Christian Community

Meditations on

Staying in the Grace for Today

November 11, 2026

Christian Community

So then, welcome him in the Lord with great joy, and honor people like him, because he almost died for the work of Christ.

Philippians 2:29-30a

Philippians 2:25-30

Jesus tells us to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. Jesus is saying that we should care as much for the welfare of our neighbor’s family as we do for our own household. Jesus’ words are often filed away with other Biblical platitudes because they seem rather unrealistic. However, in our passage for today, Paul’s self-disclosure gives us a real insight into what it looks like when we care deeply for our brothers and sisters in Christ. I offer three observations about Paul’s Christian community.

First, Paul makes it abundantly clear that he is no Pollyanna. Yes, Paul will tell us in Chapter 4 to rejoice in the Lord always and that we can trade our anxieties for the peace of God that passes understanding. (Philippians 4:4, 7) But he also tells us that our love for one another can be exceedingly painful. Referring to his friend and companion, Epaphroditus, Paul writes, “Indeed he was ill, and almost died. But God had mercy on him, and not on him only but also on me, to spare me sorrow upon sorrow” (Philippians 2:27). Paul’s sorrow was that he was hindered from proclaiming the Gospel, and he was separated from the people of the church. The thought that his friend Epaphroditus might die seemed unbearable to Paul. Here is the Christian life experiencing real sorrow, real pain.

Secondly, Paul’s experience with his friends in the church gives us a window into the depth and quality of life in a Christian community. This whole chapter has been about unity within the church and learning to live self-sacrificially for the sake of our brothers and sisters in Christ and for the sake of the Gospel. Is this possible for 21^st Century America? Yes, and that is my third observation.

Jesus tells us to love our neighbors as we love ourselves, and he tells us that things that are impossible for us are possible for God.

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

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.

Serving Christ Jesus, The King

Meditations on

Staying in the Grace for Today

November 10, 2026

Serving Christ Jesus, The King

For everyone looks out for their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ.

Philippians 2:21

Philippians 2:19-24

In my meditation on Philippians 2:1-4, I emphasized verse 4, “Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others” (NRSV), and I noted that Paul urges the followers of Jesus to take seriously the self-sacrificing way of life modeled by Jesus. In today’s passage, Paul subtlety connects verse 4 with Jesus’ parable of the Last Judgment in Matthew 25. You will recall that the epicenter of that parable is Jesus’ assertion about the least of these: “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ (Matthew 25:40). In verse 4, Paul urges us to “look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others,” and in verse 21 Paul contrasts Timothy’s lifestyle with that of unnamed others, “All of them are seeking their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ.” (NRSV) Paul is saying that Timothy is fulfilling verse 4 by not focusing on his own self-interest, but focusing on the interests of others, which Paul says is the interest of Jesus Christ. Paul is saying that Timothy, by serving others ahead of his own self-interest, is serving Christ Jesus the King.

In the story that Jesus told, the people represented as sheep helped when they saw someone in need. They didn’t throw money at the problem. They didn’t send someone else. They offered their hand; they gave their water; they touched and bandaged the wound; they listened with compassion. They served because service was needed, not to be noticed or rewarded. They served because God created us to be in community, and when you are in community you are not seeking your own interests, but those of Jesus Christ.

Jesus’ parable is not about some people getting rewarded for good deeds, and some people getting punished because of the good deeds left undone. Ultimately, it is a parable about allegiance. At the end of time, it is not a matter of who we say we are; it is a matter of whose we are.

My Takeaway: Those who align themselves with the King will reflect the King’s goodness. Those who align themselves with the King will reflect the self-sacrificing way of life modeled by King 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.

 

You Are the Light of the World

Meditations on

Staying in the Grace for Today

November 9, 2026

You Are the Light of the World

God is working in you, giving you the desire

and the power to do what pleases him

Philippians 2:13 (NLT)

Philippians 2:12-18

Paul has set the bar of expectations for the Christian very high. We are aiming to have all our interrelationships flow out of the life of Christ within us. Is this even possible! YES, because “God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him” (Philippians 2:13 NLT). However, we are not idle or passive while God is at work within us. We have a part to play, and Paul is as passionate about our participation as he is for God’s work within us: “work out your salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12b).

