Posts Tagged ‘ Jesus ’

Weekend Words & Sunday Stanzas – 02/22/2015

(This is showing up late, because I put in the wrong date in the scheduler!)

Find the hidden easter egg of wisdom, and get some clues at Proverbial Thought!

One thing I really enjoy about some movies and television shows is the idea of easter eggs, those little things hidden in the story and imagery that may not be noticed the first time through. (An example of this is how the pizza delivery truck from Toy Story can be found somehow in all of Pixar’s movies.)

There are easter eggs in life, too. I do not mean those plasticky ovoids full of candy, nor eggs dyed in fun colors. Rather, those interesting things we find that bring joy and happiness to our lives.

What is the greatest easter egg? (You may know where I am going with this …)

Does not wisdom call?
    Does not understanding raise her voice?
On the heights beside the way,
    at the crossroads she takes her stand;
beside the gates in front of the town,
    at the entrance of the portals she cries aloud:
“To you, O men, I call,
    and my cry is to the children of man.

I love those who love me,
    and those who seek me diligently find me.

For whoever finds me finds life
    and obtains favor from the Lord …
Proverbs 8:1-4, 17, 35, ESV

For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. . . . And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
1 Corinthians 1:22-24, 30-31

 

easter eggs

our lives are like easter egg hunts

we spend our time looking for truth

every so often we find something

that our spirits will just cling to

pieces of God that we hold on to

trying to get Him to seem real

but are we missing the whole picture

are we missing out on a bigger deal

what if we are the easter eggs

that even in all of our searching

we were the objects being sought

we are desired by Jesus the King

in all of our looking around

we miss that He was looking first

that we were created for Him

and that is why He came to earth

we can keep on searching for truth

for we will not fail to find it

when we realize He is the Truth

and the real reason we exist

and He started His search for us

from back in eternity past

desiring fellowship with us

and that is all that He asks

2015
02/23
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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!

2015
02/10
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Weekend Words & Sunday Stanzas – 02/01/2015

Make your central focus the wisdom of God, and get started at Proverbial Thought!

Here it is:

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.
Hebrews 1:1-4, ESV

In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.
Ephesians 4:9-10

For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.
Romans 11:36

For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. . . . And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption
1 Corinthians 1:22-24, 30

yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.
1 Corinthians 8:6

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
Colossians 1:15-20

Here you are:

Central

what do we put our attention on
with so many things going on all around
with this world and all the hocus pocus
even Christians tend to lose their focus
in a world chock full of wickedness and evil
i want to make sure i keep Jesus Christ central
especially since all things were made through Him
and the Word itself says He is God s Wisdom
if He is Central to all of Creation
and God has called Him His only Son
should He not be our primary focus
should we not center our lives around Jesus
i refuse to put my attention anywhere else
for through Him i see everyone else
if Jesus is Central to all created things
my central focus will be the King of kings

2015
02/01
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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

2015
01/09
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Prepare Your Heart – Advent Week 3

Continue preparing your heart for wisdom by reading the thoughts over at Proverbial Thought!

It is now the second week of Advent! (See the last two weeks’ devotional thought here and here.)

Again, Advent is a time to remember our Lord’s first coming as we look forward to His imminent return.

So, let us prepare hearts for encountering the Lord!

“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
    for he has visited and redeemed his people
and has raised up a horn of salvation for us
    in the house of his servant David,
as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old“

. . .

“for my eyes have seen your salvation
    that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
    and for glory to your people Israel.”
Luke 1:68-70, 2:30-32, ESV

The first part of the quote is from Zechariah, John the Baptist’s dad, at John’s birth. The second part of the quote was said by Simeon, an old and devout man, when he saw the baby Jesus at the Temple.

These two men knew that the Lord’s salvation was at hand. If you read all of chapters one and two of Luke, you can see that even they did not understand His plan of salvation. They were on the right track, but they were not aware of how things would unfold.

The Lord had come, Emmanuel, God with us, and he brought salvation. It was first brought to Israel, the Jews in Jerusalem in particular, and then it spread to “all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8) over the past 2,000 years.

What most everyone then did not know was that first the Lord would bring spiritual salvation, the forgiveness of sins and the repairing of the relationship with God and humanity; the physical redemption from all enemies is still to come.

Let us remember that salvation has come, but we await our salvation from the pain and evil of this world (see Romans 8). We do not understand fully how it will all happen, but we know Jesus will return!

May we not get caught up in the knowledge we have and miss the signs of His coming. May we remember that we are not home yet, and we await our coming Savior. May we bring as many as we can to all of this knowledge of the Son by the power of the Holy Spirit to the glory of the Father!

2014
12/16
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Weekend Words & Sunday Stanzas – 08/31/2014

You need wisdom. Find a taste over at Proverbial Thought!

The message is simple: God is all we need. Everyone. And to make sure we found and filled that need, He came to us.

What did He have to say?

“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 4:17, ESV)

“Come to me, all who burden and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life.” (John 14:6)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

people need

 

do not be deceived

by what people need

whether a cup of coffee

or that bag of weed

or maybe to see

that we will speak

with people in need

or the guy on wall street

God is able to free

through a simple creed

“Repent. Come to Me.

Let me be what you need!”

2014
08/31
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Weekend Words & Sunday Stanzas – 08/17/2014

Help wisdom remain strong in you and go to Proverbial Thought!

For too long there has been a common theme in all of Christendom. I liken to World War II in this way:

Winning converts to Christ without discipleship is like the Allies taking Normandy Beach and declaring the war won.

