Seeking the Life in Christ: December 2023

Friday, December 29, 2023

A Light in the Window

Advent & Christmas

December 29, 2023

A Light in the Window

Blessed are those who wash their robes. They will be permitted to enter through the gates of the city and eat the fruit from the tree of life.

Revelation 21:14

Cheryl and I started a tradition several years ago. Every Sunday morning at breakfast, we pick a blessing, places where we have experienced God moving in our lives, from the previous week and make a note of it on a slip of paper. We put the paper in a quart mason jar. This Sunday, New Year’s Eve, we will gather around our Christmas decorations and put all those slips of paper in a basket. Then, one by one, we will review all our many blessings from 2023. This has been a wonderful year for us, and our Blessing Jar is overflowing with the goodness of God. (And, on Sunday, January 7, 2024, we will start filling the jar once again!)

Our circumstances differ, but there is one essential truth that is for all the followers of Jesus Christ. When we reach our eternal destination, we will lift our heads, and we all will see a light in the window of God’s Mansion, with a sign on the door,

“Welcome Home, My Beloved.”

I pray this eternal truth will guide you as you take time to review your life of 2023 and set your sails for 2024:

Your Heavenly Father is head-over-heels,

passionately in love with you.

You are 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.)

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.

Thursday, December 28, 2023

This Is What The Sovereign Lord Says!

Advent & Christmas

December 28, 2023

This Is What The Sovereign Lord Says!

They are a stubborn and hard-hearted people.

But I am sending you to say to them,

‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says!’

Ezekiel 2:4

Ezekiel recorded the words of God to Israel many thousands of years ago, but they can just as easily be His words to me today. I am very much in need of the Holy Spirit coming to me, repeatedly, and reporting to me, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says!’

I need this remedial training because it is so difficult to completely overcome the ways of my past that are so deeply ingrained within me. And I am not alone. I recall my wife, Cheryl, sharing with me an incident when she was driving her mother to the store. Her mother had been widowed for about a year. Cheryl’s father had been quite successful in life and had provided well for his family. Cheryl’s mother was completely debt-free and had a substantial income in her retirement. As they drove toward the store, Cheryl’s mother turned to her and asked, “Do you think I can afford to buy a new pair of house slippers?” Given her financial standing, her question seemed absurd. Given that she had been raised in poverty during the Great Depression, her question made perfect sense. The experiences of our past deeply shape our perspective on today.

We live in a culture that emphasizes awareness of emotions and feelings. The experiences of our past deeply shape our feelings about today. This is why we so need the Holy Spirit reminding us of the truth of God. We can choose to turn from our past and its influential feelings and turn to God’s Word. When we choose God’s Word, we will see that the world’s culture has told us a pack of lies about who we are, and who God is, and we will learn that God, in Christ Jesus, is telling us the truth. We are the beloved children of God, with whom He is delighted and upon whom His favor rests.

My Takeaway: Because the virgin conceived a child, this truth of our identity as the beloved children of God is our Christmas gift. She gave birth to a son, and we call him Immanuel, which means this Truth is always with us.

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, December 27, 2023

Jesus Overcame the World; He Can Overcome You!

Advent & Christmas

December 27, 2023

Jesus Overcame the World; He Can Overcome You!

I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me.

Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows.

But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”

John 16:33

As I study history, I have been struck by the huge difference for good just one person can make. History records the deeds of many individuals who at one time seemed like a lonely voice in the wilderness calling for change, and change came. Think of Wilberforce’s leadership to stop slavery in England, or John Wesley’s zeal to take the Gospel to the common man, or President Harry Truman taking a stand for the state of Israel. Of course, the corollary is just as true. Either for good, or for evil, one person can make a huge difference.

Some people are in places where their actions can influence hundreds, even thousands of others. Some people are in places where their range of influence may not stretch beyond their nuclear family. Even so, all people have influence. Too many people negate their potential for influence because they seem to have so little influence over their own life. For these people, it seems they are continually waging war, and not winning many victories against the same enemies: moodiness, laziness, grudges and resentments, self-centeredness, and their feeble life of faith.

