Seeking the Life in Christ: July 2023

Monday, July 31, 2023

As I Am

Meditations for Ragamuffins

July 31, 2023

As I Am

“For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.”

Zephaniah 3:17

God loves us unconditionally, just as we are, not as we should be. Because no one is as they should be.” (All is Grace by Brennan Manning) I never get tired of pondering the depth of Manning’s observation about the incomprehensible love of God, our Abba. In one of his devotional books, Manning mentioned a passage in Exodus as part of his foundation for understanding God’s grace: “The Lord passed in front of Moses, calling out, “Yahweh! The Lord! The God of compassion and mercy! I am slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness. I lavish unfailing love to a thousand generations” (Exodus 34:6-7a). Yes, the love of God is incomprehensible to our finite human minds.

This passage in Exodus, and the above passage from Zephaniah tell us that God’s love is beyond worthiness and unworthiness, and beyond fidelity and infidelity. God loves us without caution, regret, boundary, limit, or a breaking point. (Reflections for Ragamuffins by Brennan Manning) Incomprehensible is the only word that fits when I realize that God fully loved and accepted me the day, I offered tenderness and compassion to a dying member of my church, and He fully loved and accepted me yesterday when I took His name in vain after nicking my thumb while slicing an apple.

Picture in your mind the image of Jesus hanging on the cross. Before we had one iota of awareness that there even is a Creator God of the universe, God our Abba became human, suffered, and died on that cross in the hope, really a gamble, that one day we would open our hearts to receive his unfailing love.

My Takeaway: If I could have one more conversation with Brennan Manning, I would ask him if he would consider adding one little word to the end of his statement. I think I would end his statement this way: “Because no one is as they should be, yet.” I am convinced that the more I live into the reality that Abba loves me just as I am, the more I will be transformed into the likeness of Christ, and thus, the more I become the person my Abba created me to be.

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.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the 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.

Friday, July 28, 2023

Still I Press On

Meditations for Ragamuffins

July 28, 2023

Still I Press On

“Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has become a child of God. And everyone who loves the Father loves his children, too.”

1 John 5:1

What is the hardest commandment of God for you to obey? For me, the call to love God’s children is by far and away the most difficult command for me. While John refers to the children of God as those who believe Jesus is the Christ, Jesus made it clear that his followers are to love all people: friends and enemies, those we think are fellow Christians, as well as those we are sure don’t care for Jesus.

The issues that make this a difficult command for me run very deep. God’s call to love is not a call to have warm fuzzy feelings about other people. It is not a call to just have passive good feelings toward others. God’s call to love is a call to invest ourselves into the lives of others. Others are lonely, needing affirmation and understanding. Godly love sees these needs in others and reaches out to include them within the mantle of our genuine concern. However, to extend my mantle of concern is to open my heart to them. I cannot embrace their hopes, fears, dreams, joys, and disappointments, and at the same time keep hidden from them the hopes, fears, dreams, joys and disappointments of my life. That’s the tough part for me. My default position is to be very private, my deepest feelings hidden from others.

Sometimes I feel like responding to Jesus the way his disciples did when Jesus told them it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God! (Matthew 19:24) “The disciples were astounded. “Then who in the world can be saved?” they asked” (Matthew 19:25). Confronted with my own reluctance to let my guard down and become open and vulnerable with others convinces me that I will never measure up, that I’ll never be perfect. But the Hound of Heaven won’t let me give up on Him, or myself. First, he reminds me of the precious teaching of my friend Brennan Manning, “God loves us unconditionally, just as we are; not as we should be. Because no one is as they should be.” (All is Grace by Brennan Manning) Then the Holy Spirit reminds me of the words of Jesus, “Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible” (Matthew 19:26).

My Takeaway: So, I press on.

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, July 27, 2023

Faith is a Verb

Meditations for Ragamuffins

July 27, 2023

Faith is a Verb

“So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.”

