Triumphal Procession

April 6, 2016

Triumphal Procession

“For while we live, we are always being given up to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may be made visible in our mortal flesh.”

2 Corinthians 4:11 NRSV

The Apostle Paul confirms that God is working in us to give us “the desire and the power to do what pleases him” (Philippians 2:13). Paul also confirms that God is using everything in our lives so that we are transformed to become like Christ. (Romans 8:28-29) All of this work by God leads us to a place of brokenness, just as Jesus’ spirit was broken in the Garden of Gethsemane. From this place of brokenness, Jesus make a triumphal victory over sin and death through his resurrection from the grave. From our place of brokenness we also rise in triumph: “But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads in every place the fragrance that comes from knowing him” (2 Corinthians 2:14 NRSV).

It is hard for me to accept my brokenness as good. I’d rather forget it and wish I hadn’t made the mistakes, suffered the rejection and abuse from others, or any of the seemingly myriad of ghosts that arise from my past. But embracing my brokenness is only hard until I remember that I belong to Christ, and in Christ I am a new person; “The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

When I read Paul’s magnificent prose through the lens of my new life in Christ,

“But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our bodies. For while we live, we are always being given up to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may be made visible in our mortal flesh.  So death is at work in us, but life in you” (2 Corinthians 4:7-12 NRSV),

I experience the promise of peace beyond my understanding. (Philippians 4:7)

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, 2013 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Unending Praise for God Our Savior

April 5, 2016

Unending Praise for God Our Savior

Let the faithful rejoice that he honors them.

    Let them sing for joy as they lie on their beds.

Psalm 149:5

This verse from Psalm 149 is a reminder to me of the importance of personal worship to those seeking the life in Christ as their way of life. We must resist the temptation to rein in our spirit until we gather in corporate worship at our church. We must proactively carve out times each day when we can be fully uninhibited and release our spirit to worship our God with exuberant joy. In our home, we play praise and worship music throughout each day. What a blessing to hear Cheryl joining her voice to the choruses. For me, I have the music playing in my office while I am writing and frequently stop writing to follow my spirit into worship and praise.

I believe these personal worship times prepare us for daily living. In Revelation 19, the Apostle John teaches us that the Christian witness for God in times of persecution is the most powerful witness for God in the world. The faithfulness of God’s people standing firm on the Word of God is crucial to the defeat of the forces of evil. Ultimately, Jesus has the final victory over evil. In Revelation 21, we get a glimpse of what it will be like when the persecution of God’s people has ended. With the ultimate and final defeat of evil, God’s people will be completely unrestrained in worship. Worship will not be confined to times and places; worship will be a state of being as God is worshiped through everything that a person does, wherever they may be. Today, we can begin rehearsing for living in the final victory of Christ.

The followers of Christ have been commissioned to speak God’s Word and God’s truth into this present darkness. We remain diligent in our responsibility to honor God as we wait for Christ to come in final victory. One thing these two eras have in common is our unending praise for God our Savior.

Praise the Lord!

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, 2013 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Praise the Lord!

April 4, 2016

Praise the Lord!

“Let everything that breathes sing praises to the Lord!

Praise the Lord!”

Psalm 150:6

 

In the first Psalm, we are called to delight in the law of the LORD, meditating on it day and night. The law of the LORD is God’s nature. God is love. God’s nature is to forgive. God’s law includes His love that cannot fail, His Word that does not return to Him void, and His mercies that never come to an end. Psalm 1 pronounces God’s blessing on those who take time to reflect on all the ways they have experienced God’s law, His nature in their life.

In the last Psalm, we are called to praise God. In Psalm 150, the writer used the word praise thirteen times in six verses. From beginning to end, the Psalms have affirmed over and over again that our God is worthy of our praise. The psalmist wants us to sing and shout, dance and be jubilant in our praise. Why? Because, “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22-23 NRSV).

I don’t know about you, but for me the present darkness of this current era is the most challenging time to my faith. Maybe I am just weary having already lived through the national upheavals during the eras of civil rights, Vietnam, Watergate, 9-11, and the most recent recession. For me, now more than ever, I need to remember that each and every day, as sure as the sun rises, God’s mercy and grace are more than sufficient to meet each and every need of my life. If I will but turn my focus to the faithfulness of God I will realize that truly, “my cup runneth over” (Psalm 23:5 KJV). My hope and prayer is that I will begin each new day with jubilation and join the unending chorus,

“Let everything that breathes sing praises to the Lord!

Praise the Lord!”

Psalm 150:6

Will you add your voice to the chorus?

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, 2013 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Is He Personal To You?

April 1, 2016

Is He Personal To You?

For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified.

1 Corinthians 2:2 (NRSV).

For a long time Paul’s introductory statement to 1 Corinthians troubled me. It seems like such a crass way to announce the bedrock of his teaching and preaching in Corinth. The unnamed woman in Luke 7 helped me grasp the depth and intimacy of Paul’s statement.

Jesus concludes his meal at Simon the Pharisee’s house with his announcement, “I tell you, her sins—and they are many—have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love” (Luke 7:47a). This woman’s love and adoration for Jesus was her expression of gratitude for his forgiving touch. This personal relationship with Jesus gripped her heart as she watched him hanging from the cross. For her, the one hanging on the cross is the one who loved her and forgave her.

Paul’s personal experience of Jesus is similar. Jesus confronted Saul on the road to Damascus. There Saul was held accountable for persecuting Jesus; but Jesus wasn’t judging Saul and kicking him to the curb. Jesus gave Saul a new name, and Paul was consecrated and commissioned as the Apostle to the Gentiles. For Paul, the one who was crucified is the one who loved him, forgave him and commissioned him.

Good Friday was just one week ago. Let’s take time to again contemplate Jesus on the cross. As we do, let’s claim Paul’s words to the Corinthians as an expression of our own devotion to Jesus: “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me has not been in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:10 NRSV). Let’s remember that the one who was crucified is the one who made us what we are by his grace; his grace is personal to each of us.

The one who was crucified is very personal to me, to the woman at Jesus’ feet in Simon’s house, and to Paul. Is he personal to you?

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, 2013 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.