If God Stopped Thinking Of Me, He Would Cease To Exist

November 24, 2014

If God Stopped Thinking Of Me, He Would Cease To Exist

Don’t let your hearts be troubled.

Trust in God, and trust also in me.

John 14:1b

Sometimes our adversary, the enemy of God, confuses us into thinking Christian faith is about believing in certain doctrines such as incarnation, salvation, atonement and redemption. Those doctrines can be quite helpful to grasp the immense love that is God, but they are not the essence of biblical faith. Biblical faith is all about trusting God. Our Abba’s will for us is for us to respond to His unconditional love for us, by unconditionally trusting Him. The foundation for such trust lies in our awareness of this truth spoken by the Seventeenth Century priest and mystic, Angelus Silesius, “If God stopped thinking of me, he would cease to exist.” I believe those words were true for Silesius, they are true for me, and they are true for you! When you trust your Abba Father, who is always thinking of you, the following is also true.

Because of Christ's redemption, you are a new creation of infinite worth. You are deeply loved, you are completely forgiven, you are fully pleasing to your Abba, and you are totally accepted by Him. You are absolutely complete in Christ. When your performance reflects your core identity in Christ, that reflection is dynamically unique. There has never been another person like you in the history of humankind, nor will there ever be. God has made you an original, one of a kind, a special person.

Wait! There’s more.

Because Christ is your life, God, your Abba Father, declares that you are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. Abba further attests that this righteousness, since it was given to you as a gift, is not based on your behavior. You are not his righteousness or new creation because of what you did, or what you are doing, or what you have refrained from doing. Rather it is because of what Abba has done in uniting you to Christ in death, burial, resurrection, and enthronement.

Go and trust in who you are in the eyes of your Abba Father.

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.

100% Winning Deal

November 21, 2014

100% Winning Deal

And I have put my words in your mouth

and hidden you safely in my hand.

Isaiah 51:16

Not long after personal computers were becoming commonplace, the manufacturers began including the card game Solitaire on their computers. Beyond the obvious entertainment value, the game helped the user master keyboard strokes, and later become familiar with the computer’s mouse. Recent editions of this computer card game have included the option of “100% Winning Deals.” This option doesn’t mean that you will win every hand, only that every hand is winnable. If you don’t win on the first try, you can play the same hand over again. I like that option. I like planning the hand over again knowing that the hand can be won. It’s not a futile effort; it is winnable!

In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus gives his parable of the Growing Seed. Jesus said, “The Kingdom of God is like a farmer who scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, while he’s asleep or awake, the seed sprouts and grows, but he does not understand how it happens” (Mark 4:26-27). Jesus is telling us that the Kingdom of God is a 100% Winning Deal. The Kingdom of God is coming and no power on earth can stop it. We know that the Christian witness for God in times of persecution is the most powerful witness for God in the world. We can remain faithful to God in difficult times because we know our cause is just, and because we know with an absolute certainty that Jesus is coming again. The Kingdom of God cannot be stopped because it is a 100% Winning Deal.

What about the normal ebb and flow of our lives? How can our faith in the unstoppable Kingdom of God impact our daily lives? We can by faith believe that God has placed us in the center of His will. By faith in the certainty of God’s Kingdom, we can join Saint Paul and say, “In (Christ) we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28). Certainty in God’s Kingdom enables us, with hearts of humility and gratitude, to thank God for putting His words in our mouths and hiding us safely in His hand. When you know you are a winner, you can live life differently.

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.

A Cornucopia Overflowing With The Fruit Of The Spirit

November 20, 2014

A Cornucopia Overflowing With The Fruit Of The Spirit

“. . . immense in mercy and with an incredible love, (God) embraced us. He took our sin-dead lives and made us alive in Christ. He did all this on his own, with no help from us!”

Ephesians 2:4-5 (MSG)

It is quite normal for Christians to feel overwhelmed by the demands of God. When Jesus was asked what the most important commandment of God was, he replied, you must love God with all your heart, soul, and mind, and love your neighbor as yourself. (Matthew 22: 37-39). Seriously? Jesus’ response seems so outrageous. Surly he was speaking with hyperbole.  His words seem like a classic Catch-22. A Christian is supposed to love God with all of their heart, soul and mind, and care for their neighbors with the same measure as they care for their personal lives. That’s an impossible standard to keep; thus there must be no Christians. Logically, that may be true, but no one has ever accused God of being logical.

Recall that God sent Christ to die for us while we were still lost in our sin (Romans 5:8), and “even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead” (Ephesians 2:5). This truth points to the defining characteristic of our faith that sets Christianity apart from every other religion. The Apostle Paul beautifully presents this characteristic: “For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him” (Philippians 2:13). It is God who does the heavy lifting.

It is the immense mercy and incredible love of God that has embraced us. His mercy and love took our sin-dead lives and made us alive in Christ. He did all this on his own, with no help from us!” It is this very same mercy and love of God that is “working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.” Do you see it? In every other religion, humans reach out to their god trying to justify themselves, and endeavoring to win their god’s favor and blessings. In our faith, our Abba Father has reached down to us: “Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us” (Romans 5:1). Our God continues to reach out to us, and through His Holy Spirit works within us, transforming our desires and empowering us to fulfill His will for our lives.

If the followers of Christ were trapped in a performance-based-acceptance religion, the radical demands of our faith would only produce the fruit of fear, anguish and insecurity, but we are not so trapped. Our faith overflows in the grace, mercy and love of our Abba Father, and thus produces a cornucopia overflowing with the fruit of the Spirit. (Galatians 5:22ff)

  

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 Only Real Sadness in Life is Not to Be a Saint

November 19, 2014

The Only Real Sadness in Life is Not to Be a Saint

The church, you see, is not peripheral to the world;

the world is peripheral to the church.

Ephesians 1:22 (MSG)

Far too often the followers of Christ shrink back at the notion that they are a saint. Even though Protestants don’t agree with the Roman Catholic tradition of bestowing the title, Saint, on only a chosen few, nevertheless, they tend to think that it is rare indeed when a Christian can be referred to as a saint. Against this backdrop is the stunning theological truth that to be a Christian is to have been sanctified by the blood of Jesus. You can’t be a Christian without first being sanctified; you can’t be a Christian unless you are a saint. Hence it is precious to God when His saints die because the last obstacle to His children being fully present with Him has been removed: “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints” (Psalm 116:15 KJV).

Perhaps it was this theological truth that led the French poet, Leon Bloy, to write, “The only real sadness in life is not to be a saint.” Bloy’s words are doubled-edged. First, there is the sadness for those who never embrace for themselves the saving grace of Jesus Christ. Secondly, there is the sadness of those who, although they have tasted the grace of God, never allow God’s grace to fully transform them. These sad ones look at Saint Paul’s remarkable description of being in the fullness of God as the romantic musings of a mystic that never can be the experience of the masses: “Nothing between us and God, our faces shining with the brightness of his face. And so we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him” (2 Corinthians 3:18 MSG).

How can we take steps to change our mindset; how can we more fully embrace our truest identity as the saints of God? One way is to begin to fully embrace the words of Saint Paul to his friends in Ephesus: “The church, you see, is not peripheral to the world; the world is peripheral to the church” (Ephesians 1:22 MSG). When you begin to see yourself living at the center of God’s will for your life, your view of yourself and your environment will change.

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.