Archive for the ‘ Religion ’ Category

Weekend Words & Sunday Stanzas – 03/15/2015

Change your mind, and find the wisdom of God through some of the thoughts at Proverbial Thought!

There is no need for a great debate on Calvinism, Arminianism, Molinism, or any other -isms of soteriology (study of salvation) based on the poem today.

We should all agree that we are “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession”. In fact, this poem is based on that very passage of Scripture:

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.
1 Peter 2:9-12, ESV

Regardless of how free a choice we had in the process of salvation, it is still true that God chose us as His own, and He has given us the command and the privilege of sharing the Gospel with our fallen world.

chosen

 

chosen before i knew You

selected for Your purpose

still needing Your Truth revealed

to have any usefulness

when i finally came around

and You got through my thick head

my heart became softened

my life redeemed from the dead

now i seek out Your chosen

finding them still evil

telling them how You changed my life

and resisted the lies of the devil

no longer deceived by lies

now aware of all Your Truth

they can truly live their lives

knowing they are chosen by You

Weekend Words & Sunday Stanzas – 03/08/2015

Find wisdom in everything, and get a head start at Proverbial Thought!

The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
1 Peter 4:7-11, ESV

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

These are basically the inspiration for today’s poem. Therefore, as Casting Crowns says, will you praise Him in the storm? Will you praise Him when life is good? Will you praise Him when life is “okay”?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

in everything (praise Him)

 

sometimes life is difficult

sometimes our plans all fail

yet i will say in everything

to praise Him Who prevailed

sometimes things do not work out

sometimes things are amazing

but i have learned the joy

of praising Him in everything

sometimes we do not want to praise Him

sometimes praise is all we think

in everything i now know

i need to give praise to my King

All Hail the Power with the Newsboys

If the beginning of wisdom is to fear the Lord, learn some basics at Proverbial Thought!

Call me a conservative Christian, even olde fashioned, but I greatly enjoy hymns. I think much of the greater evangelical church has lost or given up on a great link to our historical and theological past by neglecting the inclusion of hymns from weekly services.

I know. Many churches still play some hymns, and many play updated hymns from modern pop and rock bands.

In fact, today I offer a hymn done by one of those modern rock bands. Fortunately for us, they did little to it!

I will not waste any more time by explaining it. Just listen to the goodness!

 Newsboys – All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name

All hail the power of Jesus’ name!
Let angels prostrate fall.
Bring forth the Royal Diadem,
And crown Him Lord of all!
Bringing forth the Royal Diadem,
And crown Him Lord of all!

Ye chosen seed of Israel’s race,
Ye ransomed from the fall,
Hail Him Who saves you by His grace,
And crown Him Lord of all!
Hail Him Who saves you by His grace,
And crown Him Lord of all!

You are Lord of all!
You are Lord of all!

Let every kindred, every tribe
On this terrestrial ball
To Him all majesty ascribe,
And crown Him Lord of all!
To Him all majesty ascribe,
And crown Him Lord of all!
And crown Him Lord of all!
And crown Him Lord of all!

The Greatest Deception of the 21st Century

In short: BOOM!

Longer version:

I wish you would bear with me in a little foolishness. Do bear with me! For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ. But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough.
2 Corinthians 11:1-4, ESV

But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.
Galatians 1:8

Daniel

500 and Counting

I realized after publishing my Groundhog Day post that it was my 500th post on this blog!

I think it rather fitting that on such a milestone, God let me share the first steps to receiving the Gospel message.

Excellent.

Father, help me to remain a faithful servant and witness for your glory. Empower me with your Holy Spirit to always point our fallen world to the sacrifice and resurrection of your Son, Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ, our Savior and Lord.

Amen.

Groundhog Day, again …

While there may be nothing new under the sun, one constant we can trust is God’s wisdom. Get a taste at Proverbial Thought!

As I type this, the world has been reminded time and again about what groundhogs across the United States have said about the coming of Spring (or the extension of Winter). While the first official day of spring is March 20 (which happens to be six weeks from February 2nd), a lot of people are really wondering if there is going to be six weeks more of snow and cold or if it will come to an end soon.

What has been the primary mode for people reminding each other on social media of this grand revealing by a groundhog of the start of Spring?

Groundhog Day (1993) Poster

Groundhog Day (1993) poster, from IMDb.com

Talking about Bill Murray’s Groundhog Day.

The basic premise of this film is that a bitter man (played by Bill Murray) keeps waking up on February 2nd, the same day, over and over again. It is not until he learns to appreciate life that he can break the cycle.

