Practice the Presence

December 12, 2014

Practice the Presence

In (Christ) and through faith in (Christ)

 we may approach God with freedom and confidence

Ephesians 3:12 (NIV)

One of the saints in the unseen cloud of witnesses that surrounds us (Hebrews 12:1) once noted, “Let nothing disturb you, let nothing frighten you. All things are passing. God alone remains.” To live this way is to practice your faith in Christ Jesus, as you bear witness to the freedom he has won for you. The practice of faith is about letting the truth of God inspire your heart, and then transform your life. When the truth of God becomes incarnational, it takes on new life within you, as you live your faith in Christ. The theologian Maurice Blondel said, “If you want to know what a person really believes, don’t listen to what he says but watch what he does.”

The practice of faith verifies to the world around us what we really believe about Jesus. In this Advent season, I am taking Blondel’s words to heart. They are causing me to slow down, to pause and reflect on how my actions, and my words reflect my heart’s devotion to Christ. As I watch the evening news, before I voice an opinion on the issues facing our culture, I want to first turn to Jesus and ask him, “Lord, what is your view on this?” When I am in a meeting and controversy begins to create a turbulent air, my desire is to remain firmly fixed on the ultimate reality of my life, Christ Jesus. Brother Lawrence called this practicing the presence of Christ within us. The bottom line is simple. It doesn’t matter one wit what I say on these pages about what I believe about God in Christ Jesus. What matters is how my beliefs shape all of my life, my actions as well as my thoughts.

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.