I Am to Become Successor

January 4, 2017

I Am to Become Successor

“Whenever, though, they turn to face God as Moses did, God removes the veil and there they are—face-to-face! They suddenly recognize that God is a living, personal presence, not a piece of chiseled stone. And when God is personally present, a living Spirit, that old, constricting legislation is recognized as obsolete. We’re free of it! All of us! Nothing between us and God, our faces shining with the brightness of his face. And so we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him.”

2 Corinthians 3: 16-18 (The Message)

When we simply accept the fact that we are accepted by God, we experience grace. This experience of grace transforms everything. Believing you are a beloved child of God opens your life to receive unconditional blessings from God. In this new way of living in the Spirit, we refuse to make resolutions and vows for that is to trust in the flesh. We expect to be blessed, not because we hope to be better (hence acceptable), but because our right standing with God is in Christ only. Our acceptance of God’s acceptance of us is the path to our new identity as “heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ” (Romans 8:17 NRSV). What does it mean that we are “heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ”?  Henri Nouwen, in his book, The Return of The Prodigal Son, answers this question by helping us correctly understand Jesus’ parable of The Prodigal Son (Luke 15).

"If the only meaning of the story were that people sin but God forgives, I could easily begin to think of my sins as a fine occasion for God to show me forgiveness. There would be no challenge in such an interpretation. I would resign myself to my weaknesses and keep hoping that eventually God would close his eyes to them and let me come home, whatever I did. Such romanticism is not the message of the Gospels. What I am called to make true is that whether I am the younger or elder son, I am the son of my compassionate Father. I am an heir. . . . as son and heir I am to become successor. I am destined to step into my Father's place and offer to others the same compassion that he has offered me. The return to the Father is ultimately the challenge to become the Father. . . . Being in the Father's house requires that I make the Father's life my own and become transformed in his image."

It is God’s work to form Christ within me. It is my work to accept my acceptance and to become a successor, to step into my Father's place and offer to others the same compassion that he has offered me. This is seeking the life in Christ as my way of 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, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

What Is True Of Jesus Is True For His People

January 3, 2017

What Is True Of Jesus Is True For His People

“All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort.

2 Corinthians 1:3

In the Apostle Paul’s prayer in 2 Corinthians 1: 3-7, he uses the word comfort, in one form or another, ten times. Ten times in five verses. In using this word, Paul does not mean comfort like someone giving you a hug and assuring you that they care for you. He means so much more. He means a comfort that meets you where you are and then raises you up to where you can see new hope, new possibilities, and a new way to move forward. This is the comfort of God for us when we are suffering. This comfort from God is so real that once you have experienced it, you can actually share God’s comfort with other people. In this brief passage, Paul reveals the essence of our Life in Christ: What is true of Jesus is true for His people. What was true for Jesus is that he was comforted by God. Jesus’ people can also experience the comfort of God. What was true for Jesus is that he comforted and healed others. Jesus’ people can share the comfort and healing of God with others.

Noted theologian and scholar Bishop N.T. Wright says that at the heart of the gospel proclaimed by the Apostle Paul is the fact that “what is true for the Messiah is true of his people.” For Paul this was not just a powerful thought or belief, but a fact of experience. Wright explains this truth this way: “the Messiah died, so his people die in him, sharing his suffering; the Messiah rose again, so his people rise again in him, knowing the power of the resurrection to comfort and heal, already in present time, and cherishing the hope that one day they will be given new, resurrection bodies like the one the Messiah himself has now” (Tom Wright, Paul for Everyone 2 Corinthians (London, SPCK) p.4).

Do you honestly believe that what is true of Jesus is true for his people? May it be your number two New Year’s resolution to rest in the sure knowledge that what is true for Jesus, is true for you: you are the beloved of God with whom He is delighted and upon whom His 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, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

FOLLOW-UP TO Dec. 30, 2017

January 2, 2017

FOLLOW-UP TO Dec. 30, 2017

Step-By-Step

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ,

the love of God,

and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

2 Corinthians 13:14

On December 30, 2016, I wrote about the new tradition Cheryl and I started last year. Every Sunday morning at breakfast we picked a special blessing from the previous week and make a note of it on a slip of paper. We put the paper in a quart mason jar. On New Year’s Day, we gathered around our Christmas tree and put all those slips of paper in a basket. Then, one by one, we reviewed all of our many blessings from 2016. (And, on January 8, 2017 we will start filling the jar once again!)

You know what we found as we reviewed 2016 don’t you! In the midst of all the circumstances of our lives last year, God came near! In our review, we kept track of the blessings and grouped them by categories. Many weeks we couldn’t decide on just one blessing; often there were two and sometimes three blessings noted for the week. We ended up with seventy-six blessings for the year!

We both tend to be fairly introverted, and so we were a bit shocked to learn that 34% of our blessings related to activities with friends. The second largest category was medical which counted for 21% of our blessings. We did have substantial medical challenges last year, and rejoice because they all ended well. The next two categories were tied at 17% each for time we spent together and for church related activities. Those four categories accounted for 89% of the blessings noted in our Blessing Jar.

An added blessing was reviewing all the slips of paper in our jar. It was so good to take the time to remember special moments with friends and family, places we visited, and above all the unfailing faithfulness of our Abba Father. We encourage you to set up your own Blessing Jar and begin to chronicle your encounters with our amazing God whose “mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning” (Lamentations 3:22-23).

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, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

All Because Of You

January 2, 2017

“All Because Of You"

“Yahweh your God is there with you, the warrior-Saviour. He will rejoice over you with happy song, he will renew you by his love, he will dance with shouts of joy for you,”

Zephaniah 3:17 (NJB)

Worship leader and song writer Dennis Jernigan, in the Introduction to his CD “Break My Heart O God” (1995), included his interpretation of Zephaniah 3:17.

First, here is Zephaniah 3:17 from the King James Version of the Bible:

“The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.”

Next, here is Jernigan’s paraphrase of Zephaniah 3:17:

"The eternal self-existent God, the God who is three in one, He who dwells in the center of your being is a powerful, valiant warrior. He has come to set you free, to keep you safe and to bring you victory. He is cheered and He beams with exceeding joy and takes pleasure in your presence. He has engraved a place for himself in you and there He quietly rests in His love and affection for you.

He cannot contain Himself of the thought of you and with the greatest of joy spins around wildly in anticipation over you and has placed you above all other creations and in the highest place in His priorities. In fact He shouts and sings in triumph, joyfully proclaiming the gladness of His heart in a song of rejoicing.

All because of you."

Do you honestly believe that God shouts and sings in triumph, joyfully proclaiming the gladness of His heart in a song of rejoicing, all because of you? Over and over again, the message of Jesus in the Gospels is an affirmation that God shouts and sings in triumph, joyfully proclaiming the gladness of His heart in a song of rejoicing. All because of His great love for you.

May it be your number one New Year’s resolution to rest in the wonder of God’s affection for 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, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.