Author Archives: Karla Jo Wasion

I love Jesus and His Church. His Word is Truth, His heart is good, and His return is sure.

The Warnings: Hypocrisy

“The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach.  – Matthew 23:2-3

This whole chapter is one long “woe” to the Pharisees and teachers of the law and serves as a warning to the Church.

The hypocrite wears a mask, plays a part like an actor. They preach one thing and do the other thing. They are everyone’s critic but their own.

Jesus told the sheep to do what they say, but not what they do.

Lest the hypocrisy spread.

I think two things are important here. First, are we doing what hypocrites are doing simply because we like the hypocrites? Or maybe because we lack the discernment and biblical literacy to know a hypocrite when we see one?

Second, are we the hypocrite? The one wearing a mask, pretending to be one thing even though we are something else? Are we pointing at sin over there but not the sin over here? Do we hold others to a standard that we can’t, or won’t, meet?

It’s not warm and fuzzy, but most warnings aren’t.

Today, God is uncovering things that have long been hidden. In the Church, mind you. We need to drag our eyes away from what this world is doing and put them on God, and what He is doing right here in us. His light is hitting our hypocrisy in rapid succession and it’s got us on our heels. But, He is also awakening people to a fresh hunger for purity in our pulpits, and in the way those in authority walk with Jesus. But those things must begin with personal purity and integrity in the way we walk out the commands of Christ. It’s the only way the whole body will be made healthy.

And, He is also awakening people to a fresh hunger for Him, praise God! All over the world there are pockets of revival happening that never make the news. So both things are true—the Church is being disciplined, and the Church is being revived, all to the glory of God!

Lord, give us wisdom and discernment, and eyes to see ourselves rightly. Examine our hearts, Father, and see if there be any wicked way in us. Help us walk in purity of intentions, and the integrity to steward Your gifts well. Revive in us a hunger for You above all else. In Jesus’ name. Amen

The Warnings: False Prophets

Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. – Matthew 7:15-16

He warned them about many things and in so doing, He was warning us. And while we are awake to His promises and even His prophesies, I fear we slumber at His warnings. I think though, that we are being awakened by the Spirit, called to sit up and pay attention, to tarry in prayer, to open our eyes, and to heed the warnings.

False prophets. Wolves that look, and act like sheep. They dress the part but it is only a costume. They’re fluent in the language we associate with sheep, but it is nothing more than mimicry. The danger is not that they are among us, but that we don’t recognize them.

And then we do. The cry goes up from those who have discerned that something is very wrong, that the prophets are not who they claim to be. And then the next danger appears—sheep who defend the wolves and accuse the ones raising the warning cry.

And then the bag is open and the cat is out and so begins a mad scramble to put it back before everyone sees it. The revealing of wolves also reveals much about both the shepherds and the sheep. Those who befriended wolves want us to believe their discernment wasn’t off, that the wolf is actually a sheep who just strayed off the path, and needs restoration.

The problem is that Jesus called them one thing, and we are calling them something else. Jesus said they are ravenous, we say they deserve mercy and compassion. What it reveals is that we are unwilling to admit that ravenous wolves exist in the Church, because who wants to admit they let them in? Who among us wants to fess up about our lack of discernment, that we couldn’t see the wolf that we invited onto our platforms, or that we failed to be diligent to look at the fruit of those who had such access to the flock?

And then the dust settles, and in certain corners of the Church a cry for the heads of the shepherds can be heard. The ones who actually do need our mercy and compassion become the targets of “crucify them!” And soon a chorus joins in that is full of accusation, and “I told you so”, and we begin to issue our warnings, not against wolves, but against genuine sheep who messed up. Beloved, a wolf that gets in doesn’t turn all the sheep into wolves. Can we just drop our rocks for a minute, and consider this one thing?

Earthly shepherds are not the last line of defense against wolves. God knows that we are but dust.

He has given us His Holy Spirit. He knows the wolves who have come in, and He will uncover them all, as He has been doing. They cannot fool Him. He sees past the disguise, past the smooth talk, past the false humility, and into the heart that has been given over to darkness.

He will comfort the sheep, bring both conviction and revelation to the shepherds, and He will teach us to recognize the next wolf at the door much quicker. May He also raise up the voices of those who see the wolves, that they would stand on the wall to intercede with true concern for the Church, rather than with accusation against her.

Holy Spirit, give us wisdom, discernment, and diligence. Wake us up where we slumber, strengthen our weak places, give us eyes to see truth, ears to hear, and hearts that would rather be humbled by You and than crowned by men.

Help us heed Your warnings as surely as we seek Your promises.

What Does Heaven See In Me?

He pulled off what has to be the biggest, most magnificent rescue in history. Countless miracles were done through him. I mean big, big things that would likely terrify you and I if they were done today. He “went up to God” on a mountain and talked to Him as one talks with a friend.

Moses experienced God in ways no other person has experienced Him. And then, Moses died and God buried him where his grave would not ever be found. Can our minds even wrap around that bit of news?

He lived an epic life, whether he ever saw it that way or not. And isn’t that what so many of us want? To live a full and epic life? To do something that lasts, that has meaning, that changes something?

Moses is known as a great leader; maybe the greatest. But do we have any idea the weight he carried? Do we know his stress, his fear, frustrations, and even disdain for the people he was leading? No. No we don’t. Some of the biggest leaders in the Church today may think they can relate, but in reality there is nothing that comes close to what Moses was called to do.

Ok, that was the setup for what I felt led by God to write today.

“After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide:  “Moses my servant is dead. Now then …” 

These are the first lines of the first chapter of Joshua, and it’s important to hear what God is saying here, by hearing what He didn’t say.

Moses, your great leader is dead.

Moses, My friend is dead.