Do you, or someone you know, feel that personal failures cancel your potential to be an influence for good in the lives of others? If so, be reminded, and remind your friend, that the issue is not whether you are able.

The issue is whether Jesus is able!

My Takeaway: Our Savior, Christ Jesus, transformed the world through his birth in Bethlehem. Take heart! He has overcome the world and is quite capable of transforming your life! Appropriate your Christmas gift of hope and give your life to God as a force for good in His world!

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, December 26, 2023

L’ENCHANTÉ

Advent & Christmas

December 26, 2023

L’ENCHANTÉ

To whom can you compare God?

What image can you find to resemble him?

Isaiah 40:18

Every Christmas Season I love sharing the story of L’Enchanté. This beautiful story comes from the forest of Provence in southern France. It’s about the four shepherds who came to Bethlehem to see the Christ child. One brought eggs, another brought bread and cheese, the third brought wine. And the fourth brought nothing at all. People called him L’Enchanté.

The first three shepherds chatted with Mary and Joseph, commenting on how well Mary looked, how cozy was the cave and how handsomely Joseph had appointed it, what a beautiful starlit night it was! They congratulated the proud parents, presented them with their gifts and assured them that if they needed anything else, they only had to ask.

Finally, someone asked, “Where is L’Enchanté?” They searched high and low, up, and down, inside and out. Finally, someone peeked through the blanket hung against the draft, into the crèche. There, kneeling at the crib, was L’Enchanté. – the Enchanted one. Like a flag or a flame taking the direction of the wind, he had taken the direction of love. Through the entire night, he stayed in adoration, whispering, “Jesu, Jesu, Jesu – Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.”

Let’s find time during this Christmas Season to light a solitary candle. In quietness, we can gaze upon the simple candle and allow your heart to become enchanted with “Jesu, Jesu, Jesu – Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.”

(The story of L’ENCHANTÉ is from, Brennan Manning, The Relentless Tenderness of Jesus, Revell, 2004)

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, December 25, 2023

The Birth of Jesus the Messiah

Advent & Christmas

December 25, 2023

The Birth of Jesus the Messiah

When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded

and took Mary as his wife.

Matthew 1:24

Read Matthew 1: 18-25

When Joseph learned Mary was pregnant, he had several choices. He could have used his knowledge of Jewish law to have Mary killed, or shamed as he publicly divorced her. However, he chose neither of those options. He chose not to harm Mary, to not abuse, expose, shame, ridicule, or demean her value and dignity. He chose to protect her. Where did he get such a notion which was so counter-cultural to his times?

Joseph’s response to Mary’s pregnancy reminds me of a line from a song:

“So when you don't understand

When you don't see His plan

When you can't trace His hand

Trust His heart.”

Cynthia Clawson - Trust His Heart

When Joseph could not see God’s hand in the circumstance of Mary’s pregnancy, Joseph trusted God’s heart. Joseph responded by trusting the nature and character of God. Joseph revealed his trust when he responded to the angel of the Lord who appeared to him in a dream, “When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife” (Matthew 1:24).

My Takeaway: More wisdom from Cynthia’s song:

He sees the master plan

And He holds our future in His hand

So don't live as those who have no hope

All our hope is found in Him

Join me in celebrating our gift of Jesus this Christmas Day.

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.)

Friday, December 22, 2023

I Believe in a New Heaven and a New Earth

Advent & Christmas

December 22, 2023

I Believe in a New Heaven and a New Earth

And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!”

Revelation 21:5a

Read: Revelation 21:1-7

In Genesis 1, we learn that God created earth and humankind for his intended purpose to come and dwell with His people. In Revelation 21 and 22, the Apostle John has a magnificent vision of a new heaven and a new earth where God will dwell with His people.

In Revelation 13, evil, in the form of the beast, came out of the sea. Here in chapter 21, when John says the sea was gone, it is an apocalyptic way of saying that evil has been removed. In this new earth, humans will enjoy the immediate and unhindered presence of God, and with that new reality, death, crying, and pain are gone.

