Posts Tagged ‘ simple man of God ’

Weekend Words and Sunday Stanzas – 04/24/2011

HAPPY RESURRECTION SUNDAY!

How do you know this day is important? As Chuck Swindoll says “What other event do we celebrate 52 times a year?” We remember the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth every Sunday, but this week commemorates the actual day (even if it is usually off slightly, it is like communion … in remembrance).

and so It begins
daniel m  klem

Jesus is on the cross
held with my sin
but i am forgiven
for He is risen
the Father revived
the Son to live
and He loves us
even after His strife
He gave His Son
so we may live
and now through Christ
God will forgive
Jesus is the one
that set us free
and i can love
because of He
who died on the
cross for the world
that we can praise
God and His Word

Taken from the book simple words for God from a simple man of God by daniel m klem, p. 99.

risen

daniel m  klem

the curtain torn
the tomb now sealed
God watching as
His angels work
the lights flashing
thunder clapping
the joy surrounds
all in heaven
explosions  cheers
lightning  thunder
flashes  novas

on earth  Jesus
taking a breath
opening eyes
He sits straight up
removes the cloths
folds them neatly
rises and leaves

Taken from the book simple words for God from a simple man of God by daniel m klem, p. 132.

HE IS RISEN!

2011
04/24
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Special Friday

For this Friday, I posting two of the poems from my first book. You will catch the reason why I posted these.

crucifixion
daniel m  klem

the bottom of the hill
the sun goes black
in the eighth hour
three structures
one man per structure
each with his arms outstretched
the One in the middle did nothing
closing in on the ninth hour
the Man asks for a drink
i place a sponge soaked with vinegar on a stick
offering Him His drink as He dies
i break down grief-stricken

Taken from the book simple words for God from a simple man of God by daniel m klem, p. 61.

it means something
daniel m  klem

i remember the death
and remember suffering
but i can see more
than just the bad things
the cross gave freedom
when He is burdened
He carried all this sin
and will until the end
the cross reminds me
He died to save us
and that i can trust
in the living Jesus

Taken from the book simple words for God from a simple man of God by daniel m klem, p. 159.

I pray you remember what our Lord has done for us on the day we celebrate today. I pray you remember that He is indeed alive again!

Grace and Peace.

Daniel

2011
04/22
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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?

2011
04/18
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Weekend Words and Sunday Stanzas – 04/17/2011

It is Palm Sunday! The celebration of the Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem of Jesus to start His Passion Week!

How about something that considers the majesty of God:

God can be found

daniel m  klem

from the farthest galaxy in the universe
down to the smallest insignificant quark
from the most memorable bible verse
to the most outstanding missionary work
from the tallest and highest mountain peak
to the deepest gulch in the vast abyss
from the smallest creature that is frail and weak
to the strongest monster of both man and fish
from the smallest newborn baby in all time
to the greatest man that has ever been
God can be found in every reason with rhyme
and is working from without and within

Taken from the book simple words for God from a simple man of God by daniel m klem, p. 112.

2011
04/16
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The Gospel of Nothing

Nothing to offerWhat are we able to give God?

What is it that we can give God to get closer to God?

Creator of Everything

God is the Creator of everything. All things we are able to measure. Almost all things we are not able to measure.

God created light. God created atoms and molecules. God created mass. God created single-celled organisms. God created plants. God created animals. God created us. God created emotions and infact has emotions. God created and is goodness. God created and is truth. God created and is Life.

God did not create lies. God did not create hurts. God did not create pain. God did not create hate. God did not create evil. God did not create sin.

What we give God

This last line is what we can give God … at least at first.

This is the gospel: We have nothing to give God but our filth, our hurts, our lies, our hate, our evil, our sin.

In other words, nothing.

But we also give God our choice to follow.

In other words, we choose to love God.

God takes all this and gives us in exchange grace, forgiveness, grace, the Holy Spirit, grace, a new car new life, grace, and hope for a future in Eternity.

God also does not want us to continue living as we have. That is why there is new life with the Holy Spirit. This is also why there is so much grace: we will continue to mess up.