The Bible touches on this, as well:

What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun.
Ecclesiastes 1:9, ESV

The Bible gives similar, albeit more focused, advice for breaking the cycle of repeating the same things over and over:

The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14

But this life is not the end. As Proverbs 1:7 states, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,” so we need the full story.

This little story out of Acts 16 (vv. 24-34) demonstrates where the fear of the Lord should lead us:

Having received this order, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.

About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bonds were unfastened. When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul cried with a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.” And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family. Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them. And he rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God.

Wade-ing Deep?

Choose a life of wisdom, and get started at Proverbial Thought!

Anniversaries are important. We are even told to remember history.

the Jews firmly obligated themselves and their offspring and all who joined them, that without fail they would keep these two days according to what was written and at the time appointed every year, that these days should be remembered and kept throughout every generation, in every clan, province, and city, and that these days of Purim should never fall into disuse among the Jews …
Esther 9:27-28, ESV

You shall eat no leavened bread with it. Seven days you shall eat it with unleavened bread, the bread of affliction—for you came out of the land of Egypt in haste—that all the days of your life you may remember the day when you came out of the land of Egypt.
Deuteronomy 16:3

And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not.
Deuteronomy 8:2

Unfortunately, today has not been a holiday of much joy for many people, though some may claim it as such.

It was 42 years ago today that the Supreme Court made a decision that changed the nation dramatically.

Now for a little sensationalism …

roevwade42nd_aig

Forty-second anniversary of Roe vs. Wade – Answers in Genesis, 2015

 

Now, I depends on who you talk to, so I will not really get into a big numbers argument over who has died from abortions or how many abortions happened before and after the Roe vs. Wade decision.

My real argument for today is what we should remember.

You may remember I discussed the interesting parallel between the times of Moses’ birth, Jesus’ birth, and today.

You may remember I discussed the misunderstandings that have arisen about what people believe and what love is.

Most importantly, you may remember when I discussed birth control (and other related things).

(If you want to take a moment to read those, the rest of this post will still be here when you are done!)

Truth be told, it does not matter how many abortions there are or the women’s lives that may be saved from abortions being legal.

Most people on both sides of the issue agree that lowering the number of abortions is good. At the least, fewer abortions means less risk of complications for women. At best, there is no issue.

What we need to remember is that this is an important issue. Regardless of when science finally decides when life begins, the Bible does tell us that even these little lives are important:

For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.
Psalm 139:13-14

Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you …
Jeremiah 1:5

The point in these two passages is that God cares for people, even inside the womb.

What we need to remember is that legislation and science will not necessarily lower the number of abortions.

What it will take is for a complete life change to happen in women AND men. It is making responsible and moral decisions.

And that only fully happens when Jesus Christ is involved.

For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Peter 1:5-8

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
Galatians 5:22-24

That is what we need to remember most. The loss of over 50 million babies in about 40 years reminds us that we need Jesus to move in our lives through His Holy Spirit.

Only God can heal and change lives.

My Soul’s Quinceañera? (My 15th Re-Birthday)

For starters, I know that a Quinceañera is a celebration for young Latinas becoming women at the age of 15!

In reply, I refer you Paul’s words in Galatians 3:28, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

That being said …

Fifteen years ago today, at 6:47 pm (CST), the Holy Spirit got a hold of me, and to the glory of the Father I knelt down for the first time to make that blessed confession (see Matthew 16:15-16):

He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” [Daniel M. Klem] replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

Has your soul been wrapped in the arms of the Savior?

Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things? Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony. If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”
John 3:3-21, ESV

Weekend Words & Sunday Stanzas – 01/04/2015

Relax in the Father’s wisdom, and find some at Proverbial Thought!

These year, our church has a renewed focus on evangelism, specifically by better equipping the saints to reach out to their friends, families, and co-workers.

It is therefore fitting that the next poem on my list and the first one for the year is based on Jeremiah 20:9 (ESV)

If I say, “I will not mention him,
or speak any more in his name,”
there is in my heart as it were a burning fire
shut up in my bones,
and I am weary with holding it in,
and I cannot.

May all of us who call on the name of the Lord find this passion to share that Name above all names, even when (as in the context of this passage) it is difficult and even dangerous to do so!

right now my mind is racing

and my heart palpitating

struggling to concentrate

on anything but Your face

longing to be in Your Presence

searching out Your countenance

that You would look on this servant

to whom You have said “We are friends”

knowing that You will always love me

want me with You for eternity

is hard for me to grasp and believe

but this love set me completely free

knowing all this has taken me aback

my spirit stirred and i cannot relax

because Your love is keeping me held back

in a constant almost panic attack

2014 in review for a simple man of God

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2014 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 1,600 times in 2014. If it were a cable car, it would take about 27 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.