Jesus Overcame The World; He Can Overcome You!

Meditations for the Season of Advent 

December 13, 2021

Jesus Overcame The World;

He Can Overcome You!

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace.

In this world you will have trouble.

But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

John 16:33 

As I study history, I have been struck by the huge difference for good just one person can make. History records the deeds of many individuals who at one time seemed like a lonely voice in the wilderness calling for change, and change came. Think of Wilberforce’s leadership to stop slavery in England, or John Wesley’s zeal to take the Gospel to the common man, or President Harry Truman taking a stand for the state of Israel. Of course, the corollary is just as true. Either for good, or for evil, one person can make a huge difference.

Some people are in places where their actions can influence hundreds, even thousands of others. Some people are in places where their range of influence may not stretch beyond their nuclear family. Even so, all people have influence. Too many people negate their potential for influence because they seem to have so little influence over their own life. For these people, it seems they are continually waging war, and not winning many victories against the same enemies: moodiness, laziness, grudges and resentments, self-centeredness, and their feeble life of faith.

May I suggest to anyone who feels their personal failures cancel their potential to be an influence for good in the lives of others that the issue is not whether you are able; the issue is whether Jesus is able! Our Savior, Christ Jesus, transformed the world through his birth in Bethlehem. Take heart! He has overcome the world and is quite capable of transforming your life!

My Takeaway: Every Christmas we can again receive God’s gift to us of hope, and we can again give our life to God to be used by Him as a force for good in His world!        

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.

This Is What The Sovereign LORD Says!

Meditations for the Season of Advent

December 10, 2021

This Is What The Sovereign LORD Says!

The people to whom I am sending you are obstinate and stubborn.

Say to them,

‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says.’

Ezekiel 2:4 

Ezekiel recorded the words of God to Israel many thousands of years ago, but they can just as easily be His words to me today. I am very much in need of the Holy Spirit coming to me, repeatedly, and reporting to me, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says!’

I need this remedial training because it is so difficult to completely overcome the ways of my past that are so deeply ingrained within me. And I am not alone. I recall my wife, Cheryl, sharing with me an incident when she was driving her mother to the store. At the time, her mother had been widowed for about a year. Cheryl’s father had been quite successful in life and had provided well for his family. Cheryl’s mother was completely debt free and had a substantial income in her retirement. As they drove toward the store, Cheryl’s mother turned to her and asked, “Do you think I can afford to buy a new pair of house slippers?” Given her financial standing, her question seemed absurd. Given she had been raised in poverty during the Great Depression, her question made perfect sense. The experiences of our past deeply shape our perspective on today.

I noted in my meditation, A Life of Hope, (December 6, 2021) that we live in a culture that emphasizes awareness of emotions and feelings. The culture teaches a person to act on their feelings. When you follow this path, your feelings will become your beliefs about yourself and your world. Keep on this path, and your beliefs that were birthed from your feelings will become the core of who you think you are. The experiences of our past deeply shape our feelings about today. This is why we so need the Holy Spirit reminding us of the truth of God. We can choose to turn from our past and its influential feelings and turn to God’s Word. When we chose God’s Word, we will see that the world’s culture has told us a pack of lies about who we are, and who God is, and we will learn that God, in Christ Jesus, is telling us the truth.

Truth:

We are the beloved of God, with whom He is delighted

and upon whom His favor rests.

My Takeaway: Because the virgin conceived a child, this truth is our Christmas gift. She gave birth to a son, and we call him Immanuel, which means this truth is always with us.

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.

Contemplative at Christmas

Meditations for the Season of Advent

December 9, 2021

Contemplative at Christmas

Now this is eternal life:

that they know you, the only true God,

and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.

John 17:3 

The very center, the very heart of the Christian life is Jesus. All that we are as Christians, all that we hope to be as the children of God, is hidden within the person of Jesus. As Christian mystics, that is, persons who have experienced something of Christ, people who have tasted the grace of God, we are now people who are ruled by thirst: our thirst for more of Christ.

Thomas Merton, a mystic who has gone before us, said that we learn to pray by praying. The very center, the very heart of prayer for a mystic, is in responding to the call of our Abba, “Be still, and know that I am God!” (Psalm 46:10a). As we still ourselves before our Abba, we can immerse ourselves in His forgiveness, reconciliation and love that flow from Jesus. As we surrender our lives to the one who loved us and gave himself for us, we can accept our acceptance.

“Sometimes at that moment a wave of light breaks into our darkness, and it is as though a voice were saying: "You are accepted. You are accepted, accepted by that which is greater than you. Simply accept the fact that you are accepted." If that happens to us, we experience grace. After such an experience, we may not be better than before, we may not believe more than before. But everything is transformed" (Paul Tillich).

I invite you to make time for two devotional journeys this Advent season. First, come quietly before “The light (that) shines in the darkness” (John 1:5) and accept that you have been accepted by that which is greater than you. Open your heart, and let this truth embed himself deeply within you.

Secondly, on another day, as you draw still before your Abba, read Colossians 1:15-20, and contemplate the supremacy of the one you thirst for, the one who desperately wants you to affirm: “I am my beloved’s, and his desire is for me” (Song of Solomon 7:10 NRSV).

My Takeaway: Enjoy being contemplative at Christmas; everything will be transformed!

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.

Practice the Presence

Meditations for the Season of Advent

December 8, 2021

Practice the Presence

In (Christ) and through faith in (Christ)

 we may approach God with freedom and confidence

Ephesians 3:12 (NIV) 

One of the saints in the unseen cloud of witnesses that surrounds us (Hebrews 12:1) once noted, “Let nothing disturb you, let nothing frighten you. All things are passing. God alone remains.” (Therese of Lisieux) To live this way is to practice your faith in Christ Jesus, as you bear witness to the freedom he has won for you. The practice of faith is about letting the truth of God inspire your heart, and then transform your life. When the truth of God becomes incarnational, it takes on new life within you, as you live your faith in Christ. The theologian Maurice Blondel said, “If you want to know what a person really believes, don’t listen to what he says but watch what he does.”