James 2:17

It has been said that God created us as human beings and we have turned into human doings. That is certainly true in our modern culture. With all the electronic gizmos we have available to us, seldom do we come to a place of rest, peace and quiet in our lives. I am convinced that in order for God to do His work of transforming our lives and forming Christ within us, we need ample periods where we respond to God’s call to us: “Be still, and know that I am God!” (Psalm 46:10). However, there is a greater danger to our progress in transformation than not being still; it is being idle.

Jesus perfectly modeled a life balanced with times of prayer and meditation and times of action. This I believe is what James wanted the church to see in his powerful affirmation that the followers of Christ are called to action. Just as love is not a feeling but a verb, so also is faith. The evidence of God’s love is in His doing. He sent His son, He sends His Holy Spirit and His mercies never end; they are renewed every morning. The evidence of our faith in God is in our doing: “Now someone may argue, “Some people have faith; others have good deeds.” But I say, “How can you show me your faith if you don’t have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds” (James 2:18).

The words of James can be quite chilling: “Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works” (James 2:26). If we are not careful, our adversary will use guilt and condemnation to steal our joy in serving Christ. As we press on to achieve the balance between rest and good works, we are always mindful that God loves us, unconditionally, just as we are. We want to glorify God and live in a manner that allows others to see Christ in our mortal flesh.

My Takeaway: The witness of Christ within us comes by grace, not an accumulation of good works. (See 2 Corinthians 4) I believe reaching a balance where our good works are evidence of God’s grace at work in our lives is more of an art than a skill to be learned, and thus requires a daily dialog with Christ.

Jesus never said following him would be easy.

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, July 26, 2023

I Press On

Meditations for Ragamuffins

July 26, 2023

I Press On

“Can a mother forget her nursing child? Can she feel no love for the child she has borne? But even if that were possible, I would not forget you! See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands.”

Isaiah 49:15b-16a

People believe all manner of different things about God and His relationship with humankind. There are some who say that God only saves a chosen few, and those chosen are saved for all eternity. There are others who say that God wants all people to be saved, but people must choose to be saved by God. Once saved, these people must behave themselves, and if they don’t, they get unsaved. If they decide they want to be saved again, they must start the process all over again.

Then there’s me. I believe God wants all people to be restored to a right relationship with Him. I believe God stirs the sin-sick souls of people to awaken their spirit to become aware of His love for them. Once awakened, these people get to make a choice. Do they want to live their way, or God’s way? If they chose God’s way the Holy Spirit baptizes them into the life of Christ. Then they hear Jesus say to them:

“You are now my sheep; listen to my voice. I know you, and now you will follow me. I give you eternal life, and you will never perish. No one can snatch you away from me, for my Father has given you to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch you from the Father’s hand. Because the Father and I are one, you are safe and secure for all eternity.” (See John 10:27-30)

Then, as these new children of God gaze in total amazement at their Shepherd, Christ Jesus, they see God the Father Almighty standing behind Jesus, and He is inscribing their name on the palms of His hands.

My Takeaway: I know some people disagree with me. Some people have tried to convince me that it is possible to lose our right-standing with God. Maybe, but I don’t think so, because I am convinced Jesus has me in his hand and isn’t going to let me go. (See John 10:27-30) Therefore, I press on with the Apostle Paul to “lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:12b NASB).

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, July 25, 2023

Training Myself in Godliness

Meditations for Ragamuffins

July 25, 2023

Training Myself in Godliness

“No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.”

1 John 4:12

The ways of the world’s culture teach us that life is all about keeping score; are we winning or losing. Culture teaches us to be ever ready with an appropriate rejoinder when we feel slighted. Over and against the prevailing sentiment of our culture is the truth that all my thoughts and deeds, all my words directed at other people, are in reality directed to Christ. Did Jesus really mean this when he said, “I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!” (Matthew 25:40). Yes.

