Jesus Is The Way, The Truth And The Life

Friday, February 28, 2014           

Jesus Is The Way, The Truth And The Life

John  14: 1-11

As we continue to read the Farewell Discourse of Jesus, keep in the forefront of your mind the foundation Jesus laid for this teaching. In Jesus, the Glory of God has been revealed. In Jesus, we see the heart of God the Father. Jesus, as the revealed Glory of God, washed the feet of his disciples, loved his disciples, and was the Passover Lamb who took away the sins of the world. Jesus is the revealed Glory of God. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. Jesus shows us the way home to paradise, the way home to God our Father. Jesus and God the Father are one.

Therefore, because of all that Jesus is, he can make the most comforting promise in the Bible: “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am” (John 14:1-3).

This one promise is the tipping point of our response to all the claims Jesus has made on our lives. Our fidelity to Jesus’ command for us to go and make disciples depends on our response to this promise. Our willingness to entrust our lives to God so that He can use everything in our life for His purpose of transforming us to become like Jesus depends on how deeply Jesus’ promise resonates within our soul. Is Jesus’ promise to you sufficient to earn your unconditional, unqualified obedience? If yes, hallelujah; rest in his assurance that you will always be with him. If not, what else must he do to earn your loyalty?

Sē’lah

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(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. 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 in paperback and Kindle.

·        The second edition of  First Think – Then Pray is available 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.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188.

A New Commandment

Thursday, February 27, 2014               A New Commandment

John  13: 31-38

Jesus begins his Farewell Discourse by reflecting on the exchange of glory between Father and Son. The very essence of God is goodness, mercy, holiness and love. The Glory of God is the revelation of God’s essence. This glory is revealed through the presence of God. God, as a burning bush to Moses, and as a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night for the Israelites during the exodus, are examples of God’s Glory. The ultimate expression of God’s Glory is in the life, death and resurrection of our Lord, Christ Jesus.

The Glory of God is meant to be an unbroken circle. God’s glory is shown or revealed to His people, and in return His people give glory to God. This responsive glory is expressed in adoration, honor, praise and obedience.

Jesus gave his followers a new commandment to obey. The Latin translation of commandment is also the root of the word mandate. In French, the word for mandate is mandé, and over time its use within the church was changed into Maundy. The Maundy Thursday service during Holy Week is in remembrance of John 13:34, “So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.” There is no greater way to glorify God than giving ourselves to fulfill this new commandment to love each other as Jesus loves us. Jesus said that our love for one another will prove to the world that we are his disciples. That seems so simple, yet it is the one thing that has proved the most difficult for Christians to fulfill.

We can do pretty well in loving those people who are like us, but not so well loving those who are different from us, or who we suspect may betray or deny us. Peter’s exuberance in proclaiming his devotion to Jesus, only to be confronted with the truth that he would soon deny Jesus, should be for us a startling reminder to fix ourselves firmly at the feet of Jesus. The farther away we get from Jesus, the more impossible it becomes to love one another the way Jesus loves us.

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.  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. 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 in paperback and Kindle.

·        The second edition of  First Think – Then Pray is available 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.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188.

One Of You Will Betray Me!

Wednesday, February 26, 2014            One Of You Will Betray Me!

John  13: 21-30

Jesus had washed the feet of all twelve disciples. Now they were reclining at the dinner table partaking of their Passover meal. That they were reclining is a very important detail. Only those who were free reclined while eating; slaves and servants ate either standing or seated. Although the Israelites were living under Roman occupation and oppression, Passover celebrated God setting them free from slavery in Egypt, and every Jew would partake of the Passover meal while reclining at their table. Reclining people gathering around the table are actually touching one another; the Passover was a very intimate meal for Jesus and his disciples. The text includes the detail, “Jesus responded, “It is the one to whom I give the bread I dip in the bowl” (John 12:26a). In first century Israel, sharing a meal together was yet another indication of intimacy and right-standing relationships.

As Jesus looks around the table at his disciples, his friends, he knows one will betray him to the religious authorities, one will publicly deny even knowing him, and all but one of the remaining men will scatter into hiding after he is arrested. Even so, Jesus reclined at the Passover table with his disciples; even so, Jesus washed the feet of all twelve.

I noted in the previous passage that Jesus had laid down a pattern for his disciples to follow. As you ponder Jesus’ interaction with his disciples, what do you hear God saying to you? Do you have an attitude toward someone that God wants you to adjust?

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.  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. 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 in paperback and Kindle.

·        The second edition of  First Think – Then Pray is available 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.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188.

Jesus Never, Ever, Lowers The Bar

Tuesday, February 25, 2014      Jesus Never, Ever, Lowers The Bar

John  13: 12-20

Jesus looks his disciples squarely in the eye and demands uncompromising loyalty and obedience, knowing full well that his disciples are destined to fall short of his expectations time and time again. In today’s passage, Jesus tells us that he has laid down a pattern for us to follow. We are to be humble followers of Jesus, who never think of ourselves better than others, and who never think of menial service as something beneath our station in life. Then Jesus hints that one of his disciples seated at the table with him, doesn’t grasp this teaching. In the following passages Jesus will identify Peter, as yet another disciple, who will fall short of the expectations Jesus has set for Christianoi, the people of Christ.

Jesus never, ever, lowers the bar. This is why we will never, ever, outgrow our need for the church, for the sacrament of Holy Communion, for prayer, for accountability partners or groups, and personal devotional and worship time. For some, the poetic lines of worship songs may seem a bit over the top; “I need thee, O I need thee; every hour I need thee” or “This is the air I breathe . . . Your holy presence living in me; This is my daily bread . . . Your very word spoken to me; And I I'm desperate for you; And I I'm lost without you.” Do we really mean it when we sing these lines?

I do, because as we will see in several days, Jesus was quite serious when he said, “For apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5b).

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.  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. 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 in paperback and Kindle.

·        The second edition of  First Think – Then Pray is available 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.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188.