Seeking the Life in Christ

Friday, August 21, 2026

Holy Spirit Awareness

Meditations on

Staying in the Grace for Today

August 21, 2026

Holy Spirit Awareness

All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had.

Acts 4:32

The verse quoted above is at the close of Acts 4 and is a summary of the lifestyle of the first Christian church in Jerusalem. Their life together is an example of the goal that Dietrich Bonhoeffer set for his disciples. Bonhoeffer noted that Satan’s goal is to disrupt the harmony and unity of the church. Satan’s desire for Christians is what Saint Augustine described as incurvatus in se, which basically translates as curved in on ourselves. When we live in ego-centric or self-centered ways, we are destructive in our Christian communities. When we live for ourselves, our lives are curved inward as opposed to the life God intended for us, which is life lived with an outward focus. This outward focus, a life of openness and willing self-sacrifice for the good of others, is a blessing to our communities and a pleasing aroma to God.

Augustine noted that incurvatus in se is the very essence of original sin. As such, we need to look to the Holy Spirit daily for discernment of the ways we are still curved in on ourselves. We also look to the Holy Spirit for the power to say yes when the Spirit motivates us to action, and to say no to our bent toward self-gratification.

My Takeaway: Our culture celebrates self-awareness, self-motivation and taking the initiative. God celebrates our Holy Spirit awareness, our Holy Spirit motivation and our willingness to respond to the leading of the Holy Spirit. Be patient and allow God to develop your discerning heart, and He will teach you how to do what is right, how to love mercy, and how to walk humbly with your God. (Micah 6:8)

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.

Thursday, August 20, 2026

Christianoi

Meditations on

Staying in the Grace for Today

August 20, 2026

Christianoi

This matter arose because some false believers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves. We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you.

Galatians 2:4-5

We live in a hyphenated culture. Seldom is someone referred to by just one defining characteristic. People are referred to as African-Americans or Asian-Americans or Italian-Americans. We also divide ourselves into sub-groups based on schools and universities, states and regions. As seriously as some people take these divisions, they pale in comparison to how the Jews in the first century marked their identity as God’s people through male circumcision. This national, religious and cultural identity ran so deep that even the Jews who had accepted Jesus as their Messiah expected all the male followers of Jesus to be circumcised. This was a huge point of contention between the Apostle Paul and those leaders in the Christian movement who tried to require Gentile believers to comply with male circumcision and the Law of Moses. (These leaders were known as Judaizers.)

At one time, the followers of Jesus were known as Christianoi, People of Christ. Over the centuries, we have become Roman Catholics, Methodists, Presbyterians, Baptists, Pentecostals, and Anglicans etc. Why all the denominations and non-denominations and differing local churches?

It’s all about control. With churches, it is a way of trying to hold on to our past, and at the same time step into God’s Kingdom. This puts us in a dilemma. The way churches are organized creates a temptation to think we are right and others, not in our church, are wrong. This creates disunity in the Body of Christ. But our churches in their present form are all we have. This reality creates a huge temptation for us to think we can just bring our Christian faith alongside of our cultural beliefs and try to blend them together.

How can we respond to this dilemma? First, don’t take your denominational or non-denominational doctrine and structure too seriously. The most important thing is to keep your eyes on Jesus. Paul told the Corinthians “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! (2 Corinthians 5:17). He was more emphatic on what he told the Galatians. Not only is our old life gone, but our old identity is dead. We have a new identity as the People of Christ. (Galatians 2:20)

My Takeaway: The Jews set themselves apart from others through their mono-theistic faith in the Creator God, their male circumcision and their dietary laws. Today, the People of Christ are set apart by their belief in justification by grace through faith in Christ Jesus. Any other form of identification for the followers of Christ is not 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.)

Wednesday, August 19, 2026

A Pleasing Aroma to God

Meditations on

Staying in the Grace for Today

August 19, 2026

A Pleasing Aroma to God

Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Ephesians 5:1-2

Jesus reconciled two seemingly irreconcilable truths he experienced on the cross. By resting in the truth of God’s affirmation of him -- “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy” -- Jesus was able to confront his negative emotions --“My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” -- and return to resting in God’s love -- “Father, I entrust my spirit into your hands!” As the followers of Christ, we too are called to reconcile two seemingly irreconcilable truths.

Our life, apart from the saving grace of Jesus, is totally repugnant to God. Even so, while we were completely lost in our sin, God loved us, and Christ died for us. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God— not the result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9 NRSV). We have been saved by grace and we live by grace. We can never, ever do anything to earn our right standing with God. Even though God speaks those most precious of all words to us when we come to Him by faith, “This is my dearly loved (Child), who brings me great joy,” nevertheless, our works within our own strength are still repugnant to him because they are offered through our sin-broken flesh.