Paul is not suggesting that we work for our salvation; verse 13 clearly establishes that it is God who is at work within us. Our role is to passionately take responsibility for how we live our lives, to work hard to show the results of our salvation. This is what we know: God is transforming us by renewing the way we think. God is planting His holy desires within us. God has given us the power of the Holy Spirit to make Godly choices in our lives. Therefore, we can live with the real confidence that our lives are making a difference for good in the world.

Paul’s vision that our confident living will be like bright lights in the world (2:15) invokes two images for me. First, when we take responsibility for cultivating the fruit of the Spirit in our lives, when we take seriously our need to yield our life to God so that He may transform our lives to be like Jesus, we fulfill the prophecy of Daniel 12:3, “Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever.”

Secondly, Paul’s vision rings true with the words of Jesus in his Sermon on the Mount, ““You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.” (Matthew 5:14).

My Takeaway: Because we have God’s light shining in our hearts, we are like bright lights in our world, and the life of Jesus is made visible in our life. (See 2 Corinthians 4:7-10)

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.

Your Life in Christ Jesus

Meditations on

Staying in the Grace for Today

November 6, 2026

Your Life in Christ Jesus

“Let your bearings towards one another arise

out of your life in Christ Jesus”

Philippians 2:5 (NEB 1961)

Philippians 2:5-11

Imagine a snobby, very socially conscious community. Everything in the community is about status, power and honor. The word humility is literally not in their vocabulary. That was life in the Roman colony of Philippi (Home of Alexander the Great). Paul’s first visit to Philippi, where he was beaten and thrown into jail for proclaiming Jesus as Lord, is recorded in Acts 16. There we learn that only after his release from jail did Paul reveal his Roman citizenship, a status that would have prevented him being beaten and jailed. Why did he wait? What qualities of life in a Christian community was he demonstrating for the new followers of Jesus in Philippi? When we read Philippians 2: 1-11, we see that Paul was not just waxing eloquent; he was living the very life he was offering to the Philippians.

Too often we are tempted to dismiss Paul’s description of the self-sacrificing life of Christ as not a reasonable expectation for the average person in the church. Our attitude should change when we realize that Paul lived his life after Christ’s example. Verse five is the key to how Paul followed Jesus. Most translations of verse five say that we should have the same attitude or mind as Christ. Calling me to have the same attitude as Christ puts all the responsibility on me to have the power and integrity to live self-sacrificially. I believe that is both unreasonable and not possible. However, the New English Bible translates verse five to reveal the very heart of Paul’s message and sets forth the truth that enabled Paul, and that will enable you and me, to be fully devoted followers of Jesus:

“Let your bearings towards one another arise

out of your life in Christ Jesus”

Philippians 2:5 (NEB 1961) 

My Takeaway: That verse of Scripture changed my life and gave me my life’s mission statement: Seeking the life in Christ as my way of life. It is our life in Christ that enables us to choose a self-sacrificing way of life that brings glory to our God and empowers us to be co-laborers with Christ for the Kingdom 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.)

 

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.

 

Looking to the Interests of Others

Meditations on

Staying in the Grace for Today

November 5, 2026

Looking to the Interests of Others

“. . . in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others.”

Philippians 2:3b-4 (NRSV)

Philippians 2:1-4

Paul begins Chapter Two with a call for unity within the church. At first glance, his call for unity may seem over the top, way too unrealistic for the diversity of people who come together as the church: “being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind.” (Philippians 2:2). In the next passage, Paul will elaborate on how he believes his call is totally realistic, but in verse one, he has laid the foundation for unity within the Body of Christ: “if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion” (Philippians 2:1). This is another way to think of the fruit of the Spirit Paul described in Galatians 5:22-23. The writer of Hebrews captured this same thought when he wrote, “fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith” (Hebrews 12:2a). When we stay completely focused on Jesus, everything will fall into its proper place.

