Seeking the Life in Christ: 2024

Tuesday, December 31, 2024

Our Sufficient Guide for Faith and Practice

Meditations for the Season of Christmas

December 31, 2024

Our Sufficient Guide for Faith and Practice

But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone.’”

Jesus replied, “The Scriptures say, ‘You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’”

Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’”

Lule 4:4,8,12

Read: Luke 4:1-13

There are two primary obstacles for the Christian seeking to live the life in Christ as their way of life. The first obstacle is our self. What the Apostle Paul calls our flesh, or our fallen nature, is tempted to sin, that is to seek our self-gratification over the will of God in our life.

The other obstacle is the evil one. Jesus tells us the evil one comes to kill, steal and destroy the people of God. Jesus says he is a liar, the father of all lies; the truth is not in him (John 10:10). The liar’s mission is to disrupt and destroy the work of building for the Kingdom of God.

Interestingly, the evil one does not tempt us with overt evil. Jesus was not tempted to kill, steal or destroy people; he was tempted to prove he was God’s Messiah. The people were poor and hungry. After fasting for forty days, wouldn’t it have been a good thing for Jesus to turn the stones into bread and feed himself as well as feed the people? The alternative ways to fulfill his role of Messiah offered by the evil one were essentially shortcuts that avoided suffering or crucifixion for the Messiah.

There were no shortcuts for Jesus, and there are no shortcuts for his followers. The Christian vocation is unique to each person, as we each have our own gifts and graces given to us by God. Developing our Christian vocation takes dedication and hard work, just as a musician must apply these attributes in learning to play a musical instrument.

We all will be tempted to take short cuts which, if taken, will compromise our Christian integrity. However, Jesus has shown us the way to respond to temptation. No dilly dallying, no debate, just immediate responses using the Word of God as our authority. Since the Reformation, Protestant churches have maintained that the Bible is our sufficient guide for faith and practice.

My Takeaway: Certainly, if the scriptures were sufficient for Jesus, so shall they be for his followers.

Sē’lah

My book on prayer,

First Think, Then Pray

is now available on Amazon Kindle.

(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.

Monday, December 30, 2024

You Bring Me Great Joy

Meditations for the Season of Christmas

December 30, 2024

You Bring Me Great Joy

One day when the crowds were being baptized, Jesus himself was baptized. As he was praying, the heavens opened, and the Holy Spirit, in bodily form, descended on him like a dove. And a voice from heaven said, “You are my dearly loved Son, and you bring me great joy.”

Luke 3:21-22

Read: Luke 3:15-38

Our reading today tells us three things about the Messiah.

First, the inclusion of Jesus’ ancestry all the way back to Adam reveals the Messiah is coming for the entire human race, not just Israel.

Secondly, John the Baptist’s preaching reveals the dual mission of the Messiah. The Messiah will judge the oppressors and set free the oppressed. God’s justice, which is the process of making us justified in His presence, will work into the world through the lives of the followers of the Messiah.

And thirdly, God’s message to Jesus, the Messiah, at his baptism is both endearing and chilling: “You are my dearly loved Son, and you bring me great joy.” The endearing part is obvious.

The chilling part is in the similarity of the words to the witness of two other Biblical passages: Isaiah 42:1, “Look at my servant, whom I strengthen. He is my chosen one, who pleases me.” Isaiah 42 reveals the Messiah of God as the suffering servant; and Genesis 20:2 says, “Take your son, your only son—yes, Isaac, whom you love so much . . .” This is God’s call for Abraham to sacrifice his only son. Ultimately Abraham did not sacrifice Isaac; instead, God sacrificed his only son.

God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son to save the world. When a person is reconciled to God through faith in the Messiah Jesus, God speaks into the life of the believer the same words He spoke to Jesus, ““You are my dearly loved son/daughter, and you bring me great joy.”

Could it be that God expects all his children to live sacrificial lives that proclaim God’s saving grace in the Messiah?

Could it be that God expects all his children to live sacrificial lives that work God’s justice into the world?

My Takeaway: Yes!

Sē’lah

My book on prayer,

First Think, Then Pray

is now available on Amazon Kindle.

(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 27, 2024

Favor with God

Meditations for the Season of Christmas

December 27, 2024

Favor with God

Jesus grew in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and all the people.

