For We Will See Him As He Really Is

Meditations on the Epistles of John & Jude

October 11, 2021

For We Will See Him As He Really Is

See how very much our Father loves us,

for he calls us his children,

and that is what we are!

1 John 3:1a 

John’s appeal to the followers of Jesus is to live our lives today in the same way Jesus lived his life. Like Jesus, we too are the children of God; thus, John calls us to live our lives in the light of this magnificent relationship. John’s ambition for the church reminds me of a teaching aid my friend, Dick Brown, passed on to me. H³ is his aid, and it stands for the three H’s: Hunger for God; Hatred of sin; and Heart for people. All three of these are present in John’s letters. In this letter, John uses the word love twenty-six times: twenty times in chapters three and four. Eight times John discusses belonging. Do we belong to God, or to the world, to truth or to a lie? Repeatedly, John stressed that a Christian is in God, and God is in the Christian. John wants Christians to be fully grounded in their identity:

“See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are!. . .  Dear friends, we are already God’s children”

(1 John 3:1-2).

John not only sets high his expectations for the followers of Christ; he also points us to the truth which enables us to embrace these expectations for ourselves:

“(God )has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is. And all who have this eager expectation will keep themselves pure, just as he is pure” (1 John 3: 2-3).

Do you see the connection? John believes we will see Jesus, face to face, and that when we do, we will be as he is. Spend some time with this truth. One day all the weaknesses of our flesh, all the temptations and struggles we encounter today that tarnish our lives, all these will be gone! We will see our Lord, and we will be as he is! John was persuaded that this truth will motivate us to incorporate the H³ into our lives as we long to be made pure, just as our Lord Jesus is pure.

My Takeaway: How is this possible? The more we keep our eyes on Jesus, the more we realize “God is working in (us), giving (us) the desire and the power to do what pleases him” (Philippians 2:13).

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.

 

Copyright © 2021 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.

We Enjoy the Eternal Life He Promised Us

 Meditations on the Epistles of John & Jude

October 8, 2021

We Enjoy the Eternal Life He Promised Us

So you must remain faithful to what you have been taught from the beginning. If you do, you will remain in fellowship with the Son and with the Father. And in this fellowship we enjoy the eternal life he promised us.

1 John 2:24-25

While reading John's epistles, it is very helpful to remember that in the New Testament, “life in the age to come,” is the literal translation of the phrase “eternal life.” One of the core foundations of the Christian faith is a belief that God is going to establish His Kingdom on earth in the 'age to come.' In this Age to Come, everything will be made right, and truth and justice will flourish. God's Kingdom will be new life on earth, as the paradise God intended. This life in the Age to Come began on Easter Sunday when God's promise was fulfilled in the resurrection of Jesus, the Messiah. God has opened the doors of this age, His Kingdom, to everyone.

John's purpose in this letter is to edify the believers and to encourage them to seek to live the life in Christ now, as they prepare for the full revelation of God's Kingdom. From John's perspective, as well as that of the other writers of the New Testament, if we will focus ourselves on fulfilling Jesus' commandment to love others as He has loved us, we will have a full plate. Literally, we'll have all we can say grace over.

Here, at the end of 1 John 2, the word, antichrist is introduced. John is the only writer in the New Testament to use the word antichrist. He uses it twice in chapter two, once in chapter four and once in his second letter. John uses the word in a generic way to refer to people who deny the humanity of Christ, and for those who break fellowship with the church. In either case, John is asserting that the antichrist is denying the sacrificial work of Jesus to establish His church. In response to those who deny the complete work of Jesus, John reminds the disciples of Jesus that we have received the Holy Spirit who lives within us. The Spirit teaches us everything we need to know. (1 John 2:26-27)

My Takeaway: For John, the bottom line is quite simple: remain in fellowship with Christ.

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.

 

Copyright © 2021 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.

Live as Jesus Did

Meditations on the Epistles of John & Jude 

October 7, 2021

Live as Jesus Did

I am writing to you who are God’s children

    because your sins have been forgiven through Jesus.

1 John 2: 12 

John has an interesting style in his writing, especially in the passage 1 John 2:12-14. His style reminds me of many contemporary praise songs. In a manner like the Taizé movement in France, contemporary songs use repetitive phrases as a means of meditation. The point is to take the time to let the truth of the phrase go deep within our spirit. John is repetitive throughout this passage (and the whole letter) for the same reason.

John’s message is as timely today as it was for his first century recipients. John was very concerned about disharmony in the body of believers. His message was quite simple:

“Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.”

1 John 2:6

Or in the parlance of the theme of my daily meditations, if you say you love God, then seek the life in Christ as your way of life. As you seek to live your life as Jesus lived his, I believe there are two primary incidents in the life of Jesus that exemplify his character.

