Posts Tagged ‘ Daniel Klem ’
“By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
John 13:35, ESV
Christ came for His Church. He commands we love His Church – each other – just as He does.
Sacrificially and even amidst pain.
“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.“
John 3:16-18, ESV
At Advent, we look back at why Jesus had to come, that He came, and then that He will come again.
Jesus came to live amongst us, teaching the truths of God and proving them with miracles, signs, and wonders.
Whether we grow up surrounded by religious teachings or nothing spiritual, it can be difficult to comprehend salvation.
Jesus explained to Nicodemus, and thus to us, that it is pretty simple how to be saved, but we make it oh so difficult.
If we don’t choose to believe that Jesus is the Son of God, fully God and fully man, who is the God we have all sinned against, that He died for our forgiveness and restoration to Himself, and that He bodily rose back to life, we remain condemned to the wrath of God for our sin.
If we don’t believe all of that, we are in danger of not being saved.
Jesus is full of grace, and He is our only source of hope and forgiveness.
God came to us as a man to save us by taking our punishment on Himself, and we must believe this to be saved.
It is not difficult to understand, but we don’t want to admit our faults or that it can be so easy to be saved yet difficult to live by God’s standard.
May we seek the Lord who has saved us from wrath and given us the path to eternal life.
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.”
Matthew 5:14, ESV
Christ has put His light in us, and we shine brightest when we are together. He uses us to shine in a world of darkness.
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.
John 3:13-15, ESV
At Advent, we look back at why Jesus had to come, that He came, and then that He will come again.
Jesus came to live amongst us, teaching the truths of God and proving them with miracles, signs, and wonders.
Even the religious elite could see it, but they could not understand without help.
And Jesus was that help to Nicodemus and others willing to listen, but we tend to be an obstinate lot.
What does Jesus tell us about salvation?
He tells us that only Jesus has made the trip from heaven and back, that only those who believe in Him can ascend.
He tells us we must believe He is the only source of salvation, and it is in His death on the cross we find forgiveness and are saved.
God came to us as a man to save us by taking our punishment on Himself, and we must believe this to be saved.
Maybe people who lived in Old Testament times did not understand this in detail, but they knew where salvation was found: in God alone.
Christ has come and given us the Holy Spirit who leads us to Christ’s cross and forgiveness of sins and hope for eternal life.
May we seek the Lord who has saved us and shown us the path to eternal life.
The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone.
Isaiah 9:2, ESV
We all walk in the darkness of sin, unable to break through. God came to us in the Person of Jesus, the source of light breaking through our darkness.
By this light we are saved from sin.
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.
1 John 4:7, ESV
We don’t want to love others, but the God who came to us to show His love can fill us with His love to then want to love others.
Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
John 3:5, ESV
At Advent, we look back at why Jesus had to come, that He came, and then that He will come again.
Jesus came to live amongst us, teaching the truths of God and proving them with miracles, signs, and wonders.
Even the religious elite could see it, but they could not understand without help.
If the most religious and smartest could not understand the ways of God, what hope could the rest of us have?
What does Jesus tell us about salvation?
Born of water: baptism does play a role, but this also tells us that only humans can be saved. (Fallen angels cannot be saved.)
Born of the Spirit: only those who believe and receive the Holy Spirit can be saved. (John 16:7-15)
This is difficult to comprehend, but only by trusting the Holy Spirit and the truth of the gospel of Christ can we inherit eternal life in Christ.
Jesus came to bring us life free from sin and in eternity with Him.
Christ has come, and we must seek the wisdom of His Holy Spirit and forgiveness of sins. (James 1:5; 1 John 1:9)
May we seek the Lord who has offered us His Holy Spirit, salvation, and eternal life.
Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
John 3:1-3, ESV
At Advent, we look back at why Jesus had to come, that He came, and then that He will come again.
Jesus came to live amongst us, teaching the truths of God and proving them with miracles, signs, and wonders.
Even the religious elite could see it.
The Messiah had come! It must be the Prophet that Moses spoke of (Deuteronomy 18:15-22), the one who would restore Israel!
The Savior had indeed finally come, but He was not what was expected.
To follow Him, to be saved, means becoming a new – renewed – person.
Jesus said we must be born again, but even one of the great teachers of Israel could not comprehend it.
Salvation is simultaneously so simple to grasp yet so difficult to understand.
Like Nicodemus, we must be wise enough to seek the Savior and to understand His teachings.
Christ has come, but we must seek Him and ask for wisdom. (Matthew 6:33; James 1:5)
May we seek the Lord who has offered us His wisdom and salvation.
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
Isaiah 7:14, ESV
God came to us, and He told us what to expect: the impossible. But what is impossible with man is possible with God (Luke 18:27), especially our salvation.
And He lived with us to buy our salvation.
But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there, and being warned in a dream he withdrew to the district of Galilee. And he went and lived in a city called Nazareth, so that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, that he would be called a Nazarene.
Matthew 2:22-23, ESV
At Advent, we look back at why Jesus had to come, that He came, and then that He will come again.
Jesus came to live amongst us, bringing danger to His earthly family.
Though one danger may pass, it does not mean all danger is gone.
We still see that God protects His own.
The one who tried to kill fellow image-bearers in an attempt to destroy God had died, but his just as twisted son took his place.
God once again sent a dream to Joseph to protect this family. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph were still not completely safe, but in this moment we can see that God keeps His promises.
God was not surprised by any of the events surrounding the birth and early childhood of Jesus. In fact, He had it prophesied centuries earlier.
There were still those who would hurt the young Jesus and God’s faithful servants.
This world may not be safe, and we also know that this world is not our home, but we can rely on the promises and prophecies of God.
Again, Christ has shown us how to live and trust and love in the midst of danger.
May we seek the Lord who has saved us from sin and shown us His power over time, death, and evil.
a simple man of God 