Alive

December 4, 2015

Alive

“The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.”

Romans 8:11

Today is my birthday and I am more alive than ever before. That is not to deny my share of aches and pains, or that I am not nearly as agile and limber as I was some years ago. Feeling alive has nothing to with chronological age! Feeling alive has everything to do with expressing gratitude to God for giving life to my mortal body through His indwelling Holy Spirit.

Jesus was very much joyfully alive as he proclaimed the coming of God’s Kingdom. He stood in sharp contrast to the pious Pharisees and their dour expressions of self-righteousness. Jesus still stands in sharp contrast to the self-conscious religious people in today’s culture. If he had but one message to his followers today, I wonder if it wouldn’t be, “Lighten-Up!”

Lighten-up isn’t an invitation to not take seriously the commands and teachings of Christ. Lighten-up is an invitation to not take ourselves so seriously that we miss the joy of being God’s beloved children who get to dwell eternally with Him by grace. I have found two ways to keep this truth ever before me.

First, I find it helpful to spend time in Luke 15. These three parables about God’s joy for His children are quite compelling for me. Secondly, I, like Paul, am convinced that the ONLY thing that truly matters in life is my relationship with Jesus. (See Philippians 3) As long as I am seeking to know Christ, and to live in such a way that Christ becomes visible in my mortal flesh, everything else takes its proper place in my life. Robin Mark’s song, All For Jesus, is also very helpful in keeping me on the right path:

Jesus, all for Jesus,

All I am and have and ever hope to be.

Jesus, all for Jesus,

All I am and have and ever hope to be.

All of my ambitions, hopes and plans

I surrender these into Your hands.

All of my ambitions, hopes and plans

I surrender these into Your hands.

For it's only in Your will that I am free,

For it's only in Your will that I am free,

Jesus, all for Jesus,

All I am and have and ever hope to be.

  

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.