Seeking the Life in Christ: October 2020

Friday, October 30, 2020

Embrace the Truth

Meditations on the Epistles of Saint John

October 30, 2020

Embrace the Truth

And this is what God has testified: He has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.Whoever has the Son has life;whoever does not have God’s Son does not have life.

1 John 5:11-12

John makes a very interesting argument in the first half of chapter five (1 John 5:1-12). First, he continues with his theme that those who belong to God are the children of God, and God’s children are called to love one another. Secondly, he asserts that the love for our brothers and sisters in the church is a witness for God against the evil in our world. John is emphatic about the power of this love:

“For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith. And who can win this battle against the world? Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God” (1 John 5:4-5).

John then turns to the proof we have that Jesus is, in fact, the Son of God. John states that we have “three witnesses — the Spirit, the water, and the blood—and all three agree” (I John 5:7-8). (The water is Jesus’ baptism and the blood is his crucifixion – thus all of his messianic mission. The Spirit is the inward conviction God gives us that Jesus is His Christ. See Matthew 16:16-17.)

Simply put, John teaches that those who believe the three witnesses are the children of God and have been granted eternal life by God. Those who deny the witnesses are in effect calling God a liar and are not granted eternal life.

In John’s Gospel, he quotes Jesus as saying, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). In the Book of Acts, Saint Luke quotes the Apostle Peter speaking about Jesus: “There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). In addition to the three witnesses of God for Jesus (the Spirit, the water, and the blood) we also have the witness testimony of Jesus, and John and Peter.

My Takeaway: I pray all of our churches will embrace the truth of this testimony and proclaim to the world, “Whoever has the Son has life; There is salvation in no one else!”

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.

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.

Thursday, October 29, 2020

We Are The Children Of God

Meditations on the Epistles of Saint John

October 29, 2020

We Are The Children Of God

And he has given us this command:Those who love God must also love their fellow believers.

1 John 4:21

In the concluding verses of chapter four, John is using his repetitive style because he wants the church to not just mentally assent to the command to love one another, but to truly live out this command in their daily lives. The Apostle James emphasized this teaching as well: “I will show you my faith by my good deeds.” (James 2:14-20) So also the Apostle Paul, “Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus . . .” (Philippians 2:4-5 NRSV)

Could it be any clearer? “But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. We love each other because he loved us first” (1 John 4:8, 19).

Over the centuries, the church has legislated love and purity: do this, don’t do that; say this, and don’t say that. These rules missed John’s point entirely. When you are in a relationship where you love, and you are loved, you do not need rules to tell you to be faithful. Your life is shaped by love, and your fidelity is a natural fruit of your love. Your love not only shapes your life in your loving relationship, it shapes your life entirely. Your love overflows into all the people you encounter.

John is showing us that God meets our every need to be loved, accepted and to be valued. When we open ourselves to this love of God, His love overflows out of our lives and into the lives of others.

My Takeaway: God’s love for us was not just empty words. Christ died for us. Our love for others should not be just empty words. We are the children of God.

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.)

Wednesday, October 28, 2020

Following the Lead of the Holy Spirit

Meditations on the Epistles of Saint John

October 28, 2020

Following the Lead of the Holy Spirit

If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person?

1 John 3:17

John is teaching the church that because God loves His children, His children love others. Because of the love of God,

“Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters” (3:16).

(We know John didn’t divide his letter into chapters and verses and number them. Even so, the similarity between John 3:16 and 1 John 3:16 is quite stunning!)

Verse 17, quoted above, makes it clear that John is concerned that we are called to work out Jesus’ command in our everyday life, not just in extraordinary times. In the passage, 1 John 3:11 – 4:6, John shows how the Holy Spirit enables us to respond to the needs of our brothers and sisters. I witnessed this a few years ago when friends, upon the prompting of the Spirit, called members of our church who they knew may be in danger of an approaching wildfire. My friends drove to the house in danger and moved many of the valuables back to their own home, out of harm’s way. A simple act, yes. But also, evidence of how the Spirit moves within us to fulfill Jesus’ command to love one another.

My Takeaway: This passage also contains a promise we never, ever want to lose sight of: “the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world” (1 John 4:4b). Of all the voices vying for our attention, we can rest assured that God will enable us to hear His voice! Hallelujah and Amen!

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.)

Tuesday, October 27, 2020

For We Will See Him As He Really Is

Meditations on the Epistles of Saint John

October 27, 2020

For We Will See Him As He Really Is

See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children,

and that is what we are!

