A Light in the Window

December 31, 2018

A Light in the Window

Blessed are those who wash their robes. They will be permitted to enter through the gates of the city and eat the fruit from the tree of life.

Revelation 21:14

Cheryl and I started a tradition three years ago. Every Sunday morning at breakfast we pick a special blessing, or two or three, from the previous week and make a note of it on a slip of paper. We put the paper in a quart mason jar. This evening, 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 in 2018. (And, on Sunday, January 6, 2019 we will start filling the jar once again!)

We also have an end-of-the-year ritual to take stock of this last year, make necessary adjustments, and set our sails for the coming New Year. We have found it helpful to look at the fruit of the spirit in Galatians 5:22-23 and ask the Holy Spirit to guide us where we need to focus our attention in the coming year.

Our circumstances differ, but there is one essential truth that is for all of the followers of Jesus Christ. When we reach our final destination, we will lift our heads, and we all will see a light in the window of God’s Mansion, with a sign on the door,

“Welcome Home My Beloved.”

I pray this eternal truth will guide you as you take time to review your life of 2018 and set your sails for 2019:

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

Alex

<><  <><  <><  <><

(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 International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

I Want to Know Christ

December 28, 2018

I Want to Know Christ

On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written:

king of kings and lord of 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 2019 is to go deeper in Christ. I want to know what the first century followers of Jesus knew.

My Takeaway: “I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead” (Philippians 3:10-11).

Sē’lah

Alex

<><  <><  <><  <><

(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 International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Coming in Glory

December 27, 2018

Coming in Glory

When Christ, who is your life, appears,

then you also will appear with him in 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, "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." (John 1:14). Christmas arouses hope in Jesus’ coming again in glory to establish God’s Kingdom on earth.

Several years ago, I thought I found something that I believed would help me remain close to this hope throughout the 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. That Advent, I took my Pocket Prayer Book, but it was too dark to read, so 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 planned to carry that prayer with me in my pocket so that every time I reached in my pocket and felt the star I would remember my prayer walk, and I would remember the one who will be king.

It only took me a couple of weeks before I lost my prayer token.  

My Takeaway: I may have lost the prayer token, but I still remember that when Christ, who is my life, is revealed to the whole world, I will share in all his glory.

Sē’lah

Alex

<><  <><  <><  <><

(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 International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

L’ENCHANTÉ

December 26, 2018

L’ENCHANTÉ

With whom, then, will you compare God?

    To what image will you liken him?

Isaiah 40:18

There is a beautiful story recounted every Christmas in the forest of Provence in southern France.  It’s about the four shepherds who came to Bethlehem to see the child. One brought eggs, another brought bread and cheese, the third brought wine. And the fourth brought nothing at all. People called him L’Enchanté. 

The first three shepherds chatted with Mary and Joseph, commenting on how well Mary looked, how cozy was the cave and how handsomely Joseph had appointed it, what a beautiful starlit night it was!  They congratulated the proud parents, presented them with their gifts and assured them that if they needed anything else, they had only to ask.

Finally someone asked, “Where is L’Enchanté?”  They searched high and low, up and down, inside and out.  Finally, someone peeked through the blanket hung against the draft, into the crèche. There, kneeling at the crib was L’Enchanté – the Enchanted one. Like a flag or a flame taking the direction of the wind, he had taken the direction of love. Through the entire night, he stayed in adoration, whispering, “Jesu, Jesu, Jesu – Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.” (Brennan Manning, The Relentless Tenderness of Jesus, Revell, 2004)

My Takeaway: I invite you to join me and find time today, the second of the twelve days of Christmas, to light a solitary candle. In quietness, gaze upon the simple candle and allow your heart to become enchanted with “Jesu, Jesu, Jesu – Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.”

Sē’lah

Alex

<><  <><  <><  <><

(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 International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.