Luke 2:52

Luke 2:41-52

Today’s reading tells the story of twelve-year-old Jesus in the Temple in Jerusalem. The way Luke tells the story has an interesting similarity to another story Luke will tell: the two disciples on the road to Emmaus in chapter twenty-four. In both stories, there is a period of three days where Jesus was ‘lost’ and then found again. In both stories Jesus used an imperative to explain what happened: “I must be in my Father’s house”; “the Messiah would have to suffer all these things.” From Jesus’ perspective in both stories, he is not the one who is lost; he is just doing what was necessary for the Messiah to do.

Jesus’ perspective creates a dichotomy for me. On one hand, I know from the Apostle Paul that nothing can separate me from Christ, because Christ lives in me. (Romans 8:35-39 & Colossians 1:27) But on the other hand, from Luke’s account, Jesus is going to be doing what Jesus needs to do, and it is possible that I might lose sight of him.

Yesterday’s reading about baby Jesus being dedicated to the Lord ended with the affirmation that Jesus “was filled with wisdom, and God’s favor was on him.” (v40) Today’s reading ends with a similar affirmation: “Jesus grew in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and all the people.” (v52) Do you know that it is God’s will for us that such affirmations apply to our lives?

My Takeaway: What if I do lose sight of Jesus? I can rest in the knowledge that he can be found again. I just must look in the right place, which for me is at the Altar receiving Holy Communion.

Sē’lah

My book on prayer,

First Think, Then Pray

is now available on Amazon Kindle.

(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 26, 2024

He Is Light

Meditations for the Season of Christmas

December 26, 2024

He Is Light

Simeon was there. He took the child in his arms and praised God, saying, “Sovereign Lord, now let your servant die in peace, as you have promised. I have seen your salvation, which you have prepared for all people. He is a light to reveal God to the nations, and he is the glory of your people Israel!”

Luke 2:28-32

Read: Luke 2: 21-40

Luke has done something most story tellers try hard not to do. He’s pretty much told us how the story is going to end, and we’re not quite through the first two chapters. It doesn’t look like he’s leaving much room for suspense. Why does Luke seem to give away the ending? I think it’s because he knows his first readers would be overwhelmed by the ending, so he is preparing them for the shock.

Like Simeon, many of Luke’s readers had been looking for God to redeem Israel. Unlike Simeon, their expectation of God’s way of redemption was completely different than what God was beginning to reveal through the births of John and Jesus. Today’s reading is a reminder to guard against thinking I know what, when and how God is going to act. God’s ways are not my ways, and if I allow myself to become rigid in my expectations, I’ll become like the many in Israel who missed the Messiah, because they were intently looking for something else.

One temptation that snares many in our time is the temptation to think that what God did in Christ, he did just for me. Sometimes we’re told to take John 3:16 and substitute the words ‘world’ and ‘everyone’ with ‘me’ and ‘I’. Yes, Christ is my salvation, but he’s not mine alone. At least twelve times in the first two chapters, Luke makes clear that God is at work in the lives of his people; not just Mary, Joseph, Elizabeth and Zachariah, but all of Israel. And, not just Israel; there are also several references to what God is doing for all the nations, all the world, through these miracle births. I am convinced that a major portion of being transformed by the renewing of my mind is in learning to think in terms of Kingdom values, in terms of inclusivity.

God’s Kingdom is revealed by bringing diverse people together. There are the young, Mary and Joseph; and the older, Elizabeth and Zachariah; and older still, Simeon and Anna. There are the well-off, Mary & Joseph (the gifts of the Magi made them so); and the poor, the shepherds. There are the people of God (the Church) and other people we didn’t know were included by God, the Magi.

My Takeaway: The births of John and Jesus have brought a very diverse people together for worship and fellowship. Do our worshiping communities reflect such diversity?

Sē’lah

My book on prayer,

First Think, Then Pray

is now available on Amazon Kindle.

(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 25, 2024

Merry Christmas

Meditations for the Season of Christmas

December 25, 2024

Merry Christmas

And you will recognize him by this sign:

You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”

Luke 2:12

Read: Luke 2:1-20

Sometimes when I was throwing toys for my dogs to fetch, they would lose sight of the toy. I’ll try to point to the toy, but instead of looking where I am pointing, the dogs look at my finger. They get focused on the sign and miss where the sign is pointing.

Sometimes people make the same mistake. At Christmas time, as we look at all the signs, the symbols of Christmas, we may miss where the Lord is leading us. Consider the manger. Luke mentions the manger three times in this passage. Luke says Mary laid Jesus in a manger; the angels told the shepherds they would find the newborn Messiah in a manger; and the shepherds went to Bethlehem and found the baby Jesus lying in a manger, just as they had been told.

