Gratitude

"Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a servant, and coming in the likeness of men.  And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.  Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Philippians 2:5-11 (NKJV)

"Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say rejoice!  Let your gentleness be known to all men.  The Lord is at hand.  Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."  Philippians 4:4-7 (NKJV)

Put your trust in the Jesus of the Bible, for He is the One we need, the One we are grateful to and for.

Let's pray:  Dear Lord Jesus,  I lift up in Jesus everyone who is reading this.  I pray that You, Lord will open their eyes to the truth of Your Word (Bible). I am grateful to Jesus for His grace and gift of salvation. I pray that this gift of God's grace will touch those hearts that are unsaved--that those who do not know Jesus will come to know Him and be saved.   I pray for those that do not know that Jesus is the only One we need, and that gratitude goes to Him alone.  I pray for joy, and peace in Jesus for your hearts and minds.  I say these things in Jesus' name. Amen.

www.karenejklein.com

He is Risen

Jesus died on the cross for you and me.  He is risen today!  Happy Easter!

"Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land.  And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" that is, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken me?"  Some of those who stood there, when they heard that, said, "This Man is calling for Elijah!"
Immediately one of them ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and gave it to Him to drink.
The rest said, "Let Him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to save Him."
Jesus, when He had cried out again with a loud voice, yielded up His spirit.  And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the graves after His rescrrection, they went into the holy city and appeard to many.  Now when the centurion and those with him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feard greatly, saying, "Truly this was the Son of God!"
And many women who followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to Him, were there looking on from afar, among whom were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee's sons.
Now when evening had come, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus.  This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.  Then Pilate commanded the body to be given to him.  And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his new tomb which he had hewn out of the rock; and he rolled a large stone against the door of the tomb, and departed.  And Mary Magdalene was there, and the other Mary, sitting opposite the tomb.
On the next day, which followed the Day of Preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees gathered together to Pilate, saying, "Sir, we remember, while He was still alive, how the deceiver said, 'After three days I will rise.' "Therefore command that the tomb be made secure until the third day, lest His disciples come by night and steal Him away, and say to the people, 'He has risen from the dead.' So the last deception will be worse than the first." Pilate said to them, "You have a guard; go your way, make it as secure as you know how." So they went and made the tomb secure, sealing the stone and setting the guard.  ( Matthew 27:45-66 NKJV)

"Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb.  And behold there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it.  His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow.  And the guards shook for fear of him and became like dead men.  But the angel answered and said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you  seek Jesus who was crucified.  "He is not here; for He is risen, as He said.  Come, see the place where the Lord lay.  "And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him.  Behold, I have told you."  So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word.  And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, "Rejoice!" And they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him.  Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid.  Go and tell My brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me."  Now while they were going, behold, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all the things that had happened.  When they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, saying, "Tell them, 'His disciples came at night and stole Him away while we slept.'  "And if this comes to the governor's ears, we will appease him and make you secure."  So they took the money and did as they were instructed; and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.

Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them.  And when they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted.  Then Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.  Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, "teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen." ( Matthew 28, NKJV)

I hope you all have a happy and blessed Easter!

www.karenejklein.com

Walk Away?

"These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace.  In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer. I have overcome the world." John 16:33 NKJV

 "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.  For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ.  Now if we are afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effective for enduring the same sufferings which we also suffer.  Or if we are comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation.  And our hope for you is steadfast, because we know that as you partake of the sufferings, so also you will partake of the consolation." 2 Corinthians 1:3-7 NKJV

Let's pray:  Dear Lord Jesus, I lift up everyone who is reading this devotional who has turned away from You.  I pray that You will soften their hearts and comfort them so that they may know how much You love them and want to help them.  I pray that You will show them Your way to life and grace and peace.  In Jesus' name. Amen.

