Seeking the Life in Christ

Wednesday, March 18, 2026

I Know the One in Whom I Trust

Meditations on

Staying in the Grace for Today

March 18, 2026

I Know the One in Whom I Trust

“Because I am righteous, I will see you.

When I awake, I will see you face to face and be satisfied.”

Psalm 17:15

Many commentators believe Jesus is revealed in Psalm 17, because only Jesus can pray with such confidence,

“You have scrutinized me and found nothing wrong . . . My steps have stayed on your path; I have not wavered from following you . . . Because I am righteous, I will see you” (Psalm 17:3,5,15).

I don’t disagree.

However, I also read Psalm 17 as an expression of David’s child-like faith: strong faith, Biblical faith, but also child-like faith. I suspect David wrote this psalm while still in his youth. Later in his life David is much more acutely aware of his own sin, as in Psalm 32 when he seeks forgiveness for his sin with Bathsheba.

David’s faith is the defining characteristic of the Book of Psalms. David has an absolute trust in God. David is not in denial, he knows he has adversaries and that his adversaries are enemies of God. However, David fully expects that God will vindicate him. He trusts God to be both judge and the executor of divine judgment. This is the same trust the Apostle Paul proclaimed when he wrote, “for I know the one in whom I trust, and I am sure that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until the day of his return” (2 Timothy 1:12).

There are two thoughts I take with me from Psalm 17. First, God most definitely has expectations for my witness for Christ and my participation as a co-laborer with Christ building for the Kingdom of God. However, the battle is not mine; the battle is the Lord’s. Secondly, because of the immeasurable love of Christ, I am now and forever more the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:21). Therefore, I can rejoice with the psalmist in saying:

“Because I am righteous, I will see you.

When I awake, I will see you face to face and be satisfied.”

Psalm 17:15

My Takeaway: As I seek to stay in God’s grace for today, and every day, my thoughts are anchored in this eternal truth:

“for I know the one in whom I trust, and I am sure that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until the day of his return.” (2 Timothy 1:12)

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.

Tuesday, March 17, 2026

Fear of Dying

Meditations on

Staying in the Grace for Today

March 17, 2026

Fear of Dying

In his anguish he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down on the ground.

Luke 22:44 NRSV

In the last few months friends have died, and others have received cancer diagnoses. As I progress through the aging process, I am trusting in Jesus’ promise: “In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places . . . And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:2-3 NRSV). For the Christian, it is not death we fear, our fear is dying. While some may go quietly into the night, and still others die very quickly, for many others, their dying includes illness, pain, dependency and loneliness.

While serving as a pastor, I was present with many, many people as they died. I learned that there is no easy, 1-2-3 formula that makes dying less fearful. I also learned that we tend to die the way we live. Our faith, our life in Christ, makes the journey with us. Those who did not seek the comfort of Christ, and of scripture during their lives, seldom look for Christ in their final days. For those taking the road less traveled, and who are seeking to make the life in Christ their way of life, I can offer an assurance for the certain time when we face our own dying.

Always, always, always remember you are not alone! As Saint Luke so eloquently observed, Jesus was overwrought at the prospect of his own dying. Remember, Jesus faced the same trials we do. (Hebrews 4:15) Also, remember that as Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, the Father sent angels to comfort him in his time of trial. (Luke 22:43) Those same angels also comforted Jesus during his wilderness experience. (Matthew 2:19-21) Because you are an heir of God, a joint heir with Jesus, you can rightfully expect the Father’s angels to come and comfort you in your hour of need.

My Takeaway: And remember always the profound truth of Psalm 23:4 (KJV, Emphasis mine.)

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

I will fear no evil:

for thou art with me;

thy rod and thy staff they comfort 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.)

Monday, March 16, 2026

Running on Empty

Meditations on

Staying in the Grace for Today

March 16, 2026

Running on Empty

Christ Jesus . . . emptied himself, taking the form of a slave . . . he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross.

Philippians 2:5-8

Our cultural norms tell us that running on empty is not a good place to be. Stephen Covey includes renewal as the seventh habit in his The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, and rightly so. Taking time for renewal is very appropriate in our secular life, as well as our spiritual life. However, as a spiritual disciple, running on empty is something we seek.