But God wants more.Empty to receive

After clearing us out of all of our nothing, God knows we need something.

If we present ourselves as ready and willing for whatever, God fills us with Himself – the Holy Spirit – to go out and perform good works for the benefit of others to bring glory to God.

After giving God our nothing, God gives us the ability to give our very lives, to give the Love given to us, to give forgiveness to ourselves and to others, to give our all.

2011
04/12
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Weekend Words and Sunday Stanzas

What do you think? For my poetry postings, I was thinking of using one or both of the alliterations in this post’s title for the weekly title.

Today’s poem was written on October 3, 2007. It is called Your Truth:

Your Truth permeates my being
i cannot help but to think
about Your Word day and night
for i know it is good and right
Your Truth sets captives free
souls saved from going into the deep
it is by the power of Your Word
to cut loose sin like a sword
Your Truth cuts through to the marrow
and comforts me in my sorrow
by Your Word all things were made
and by grace through faith we are saved

2011
04/10
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My Spirited Response

This week’s conversation has been about the Holy Spirit: Should we pray to and/or worship the Holy Spirit?

Finally, my personal take. It might come across as rather diplomatic or even politically correct at times while being politically incorrect at others, but it is where I stand.

I have prayed “Holy Spirit, continue to guide us today” and other such prayers. I have said “Holy Spirit, you are amazing the way you work” and “Thank you for the connection with Christ” and things similar.

This makes it sound like I completely agree.

There are things such as “anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven” and “with the Father and with the Son he is worshiped and glorified” which are compelling.

There is also the fact that the Father and Son are in Heaven, but the Holy Spirit is among us. The Holy Spirit connects us to them, but we are to pray to the Father and in the name of Jesus.

This also raises the point of the Trinity. If the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are all equally God in one being, then it would make sense to pray to and worship Him.

There are times it is definitely not okay, however.

I have been in churches who worship the Holy Spirit to the point of almost forgetting or even leaving out mention of the Father and/or the Son. I heard a preacher call it a “Holy Spirit fetish” and heretical. The Holy Spirit will always point towards the Son to glorify the Father. If this is not happening, then you are worshiping something not the Holy Spirit and caught in idolatry.

I have been in churches where prayers sound like a shopping list. If you are asking the Holy Spirit to work certain situations and/or people into ways that do not edify the church or are ungodly, you are caught in idolatry, using the Lord’s name in vain, and (honestly) selfishness.

It sure seems to me that the Holy Spirit is to be “worshiped and glorified”, but I would advise caution. Check your heart before moving forward. Make sure you are worshiping and glorifying in the proper manner. This is true for each member of the Trinity! Each can be twisted into evil dimensions and for ridiculous endeavors.

Just remember, our focus should be on bringing glory to God. If there is doubt, you are in dangerous territory. The things of God will always edify the Church, glorify the risen Son of God, and bring praise to God (each part/the whole).

2011
04/09
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O, Holy Spirit, we beseech Thee!

Holy SpiritSeveral things have happened in recent weeks that kind of rocked my brain a bit.
One was hearing a dear friend suddenly exclaim “You do not worship or pray to the Holy Spirit!”
One was the topic coming up in my classes.
One was my remembering thinking about it several times over the past decade and having some random person online ask me about the role of the Holy Spirit.

Can we or should we worship and/or pray to the Holy Spirit?

I have heard arguments on both sides for years. One extreme is saying the Holy Spirit does not work anymore, the other extreme is that we need to focus primarily on the workings of the Holy Spirit. In the last couple of weeks, I have read that these issues have been debated and even fought over throughout the last two milennia on several occasions. That is one reason we have some of the Creeds.
But the question remains: Should we?
A few of the arguments I have heard are listed below, and just so we are clear these are arguments I have heard/read and not necessarily what I believe. As a list of pro’s and cons:

Pro’s (Why we should)
Con’s (Why we should not)
Connects us to God in Heaven
Is still with us here on Earth, not in Heaven
Is Jesus Christ within us
Pushes us towards faith in Jesus Christ
Is God helping us to do good works or doing works through us
Is merely a guide (Counselor)
Any thoughts? Throw me some feedback! Maybe we can get a good conversation going!
2011
04/05
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We Are Called

I wrote a poem this past week, and I thought I would share it. Think If We Are the Body by Casting Crowns:

We are called to be the hands and feet of Christ.
We must remember that they reached out to heal hurts.
We must remember that they carried the good news.
We must remember that they touched the lepers.
We must remember that they went to the cross.
We must remember that they took nails for sinners.