www.karenejklein.com

Sister Wives?NO

In my last blog (a few weeks ago) I spoke of how I found out the Mormon Church was not a Christian Church and filled with false doctrine.  The day I discovered the Mormon Church was false was the day before Easter Sunday(April 14, 1979).  Let me back track a little bit though to the end of March 1979.  Mike, my Mormon fiance was back in Utah during spring break from university and we spoke on the phone everyday.  We were busy talking about our wedding and all those details.  During one conversation I asked Mike a question, "If I died before him would he remarry and be sealed in the Mormon Temple?"  He said that he would if the woman had never been sealed before.  Well, this was not the answer I wanted to hear.  What I wanted Mike to say is, "Of course not!  You are the only one! I never want to be sealed to anyone else--ever!"  So we started our first disagreement on polygamy.  Oh, Mike assured me he did not like the doctrine and would not want to participate in this.  I asked him what he would do if the prophet came to him and told him to take another wife--would he?  Mike said that I would have to grant permission, so if I said no then he would not do this, but I would be damned to hell if I didn't agree to it.  Not much of a choice is it?  Mike then also told me that men are the only ones allowed to take another wife.  Women are not allowed to take another husband.  What I also didn't quite understand is that Mormons believe in the doctrine of polygamy still today.  How it works is I would be married to my Mormon guy and sealed in the Mormon temple for time and all eternity.  Then at some point in time my Mormon guy would be sealed to other women for eternity in the next life.  It is the only way for a Mormon man to go to the highest level in heaven (Celestial) and the only way for a Mormon woman to go to the highest level of heaven too.  Hence celestial marriage=plural marriage=polygamy (it's all the same thing).   So Mormon women are sealed (glued) to a polygamous guy in heaven.  Doesn't sound like heaven to me.  When Mike and I ended our conversation I felt hurt and unhappy.  So then a few weeks pass by and he comes home from spring break and gives me my Mormon temple clothes.  If you haven't read that story you can read about it in my last blog. 
So here I am on Easter Sunday (April 15, 1979).  I have to go to my Mormon ward because I was a Sunday school teacher for 3 year olds.  When I walked into the Mormon ward (a ward is a church congregation) I said hi to all my friends and inside felt like crying.  I sat through the service and noticed there was not a CROSS anywhere.  I'm thinking it's Easter and there is no cross.  Why?  All they talked about during the Easter service was the exaultation of man and how they were going to be gods.  Nothing was said about how Jesus died on the cross for our sins.  Nothing was said about salvation.  I wanted to cry.  I come out of that service and see my maid of honor.  She was a sweet girl and I always enjoyed talking to her.  I asked my maid of honor, "What would you do if the prophet came to you and your husband and told him to take another wife?"  She said that she would just welcome her as a sister wife in the Lord."  I could hardly believe my ears and I said to her, "Oh, come on!  How could you say that?"   Then I walked away from her and again was close to tears.  I walked into my Sunday school class with those adorable 3 year olds.  One kid always wore this cute little sports jacket.  I couldn't teach the lesson.  All I did was show them pictures of Jesus and asked them who they thought He is.  A few days later I called the bishop and told him to have someone come and pick up my Sunday school stuff because I have lost  my testimony.  I told him I no longer believe the Mormon Church is true.  He was stunned and could hardly believe it.  Then the harrassment starts.  I was harrassed by constant phone calls (and in 1979 answering machines were not the norm).  I was harrassed by Mormons coming to my home.  They sent me letters. They seemed to be every where.  I finally had to tell them to leave me alone or I would have my attorney tell them to leave me alone.  Over time they quit bothering me, but it was a very stressful time. 
A couple of months later I met my born-again Christian husband.  I met him at a going away party for mutual friends.  What I didn't know is that my mother had been praying for me to meet a great born-again Christian guy soon. That was really great.  I married him in a Christian ceremony 32 years ago. 

God never intended for people to engage in polygamy.  He has said numerous times in the Bible that marriage is between one man and one woman.  Here are some Scriptures where the Bible says it is so.

"For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh." Genesis 2:24

"Haven't you read," he replied, "that at the beginning the Creator 'made them male and female,' and said, 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh?'  So they are no longer two, but one.  Therefore what God has joined together, let man no separate."  Matthew 19:4-6

"For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh."  Ephesians 5:31

"Jesus replied, "Are you not in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God? When the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven." Mark 12:24-25  (We are not still married in heaven)

"Watch out for false prophets.  They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.  By their fruit you will recognize them.  Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?  Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.  A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.  Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.  Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. "  Matthew 7:15-20


So both the Old and New Testaments state God's will for marriage.  Polygamy is not part of that picture.  Marriage is God's creation.  People will try to change it and in so doing will go against God.  Like the Bible says "watch out for false prophets". 

Let's pray:  Dear Lord Jesus, I pray for those lost in Mormonism and those lost in other false religions.  I pray that their hearts will be softened and that they will hear the Good News of Jesus and His saving grace for them.  I pray that many will be saved.  I say these things in Jesus' name. Amen.

www.karenejklein.com

God or "gods"?

