Is It Still Epiphany In Your Life?

January 6, 2015

Is It Still Epiphany In Your Life?

Since we are living by the Spirit,

 let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.

Galatians 5:25

Today is the first day of the Christian season of Epiphany. The word epiphany means a manifestation and the season reflects on how Jesus was revealed as the Son of God. Actually, Epiphany is the central theme of the entire New Testament; it is all about Jesus. The Apostle Paul affirms this in his first epistle to the Corinthian church, “For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2).

Do you think it is possible for us to live like Paul? Can every day be a personal day of Epiphany for us? Can we go about all of the activities and interactions of each day with a consciousness that Jesus Christ is our life and his Spirit is leading every part of our lives? We may not yet be so spiritually mature, but clearly this was Paul’s ambition for our lives. Although his words can certainly seem like hyperbole, I think he was quite serious in wanting all of the followers of Jesus to be like-minded as he when he wrote:

“We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ . . . For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin.  And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him” (Romans 6:6-8).

“This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

“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).

To help me be like-minded as Paul, I have marked my 2015 calendar to ask this question on the sixth day of each month: Is it still Epiphany in your 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.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription.

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

·        Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

·        The second edition of  First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

·        Meditations on The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ has been released as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188.

Our Secret Place

January 5, 2015

Our Secret Place

The faithful love of the Lord never ends!

    His mercies never cease.

Great is his faithfulness;

    his mercies begin afresh each morning.

Lamentations 3:22-23

There are some who believe that because Jesus was the fully divine Son of God, he was able to endure the hardships he faced, even the scourging that he suffered before his crucifixion. I don’t think so. Our understanding of Jesus is paradoxical because Jesus is both fully divine and fully human. For his divinity to enable him to endure suffering would mean that his divinity trumped his humanity, which means he isn’t fully human. Stay with me on this because this isn’t just a meaningless theological puzzle. The answer has huge implications for our lives.

How then was Jesus able to endure his sufferings? Scripture answers this question: “Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame” (Hebrews 12:2b). What does this mean, “the joy awaiting him?” The writer of Hebrews answers this by telling us, “Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne” (Hebrews 12:2c). But I think the more important question is, how did Jesus know he was destined to be seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty?

I believe Jesus knew his destiny because every time the Pharisees plotted against him, every time his followers shifted their allegiance, when one disciple denied him and another disciple betrayed him, every time the soldiers slapped and spit on him, every time the soldier drew back his whip and hammer, Jesus went to his secret place. Jesus withdrew into himself, where alone with his Abba, he could commune with the One who had begotten him. In these private moments, Jesus’ consciousness of his identity as the Son of God, Messiah, increased, as did his commitment to pray, “not my will but yours be done” (Luke 22:42 NRSV).

As a disciple of Jesus, you too are the beloved child of God, and you too have a calling to seek the life in Christ as your way of life. As followers of Jesus we are to bear witness to the love of God in this world so that those to whom God is a stranger will find in us generous friends. How do we keep our heart set on our goal, the joy that God has set before us? By frequently retreating to our secret place where we can commune with God, and hear Him again and again reaffirm who we are: “You are my beloved, with whom I am delighted and upon whom my favor rests.”

Sē’lah

<><  <><  <><  <><

(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription.

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

·        Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

·        The second edition of  First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

·        Meditations on The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ has been released as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188.

Be Compassionate Toward Yourself

January 2, 2015

Be Compassionate Toward Yourself

As he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them,because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.

Mark 6:34

The longer I am a follower of Jesus, the more I am convinced that the word that best describes Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us, is compassion. Whenever I think about the compassion of Jesus my mind is drawn to a story Brennan Manning tells:  “Several years ago, Edward Farrell, a priest from Detroit, went on a two-week summer vacation to Ireland to visit relatives. His one living uncle was about to celebrate his 80th birthday. On the great day, Ed and his uncle got up early. It was before dawn. They took a walk along the shores of Lake Killarney and stopped to watch the sunrise. They stood side by side for a full twenty minutes and then resumed walking. Ed glanced at his uncle and saw that his face had broken into a broad smile. Ed said, "Uncle Seamus, you look very happy."

          "I am."

          Ed asked, "How come?"

          And his uncle replied,

"The Father of Jesus is very fond of me."

If the question were put to you, "Do you honestly believe that God likes you?" -- not loves you because theologically he must, but does He like you -- how would you answer?

If you could answer, "The Father is very fond of me," there would come a relaxedness, a serenity and a compassionate attitude toward yourself that is a reflection of God’s own tenderness.” (I think I first read this story in Manning’s book, Ruthless Trust)

As I travel through 2015, one of my goals is to mature spiritually with a compassionate attitude toward (myself) that is a reflection of God’s own tenderness for me.

Isaiah reminds us that Jesus “was despised and rejected—a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief . . . He was despised . . . it was our weaknesses he carried . . . it was our sorrows that weighed him down . . . he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins . . . He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed” (Isaiah 53:3-5). This Jesus is our High Priest, and he “understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin” (Hebrews 4:15).

Jesus fully knows what it is like for you to be you! Jesus exudes compassion for you from every pore in his being. Feed on his compassion for you, and may you be compassionate toward yourself!    

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.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription.

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

·        Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

·        The second edition of  First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

·        Meditations on The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ has been released as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188.

You Will Find Rest For Your Souls

January 1, 2015

You Will Find Rest For Your Souls

“I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love.

    With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself.

Jeremiah 31:3

Let this thought be your guide for 2015: “God loves us unconditionally, just as we are; not as we should be. Because no one is as they should be.” (All is Grace by Brennan Manning)

God’s love for us is based 100% on His choice to love us unconditionally, just as we are; not as we should be. If His choice to love us were based on anything else, we would be in trouble. What if God’s chose to love us based on some measure of our faithfulness. What would happen if we didn’t measure up?

The truth of God’s love for us is that we don’t deserve it, we can’t earn it and we can’t justify it. God’s choice to love us is seemingly contradictory. God’s sets a very high bar of expectations for us: “But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:48).  But when we fail to meet His expectations we hear: “So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). When we accept God loving us so completely, we can move toward that liberating day when, because we passionately believe in God’s love for us, we truly love ourselves for God’s sake.

Maybe on this first day of the New Year you are still a bit weary from striving to justify your place with God, still battered and bruised from the game of life. If so, hear these comforting words from your Master, who loves you unconditionally, just as you are; not as you should be. Because no one is as they should be.

“Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light” (Matthew 11:28-30).

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.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription.

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

·        Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

·        The second edition of  First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

·        Meditations on The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ has been released as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188.