However, Jesus shows us how to reconcile our life in grace with the works of our hands. Jesus “loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God” (Ephesians 5:2). The Philippians grasped this truth when they sent an offering to Paul while he was in jail. Paul wrote to them that their offering was “a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God” (Philippians 4:18c). When the love of Christ for us moves us to express his love for others, especially when we give sacrificially of ourselves and our resources, our offering becomes a pleasing aroma to God.

My Takeaway: As you seek to make your life a pleasing aroma to God, never forget that it is God working in you to transform your life into a sweet-smelling sacrifice. “For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him” (Philippians 2:13 NLT).

May God, “equip (us) with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen” (Hebrews 13:21).

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, August 18, 2026

How Foolish Can You Be?

Meditations on

Staying in the Grace for Today

August 18, 2026

How Foolish Can You Be?

Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh?

Galatians 3:3

Our culture differs greatly from that of the Galatians. Most of the people in our culture do not believe in any gods, much less in the Christian God. Many Christians, while affirming their faith in God, see their faith as a means to a better quality of life, not a means to be in a right relationship with the God of the universe. I believe it is in the DNA of Americans to be proud, rebellious and self-reliant. When I visited the Museum of Western Expansion in St. Louis, I saw this character trait embodied in a quote from the journal of someone who was a part of a wagon train heading west:

‘We had preceded only a few days travel, when the American character was fully exhibited. All appeared to be determined to govern, but not to be governed.”

However, it was vitally important to the people in the Galatian congregations to be in a right relationship with God. This was not optional to them. It is not hyperbole to say it was a matter of life and death to them. You can sense Paul’s frustration. Paul had proclaimed the Gospel to them, and the Galatian Christians had experienced the power of the Holy Spirit in their lives. They had entered a right relationship with God by grace, through faith in Jesus. Now the church leaders were backing up and forcing their congregations to keep rules and laws in a desperate attempt to stay in a right relationship with God. Do you remember the third chapter of 2 Corinthians where Paul talked about the veil being removed? The Galatians were putting the veil back up, and Paul was doing his best to get them to remove the veil and live by grace, not works.

Seeking the life in Christ is hard work! On one hand, we rejoice that God loves us, unconditionally, just as we are. On the other hand, we know this marvelous grace of God does not give us a license to keep on sinning. We are called to crucify our flesh with its sinful desires. We want to glorify God and live in a manner that others can see Christ in our mortal flesh. However, the witness of Christ within us comes by grace, not an accumulation of good works. (See 2 Corinthians 4)

My Takeaway: It has been my experience that reaching a balance where our good works are evidence of God’s grace at work in our lives is more of an art than it is a process to be learned. As we seek to release the graceful artist within us, we’ll do well to remember Paul’s admonishment to the Galatians, “Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh?” (Galatians 3:3).

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 17, 2026

When the Angels Are Absent

Meditations on

Staying in the Grace for Today

August 17, 2026

When the Angels Are Absent

And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

Matthew 3:17

Because Jesus is fully divine, the Word made flesh, he can forgive our sins. Because Jesus is fully human, the author of Hebrews could proclaim, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.” (Hebrews 4:15). I am comforted to know that Jesus experienced the same self-doubts that I do.

There were times when Jesus must have wondered if it really was the Holy Spirit who led him to the River Jordan to be baptized and then led him into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. I suspect there were times when he got tired of the hostility heaped onto him by the Pharisees, and when he grew weary of his disciples who just couldn’t connect the dots of his ministry. Even so, we don’t have to wonder how he handled those times of doubt: “But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” (Luke 5:16).

During those times of prayer, I believe Jesus’ Heavenly Father was gracious to speak again those most comforting of all words, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.” I believe there were other times when, as in his wilderness temptation experience, that God’s “angels came and took care of Jesus” (Matthew 4:11). I also believe there were times when heaven was silent and the angels were absent.

It was during these silent and absent times that Jesus’ faith was forged into unbreakable iron. This is the faith that allowed Jesus to reconcile two seemingly irreconcilable truths he experienced on the cross.

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46)

“Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” (Luke 23:46)

During those silent times in the wilderness, Jesus may not have heard again the voice of God, but he never forgot what he did hear that day in the River Jordan, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.”

My Takeaway: By the way, a voice from heaven said the same words (Matthew 3:17) to you when you were baptized. In your moments of weakness, recall those words and remember you are God’s beloved daughter or son, and allow the Holy Spirit to forge strong your 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.)

Friday, August 14, 2026

Sē’lah

Meditations on

Staying in the Grace for Today

August 14, 2026

Sē’lah

I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the Lord sustains me.