Throughout Jesus’ public ministry, he made it very clear that he was intent on not doing his own will, but rather, his Father’s will. The climax of Jesus emptying himself of his own self-interest came in the Garden of Gethsemane when he prayed, “I want your will to be done, not mine” (Luke 22:42). Jesus affirmed his prayer on the cross when he called out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46 NRSV). Not long after that, Jesus announced he had completely emptied himself: “It is finished!” (John 19:30).

When Jesus was completely emptied of self, God lifted him into the resurrection and,

elevated him to the place of highest honor

and gave him the name above all other names,

that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,

in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord,

to the glory of God the Father.

Philippians 2:9-11

We too want to be emptied of self. As we seek the life in Christ as our way of life, we are emptying ourselves so that God may fill us with His glorious presence. Scripture teaches us that, “Because of the joy awaiting him, Jesus endured the cross” (Hebrews 12:2). As we seek to empty ourselves of our own self-will, we too keep our eyes on our prize. One day our Abba Father will lift us into the resurrection, and we will be given a new name. (Revelation 2:17)

My Takeaway: Running on empty is a good thing when there is less of self and more of 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.)

Friday, March 13, 2026

Taking, Lifting & Drinking the Cup

Meditations on

Staying In the Grace for Today

March 13, 2026

Taking, Lifting & Drinking the Cup

And he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them and said, “Each of you drink from it, for this is my blood, which confirms the covenant between God and his people. It is poured out as a sacrifice to forgive the sins of many.

Matthew 26:27-28

In many churches the members of the congregation do not have an opportunity to personally handle the cup, or communion chalice. Over the last five years in my Anglican experience, I have been blessed to place my hands on the Chalice as I drink from it. Recently, as I assisted in my grandson’s wedding in a Catholic Church, I was able to take the chalice in my hands and lift it as I fulfilled Jesus’ command to take and drink from the cup of his New Covenant.

In my participation in the Common Cup of Holy Communion, I am learning to think of it as a metaphor for my life. The Chalice containing the wine is symbolic of the sacrifice of Jesus which gave birth to my new life in Christ, and it is also symbolic of my life. All my regrets and sorrows as well as all my celebrations and joy of life are within the Chalice. As I take the cup, I am taking ownership of all my life.

As I let go of the Chalice, I always say, “Thanks Be to God” for my new life in Christ, as well as for my mortal life. I am what I am by the grace of God who is forever more at work within me. (1 Corinthians 15:10, Philippians 2:13) At the Altar of Holy Communion, I affirm my Abba Father does not have buyer’s remorse for adopting me.

My Takeaway: Our participation in Holy Communion is our way of fully appropriating and internalizing both our new life in Christ as well as our mortal life with all its joys and sorrows. As we take time to allow God to speak to us through each step in this process of taking, and drinking, and eating, we position ourselves before the transformative hand of our Abba Father. Through His loving touch, we become the fully authentic human being He created in His very own image.

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, March 12, 2026

The Cup

Meditations on

Staying In the Grace for Today

March 12, 2026

The Cup

“Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?”

Matthew 20:22b (NRSV)

The cup is used with many connotations in the Bible, and we do well to incorporate many of them into the spiritual discipline of hearing Jesus ask us, “Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?” The NLT attaches an interpretative phrase to its translation: “Are you able to drink from the bitter cup of suffering I am about to drink?” As Jesus was responding to the mother of James and John asking for special favor for her sons, that is an appropriate translation; special favors carry special responsibilities. James and John both responded “yes, we are able,” a response I suspect they later regretted when they hear Jesus pray in the Garden of Gethsemane, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me” (Matthew 26:39b).

The Apostle Paul picks up on the relationship between favor and responsibility when affirming Abba’s favor in adopting us as His children: “But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering” (Romans 8:17b). By keeping Jesus’ question ever before him, the Apostle Paul worked out his own mission statement: “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death” (Philippians 3:10 NRSV). So it is with us, also.

We also want to remember that the cup is not only a metaphor for suffering, but also a metaphor for blessing: “My cup overflows with blessings” (Psalm 23:5c). Jesus embraced his calling to be the cup of salvation for all people. As his followers, we too have a calling to be a cup of blessings to those we encounter.

Father Mychal Judge was the Chaplain to the NYFD and was killed on 9-11. He too kept Jesus’ question close to his heart and worked out his own mission statement in the form of this prayer:

Lord, take me where You want me to go,

let me meet who You want me to meet,

tell me what You want me to say,

and keep me out of Your way.

