I Have Discarded Everything

January 4, 2016

I Have Discarded Everything

“Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ . . .”

Philippians 3:8

Deeper in Christ is where I want to be. This was Saint Paul’s ambition, and he made his journey into Christ by establishing Jesus as the absolute number one priority in his life. As I have been pondering what this would look like in my life, I have been meditating on two scriptures that are waiting for my will to conform to their teaching.

First, the writer of Hebrews is instructing me to “strip off every weight that slows (you) down” (Hebrews 12:1a). This is a double meaning for me because I do need to lose weight, as well as declutter my life from those things that hinder my pursuit of making the life in Christ my way of life. Part of the clutter is just stuff that demands time and attention and maintenance. Part of the clutter is being spread too thin, where involvement in much hinders my mastering that which is supremely important.

Secondly, the Apostle Paul is telling me to “Grow up! Put away childish things!” (1 Corinthians 13:11). In my case, I have some old baggage that really makes me resist having my plans interrupted. In some cases, putting away something is just a matter of making up your mind to move on. In other cases, it’s not so easy. Even so, Jesus is the only true healer for damaged emotions, and having your mind made up to seek his divine intervention is the first step in the healing process.

As I begin this New Year, I am renewing my desire to live simply, and to go with the flow of the Holy Spirit, unafraid of how he directs my path.

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.