Posts Tagged ‘ Daniel Klem ’
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead
1 Peter 1:3, ESV
The Father draws us to the Son. By His grace, we seek Him and find everlasting hope.
I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope
Psalm 130:5, ESV
As we seek God, He grants us peace and we find hope in His promises, including His immenent return.
for those who guide this people have been leading them astray, and those who are guided by them are swallowed up.
Isaiah 9:16, ESV
At Advent, we look back at why Jesus had to come, that He came, and then that He will come again.
We do horrible things to ourselves, to each other, and against God.
We want to hear about the good things in this world and that good things will come to us.
We want to surround ourselves with people who will tell is what we want to hear. (2 Timothy 4:3-4)
And there are people who are willing to tell us those happy things, saying many of the right things while also ignoring or omitting the things that don’t sound as good.
In other words, there are teachers willing to teach what others want to benefit themselves. (1 Timothy 6:3-10; 2 Timothy 3:1-9)
But this is not new. Many of the prophets and priests of Israel had done that for centuries (which is something Isaiah is talking about), and it clearly stretches throughout history.
The religious leadership added rules to or new interpretations of God’s Word. Balaam accepted money to speak and fight against Israel (even if he still only spoke blessings). All the way back to the beginning, the serpent twisted God’s Word to “help” people be more like God.
And we have allowed ourselves to be consumed with selfish lies.
May we seek the Lord who has given us truth through His Word (The Bible) and His life, death, and resurrection.
But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing
Matthew 6:3, ESV
Seeking God will lead us to want to help others the same way Christ helped us, not so much to bring attention to ourselves but to glorify God, to bring others to faith and salvation.
The people did not turn to him who struck them, nor inquire of the Lord of hosts.
Isaiah 9:13, ESV
At Advent, we look back at why Jesus had to come, that He came, and then that He will come again.
We do horrible things to each other and against God.
We don’t like to believe that God punishes people, either. However, the Old Testament shows how often Israel disobeyed God, and God allowed and even sent disasters and armies to correct them and draw them back to Himself.
But we like to think we know better, so we refuse to go to Him or even blame Him for everything wrong in this life.
How could He allow such bad things to happen? How could a good God let evil happen to good people?
But He has told us that none of us are truly good, that we don’t seek our Maker.
He sends and allows because He has given us the choice to ignore, hate, and refuse Him.
Yes, God sends things that hurt but it to draw us in, and He also sends Himself to hold us.
May we seek the Lord who draws us in.
For the yoke of his burden, and the staff for his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian.
Isaiah 9:4, ESV
At Advent, we look back at why Jesus had to come, that He came, and then that He will come again.
There are many times in this world that we burden and oppress each other.
We either attempt to force our own will on others, add our will (rules) to God’s will, or have the will of others forced on us.
We dare to put ourselves in God’s place or blame Him for the sin of others.
We willingly choose our own path, carrying the burden of our sin, thinking we are good in our own right.
The ways of this world drag us down, and we complain and try to fix things ourselves … or accept that we are nothing and hold onto this view.
And many times we lash out at each other, seeking comfort, even if through burdening others.
And if we blame God, we also say His ways must be more burdensome, not wanting to acknowledge that we have burdened ourselves.
We may still struggle with the problems of this world, but Jesus has promised that we will have troubles. He has given us His yoke of loving others.
May we seek to lead our world to theOne who ends sin’s oppression.
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
Hebrews 11:1, ESV
As we seek God, He gives us more faith and more reasons for faith. We may not see all of His promises in this life, but He has shown Himself faithful.
A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.“
Isaiah 40:3, ESV
We live in a wilderness of sin and darkness in this world.
Let us make every effort to remove obstacles to the gospel in our own lives and as we share the gospel with others.
May we seek the peace and light of God.
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
At Advent, we look back at why Jesus had to come, that He came, and then that He will come again.
We live in a dark world.
Sin entered the world when Adam and Eve broke the one command of God that should have been the easiest: “Don’t eat this fruit.”
Yes, sin means missing the mark, falling short, turning away from God.
Sin is ultimately separation. We are born separated from God because of our super-great grandparents, yet we also choose to remain separated by our own choices.
We live behind a veil that blocks His light, and that veil is too heavy to remove ourselves.
It is as if we blocked out the sun to stop it’s heat, and then we climbed into a steep cave, falling to the bottom, unable to climb back out let alone remove the barrier between us and God.
Yes, we still live in a darkened world full of sin and separation, but God has lifted the veil over us. As we go into this world, the people will see the light streaming through us from above.
May we seek to be that light as we take Him into this dark world.
The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.
Numbers 6:24-26, ESV
Seek the Lord, and He will bless You with His presence, His grace, and His peace.
a simple man of God 