Live In The Grace Of Each Day

June 3, 2016

Live In The Grace Of Each Day

“For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength”

Philippians 4:13

My friend had been selected to give a talk on a women’s retreat where I was serving as the spiritual director. It was the tradition of this retreat that I would escort the speakers to the podium for their talk. As I stood with my friend for the opening prayer, I could feel her trembling. She was terrified. Although she was an elementary school teacher, she was not comfortable speaking to adults, especially when she had been asked to speak about her faith and her walk with the Lord. As the prayer closed, she stepped behind the podium and began her talk, and what a powerful and eloquent talk she delivered! The Holy Spirit touched many lives through her talk, including mine. My friend experienced the fulfillment of Paul’s assertion in her own life: “For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:13).

Paul also said that he had learned how to live on almost nothing or with everything, with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. Paul had “learned the secret of living in every situation” (Philippians 4:12). That secret was the presence of Jesus Christ in his life. Paul experienced the fulfillment of this most precious promise of Jesus: “And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). Becoming a fully-devoted follower of Jesus is not a prescription for avoiding pain, discomfort, want, lack, illness or distress in our lives. It is God’s provision that no matter what issues we face in life, we can rest in the unalterable truth that we are the beloved children of God, and that we are never, ever alone. Jesus is with us even to end of the age! With this good news we can, to borrow a phrase from Paul Young (author of The Shack), live in the grace of each day.

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.

Because You Belong To The Lord

June 2, 2016

Because You Belong To The Lord

“Please, because you belong to the Lord”

Philippians 4:2

Philippians 4 is densely packed with one gem after another.  We would do well to memorize much of Paul’s wisdom. The opening passage of seven verses has three huge helps for us as we seek the life in Christ as our way of life. First, verse 2 reveals the essence of life in Christ. I believe this one simple phrase says all that needs to be said: “Please, because you belong to the Lord” (Philippians 4:2). Therein is our motivation to strive for unity in the body of Christ. Therein is our motivation to strive to be fully transformed, to seek the life in Christ as our way of life. Therein we are reminded that our life does not belong to us. Our life belongs to God. By creation and redemption, our life belongs to God. Learning to live with this phrase ringing in our ears, “I belong to the Lord,” should lead our life until our faith becomes sight and we rest in the loving arms of Jesus.

Because we belong to the Lord, verses 6 and 7 can map out our daily life: “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” Paul didn’t promise all of our problems will go away. He promised us that resting in the assurance of what God has done to reconcile us to Himself through faith in Christ Jesus will overcome our anxious thoughts. This opens the door to the third help: focus on God’s goodness.

Every day we can choose with what we will fill our minds. We can read Steven King novels or watch horror movies, or we can fix our thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. We can think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. (Philippians 4:8) When our diet includes large portions of Scripture, fixing our mind on what is true becomes our way of life.

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.

I Thank My God For You

June 1, 2016

I Thank My God For You

I thank my God for you every time I think of you;

and every time I pray for you, I pray with joy.

My feeling for you comes from the heart of Christ himself.

Philippians 1: 3-4,8

Today marks the fourth anniversary of my retirement from the pastoral ministry. On June 1, 2012, we moved from Florida to the beautiful mountains of Western North Carolina. Our life in the mountains has had its challenges, but we love our life, our home, our church and our new friends. We are celebrating our retirement anniversary with a trip north to the Cape Cod National Seashore. We will be gone ten days, but I have worked ahead and already posted meditations through June 17.

Cheryl and I are ready for a bit of a break as we’ve had our share of health related issues this year. In February, Cheryl fell and shattered her left elbow. She underwent surgery and the installation of a plate, plus physical therapy, and is almost 100% - “Thank you Jesus!” I continue to recover from my heart attack and surgery in 2013, and last month had a Nuclear Stress Test which revealed my heart is doing very well - - - again, “Thank you Jesus!” Over the last three weeks, Hershey, one of our Springer Spaniels, has suffered from an infection of unknown origin, plus severe orthopedic issues in one of his rear legs. He is now on the road to recovery, and we feel comfortable leaving in him in the kennel when we leave on Friday, and once again “Thank you Jesus!!” Indeed, we are ready for a break.

Writing the daily meditations has been a huge blessing to me. Our loving Heavenly Father has used this time to teach me much, and to keep me on a steady keel as we traveled some troubled waters. I do so appreciate the comments and discussions I have had with many of you. Each time I receive a response, or you like or forward my meditations from Facebook, Linkedin or Twitter, I say a prayer of thanksgiving for you. Based on the stats I receive, between the email list, readers by subscription on Amazon Kindle, those reading on my Blog (http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/), and those reading on  Facebook, Linkedin or Twitter, we have a community on average of 2,000 reading along with us each day - - -  you know it’s coming - - -

“THANK YOU JESUS!!!”

I thank my God for you every time I think of you;

and every time I pray for you, I pray with joy.

My feeling for you comes from the heart of Christ himself.

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.

Resident Aliens

June 1, 2016

Resident Aliens

But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior.

Philippians 3:20

In the closing verses of Chapter 3, Paul again refers to his vision of the future which kept Paul fighting the good fight: the victorious return of Christ Jesus the King. This vision was particularly conspicuous in Philippi which was a Roman colony and where citizenship in Rome was their paramount cultural value. In the first two chapters, Paul modeled how his allegiance to Christ Jesus called him to value the ways of Christ over and above his Roman citizenship. Paul powerfully asserts his point: “we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control” (Philippians 3:20-21).

When Paul says we are citizens of heaven, he is not saying heaven is our home. He is saying our churches are colonies of our King, Christ Jesus. As we are taught to pray in the Lord’s Prayer, the mission of our colonies is to build for the Kingdom of God so that God’s will is fulfilled on earth as it is in heaven. As resident aliens we are laboring for our Master here until he comes in Final Victory to fully establish his reign on earth.

Many Christians, when reciting the Apostles’ Creed, are unsure of the meaning of the phrase, “I believe in the resurrection of the body,” and assume it must be referring to the resurrection of Jesus. Paul’s assertion in Philippians 3:21 should clear up any confusion: “He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control.” Paul firmly believed that all of the followers of Jesus who have died will be resurrected and receive glorious bodies like Jesus’ own when our Savior returns in glory. Since we have been promised such a glorious future, let us follow Paul’s example and be co-laborers for Christ, working for our Master here until he comes in Final Victory to fully establish his reign on earth.

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.