1 John 3:1a

John’s appeal to the followers of Jesus is to live our lives today in the same manner in which Jesus lived his life. Like Jesus, we too are the children of God; thus, John calls us to live our lives in the light of this magnificent relationship. John’s ambition for the church reminds me of a teaching aid my friend, Dick Brown, passed on to me. H³is his aid, and it stands for the three H’s: Hunger for God; Hatred of sin; and Heart for people. All three of these are present in John’s letters. In this letter, John uses the word love twenty-six times: twenty times in chapters three and four. Eight times John discusses belonging. Do we belong to God, or to the world, to truth or to a lie? Over and over again, John stressed that a Christian is in God, and God is in the Christian. John wants Christians to be fully grounded in their identity:

“See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are!. . . Dear friends, we are already God’s children”

(1 John 3:1-2).

John not only sets high his expectations for the followers of Chris; he also points us to the truth which enables us to embrace these expectations for ourselves: God

“has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is. And all who have this eager expectation will keep themselves pure, just as he is pure” (1 John 3: 2-3).

Do you see the connection? John believes we will see Jesus, face to face, and that when we do, we will be as he is. Spend some time with this truth. One day all of the weaknesses of our flesh, all the temptations and struggles we encounter today that tarnish our lives, all these will be gone! We will see our Lord, and we will be as he is! John was persuaded that this truth will motivate us to incorporate the H³ into our lives as we long to be made pure, just as our Lord Jesus is pure.

My Takeaway: How is this possible? The more we keep our eyes on Jesus, the more we realize “God is working in (us), giving (us) the desire and the power to do what pleases him” (Philippians 2:13).

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.)

Monday, October 26, 2020

We Enjoy the Eternal Life He Promised Us

Meditations on the Epistles of Saint John

October 26, 2020

We Enjoy the Eternal Life He Promised Us

So you must remain faithful to what you have been taught from the beginning. If you do, you will remain in fellowship with the Son and with the Father. And in this fellowship we enjoy the eternal life he promised us.

1 John 2:24-25

While reading John's epistles it is very helpful to remember that in the New Testament, “life in the age to come,” is the literal translation of the phrase “eternal life.” One of the core foundations of the church is a belief that God is going to establish His Kingdom on earth in the 'age to come.' In this Age to Come, everything will be made right, and truth and justice will flourish. God's Kingdom will be new life on earth, as the paradise God intended. This life in the Age to Come began on Easter Sunday when God's promise was fulfilled in the resurrection of Jesus, the Messiah. God has opened the doors of this age, His Kingdom, to everyone.

John's purpose in this letter is to edify the believers and to encourage them to seek to live the life in Christ now, as they prepare for the full revelation of God's Kingdom. From John's perspective, as well as that of the other writers of the New Testament, if we will focus ourselves on fulfilling Jesus' commandment to love others as He has loved us, we will have a full plate. Literally, we'll have all we can say grace over.

Here, in the end of 1 John 2, the word, antichrist is introduced. John is the only writer in the New Testament to use the word antichrist. He uses it twice in chapter two, once in chapter four and once in his second letter. John uses the word in a generic way to refer to people who deny the humanity of Christ and for those who break fellowship with the church. In either case, John is asserting that the antichrist is denying the sacrificial work of Jesus to establish His church. In response to those who deny the complete work of Jesus, John reminds the disciples of Jesus that we have received the Holy Spirit who lives within us. The Spirit teaches us everything we need to know. (1 John 2:26-27)

My Takeaway: For John, the bottom line is quite simple:

Remain in fellowship with Christ.

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.)

Friday, October 23, 2020

Live as Jesus Did

Meditations on the Epistles of Saint John

October 23, 2020

Live as Jesus Did

I am writing to you who are God’s children

because your sins have been forgiven through Jesus.

1 John 2: 12

John has an interesting style in his writing, especially in the passage 1 John 2:12-14. His style reminds me of many contemporary praise songs. In a manner similar to the Taizé movement in France, these contemporary songs use repetitive phrases as a means of meditation. The point is to take the time to let the truth of the phrase go deep within our spirit. John is repetitive throughout this passage (and the whole letter) for the same reason.

John’s message is as timely today as it was for his first century recipients. John was very concerned about disharmony in the body of believers. His message was quite simple:

“Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.”

1 John 2:6

Or in the parlance of the theme of my daily meditations, if you say you love God, then seek the life in Christ as your way of life. As you seek to live your life as Jesus lived his, I believe there are two primary incidents in the life of Jesus that exemplify his character.

The first is to remember who was present at the table with him for the Passover supper. And whose feet did he wash?

Secondly, let us never forget his prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane:

“My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”

Matthew 26:39b

My Takeaway: Pondering how we may incorporate these attributes of Jesus into our lives will keep us busy until that wonderful day when our faith becomes sight!

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.)

Thursday, October 22, 2020

Thanking Our Abba Father

Meditations on the Epistles of Saint John

October 22, 2020

Thanking Our Abba Father

But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father.

He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous.

1 John 2:1b

In this first letter of John, he affirms that God is light and if we claim to have fellowship with God, but willingly continue to live in sin, we are not practicing the truth. John is teaching the followers of Jesus to own their sin and weakness and seek God’s power to move into His light.

