He Gave Up His Divine Privileges

February 29, 2016

He Gave Up His Divine Privileges

“So those who are last now will be first then,

and those who are first will be last.”

Matthew 20:16

Jesus’ parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard is the easiest parable to understand; and at the same time the most misunderstood of all of Jesus’ parables! (Matthew 20:1-16) It is the most misunderstood because almost invariably listeners try to fit it into our culture. The parable is most certainly not a practical illustration on how to operate a vineyard, or any business. Look again at the very first words in the parable: “For the Kingdom of Heaven is like . . .” Jesus isn’t illustrating a common vineyard; he is showing us the Kingdom of God.

The parable becomes relatively easy to understand when we realize the landowner is an illustration of the character of God. Let’s read the parable again to discover the characteristics about God that are revealed in the parable. The one thing that jumps out at me is that the landowner is never concerned about his own interests: the size of his harvest, his profit margin etc. The landowner is completely focused on the needs of the laborers. It is clear that he hires additional workers because they need the work, not because he needs more workers in that particular field.

Jesus had previously told his disciples that they were going to be completely astonished with the sharp contrast between the ways of the world and the values in the Kingdom of God. He proves his case with this parable. Whatever else you may draw from this parable, and there are many nuances in Jesus’ telling of his story, be sure you grasp this: God’s nature puts your needs ahead of His own!

“For this is how God loved the world:

He gave his one and only Son,

so that everyone who believes in him will not perish

but have eternal life.

    John 3:16

Christ Jesus, though he was God,

    he did not think of equality with God

    as something to cling to.

Instead, he gave up his divine privileges;

Philippians 2:6-7

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, 2013 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Abba’s Child

February 26, 2016

Abba’s Child

You received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children.

Now we call him, “Abba, Father.”

Romans 8:15b

I have been using the words of adoration for God, Abba Father, quite often as of late, and I want to take this day to expound my love for this endearment. While the 23^rd Psalm is quite helpful in grounding the children of God in the intimacy our Heavenly Father’s love and care for us, the most compelling depiction of our intimacy with the Father is the Apostle Paul’s assertion: “You received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father” (Romans 8:15b). Let’s put this assertion into its basic context.

The average child begins to formulate words at about eighteen months of age. Imagine such a child sitting in his father’s lap and saying, “Da, da, dad, daddy.” If the child were Jewish his words would be, “Ab, Ab, Abba, Abba.” The Apostle Paul is telling us that we can express intimate love to the Creator of the universe by calling Him, Abba, Father. This assertion helps us grasp Jesus’ meaning when he said, “For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children” (Matthew 19:14b. See also Matthew 18:3).

Throughout the Bible, as men and women encountered the presence of God, or even one of His angels, they responded with fear and foreboding. That is certainly understandable considering that man’s ability to split the atom and unleash nuclear bombs pales in comparison to the power of God who looked at a world that did not exist and spoke it into being by the power of His Word. Humanity’s loftiest achievements in the arts are incomparable to the beauty of God’s holiness. Even the splendor of nature, the majestic mountains and natural wonders are mere shadows of the beauty and splendor that is our God. We get to know this awesome God as our Abba, our Daddy!

With all my heart and soul, I believe God desires for His people to know and relate to Him as our Abba Father. Are you there yet?  If not, I invite you to pray:

“Heavenly Father, may your Spirit join with my spirit to affirm that I am your child. By your grace, empower me to know you as my Abba Father. Amen.”

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, 2013 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Wisdom of Accepted Tenderness

February 25, 2016

The Wisdom of Accepted Tenderness

Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”

Matthew 11:28-30

Brennan Manning paraphrased the words of Jesus in Matthew 11:28-30 and wrote, “Come on, all you who are wiped out, confused, bewildered, lost, beat up, scarred, scared, threatened, depressed and I’ll enlighten your mind with wisdom and fill your heart with tenderness that I have received from my Father.”   Forgiveness has already been granted to the sinner, and all the sinner needs is wisdom to accept their forgiveness and repent, and God provides that wisdom through His prevenient grace. Then the sinner gets to live confidently in the wisdom of accepted tenderness.

This is the manifestation of the first beatitude, “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” Living in the wisdom of accepted tenderness is living in the Kingdom of Heaven.

This is a truth that takes some time to process and internalize so that it takes root in your life. When it does, it becomes a part of the truth that sets you free.

At the heart of accepted tenderness is God’s unconditional pardon of sinners. Everything in our culture drives us to condition God’s pardon on our behavior. Some people believe God pardons us because we repent and seek forgiveness, as if our contrition justifies God’s pardon. Not so. Our pardon was secured by the death and resurrection of Jesus, which occurred while we were still sinners. Repentance is to change one's way of life and comes after the sinner accepts God’s pardon, God’s tenderness, which has already been extended.

The unconditional nature of God’s grace, love, forgiveness and pardon is unfathomable to our minds which are so entrenched in the Western Civilization culture of performance-based-acceptance. It may be helpful to spend time meditating on the woman in John 8, the return of the prodigal in Luke 15, and the last-to-arrive laborers in Matthew 20. After pondering these passages, ask yourself, “What did the woman do to justify Jesus’ words of, “Neither do I condemn you”; what did the son do to justify his father’s extravagant welcome home; and what did the last-to-arrive laborers do to justify receiving a full day’s wages?

One day I heard God’s Spirit speak to my spirit, “You are my beloved son, with whom I am delighted and upon whom my favor rests.” What did I do to justify the tenderness of the Father’s words to me? Not a thing. Even my wisdom to accept God’s tenderness was a response to God taking the first step through His prevenient grace. What was I to do in the face of such grace?

I blushed and said, “Thank you Father. Please help me make real in my life this prayer: My life does not belong to me. My life belongs to You. By creation and redemption my life belongs to You, my Abba Father.”

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, 2013 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Joy Comes With the Morning

February 24, 2016

Joy Comes With the Morning

“Weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes with the morning.”

Psalm 30:5

While Jesus was on the Cross, he quoted from Psalms 22 and 31. Because of those quotes, it has been suggested he may have prayed all of the Psalms from 22 through 31 while on the Cross. Psalm 30 is certainly a psalm Jesus would have remembered, if not on the Cross, then in his Garden of Gethsemane prayers.

The instructions for the psalm refer to the dedication of the Temple. From about 160 B.C. the Jews included this psalm in their celebration of Hanukkah. Judas Maccabaeus led Israel against a foreign army that had invaded Israel, and defeated them. Maccabaeus then led the people to purify the Temple and to hold a festival every year to commemorate the rededication of the Temple. This festival, Hanukkah, which means dedication, is held at a time on the Jewish calendar that is close to our December 25^th date.

When David wrote this psalm, he was remembering all the suffering and the feelings of abandonment he experienced during the period King Saul was pursuing him across all of Israel. The people of Israel had very similar feelings under the oppression of the foreign invaders, so this psalm was an appropriate expression of their joy when the yoke of the oppressors was broken.

The author of Hebrews calls us to look “unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2). When I read that verse I immediately think of Psalm 30:5, “Weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes with the morning.”

Psalm 30 is a very helpful reminder, in times of sickness or distress, to rest in the assurance that our Abba Father will bring us through the night. When we do, we can then sing with the psalmist,

You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing.

You have taken away my clothes of mourning

and clothed me with joy,

that I might sing praises to you

and not be silent.

O Lord my God,

I will give you thanks forever!

Psalm 30:11-12

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, 2013 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.