As John continues with his description of New Jerusalem, he reveals that the entirety of the new city is the Holy of Holies, and God will dwell with all his people, continuously. Interestingly, no Temple is described in this New Jerusalem, suggesting that when previously worship was limited to a place and a time, now worship will be a state of being as God is worshiped through everything that a person does, wherever they may be.

My eternal destination is not in heaven, far removed from earth. My eternal destination is with God in His new heaven and new earth. In this new creation, every promise of God, from Genesis through Revelation, will be fulfilled.

My Takeaway: Hebrews 12:2 tells us because of the joy awaiting him, Jesus endured the cross. Because of the joy awaiting me in God’s new creation, I too can endure my burdens. And because of the glorious future promised to me, I can avail myself of God’s grace to resist evil and allow my promised future shape my witness for Christ today.

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, December 21, 2023

I Am a Living Sacrifice

Advent & Christmas

December 21, 2023

I Am a Living Sacrifice

I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

Romans 12:1 (NRSV)

Read Romans 12:1-5

I believe one of the benchmark days in the life of a Christian is when we grasp the truth that the world's culture has told us a pack of lies about who God is, who we are and who our neighbor is, and that God in Christ Jesus is telling us the truth. When we come to this place, God transforms us into a new person by changing the way we think. (v.2a) In the second part of verse 2, Paul asserted that when we let God transform the way we think, we will learn to know God’s will for us, which is good and pleasing and perfect. This language is very similar to how Paul expressed God continually working in our lives in his letter to the Philippians: “For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him” (Philippians 2:13).

In verse 1, Paul is asserting a powerful truth that is both quite humbling and compelling. When the priest offered a sacrifice to God, it had to be perfect to be received by God as holy and acceptable. Because I am alive in Christ, I am welcomed into God’s sanctuary because God’s deems me as holy and acceptable as a living sacrifice.

My Takeaway: Today’s passage reminds me of Genesis 3:8, “When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the Lord God walking about in the garden.” At that time, humankind hid in their sin and shame because they were afraid of God. Today, God deems me holy and acceptable, and I can enjoy fellowship with Him as we share in the cool evening breezes. Thanks be to Christ Jesus, who loved me and gave himself for me to make this possible.

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, December 20, 2023

Christ Lives in Me

Advent & Christmas

December 20, 2023

Christ Lives in Me

I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless. For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die.

Galatians 2:21

Read Galatians 2: 15-21

In this passage, Paul proclaims the foundation of the Christian faith:

“It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me”

Galatians 2:20b

As the followers of Jesus, our life, our identity is in Christ. The Jewish believers were initially shocked to find that God’s plan of redemption included the Gentiles. As they struggled to accept this ‘new’ salvation of God, they assumed that it would mean the Gentiles would be incorporated into the Jewish faith and customs. Paul then confronts them with the news that God is doing a completely NEW work in and through Christ. While the Jews were the first to hear the Good News, that did not mean a Gentile had to become a Jew to receive the Good News. Salvation is not about incorporating Jesus into our existing life. Salvation is about completely letting go of our existing life and immersing ourselves into New Life in Christ Jesus.

The Life in Christ we seek is experienced only after we have come to the place in our lives when nothing, absolutely nothing, but the love of God in Christ Jesus satisfies the longings of our soul. The only way we can come to that place is to first experience that our efforts in the flesh to satisfy our longings for love, acceptance and worth do not bear lasting fruit. The Apostle Paul contrasts the flesh life with the life in Christ as the difference between night and day, as between death and life:

“My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

Galatians 2:20

“You’ll never know Jesus is all you need, until Jesus is all you have.” (This statement has been attributed to both Mother Teresa and Corrie Ten Boom) How do we get to the place where Jesus is all we have? Getting to the place where we are broken, clinging to nothing but Christ is the work of our sovereign God, and God alone. Our part is to trust where God is taking us and to keep our eyes on Jesus.