The manger, which was not made of wood but of carved stone, was a feeding trough. There is some symbolism at work here. Jesus begins his life in a feeding trough in Bethlehem. The name Bethlehem means city of bread. Jesus will be known as the bread of life. At the last supper, Jesus takes bread and breaks it and tells his followers the bread is his body.

Mary laid Jesus in a manger. The angels announce to the shepherds that the Messiah has been born, and if they go to Bethlehem, they will find the Messiah lying in a manger. That’s where they found him. When they knew they had found the Messiah, they shared the news of their encounter with the angels with Mary and Joseph – and any others who would listen. Mary and Joseph were blessed to receive yet another confirmation that God was at work in their lives.

My Takeaway: Thus, the manger is a sign pointing the way for the shepherds to find the Messiah. The manger, a feeding trough, is also a sign pointing to Jesus’ ultimate gift: “Take, eat, this is my body given for you.

Sē’lah

My book on prayer,

First Think, Then Pray

is now available on Amazon Kindle.

(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 24, 2024

The Magnificat

Meditations for Seeking the Life in Christ

The Season of Advent

December 24, 2024

The Magnificat

Mary responded, “Oh, how my soul praises the Lord.

How my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!

Luke 1:46-47

Read Luke 1:46-56

Almost every word of Mary’s beautiful song is a quotation of scripture. Elizabeth’s child is John the Baptist, and his preaching will echo Mary’s song.

Mary and Elizabeth are far from naïve. There is yet much pain and sorrow in their lives. Why then could they speak with such excitement and joy about a child who then was still thirty weeks from birth? I believe they could celebrate with such uninhibited joy because, as I noted yesterday, they knew they were participating in God’s plan of salvation. In their reading of the scriptures, they met the God of Creation who is the Holy One, the Powerful One, the Faithful One, the Merciful One, and the One who is Love for all His creation. When they realized God was literally moving within them to fulfill his promises, their spirits responded with words of reverence and joy, the words of scripture.

When I read Mary’s song, I think of that most beautiful sonnet, Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s Sonnet XLIII. It begins “How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. I love thee to the depth and breadth and height My soul can reach . . .”

I believe an appropriate Advent practice for us is to write our own sonnet for Jesus. Our sonnet may begin with the words, “How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.” Then we can fill in the remaining lines with the many ways, grounded in scripture, we have experienced God our Savior.

My Takeaway: I’ve never written poetry, so this will be a poem that only Jesus could love. But it will be my expression of love for the One who set me free from sin and death.

Sē’lah

My book on prayer,

First Think, Then Pray

is now available on Amazon Kindle.

(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 23, 2024

Mary Visits Elizabeth

Meditations for Seeking the Life in Christ

The Season of Advent

December 23, 2024

Mary Visits Elizabeth

At the sound of Mary’s greeting, Elizabeth’s child leaped within her,

and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.

Luke 1:41

Read Luke 1:39-45

Mary and Elizabeth model for us the life of faith when God’s people are filled with His Holy Spirit. From their words and actions, it is clear Mary and Elizabeth immersed themselves in Holy Scripture. In the psalms and the writings of the prophets, they found God’s compassion and mercy. In the Word of God, they found hope in the promises of God. Mary and Elizabeth knew they were participating in God’s plan of salvation; they realized God was literally moving within them to fulfill his promises.

The American culture has undergone significant upheavals in my lifetime. The church, as I know it, has drifted further and further away from her first love. (See Revelation 2:1-7) Jesus and John were conceived under, and led by the power of the Holy Spirit. Their parents were filled with the Holy Spirit. Jesus said I will need to depend on the Holy Spirit because apart from him, I can do nothing. (John 15:5) God has given us His Holy Spirit to guide our lives, and to empower us to live the life in Christ. The same power that led Mary and Elizabeth, Jesus and John, is here for God’s children today.

My Takeaway: “I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 1:19-20).

Hallelujah! It is so good not to be alone.

Sē’lah

My book on prayer,

First Think, Then Pray

is now available on Amazon Kindle.