To conduct myself in the reality that every word that comes out of my mouth, as well as every thought that rattles around in the recesses of mind, are directed to Jesus seems like an impossible mission! This is a good time to remember that it is possible to do with training, what is impossible to do by trying. Authentically seeking the life in Christ as my way of life requires that I submit to appropriate spiritual disciplines to “train (myself) in godliness” (1 Timothy 4:7b NRSV).

My Takeaway: A spiritual discipline for me is to fully immerse myself in 1 John 4:12 so that before I speak, I will first think, “God lives in me, and his love is brought to full expression in me.”

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, July 24, 2023

Where’s the Power?

Meditations for Ragamuffins

July 24, 2023

Where’s the Power?

“He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed.”

1 Peter 2:24

In Romans 8, after identifying almost a dozen obstacles, difficulties and adversities in life, the Apostle Paul declares, “overwhelming victory is ours through Christ” (Romans 8:37). So how is the overwhelming victory coming in your life? For me, sometimes it seems it is not me, but all the obstacles, difficulties and adversities in life that are winning the overwhelming victory. More often, I identify with Paul’s metaphor that I am like a fragile clay jar (2 Corinthians 4), rather than being more than conquerors as the NRSV renders Romans 8:37.

Of course, the spiritual reality is not either / or: it is both / and. There are times when we will be more than conquerors, winning an overwhelming victory over the issues in our lives. Even when we are feeling more like fragile clay jars, we know that through the power of Christ within us, we are not defeated. “We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed” (2 Corinthians 4:8-9).

The Holy Spirit baptizes us into the life of Christ so that as Peter stated (above) “we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed” and thus have “become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” (2 Corinthians 5:17). This is the power that leads to overwhelming victory. This is the power to make real in our lives the truth that when we get knocked down, we are not destroyed. The power is in our new life in Christ that enables us to be dead to sin and live for what is right.

My Takeaway: “What shall we say about such wonderful things as these?” Thanks be to God “for Christ Jesus who died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us” (Romans 8:31a & 34b).

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, July 21, 2023

Now You Are My Friends

Meditations for Ragamuffins

July 21, 2023

Now You Are My Friends

“He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?”

John 21:5a NIV

Soon after the resurrection of Jesus, Peter and several disciples left Jerusalem and returned to Galilee and their former lives as fishermen. After fishing all night and coming up empty-handed, they returned to shore. That is when Jesus called out to them from the beach, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?” These are the same disciples who fell asleep in the olive grove called Gethsemane after Jesus had asked them to pray for him. These are the same disciples who denied knowing Jesus and scattered into hiding after his crucifixion. Jesus had already appeared to them after his resurrection; he had already eaten with them and commissioned them to take the Gospel to the world. But they were not watching and praying; they were fishing, and not very well. On the beach that morning, no other person would have called them friends. However, Jesus did. Why? Jesus wasn’t enabling their bad behavior; he was affirming their truest identity: “I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me” (John 15:15).

Three times in John 15, Jesus calls us his friends. This word “friend” gives me pause to examine my life for evidence that I have more than head knowledge about Jesus. Do I live my life in the reality of a relationship with Jesus? If so, is that relationship more like boss and employee or servant; or do I hear him call me friend?

My Takeaway: Our friendship with God is the heart of the Gospel of Grace so eloquently proclaimed by Paul. Today, learn to rest in the wonder of God’s affection for you: “So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.” (Romans 5:11).

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, July 20, 2023

Our Fears for Today

Meditations for Ragamuffins

July 20, 2023

Our Fears for Today

“Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death?”

Romans 8:35

St. Paul said, “Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love” (1 Corinthians 13:13). While faith and hope will last forever, they will change. Faith will become sight and hope will become reality. However, love will last forever, and will not change, because Jesus Christ is love, and “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).

