Seeking the Life in Christ

Friday, June 7, 2024

Old vs. New

Meditations on the Sermon on the Mount

June 7, 2024

Old vs. New

For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 5:20 (NRSV)

There was a pretty large crowd assembled on the shores of the Sea of Galilee as Jesus delivered his Sermon on the Mount. I can just hear the crowd murmuring when Jesus made the statement quoted above. They were incredulous. How could they outdo the scribes and Pharisees? If the religious leaders tithed – paid 10% to the Temple, would his listeners there on the beach have to pay 15%? If the religious leaders fasted two days per week, would they have to fast three? No.

By “exceeds,” Jesus wasn’t referring to a quantitative measure of the lives of the religious elite; he was referring to the quality of their offerings to God. Remember Saint Paul’s affirmation of God’s mission to form Christ within us: “For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him” (Philippians 2:13). God is not looking at how well we do stuff that we feel we have to do to please Him. God is looking at our heart; how well do we love doing the things that please God?

The good news is that God doesn’t leave us to our own devices to sort all this out. Again, as Saint Paul affirms, it is God working in us giving us the desire and the power to make the life in Christ our way of life. In the next passage, Matthew 5:21-48, Jesus gives a half-dozen examples of what it looks like to exceed the righteousness of the religious leaders. I encourage you to take time today to read this passage.

My Takeaway: Over the weekend, I invite you to join me in taking time to ponder this summary of the quality of life that fulfills Jesus’ teaching:

“Now we can serve God, not in the old way of obeying the letter of the law, but in the new way of living in the Spirit” (Romans 7:6)

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.

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.

Thursday, June 6, 2024

Salt & Light

Meditations on the Sermon on the Mount

June 6, 2024

Salt & Light

“You are the salt of the earth.

You are the light of the world.”

Matthew 5:13a, 14a

With the Beatitudes, Jesus has given his disciples the characteristics of their life in him. The Apostle Paul reminds us of our responsibility to cooperate with God in His mission to form Christ within us: “For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him” (Philippians 2:13). Our Godly desire is to make the beatitudes, to make the life in Christ, our way of life. When we do, we become salt and light to the world.

It is so very essential that the followers of Jesus embrace and own his call: we are to be salt and light! I can see two obstacles immediately as I think of my life, both individually, and as a part of a local church. First, for me personally, I want to avoid conflict. However, it is into the fray we are called. I must admit there is hesitation within as I try to emulate Isaiah’s response to God’s call: “Here I am. Send me” (Isaiah 6:8). It is unnatural for me to want to be salt and light where discord and strife abound.

Secondly, we live in a culture where it seems only the mega-church is valued. Many smaller churches are little noticed and quickly forgotten by denominational officials and most parishioners alike. However, in Jesus’ economy, the lone individual offering a cup of water to a stranger is as highly regarded as the mega-church and her scores of mission teams dispatched far and wide. Salt and light are needed across the street, and across the sea.

My Takeaway: Jesus’ word to me today is a stirring reminder that my life matters to him. He can see all the 7.5 billion people in the world, one at a time, including me. He knows me and knows where I am. The desire of his heart is for me to trust him and allow him to be salt and light through me, wherever I may be, even, or perhaps especially, where discord and strife abound.

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.)

Wednesday, June 5, 2024

Blessed are the Persecuted

Meditations on the Sermon on the Mount

June 5, 2024

Blessed are the Persecuted

“God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs”

Matthew 5:10

Let’s begin first with the blessing: “the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.” The New Testament is written from the perspective that human history is divided into two periods: the present age and the Age to Come. The Age to Come is when the Kingdom of Heaven is fully established on earth, and evil, sin and death have been banished. Jesus the Messiah inaugurated the Age to Come through his life, death, resurrection, and ascension. The Kingdom of Heaven, or Age to Come, will not be some spiritual experience above and beyond life on earth; it will be new life on the earth, as the paradise God intended. Everything will be made right, and truth and justice will flourish. In this new age, life will be full of possibilities. There will be absolutely no barriers or obstacles to fulfilling every Godly dream and ambition you have. Whether you long to create beautiful music or art, experience deep, fulfilling relationships, or any other noble pursuit, in the Age to Come, your dreams will come true. Often, those who live with abundance now assume that the culture in the Age to Come will operate the same as this present culture. However, Jesus taught that where this present age is wedded to materialism and performance-based acceptance, the Age to Come will be wedded to the magnificent grace of God.

