Your Tears in His Bottle

April 24, 2017

Your Tears in His Bottle

You keep track of all my sorrows.

You have collected all my tears in your bottle.

You have recorded each one in your book.

Psalm 56:8

God. Say this out loud: “God!” What thoughts or images come to your mind?

One statement that helps me articulate the multifaceted nature of God is in the United Methodist Church’s Modern Affirmation: “We believe in God the Father, infinite in wisdom, power and love, whose mercy is over all His works, and whose will is ever directed to His children's good” (The United Methodist Hymnal, Nr. 885). I believe the personal lament in Psalm 56 affirms all the attributes of God contained in this affirmation. The psalmist is trusting in the wisdom and power of God to be sufficient to help him. He is also affirming the very personal relationship he has with his God of mercy, power and love, and he is resting in the sure knowledge that he is God’s child.

What thoughts or images came to your mind as you said out loud, “God”? If your thoughts of God were not of your Abba Father and His unfailing personal love for you, then spend some time meditating on these verses from Psalm 56:

You keep track of all my sorrows.

    You have collected all my tears in your bottle.

    You have recorded each one in your book.

This I know: God is on my side!

For you have rescued me from death;

    you have kept my feet from slipping.

So now I can walk in your presence, O God,

    in your life-giving light.

Psalm 56: 8, 9b, 13

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.

Healing For Damaged Emotions

April 21, 2017

Healing For Damaged Emotions

Give your burdens to the Lord,

    and he will take care of you.

    He will not permit the godly to slip and fall.

Psalm 55:22

In Psalm 55, King David was distressed because of the betrayal of a trusted friend. The fallout from the deceit within the inner courts of the King had spread throughout Jerusalem. This personal lament of David challenges us because the norms of our Western culture teach us to conceal our deepest thoughts and emotions. If our national leaders chose to bear their souls with such a lament, their fall from power would be spectacular. Even so, we can learn much from David.

In counseling sessions, the therapist helps their client dig deep into the recesses of their memories and process buried emotions. The process can be painful, especially if the memories have been long-repressed. However, there is healing for damaged emotions when the memories are opened to the light of God’s unconditional and redeeming love.

When Jesus said that “unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 18:3), he may have been thinking of King David. David models complete honesty with himself as he takes his lament to God. David confesses his strong feelings of both fight and flight in response to the betrayal of his friend, and he also bears his deep emotional hurt to God.

Perhaps one of the best lessons we can take from David’s psalms is to own our need to explore our deepest emotions. Take a leap of faith, heed David’s affirmation, and trust God with your fears, hates and anxieties; “Give your burdens to the Lord, and he will take care of you” (Psalm 55:22a).

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.

You Are Not Alone

April 20, 2017

You Are Not Alone

Come with great power, O God, and rescue me!

    Defend me with your might.

Listen to my prayer, O God.

    Pay attention to my plea.

Psalm 54:1-2

The Apostle Paul describes King David as “a man about whom God said, ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart” (Acts 13:22, 1 Samuel 13:14). I believe that description is a reference to David’s personal relationship with God. From his youth, in the solitude of a shepherd, David lived with the belief that God was greater than any crisis he faced. David’s faith led him to live with an expectation that in the midst of a crisis God would act, that he would experience the presence of God. This faith guided David in the shepherd’s fields and the time he faced Goliath, as well as when he was being pursued by King Saul.

Psalm 54 models how, when faced with a crisis, David responded by calling out to God for help. His prayer included an affirmation of his faith and a commitment of faithfulness to, and worship of his God. Whatever crisis you may be facing, you are not alone. God wants you to expect Him to come to your assistance. God wants you to experience His presence, even in the valley of the shadow of death.  You can respond to your crisis with a prayer of faith and with a commitment to worship. Then rest in the assurance of God’s love for you and sing with the psalmist,

I will praise your name, O Lord,

for it is good.

For you have rescued me from my troubles

and helped me to triumph over my enemies.

Psalm 54:6b-7

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.

That Was Then; This Is Now

April 19, 2017

That Was Then; This Is Now

Only fools say in their hearts,

    “There is no God.”

Psalm 53:1

NOTE: With the exception of verse 5, Psalms 14 and 53 are almost identical. You may want to re-read my meditation on Psalm 14:  February 21, 2017,

It Is Well With My Soul (http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/)

The opening line to Psalms 14 & 53 is widely known: “Only fools say in their hearts, “There is no God.”

That was then; this is now: “Only fools say in their hearts, “There is a God.”

We do live in a world where the followers of Jesus, the people seeking new life in Christ, are increasingly marginalized. Even so, as fully devoted followers of Jesus we are interested in the “Applause of Heaven” (Max Lucado); not the applause of the world’s culture.

I find great comfort in both Psalm 14 and 53 being included in the Bible, since they are almost identical. (In Psalm 53, a new verse 5 replaces verses 5-6 in Psalm 14.) Psalm 53 was edited to respond to a different condition at a different time. (Psalm 14 refers to God as Yahweh (LORD) and Psalm 53 refers to God as Elohim (God), thus showing a different time period in the life of Israel.) The use of military language suggests an enemy of Israel was defeated in their attack against the people of God. My comfort comes from this evidence that the Holy Spirit moved within Israel and refashioned previous psalms to meet a new context. The Holy Spirit works in our lives in similar ways. The Holy Spirit interprets scripture to meet our needs in the context of our everyday life.

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8) means that God is steadfastly and continually moving in our lives, “giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him” (Philippians 2:13).

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.