Sabbath Victory

Meditations for Seeking the Life in Christ

Daily Thoughts 

February 11, 2025

Sabbath Victory

This dear woman, a daughter of Abraham, has been held in bondage by Satan for eighteen years. Isn’t it right that she be released, even on the Sabbath?”

Luke 13:16

Read: Luke 13:10-21

On February 7, I noted a difference between the OT and NT understanding of the Sabbath. Today’s reading emphasizes that difference; the Sabbath is a celebration of God’s victory in Christ Jesus. Perhaps a lingering thought from yesterday is, “What difference can one person make?”

Is the healing of one woman, on the Sabbath, in an obscure village enough to announce the Kingdom? Jesus answers our questions with two simple parables. The tiny mustard seed goes in the ground and then grows into a tree. One tiny seed becomes a nest for many birds. (Jesus’ parable is a thinly veiled reference to his own burial and resurrection.) Then there is a little amount of yeast put into enough flour to make bread for hundreds. The language of the parable suggests the yeast was hidden in the flour, not in plain sight. The yeast was hidden in the flour by a woman, a gender that is not associated with prominence or power at that time in Israel. Jesus used hyperbole by having the woman hide the yeast in thirty pounds of flour to illustrate the potential for good of just one person living for Christ. 

Every faithful response to Jesus is a victory for the Kingdom of God, and every victory moves us closer to the time when Jesus shall return in Final Victory.

My Takeaway: “But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ. So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.”

1 Corinthians 15: 57-58 

Sē’lah

My book on prayer,

First Think, Then Pray

is now available on Amazon Kindle.

 

(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.

 

Copyright © 2025 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the 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.

 

He Began to Speak to Them

Meditations for Seeking the Life in Christ

Daily Thoughts 

February 10, 2025

Then he began to speak to them.

“The Scripture you’ve just heard has been fulfilled this very day!”

Luke 4:21

Read: Luke 4:16-22

I remembered the old church expression, “You’ve gone from preaching to meddling” after reading today’s passage. As the great preacher Fred Craddock noted, there are two kinds of preaching people won’t listen to: bad preaching and good preaching. Bad preaching wasn’t the issue in Nazareth.

History reveals that the Jewish people were longing for God to rescue Israel from the oppression of their enemies. Jesus announced he is the Messiah, the One whom God has sent to save Israel. What was so offensive about Jesus’ claim to be the Messiah? It’s all about control. Jesus was saying the Messiah was coming to proclaim God’s grace for all people, including the Romans, the enemy of Israel. The people very much wanted God’s grace, but just for Israel, not for other nations. The people wanted to control God’s agenda, to be the ones who determined which nations were redeemed and which were not.

The people in Nazareth wanted to be like God. That’s a familiar theme, not just for first century Jews. In our world today, we still suffer from the sin of wanting to control God’s agenda. The foundation of the Christian faith rests on two imperatives: “Love God with all that we are and love our neighbor as much as we love ourselves.” Yet we struggle as much as the Nazarenes with wanting to determine who our neighbor is.

My Takeaway: 2 Takeaways today: 1- it is in the process of loving God and our neighbors, that we are transformed to become like Jesus. 2- In verse 21, Jesus demonstrated he clearly understood God’s mission, God’s purpose for his life: “The Scripture you’ve just heard has been fulfilled this very day!” 

As I am transformed to become like Jesus, I too understand God’s mission, God’s purpose for my life. So also you!

Sē’lah

My book on prayer,

First Think, Then Pray

is now available on Amazon Kindle.

 

(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.

 

Copyright © 2025 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the 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 Sabbath is Meant to Nourish and Sustain Me

Meditations for Seeking the Life in Christ

Daily Thoughts 

February 7, 2025

The Sabbath is Meant to Nourish and Sustain Me

So the Son of Man is Lord, even over the Sabbath!”

Mark 2:28

Read: Mark 2:23-28, 3:1-

God has promised those seeking the life in Christ as their way of life that He is working in us, giving us the desire and the power to do what pleases Him. (Philippians 2:13) I am thankful for the Apostle Paul’s reminder that God is so wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient with me (Romans 2:4) because “nothing is so difficult as not deceiving oneself." (Ludwig Wittgenstein) Self-deceit greatly afflicted the Pharisees. With their hundreds of rules about what could and could not be done on the Sabbath, they thought they were honoring God. Jesus revealed God’s heart to them when he told them, “The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27).