Psalm 3:5

Near the end of King David’s reign, his son Absalom led a rebellion against David and seized the throne of Israel. This incident is discussed in Gene Edward’s book, A Tale of Three Kings, which chronicles David’s relationship with both King Saul and his son Absalom. (I believe this book is a Christian classic and should be in the personal library of every Christian.) Psalm 3 was written by King David during Absalom’s rebellion. David responded to the revolt by expressing his deep trust in God: if God wants me to be on the throne, no one can take it away; if God doesn’t want me on the throne, there is nothing I can do to keep it.

It is during adversity, both big and small, that the depth of our Life in Christ is revealed. The adverse circumstances may involve something as simple as someone being rude or cutting us off in traffic, or perhaps we see everything we have worked for being lost through divorce, business failure or personal bankruptcy. How we respond to these circumstances reveals what we believe about God and how deeply Christ has transformed our life.

The word Sē’lah is used three times in Psalm 3. Regrettably, the NIV drops this word in their translation. The NRSV keeps the word, but it is translated, Interlude, in the NLT, which comes close to describing its meaning. But Sē’lah is more than an interlude; in this context, it is taking the time to think and reflect on what has been written. David’s circumstances had not changed, but he was able to rest because he knew the Lord was watching over him. Taking the time to reflect on God’s nature allowed David to lie down and sleep during his greatest adversity.

The Apostle Paul captures David’s heart in his letter to the Philippians: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7).

My Takeaway: When you are facing adversity, make time to Sē’lah, to pause and reflect on God’s nature. Remember that the Lord is watching over you, and rest in the assurance of His love for you. And remember, “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever.” (Psalm 118.1)

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, August 13, 2026

Go!

Meditations on

Staying in the Grace for Today

August 13, 2026

Go!

They only heard the report: “The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” And they praised God because of me.

Galatians 1:23-24

Many years ago, I went to visit a young man in the hospital who was under police guard. As I approached his room, I was stopped by a Police Officer. I identified myself and told him I had received permission from his Captain to visit the young man. The Officer responded, “Who are you?” I again gave my name and repeated that I had been authorized to make this visit. He again asked, “Yeah, I got that, but who are you?” He was trying to establish my credentials; was I an attorney, relative, or friend of the family? None of the above. (This was before I began my pastoral vocation.) All I could do was repeat myself. Eventually the Officer gave up and allowed me to make the visit.

The Apostle Paul was in a similar situation. He had moved on to new mission fields after first proclaiming the Good News in Galatia. Other Christians, who took exception to Paul not requiring Gentile converts to keep the Law of Moses, had moved into Galatia. The issue of Paul’s credentials, his authority to lead the church, had been called into question. The issue of who has the authority to speak for Christ is still an issue for the Christian movement today.

By that time, Paul had been completely accepted by the church leaders in Jerusalem, and he had been commissioned as an evangelist to the Gentiles. His authority was undeniable; yet he never relied on that ecclesiastical authority in making his case to the Galatians. As the adage goes, the proof of the pudding is in the tasting. Paul reported that the Christians in Jerusalem knew that people were saying, “The one who used to persecute us is now preaching the very faith he tried to destroy!” And they praised God because of me” (Galatians 1:23-24).

Paul isn’t teaching us that clergy credentials don’t matter. He is teaching us that while they certainly have their purpose and place, there is something else that is more important. Is there fruit? Is their ministry making disciples for Jesus Christ? Can you see evidence that they are building for the Kingdom of God?

The young man I went to see in the hospital was there because he had tried to commit suicide. He was under guard because he had been arrested for dealing in drugs. I went to see him to share my faith in Christ and offer the hope of Christ to him. We prayed at the end of my visit, and I left him thumbing through the Gideon Bible. He called me the next day to tell me that after reading Psalm 32, he had prayed and asked Jesus to be his Savior. As noted above, this was several years before I became a credentialed minister. I was just plain ole John Q. Church-Layman. Paul didn’t make a big deal out of his church credentials because he wanted to be clear that it is Jesus who authorizes us, each one of us, to go and make disciples for the Kingdom of God.

My Takeaway: Go!

(This is what my friend in the hospital read: “Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered” (Psalm 32:1)).

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 21, 2026

Holy Spirit Awareness

Thursday, August 20, 2026

Christianoi

Wednesday, August 19, 2026

A Pleasing Aroma to God

Tuesday, August 18, 2026

How Foolish Can You Be?

Monday, August 17, 2026

When the Angels Are Absent

Friday, August 14, 2026

Sē’lah

Thursday, August 13, 2026

Go!

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