Set High The Bar

April 30, 2018

Set High The Bar

“Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?” I said, “Here I am. Send me”

Isaiah 6:8

Many years ago I started an exercise program of running. I began by running laps at the local high school track. Off to the side of the track was the high jump pit. At the same time I began my training, a young student began training for the high jump. He was pretty pitiful as he began and unable to even clear a waist high bar. But he didn’t stop, he kept trying and on several occasions a coach helped him. At the end of my time running on the track, the young man was gracefully clearing six feet, a height taller than himself. Two lessons have stayed with me from those days at the high school track.

First, the six foot high jump was always within the young man; it was just waiting for an opportunity to come out. Secondly, that experience at the track proved the axiom: it is possible to do with training what is impossible to do by trying. One other principle for life was also very well illustrated by the young man; it is vitally important to set high the bar of our personal expectations.

We all may have various expectations of our achievements in our chosen professions, how accomplished we become at our avocations, and how well we manage our personal life. As the followers of Christ, we never want to forget that it is our Abba Father who sets the bar of expectation for our life in Christ: “For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters” (Romans 8:29).

My Takeaway: As I ponder God’s expectation for my life, I pray I will have the courage to respond to my Abba’s call: “Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?” I said, “Here I am. Send me” (Isaiah 6:8).

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. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188.

Did You See A Lion Or A Lamb?

April 27, 2018

Did You See A Lion Or A Lamb?

“Blessing and honor and glory and power

    belong to the one sitting on the throne

    and to the Lamb forever and ever.”

Revelation 5:13b

How do you describe the indescribable? The writers of scripture were masters of this art, and I marvel at how they were able to synthesize so many diverse images to help us open our minds and hearts and “lay hold of that for which also we were laid hold of by Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:12 NASB). In the Apostle John’s description of Jesus in Revelation 1, he uses at least ten metaphors in five verses to describe Jesus! However, in Chapter five he dials back his rhetoric a bit and uses just two images of Jesus, which I believe are the most compelling in all of scripture. As I try to make my way on this journey of new life in Christ, these two images are my constant traveling companions.

John first sees the Lion: “Look, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the heir to David’s throne, has won the victory. He is worthy to open the scroll and its seven seals” (Revelation 5:5). But when John turns to look at the Lion, he sees a Lamb: “Then I saw a Lamb that looked as if it had been slaughtered.” (Revelation 5:6a).

Ok John, in your vision of Jesus, did you see a Lion or a Lamb?

“Yes,” John replies.

So it has been in my life. I have seen miracles, and I have seen God make a way where there had been no way. The One who spoke the universe into being by the power of His Word, the One who parted the sea has most certainly shown Himself strong in my life. I have also had times when I prayed desperately for the Lion to make a way, like the time I prayed for my father as he lay on his hospital bed, and when I looked for the Lion to come and bring healing and wholeness, I saw a Lamb who came and took my father unto himself. This is the part of our faith that seems like utter foolishness to those who do not know God; but to those who love Jesus “it is the very power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18).

My Takeaway: The Lamb was slaughtered and laid in a grave. But he didn’t stay there. “On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father.” Because this is true, when the Lamb is our traveling companion we are just as assured of victory as when we are trailing along behind the Lion, and thus with the whole company of heaven we sing,

“Worthy is the Lamb who was slaughtered—

    to receive power and riches

and wisdom and strength

    and honor and glory and blessing.”

“Blessing and honor and glory and power

    belong to the one sitting on the throne

    and to the Lamb forever and ever.”

 Revelation 5:12-13

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. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188.

But in Fact, Christ Has Been Raised From the Dead

April 26, 2018

But in Fact, Christ Has Been Raised From the Dead

“And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless”

1 Corinthians 15:14

I believe the greatest threat to Twenty-First Century culture is the vacuum that was left when society ushered religious faith to the exit door. In the latter days of the last century, state legislatures would publish directories of their elected officials. Included with the brief biography of the official was a listing of their religion. This practice was dropped when most of the officials stopped listing any religious affiliation. This is representative of the larger society where the Judeo-Christian moral and ethical heritage in the USA has been replaced with nothing, hence the vacuum. If society is to govern themselves with ideas of right and wrong, good and bad, what is the basis of their beliefs? If society removes a belief in the sanctity of human life created by God, what then is the basis for respect of human life? How do you teach these beliefs, and to what do you point as authority for societal beliefs?

My Takeaway: For the followers of Jesus, we can point to the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-6-7) as the standard by which we govern our human interactions with God and one another. Someone may ask us, “Why should those words from antiquity still be valid today?” “Because Jesus lives,” we respond. The one who spoke those words was resurrected from the dead, and he lives today! His words are valid today because he is alive today!

“And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless.  But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died.”

1 Corinthians 15:14, 20

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. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188.

Knowing Jesus

April 25, 2018

Knowing Jesus

“I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.”

Philippians 3:8a (NRSV)

As we seek the life in Christ as our way of life, we are seeking to grasp the power of Jesus as “the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25a). On our journey, we join with the Apostle Paul to “regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (Philippians 3:8 NRSV). How are we, like Paul, to regard everything as loss?

In the centuries since the Industrial Revolution, people have grown in their confidence to master their environment. There has developed a growing belief that through the power of human intellect, better government and education, the ills of human society can be cured. Over and against this idea, the Biblical witness declares the hope for humanity is divine grace.

In the more recent evolution of society, a third alternative has been established. Instead of the “either / or” of humanism or divine grace, there is a “both / and” movement that tries to hold to both a belief in God and confidence in human ability. On the surface, this movement seems to be an appropriate position; however, there is a huge problem with the “both / and” approach.

The “both / and” approach creates a temptation to dismiss or ignore the parts of Scripture we do not like, or do not understand, and instead, trust our own judgment and intellect. When we do so, we leave the “both / and” camp and move into the Humanist camp. The Apostle Paul wants us to remember that in Christ lie hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. (Colossians 2:3) When we count all things as a loss compared to Jesus, we are availing ourselves of all the wisdom and knowledge within Christ.

My Takeaway: In my Wesleyan tradition, we work out the meaning of life through Scripture, Reason, Tradition and Experience. This way of living in our environment does not ignore human intellect and potential; it affirms that human intellect and potential are fully realized within God’s divine grace and will.

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. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188.