Resting in His Smile

June 12, 2018

Resting in His Smile

“Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.””

Matthew 11:28-30

One of the most precious fruits of the life in Christ is resting in God’s smile of affection. God is quite fond of us and when He thinks of us, God smiles. One of Abba’s greatest hopes and dreams for us, His beloved children, is that we would learn to rest in our own smile of affection for our life. This is why Bernard of Clairvaux could teach that the highest level of love is when we love ourselves for God’s sake.

All of Scripture reinforces God’s love and affection for us. Thus God is modeling for us how we are to love ourselves. Psalm 56 is a great illustration of God’s love for us. 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; he is resting in the sure knowledge that he is God’s child.

Take a few minutes to contemplate 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

This furious longing of Abba for me keeps track of my sorrows, collects my tears in His bottle, is on my side and has rescued me from death. God’s love for me keeps my feet from slipping so I can walk with Him in His light. He will personally go ahead of me and will be with me. He will neither fail me nor abandon me.

My Takeaway: Jesus adds, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” Receive this love from Jesus and learn to rest in his smile of affection for you. As you do, you will learn to gaze at yourself in a mirror and rest in your smile of affection for your life in Christ.

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.

Sing a New Song

June 11, 2018

Sing a New Song

Sing a new song of praise to him;

    play skillfully on the harp, and sing with joy.

Psalm 33:3

Please take a piece of paper and make two lists in parallel columns. First, take a few moments to remember the events and happenings in your life over the last few weeks. Now in the column on the left list the things that saddened you. Then in the column on your right, list the things that gladdened you. When you finish this little exercise come back and continue reading.

As you review the list of events or happenings that gladdened your heart, does your list include the joy of being able to pray, “Abba, I belong to you”? Does your list include the joy of being able to worship and study with a community of faith? Perhaps your list includes the time you spent alone with God and your Bible. Does your list include opportunities you had to serve God in a caring, compassionate ministry, or just being a kind and compassionate friend?

As you review the list of the things that saddened you, does your list include your concern that you don’t make enough quality time for prayer and devotional reading? Were there times of spiritual laziness and moral laxity that are grieving you? Jesus’ last commandment was for his followers to love others as he loved them. Were you saddened over your lack of fidelity to this command of Jesus?

My Takeaway: First, the only way I can process my responses to this exercise is to remember, “So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). If you are like me, you may not be all that pleased with yourself after this exercise and you may question your spiritual maturity. Even so, I can sing a new song of praise to my Abba, and I can sing with joy because first, last and always, I know I belong to Abba.

So can 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, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188.

Engendered for Compassion

June 8, 2018

Engendered for Compassion

But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.” (Deut. 21:23 Greek version)

Galatians 3:13

How much of our wrongdoing was included in the death of Jesus on the cross? How much of the wrongdoing of the entire world was included in the death of Jesus on the cross? Is there any sin, any wrongdoing, any deviant behavior, any monstrosity, any crime or brutality, any act of oppression that is not included in the death of Jesus on the cross?

The clear and unambiguous teaching of Scripture answers those three questions with a resounding NO! The death of Jesus on the cross redeemed all humanity from the penalty for all of our sins against God. The compassion of Jesus to bear our transgressions is more than my finite mind can comprehend. I am surprised that the Gospels only used the word compassion eight times in describing Jesus’ response to human need. For me, I am not sure there is a better word to describe what was in the heart of God in Christ as he took upon himself the curse for my sins.

Merriam-Webster says compassion is a feeling of wanting to help someone who is sick, hungry or in trouble. Wikipedia, says compassion is the feeling of empathy for others. Compassion is the emotion that we feel in response to the suffering of others that motivates a desire to help. That pretty much sums up Jesus’ motivation to go to the cross for us, his response to the suffering of humanity. Jesus’ compassion for me saved me!

My Takeaway: I sense God calling me to spend more time contemplating His compassion for me. Why? I believe it is God’s compassion for me which motivates Him to reach out to me over and over again for all eternity. As the Father draws me into His compassionate heart, He engenders compassion within me: “As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience” (Colossians 3:12 NRSV).

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.

My Cup Overflows With Blessings

June 7, 2018

My Cup Overflows With Blessings

“I lift my eyes to you,

O God, enthroned in heaven.”

Psalm 123:1

Imagine as you turn the corner someone is quickly approaching you. He is actively chatting on his cell phone while carrying a Starbucks cup, without a lid, in his other hand. You almost collide as he swerves to miss a bad spot in the sidewalk, and predictably his coffee spills onto him, you and the sidewalk. Why did he spill the coffee? Because coffee was in the cup!

The same principle applies to our inner lives. When we are interrupted, when we are confronted with startling news, when we feel we have been slighted, not noticed or appreciated, whenever our lives swerve, we are prone to spill whatever is in our inner cup. Our unresolved anger or our unresolved damaged emotions are bound to spill as soon as we experience life interrupted.

Just as the cure for our sin and our susceptibility toward spiritual laziness and moral laxity is God’s grace, so also the resolution for our anger and the healing for our damaged emotions is God’s grace. Answer this simple question: “Who am I?” God’s transforming grace is leading us to the sacred place where we can respond from the very depths of our being, “I am the beloved child of God.” When we know that, not just think it, or hope it is true, but when we know from the very core of our being that we belong to God, our lives are transformed. When we believe we are loved, esteemed, and adored by our Heavenly Father, our lives will overflow with God’s goodness. This is why the psalmist could write, “My cup overflows with blessings” (Psalm 23:5c). What do you suppose spilled from his cup when he swerved in life?

My Takeaway: How do we get from here to there? The Apostle Paul tells us, “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think” (Romans 12:2). We move from our old life to our new life, which is hidden with Christ in God, by following the counsel of the psalmist: “I lift my eyes to you, O God, enthroned in heaven.” Spend time, every day, with God and allow him to affirm the truth that you are His beloved child, His heir, a joint heir with Jesus. Give God the time He needs to resolve your anger, heal your emotions and fill your cup with His blessings.

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.