Our Practice of The Golden Rule

January 31, 2017

Our Practice of The Golden Rule

“Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you.

This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets.

Matthew 7:12

Jesus said, the essence of all of God’s law and the teaching of the prophets is, “Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you.” Wow! That’s quite a statement. Actually, it only seems like such a radical assertion when the Golden Rule is taken out of the context of the entire Sermon on the Mount. When we keep it in the Sermon, we then recall how Jesus took the prevailing norms of his culture and turned them upside down. He gave his followers a new perspective, a new way to pray and new ways to live in right relationships with God and their neighbors. When we put into practice all that Jesus teaches us, then what we do onto others, and what we want others to do unto us, reflect Kingdom values.

Jesus removes any doubt about the application of the Golden Rule when later in Matthew’s Gospel he again distills God’s law and the teaching of the prophets: “Jesus replied, ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments” (Matthew 22:37-40).

How may Jesus teachings in the Sermon on the Mount, and about the greatest commandments, inform our practice of the Golden Rule? If today we are seeking “the new way of living in the Spirit” (Romans 7:6), which is to live in the reality of God’s grace and mercy for us, how can we offer grace and mercy for our neighbors as an expression of the Golden Rule?

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.

How Much More

January 30, 2017

How Much More

“Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.”

Matthew 7:7

Jesus teaches us here that God wants our prayers to be bold, adventuresome and flowing from our heart. Our prayers are not judged on whether we get the words, doctrine or theology right. Our prayers are not judged good because we rightly understand our own needs, or what is best for us. We don’t need to understand our own needs because “(our) Father knows exactly what (we) need even before (we) ask him!” (Matthew 6:8).

Jesus is telling us to just ‘ask’ God! With childlike trust in God, just ask your Abba; tell Him what is in your heart, and trust Him to sort out your prayers. There will be times when you are not able to articulate what you are feeling. In those times, Jesus says we are to seek God. That doesn’t mean God is hiding; rather, this is an invitation to explore different types of prayer such as centering prayer, contemplative prayer, or fasting prayer. With persistence we keep at it until God’s peace gives us the assurance we are in His grasp. Then there are other times when we are desperate. Articulating our prayers is not an issue. Neither do we need to seek to find God; we know where He is. What we need is help, and we need it now! In those times, Jesus says Heaven awaits our holy boldness. Jesus assures us that when we bang on the doors of heaven, the Heavenly doors will be opened for us.

Jesus is teaching us about “the new way of living in the Spirit” (Romans 7:6). To emphasize the wonder of our right-standing relationship with God, Jesus introduces a wonderful phrase at the end of this passage:  “how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him” (Matthew 7:11b Emphasis mine). Here, at the end of the first month of this New Year, it is a good time to pause and ask ourselves, “How is it going with my life?” Where are the places in my life where I can heed Jesus’ invitation to keep on asking, keep on seeking, and keep on knocking?  

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.

Jesus, On Self-Righteousness

January 27, 2017

Jesus, On Self-Righteousness

Do not judge others, and you will not be judged.

Matthew 7:1

Jesus’ words, on first reading, seem to contradict the wisdom of Edmund Burke who said, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” However, when we read the full passage (Matthew 7:1-5), we see Jesus didn’t issue a command to stand passively in the face of wrong; rather he gave us a formula for how to speak the truth with love and compassion. Again, Jesus wants us to see here the application of his beatitudes, especially, “God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted” (Matthew 5:4).

Jesus, the master of using hyperbole in his metaphors, invites us to first consider the log in your own eye before we confront our friend about the speck in their eye. This invitation to a life of self-aware humility is so very much needed in our culture. We certainly do not see this practiced by our political leaders or opinion writers in newspapers and social media. At this point you may be tempted to say, “Why bother” to practice such a virtuous life when it is clearly not the norm in our culture. Good point; why should we aspire to be the odd-man out? But, wait. Didn’t we just read something about this last week? (Hint: January 19, Salt & Light.)

“You are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:13a, 14a). God’s mission is to form Christ within us: “For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him” (Philippians 2:13). Our Godly desire is to make the life in Christ, our way of life. When we do, we become salt and light to the world. The desire of Jesus’ heart is for me to trust him, and allow him to be salt and light through me, wherever I may be, even, or perhaps especially, where discord and strife abound. So, into the fray we jump, after first doing a gut-check: how is it with our soul?

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.

Living in the Present

January 26, 2017

Living in the Present

“So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.”

Matthew 6:34

Two of the greatest temptations facing the followers of Christ is living in the past and living in the future. In Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, he addressed this issue and encouraged his friends to not worry. Easier said than done for most of us!

Sometimes we find ourselves in the grip of regret about our past. All Christians struggle with this, not the least of which was the Apostle Paul. We first encounter Paul while he is holding the coats of those who martyred Stephen. Next we learn that he has been promoted to the leader of those making brutal assaults on the followers of Christ. Certainly Paul had plenty from his past that could have haunted him and immobilized him in service to God. But Paul fully accepted God’s forgiveness and embraced his calling to proclaim the Gospel of grace. The foundation of his ability to live in the present moment is contained in two verses: “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me has not been in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:10 NRSV), and, “but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead” (Philippians 3:13).

We can also get easily snared in the trap of fretting about what tomorrow holds. Jesus didn’t sugar-coat his counsel: don’t worry about tomorrow because today has more than enough issues to keep us occupied. Whether we find ourselves tempted to be obsessed with our past failures or consumed with worry about what may happen in the future, the result is the same; we miss out on what is happening right now, where God has placed us.

Today, a person may cross our path who needs a word of encouragement, or correction. Today we may have an opportunity to engage an issue for which God has uniquely prepared us. Today, our great God needs us to be ready and willing to be used as His vessels of grace. Let’s not miss our assignment from God because we are caught up regretting our past or being pre-occupied with what may happen down the road.

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.