mention of any dialog between Jesus and Peter.

In John 21, Jesus encountered Peter and the disciples beside the Sea of Galilee. On this occasion, there is an intense, deeply personal conversation between Jesus and Peter. However, before the conversation takes place Peter is with the others on the lake fishing. I suspect Peter’s thoughts were consumed with guilt and condemnation as he remembered his conversation in Caiaphas’ courtyard: “You aren’t one of this man’s disciples too, are you?” she asked Peter. He replied, “I am not” (John 18:17). Even so, Peter knew Jesus’ heart, and that knowledge led Peter, when he saw Jesus on the shore, to plunge into the water and swim to Jesus.

Recall that God knows the motives of our hearts. Consider the words of the psalmist, “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” (Psalm 139:23-24). What if you were to take seriously these words, and open yourself to see what God already knows? Would you, like Peter, run to Jesus? Or would you hide in shame? Do you know that the great love chapter, 1 Corinthians 13, is an affirmation of God’s love for you?

God’s love for you is patient and kind. God’s love for you is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. God’s love for you does not demand its own way. God’s love for you is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. God’s love for you does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. God’s love for you never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. God’s love for you will last forever!

I Corinthians 13:4-7,8b My paraphrase)

My Takeaway: Have you noticed that the number of people who stay away from the church because we are too loving, too forgiving is negligible? The number of people who stay away because we are too unforgiving, however, is incalculable. Maybe today is a good day for you to purpose in your heart to join Peter on Jesus’ swim team.

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, September 1, 2026

Pleasures for Evermore

Meditations on

Staying in the Grace for Today

September 1, 2026

Pleasures for Evermore

“In your presence there is fullness of joy;

in your right hand are pleasures for evermore.”

Psalm 16:11 NRSV

On the Day of Pentecost, Peter faced a daunting challenge. Together with the other one hundred-nineteen disciples, Peter had been in hiding since the crucifixion of Jesus. When the promised Holy Spirit came upon Peter and the others, it was kairos, God’s Time, to come out of hiding and proclaim the resurrection of Jesus to all people, everywhere. Where do you start; how do you explain the resurrection? Peter began with Psalm 16.

Peter preached that the psalmist David’s claim that God would not allow His holy one to rot in the grave was fulfilled in Jesus’ resurrection (Psalm 16: 8-11 & Acts 2:25-32). The Apostle Paul also relied on Psalm 16 when he preached Jesus’ resurrection to the people in Antioch (Acts 13:35-37).

While David’s psalm is an Old Testament prophecy of Jesus, the Messiah, it also held great comfort and power for David. We too, can feed upon the truth of God in David’s great psalm of hope. In this psalm, David affirms his faith in God who shall preserve him, in God’s goodness, in God’s presence before him, giving him hope, and in God’s victory over death as the Giver of life. Because of these truths of God, we, like David, can experience in our present circumstances the peace of God that passes all understanding. (See Philippians 4:7) Because Jesus fulfilled this prophecy, the Apostle Paul proclaimed that we could rest in the sure hope of our eternal life in Jesus. (See Romans 8:11, 1 Corinthians 6:14 and 2 Corinthians 4:14)

My Takeaway: What else is there for the psalmist, and us, to say but,

“In your presence there is fullness of joy;

in your right hand are pleasures for evermore.”

Psalm 16:11 NRSV

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, August 31, 2026

Please God, Not People

Meditations on

Staying in the Grace for Today

August 31, 2026

Please God, Not People

On the contrary, we speak as those approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please people but God, who tests our hearts.

1 Thessalonians 2:4

Sarah Young in her devotion, Jesus Calling, encourages us to pause before responding to people or situations, thus giving the Holy Spirit an opportunity to lead us. This is perhaps the greatest spiritual discipline: the art of pausing and listening for the still small voice of God. It is this spiritual discipline that allows us to bridge the gap between the holiness of our heart and the holiness we seek in our life. Holiness of heart is the reality of the very presence of Christ within us. Holiness of life is the goal of those seeking to make the life in Christ their way of life. It is the living out in the world the truth that “For in him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28a).