As we seek the life in Christ as our way of life, it is vital that we, just like Jesus, keep our eyes on the prize. “We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne” (Hebrews 12:2). Jesus endured the cross because of the joy awaiting him; we can endure persecution because of our hope in the Age to Come.

In Revelation 19, the Apostle John teaches us that the Christian witness for God in times of persecution is the most powerful witness for God in the world. The faithfulness of God’s people in standing firm on the Word of God is crucial to the defeat of the forces of evil. In Revelation 21, we get a glimpse of what it will be like when the persecution of God’s people has ended. With the ultimate and final defeat of evil, God’s people will be completely unrestrained in worship. Worship will not be confined to times and places; worship will be a state of being as God is worshiped through everything that a person does, wherever he or she may be.

My Takeaway: The followers of Christ have been commissioned to speak God’s Word and God’s truth into this present darkness. Our commission is to remain diligent in our responsibility to honor God as we wait for Christ to come in final victory and fulfill all his promises for the Age to Come.

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.)

Tuesday, June 4, 2024

Blessed Are the Peacemakers

Meditations on the Sermon on the Mount

June 4, 2024

Blessed Are the Peacemakers

“God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God.”

Matthew 5:9

Peace is a vitally important subject in the New Testament. Jesus spoke of peace over twenty times in the Gospels, and peace was discussed over sixty times in the rest of the NT. The Apostle Paul was inspired us to become a peacemaker because, “. . . since (I) have been made right in God’s sight by faith, (I) have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for (me)” (Romans 5:1). This truth inspired Paul to live out the peace he had with God, and the short epistle of Philemon reveals Paul’s work as a peacemaker.

Paul wrote from his prison cell in Rome to a man named Philemon who lived in Colossae. According to Colossians 4:9, the letter was sent to Philemon together with Paul’s epistle to the church at Colossae. Philemon was a wealthy businessman who probably came to faith in Jesus when he heard Paul preach in Ephesus. Philemon opened his home in Colossae for a new community of faith to be established.

Onesimus was a slave owned by Philemon. He had deserted Philemon and had at some point encountered Paul, and like Philemon, had come to faith in Christ. Onesimus had grown in faith and had become an important contributor to Paul’s ministry. Even so, Paul knew that true growth in Christ comes through accountability. Paul was seeking to be a peacemaker so that Philemon and Onesimus could be reconciled. Paul knew that for Philemon and Onesimus to live out the life in Christ in this manner would be a huge testimony to the community of Colossae about the authenticity of the church, and the power of Christ to change lives.

Paul does not share his counsel to Onesimus, but I think it is safe to assume his encouragement for Onesimus would have been substantially the same as we see for Philemon. Paul built his case by reminding Philemon of whom he was in Christ, and that the cause of Christ has priority over everything in our life. Paul appeals to Philemon to do the right thing because that’s what followers of Christ do. What a powerful affirmation of the power of Christ that Onesimus returned to Colossae, and that Paul entrusted his friend Onesimus to Philemon.

My Takeaway: While we do not know for certain what became of this reunion, we do know that in the years following this reunion, the church around Colossae elected a Bishop named Onesimus. Onesimus was quite an unusual name, and though we cannot be certain, it is quite possible that the slave Onesimus became the Christian Onesimus who then became Bishop Onesimus. And the Apostle Paul was a peacemaker and a child of God.

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.)

Monday, June 3, 2024

Blessed Are the Pure in Heart

Meditations on the Sermon on the Mount

June 3, 2024

Blessed Are the Pure in Heart

“God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God.”

Matthew 5:8

Jesus again turned to the psalms for his inspiration in the Beatitude, Blessed Are the Pure in Heart: “Who may climb the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? Only those whose hands and hearts are pure, who do not worship idols and never tell lies. They will receive the Lord’s blessing and have a right relationship with God their savior. Such people may seek you and worship in your presence, O God of Jacob” (Psalm 24:3-6).

This Beatitude prompts us to consider our attitude about worship and to ponder just how pure are our hearts. First, what does worship mean to you? Generally, people tend to think of worship as an expression of adoration, praise, and love to God. Certainly, such expressions are included within worship, but does that understanding truly get to the heart of worship? Perhaps we should first ask, why do we worship, what is the purpose, or goal, of worship?

