Thursday, May 31, 2018

The Road Most Traveled


May 31, 2018
The Road Most Traveled

“No wonder you can’t believe! For you gladly honor each other, but you don’t care about the honor that comes from the one who alone is God.”
John 5:44

Jonah’s epiphany (see May 30, 2018), “For my salvation comes from the Lord alone” (Jonah 2:9), was lost on the religious leaders confronting Jesus. Jesus told them they could not believe in him as God’s Messiah because to do so required them to take their eyes off of their own self-efforts to make themselves right with God. There is still a lot of that going around in our performance-based-acceptance culture.

There is a huge temptation in our American culture to transfer what works in the economic systems of the world to the spiritual life. Surely the success of the self-made person, operating in the market places of the world, will find similar success applying the same standards to their spiritual life. Certainly their attributes of self-discipline, SMART goals, and hard work will transfer well to the spiritual realm.  Actually you can build a good life through spiritual self-effort, for a while. Eventually though, the reality of Proverbs 16:18, “Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall,” will come crashing down on the self-made person.

The challenge for the followers of Jesus is to find the balance between being an active, engaging doer of the Word and resting in the incomprehensible love of God. Martha’s sister Mary discovered this balance sitting at the feet of Jesus and she heard Jesus affirm her choice: “There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:42a).

The Apostle Paul, reflecting on his life as a religious leader and Pharisee, made the same discovery as Mary: “I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ” (Philippians 3:7-9).

My Takeaway: I made this same discovery and when I knelt to be ordained, I opened my Bible to this passage in Philippians. I have also discovered something else. Because the temptations of the American culture are so insidious, I must rediscover Mary and Paul’s discovery with regularity, lest I find myself taking the road most traveled.

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.

Wednesday, May 30, 2018

Jonah’s Epiphany


May 30, 2018
Jonah’s Epiphany

“But I will offer sacrifices to you with songs of praise, and I will fulfill all my vows.   For my salvation comes from the Lord alone.”
Jonah 2:9

For the Christian, every crisis in our lives is a revelation of the depth of our faith and trust in God. How we respond in the crisis, including a crisis of our own making reveals what we truly believe about God. In Jonah’s case, his refusal to follow God’s call on his life created the crisis. Jonah’s first response was to try and run from God. However, Jonah quickly found he could not out run God:  “I cried out to the Lord in my great trouble, and he answered me. I called to you from the land of the dead, and Lord, you heard me!” (Jonah 2:2). This epiphany resulted in Jonah’s affirmation, “For my salvation comes from the Lord alone.”

God’s call took Jonah totally out of his comfort zone, which is why his first instinct was to flee. There may well be times in our life when God’s call will direct us to places we would rather not go. Accordingly, few of us courageously pray with Jabez, “Oh, that you would bless me and expand my territory! Please be with me in all that I do, and keep me from all trouble and pain!” (1 Chronicles 4:10). We are not at all certain God will do for us as He did for Jabez, and grant our request.

Sometimes fear of being drawn out of our comfort zones immobilizes us from responding to the call of God on our lives in the normal, everyday ebb and flow of life. When it’s all said and done, the real measure of our life is not so much whether we traipse off to Nineveh with Jonah, or face up to our border bullies with Jabez. Rather, the measure of our lives will be in the quality of our interest and compassion for those we encounter each day. Do we make quality time for a child, express genuine appreciation for the delivery person, share our abundance with those with less, and do we gladly bear interruptions to our agenda?

My Takeaway: If we remember our salvation comes from the Lord alone, and thus like Jonah, with songs of praise fulfill all our vows to the Lord, we will have rightly revealed Christ Jesus in our mortal flesh.

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.

Tuesday, May 29, 2018

The Lord Lift Up His Countenance Upon You


May 29, 2018
The Lord Lift Up His Countenance Upon You

“The Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.”
Numbers 6:25-26 (NRSV)

After interviewing a man, Abraham Lincoln told his secretary, “I don’t like that man’s face!” His secretary immediately responded, “But that’s his face! He’s not responsible for his face.” To which Lincoln replied, “After forty every man is responsible for his face.”

Coach Bill McCartney, the founder of Promise Keepers, said that he could look at a woman’s countenance and know whether her husband was a Christian and loved her well. The coach was making the same observation as Mr. Lincoln: our face is a mirror to our soul and reflects the mood of our heart. Mr. Lincoln believed that after forty years of living, a person should have sufficient maturity to control their emotions and become master of their moods. According to Mr. Lincoln’s schedule, some days it seems like I am thirty-one years past due.

But I am not the Lone Ranger! Brennan Manning wrote a reflection on Proverbs 15:15, “For the despondent, every day brings trouble; for the happy heart, life is a continual feast” after someone asked him, “Why are you in such a rotten mood?” Apparently his face was a window to his soul. In my journey with Christ, I am being drawn to spend more time in contemplative prayer to allow the Holy Spirit opportunities to synchronize my outward emotions and facial expressions with the inner truth of my “real life (that) is hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3).

My Takeaway: I have found the wonderful benediction of Numbers 6:24-26 is a great place to camp out and spend quality time with the Lord:

“The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.”
Numbers 6:24-26 (NRSV)

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.

Monday, May 28, 2018

Where Jesus Is, I Am Called To Be Also


May 28, 2018
Where Jesus Is, I Am Called To Be Also

“Light shines in the darkness for the godly.
    They are generous, compassionate, and righteous.”
Psalm 112:4

The godly, the followers of Jesus, are generous, compassionate, and righteous. Why? Because we are destined to become just like our leader Jesus who is generous, compassionate, and righteous. All those attributes I noted a few days ago about the incomprehensible love of God, beyond worthiness and unworthiness, beyond fidelity and infidelity, without caution, regret, boundary, limit, or a breaking point, are attributes God is working into our character as Christ is formed within us. How does God work these attributes into our character; how is Christ formed in us?

God is at work in us, working all things together for our transformation, when we are pressed on every side by troubles, when we are perplexed, when we are hunted down, and when we get knocked down. Although in the eyes of the world’s culture we are fragile, vulnerable, and weak, nevertheless it is in these times that the life of Jesus is made visible in our mortal flesh. (See Philippians 2:13 & 2 Corinthians 4:7-11)

It is much easier to write this observation about the life in Christ, than it is to live out these realities. Everything in our American culture has conditioned us to be strong, not weak, to be successful, not failures, to be self-sufficient, not dependent. The life in Christ cuts across the grain of our cultural norms. My personality draws me deep into my cave where I can live in isolation; the personality of Jesus, my Master, draws me back outside where I can engage and interact with the culture. Why? Because where Jesus is, I am called to be also.

My Takeaway: Did I mention Jesus never said following him would be easy?

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.