It was 1979 and I was a young 23 year old woman planning my Mormon wedding.  I had my dress, flowers, photographer, venue (Mormon temple), and reception planned.  The only thing left was the invitations.  We wanted invitations that had our picture on the front.  For some reason we could never get a good picture of the two of us so that kept us from ordering our invitations.  It was April of 1979, and my fiance, Mike, had come over to give me a birthday present from his parents.  That present was my Mormon temple robes.  When I opened up the box I saw white chiffon type material and then this big green apron.  The big green apron is what made me shudder.  It was dull green satin with green leaves stitched on it that were supposed to represent fig leaves.  It looked crazy--the way the leaves were so wavy. It reminded me of a Van Gogh painting.  Not to offend Van Gogh, but he did suffer from mental illness.  Mike and I then left for my Mormon ward to go to the church service.  I did not tell Mike what I thought of those temple clothes at that time.  My parents then came home and my mom sees a box on the coffee table and opens it.  Immediately the Holy Spirit convicts her heart and she knows the Mormon Church is not a born-again Christian Church.  Funny how the Lord opens your eyes to the truth.  Anyway, later that evening I was helping my mom dry the dishes and she had a funny look on her face.  Upon pressing her as to why--she didn't want to say.  When I asked her on the tenth time she said, "I opened up that box and saw those Mormon robes and I thought this is not a Christian church.  This is a cult.  Your father and I can't come into the Mormon temple to see you get married and that is not Christian.  Christ didn't just come for the perfect people, He came for everyone."  With that the blanket of darkness that had covered me was lifted and I said, "You're right!"  My heart sank because I was engaged to be married.  Now what do I do?  To make a long story short and I have probably told this so many times, but after praying about whether I should marry Mike or not I knew I had to speak to him.  So I called him up and said "I have lost my testimony".  He took the train out to my house.  We spoke at length and he didn't want to break up (at first).  I told him that he was NOT going to be God.  There is only ONE GOD and neither he nor myself would EVER be GOD.  What followed was shocking.  Mike sat there with his arm around me and said very coldly, "Karen, why don't you want to be a god?"  I thought, what?  Who are you?  Mike, do I know you?  During the eight months that I dated Mike I had no idea he really thought he was going to be a god.  I said to Mike, "No, I do not want to be a god.  God has a lot of responsibility and we can't be Him. He is the Great I AM.  There is only ONE GOD and we are not it!"  Mike showed me a Bible verse (1 Corinthians 8:4-6) "So then, about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that an idol is nothing at all in the world and that there is no God but one.  For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many "gods" and many "lords"), yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from who all things come and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live."  Mike tried to convince me that this Bible verse meant that there is more than one God.  That is not what it says.  This Bible verse is talking about that there is only ONE God, but that people create idols (like money, movie stars, etc. anything that we put first instead of God).  So people in a sinful world who love money would make that their "god".  This Bible verse clearly says that there is only one God and we are only to worship the God found in the Bible.  Once the Lord showed me the truth the false Mormon doctorine unraveled very quickly.  No one will be a god and it is just arrogant and wrong to think otherwise. Here are some Bible verses that show there is only one God and how He saved us.

"Do not tremble, do not be afraid.  Did I not proclaim this and foretell it long ago?  You are my witnesses.  Is there any God besides me? No, there is no other Rock; I know not one." Isaiah 44:8

"Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into world.  1John 4:1

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast." Ephesians 2:8-9

"He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy.  He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit." Titus 3:5

"That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved." Romans 10:9-10

"You are my witnesses," declares the LORD, "and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he.  Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me." Isaiah 43:10

After the Lord showed me that Mormonism is wrong I still had to go to the Mormon church one last time, but that story will be saved for my next blog devotional.

Let's pray:  Dear Lord Jesus, I pray that You will show people reading this and people in the world the truth.  The truth found in Your Word (Bible) sets us free and I pray that those lost in the darkness of Mormonism and other false religions will be set free from that darkness.  I pray that people will not be deceived into thinking Mormonism is from God, but that Mormonism will be exposed for the false religion that it is.  I pray for protection and I ask that Your favor and wisdom will be upon me and all those who seek You Lord Jesus. I say these things in Jesus' name. Amen.

www.karenejklein.com

Your Heart

When I was a young woman around the age of 22 I was engaged to a Morman man.  I remember going to my ward (in Mormon speak a ward is a church congregation) to go to a farewell service for a young woman going off on a Mormon mission.  Now, this young woman wasn't very nice to me.  I really don't know why, but I do remember feeling uncomfortable around her.  Nevertheless, I was required to attend this farewell service.  There were a number of people who went up to the podium to speak about her and how many things she has done for the Mormon Church and the ward.  As I listened to the guests speak about her I remember I started to feel tired and weary.  At that moment it dawned on me how "works" oriented the Mormons are and for the first time since I had joined that church, 8 months before, I felt like I was in bondage.  I remember thinking that when I was in a born-again Christian Church I never felt like I was in bondage.  Sitting there in that Mormon ward I felt like I could never measure up and that no matter how much I did or tried to do it wasn't enough.  Oh, I just felt so weighed down like I had a million bricks tied to me. I said to myself that in my born-again Christian upbringing there was so much freedom! I never felt this exhaustion or frustration in the born-again Christian church.  I saw such a contrast between the two.  There is freedom in the born-again Christian church because Jesus shed his blood for us all on the cross and paid for our sins.   By grace we are saved!  A few months after this farewell service I broke my engagement and left the Mormon Church.

