“All because of you"

April 30, 2013         Zephaniah 3:17     

“All because of you"

Worship leader and song writer Dennis Jernigan, in the Introduction to his CD “Break My Heart O God” (1995), included his interpretation of Zephaniah 3:17.

First, here is Zephaniah 3:17 from the King James Version of the Bible:

“The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.”

Next, here is Jerrigan’s paraphrase of Zephaniah 3:17:

"The eternal self-existent God, the God who is three in one, He who dwells in the center of your being is a powerful, valiant warrior. He has come to set you free, to keep you safe and to bring you victory. He is cheered and He beams with exceeding joy and takes pleasure in your presence. He has engraved a place for himself in you and there He quietly rests in His love and affection for you.

He cannot contain Himself of the thought of you and with the greatest of joy spins around wildly in anticipation over you and has placed you above all other creations and in the highest place in His priorities. In fact He shouts and sings in triumph, joyfully proclaiming the gladness of His heart in a song of rejoicing.

All because of you."

Now, I’ll paraphrase Brennan Manning from yesterday’s meditation: Do you honestly believe that God shouts and sings in triumph, joyfully proclaiming the gladness of His heart in a song of rejoicing, all because of you? If you could answer, "Yes and Amen," there would come a relaxedness, a serenity and a compassionate attitude toward yourself that is a reflection of God’s own tenderness.

By-the-way, a few years ago I used Michael W. Smith’s interpretation of Zephaniah 3:17 as the theme song in our VBS. You may want to check out, “When I Think Of You” on Smith’s CD, “A New Hallelujah” (2008).

Today, learn to rest in the wonder of God’s affection for you: "He shouts and sings in triumph, joyfully proclaiming the gladness of His heart in a song of rejoicing. All because of you."

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.  In addition to this BLOG they are distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

·        Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com. The Kindle version will follow soon.

·        The second edition First Think – Then Pray has been released as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.

"The Father of Jesus is very fond of me."

April 29, 2013          Romans 8:15-16

"The Father of Jesus is very fond of me."

Brennan Manning, who died April 12, 2013, had a profound influence on my understanding of grace. Perhaps more than any other contemporary writer, he led thousands of people into a personal experience of the Apostle Paul’s great proclamation, “No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:39). Through his own experience of life, Manning demonstrated that nothing we do on earth alters the great promise of scripture: “This I know: God is on my side!” (Psalm 56:9b). (If you haven’t read Manning’s book, The Ragamuffin Gospel, I highly recommend it.)

The foundation for this new series of meditations can be found in a story Brennan Manning tells.  “Several years ago, Edward Farrell, a priest from Detroit, went on a two-week summer vacation to Ireland to visit relatives. His one living uncle was about to celebrate his 80th birthday. On the great day, Ed and his uncle got up early. It was before dawn. They took a walk along the shores of Lake Killarney and stopped to watch the sunrise. They stood side by side for a full twenty minutes and then resumed walking. Ed glanced at his uncle and saw that his face had broken into a broad smile. Ed said, "Uncle Seamus, you look very happy."

          "I am."

          Ed asked, "How come?"

          And his uncle replied,

"The Father of Jesus is very fond of me."

If the question were put to you, "Do you honestly believe that God likes you?" -- not loves you because theologically he must, but does He like you -- how would you answer?

If you could answer, "The Father is very fond of me," there would come a relaxedness, a serenity and a compassionate attitude toward yourself that is a reflection of God’s own tenderness.” (I think I first read this story in Manning’s book, Ruthless Trust. It is also included in Reflections for Ragamuffins: Daily Devotions from the Writings of Brennan Manning)

Three times in John 15, Jesus calls us his friends. This word “friend” gives me pause to examine my life for evidence that I have more than head knowledge about Jesus. Do I actually live my life in the reality of a relationship with Jesus? If so, is that relationship more like boss and employee or servant; or do I hear him call me friend?

Our friendship with God is the heart of the Gospel of Grace so eloquently proclaimed by Paul, “So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children” (Romans 8:15-16)

Today, learn to rest in the wonder of God’s affection for you: "The Father of Jesus is very fond of me."

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.  In addition to this BLOG they are distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

·        Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com. The Kindle version will follow soon.

·        The second edition First Think – Then Pray has been released as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.

April 27, 2012 Meditations Published on Kindle

The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ

(Seed Sowers Christian Book Publishing House. http://www.seedsowers.com/)

April 27, 2012          Meditations Published on Kindle

Meditations on The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ has been published on Amazon Kindle.

At this time I do not have plans to publish it in print.

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

·        Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com. The Kindle version will follow soon.

·        The second edition First Think – Then Pray has been released as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.

·        Meditations on The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ has been released as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.

Friday, April 26, 2013

The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ

(Seed Sowers Christian Book Publishing House. http://www.seedsowers.com/)

Friday, April 26, 2013   Concluding Thoughts

There is a spiritual exercise that begins with the statement: “God loves you. God is head over heels, passionately in love with you. When God looks at you, which is all the time, God says, “Behold, my beautiful child, with whom I am delighted and upon whom my favor rests.”” The exercise then asks the question: “If you really believed that God loves you, how different would your life be?”

I thought about that exercise often as I read The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ.  The editors of this book merged the four Gospels into one narrative. The four Gospels of the Bible are theological narratives, told from the perspective of their authors. The Story of My Life . . . is one continuous story, told in the first person, as an autobiographical narrative. I could easily imagine Jesus sitting next to me, telling me the story of his life and I often thought about that spiritual exercise, “If you really believed that God loves you, how different would your life be?”

For the first-third of this book, I had some interesting times pondering that question. For the last two-thirds, the question changed to the declaratory statement: “How different is my life, because I believe!” Since my wife Cheryl’s breast cancer diagnosis in December 2012, her subsequent surgery and radiation treatments, my heart attack In January 2013 (the medical establishment calls it a “cardiac event’J) and subsequent cardiac bypass surgery, we have “proved Him o'er and o'er,” as the old Gospel song rings true,

“Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him!

How I've proved Him o'er and o'er!

Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus!

Oh, for grace to trust Him more!

'Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus

music by William J. Kirkpatrick and

lyrics by Louisa M. R. Stead.

It has been my experience in life that we are all in one of three places:  in a crisis, coming out of a crisis, or heading for a crisis. Henry Blackby, in his book, Experiencing God, says these challenges in life are always accompanied by a crisis of belief, because how we respond to the challenges reveals what we truly believe about the character of God.

Reading The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ, and writing these meditations, has reinforced my belief that every action God takes is motivated by His great love for us.  The promise of God is that He is using every circumstance in our lives for His good purpose of transforming us to become like Christ. (Romans 8:28-29) Our challenges in life may be different, but the reality of God’s love for us is unchanging. I believe this with every fiber of my being and my heart’s desire is for my daily life to reflect my experience of God’s faithfulness.

For me, this desire of my heart is realized by seeking the life in Christ as my way of life. I hope you will continue to follow Christ with me as I begin a new series of meditations next week.

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.)

Monday, April 29, 2013

"The Father of Jesus is very fond of me."