(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 20, 2024

The Birth of Jesus the Messiah

Meditations for Seeking the Life in Christ

The Season of Advent

December 20, 2024

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 had used his knowledge of Jewish law to have Mary killed, or shamed as he publicly divorced her. However, he chose none of those options. He chose not to harm Mary, not to abuse, expose, shame, ridicule, or demean her value and dignity. He chose to protect her. Where did he get such a notion that 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 an angel of the Lord’s appearance 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

Sē’lah

My book on prayer,

First Think, Then Pray

is now available on Amazon Kindle.

(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 19, 2024

The Ancestors of Jesus the Messiah

Meditations for Seeking the Life in Christ

The Season of Advent

December 19, 2024

The Ancestors of Jesus the Messiah

This is a record of the ancestors of Jesus the Messiah,

a descendant of David and of Abraham

Matthew 1:1

Read Matthew 1:1-17

This opening passage of Matthew’s Gospel is so much more than a list of names.

The Greek text begins verse one with the “book of the genesis” of Jesus. In the second passage, beginning at verse 18, when speaking of the birth of Jesus, the Greek text reads the “genesis” of Jesus. The literal meaning of genesis is “beginning.” Matthew understood Jesus as initiating a new creation. Thus, to understand the world, we don’t look to politicians in Washington or to the universities. We look to Jesus who is supreme over all creation. Everything was created through him and for him. Jesus holds all creation together. (see Colossians 1:15-20)

Matthew is considered the most Jewish of the Gospels. In Jewish tradition, only males were included in genealogy, yet Matthew includes four women. And these four women, Tamar, Rahab, Ruth and Bathsheba, all have Gentile connections. Yes, Jesus was beginning a new creation, and it was, and is, altogether different than the world Jesus was born into, and the world that exists today.

The genealogy also includes prostitutes, adulterers, murderers, and idolaters. Through these imperfect people, God was able to preserve His promises and prepare the way for His Messiah. May I never, ever forget that nothing is impossible for my God, and that God uses everything in my life for His good of transforming me to become like Jesus. (Romans 8:28-29)

My Takeaway: The hardest part, for me, of making the life in Christ my way of life, is unlearning the ways of my culture and opening myself to God working in me, giving me the desire and the power to do what pleases him. (Philippians 2:13)

Sē’lah

My book on prayer,

First Think, Then Pray

is now available on Amazon Kindle.

(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 18, 2024

Messengers from John the Baptist

Meditations for Seeking the Life in Christ

The Season of Advent

December 18, 2024

Messengers from John the Baptist

“And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.”

Luke 7:23 (NRSV)

Read Luke 7:18b-23

John sent his disciples to meet with Jesus because his faith in Jesus as the Messiah was wavering. John was worried that he was wrong about Jesus because Jesus was not meeting his expectations of the Messiah.

Miles Stanford wrote, “To be disappointed is to have believed in yourself.” (The Principals of Spiritual Growth) I first read that statement thirty-four years ago, and I am still pondering it. Perhaps John the Baptist had believed in his own sense of discernment about God’s promised Messiah and then, in his jail cell, he was having second thoughts. (An excellent book about John’s struggle is The Prisoner in the Third Cell by Gene Edwards. This is another book I first read over thirty-four years ago, and I reread it for the umpteenth time recently.)

I noted on December 12, that 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. When anxiety tries to rule my life, I realize I have been trusting in my own discernment of the times. I have found Jesus’ words to Peter very comforting:

“You are blessed, Simon son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being.”

Matthew 16:17

My Takeaway: It was God who revealed to Peter that Jesus was the Messiah. Paul teaches us that God speaks to our spirit to affirm we are his children. (Romans 8:16) It is God who revealed Jesus the Christ to me and who affirms to me I am His child. It is God who will give me the discernment to understand the times in which we live.

Sē’lah

My book on prayer,

First Think, Then Pray

is now available on Amazon Kindle.

(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 17, 2024

Parable of the Two Sons

Meditations for Seeking the Life in Christ

The Season of Advent

December 17, 2024

Parable of the Two Sons

For John the Baptist came and showed you the right way to live, but you didn’t believe him, while tax collectors and prostitutes did. And even when you saw this happening, you refused to believe him and repent of your sins.

Matthew 21:32

Read Matthew 21:28-32

Jesus didn’t answer the religious leaders directly about his authority displayed in the Temple. But he continued to engage those leaders with this parable. In Jesus’ initial response to the leaders, he asked them their opinion of John the Baptist. In his explanation of his parable, Jesus again brings up John. Jesus paints a stunning image; tax collectors and prostitutes repented their sins, were baptized, and changed the way they had been living by producing appropriate fruits of repentance. Yet this was not enough for the religious leaders to give glory to God, examine their own lives and repent and seek God’s forgiveness.