My Takeaway: “Let your bearings towards one another arise out of your life in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 2:5 (NEB 1961)) This verse changed my life and gave me my life’s mission statement: Seeking the life in Christ as my way of life. It is our life in Christ that enables us to choose a believing-obedience way of life that brings glory to our God and empowers us to be co-laborers with Christ for the Kingdom 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, December 19, 2023

Believing Obedience

Advent & Christmas

December 19, 2023

Believing Obedience

Through Christ, God has given us the privilege and authority as apostles to tell Gentiles everywhere what God has done for them, so that they will believe and obey him, bringing glory to his name.

Romans 1:5

Read: Romans 1:1-5

Paul’s letter to the Romans is a systematic presentation of God’s plan of redemption for the entire world. In the first five verses, Paul outlines this plan which he fully developed in the sixteen chapters of this letter. Perhaps more than any other book in the New Testament, Paul’s letter to the Romans has been used by God to keep his people on the right track.

In the NRSV Bible, the first five verses are one sentence and are somewhat convoluted, making it difficult to grasp Paul’s point. The NLT breaks this passage into five sentences where Paul’s passion is easier to see. Paul is writing to a group of Christians in Rome, which in his time was the political, financial, and military center of power for the known world. Implicit in Paul’s announced intention of his letter is that while Caesar may claim to be god, the only true and living God has sent His Son to be the Savior for the entire world.

I chose this passage as one of my fifteen essential scriptures that form my core Christian beliefs for two reasons. First, I find it so valuable because of the way Paul shows God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit in complete unity in providing for the redemption of humankind.

Secondly, I chose this passage for the phrase, “so that they will believe and obey him, bringing glory to his name.” (v.5) I like N.T. Wright’s translation of this phrase where he uses,

“Through him we have received grace and apostleship to bring about believing obedience among all the nations for the sake of his name.” (Emphasis mine.)

This is the explicit purpose of God’s redemption of humankind: that we would live in a state of believing obedience to Jesus and thus bring glory to his name. This was the practice of the first-century followers of Christ. When challenged about their ideas, Christians pointed to their actions. They believed their behavior said what they believed; it was an enactment of their message. They lived out the life in Christ as seen in The Beatitudes, the Sermon on the Mount, and 1 Corinthians 13.

My Takeaway: The good news about the Good News is that Jesus enables his followers to live in a state of believing obedience.

For God is working in you,

giving you the desire

and the power to do what pleases him.

Philippians 2:13

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.)

Monday, December 18, 2023

I Believe Jesus is With Me

Advent & Christmas

December 18, 2023

I Believe Jesus is With Me

Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth.

Matthew 28:18

Read: Matthew 28:16-20

In Matthew 1:23, an angel of God appeared to Joseph in a dream and quoted the prophet Isaiah, ““Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,” which means, “God is with us.” (NRSV) In verse 20 of today’s passage, Jesus affirmed the words of Isaiah, “And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” My belief in this statement of Jesus is the foundation of my Christian beliefs because Jesus has given me, and all his followers, a huge assignment. The only way I can accomplish my assignment is having the presence of Jesus by my side.

What does it look like when Jesus’ followers believe that all authority in heaven and earth have been given to him, and that he is with his followers always? The first century Christian communities practiced making the life in Christ their way of life. Through their faith in Jesus, they lived out the Beatitudes, the Sermon on the Mount, and their lifestyle embodied the virtues of love set forth by the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 13. And they changed the world.

But this was not a one-off proposition. Every generation must choose whether to believe Jesus has all authority in heaven and in earth and that he is with us always. And every generation must decide whether to accommodate their faith to the prevailing culture, or to teach new disciples to obey all the commands Jesus gave us. (v.20)

My Takeaway: The first-century followers of Jesus witnessed to their faith not only in words, but also in their lifestyle. Their behavior fully testified to what they believed. May it be so in my life.

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, December 15, 2023

I Need to Listen to the Voice of Jesus

Advent & Christmas

December 15, 2023

I Need to Listen to the Voice of Jesus

Suddenly, their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And at that moment he disappeared!

