Posts Tagged ‘ Daniel Klem ’

Weekend Words & Sunday Stanzas – 10/28/2012

Do not forget to get your daily dose of wisdom from Proverbial Thought.

Perhaps you have heard the saying “Freedom is never free.” As carriers of the gospel message, we share with others how the price was paid for our sins by Jesus Christ. Many times, we carriers also must pay a high price.

price to be paid

for goodness to spread
for Truth to be proclaimed
for love to be known
for God to be famed
there is a need
a price to be paid

a price for all of this
is paid frequently
though not as often
as there could be
the price to be paid
needs to be paid by you and me

the Name advances
by this special price
it is a price that
no one could deny
it is the ultimate love
that we lay down our lives

Taken from deeper words for God from a simple man of God by daniel m  klem, page 179.

2012
10/28
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Carry your cross
Death
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Back from the Dead: Merciful Death – A Repost

As I work on finishing up my degree (especially Calculus, at the moment!), I need a break from some things. As you saw last week, I had a guest blogger, and there will be more in the future. For this week, I am taking us back to one of the more popular posts from my blog last year. I also found it fitting leading up to my birthday and All Hallows’ Eve next week! Feel free to comment and add to the discussion!

Merciful Death

Cross Walk 2008

Me doing the Cross Walk in 2008

If we honestly looked around our world, we could see plenty of good reasons why people would want to take their lives. Sad? Definitely.

Sorry to be gloomy and maybe even a bit sick, but what if they are on to something?

Sweet Death

I read an article recently in Christian Research Journal (Vol. 34, No. 2, 2011) titled “A Christian View of Human Nature“. The author, John S. Hammet, had this to say about death:

Moreover, may not the end of life in this world be a severe mercy from God? True, death entered the world as the punishment for sin, but a punishment that opened the door to mercy. For once humans had fallen and become like God in knowing, not just good, but now evil, God intervened: “He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life, and live forever” (Gen. 3:22). It was the mercy of God that established the limitation of life as a fallen human; as redeemed persons, we are welcomed to the tree of life (Rev. 22:3).

Not only could God have allowed death as a mercy to get away from the suffering we brought upon ourselves (and for the record, I am not making any arguments today about the afterlife for all people; this is just about this life), but He used death to defeat death!

Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned.

But:

Since the children have flesh and blood, [Jesus] too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.

From the beginning, God showed us mercy through death. Even if you do not hold to Hammet’s take, here are some examples:

What do you think? Is death God once again showing His grace in the midst of our punishment?

2012
10/23
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Death
Gospel
Jesus
Love
Mercy
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Weekend Words & Sunday Stanzas – 10/21/2012

[Your usual reminder to check out Proverbial Thought]

My wife and I had our first date at a church dedication ceremony, and we started our relationship by dedicating it to God. Good start, eh? (Yes.) We built our relationship for the next year and a half, and then we got married establishing a lifelong commitment. Now we are working on decorations and reinforcing our foundation and walls.

That is not the point, though. The real point is that God sets things apart in eternity, then builds and establishes them in their proper time.

Including us. This poem talks about me, but it is about each and every person who comes to God in faith.

daniel michael klem
Designed: Before Eternity Past – I think it was a Saturday
Constructed: October 26, 1983, 6:03 am – Wednesday
Established: January 9, 2000, 6:42 pm – Sunday

established date

thought of in eternity past
loved and thought of through all time
held in His arms until
the moment had become right
now created and moving
but merely existing
the big change to come
true life yet to begin
finally years after construction
the Truth gets inside
the real change beginning
to make things right
while it has taken time
to get from what was made
when Christ enters in
that is the established date

Taken from deeper words for God from a simple man of God by daniel m  klem, page 177.

2012
10/21
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Born Again
Poetry
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Weekend Words & Sunday Stanzas – 10/14/2012

Life is not always easy. In fact, for Christians at least, we are promised problems (John 16:33). We should accept that blessing, even when it is hard and a struggle to get through. (This also qualifies as a “stupid prayer”.)

the only way to move

i want to go where You want me
i want to be where You send me
help me get there quickly
keep me struggling through things
so that i always seek You
it is the only way to move

Taken from deeper words for God from a simple man of God by daniel m  klem, page 175.

2012
10/14
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Poetry
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Used and Loved

Here is your regular, friendly reminder to get your daily dose of wisdom from Proverbial Thought!

