We Have Met The Enemy And He Is Us

May 4, 2017

We Have Met The Enemy And He Is Us

The godly will rejoice in the Lord

    and find shelter in him.

And those who do what is right

    will praise him.

Psalm 64:10

Psalm 64 is a personal lament David wrote in response to verbal abuse and deceitful people. The psalm is helpful to us as we seek the life in Christ because it models the appropriate response to conflict and persecution. David took his complaint to God. He is not seeking to vindicate himself, rather he asked God to vindicate him. The psalm also affirms that God is the only righteous judge.

There is a danger in too quickly identifying with David and seeing ourselves as victims of abuse, slander or other verbal abuse. Perhaps, if we pause long enough to examine ourselves, we may see ourselves as the abusers. As I read Psalm 64, I thought of Jesus’ command from the Sermon on the Mount,

“Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged. And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own?” (Matthew 7:1-3).

Of all of Jesus’ commands to his followers, this may well be the one that is least obeyed. Listen to the conversations in the public square, in your churches and communities, and you will hear people pronouncing judgment on others. Listen to your own self-talk, and you probably will hear your self-judgment. As Christians we do great harm to the Body of Christ and to the Kingdom of God when we indulge ourselves in the judgment of others and in harsh judgement of ourselves.

It is so sad that Pogo keeps getting it so right, especially within the Body of Christ: “We have met the enemy and he is us.” However, we do not despair. We remember who we are, and we remember the great promises of God:

“But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) (Ephesians 2:4-5.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to speak to the Master.

“But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.” 1 John 1:9

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.

Your Unfailing Love

May 3, 2017

Your Unfailing Love

Your unfailing love is better than life itself;

    how I praise you!

Psalm 63:3

David’s beautiful prose in Psalm 63 has been incorporated into popular praise and worship songs. It can be enjoyable singing phrases such as, “Your unfailing love is better than life,” but is that a reasonable expectation for our lives, or just the hyperbole of the poet? Did David really, “lie awake thinking of (God), meditating on (God) through the night?” (v.6a). While there is no way we can know whether David was prone to exaggeration in his prose, we do know that in the generations that have followed, countless souls have written of similar experiences with God. The writings of St. Paul, Brother Lawrence, Madame Guyon, Teresa of Avila, John Wesley, Gene Edwards, Brennan Manning, Billy Graham and Mother Teresa are just a few of the followers of Christ who will affirm with certainty that God’s “unfailing love is better than life” (v.3a). Even so, is this a relationship with God that all of His children can know? Yes.

The shortest distance between two objects may be a straight line, but there is no shortest distance to be found on our journey to seek the life in Christ as our way of life. There are no shortcuts for spiritual growth. The Life in Christ we seek is experienced only after we have come to the place in our lives when nothing, absolutely nothing, but the love of God in Christ Jesus satisfies the longings of our soul. The only way we can come to that place is to first experience that our efforts in the flesh to satisfy our longings for love, acceptance and worth do not bear lasting fruit. The Apostle Paul contrasts the flesh life with the life in Christ as the difference between night and day, as between death and life: “My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).

Corrie ten Boom said, “You’ll never know Jesus is all you need, until Jesus is all you have.” Getting to the place where we are broken, clinging to nothing but Christ, is the work of our sovereign God, and God alone.  Most often, it is the circumstances of life we label as bad, such as King David being pursued through the desert by King Saul’s army, that God can use most effectively to bring us to a place of brokenness, and it is in brokenness that we learn the greatest truth:

“Your unfailing love is better than life itself;” “The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God” (Psalm 51:17).

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.

Waiting Quietly Before God

May 2, 2017

Waiting Quietly Before God

Let all that I am wait quietly before God,

    for my hope is in him.

Psalm 62:5

How do you respond when faced with a challenge, crisis, or uncertainty? I mentioned a few days ago that these circumstances are accompanied by a crisis of belief, and what we do next reveals what we believe about God. What would a faithful response look like?