Luke 24:31

Read: Luke 24:13-35

I noted in yesterday’s meditation that many of Jesus’ followers turned away from him because they didn’t think Jesus was living up to their expectations. Some of the followers who didn’t turn away from Jesus were discouraged after Jesus’ crucifixion and thought he wasn’t the Messiah he claimed to be. They didn’t think their Messiah could be crucified; therefore, Jesus’ mission had ended in failure. “We had hoped he was the Messiah who had come to rescue Israel” is how the disciples on the road to Emmaus put it. (v.21) They couldn’t see Jesus for who he was because the whole counsel of scripture was not the rule of their faith and life. (See my meditation of December 7, 2023)

To their discouragement, Jesus spoke a truth I need to hear today: “Then Jesus took them through the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining from all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.” (v.27) Yesterday I noted that Jesus’ call to repent is a call to surrender my agenda, or my ideas on how God should rule His Kingdom. In place of my personal agenda, I believe I am called by God to embrace the Word of God. I am called to the exposition of all the scriptures where I will hear the voice of Jesus reveal his fulfillment of God’s plan of redemption.

In today’s passage, as Jesus took the bread and blessed it, the eyes of the disciples were opened, and they recognized him. (V. 30-31) This is the other place to hear the voice of Jesus. In the sacrament of Holy Communion, as we come by faith to receive the bread and cup, we experience anew the presence of Jesus in our lives as we look forward to his coming again in final victory.

My Takeaway: There are so many voices in our culture clamoring for my attention and my allegiance. By God’s grace, may I hear the voice of Jesus above the din as he leads me home.

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, December 14, 2023

I Need to Give-Up My Agenda

Advent & Christmas

December 14, 2023

I Need to Give-Up My Agenda

“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.”

Mark 1:15 (NRSV)

Read: Mark 1:14-15

Two things caught my attention in this passage. When Jesus said, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near”, I think of the prophecy in Isaiah 40 of the second Exodus, of God coming in person to establish his Kingdom on earth. There are some references to the fulfillment of the prophecy coming after 70 times 7 years, which would roughly coincide with the time Jesus spoke these words. Thus, those who heard Jesus make this proclamation, heard Jesus’ claim to fulfill the prophecy, that he, Jesus, was God coming to His Kingdom. The Gospel of John is not the only place where the divinity of Jesus is revealed. (We can also see this in Mark’s quoting of Isaiah 40 and Malachi 1 in the opening passage of Mark 1)

Secondly, the word, repent, caught my attention. I quoted the NRSV above because the NLT added some words; “Repent of your sins.” That is not incorrect, but it connotes turning away from things you should not be doing. I think Jesus had something deeper in mind. By the end of Jesus’ mission many of his first followers turned away from him because he was not living up to their expectations. They were not so much interested “in the blind see, the lame walk, those with leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor.” (Matthew 11:5) They wanted a Messiah who would form a great army, drive out the Romans and establish Israel as a great nation. To those people, Jesus said repent. Repent from your agenda, repent from your idea of how God should rule His Kingdom. Repent and believe in God’s Good News.

My Takeaway: I need to give up my agenda because my life does not belong to me. By creation and redemption my life belongs to 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, December 13, 2023

I Need to See the Whole Counsel of God

Advent & Christmas

December 13, 2023

I Need to See the Whole Counsel of God

So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.

John 1:14

Read: John 1: 1-5, 14

John begins his gospel with the same words the writer of the Book of Genesis used: “In the beginning.” John then describes the creative energy that God used in forming the universe as God’s Word. For John, Word is not just words like we read in a book or hear a person speak. Word is the very essence of God. John tells us Jesus is God’s Word.

The crowning achievement of the creation story in Genesis is God’s creation of humankind. As John opens his Gospel, he tells us God’s crowning achievement continues to be His care and love for His people. John writes that when we believe in Jesus, we are given the right to become children of God. We are reborn with a birth that comes from God.

