Seeking the Life in Christ: January 2026

Friday, January 30, 2026

He Was Compassionate

Meditations on

Staying In the Grace for Today

January 30, 2026

He Was Compassionate

So they left by boat for a quiet place, where they could be alone.

Jesus saw the huge crowd as he stepped from the boat, and he had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.

Mark 6:32,34

There are two ways of our culture that are opposed to the ways of God. The first is Performance-Based Acceptance. How we perform may be essential to our acceptance into an athletic Hall of Fame, or world class orchestra, but it is not the way of our spiritual life. Our right-standing with God is based on what Jesus did for us, not what we think we can do to please God or earn our place with Him. Regrettably, Performance-Based Acceptance has become the foundation of many personal relationships.

Secondly, our culture is very transactional. If we do something for someone, they feel compelled to return the favor. If we are gracious to someone, we expect them to return the favor. When we don’t get what we expect in return, we are miffed.

Jesus wanted peace and quiet. The crowds followed him. Jesus wasn’t miffed. He was compassionate. He taught them and he healed them, and he would feed them. I wonder how many thanked Him for their healing, or the wisdom he imparted to them, or for the abundant meal He provided? I suspect times haven’t changed much, so not many. Sometime later, some of them might have been in the crowd in Jerusalem calling for his blood. Even so, Jesus was compassionate. He taught them, and he healed them, and he fed them.

My Takeaway: I want my relationships to arise out of my life in Christ, not from the ways of the culture. I want to grow to be as compassionate as is my Lord Jesus.

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.

Thursday, January 29, 2026

A Heart at Peace

Meditations on

Staying In the Grace for Today

January 29, 2026

A Heart at Peace

But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere.

James 3:17

In discussing the wisdom God gives to his people, James mentions several attributes of wisdom: pure, peace loving, gentle, humble, merciful, flowing from good deeds, impartial, and sincere. The wisdom James describes is synonymous with Jesus.

Jesus has a peaceful heart. When the disciples fretted over how to feed to crowds, Jesus thanked God for the problem, then fed the people. When the disciples feared for their lives as their boat was caught up in a storm, Jesus slept. Peter drew a sword to fight the soldiers. Jesus lifted his hand to heal. Jesus’ heart was at peace.

James’ description of God’s wisdom can serve as a litmus test in our lives. How do we react when we encounter unexpected problems? Do we fret or do we pray? When faced with danger do we shout in fear, like the disciples did in the boat? When people all around us are shouting to advocate for policies that we detest, do we shout back or maybe even raise our fists? Jesus modeled the difference between reacting and responding. When we react, we become part of the problem. When we respond with gentleness, mercy and humility we bring healing to the problem.

My Takeaway: I may come across as naïve advocating for our gentleness, mercy and humility in a growing partisan and hostile culture. Maybe so, but I truly long for a heart at peace. I believe a heart at peace will stay firmly in God’s grace for today.

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, January 28, 2026

The Healing of Veronica

Meditations on

Staying In the Grace for Today

January 28, 2026

The Healing of Veronica

And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace. Your suffering is over.”

Mark 5:34

At the end of chapter four, Jesus challenged his disciples to reach for greater faith. Here in chapter five, Mark reveals the faith Jesus is longing for his followers to embrace. I find it interesting that this faith is modeled by a person who was not His disciple, at least not publicly following Him.

The early church wanted the woman with the bleeding problem in Mark 5:25-34 to be remembered always. They gave her the name of Veronica, and in the devotional exercise, The Stations of the Cross, she is the woman who wipes Jesus’ face at station six.

Veronica’s faith calls her to take huge risks. She was a woman reaching out to touch a man, The Teacher, in a public place, and because of her condition, she was deemed an unclean person. But she reaches out and touches Jesus because he is her only hope.

Jesus tells Veronica that it was her faith that made her well. I’ve read that Corrie ten Boom lived by the axiom: you will never know Jesus is all you need until Jesus is all you have. For Veronica, her only hope was in Jesus. Have you ever been there? I have. As I am writing this, I remember when I was riding in an ambulance to a hospital after suffering a heart attack. The heart attack occurred just five days after my wife’s cancer surgery. I was in shock. Then the Holy Spirit used a comment by the EMT in the ambulance to remind me I wasn’t alone. Although I still had much uncertainty, and it would be a few more days before I was scheduled for open heart surgery, all fear was gone. I could affirm that I was a child of God, and God was for me.