John’s teaching includes two of the greatest promises in all of scripture. First, we are not alone in our battle against living in spiritual darkness:

“But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous.”

1 John 2:1b

Take a moment to truly let this promise sink in. Can you remember a time recently when you struggled with temptation? Like the Apostle Paul, we all can claim our moments when we

“want to do what is right, but (we) can’t. (We) want to do what is good, but (we) don’t. (We) don’t want to do what is wrong, but (we) do it anyway.”

Romans 7:18b-19

Even when we give in to temptation, our advocate, Jesus the truly righteous one, is pleading for us before God’s throne! Please, let this truth sink deep within your spirit.

Secondly, we don’t have to be afraid to own our sins and confess them to God:

“But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.”

1 John 1:9

Because Jesus, the truly righteous one, is pleading for us, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. This surely is the Good News of the Gospel.

My Takeaway: Each Sunday at breakfast, Cheryl and I make a note of special moments – blessings from God – we experienced the previous week. We put the notes in a mason jar, and on New Year’s Eve we will review all of our blessings of the year. This Sunday, we will include these blessings from First John.

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.)

Wednesday, October 21, 2020

The Enormity of It All

Meditations on the Epistles of Saint John

October 21, 2020

The Enormity of It All

We proclaim to you the one who existed from the beginning, whom we have heard and seen. We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands. He is the Word of life.

1 John 1:1

The enormity of it all is overwhelming. The basis of the Christian faith is a belief that the Creator of the universe desires a personal relationship with humankind. To accomplish this desire, the Creator became a living human being. This human being, Jesus, suffered and died on a cross. Jesus dead and buried only to be resurrected from the dead and live again. And this resurrected human being is God the Creator, . . . well the enormity of it all is overwhelming. But wait, there’s more! This resurrected God gives an invitation to all human beings to come unto Him, to live in unity with Him for all eternity. Now, the enormity of it all is truly overwhelming!

Because of this enormity, many people have surrendered to the temptation to reduce God to a more manageable size. At the time John was writing this letter, there was a faction in the church who could not accept that in Jesus, God had really become a human being. John opens this letter with his assurance that Jesus was most certainly fully human. John says that he saw Jesus, he heard Jesus, he touched Jesus and that he had, and is continuing to enjoy, fellowship with God the Father and His Son, Jesus. Hence, the Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard came up with the expression, ‘leap of faith’ as a metaphor for a belief in God.

My Takeaway: Yes, the enormity of it all is overwhelming. That just makes it more wonderful when you make the leap of faith into the loving arms of Jesus.

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.)

Tuesday, October 20, 2020

Alternative Endings

Meditations of the Gospel of Mark

October 20, 2020

Alternative Endings

Afterward he appeared in a different form to two of his followers who were walking from Jerusalem into the country. They rushed back to tell the others, but no one believed them.

Mark 16:12-13

Read: Mark 16: 9-20

Today’s reading contains the two alternative endings to Mark’s Gospel. The oldest, and what are considered the most reliable manuscripts of this Gospel, end and leave the women frightened, trembling and silent. The majority of the manuscripts containing Mark’s Gospel conclude with an addition that provides what seems to be a fitting end of the Gospel. I believe the original ending had somehow been lost, and these alternative endings were added by someone other than Mark.

The extra endings of Mark first appeared in the late second or third century when those assigned the task of copying scripture began inserting the extra material. Even though these endings were not written by Mark, they do provide insight into how the early Christian community sought to live out the Gospel.

Two parts of the endings caught my attention. First, the appearance of Jesus to the disciples in the countryside is mentioned. Luke tells us they were on the Road to Emmaus.

Secondly, the emphasis on signs and wonders is contrary to Mark’s teaching in this Gospel. I believe Mark would have expected the disciples to go into the world with faith in the resurrection because they shouldn’t need anything else. However, the addition of this material does show how difficult it is to live by faith. The natural inclination of the flesh is to want Jesus to continually reaffirm his presence with miracles.

My Takeaway: The slowness of the disciples to believe in the resurrection is also emphasized in the alternative ending. Still today the greatest difficulty in the lives of the followers of Jesus is in breaking the inertia of hesitancy to get up and go share the Good News:

He is risen! He is risen indeed!

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.)

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.

Friday, October 30, 2020

Embrace the Truth

Thursday, October 29, 2020

We Are The Children Of God

Wednesday, October 28, 2020

Following the Lead of the Holy Spirit

Tuesday, October 27, 2020

For We Will See Him As He Really Is

Monday, October 26, 2020

We Enjoy the Eternal Life He Promised Us

Friday, October 23, 2020

Live as Jesus Did

Thursday, October 22, 2020

Thanking Our Abba Father

Wednesday, October 21, 2020

The Enormity of It All

Tuesday, October 20, 2020

Alternative Endings

Seeking the Life in Christ

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