As working through the book of Luke with our youth group, I was inspired to write about some things. I had a great idea for a passage from Luke 12, but my theology was rocked so hard that I will wait on that one! Instead, I am going with one of the other ideas from that chapter.

The Parable of the Rich Fool

Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”

Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’

“Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’

“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’

“This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.”
Luke 12:13-21, NIV

Stuff and People

There are two ways to handle stuff and people in this life, and our youth group is intelligent enough to notice! In their words:

“We can use things and love people or love things and use people.”

We can get so caught up in what is ours and what is not ours that we can forget about people.

For example, someone in the crowd may have just lost his parents, yet he is more concerned with getting his share of the inheritance than mourning. This shows one aspect.

Another aspect is that his brother is clearly there, otherwise Jesus could not tell him to share the inheritance. What really makes this poignant is that Jesus had just finished talking about avoiding hypocrisy, so we know what the first man was really getting at: that he judged his brother a hypocrite. (What does this show of him, then?)

One further aspect is that our own selfishness and greed gets in the way of another relationship. This man is talking with a wise leader, he might even know this is the Messiah. Instead of actually listening to the teachings (meaning taking them to heart and learning from them), he tries using this Teacher to get what he wants.

How many times do we go to God asking for things instead of seeking His will?

One more thought: Who gets rebuked?

At first, it looks like a rebuke of the man wanting his inheritance. “‘Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?’ Then he said to them, ‘Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed’.”

It is as if Jesus is saying, “Dude! Get over it! Stop being so greedy!” (Also, He was and is the perfect judge and arbiter, but He was making another point)

But then He goes on. He tells us about a man who became quite wealthy and hoarded it all. This certainly sounds like the brother was being rebuked for his greed at the same time the original brother was being rebuked for his greed.

WHOA! Jesus is a great multitasker!

One man was not worried about his family and used God to get what he wanted. The other man also was not concerned about his family, instead holding onto his new possessions.

Used and Loved

Both of these brothers were guilty of breaking the greatest commandment(s): “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:37-40)

We can be guilty of the same (in fact, we all are: Romans 3:22-24).

We use people and God to get the things we want, when we should be using things and loving God and people.

Instead of a question this week, a suggestion:

Check yourself. Find out where your heart is: with things or with God?

2012
10/09
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Greed
Love
Parable
Relationship
The Rich Fool
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Weekend Words & Sunday Stanzas – 10/07/2012

After looking at the Core Facts and Core Values, as well as The Core Mission, it is fitting to have a poem about answering the call to follow God!

here i am/send me

the call has been made
the choice has now come
how to answer the call
go out or stay at home
the choice can be no
to stay safe but not free
when i answer please let me say
Here am I! Send me!

Taken from deeper words for God from a simple man of God by daniel m  klem, page 174.

2012
10/07
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Mission: CORE

Here is regular friendly reminder to head over to Proverbial Thought for today’s devotional thought from the wonderful book of Proverbs!

This has been an interesting couple of months. I have led you through the Four Core Facts (Jesus’ death on the cross, the despair of the Disciples, the change in the Disciples, and the conversion of Paul) and the Four Core Values (Desperate pursuit of God, diligent prayer, consecrated heart, focused life) for the youth group I work with, led by our wonderful youth pastor, Jesse Bollinger (www.ferventyouth.org).

After learning about why the Christian faith is true and what that means for the Christian (the Core Values), that leaves one important thing to cover:

The CORE Mission:

The Core exists to make a worldwide impact for Christ through fervent prayer and by living consecrated lives.

It is true that this was all covered over the past two months. It is also true that sometimes we just need a concise reminder of important things, that little thing to kickstart or restart us into action.

As has been discussed over the past couple weeks, things seem to work well together and often need each other to work well.

The Reason

If Jesus of Nazareth really is Jewish Messiah, the Son of the Living God, then everything He said and did really happened and really matters.

If Jesus really died to take away the sins of the world, the world has a reason to love God and needs to know.

If Jesus really rose from the dead and conquered the grave, the world has a reason to hope and needs to know.

If Jesus really said it requires repentance and belief to be saved from their sin, then the world needs to know.

If Jesus really is God, He deserves our hard work and worship.

The way (Small “w”)

The most efficient way to share the message of Jesus Messiah with the world (also known as sharing the gospel, which means “good news”) is also one of the most difficult things in life … but also the most worth it.