John 3:16-18, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.  Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son."

2 Corinthians 3:17, "Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom."

Deuteronomy 13:1-4, "If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams, appears among you and announces to you a miraculous sign or wonder, and if the sign or wonder of which he has spoken takes place, and he says, "Let us follow other gods" (gods you have not known) "and let us worship them," you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer.  The LORD your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul.  It is the LORD your God you must follow, and him you must revere.  Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him."

The reason I felt such bondage while I was sitting in that Mormon ward is because they do not worship the same Jesus that a born-again Christian worships.  I worship the Jesus found only in the Bible and the Mormons worship a made up Jesus.  There is no freedom, no life, in a made up Jesus.  Look at it this way.  There are many people in the world with the name Karen.  My name is Karen and I am nothing like all those other Karens in the world.  There is only one me.  Well, there are many religions who claim to know Jesus, but it is only his name that they know.  So if you want true freedom, and life everlasting then you need to know the Jesus found only in the Bible.  Jesus is waiting for you to open up a Bible and start reading it.  He wants you to know Him.  He wants you to know how much He loves you.  What are you waiting for?

Let's pray:  Dear Lord Jesus, I lift up everyone reading this devotional.  I pray that You will touch their hearts and heal their hurts.  I say these things in Jesus' name. Amen.

www.karenejklein.com

Poor Man, Rich Man

Hi everyone!  Almost a year ago I wrote a blog on the Bible verse Matthew 7: 13-14.  It was about which road will you go down the wide gate that leads to destruction (hell) or the narrow gate that leads to eternal life (heaven).  Yesterday, (January 22, 2012) I went to church and Pastor John spoke about "One Second After You Die".  Wow, something to think about.  If you go to www.northcreek.org and then click on to the link for the sermons you can hear Pastor John for yourself.

The Bible passage he used was Luke 16:19-31, "There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury everyday.  At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table.  Even the dogs came and licked his sores.  The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side.  The rich man also died and was buried.  In hell where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side.  So he called to him, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.  But Abraham replied, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony.  And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.  He answered, 'Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father's house.  For I have five brothers.  Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.'  Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the Prophets:  let them listen to them.'  No, father Abraham,' he said, 'but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.'  He said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.'"

The rich man has lots of wealth and lots of stuff.  He ate expensive food and enjoyed it all.  The rich man was cold hearted and never used his wealth to help anyone.  The poor man, Lazarus, was suffering with illness that covered his body with sores.  Lazarus couldn't take care of himself.  Even through this suffering Lazarus obviously loved the Lord and had faith in Jesus.  God kept quiet about the rich man's name, but God knew the poor man's name.  The rich man had a fancy earthly funeral.  The poor man, Lazarus did not have a fancy funeral, but the angels came and carried him to heaven.

After the rich man died he went into hell.  What does the Bible teach us about hell? 
A.  It is a place of torment
B. Spiritual torment,  no escape  EVER
C. Emotional torment,  knowing your family is headed there too (like the rich man stated)
D. Torment is continuous
E.  No second chances once you get to hell
F. Your plea for mercy will not be answered
G.  In hell you retain your identity and awarness

Does God know your name?  Which road will you choose?  You can prevent choosing to go to hell by trusting in God's Word (Bible).   The only book that shows us how to know who God is, how to know God and how He came to save us is the Bible, (John 3:16).  You cannot trust any other book.  You cannot trust your feelings for feelings can deceive us.  So,  if you have not yet asked the Lord Jesus Christ into your heart to forgive you for your sins and be Lord and Savior of your life, then please do not delay.  One second after you die, YOU will have determined your forever home. 

Let's pray:  Dear Lord Jesus,  I pray for the unsaved.  I pray that they will open their hearts to love You and ask You, Jesus to save them.  I ask that Your favor and wisdom will be upon us and please protect us, comfort us and thank You for Your saving grace.  In Jesus' name. Amen.

www.karenejklein.com