Psalm 62: 5-7 encourages us to,

“Let all that I am wait quietly before God,

    for my hope is in him.

 He alone is my rock and my salvation,

    my fortress where I will not be shaken.

 My victory and honor come from God alone.

    He is my refuge, a rock where no enemy can reach me.”

This encouragement is not an invitation to do nothing. Rather, it is a call to fully gather ourselves, before we do anything. This point is made by an addition to the opening statement in verse 1, ““I wait quietly before God.” In verse seven, the psalmist clarifies this statement: “Let all that I am wait quietly. . .”

In the quietness of waiting before God, we can consider both the adverse circumstances we are facing, and the assurances and promises of God. We can take time to remember that we are a child of God; this is our core identity. We can pray for wisdom and carefully consider whether our planned response to our circumstances evidences our life in Christ.

Our mortal life is influenced and led by fear, deceit, temptation to sin and condemnation, or guilt. However, while our mortal life, or flesh life as the Apostle Paul calls it, tries to lead us away from God, God continually speaks to our spirit, “Do not be afraid.” God has promised that he will never lie to us. God is not the tempter. In Christ, there is no condemnation. Patient waiting before God allows us to consider whether we are being led by the flesh; or by the Spirit of God.

By the way, quietly waiting before God does not preclude singing. May I suggest an opening hymn?

Open my eyes that I may see

Glimpses of truth Thou hast for me;

Place in my hands the wonderful key

That shall unclasp and set me free.

Silently now I wait for Thee,

Ready, my God, Thy will to see;

Open my eyes, illumine me,

Spirit Divine!

Open My Eyes, That I May See

Clara H. Scott, 1895

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 Rock That Is Higher Than I

May 1, 2017

The Rock That Is Higher Than I

From the end of the earth I call to you,

    when my heart is faint.

Lead me to the rock

    that is higher than I;

Psalm 61:2

The acronym, LAW, is my shorthand reminder for the trilogy of needs that is common to all people: Love, Acceptance, and Worth. The core value in our journey to make the Life in Christ our Way of Life is our belief that God’s love for us in Christ Jesus is the fulfillment of all three of these needs.

When I Googled “Meaning of Life” this morning I got sixty million references in response. I searched ‘The Meaning of Life” on Amazon and found over one hundred twenty thousand references. Even so, I don’t think most people spend a lot of time pondering the meaning of their lives. However, I believe subconsciously, it is our quest for self-worth, a sense that our life matters, that shapes our efforts to fulfill our needs for love and acceptance.

We all would do well to elevate our quest for meaning to front and center, so we can keep our quest on the right track. For the psalmist, the right track was, “Lead me to the rock that is higher than I” (Psalm 61:2b). The psalmist knew that the true meaning of life would be found in something greater than himself. However, living for something greater than ourselves can take many forms, such as, living to build something that will outlast our mortal lives. While such pursuits can be noble and valuable, the psalmist set his sights higher. He was convinced that the true meaning of life was to be found living in the presence of God: “Let me abide in your tent forever, find refuge under the shelter of your wings” (Psalm 61:4). I invite you to set aside time to ponder the question: How do I define the meaning of my life?

I like the prose of verse 2b, “Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” That phrase resonates within me because I often listen to a praise song that incorporates this verse (Lead Me to the Rock, Kent Henry, My Refuge). However, my favorite way to express my understanding of the meaning of my life is in the prayer of an unknown saint:

O Lord, how excellent is your name in all the earth;

I worship you. With all angels and saints I adore you.

I acknowledge you to be my Creator and my God.

I render to you the reverence of my being and my life.

I am not my own. I am yours.

By creation and redemption I am yours.

I will devote myself to your service this day and forever.

O Lord, grant grace for this I pray

in the name of my Savior, Christ Jesus.

Amen

(Emphasis Mine)

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.