I Testified Concerning John the Baptist

Meditations based on readings from

The Story of My Life As Told by Jesus Christ

September 11, 2019

I Testified Concerning John the Baptist

Page 101-102

Matthew 11:2-19; Luke 7:18-35

The religious leaders resisted Jesus’ proclamation of the Kingdom of God because Jesus did not meet their expectations of the Messiah. They weren’t the only ones who felt that way. John sent his disciples to meet with Jesus because his faith in Jesus was wavering. John was worried that he was wrong about Jesus because Jesus was not meeting his expectations of the Messiah.

I need to remember this because, if I am honest, there are times when Jesus does not meet my expectations. I confess that there are times when I am impatient with the ways of God. I wish God moved faster to answer prayers, punish injustice and renew the face of the earth. My impatience is accompanied by anxiety and worry.

Oswald Chambers has helped me understand that when I am worrying, it is because I am not nourishing the life of Christ in me. Worry means there is something over which I cannot have my own way. Worry or disappointment is in reality evidence of my personal irritation with God. Ouch! The purpose of prayer is to nourish the life of Christ within me. Worry means I am more focused on my circumstances than I am on becoming the person God created me to be.

There were two responses to Jesus in today’s reading. “All the people—even the tax collectors—agreed that God’s way was right” (Luke 7:29), but the “Pharisees and experts in religious law rejected God’s plan for them” (Luke 7:30). The different responses reveal one of the greatest obstacles in our quest to make the life in Christ our way of life. Our expectations about what God should be like, what God should do, get in the way of the truth of Christ.

Even John the Baptist stumbled over his own expectations of what the Messiah would be like, what the Messiah would do. Being a faithful disciple of the Messiah who is not always what we expected is hard work. When I am stumbling over my expectations, I am placing myself at the center of my life. When I place Christ at the center of my life, I will come to know that God’s way is right.

My Takeaway: Because I am prone to stumble over my expectations of the Messiah, I pray daily, “I am not my own, I am Thine. By creation and redemption

I am Thine . . .”

(Oswald Chambers is well known for his classic devotional book, My Utmost for His Highest. His book, If You Will Ask – Reflections on the Power of Prayer, is the best book on prayer I have read. The little book is available from Amazon.com in both text and kindle.)

Sē’lah

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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.

Copyright © 2019 by Alex M. Knight

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.

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.