What we have effectively done is convince thousands, millions, or even billions over the decades and centuries that they are saved from their sins only to let them continue living in their sin and ignorance.

Have we given these people false hope?

Do you have false hope?

“When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and finding none it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds the house swept and put in order. Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there. And the last state of that person is worse than the first.”
Luke 11:24-26, ESV

Church, let us not only win over but raise up new Christians in the power and knowledge of Christ!

Christian, commit your whole life, every little part, every big thing, your sins and your joys to Christ!

 

letting them back in

we cast out our demons
and invite Christ in
our lives become clean
and He reigns supreme

but why do we do it
why bring back the spirits
why give up on Christ
and re ruin our lives

why do we let them in
to fall back into sin
we can see through the lies
yet they multiply

letting them back in
undoing what Christ began
why do we let them in
Christ

my Lord

start again

2014
08/17
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Weekend Words & Sunday Stanzas – 08/03/2014

Be at the forefront of wisdom by gaining some at Proverbial Thought!

How important is Christ in your life?

Would you rather ride in the back of the bus with all of your friends where the Bus Driver will not overhear your conversations or see what you are doing?

Or would you rather run to His sports car and cry out “SHOTGUN!” to be the person sitting in the front seat next to Him?

It may seem like a simple analogy, but seriously think about it.

Many of us probably are thinking, “Of course I want to be in the sports car!” The only issue is that most of us remain in our thinking as junior high students sitting in the back of the school bus. We long for the days of high school (or Secondary school) when we are old enough to drive or at least own a sports car. Some of us assume we can just go take the car, but in reality we have no idea how to operate it. Some of us remain convinced there is no way the owner of a sports car would have anything to do with us, so we never try for our shot at riding shotgun.

The amazing thing about the gospel of Jesus Christ is that He has made the offer to every single person to come along on the ride of a lifetime (and beyond). We are all poor junior high students riding the public school bus wishing for better things, and Jesus is just waiting for us to run over calling “SHOTGUN!”

They other amazing thing is that we can all ride shotgun … everyday. If we just trust in Him.

 

i call SHOTGUN                            

 

when it comes to life

i want to call shotgun

i want to be right up front

while moving for the Son

when it comes to riding shotgun

with the Lord Jesus Christ

any person can call it

                                      in fact

it should be called in every life

2014
08/03
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What Kind of Follower Are You?

Follow the call of wisdom and head to Proverbial Thought!

Jesus said to many people, “Follow me.”

When He said it to Matthew (Matthew 9:9), we read that Matthew pulled out his smart phone, opened his Facebook app, found “Jesus of Nazareth”, and clicked “Add Friend”. Then he switched to the Twitter app, found @JesusofNazarethMessiah, and clicked “Follow”.

And the world was changed forever! @MatthewLevi and his 11 closest friends re-tweeted and shared everything @JesusofNazarethMessiah tweeted and posted, and lives were changed as all of their followers re-tweeted and shared everything again and again.

Then they all went out for a cup of over-priced coffee to talk about it.

. . .

Or maybe it happened differently? Maybe Jesus expects more from those who follow Him?

Is it enough to follow @JesusofNazareth on Twitter? Is it enough to “Like” or “Friend” Jesus Christ on Facebook? (For the record, I do these!)

Perhaps Jesus expects more of us. Perhaps being a Christian calls for a greater commitment than clicking “Like” or “Follow”.

Perhaps Jesus expects us to change our entire lifestyle and literally follow Him: become like Him, think like Him, walk in His footsteps.

Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done. Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”
Matthew 16:24-28, ESV

2014
07/29
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Rediscovering “Rediscovering God with Downhere”

Rediscover wisdom at Proverbial Thought!

Three years and nine days ago I heard a song for the first time that I greatly enjoyed, so I shared it on my blog.

As I have been finishing my first summer as a Seminarian, I am officially beginning my teaching career (in Special Education with children with Autism), and I have had a jam-packed summer of travels, work prep, and simply getting things done.

It has been a little exhausting!

Therefore, I think it is a great time to bring back this song as a good reminder to myself, other seminarians, and all those who tend to work too hard and sometimes forget or neglect time with God (like pastors and other ministry leaders, teachers, and just about anyone else in Western culture). This is “Let Me Rediscover You” by the band Downhere (no longer together, but the lead singer of this song is now “Freddie Mercury” for the Queen cover band Queen Extravaganza).

Just listen to the lyrics and focus on God for about four minutes!

Let Me Rediscover You

Your spirit hovers over my waters
Your love burns longer than the sun
The skies of thunder echo your wonder
Your praises can’t be over-sung

The whole Universe is witness
To only a part of what you’ve done

So let me rediscover you
And breathe in me your life anew
Tell me of the God I never knew
Oh, let me rediscover you

You see my weakness, my pride, my blindness
You wield your power through them all
Of all the mysteries, still, the greatest to me
Is that you’re faithful when I fall

How can I say I know you
When what I know is still so small?

Let me rediscover you
And breathe in me your life anew
Tell me of the God I never knew
And let me rediscover you

Let me cry “holy, holy, holy”
(holy, holy, holy)
Let me awaken to your majesty
(waken to your majesty)
And see a glimmer of your glory
Let me abide in you

Let me rediscover you
And by your grace I’ll follow through
Reveal to me the God I thought I knew

Let me rediscover you
And breathe in me your life anew
Tell me of the God I never knew
And let me rediscover you

Oh, let me rediscover you
Tell me of the God I never knew
Jesus, let me rediscover you.

2014
07/22
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