Why is this spiritual discipline of pausing to listen so vitally important? Because we all put on different faces and use different words depending on where we are and with whom we are in the presence. We all suffer a bit with split personalities. Part of our personality may be extremely passionate about our favorite sports team, or our political preferences, or a dozen other interests we hold dear. Our personalities are passionate about our family and passionate about our faith and our place of worship and service. The Apostle Paul knew that God examines the motives of our hearts; thus, he sought to live his life by the sole purpose of pleasing God, not people.

Can we authentically emulate Paul’s example in our lives today? I think so. I believe Jesus is OK with my joy supporting my favorite teams. Jesus likes it that I am passionate about world affairs and National politics. Jesus is pleased that I am head over heels in love with my wife. His desire for me is that his life would be made visible in my words and actions on all these fronts. Can I cheer on my team and honor God with my words? Can I express my passion about the world and honor God with my words? Can my wife see Christ in my words and actions toward her?

My Takeaway: I haven’t yet, in the words of John Wesley, gone on to perfection, so I join my voice with Saint Paul: “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me” (Philippians 3:12). This collect for purity helps me stay focused on my goal:

Almighty God, unto whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid; cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of thy Holy Ghost, that we may perfectly love thee, and worthily magnify thy Holy Name; through Christ our 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.)

Friday, August 28, 2026

Go and Do Likewise

Meditations on

Staying in the Grace for Today

August 28, 2026

Go and Do Likewise

Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another.

Romans 13:8a

Our churches today have almost as much contention as there are in the halls of Congress. When two people are contending, the issue is always the same: who has control or power. For the Christian, the issue of contending is a bit of a conundrum. The danger of contention in the church is that it causes disharmony, and the unity of the Body of Christ is breeched. Jesus told his followers, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:35). I believe the decline of the Christian church in America can be directly traced to the lack of respect, the lack of unity within churches, and among the various denominations and independent churches. Without love, we have no proof we are the disciples of Jesus; thus, the world ignores our witness.

If two people are contending over an issue, the fix is easy. Just one of them must stop contending. The conundrum is in knowing when to walk away. It has been my experience that the issues that internally divide churches, as well as those that divide denominations, are for the most part minuscule in comparison to our grand mission to “go and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19). Yet the grand deceiver tempts us to make mountains out of the mole hills, and tragically, so many individuals, and churches, yield to this temptation.

John Wesley, the Methodist, was confronted by Simeon, a devoted Calvinist. Simeon believed he needed to break fellowship with Wesley, but first Simeon asked him a few questions.

“Pray, Sir, do you feel that you would never have thought of turning to God, if God had not first put it into your heart?” Wesley: “Yes, I do indeed.” “Do you look for salvation solely through the blood and righteousness of Christ?” Wesley: “Yes, solely through Christ.” Simeon: “But, Sir, supposing you were at first saved by Christ, are you not somehow or other to save yourself afterwards by your own works?” Wesley: “No, I must be saved by Christ from first to last.” Simeon: “What then, are you to be upheld every hour and every moment by God, as much as an infant in its mother's arms?” Wesley: “Yes, altogether.” Simeon: “And is all your hope in the grace and mercy of God to preserve you unto His heavenly kingdom?” Wesley: “Yes, I have no hope but in Him.”

Simeon then affirmed that Wesley’s faith mirrored his own and said, “Instead of searching out terms and phrases to be a ground of contention between us, we will cordially unite in those things wherein we agree."

My Takeaway: “Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise” (Luke 10:37b).

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, September 7, 2026

The Trinity Lives in Us

Friday, September 4, 2026

Thou Art with Me

Thursday, September 3, 2026

The Main Thing, Is to Keep the Main Thing, the Main Thing

Wednesday, September 2, 2026

Jesus’ Swim Team

Tuesday, September 1, 2026

Pleasures for Evermore

Monday, August 31, 2026

Please God, Not People

Friday, August 28, 2026

Go and Do Likewise

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