My Takeaway: I am blessed to have a comfortable life. I have friends, family, a full pantry, and savings and credit sufficient to meet normal contingencies. This can also be a bit of a curse, because if I can meet all my needs, I don’t need a lot of faith. God save me from such a delusion. Spiritually, I stand in Veronica’s shoes. We all do. Jesus is our only eternal hope.

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, January 27, 2026

God Is for Me

Meditations on

Staying In the Grace for Today

January 27, 2026

God Is for Me

No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:39

Paul began this section of his letter to the Romans with, “So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.” He ended this section by affirming that because we belong to Jesus, nothing in all of creation has the power to separate us from the love of God. If you are like me, there have been times when you didn’t feel close to God, when you doubted that God could love you. These are feelings of our old nature; they are not the truth of God. Over and against these ungodly feelings the anthem of the Christian rings out, “I am a child of God and God is for me.”

Often, there is a longing in my heart, Maranatha; Come Lord Jesus. Yes, I long for Christ to come in Final Victory to heal every heart and to right every wrong. Oh, the glory to live in the wonderful dominion where every knee will bow and every tongue will confess, “Jesus is Lord.” In that dominion, our old nature will be dead and gone. Our new nature will live eternally with God, our Creator and Redeemer.

But that dominion is then and here I am, in this present age, this here and now. Even so, “I am a child of God and God is for me, and nothing, NOTHING can separate me from God’s love for me in Christ Jesus.

My Takeaway: Today I want to stay in God’s grace, His love for me, and I pray,

O Lord, our Lord,

how excellent is Thy name in all the earth;

I worship Thee.

With all angels and saints I adore Thee.

I acknowledge Thee to be by Creator and my God.

I render Thee the homage of my being and my life.

I am not my own,

I am Thine.

By creation and redemption

I am Thine.

I will devote myself to Thy divine service

this day and forever.

O grant me grace for this, dear Lord.

Amen

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, January 26, 2026

Choose Today Whom You Will Serve

Meditations on

Staying In the Grace for Today

January 26, 2026

Choose Today Whom You Will Serve

Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Romans 12:2 (NRSV

When we come to God by faith in Jesus, we are baptized by the Holy Spirit into the Life of Christ, and we are transformed into a new creature. (See 2 Corinthians 5:17) As such, we are in essence a dichotomy. Our old nature, our old self, is still very much alive and sharply contrasts with our new spiritual nature. Our mission is to learn to differentiate between the two as we learn to serve God in the new way of living in the Spirit. (See Romans 7:6) The good news here is that God empowers our ability to so differentiate between the two and live in the new way of the Spirit: “For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.” (Philippians 2:13)

Our responsibility is to cooperate with the Holy Spirit and discern when our thoughts and actions align more with the prevailing culture, or our old habit patterns, than with thoughts and actions which are pleasing to God. Long before the term social media influencer entered our cultural lexicon, we were surrounded by influencers such as parents, siblings, close relatives and teachers. All these people shaped our self-image, our understanding of God and our neighbors. I believe Bishop N T Wright said it best when he noted our culture has told us a pack of lies about who we are, who God is and who our neighbors are. But God in Christ Jesus is telling us the truth. The more we listen to God’s truth, the more we are transformed by the renewing of our mind.

Learning to differentiate between the ways of the culture and the ways of God can be difficult. Perhaps this is why Paul used such stark language when he described our journey in faith, such as, “For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism.” (Romans 6:4), and “My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.” (Galatians 2:20)

My Takeaway: The influencer of the ways of the culture is him who is a liar and comes only to steal and kill and destroy. The influencer of the ways of God is Him who came that we may have life and have it abundantly. (John 10:10) God is at work in our lives 24/7. So also, we get to choose, each day, whom we will serve. Choose today whom you will serve. (Joshua 24:15)

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, January 23, 2026

Feasting at the Lord’s Table

Meditations on

Staying In the Grace for Today

January 23, 2026

Feasting at the Lord’s Table

You prepare a feast for me

in the presence of my enemies.

Psalm 23:5

I think of this verse when I gather with family for a meal after the funeral service of their loved one. We are in the presence of our enemy death, in the sense mortality has separated us from the one we love. Even so, in God’s presence, we can feast and rest in His assurances that death is not the end.

I also think of this verse when I kneel at the Altar to receive Holy Communion. There, as I am kneeling with other sinners-made saints by God’s grace, I can rejoice in these eternal truths:

So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. (Romans 8:1)

For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son. (Colossians 1:13)

So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. (Romans 8:15)

Now all of us can come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us. (Ephesians 2:18

For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.” (Hebrews 13:5)

(We) have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. (1 Peter 1:4)

My Takeaway: All these truths affirm the words of the praise song, Who I Am that I quoted previously, and words that need to be repeated often,

“I am a child of the Most-High God, and the Most-High God is for me.”