There is a huge temptation to judge the religious leaders for their pride and being just so dense they could not see God working in their midst. Yet, if I am honest with myself, I too stumble over my pride, and I am too slow to examine my own life.

My Takeaway: As I noted previously, forgiveness, cleansing, renewal and restoration are the natural rhythm of life for those seeking the life in Christ as their way of life. I invite you to join me in praying Psalm 139:23-24,

Search me, O God, and know my heart;

test me and know my anxious thoughts.

Point out anything in me that offends you,

and lead me along the path of everlasting life.

Sē’lah

My book on prayer,

First Think, Then Pray

is now available on Amazon Kindle.

(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 16, 2024

The Authority of Jesus Challenged

Meditations for Seeking the Life in Christ

The Season of Advent

December 16, 2024

The Authority of Jesus Challenged

When Jesus returned to the Temple and began teaching, the leading priests and elders came up to him. They demanded, “By what authority are you doing all these things? Who gave you the right?”

Matthew 21:23

Read Matthew 21:23-27

What things?

Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey and the people shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!” (verse 9 NRSV)

Then as Jesus arrived in the Temple area, in a fit of fury, he drove out all the people buying and selling animals for sacrifice.

Then the blind and the lame came to him in the Temple, and he healed them, and the children in the Temple shouted, “Praise God for the Son of David.”

What authority?

Jesus doesn’t answer the religious leader’s question, but we know. By the same authority when,

“(Jesus) woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm” (Mark 4:39 NRSV).

“When (Jesus) had said this, he cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out . . .” (John 11:43-44 NRSV).

“Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “Be encouraged, my child! Your sins are forgiven.” Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!” And the man jumped up and went home!” (Matthew 9:1-8)

My Takeaway: Jesus said, “Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear” (Mark 13:31). Jesus’ authority is everlasting. So, what things does Jesus want to do in my life?

Sē’lah

My book on prayer,

First Think, Then Pray

is now available on Amazon Kindle.

(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 13, 2024

Results

Meditations for Seeking the Life in Christ

The Season of Advent

December 13, 2024

Results

“But wisdom is shown to be right by its results.”

Matthew 11:19b

Read Matthew 11:16-19

Jesus ends his discussion about John the Baptist with a comparison of his ministry and John’s ministry by using a children’s game. Of John, who was austere and always serious, Jesus said, “. . . so we played funeral songs, and you didn’t mourn.” That is, John preached repentance for the Kingdom of God, and the people did not respond. Oh, some, maybe even many, did respond for a while. Ultimately, the people went on with their life, and the powerful people killed John.

Of his own ministry, Jesus said, “. . . ‘We played wedding songs, and you didn’t dance.” Jesus’ ministry contrasts with John’s as Jesus feasts and drinks and was a friend of tax collectors and other sinners. As with John, the people did not respond. Oh, some did respond for a while, but ultimately the powerful killed Jesus.

So, what are the results that reveal wisdom? Jesus’ answer to John’s disciples are the results: “. . . 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)

My Takeaway: Today we see all sorts of contrasting styles in ministry. Some people meet in an informal manner, cups of coffee in hand and the speaker in an untucked shirt. Others gather in pomp and circumstance, clergy adorned in robes and colorful paraments throughout their sanctuary. These styles are all well and good if wisdom is shown to be right by its results: are disciples being made, is the Good News being preached to the poor?

Sē’lah

My book on prayer,

First Think, Then Pray

is now available on Amazon Kindle.

(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 31, 2024

Our Sufficient Guide for Faith and Practice

Monday, December 30, 2024

You Bring Me Great Joy

Friday, December 27, 2024

Favor with God

Thursday, December 26, 2024

He Is Light

Wednesday, December 25, 2024

Merry Christmas

Tuesday, December 24, 2024

The Magnificat

Monday, December 23, 2024

Mary Visits Elizabeth

Friday, December 20, 2024

The Birth of Jesus the Messiah

Thursday, December 19, 2024

The Ancestors of Jesus the Messiah

Wednesday, December 18, 2024

Messengers from John the Baptist

Tuesday, December 17, 2024

Parable of the Two Sons

Monday, December 16, 2024

The Authority of Jesus Challenged

Friday, December 13, 2024

Results

Seeking the Life in Christ

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