In affirming the great love of God in Christ Jesus, the Apostle Paul is most eloquent in his prose extolling the inability of anything in the earth, above the earth, or below the earth to separate us from God’s love. For me, sometimes Paul’s prose in Romans 8:35-39 is so beautiful I have a hard time processing it in a way that I can personally experience the truth he is conveying. I find it difficult to personally identify with calamity, persecuted, hungry, destitute, danger, threatened with death, we are killed every day, we are being slaughtered like sheep, death, angels, demons, powers of hell, power in the sky above or in the earth below.

However, when he includes our fears for today and our worries about tomorrow, he gets my attention. Those two realities help me incorporate the issues of my world such as my weakness, my being “Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, Prone to leave the God I love (Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing), my inadequacies, my loneliness, my depression, my anxiety over my grandchildren’s future, my negative self-image, economic uncertainty, and health issues, just to name a few. “Despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us” (Romans 8:37).

My Takeaway: Indeed, nothing I experience in all my life, “will ever be able to separate (me) from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:39). I hope your heart is rejoicing in this Good News.

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, July 19, 2023

The Heart of God

Meditations for Ragamuffins

July 19, 2023

The Heart of God

“When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”

Matthew 9:36

Quickly, what is the first thing that comes to your mind when you read each of these three?

God

Jesus

Holy Spirit

If we were playing the TV game, Family Feud, the survey would reveal that people respond in a significantly different way between God and Jesus. This probably has something to do with the vision captured in the sermon, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.(Jonathan Edwards, 1741) However, the Bible tells us that Jesus is the “only begotten Son” of God (John 3:16 KJV). Colossians 2:9 tells us that, “in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body.” In describing his ministry, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does” (John 5:19. See also John 5:30, 8:28). So, Jesus is God in human form. In Jesus, you see the very heart, the compassion, the love of God the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth.

When Jesus was celebrating with friends at a wedding, God was showing him how to turn the water into wine. When Jesus was chatting with the culturally despised Samaritan woman at the well, God was giving him the words to say. When Jesus hung out with women and children, ate with sinners, and healed the Centurion’s servant, he was following the lead of his compassionate Father, whose mercy never ends, and encompasses all that He has created.

My Takeaway: Some people see Jesus standing between humans and an angry God. Yet the Bible teaches us that all the compassion that flowed from Jesus first flowed from the heart 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.)

Tuesday, July 18, 2023

New Way of Living in The Spirit

Meditations for Ragamuffins

July 18, 2023

New Way of Living in The Spirit

“And I will give them singleness of heart and put a new spirit within them. I will take away their stony, stubborn heart and give them a tender, responsive heart.”

Ezekiel 11:19

The great apologist for our faith, G.K. Chesterton, was asked by a newspaper reporter, “If the risen Christ suddenly appeared at this very moment and stood behind you, what would you do?” Chesterton responded without hesitation, “He is.” The truth of our faith is that Jesus, who walked through the streets of Jerusalem, now stands with his followers, and it is this truth that changes the way we live.

As followers of Jesus who have experienced God’s grace, we are building a new life based on our identity as a child of God. A fruit of this identity is that we are no longer living under the tyranny of emotions. Virtually all the stimuli in our culture are aimed at our emotions. When your life becomes steeped in emotional messages, your life decisions tend to become tied to your emotions or feelings. Seeking the life in Christ as our way of life is choosing to no longer live by our emotions. By faith we have reversed the flow of our life.

The normal flow of life in our emotion-driven culture is to begin with how we feel, and then make decisions or take actions based on those feelings. The result of our decisions and actions reinforces our feelings and becomes the basis of our beliefs. If we stay on this course, our emotion-driven beliefs become the facts of our life.

The world’s culture has told us a pack of lies about who we are and who God is. God, in Christ Jesus, is telling us the truth, and now we can reverse the flow of our lives. To reverse the flow is to begin first with fact, not feelings. Begin with the fact that the Bible says God loves you. When you choose to believe this fact, you can choose to take actions based on your belief that God loves you and will provide for you.

My Takeaway: Our emotions will not immediately line up with this new way of living, but this new way of living in the Spirit will, in God’s time, win over our emotions. How? Because, like Chesterton, we know the Risen Christ is standing with us, and he has put a new spirit within us. He has taken away our stony, stubborn heart and given us a tender, responsive heart.