(Ben Fuller, Who I Am, 2022)

I believe these words will help keep us grounded in God’s grace for today.

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, January 22, 2026

Approachable Jesus

Meditations on

Staying In the Grace for Today

January 22, 2026

Approachable Jesus

He remembered us in our weakness.

His faithful love endures forever.

Psalm 136:23

There are twenty-six verses in Psalm 136. Each verse ends with, “His faithful love endures forever.” In this Psalm, the psalmist took twenty-six verses to plumb the depths of God’s covenant love. The first three verses call Israel to worship God. The next six verses extol God as their Creator. The next sixteen verses praise God’s redemptive love that brought the Jews through the Exodus, from a life of slavery in Egypt, and established them in the Promised Land. The psalmist then closed with a reaffirmation of his call to worship.

Eugene Peterson, in his translation of 2 Corinthians 3, wrote, “God is a living, personal presence, not a piece of chiseled stone.” I believe the psalmist would agree. Too often our visual image of worshipping God is influenced by a wooden cross between two brass candlesticks on a wooden altar as opposed to Peterson’s living, personal presence. Chiseled stone or wood and brass do not invite the intimacy that is approachable. But God wants us to approach Him. He calls us to cast our burdens on Him and that He keeps our tears in His bottle and that He is for us! God wants us to affirm, in the words of a popular praise song, “I am a child of the Most-High God, and the Most-High God is for me.” (Ben Fuller, Who I Am, 2022)

My Takeaway: I am blessed in this season of my life to worship in a setting where there are many ways to express that I am in the living personal presence of God. And I am finding I am taking some of those expressions into my daily life and they are helping me stay in God’s grace for today.

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, January 21, 2026

The House of the Lord

Meditations on

Staying In the Grace for Today

January 21, 2026

The House of the Lord

I will live in the house of the Lord
forever.

The one thing I ask of the Lord—

the thing I seek most—

is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,

Psalm 23:6, 27:4

Was the psalmist David seeking a physical place to live? These psalms were written before the Temple of God was built by King Solomon. Was David thinking of God’s Heavenly home? I have had the blessed experience of being in the presence of two precious saints whose mortal life ended as these words of Psalm 23 were spoken, “And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” This experience shaped my sense that the psalmist was speaking of that place of our eternal destiny.

However, after spending time contemplating these Psalms, I believe David wasn’t seeking to go away to where God dwells. I think his desire was for an abiding awareness that he was in the presence of God. Jesus pointed to this reality when he said, “And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20)

As I read Psalm 23, I see how the first six- and one-half verses speak of very present realities. Surely, the last line also speaks of the presence of the Lord in our life, today and always!

My Takeaway: Like David, I seek an abiding awareness that I am in the presence of God. This awareness of God’s gracious presence in my life, seals me in His grace for today.

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, January 20, 2026

Sowing Seeds of Peace

Meditations on

Staying In the Grace for Today

January 20, 2026

Sowing Seeds of Peace

‘Plant the good seeds of righteousness,

and you will harvest a crop of love.

Hosea 10:12

We are seeking to stay in God’s grace for today. One of the best ways to remain in God’s grace is to consciously be about the business of His Kingdom. Looking to the Beatitudes helps us focus on Kingdom values. For instance, Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” (Matthew 5:9 NRSV) How can we sow seeds of peace?

I have a friend who carries packages of M&M’S in her purse. She gives them out to random people she encounters during the day, and in every instance receives a smile in return. In Romans 14, and again in 1 Thessalonians 5, Paul instructs us to encourage each other and build each other up. We can make a conscious effort to be encouragers of those we encounter each day, especially those who may be serving us in some way.

Remember when Jesus taught about the farmer? Jesus said the Kingdom of God is like a farmer who scatters seed on the ground and while he’s asleep the seed sprouts and grows, but the farmer does not understand how it happens. (Mark 4:26-27) In the same way, we can sow kindness, we can offer encouragement, we can consciously seek to edify those we encounter each day. Good things will happen. We don’t need to know how or why they happen. We just get to participate in God’s Kingdom as His peacemakers.

My Takeaway: As I begin this day, I am recalling how I felt when someone encouraged me or expressed appreciation for my work. Today, I am asking God to order my steps and lead me to pass on this gift of grace.

