Learning To Listen Well

September 30, 2015

Learning To Listen Well

“Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,”

Psalm 107:2a (NRSV)

This theme is repeated throughout Psalm 107. Four times the psalmist writes:

“Let them praise the Lord for his great love

    and for the wonderful things he has done for them.”

Psalm 107:8, 15, 21, 31

This psalm was written as a psalm of thanksgiving for God bringing His people out of the Babylonian captivity, and as a psalm of wisdom where the psalmist urges his congregation to not repeat the mistakes of their ancestors. When Israel was faithful to God, the psalmist would sing to the Lord,

for you are my refuge,

   a strong tower against the enemy.

Let me abide in your tent for ever,

   find refuge under the shelter of your wings.

Psalm 61:3-4 (NRSV)

When Israel was not faithful to God, they

wandered in desert wastes,

   finding no way to an inhabited town;

hungry and thirsty,

   their soul fainted within them.

Psalm 107:4-5 (NRSV)

While all of the followers of Christ can sing “Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, Prone to leave the God I love;” (Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing, Robert Robinson, 1758), we can take comfort that “If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9 NRSV). However, there is something we can do to minimize our wanderings. Every time the people of God gather, whether in small groups or Sunday Worship,

“Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,

Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,

   for his wonderful works to humankind.”

Psalm 107:2a, 8 (NRSV)

The storms of life are coming, whether through our own bad choices or unfaithfulness to God, or simply because the rain falls on the just and unjust alike. It has been my experience that it is not in the midst of the storm, but in the calm after the storm that I best hear God’s still small voice. Therefore, I am seeking to develop the spiritual discipline of learning to listen well after the storm that I may receive pearls of wisdom from Abba.  

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.

Prone To Wander, Lord, I Feel It

September 29, 2015

Prone To Wander, Lord, I Feel It

No one can snatch them away from me, for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand.

John 10:28b-29

A few verses before the above passage, Jesus says “The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life” (John 10:10). Jesus is emphatic that our adversary, the sworn enemy of God, is out to destroy our life. Jesus is even more emphatic that the evil one lacks the power to take us away from God our Father; “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish” (John 10:28a). Our problem, is that like sheep, we tend to stray from our fold, or as the hymn writer so eloquently put it,

Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,

prone to leave the God I love;

Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing

Robert Robinson

The eternal life Jesus promised us is not a new life that begins when we die and go to heaven. Eternal life is life uninterrupted by death! Eternal life begins the instant we receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Regrettably, we miss way too much of the rich and satisfying life Jesus has for us because we are prone to wander off to do life by ourselves and on our own terms. Our tendency is to struggle with the meaning of our existence, with our own resources, while missing life from God.

I am taking two prayer requests from today’s text. First, to never cease celebrating Jesus’ promise not to lose me, and secondly, to ask God to deliver me from my pride that fuels my being “prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love.”

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.

Knowing the Will of God

September 28, 2015

Knowing the Will of God

“Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?”

Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God . . . A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor . . . The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”

Matthew 22:36-40

How can you know the will of God for your life? It must be supremely difficult to know God’s will for your life because Amazon has 654,760 results for "will of god." I suspect Jesus gets a chuckle out of that! I do agree that the nuances of God’s will may be fleeting at times, such as when you are trying to discern whether your efforts to help someone is actually more enabling of their bad choices. But on the whole, the words of our Master are quite clear; “The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”

If we develop the inward spiritual discipline to pause before we speak, or act, or begin even the tiniest formation of a response to a situation, we will be far along on our path of seeking the life in Christ as our way of life. During this pause we need only ask ourselves two questions:

Is what I am feeling or thinking an indication of the love I want to have for God?

Is what I am feeling or thinking an indication of the love Jesus wants me to have for my neighbor?

Mother Teresa spoke of seeing Jesus “in distressing disguise” in the figures of the poor and sick around her. The spiritual discipline of pausing before we speak or act will help us to see His image in those we encounter.    

Take my will, and make it Thine; it shall be no longer mine.

Take my heart, it is Thine own; it shall be Thy royal throne.

Take my love, my Lord, I pour at Thy feet its treasure store.

Take myself, and I will be ever, only, all for Thee.

Take My Life And Let It Be

Frances R. Havergal

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.

All Because Of You

September 25, 2015

All Because Of You

“Yahweh your God is there with you, the warrior-Saviour. He will rejoice over you with happy song, he will renew you by his love, he will dance with shouts of joy for you,”

Zephaniah 3:17 (NJB)

This morning I was reading a testimony of Saint Teresa of Avila. She had a personal encounter with Christ while receiving Holy Communion. Her vision was her personal revelation of Isaiah 62:5b, “Then God will rejoice over you as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride.” I immediately thought of worship leader and song writer Dennis Jernigan and 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 Jernigan’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."

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? I need to be reminded of this glorious truth of grace often. Even though I have embraced this wonderful affirmation, there are days when I don’t act like it is true. I yearn for the days when my life will be evidenced by an uninterrupted serenity and compassionate attitude toward myself that is a reflection of God’s own tenderness for me. Until then, I will often return to Zephaniah’s powerful affirmation. Today, join me and take time 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.  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.