My Takeaway: I have been seeking the life in Christ as my way of life for fifty years. I still incorporate Jesus’ question, “Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?” in my spiritual disciplines. And He is still refining my mission statement.

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, March 11, 2026

Sharing Freely

Meditations on

Staying In the Grace for Today

March 11, 2026

Sharing Freely

God will give you the right words at the right time.

Matthew 10:19b

All three of the synoptic Gospels contain Jesus’ promise that when we need to testify about our faith, God will give us the right words at the right time. (Matthew 10:19, Mark 13:11 and Luke 12:11) While the context of Jesus’ teaching is in times of persecution, the principle applies to the whole of our life.

It has been my experience that most Christians are very reluctant to share about their personal experience with the faithfulness of God. For some, this reluctance is because they are acutely aware they are lacking in a personal relationship with Christ Jesus. While the Hound of Heaven is relentless in His pursuit of us, He never will force himself on us. We are led by the still small voice of God (1 Kings 19:12), not a booming voice shouting through a megaphone. Our Abba Father offers us an intimate, personal relationship; we need only say yes and take His hand. But take His hand we must, or there is no relationship.

For others, even though they have a personal experience of God, even though they have experienced God’s Spirit bearing witness to their spirit that they are indeed His beloved child (Romans 8:16), even so, they still suffer from a scarcity mentality and don’t believe they have enough to share with others.

My Takeaway: Jesus’ promise of God’s faithfulness to give us the right words at the right time, gives us the confidence to freely share our experience of God. When we do share, others will see that even though we are like fragile clay jars, we have this light shining in our hearts, and they will see Christ Jesus in our mortal flesh. To God be the 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.)

Tuesday, March 10, 2026

Win/Win

Meditations on

Staying In the Grace for Today

March 10, 2026

Win/Win

Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks to God, and distributed them to the people. Afterward he did the same with the fish. And they all ate as much as they wanted.

John 6:11

Stephen Covey teaches that the core value in interpersonal relationships is to have a win/win attitude. (Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People) A win/win attitude is to have an abundant mentality as opposed to a scarcity mentality. An example of both attitudes is found in the story of Jesus feeding the five thousand. (John 6:1-13) Jesus’ disciples Philip and Andrew were focused on what they did not have. Jesus focused on what he did have, gave thanks to God and distributed the five loaves and two fish to the multitude. All the people ate as much as they wanted and there were twelve baskets of leftovers.

What difference can this episode in Jesus’ life make in our lives today? In connecting these dots, I remember a story Anthony DeMello tells of a sojourner who, upon reaching the outskirts of a village, settled down under a tree for the night. Suddenly a villager came running up to him and said, “The stone! The stone! Give me the precious stone!”

“What stone?” asked the sojourner. “Last night the Lord appeared to me in a dream,” said the villager, “and told me that if I went to the outskirts of the village at dusk, I should find a sojourner who would give me a precious stone that would make me rich forever.” The sojourner rummaged in his bag and pulled out a stone. “He probably meant this one,” he said, as he handed the stone over to the villager. “I found it on a forest path some days ago. You can certainly have it.”

The villager gazed at the stone in wonder. It was a diamond; probably the largest diamond in the whole world, for it was as large as a person’s head. He took the diamond and walked away. All night he tossed about in bed, unable to sleep. The next day at the crack of dawn he returned to the sojourner and said, “Please kind sir, give me the wealth that makes it so easy for you to give this diamond away.” (Anthony De Mello, The Song of the Bird)

My Takeaway: Jesus looked at what he had, and with an attitude of win/win determined to share his wealth (five loaves and two fish), as opposed to hoarding his wealth for himself and his disciples. My wealth goes well beyond my bank account. I have my home, wisdom, friends and family and 1,440 minutes in each day. The only question is whether I believe I have enough to share.

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, March 18, 2026

I Know the One in Whom I Trust

Tuesday, March 17, 2026

Fear of Dying

Monday, March 16, 2026

Running on Empty

Friday, March 13, 2026

Taking, Lifting & Drinking the Cup

Thursday, March 12, 2026

The Cup

Wednesday, March 11, 2026

Sharing Freely

Tuesday, March 10, 2026

Win/Win

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