Step-By-Step

December 30, 2016

Step-By-Step

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ,

the love of God,

and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

2 Corinthians 13:14

Cheryl and I started a new tradition this year. Every Sunday morning at breakfast we pick a special blessing from the previous week and make a note of it on a slip of paper. We put the paper in a quart mason jar. Tomorrow night, on New Year’s Eve, we will gather around our Christmas tree and put all those slips of paper in a basket. Then, one by one, we will review all of our many blessings from 2016. (And, on January 1, 2017 we will start filling the jar once again!)

Wherever we find ourselves as the New Year begins to unfold in our life, one essential thing remains true. “In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness” (John 1:1, 14a). Whether we are dashing through life unabated by circumstances, or we are limping slowly and unsure of our next step, we are not alone. The One who became flesh is dashing, and limping with us, step-by-step.

I pray this eternal truth will guide you throughout the New Year: Your Heavenly Father is head-over-heels, passionately in love with you. You are His beloved child, with whom He is delighted and upon whom His favor rests.

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, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

I Want to Know Christ

December 29, 2016

I Want to Know Christ

On his robe at his thigh was written this title:

King of all kings and Lord of all lords.

Revelation 19:16

When the first century disciples of Jesus tell their story, two themes are very clear to me. First, Jesus was the One. From their perspective, it was impossible to believe anyone could be equal to Jesus. It was inconceivable to them that a prophet or messiah greater than Jesus would come after him. It was not necessary to wait for God to send someone else. Jesus was everything. Jesus fulfilled all of God’s promises, all of the messianic prophesies. If anyone is to judge the world, it must be Jesus. If anyone is the Messiah, King, and Lord, how could it be anyone other than Jesus?

Secondly, their faith in Jesus was so profound, they willingly put at risk everything they held dear for the cause of Christ Jesus and his coming Kingdom.

It is an impossible leap of faith to bestow Messiah, King, and Lord on a casual acquaintance. It is a doubly impossible leap of faith to put yourself, and all you hold dear at risk for someone you have only heard bits and pieces about. My mission for 2017 is to go deeper in Christ. I want to know what the first century followers of Jesus knew:

“I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead!” (Philippians 3:10-11).

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, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

He Remembered Us In Our Weakness

December 28, 2016

He Remembered Us In Our Weakness

This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth

and lying in a manger.”

Luke 2:12 (NRSV)

Think about Jesus lying in a hard, stone manger, a feeding trough. Next, turn to Colossians 1:15-20 and ponder the supremacy of Christ. In just the first few verses, the Apostle Paul affirms Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. Jesus is supreme over all creation. Through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth, and Jesus holds all creation together. Imagine, the visible image of the invisible God lying in a feeding trough.

Jesus, who is supreme over all, entered our world not through power or pomp and circumstance. Jesus came in the way of weakness, vulnerability, and dependency on others. On a dark night, in a cold and drafty cave, God in Christ, who always was and always will be supreme over all, was presented to humankind as a helpless God in Christ. This God in Christ calls us to come close to him.

I struggle throughout the year to draw close to God by exercising discipline, practicing discipleship, and by maturing into a fully-devoted follower of Jesus. I so need Christmas to remind me, “He remembered us in our weakness. His faithful love endures forever” (Psalm 136:23).

Like the Apostle Paul, each time I petition the Lord for strength, I hear Him reply, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.”

By His grace, may I also embrace my weakness as did Paul, “So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

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, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Coming in Glory

December 27, 2016

Coming in Glory

And when Christ, who is your life,

is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory.

Colossians 3:4

The purpose of the Christian season of Advent is to prepare us for the coming again of Jesus in glory. The foundation of our hope in his Second Coming was his birth in Bethlehem. During the Season of Christmas, twelve days from December 25 to January 6, we reflect on the truth that in Christ, God entered human history and identified fully with the human condition. We recall the Apostle John’s magnificent statement, "So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son" (John 1:14).

Christmas arouses hope in Jesus’ coming again in glory to establish God’s Kingdom on earth. I’ve found something that I believe will help me remain close to this hope throughout the coming year. Our church has a very large Prayer Labyrinth that we set up in the fellowship hall during Advent and Lent. Sometimes it is helpful to carry something with you as you walk the labyrinth. A few years ago, I picked up a little bronze token of a six pointed star with this prayer, taken from Matthew 2:6, engraved on one side: “O Bethlehem, from you shall come forth one who will be king.” I carried this prayer with me in my pocket for several months before it got misplaced. This year I carried a small cross, hand-carved out of cedar by a member of our church. I keep it on my desk where I write these meditations.

Every time I see this cedar cross, I’ll remember my labyrinth prayer walk. I’ll also remember that when Christ, who is my life, is revealed to the whole world, I will share in all his glory.

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, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.