Our Lord, Come!

April 18, 2016

Our Lord, Come!

Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?”

Peter replied, “You are the Messiah.”

Mark 8:29

Jesus was in Caesarea Philippi, which is due north of the Sea of Galilee near Mt. Hermon and the head waters of the Jordan River. The town has a Roman name because there was a temple built there to the Roman god, the Emperor. Against this backdrop, Jesus asked his disciples who do you say I am? Peter answers, “You are the Messiah.”

The Jews expected their Messiah to do three things. First, he would cleanse the Temple. Second, he would defeat the occupying Roman army. Third, as the true and final King of Israel, he would rule the entire world with truth and justice. The Jews could not see how the humble son of a carpenter from Nazareth could fulfill these expectations, and they crucified Jesus as a ‘wantabe’ king. The old adage ‘can’t see the forest for the trees’ comes to mind.

Jesus, our Messiah, cleansed the Temple in a very surprising way. Now his followers are a temple of the Holy Spirit of God. Jesus, our Messiah set his followers free from any oppressive force: “For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1 NRSV). “And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love” (Romans 8:38a). Jesus, our Messiah, is our King, and his followers now live under his glorious reign of truth and justice.

One day this present darkness will be give way to the light of Jesus as he returns again in final triumph. Today we join our voices with the call of the saints down through history, “Maranatha -- “Our Lord, come!” (1 Corinthians 16:22b).

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