And all his followers say, “Thank you 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.)

Monday, July 17, 2023

Jesus’ Passion for My Brokenness

Meditations for Ragamuffins

July 17, 2023

Jesus’ Passion for My Brokenness

“For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.”

Colossians 1:19-20

The way of weakness was the way of the Cross for God in Christ Jesus. This is the price God paid to release me and you from the oppression of sin, brokenness, and death. Jesus wants me to see that in my brokenness, my weakness, he is strong. It is when I embrace my brokenness that I can identify with Christ and with others. Jesus wants me to identify with the pain of others, not relieve it; he wants me to care for others, not try and fix them.

As I learn to have patience in my brokenness, Jesus’ Word of Grace reminds me that my brokenness is not my true identity. I am what I am by the grace of God (1 Corinthians 15:10), not by my own humiliating definitions. I am fully known, yet totally justified by faith through grace. Nothing, neither my outward actions, nor my inner feelings, can diminish the worth given to me in the grace of God.

My Takeaway: In the late 1960’s, Glenn Turner founded his company, Dare to Be Great. One of the catch phrases that came out of his multi-level marketing company was, “Fake it until you make it.” Regrettably, many people go through life living by that motto. Brennan Manning says God loves us unconditionally, just as we are, not as we should be, because none of us are as we should be. However, too many of us try to live by the notion of what we should be, as defined by the world culture; we are trying to fake it until we make it. Lord have mercy! Christ has already made more out of us than the ways of the world ever can.

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, July 14, 2023

The Way of Weakness

Meditations for Ragamuffins

July 14, 2023

The Way of Weakness

“He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet he never said a word. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth.”

Isaiah 53:7

In my previous meditation, Camp Patience, I discussed the wonder of God’s acceptance of me in the light of my sins. Today’s text reveals the immeasurable depth of God’s acceptance.

At the time of Jesus’ earthly ministry, all the people of Israel knew they desperately needed help to end their oppression under the yoke of Roman occupation. They all knew it was a perfect time for God’s Messiah to come and save them. However, they failed to grasp God’s vision of a saving Messiah. Jesus tried to tell them, but his words were incomprehensible to them.

When Jesus affirmed to his disciples that he was God’s Messiah, they immediately had a vision of a great army waiting for their King to lead them into battle. However, instead of a mighty King dressed in battle armor and riding a big horse, a humble shepherd walks to the head of the army. Not only does this shepherd have no armor and no weapon, but he also expects his army to dismount, remove their armor, drop their weapons, and follow him. While Isaiah’s vision of the Messiah (Isaiah 53:7) was incomprehensible to the disciples, I find it even more incomprehensible that Jesus willingly took upon himself my identity as a wayward sheep:

“All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all. He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet he never said a word. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth.”

Isaiah 53:6-7

My Takeaway: The Lord, Christ Jesus, came in weakness, as a wayward sheep, to show me that God my Father fully identifies with me, and fully, completely, and forever more accepts me as His beloved child, with whom He is delighted and upon whom His favor rests.

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, July 13, 2023

Camp Patience

Meditations for Ragamuffins

July 13, 2023

Camp Patience

“So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death.”

Romans 8:1-2

This great affirmation of the Apostle Paul about our right standing with God is another of my ‘go to’ Scriptures. This is not a matter of ‘get to’ for me; I ‘have to’ go here often. Why? Because I so readily identify with something Paul wrote in Romans 7: “I want to do what is right, but I can’t. I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway” (Romans 7:18b-19). In the very bright light of my own acute awareness of my weakness, my sin, the lapses in my faith, I need to hear God remind me that I belong to Him, forever and ever: “there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1).

The bottom line for Christ followers is that God does not have ‘buyer’s remorse.’ He knew exactly what he was receiving when Christ died for us “while we were still sinners” (Romans 5:8b). The desire of God’s heart is that we will enjoy and take delight in Him now, as he enjoys and takes delight in us, now.