In Mark 3, Jesus did nothing to violate the Sabbath law, he simply asked the man to extend his hand. God took it from there. However, this was yet another sign that Jesus was different. This was another sign that Jesus was ushering in a new way of living. God’s Kingdom was bursting into their world, and the establishment was not happy about change. While they would have been horrified to be charged with going against God, nevertheless, they were very uncomfortable surrendering control of their environment to Jesus, “At once the Pharisees went away and met with the supporters of Herod to plot how to kill Jesus.” (Mark 3:6)

Jesus said the Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people. Jesus did not mean the Sabbath was made to meet what I think are my needs. The Sabbath was made by God to meet what God knows are my deepest needs. The more that I allow God to reveal to me my deepest needs, the more His wonderful Sabbath will be healing for my brokenness.

My Takeaway: I was this many years old when I noted this difference between the OT Sabbath and the NT Sabbath: The OT Sabbath was the last day of the week, a day of rest. The NT Sabbath is the first day of the week when we celebrate Jesus’ victory over sin and death. The NT Sabbath is meant to nourish and sustain me for the week ahead.

Sē’lah

My book on prayer,

First Think, Then Pray

is now available on Amazon Kindle.

 

(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.

 

Copyright © 2025 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the 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 Must Be Holy

Meditations for Seeking the Life in Christ

Daily Thoughts 

February 6, 2025

You Must Be Holy

So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.”

1 Peter 1:14-16

Read: 1 Peter 1:13-25 

The Epistle of First Peter helps us respond to the enormity of God’s undertaking to save us. Peter encourages the people of God to stand firm in their faith, not because they will be punished if they don’t, but in response to all that God has done for them and will do for them when Christ returns.

There are two characteristics in this letter that give insight into how the first century Christians responded to their salvation in Christ. First, there was a consistent theme and form to the preaching in the early church. Peter’s words here are very similar to the record we have of his preaching in the Book of Acts. This message was so consistent in the early church it was given the name Kerygma, a Greek word that means "proclamation" and is used in the New Testament to refer to the message of the Gospel. Essentially this form of preaching contained six points:

1-     The era of the New Covenant, foretold by the prophets, has dawned.

2-     This has taken place through the birth, life, ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

3-     By virtue of the resurrection, Jesus has been exalted at the right hand of God as head of the church.

4-     The Holy Spirit in the church is the sign of Christ's present power and glory.

5-     The era of the New Covenant will reach its consummation in the return of Christ.

6-     An appeal is made for repentance with the offer of forgiveness, the Holy Spirit, and salvation.

In addition to consistency of preaching, there was also consistency of teaching in the first church. As an example, in 1 Peter there are striking similarities to the teaching of Paul in the book of Ephesians. Consider:

1 Peter 1:3 and Ephesians 1:3

I Peter 1:13 and Ephesians 6:14

1 Peter 1:20 and Ephesians 1:4

The forms of our worship and fellowship gatherings have changed a great deal over the centuries because our culture and circumstances are substantially different than those of the first church. What is important is that we do not change the Gospel. I believe when all is said and done, God will judge my writings based on my consistency to the Gospel, and my life will be judged based on how I live out the truth of the Gospel.

My Takeaway: “As the Scriptures say, “People are like grass; their beauty is like a flower in the field. The grass withers and the flower fades. But the word of the Lord remains forever.” (1 Peter 1: 24-25)

Sē’lah

My book on prayer,

First Think, Then Pray

is now available on Amazon Kindle.

 

(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.

 

Copyright © 2025 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the 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 Enormity of It All

Meditations for Seeking the Life in Christ

Daily Thoughts 

February 5, 2025

The Enormity of It All

We proclaim to you the one who existed from the beginning, whom we have heard and seen. We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands. He is the Word of life.

1 John 1:1

Read 1 John 1

The enormity of the claims made by the Apostle John can be overwhelming. The basis of the Christian faith he proclaims is a belief that the Creator of the universe desires a personal relationship with humankind. To accomplish this desire, the Creator became a living human being. This human being, Jesus, suffered and died on a cross. Jesus was crucified, dead and buried only to be resurrected from the dead and live again.  And this resurrected human being is God the Creator; . . . well, the enormity of this is overwhelming.

But wait, there’s more! This resurrected God gives an invitation to all human beings to come to Him and to live in unity with Him for all eternity as His pillars of righteousness.

Now, the enormity of it all is truly overwhelming!