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, January 19, 2026

Dress For Success

Meditations on

Staying In the Grace for Today

January 19, 2026

Dress For Success

This body that can be destroyed

must clothe itself with something that can never be destroyed.

And this body that dies

must clothe itself with something that can never die.

1 Corinthians 15:53 (NCV)

Does God care how we are dressed?

Apparently, He does! Scripture tells us how God has clothed us.

Instead, clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. And don’t let yourself think about ways to indulge your evil desires. (Romans 13:14)

For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes. (Galatians 3:26-27)

When we are united with God through faith in Christ Jesus, we receive spiritual garments that only God can give, and only heaven can see. This is how the prophet Isaiah expressed this truth:

I am overwhelmed with joy in the Lord my God!

For he has dressed me with the clothing of salvation

and draped me in a robe of righteousness. (Isaiah 61:10a)

For me, this knowledge of my spiritual garments informs me about my personal appearance. I am unstylish, and drab in dress on my stay home days. And I will never be called chic or fashionable when I am in public, but on church days I am much more conscious of my appearance as I want my physical appearance and bearing to witness to the reverence and awe I have for God, my Savior. In 1 Corinthians 11, Paul admonishes the church to examine themselves before receiving Holy Communion, lest they eat the bread or drink this cup of the Lord unworthily. In a similar way, I examine my appearance before entering the sanctuary.

My Takeaway: In a typical week, on Sunday and Wednesday, I am blessed to be in the sanctuary receiving Holy Communion. More than any other time during the week, my participation in Worship, and receiving the sacrament, enable me to stay in God’s grace for each day. On these occasions, I want my physical appearance to bear witness to my spiritual garments.

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, January 16, 2026

Nothing Occurs to God

Meditations on

Staying In the Grace for Today

January 16, 2026

Nothing Occurs to God

“. . . don’t you think that God will surely give justice to his people

who plead with him day and night?

Luke 18:7 NRSV

Has it ever occurred to you, that nothing occurs to God? The attributes of God are Omnipotence (all-powerful), Omniscience (all-knowing), Omnipresence (present everywhere), and Omnibenevolence (all-good/loving). As we saw in the preceding meditation, our Abba Father is active 24/7 in our lives. As we wait for God’s perfect timing to respond to our pleas and give us justice, we remember that God continues to be at work in us while we are waiting.

It clarifies the promise of Jesus in Luke 18, to remember he followed this teaching with his parable of the tax collector and the Pharisee. (Luke 18: 9-14) In this parable, who went away vindicated by God? It was the tax collector! This parable is an excellent illustration of justification by faith. The tax collector had little or no faith in himself, but he had great faith in his God of mercy. Jesus wants his followers to rest in their right-standing before God. Our right-standing comes not from our good work. Our right standing with God is based solely on our sure knowledge of God’s love for us. Brennan Manning understood this when he wrote, “God loves us unconditionally, just as we are, not as we should be. Because none of us are as we should be.”

My Takeaway: I see today as an invitation to meditate on my prayer life. Do I tend to hesitate in asking God for something because I don’t feel worthy?

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, January 15, 2026

The New Way of Living

Meditations on

Staying In the Grace for Today

January 15, 2026

The New Way of Living

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything.

Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.

Philippians 4:6

In our human experience, we tend to be linear people. That is, we like progressing step-by-step in an orderly sequence. We tend to have relationships where we expect what we receive in the relationship to be proportional with what we put into the relationship. We also tend to have a linear relationship with God. But God exists in a realm separate from our human experience and is not linear. God wants us to know Him, but on His terms, and not within our linear thinking.

Sunday morning worship and Wednesday night Bible studies are our creation, not God’s. Our Heavenly Father seeks us to worship Him, and study His word, and whether we do so on Monday or Thursday, is the same as Sunday and Wednesday with Him. God calls us to worship Him at the Communion Table, and at our dinner table. When Paul told us God is working in us and will continue to do so until the return of Christ, (Philippians 2:13, & 1:6) he meant God is active within us 24/7. This truth caused Paul to counsel us to take our every thought captive to obey Christ, and to never stop praying, and after we have prayed, to keep on praying, keep on talking to God and listening for God’s response to our prayers. (See 2 Corinthians 10:5, 1 Thessalonians 5:17, and Romans 12:12)

My Takeaway: One of my favorite worship songs is, I Love You, Lord. The lyrics are thoroughly embedded within my soul and often during the day I find myself singing, “I love You, Lord, and I lift my voice to worship You . . .” My gracious Heavenly Father has used these lyrics to help transform me from my linear existence, to “the new way of living in the Spirit.” (Romans 7:6)