The first is to remember who was present at the table with him for the Passover supper. And whose feet did he wash? (Spoiler alert – Judas was there!)

Secondly, let us never forget his prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane:

“My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”

Matthew 26:39b

My Takeaway: Peter was at the Passover table also. A few hours later, he denied even knowing Jesus. Yet Jesus did not kick these guys to the curb. And Jesus didn’t alter who he was to accommodate his followers. Pondering how we may incorporate these attributes of Jesus into our lives will keep us busy until that wonderful day when our faith becomes sight!

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.

 

Copyright © 2021 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.

Thanking Our Abba Father

Meditations on the Epistles of John & Jude 

October 6, 2021

Thanking Our Abba Father

But if anyone does sin,

we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father.

He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous.

1 John 2:1b 

In this first letter of John, he affirms that God is light and if we claim to have fellowship with God, but willingly continue to live in sin, we are not practicing the truth. John is teaching the followers of Jesus to own their sin and weakness and seek God’s power to move into His light.

John’s teaching includes two of the greatest promises in all of scripture. First, we are not alone in our battle against living in spiritual darkness:

“But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous.”

1 John 2:1b

Take a moment to truly let this promise sink in. Can you remember a time recently when you struggled with temptation? Like the Apostle Paul, we all can claim our moments when we

“want to do what is right, but (we) can’t. (We) want to do what is good, but (we) don’t. (We) don’t want to do what is wrong, but (we) do it anyway.”

Romans 7:18b-19

Even when we give in to temptation, our advocate, Jesus the truly righteous one, is pleading for us before God’s throne! Please, let this truth sink deep within your spirit.

Secondly, we don’t have to be afraid to own our sins and confess them to God:

“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

Because Jesus, the truly righteous one, is pleading for us, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. This surely is the Good News of the Gospel.

My Takeaway: Each Sunday at breakfast, Cheryl and I make a note of special moments – blessings from God – we experienced the previous week. We put the notes in a mason jar, and on New Year’s Eve, we will review all our blessings of the year. Today’s reading is a reminder that our greatest blessings are the promises of God in scripture.

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.

 

Copyright © 2021 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 on the Epistles of John & Jude

October 5, 2021

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

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.

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

<><  <><  <><  <><

(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 © 2021 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.

May The Grace Of Our Lord Jesus Be With You

Meditations on Romans 

October 4, 2021

May The Grace Of Our Lord Jesus Be With You

All glory to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, forever. Amen.

Romans 16:27

Read: Romans 16:17-27

Paul closes his letter with a caution not to put our faith into the hands of other people. But we have pastors and preachers and teachers in our churches; is Paul telling us not to listen to them? Certainly not! Paul is admonishing us to always and everywhere check what we hear and what we are being told. In Romans 10:17, Paul taught us that our faith comes by hearing the Good News of Jesus Christ. Therefore, all teaching should be measured by how Christ-centered it is; hence, Paul closed his admonishment with the benediction, “May the grace of our Lord Jesus be with you” (Romans 16:20b).

We all need good information about the world we live in, and we have many places where we can go for that information. When I go to church I want to hear about Jesus. Nothing more -- nothing less.

My Takeaway: When I read Paul’s benediction in verse 27, I recall the prayer in Psalm 19:14: “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.” I want to live my life, every day, every place I go, with this Psalm embedded in me. When I do, then at the end of the day I will say with a glad heart, “All glory to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, forever. Amen”

P.S. I have been challenged and renewed in my faith after spending the last three months with the Apostle Paul and his letter to the church in Rome. I hope my meditations on the daily readings have been a blessing to you as well. Tomorrow, I will begin a two-week series on the three epistles of John, and Jude, and on October 25, I will begin a series on Galatians.

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.

 

Copyright © 2021 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.

A Sacred Kiss

Meditations on Romans

October 1, 2021

A Sacred Kiss

Greet each other with a sacred kiss. All the churches of Christ send you their greetings.

Romans 16:16

Read: Romans 16:1-16

Paul names more than two dozen individuals as he closes his letter. To the best of our knowledge, Paul did not travel to Rome until after this letter was written. In an age well before telephones, regular mail service, email, or twitter, I am left to ponder how Paul knew so many people in Rome. But before I get lost pondering the how, let me first appreciate that he did in fact know by name many of his brothers and sisters in the faith who were connected to the church in Rome. Not only did he know their names, he was also well aware of where and how they were in service to Christ and his church.

My Takeaway: In our churches today, many in the congregation are hard pressed to name twenty-four of the persons who gather with them each week for worship; much less the names of any of those who labor for Christ in other churches, either down the street or in other lands. I believe we, like Paul, will not find it hard to raise the money needed to fund our churches when we are as passionate as Paul about the people within our congregations and when we celebrate our connection to the other communities of faith supporting the work of Christ.

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.

 

Copyright © 2021 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.