As discussed over the past month, it takes a life focused on the desperate pursuit of God. This means needing a consecrated heart, a heart dedicated to finding and loving God wherever He may be. It is easier to know where God is moving, to dedicate your heart and stick to the dedication of your heart to God, and focus on following and serving God when you are in constant communication with God.

It can easily be argued, therefore, that this all hinges on communication with God.

It must first be understood that God always initiates contact first. We come to God, because God seeks us out. He even reminds us again and again when we forget Him, yet He still likes us to come to Him.

Coming to God is reading the Bible, spending time with other believers, and praying.

When done with a sincere heart willing to be changed by God’s love, grace, and majesty, it becomes easier to give our hearts and lives completely with joy and to know when and where God is moving. We also have a growing desire to share the love, grace, and majesty of God with others.

The Hard Part

This sounds rather easy, though. We simply need to grow closer to God and share Him with others.

Yet, consider this:

  • Reading your Bible means setting aside time from watching your favorite show.
  • Praying means setting time aside from hanging out with friends, seeing that movie, and … learning to be quiet. (Trust me, it is way more difficult than it sounds, especially in our culture)
  • Helping and sharing with others means risking rejection, hurt feelings, and being taken advantage of by others, even loved ones.

The Core

It may be hard, but as I said, this life means time with other Christians. The Core may be the name of the youth group, but we all need to be in a “Core”. Jesus had His 12 Apostles, and of those He was closer to Peter and the brothers James and John. These were Jesus’ core group.

Your core group should include Jesus at the center and some with whom you are close, those who can hold you accountable and lift you up when you fall or are feeling sad, defeated, or stressed.

Most importantly, your core group is where you draw closure to our Lord. As a group you are able to grow in knowledge, grow in compassion, grow in grace, and grow in love. It is most effective when you are also reaching out to others. Not just Christians, but especially to non-Christians and/or those in need (the Bible usually says “the poor, the orphans, and the widows”).

GO!

The moral of the story: the Core Mission is to obey Jesus command to “go and make disciples of all nations” through constant communication with God and by growing in love and grace through study, fellowship, and reaching out to others.

So go! Get to know God better. Grow closer to others. (Matthew 22:36-40)

2012
10/02
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Apologetics
Carry your cross
Discipline
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Weekend Words & Sunday Stanzas – 09/30/2012

I think a young woman from the camp I worked in five years ago put it perfectly:

“Live a weak life!”

—Cheyenne (camper at Junior Camp, UCYC, June 29, 2007)

We must live a weak life.

We can try to use our strength,

But we can only get so far.

So, if we live weakly,

God can move through us.

When we are weak,

He is stronger in us.

Live a weak life,

and God will use you.

Taken from deeper words for God from a simple man of God by daniel m  klem, page 168.

2012
09/30
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Funny, eh?

I can not remember where I found this, but I had to share it:

FUNNY ISN’T IT?

  • Funny how a $10.00 bill looks so big when you take it to church, but so small when you take it to the mall.
  • Funny how big an hour serving God looks and how small 60 minutes are when spent playing golf, fishing or shopping.
  • Funny how long a couple of hours spent at church, but how short they are when watching a movie.
  • Funny how we get thrilled when a football game goes into overtime, but we complain when a sermon is longer than the regular time.
  • Funny how laborious it is to read a chapter in the Bible and how easy it is to read 200-300 pages of a best-selling novel.
  • Funny how we believe what newspapers say, but question what the Bible says.
  • Funny how people scramble to get a front seat at any game, but scramble to get a back seat at church service.
  • Funny how we cannot fit a gospel meeting into our schedule with yearly planner but we can schedule for other events at a moment’s notice.
  • Funny how we need 2 or 3 weeks to fit a church event into our schedule, but can adjust it for a social event at the last minute.
  • Funny how much difficulty some have learning a simple gospel well enough to tell others, but how simple it is for the same people to understand and explain gossip about someone else.
  • Funny how we can’t think of anything to say when we pray, and don’t have any difficulty thinking of things to talk about to a friend.
  • Funny how we are so quick to take direction from a total stranger when we are lost, but are hesitant to take God’s direction to be found.
  • Funny how people are so consumed with what others think about them rather than what God thinks about them.
  • Funny how so many churchgoers sing “Standing on the Promises” but all they do is sit on the premises.
  • Funny how people think that they can get more accomplished in a lifetime without God than in an hour with Him.
  • Funny how everyone wants to go to heaven, provided they don’t have to believe, or to think, or to say, or to do anything.