The practice of faith verifies to the world around us what we really believe about Jesus. In this Advent season, I want to take Blondel’s words to heart. I want to slow down, to pause and reflect on how my actions, and my words reflect my heart’s devotion to Christ. Before I voice an opinion on the issues facing our culture, I want to first turn to Jesus and ask him, “Lord, what is your view on this?” Wherever I may be, my desire is to remain firmly fixed on the ultimate reality of my life, Christ Jesus. Brother Lawrence called this practicing the presence of Christ within us.

My Takeaway: The bottom line is simple. It doesn’t matter one bit what I say on these pages about what I believe about God in Christ Jesus. What matters is how my beliefs shape all my life, my actions as well as my thoughts.

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 Are Filled With Joy

Meditations for the Season of Advent

December 7, 2021

We Are Filled With Joy

Our mouths were filled with laughter,

our tongues with songs of joy.

Then it was said among the nations,

“The Lord has done great things for them.”

Psalm 126:2

For every family that gathers in joy, peace and love during the Advent and Christmas seasons, there are countless other families who don’t. Those families have been torn asunder by illness, or dysfunction, or despair, or any one of a myriad of ills that disrupt families in our culture. 

Sometimes people laugh during their despair. Abraham and Sarah had long given up on God’s promise of a child. In her advanced years, when Sarah was told she soon would be pregnant, she laughed in disbelief, the laugh of despair. But God had the last laugh, and when she gave birth to a son, she named him Isaac, which means laughter. Isaac became a living testimony of our Heavenly Father’s laughter of love.

Our Heavenly Father laughed again, His laughter of love, when His angel told a virgin, “You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus” (Luke 1:31). Matthew’s Gospel quotes the OT Prophet Isaiah, and tells us, “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”)” (Matthew 1:23).

My Takeaway: Jesus is God with us! There is plenty in this world to cause despair to rain down into our lives. However, when our lives are hidden with Christ in God, we can rest in God’s smile of affection for us. Our Heavenly Father’s laughter of love can sustain us as we wait in hope for that day when justice rolls “down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream” (Amos 5:24).

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 Life of Hope

 Meditations for the Season of Advent

December 6, 2021

A Life of Hope

O Lord, you alone are my hope.

Psalm 71:5a 

We live in a culture that emphasizes awareness of emotions and feelings. The culture teaches a person to act on their feelings. When you follow this path, your feelings will become your beliefs about yourself and your world. Keep on this path, and your beliefs that were birthed from your feelings will become the core of who you are.

Gandhi put it this way, “Your thoughts will become your words. Your words will become your actions. Your actions will become your habits. Your habits will become your character. Your character will define your destiny.”

Can you see the problem with both feelings and thoughts? Feelings or emotions do not always reflect the truth. Neither do our thoughts. We need a beginning point that is rock-solid. This point is the truth of God. We can begin with God’s word and chose to believe it. We can then take actions based on our beliefs. Eventually, our feelings will begin to line up with the truth of God, but not right away, and not always. This is why the Apostle Paul said, “For we live by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7).

Psalm 71:5 is part of a prayer that is focused on the rock-solid truth of God. The psalmist was in a very difficult place, and in his prayer, he rehearsed all he knew, all he had experienced with God. In this way, his faith was resting on God, and he was not overcome by doubt and fear. The Psalmist affirmed that his hope, his trust was in God. This is the truth that shaped his life.

Christian hope is at the core of our Advent and Christmas celebrations. Our hope is not only on the future coming of Christ to establish his Kingdom on earth. Our hope also rests on the Good News of God’s transforming grace in our lives today.

My Takeaway: God’s grace has freed us from the fear of death and frees us from the fear of life. In Christ, we have received new life, a life centered in the very real hope of God 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.

The Peace of Christ

Meditations for the Season of Advent 

December 3, 2021

The Peace of Christ

Mercy, peace and love be yours in abundance.

Jude 1:2

The word peace is used almost one hundred times in the NT. We encounter this word quite often in the Advent and Christmas seasons. Scripture teaches we have peace with God because of what Christ has done. Scripture teaches us to live in peace with one another. Scripture teaches us we can cast our anxieties onto God, and receive in exchange the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding. Recently I came across a statement that made me realize I have much yet to accomplish in plumbing the depths of what God wants us to understand and experience in His peace.

The statement I read is this:

“Nothing discourages me, not even discouragement.”

Eugène Ionesco 

This observation points to the truth of God’s purpose that we overcome despair by living in the reality of His peace, love and wholeness. Ionesco’s observation also points to the dichotomy in the Christian life. When the scriptures speak of a peace that surpasses all understanding, they are also speaking of a peace that far too few Christians experience. After all, Ionesco was a poet, so perhaps he was taking a rather large poetic license in his observation.

Or perhaps he was pointing to the experience of peace God desperately wants all His children to know. We can reach out for this peace by first remembering that God always does the heavy lifting for us. When we are in that place where faith seems well beyond our measure, we can recall the words of Jesus: “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God” (Mark 10:27). After all, Jesus may have died on the cross, but he didn’t stay dead.

When I begin to think that Ionesco’s observation may be just pie in the sky, I recall the words of Miles Stanford: “To be disappointed is to have believed in yourself.” If that is true, and I believe it is, then it is also just as true that to be discouraged is to have believed in yourself.

My takeaway: The bottom line for me is remembering to fix my eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of my faith (Hebrews 12:2). When I do, I can take a nice bite of Ionesco’s pie in the sky.

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.