“For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God” (Romans 5:10-11).

My Takeaway: Too often, it seems like my transformation from the person I am today, and the person I want to become in Christ, is taking way too long. In these times the Holy Spirit reminds me, sometimes gently, sometimes not so much so, that this is the time to learn the spiritual discipline of patience. I am called to remember the truth that God is working in me, giving me the desire and the power to do what pleases him. (Philippians 2:13) Maybe I will see you in Camp Patience. By the way, you will discover they have a nightly parade at Camp Patience, just like at Disney World, and our nightly anthem is:

“So you’ll go out in joy,

you’ll be led into a whole and complete life.

The mountains and hills will lead the parade,

bursting with song.

All the trees of the forest will join the procession,

exuberant with applause.”

Isaiah 55:12 (The Message)

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, July 12, 2023

Jesus, Friend Forever

Meditations for Ragamuffins

July 12, 2023

Jesus, Friend Forever

For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children.

Romans 8:16

I have a yearning to hear the voice of Jesus. But I can get so caught up in my daily routines that I don’t make time to listen for the voice of the One who loves me. I know I need to carve out a time and place where I can sit quietly and listen for the voice of Jesus.

I know what his voice will say to me. I know he has been trying to be heard over the cacophony, but I’ve been too consumed with self to hear him. But as soon as I find my quiet place, I’ll hear him say, “Alex, I am here. I have been calling you, but you haven't been listening. Alex, friend forever, I love you. You are my beloved.”

My Takeaway: I need to hear these affirmations from Jesus, repeatedly. This is the air I breathe, his holy presence living in me. This is my daily bread, his word spoken to me. And I'm desperate for him. And I'm lost without Jesus, my friend forever. (Inspiration from: Breathe, by Marie Barnett, and What A Friend I've Found, DELIRIOUS)

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, July 11, 2023

Listening for the Voice of Jesus

Meditations for Ragamuffins

July 11, 2023

Listening for the Voice of Jesus

“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”

John 10:27

Among the many obstacles in our path as we seek the life in Christ as our way of life, is the cacophony of voices vying for our attention. Our own voice is chief in this barrage trying to influence our daily life. Our voice is made up of all our memories, our desires, our motives, our fears, our hopes, and our dreams. Amid all these voices is the still small voice of God. Jesus said, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27). Therein is the life in Christ: listening to the voice of Jesus and following him.

Learning to discern the voice of Jesus is more of an art than a process. In my journey, I have found it helpful in mastering this art to remember three differences between God’s voice and all the voices in the cacophony calling out to me.

First, Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. Jesus is the truth. It is impossible for God to lie. However, our adversary, who uses all the many voices surrounding us, is the enemy of God and a liar, the father of lies. (John 14:6; Hebrews 6:18; John 8:44)

Second, God is never tempted to do wrong, and he never tempts anyone else. The temptations in our life are no different from what others experience and come from our own desires. (James 1:13-14; 1 Corinthians 10:13)

Third, our adversary, the enemy of God will heap guilt upon us; however, there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. (Romans 8:1) Often in our culture, both within the church and without, people try to motivate us by using guilt. They may be well intentioned, but if they try to motivate us by guilt, we can be sure the voice of Jesus is not leading them. If Jesus is not leading them, why would we want to follow?

My Takeaway: When one of the voices in the cacophony manage to get our attention, we need only consider whether the voice is telling us the truth about God, our self, and our world; whether the voice is tempting us away from God’s plan for our life; and whether the voice is using guilt to urge us along their path. As we consider these three attributes, we’ll know whether it is the Voice of Truth calling out to us. God’s voice, even when He needs to correct our behavior, will always affirm the truth of our identity as His beloved children with whom He is delighted and upon whom His favor rests.

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.)

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Listening for the Voice of Jesus

Seeking the Life in Christ

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