On Vacation

 Cheryl and I are on the Norwegian Sky somewhere near the Bahamas this week. I will be recharged, and back home in the beautiful mountains of Western North Carolina by the weekend and will resume my meditations on Seeking the Life in Christ on Cinco de Mayo.

Stunning Affirmation / Magnificent Benediction

Tuesday, April 29, 2014   

Stunning Affirmation / Magnificent Benediction

3 John 1: 1-15

As I conclude John’s third letter, I am saddened to think of the church of Jesus Christ being is such disarray. In her first generation, there were church splits and disputes. Some of the disputes were quite simple; it was then, and is now, always about control. The nature of our fallen flesh makes it inevitable that there will be disputes. The caution being thrown up by John is for us to not accept that this is the norm for the church. Christ calls us to rise above the norm of our humanity, and to accept God’s call for the church to strive for holiness.

John also points to more serious controversies. This letter is a good reminder for us to make the time to review our understanding of the great doctrines of the Christian church. While there is debate on what doctrines are considered crucial, these are generally considered essential: The Trinity, The Person of Jesus Christ, The Second Coming of Jesus Christ, Salvation, The Bible, Baptism, and Holy Communion.

Whenever I think about doctrinal issues, I find it helpful to first take a leap of faith, and embrace the Apostle Paul’s stunning affirmation of the supremacy of Christ: “Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see— such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him” (Colossians 1:15-16. The complete affirmation of the supremacy of Christ includes Colossians 1:13-23).

Then, after I spend time pondering my understanding of the doctrinal truth of Christ, I like to close my devotional time with the magnificent benediction of Jude:

Now all glory to God,

who is able to keep you from falling away

and will bring you with great joy

into his glorious presence

without a single fault.

All glory to him who alone is God,

our Savior

through Jesus Christ our Lord.

All glory, majesty, power, and authority

are his before all time, and in the present,

and beyond all time!

Amen.

Jude 1:24-25

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.

Balking at Taking the Leap of Faith

Monday, April 28, 2014    Balking at Taking the Leap of Faith

2 John 1: 7-13

What we believe about Jesus determines our passion for him, and the level of our obedience to his commands. John’s concern for his sister church was for their fidelity to the core beliefs of the truth of Christ. John is stressing how important it is for every Christian to have a solid foundation for their faith. This foundation is built upon an understanding of the nature of Jesus, his mission, his resurrection, and his ascension. Simply put, a Christian has been born into the family of God, and this is made possible by the forgiveness of our sins, and the infilling of God’s Holy Spirit. It is Jesus who came in the flesh, who was crucified and raised to life again, who makes it possible for us to call upon the name of God and be saved.

In John’s world, just as it is in our culture, these core beliefs were being eroded. Little by little, the church was being influenced to question whether Jesus was actually fully human. How could, some would ask, the actual Son of God be killed? How could the actual Son of God become sin? How could a Holy God allow His only begotten Son to die for sinners? Because these questions were not answerable according to their carnal minds, and because they balked at taking the leap of faith, these detractors of the truth began to minimize the humanity of Christ.

Today, not many churches hold onto the historic confessions of the Christian faith, like the Apostles’ Creed, or the Nicene Creed. I believe such churches let go of these affirmations of faith at their peril, because if they are not affirming the core values of the Christian faith, they risk fulfilling the Apostle Paul’s prophesy: “For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. They will reject the truth and chase after myths” (2 Timothy 4:3-4).

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.

I Am the Truth

Friday, April 25, 2014       I Am the Truth

2 John 1: 1-6

John the Beloved disciple, referred to here as John the elder, was a master in writing coded messages, as his book, Revelation, so eloquently attests. I noted in my meditation on 1 John 5: 1-12, that the way John used the word witness, which can also be translated martyr, suggests that John may have been writing to a church that was facing persecution. That reality is also present in 2 John as John addressed the letter to “the chosen lady and to her children,” and he closed the letter with his greetings “from the children of your sister, chosen by God” (2 John 1:1 & 13). Both of these are references to churches with their identity hidden in what appears to be a letter between family members. In John’s time it was dangerous to be a Christian, and it still is in many places in our world.

John continued with his repetitive style of writing as he used the word truth five times in three verses. John’s reference to truth is two dimensional. First, in verses 1 and 2, John is using “the truth” as a synonym for Jesus. (Remember, Jesus said, “I am the truth” (John 14:6).) Verses 1 and 2 could be translated, “whom I love in (Jesus)—as does everyone else who knows (Jesus) — because (Jesus) lives in us and will be with us forever” (2 John 1:1-2).

The second dimension refers to living our lives in obedience to the truth: “Jesus Christ—the Son of the Father—will continue to be with us who live in truth and love. How happy I was to meet some of your children and find them living according to the truth, just as the Father commanded” (2John 1:3b-4).

On first reading this seems like a simple greeting to a rather short letter from John. On reflection, we find a communication to the church under persecution, affirming that grace, mercy and peace flow from God the Father and Jesus His Son unto those who are living in the truth by making the life in Christ their way of life.

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.

Enjoy Jesus

Thursday, April 24, 2014            Enjoy Jesus

1 John 5: 13-21

In this closing passage, John is encouraging the church to pray for one another and to avoid the sin that robs us of life in God. He seems to be distinguishing between the sins that compromise the quality of our spiritual life to that sin which leads to death. I believe John is following Jesus’ teaching: “So I tell you, every sin and blasphemy can be forgiven—except blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which will never be forgiven. (Matthew 12:31). Jesus is pointing to a kind of Catch-22. The person blaspheming the Holy Spirit cannot be forgiven because they don’t ask to be forgiven; they don’t want to be forgiven. They are fighting against God and refuse to submit to the sovereignty of God.

As John concludes his first letter, he includes a statement very similar to the one he used to close his Gospel (John 20:31): “I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life.” (I John 5:13).

Eternal life is life uninterrupted by death. Those who are in Christ are living eternally now. How can that be? John answers that question: “And we know that the Son of God has come, and he has given us understanding so that we can know the true God. And now we live in fellowship with the true God because we live in fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ. He is the only true God, and he is eternal life” (I John 5:20).

God wants us to spiritually sense, or experience, that we are living eternally. This experience comes through fellowship with Jesus. We can know God, and have fellowship with God, because of what Jesus accomplished to give us new life. This fellowship with God the Father, and His Son, Jesus, comes through our meditation on the Word of God.

The 23^rd Psalm is a good place to begin experiencing fellowship with God because it is written in the first person. As you read the Psalm, take your time. Read one verse at a time and allow the words to sink deep within you. Don’t think of David writing those words; imagine you are writing them. When you speak them out loud, don’t just read scripture; let these become your words of affirmation, devotion and trust. Make David’s psalm your psalm.

God wants you to know you have eternal life. Jesus is eternal life. Jesus wants you to have fellowship with Him. Enjoy Jesus!

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.