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, January 14, 2026

Just Like Jesus

Meditations on

Staying In the Grace for Today

January 14, 2026

Just Like Jesus

Let your bearings towards one another arise out of your life in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 2:5 (NEB 1961)

The original title to Max Lucado’s book, Just Like Jesus, was, God Loves You Just The Way Your Are, But He Refuses To Leave You That Way. He Wants You To Be Just Like Jesus. Whew! It is easy to see why the publisher eventually shortened the title. Long title, or short, the title is scripturally correct. (See Romans 8:28-29)

Our Heavenly Father’s first step in transforming our lives is to thoroughly ground us in His love for us. Do you think God’s love for you would be stronger if your faith were stronger? If you think so, you would be wrong. Do you think God’s love for you would be deeper if you had more courageous faith? If so, you would be wrong again. People tend to be transactional in their love. When our performance excels, we receive more love from people. When we make mistakes, people tend to love us less. Not so with God’s love.

What separated Jesus, in his human nature, from every other human was his absolute assurance of his Heavenly Father’s love. Jesus’ faith, his courage, flowed from his Father’s love for him. God wants our lives to be just like Jesus’.

My Takeaway: “Let your bearings towards one another arise out of your life in Christ Jesus.” My faith teaches me that I have died to this life, and my real life is hidden with Christ in God. (Colossians 3:3) My life in Christ teaches me that I am the beloved child of God with whom He is delighted and upon whom His favor rests. The more my everyday life embraces these truths, the more I am just like Jesus.

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, January 13, 2026

His Greatness Is Unsearchable

Meditations on

Staying In the Grace for Today

January 13, 2026

His Greatness Is Unsearchable

The Lord is gracious and merciful,

slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

The Lord is good to all,

and his compassion is over all that he has made.

Psalm 145:8-9 (NRSV)

Psalm 145 is the last of the acrostic psalms in which the first verse begins with the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, and each succeeding verse begins with the next letter in the alphabet. (Psalms 9, 10, 25, 34, 37, 111, 112, 119 and 145) The style is so much more than a literary technique, and this is especially so in Psalm 145. As you read the psalm and consider the exuberant praise from beginning to end, you can get a sense that by following the Hebrew alphabet, the psalmist is praising God through every conceivable sound his mouth can make. Psalm 145 is complete and total praise because, “Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; his greatness is unsearchable” (Psalm 145:3 NRSV).

As the psalmist praises God, he also encourages us to share our experiences with the goodness, the faithfulness and the love of God with others: “Let each generation tell its children of your mighty acts; let them proclaim your power. Everyone will share the story of your wonderful goodness; they will sing with joy about your righteousness. All of your works will thank you, Lord, and your faithful followers will praise you. They will speak of the glory of your kingdom; they will give examples of your power. They will tell about your mighty deeds and about the majesty and glory of your reign” (Psalm 145:4, 7, 10-12).

In the following half-dozen verses, the psalmist articulates his experiences with God’s unfailing grace:

“The Lord is merciful and compassionate,

slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.

The Lord is good to everyone.

He showers compassion on all his creation.

The Lord always keeps his promises;

he is gracious in all he does.

The Lord helps the fallen

and lifts those bent beneath their loads.

The Lord is close to all who call on him,

yes, to all who call on him in truth.

He grants the desires of those who fear him;

he hears their cries for help and rescues them”

` Psalm 145:8, 9, 13, 14, 18, 19

My Takeaway: I believe God desires all His children to share with others how we are experiencing His redemptive grace. These daily meditations reveal my experiences with God’s grace and writing them truly helps me stay in His grace for each day.

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, January 30, 2026

He Was Compassionate

Thursday, January 29, 2026

A Heart at Peace

Wednesday, January 28, 2026

The Healing of Veronica

Tuesday, January 27, 2026

God Is for Me

Monday, January 26, 2026

Choose Today Whom You Will Serve

Friday, January 23, 2026

Feasting at the Lord’s Table

Thursday, January 22, 2026

Approachable Jesus

Wednesday, January 21, 2026

The House of the Lord

Tuesday, January 20, 2026

Sowing Seeds of Peace

Monday, January 19, 2026

Dress For Success

Friday, January 16, 2026

Nothing Occurs to God

Thursday, January 15, 2026

The New Way of Living

Wednesday, January 14, 2026

Just Like Jesus

Tuesday, January 13, 2026

His Greatness Is Unsearchable

Seeking the Life in Christ

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