Uncle John Had Never Gotten Over It

September 24, 2014

Uncle John Had Never Gotten Over It

A cheerful heart is a good medicine,

but a downcast spirit dries up the bones.

Proverbs 17:22 (NRSV)

When I was seminary, one of my classmates was a very cheerful, upbeat woman. She had an effervescent faith, and was quite convinced the sufficiency of God’s grace would see her through life. She drove one of our professors crazy. He ridiculed her and called her ‘Pollyanna.” He was equally convinced that she was not grounded in reality because he knew life was difficult and full of potholes.

Had he taken the time to get to know her, he would have found that she had experienced more than her share of difficulties, even tragic events; she was well acquainted with the potholes in life. She just chose to respond to life differently than our professor. Her response to life reminded me of a story Garrison Keillor tells in one of his books. Garrison’s extended family gathered for a Thanksgiving feast. The hostess called on his Uncle John to pray. Garrison remembered that “Everybody in the family knew that Uncle John couldn't pray without talking about the cross and crying. And if there is one thing that makes people nervous, it's listening to a grown man cry. Sure enough, Uncle John prayed, talked about the cross, and cried. Meanwhile, the rest of us shifted nervously from one foot to the other and longed for the prayer to end. All of us knew that Jesus died on the cross for us, but Uncle John had never gotten over it." Neither had my friend gotten over it. My friend remembered well what Christ has done for her, and this inspired her to always, even in the most difficult of times, allow the life of Jesus to be made visible in her mortal flesh.

I think it was Saint Teresa of Avila who prayed, “From silly devotions and sour-faced saints, spare us, O Lord.” It is good to remember Teresa’s prayer because a good-humored Christian will win more souls for Christ than the best, and most zealous, but ill-humored evangelist.  

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.

Choose This Day Whom You Will Serve

September 23, 2014

Choose This Day Whom You Will Serve

But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.”

Joshua 24:15

A Beautiful Mind is a 2001 film based on the life of John Nash, a Nobel Laureate in Economics. Nash developed paranoid schizophrenia and endured delusional episodes that nearly destroyed his life. In one compelling scene, after Nash began to recover from his illness and on the night he was awarded the Nobel Prize, he sees his delusional nemesis standing off to the side. Later he affirms that he is never far away from his delusions, and must continually choose what reality to believe.

Joshua, in his leadership of the people of God, had experienced the consequences of ten men choosing to believe their fear, while only he and Caleb choose to trust God. For this reason, when Joshua had successfully led Israel into the Promised Land, Joshua challenged them to “choose this day whom you will serve” (Joshua 24:15 NRSV). Joshua would later learn that perhaps he should have phrased the challenge, “Choose everyday whom you will serve,” because each and every day we must not only reaffirm our loyalty to God, we must also reaffirm our decision to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take” (Proverbs 3:5-6).

I know this is basic, even remedial Christianity. Even so, it is crucial to Christ being formed within us, that we never lose sight of the basics. I was recently called upon to mediate a dispute. It was painfully clear that the parties were being guided by the cultural axiom, “Do unto others as they do unto you.” I was prayerfully seeking a guiding principle to govern my demeanor as the mediator, and found it this morning as I read one of Fred Craddock’s sermons: “You do not take your behavior from the nature of the other person; you take your behavior from the character of God.”

The basics never go out of style!

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.

The Trinity Lives In Us

September 22, 2014

The Trinity Lives In Us

No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.

1 John 4:12

In 2007, Wm. Paul Young published The Shack. Within a few years, the book became a phenomenal success around the world, due in part because people are able to find so many points of identification within his story. One of the enduring memories I have of the book is the lively, very personal, edifying and uplifting relationship within the Trinity. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit were not abstract depictions of a complex, distant and unknowable deity; the Trinity was very much alive. The Apostle John is pointing to this truth as he encourages us to love each other.

If God lives in us, then the lively, very personal, edifying and uplifting relationship within the Trinity lives in us as well. This reality brings forward the teaching of Jesus and Saint Paul: “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:36 NRSV) and, “Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2). Can it really be that simple? Is sharing each other burdens how we obey the law of Christ? Yes! When Jesus gave his disciples a new commandment, he said their fulfillment of the commandment would be their witness to the world that Jesus was the Messiah. (See John 13:34-35)

Love is more than just putting up with one another. The love of God that is brought to full expression in us is lively, very personal, edifying and uplifting as we are merciful to each other, as we joyfully share each other’s burdens. It has been my experience that revealing the full expression of God’s love is the most difficult part of life for the followers of Jesus. When we try to think of others, instead of protecting our own self-interest, it cuts across the grain of every natural instinct within us. Maybe that’s why Paul kept urging his congregations to crucify their flesh.

God has not given us an impossible assignment, because it is possible to do with training, what is impossible to do by trying. Take the first step and meditate on this passage for a week, or month, or maybe a year or so:

“Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus . . .” (Philippians 2:4-5 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.

Thou Art With Me

September 19, 2014

Thou Art With Me

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil: for thou art with me;

Psalm 23:4a (KJV)

Dennis Jernigan sings the 23^rd Psalm. In his version, he uses the King James translation, and verse 4a is repeated poignantly, thou art with me, thou art with me, thou art with me. I first heard his rendition when I was going through a very difficult time in my life, and that one lyric from the song is embedded deep within my heart: thou art with me.

There are other passages of scripture that have captivated me just as deeply. Psalm 46 has long been one of my favorite, go-to passages when I am called to pray for a person, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1 NRSV). Verse ten of this precious psalm calls God’s children to “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10a NRSV). Is that enough for you? Is it enough just to be still and know God, without an expectation that troubling circumstances will change? Is it enough for you to know that God is with you in your troubling circumstance, without an expectation that your circumstances will change? Is it enough to know that even though your circumstances may not change, you will be comforted by God’s presence (thy rod and thy staff they comfort me)?

The Apostle Paul affirms “God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4). Paul didn’t say God was going to rescue us from our crisis. He affirmed God is present in our crisis with us, and that God’s presence is comforting. Is that enough for you?

I can’t explain how or why, but there have been times in my life, when all I had to cling to was thou art with me, and I found God’s presence, God’s comfort were enough. There have been times when I have said ‘Yes and Amen” to Paul’s testimony, “And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9 KJV).

Yes and amen, God’s grace is sufficient for me!

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.