We are called to be the Body of Christ.
We must remember that it embodied grace.
We must remember that it held the sick and dead.
We must remember that it loved through our hate.
We must remember that it removed all our sin.
We must remember that it took our place.

We are called to be ambassadors of Christ.
If His hands and feet were pierced on the cross,
If He touched the unclean and destitute,
If He showed love and grace to each of us,
If He gave His life to show this to the world,
Then are we portraying the true Jesus?

I just started thinking about “Jesus’ hands, feet, and body were bruised and scarred; so how come so many in the West rarely show their scars and bruises?” The poem just kind of flowed out.

If you like, I can keep posting poetry I write. Just let me know. It will take a few Facebook likes and comments here and on Facebook for me to consider it, though!

Grace and Peace!

©

2011
03/27
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Love the Sinner, Acknowledge the Sin

Jesus loves everyone!

Love the sinner, hate the sin!

That is a slogan we are used to hearing. I have used it myself.

Would it be better to say “Love the sinner, acknowledge the sin”?

I can already hear some people saying “But you can’t call people sinners! It is too offensive!”

My response: “I get offended the way some feminists say “man” or “men”. I get offended when black/dark-skinned-Americans (because, seriously, YOU WERE NOT BORN IN AFRICA! I am not a “European-American” and you are not an “African-American”! Most of your families have been in the United States for generations! I guess this is another offense. “Asian-“, “Mexican-“, “African-“, and any other “whatever-Americans” are those who have immigrated here and earned citizenship. If you are born here, you are AMERICAN.) … anyway, I get offended when blacks call each other (for those who are too sensitive, I will censor myself this time) “the n-word” but get upset when someone says it – even when quoting someone. I get offended the way some people say “Christian”. I get offended by the way some Christians say … a lot of things Christians say!

Therefore, perhaps it is not the word that is offensive, just the way it is said or used or perceived. I know I did not like being called a sinner when I heard “those Christians” say it before I became a believer. When I started going to church, however, it was presented as “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (see Romans 3:23, if you are wondering), and informed every single person who has lived (short of Jesus, but He is also God!) is a sinner. They explained why we are all sinners.

Get over yourself.

Back to the point …

Maybe we should just learn to love others. “But they party all the time!” “But he’s gay!” “But she had a baby outside of marriage!”

What did you do? Who are you?

“But God  demonstrates  His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners,  Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8, NASB)

“Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him.” (1 John 4:7-9, NLT)

I am pretty sure love is important (not mushy feelings, the willful decision to care).

We might also want to tread carefully if a something is the central focus of a person’s life. Homosexuality is not an act, it is a way of life. Alcoholism is not an act, it is either a mental disorder, a way to deal with life, or simply all that is known by them. This also goes for many addictions, habits, and lifestyles. I grew up gossiping, angry, and violent. It was what I saw all around me, it was all I knew, and it took a while to change.

I am not saying homosexuality and alcoholism are the same thing. Read my last post! Perhaps people really can be born a certain way! We do know some alcoholics are born lacking a chemical that alcohol (and sometimes drugs) fill (I read it in an AA booklet from a friend and have seen medical reports on it … I wish I could remember the name!) There are also women in India (I forget what the name is) who have very masculine features (and are considered holy).

Can I get some feedback?! (think black preacher voice for that question: “Can I get a witness?!”-style. I really enjoy their enthusiasm and the way their voices sound!) What are some thoughts? Let’s get some conversations started!

2011
03/24
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