One of the issues facing Christianity in 21^st Century America is the notion that the Christian faith is something we can add on to our existing life, fitting it in where we can without too much inconvenience. Paul completely dispels that notion in verse four: “Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others.”

Paul makes clear that the claim Jesus has on his followers is total. When we take seriously the self-sacrificing way of life that Jesus sets before us, we may seek comfort in Brennan Manning’s assertion that “God loves us unconditionally, just as we are; not as we should be. Because no one is as they should be.” (All is Grace by Brennan Manning) Yes and Amen.

My Takeaway: However, we never want to lose sight of God’s goal for us, because God never, ever does: “Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others.”

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 Angels Come

Meditations on

Staying in the Grace for Today

November 4, 2026

The Angels Come

Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.

Philippians 1: 27a

Read: Philippians 1: 27-30

A few years ago, a photo of professional golfer Webb Simpson and his wife was posted on social media after Simpson won a golf tournament. Both Simpson and his wife are known for their Christian faith. Below the post were several comments. Some of the comments were positive, many were like “catcalls” directed toward Simpson’s wife and a few of the comments were demeaning Simpson’s faith. Such is our world culture. In the last paragraph of Philippians 1, Paul stresses the importance for the followers of Christ to maintain their Christian integrity in the face of such hostility.

The culture in the USA is becoming increasingly hostile to the Christian movement. The followers of Jesus had a profound influence on both the initial settlements in America and the eventual founding of the US. That influence shaped the prevailing culture in the US until the post-Civil War era. Since then, the prevailing culture has been increasingly anti-Christian. Paul’s words to his friends in Philippi are certainly apt for our times as well: “For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him” (Philippians 1:29).

My Takeaway: After Jesus’ forty days in the wilderness being tempted by the devil, Matthew tells us, “Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him” (Matthew 4:11). We too, when suffering for Christ, can expect God’s angels to attend to us. There are other times when our suffering is the result of illness, or perhaps our own wrongdoing. Then too, we experience the gracious comfort of God. (See 2 Corinthians 1:3-4)

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.

 

A Room Prepared for Us

Meditations on

Staying in the Grace for Today

November 3, 2026

A Room Prepared for Us

For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.

Philippians 1:21

Read: Philippians 1: 18b-26

The Christian poet John Donne wrote that every man’s death diminished him, because he was involved with mankind. Therefore, he wrote, “send not for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.” (John Donne, Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions, Meditation XVII.) In that simple phrase, Donne captures the heart of Christian community, the essence of heaven, and the highest quality in the Kingdom of God. Donne is pointing to a respect, even a reverence, for human life. This quality was sorely missing in the Roman Empire.

In Philippians 1:19-26, and in Chapter 3, Paul lays the foundation for the Christian’s understanding of life after death. Here Paul makes it abundantly clear that he does not fear death, because he knows his mortal death will transport him into the presence of Jesus. By no means is Paul cavalier about death. In places like 2 Corinthians 1: 8-11, Paul expounds on the threat of death he often faced. However, he always rested in his faith that Christ ‘loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).

Paul knew the Romans, with their lack of respect for human life, could easily execute him as a troublemaker. He wasn’t volunteering to go to the gallows. He was affirming that as much as he wanted to live, and proclaim the Good News, and teach his disciples, he also knew that when his work was completed, Jesus would be waiting to greet him.

This abiding faith empowered Paul to remain firm in the face of persecution. He concludes this passage with a call to the church to remain steadfast in unity, and to not be intimidated by those who oppose the Kingdom of God.

My Takeaway: I remember making several visits to the Hospice House to pray with a dear friend dying of cancer. In each prayer with my friend, my mind was steadfast on the promise of Jesus: “My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?” (John 14:2) I believe it was this promise that inspired Paul to finish well. 

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.