Biblical worship, especially the worship described in the Book of Psalms, has but one purpose: to enter into the presence of God. When we experience the presence of God, our lives are healed and made whole, and we experience the transformation the Apostle Paul described in 2 Corinthians 3:18: “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” (The Message). When the Bible describes worship, the people are bowing down; they are kneeling, in reverence and submission to God (See Psalm 95:6-7). Take a few minutes and ponder what it would be like if our churches came together, and with hearts united with a longing to be in the presence of God, submitted to God’s righteous reign in our lives.

My Takeaway: Jesus promises us, that as we put our whole trust in him, we can allow God to transform our lives so that the things we desire, the things we do, are reflections of God’s heart for humankind. And, thus as we allow God to make our hearts pure, we will see God.

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.)

Friday, May 31, 2024

Blessed Are the Merciful

Meditations on the Sermon on the Mount

May 31, 2024

Blessed Are the Merciful

“God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy.”

Matthew 5:7

In the Beatitudes, Jesus is taking us to a much deeper understanding of the nature of forgiveness when we are in a right relationship with God. I believe there are three levels at which we can understand Christian forgiveness.

The Apostle Paul wrote to the Colossians: “Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others” (Colossians 3:13b). We forgive because the Lord commanded it. This is the first level of forgiveness.

However, Jesus wants us to go deeper. As we mature in Christ, we will understand that it is in our best interest to forgive. We realize our Heavenly Father really does know best. We come to understand why mercy is an essential part of God’s triad of purpose for us: “And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8 NIV). We learn that in the absence of forgiveness, all that is left is bitterness, anger and revenge. We learn that when we practice forgiveness, when we extend mercy, our lives physically, emotionally, and spiritually are enhanced. It is in our best interest to forgive, so we think of forgiveness not as something we must do, but as something we get to do. This is the second level of forgiveness.

The closer we get to Christ, the more we become aware that “God is working in (us), giving (us) the desire and the power to do what pleases him” (Philippians 2:13). We find ourselves in the third level of forgiveness. We become like God and extend mercy because we want to. We are delighted with what God is doing in our life, and the desire of our heart is to share it with others.

My Takeaway: As we progress in our transformation to become like Christ, this promise of God becomes our reality.

“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 3:16-18

The Message

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.)

Thursday, May 30, 2024

Blessed Are Those Who Hunger for Righteousness

Meditations on the Sermon on the Mount

May 30, 2024

Blessed Are Those Who Hunger for Righteousness

“God blesses those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.”

Matthew 5:6

There are again echoes of Psalm 37 in this Beatitude, as well as David’s Psalms 4 & 17. In Psalm 4, David begins by calling out to God, “Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness!” (Psalm 4:1 NASB). David was in a right relationship with God because God called and anointed David to be King over Israel. God made David righteous, that is, in a right relationship with God.

It has been my experience that Christians fall into three basic groups regarding their understanding of righteousness. The first two groups constitute most Christians. One group hasn’t yet grasped the concept of a relationship with God and thus is more focused on trying to be ‘good enough’ to please God, rather than on resting in God’s acceptance of them. The second group just assumes righteousness comes with being saved, and they don’t spend much time thinking about righteousness, much less hungering and thirsting for righteousness.

The third group is those who Jesus blesses in this beatitude with the promise they will be satisfied.

When Jesus speaks of righteousness in this Beatitude, he is not talking about the righteousness of the world that can be earned through good works. He is saying his followers are called to a different kind of righteousness; the righteousness that comes through faith in the Son of God who loved us and gave himself for us. In this righteousness, the life of Jesus becomes visible in our life as we live in a way that expresses the merciful, forgiving, reconciling will of God.

Jesus is blessing those who hunger, who long, and who thirst from the depths of their souls to be made right with the God of all creation. Because of the immeasurable love of Jesus, I am now and forever more in a right relationship with God: “For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

My Takeaway: Therefore, I can rejoice with the psalmist in saying:

“Because I am righteous, I will see you.

When I awake, I will see you face to face and be satisfied” (Psalm 17:15).

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.)

Friday, June 7, 2024

Old vs. New

Thursday, June 6, 2024

Salt & Light

Wednesday, June 5, 2024

Blessed are the Persecuted

Tuesday, June 4, 2024

Blessed Are the Peacemakers

Monday, June 3, 2024

Blessed Are the Pure in Heart

Friday, May 31, 2024

Blessed Are the Merciful

Thursday, May 30, 2024

Blessed Are Those Who Hunger for Righteousness

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