Because of this enormity, many people have surrendered to the temptation to reduce God to a more manageable size. At the time John was writing this letter, there was a faction in the church who could not accept that in Jesus, God had really become a human being. John opens this letter with his assurance that Jesus was most certainly fully human. John says that he saw Jesus, he heard Jesus, he touched Jesus and that he had, and is continuing to enjoy, fellowship with God the Father and His Son, Jesus. Hence, the Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard came up with the expression, ‘leap of faith’ as a metaphor for a belief in God.

My Takeaway: Yes, the enormity of it all is overwhelming. That just makes it more wonderful when you make the leap of faith into the loving arms of Jesus.

Sē’lah

My book on prayer,

First Think, Then Pray

is now available on Amazon Kindle.

 

(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.

 

Copyright © 2025 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the 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 Epitome of Hopelessness

Meditations for Seeking the Life in Christ

Daily Thoughts 

February 4, 2025

The Epitome of Hopelessness

 

“Come now, let’s settle this,” says the Lord.

“Though your sins are like scarlet,

    I will make them as white as snow.

Though they are red like crimson,

    I will make them as white as wool.

Isaiah 1:18

Read: Isaiah 1: 2-6

“Listen, O heavens! Pay attention, earth! This is what the Lord says: “The children I raised and cared for have rebelled against me. Even an ox knows its owner, and a donkey recognizes its master’s care— but Israel doesn’t know its master. My people don’t recognize my care for them.” Oh, what a sinful nation they are—loaded down with a burden of guilt. They are evil people, corrupt children who have rejected the Lord. They have despised the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on him. Why do you continue to invite punishment? Must you rebel forever? Your head is injured, and your heart is sick.

You are battered from head to foot—covered with bruises, welts, and infected wounds—without any soothing ointments or bandages.” (Isaiah 1:2-6)

Now, read again verse 18 quoted above.

Consider the condition of God’s people, Israel. They had turned their backs to God. They despised the Holy One. Their heads were injured, and their hearts were sick. They were battered from head to foot—covered with bruises, welts, and infected wounds—without any soothing ointments or bandages. The epitome of hopelessness.

Now, read again verse 18 quoted above.

What does it say about the nature of God, that after being despised by his people, He would make their sins, which are like scarlet, as white as snow? What does it say about the nature of God, that he would make their sins, which were red like crimson, as white as wool?

My Takeaway: I find it quite challenging to try and plumb the depths of God’s divine nature. I will go deeper into this tomorrow when we look at how God accomplished His mission to transform His people into pillars of righteousness.

Sē’lah

My book on prayer,

First Think, Then Pray

is now available on Amazon Kindle.

 

(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.

 

Copyright © 2025 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the 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.

Blessed be the name of the Lord

Meditations for Seeking the Life in Christ

Daily Thoughts 

February 3, 2025

Blessed be the name of the Lord

Then Jesus said to the woman, “Your sins are forgiven.”

And Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

Luke 7:48, 50

Read: Luke 7:36-50 

I am intrigued by the order of events in today’s passage. First, an immoral woman heard Jesus was eating in the home of the Pharisee. She brought a beautiful alabaster jar filled with expensive perfume, then she knelt behind him at his feet, weeping. Her tears fell on his feet, and she wiped them off with her hair. Then she kept kissing his feet and putting perfume on them. (v.37-38)

Next, the Pharisee, who saw the woman clothed in her former sinful life, objected to her touching Jesus. So Jesus tells a story, the point of which was Jesus saw the woman clothed in righteousness.

Interestingly, when Jesus describes the woman’s actions (v. 44-46), she was expressing love and adoration for Jesus first, before he forgave her sins.  Her actions were an expression of perfect worship; Jesus is worthy of our love and adoration because of who he is; not just for what he has done for us.

My Takeaway: This passage reminds me of the song, Blessed Be Your Name, by Matt Redman. A few of the lyrics:

 

Where Your streams of abundance flow, Blessed be Your name

When I'm found in the desert place, 

Though I walk through the wilderness

Blessed Be Your name

Every blessing You pour out, I'll turn back to praise

When the darkness closes in, Lord, Still I will say, Blessed be the name of the Lord

When the sun's shining down on me, 

When the world's 'all as it should be', Blessed be Your name

On the road marked with suffering, 

Though there's pain in the offering, Blessed be Your name

Blessed be the name of the Lord

Blessed be Your name 

Sē’lah

My book on prayer,

First Think, Then Pray

is now available on Amazon Kindle.

 

(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.

 

Copyright © 2025 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the 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.