In verse 14, John brings together some of the great biblical themes in Exodus and 2 Samuel. The Greek word translated “home” in verse 14 is used in Greek for the word, tent, and connotes the Tabernacle in Exodus where God dwelled with His people. When John wrote, “And we have seen his glory” he invoked the memory of Moses seeing God’s glory in Exodus 32. When John wrote, “the glory of the Father’s one and only Son” he invoked God’s promise in 2 Samuel 7 that from David’s house will come a son who will build a house for the name of God and who will reign as King forever. (See my meditation, I Need to Trust God, December 6, 2023) Ultimately, we will see in the Gospel of John that Jesus’ glory is revealed in his self-giving love in his crucifixion.

John’s use of Word to describe the creative essence of God and of Jesus, takes me to Isaiah 55:11 (NRSV),

so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;

it shall not return to me empty,

but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,

and succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

My Takeaway: John shows us that God’s plan of redemption in Jesus was revealed throughout the Old Testament. If I want to understand the Gospel of John, and the New Testament, I need to learn to see the whole counsel of God.

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.)

Tuesday, December 12, 2023

I Need Patience

Advent & Christmas

December 12, 2023

I Need Patience

As my vision continued that night, I saw someone like a son of man coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient One and was led into his presence. He was given authority, honor, and sovereignty over all the nations of the world, so that people of every race and nation and language would obey him. His rule is eternal—it will never end. His kingdom will never be destroyed.

Daniel 7:13-14

Read: Daniel 7: 1, 9-18

I understand this passage within the context of the preceding chapter which tells of Daniel in the lion’s den. Chapter six concludes with King Darius proclaiming:

“I decree that everyone throughout my kingdom should tremble with fear before the God of Daniel. For he is the living God, and he will endure forever. His kingdom will never be destroyed, and his rule will never end.” (Daniel 6:26)

I think the Apostle Paul may have been inspired by Daniel’s vision when he talked with the Athenian philosophers on Mars Hill: “For he has set a day for judging the world with justice by the man he has appointed, and he proved to everyone who this is by raising him from the dead.” (Acts 17:31) Paul’s preaching and Daniel’s vision are a call on my life for patience, Godly patience.

Godly patience is rooted in God’s character; God is patient and is working inexorably across the centuries to accomplish his mission, and in the fullness of time has disclosed himself in Jesus Christ. The heart of patience is revealed in the incarnation of Jesus Christ; Jesus’s life and teaching demonstrate what patience means and beckon those who follow him to a patient lifestyle that participates in God’s mission. Patience is not in a hurry; patient Christians live at the pace given by God, accepting incompleteness and waiting; Patience is hopeful and entrusts the future confidently to God. (The Patient Ferment of the Early Church: The Improbable Rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire, Alan Kreider, Baker Academic (March 29, 2016) Emphasis mine)

My Takeaway: There is so much evil prevalent in our world. I began work on these Advent meditations during the first week of November when I was still shaken to my core with the utter evil and savagery carried out by Hamas against the people in Israel on October 7, 2023. Truly another day that will live in infamy.

Even so, our God reigns and He has promised, “But in the end, the holy people of the Most High will be given the kingdom, and they will rule forever and ever.” (Daniel 7:18) With God’s help, I will seek Godly patience in my life, hopeful patience, as I entrust the future confidently to God.

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.)

Friday, December 29, 2023

A Light in the Window

Thursday, December 28, 2023

This Is What The Sovereign Lord Says!

Wednesday, December 27, 2023

Jesus Overcame the World; He Can Overcome You!

Tuesday, December 26, 2023

L’ENCHANTÉ

Monday, December 25, 2023

The Birth of Jesus the Messiah

Friday, December 22, 2023

I Believe in a New Heaven and a New Earth

Thursday, December 21, 2023

I Am a Living Sacrifice

Wednesday, December 20, 2023

Christ Lives in Me

Tuesday, December 19, 2023

Believing Obedience

Monday, December 18, 2023

I Believe Jesus is With Me

Friday, December 15, 2023

I Need to Listen to the Voice of Jesus

Thursday, December 14, 2023

I Need to Give-Up My Agenda

Wednesday, December 13, 2023

I Need to See the Whole Counsel of God

Tuesday, December 12, 2023

I Need Patience

Seeking the Life in Christ

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First Think - Then Pray

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