I Am Like An Olive Tree

April 18, 2017

I Am Like An Olive Tree

But I am like an olive tree, thriving in the house of God.

    I will always trust in God’s unfailing love.

Psalm 52:8

Jesus said the greatest commandment of God is to love God with all that you have: your whole mind, your undivided heart, your entire body and your complete soul. Because that commandment seems well past our capacity to fulfill, there is a tendency to not take it seriously, to write it off as some of Jesus’ hyperbole. But God does take it seriously. God loves us unconditionally and completely, and God wants us to love Him completely. Psalm 52 describes the ‘mighty man’ living apart from God and God’s judgment aimed at showing up the man’s folly.

For the psalmist, life can be easily understood. You can suffer with your own delusions that you are at the center of your life, and the purpose of life is pleasure and self-fulfillment, or you can dwell in the House of God. One of the great dramas of life is in the lives of people who try to have both. They want to be in control of their life and chart their own course, but they also want just enough religion to be seen as righteous. That is folly because you can’t sprinkle God across your life like salt and pepper. With God, you are either all the way in, or you are not in at all. God is not satisfied when you are not dwelling in His House, and the “Hound of Heaven” (Francis Thompson) is unstoppable in His efforts to redeem you completely. You can stop running anytime you want to and start singing with the psalmist,

But I am like an olive tree, thriving in the house of God.

I will always trust in God’s unfailing love.

I will praise you forever, O God,

for what you have done.

I will trust in your good name

in the presence of your faithful people.

Psalm 52: 8-9

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.

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.

Forgiveness, Cleansing, Renewal And Restoration

April 17, 2017

Forgiveness, Cleansing, Renewal And Restoration

Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean;

wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

Create in me a clean heart, O God.

Renew a loyal spirit within me.

Psalm 51:7,10

Psalm 51 is one of the Seven Penitential Psalms: 6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130, and 143. These psalms are appreciated for their honesty and self-reflection. They model authentic prayers that seek God’s mercy, forgiveness and healing. Whatever our struggles, these psalms reveal we can come before God in humility and honesty, and, at God’s Throne of Grace, experience God’s love, mercy and forgiveness. It would be good to make a note of these psalms in back of your Bible so you readily locate them.

Psalm 51 is so very poignant because of the depth of David’s sin and the harm he caused through his sin with Bathsheba. (See 2 Samuel 11-12) If God’s mercy and forgiveness is sufficient to cleanse, renew and restore David, can there be anything in my life that is beyond God’s capacity to forgive?

I think David’s prose is some of the most beautiful and profound in the entire Bible. Verses such as seven and ten have captivated souls for generations: “Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow; and, “Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me.”

However, as a child of God, I must not just relish in David’s prose; I must make his prose be the cry of my heart. My sins are every bit as repugnant to the holiness of God as were David’s. I stand in need of forgiveness, cleansing, renewal and restoration every bit as much as David.

“Go and sin no more” Jesus said to the woman caught in adultery (John 8:11). Sadly, although she may have desired Jesus’ words to be her goal, the reality of life is that she did sin again. So did David. So do I. Forgiveness, cleansing, renewal and restoration are not once and no more experiences with God. Forgiveness, cleansing, renewal and restoration are the natural rhythm of daily life for those seeking the life in Christ as their 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.

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.

The LORD, the Mighty One, is God

April 14, 2017

The LORD, the Mighty One, is God

“But giving thanks is a sacrifice that truly honors me.

If you keep to my path,

I will reveal to you the salvation of God.”

Psalm 50:23

John Wesley sent Circuit Riders to the American colonies with a dual charge: “You have no other business than to save souls and to spread scriptural holiness across the land.” He certainly could have drawn his inspiration for this charge from Psalm 50.

The psalm’s beautiful prose is attributed to Asaph, one of King David’s chief musicians. The psalm is also deeply prophetic as it reminds Israel that one day, all of humanity will stand before their Creator to give an account of their life.

This judgment by God will look deeply into our heart and at our hands. In verses 7-15, God judges worship and in verses 16-21, God judges obedience. God’s judgment of both is not superficial. God is not at all interested in the form of our worship or whether we are mindful of keeping rules. God is interested in how we live our lives. Are we thankful for the gift of life? Is our thankfulness expressed in acts of compassion and mercy for our neighbors?

In verses 14 and 23, the psalmist asserts that thankfulness truly honors God. Perhaps James, the brother of our Lord, also took inspiration from Psalm 50 when he taught that faith without works is useless, because Biblical thankfulness is focused on the Giver of life, not the gifts received (James 2: 14-19). I think James couples the psalmist’s dualism of worship and obedience beautifully when he writes:

“Now someone may argue, “Some people have faith; others have good deeds.” But I say, “How can you show me your faith if you don’t have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds” (James 2:18).

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.

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.

Forget the U-Haul

April 13, 2017

Forget the U-Haul

But as for me, God will redeem my life.

    He will snatch me from the power of the grave. Selah

Psalm 49:15

You have never seen a U-Haul attached to a hearse, because, as the psalmist says, when we die, we take none of our earthly wealth with us. But those who die in Christ take all that truly matters with them: eternal life. For many people, all that this mortal life offers is sufficient. These people strive to make the most of this life, because they believe there is nothing beyond the grave. Some Christians try to convince them otherwise, by scaring them with visions of eternal punishment awaiting them for their failure to serve God in their mortal life. When I read the Gospels, I don’t find Jesus scaring people into heaven. I find Jesus offering a never-ending love that surrounds a person in this life and in a new eternal life.

I have been with many people at their time of death, and I have found there is a discernible difference between those who are resting in their faith and those who have no faith in God. Jesus Christ has conquered death and has promised his followers that, “When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am” (John 14:3). This truth enables us to lift our voices with glad hearts and sing, 

Because he lives,
I can face tomorrow;
because he lives,
all fear is gone;

because I know
he holds the future,
and life is worth the living
just because he lives.

Bill & Gloria Gaither

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.

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.