Funny how we all need to read this.

2012
09/27
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The Core Values: Engrossed Existence

Here is another friendly reminder to head over to Proverbial Thought for today’s devotional thought from Proverbs!

We now continue our look at the Four Core Facts and the Four Core Values, having examined the desperate pursuit of God, diligent prayer, and a consecrated heart.  If you are interested in a more in-depth look at the Core Facts and the Core Values, look up my wonderful youth pastor, Jesse Bollinger, at Fervent Youth.

As I said before, all of the Core Facts and Values flow together. The Values are useless without the truth of the Facts. Without a desperate pursuit of God bathed in diligent prayer creating a consecrated heart, we play a dangerous game with the fourth Core Value:

A Focused Life

It is God’s will that you should be sanctified . . . For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life.
1 Thessalonians 4:3, 7

Why would I say we play a dangerous game with a focused life without the Core Facts and Values?

Perhaps you have heard that line that goes something like “Those who believe in nothing will fall for anything.” People can devote their lives to just about anything out there (read the tabloids, news, and/or history books).

Some people even dedicate their lives to God without considering the possibility that God will come collect. Then they are surprised at what God wants.

It is a trap for a man to dedicate something rashly
and only later to consider his vows
Proverbs 20:25

This is why we need a foundation based on the reality of Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ, the Son of God, and a value-system based on the truth revealed in the Bible.

FOCUS!

Have you noticed how easy it is to be distracted? Humans have always found a way to distract themselves, but Modern Man has really excelled in this area.

We have access to an entire world in ways barely imaginable 100 years ago, from cars to trains to airplanes.

We have access to an entire world through the internet.

We have access to endless entertainment through books, movies, television, video games, sports, the internet, and various other entertainment-industry options too numerous to list here.

We have access to friends and family any time of the night or day around the world through telephones, cellular phones, e-mail, Facebook, the internet (noticing a theme?), and so many other things.

We have more than enough to distract us, and we have even made it possible to stop using our own imagination.

But what do the most successful people in our world have in common?

Focus.

Their lives are dedicated to one major thing (which can include many smaller things, but usually related things), and they do not let anything get in the way of their dreams and goals.

They each have a focused life.

This is basically what God has called all who would follow Him to do. Be focused.

On what?

The answer comes in a rebuke of Peter by Jesus:

“You must follow me.”

We have to focus our lives on Jesus.

However, I will take this a step further.

There are a lot of people who claim to follow Jesus, and they show up to church regularly, tithe, donate, and volunteer.

They live good lives.

While their lives are engrossed in Jesus, I would posit that their entire existence is not engrossed in Jesus. (See the title of the post worked in there?!)

In truth, these people (and even many people engrossed in following Jesus can succumb to this) are distracted by serving.

How do we know when we get distracted by service?

One of two things is usually what happens:

  1. We are not going where Jesus is going. We find ourselves in the church building all the time, or at church functions, and we know everyone we see or know someone who knows that person well and we are all Christian. We rarely encounter anyone who is hurting, mourning, in desperate need, or stuck in sin (of which we are aware).
  2. We are exactly where Jesus is, but we are “pulling a Martha“. Sometimes, we are so busy serving Jesus that we forget about actually serving others, and we are surrounded by people who really need Jesus.

The Problem and Solution

We are not fully engrossed in following Jesus. That is just the way it is.

This is where the other values come in. To be fully engrossed we must desperately pursue God by reading the Bible, learning what it means through teachings and fellowship, and seeking where God is working. To effectively pursue God, we must be in constant communication with Him through diligent prayer, and this helps us grow in a desire to study the Bible and find where God is going. As we pray and study, we find our hearts are growing ever more consecrated to God, and our desire to seek Him and talk with Him grows. The more consecrated our hearts become for God, the more we find our life being focused on God.

The only other step is that we must put it all into practice.We must be with those who are hurting and in need. We must show love and grace. We must forgive ALL people.

We must effectually become like Jesus Christ.

Our focus in life must be to be completely engrossed in living and loving like Jesus, pushing aside distractions and pushing on in faith, grace, and love.

Next week, I will briefly discuss The Core Mission.

What are your thoughts? How are you doing?

2012
09/25
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Belief
Discipline
Jesus
Lifestyle
Love
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