Is Jesus Your Lord?

December 3, 2018

Is Jesus Your Lord?

“. . . the Scriptures say God is passionate that the spirit he has placed within us should be faithful to him.”

James 4:5b (NLT)

Happy New Year! Yesterday was the first Sunday in Advent, and we have entered into the first season of the Christian liturgical year. The vast majority of new churches that have been established within the last generation have pretty much broken with the past. New church architecture shuns chancels, altars, any use of liturgical signs and colors, and many minimize, if not eliminate, the cross. I can appreciate their efforts to shape their structures and the Gospel to reach new generations. Even so, it is a shame they are throwing out the baby with the bath water.

For many, the practice of liturgical seasons seems antiquated, and not applicable to the new high-tech generation. I certainly agree that a traditionalistic approach to liturgy is as exciting as watching paint dry. But when appropriately used to shine light on Jesus, it can be as enriching to the soul as twenty thousand young people gathered for a Passion conference. At the very least, including the Seasons of the Christian Year into your devotional practices can help keep you grounded in the essentials of our faith. The oldest confession of faith is simply, “Jesus is Lord.” This was never intended to be an abstract theological proposition; rather, it is a highly personal affirmation of what I understand to be the core of my being. I like the simplicity of the statement because Jesus is either the Lord of my life, or he is not. There is no in-between. Immediately, when I say, “Jesus is Lord,” the Holy Spirit prompts me to a gut-check: “Have I submitted all the priorities of my life to the Lordship of Jesus?”

My Takeaway: When I am mindful of this confession of faith, my approach to Advent and Christmas remains Christ-centered, and I am able to rightly judge between the allures of secular culture, and remain faithful to the One who has so generously placed His spirit within me.

Sē’lah

Alex

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