Moses, the rescuer is dead.

Moses, the man who did mighty miracles is dead.

It was far more simple and profound than that.

Moses, My servant is dead.

I would like to propose something to you. While Moses was all of the things God didn’t say, I think God cut through all of what we would call identity and named who Moses was to Him.

My servant.

šāraṯ. Pronounced shaw-rath. That’s the word God used for Moses. “to attend as a menial or worshipper; to minister” (Strong’s)

The courage before Pharoah, the obedience that resulted in miracles, climbing the mountain into the dark cloud of presence, carrying God’s people to the edge of the Promised Land. The earthly perspective is that Moses was a great leader, perhaps the best in history. The view from heaven was of a man serving his God.

We all have to choose which perspective means more to us.

“… whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:26-27)

Lord, of all the things I may be known as, I desire most that You know me as Your servant. I pray that I will never serve a title given by men above serving You and ministering to Your heart.

The Gift of Wilderness

Things feel dry right now. Uncomfortable. I’m both grieving and storming heaven for things, for something to break. I’m tired and trying to figure out what it looks like to let God strengthen me. And for some time now I’ve been dissatisfied with my place in life. Frustrated at the lack of forward movement, and the years that keep disappearing while I wonder what I have to show for them.

I’ve been in need of perspective, and today it floated down through the book of Numbers. I know, right?

The nutshell version is that God rescued this hoard of Israelites from the grip of Egypt, and then led them into the desert. Took them the long way instead of the shortcut, so they wouldn’t have to battle an enemy. He knew they would have gotten scared as rabbits and hightailed it back to Egypt, back to slavery. Back to what was familiar.

The wilderness was overlooked as the gift it was meant to be. A place of safety, provision, and even rest. A place where they could learn to know their God and to worship Him in a hard place. He met their hunger with manna, and their thirst with water from a rock. They had so much opportunity to witness His goodness and His power, but they wished for something else. Something more. They wanted to be in a different place. So they complained and voiced their fears, and God called it all unbelief. And what could have been a temporary season became the rest of their lives, as they wandered in their wilderness until an entire generation died.

Perspective. Am I overlooking the gift that this season is meant to be?

I can still long for His promise, while trusting the manna and the water He provides in the wilderness. I can choose to know Him deeper in this place, and to be thankful for His presence with me here.

The wilderness holds miracles and the power of God, the leading of God, and the love of God that draws us into the desert so we can know Him there, worship Him there, and trust Him there.

I don’t want to miss that because I’m longing for something else.

It’s Life or Death

Quiet time with Jesus this morning was fast and furious. Some days it’s slow, quiet, and contemplative. Not today. A few days ago I felt led to return to the book of Genesis. It’s a well read, well underlined, highlighted, circled book in my bible, but I was sure that God would say something fresh from it. I was not wrong. Let’s get to it.

 The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. (Genesis 2:9)

A planting from God in the center of man’s world, from the very beginning. Adam, and all who would come after him would continually be confronted with a choice—life or death, and the loving command of God to choose life.

“This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to His voice, and hold fast to Him.” (Deuteronomy 30:19-20)

“The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life.” (John 6:63)

From one end of the Bible to the other runs a continual theme. Choose God’s way and live, or choose our own way and find death.

“There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death” (Proverbs 14:12)

After four hundred years of silence between the prophet Malachi and the Gospels, God spoke the same refrain. Choose life or choose death.

“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.” (John 3:16)

“Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6)

But the choice before us isn’t only about heaven or hell. Every day we face small decisions that either breathe life into something or slowly choke it out.

Choosing spiritual apathy will bring death to zeal and passion. But if we will choose the pursuit of God, and zeal for His house, it will bring life to our souls and life to the Church.

Choosing offense and bitterness suffocates forgiveness and restoration—and eventually the relationship itself. But choosing God’s way of grace, mercy, and forgiveness brings life back into our own hearts and breathes new life into relationships that were being threatened with death.

Every time we choose our own way over God’s way, death comes to something. In the center of our existence the choice has been planted, and we must decide the way we will choose to walk. Life, or death.

Jesus or the world. Our own flesh and emotions or obedience to God. Offense that leads to a bitter heart, or forgiveness that heals and restores. The pull of apathy or the call to a “one thing” heart posture, a continual pursuit of the heart and ways of God, and a zeal for Him and His house, the Church.

Choose you this day…

Questions to ask and things to ponder:

  • In the abundance of choices that I make every day, how many of them bring death instead of life?
  • In the big picture of how I live my life, am I choosing life?
  • How can I begin to speak and/or pray life over the people I love?

How, Or If?

Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.”

The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time.” – Luke 1:18-20

Someone else asked a similar question, with a very different outcome.

When Gabriel showed up to tell Mary that she would conceive a child, she responded with “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” (Luke 1:34) Instead of making her mute, Gabriel explained that it would be by the Holy Spirit.

So, what’s the difference between Zechariah and Mary?

When Zechariah asked “how can I be sure of this?”, it was a dead giveaway that he needed proof, because he didn’t believe what Gabriel was telling him.

Mary’s question arose not from doubt or unbelief, but from a place of wondering how God was going to accomplish this.

As with most things, it’s a matter of the heart. Zechariah’s contained unbelief, while Mary’s did not.

There is a big difference between wondering how God will do what He said He would do, and wondering if He will do what He said He would do.

Do you have a how in your heart, or an if?

The Prayer

“Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord.” – Luke 1:11-15

Couple of things.

The number of times people were filled with fear when an angel showed up makes me think a lot of us have the wrong idea about angels. They come from another realm, a realm in which they battle demons and stand before the throne of God, waiting to be dispatched as His messengers. I don’t think they’re soft and effiminate looking, playing a harp. But that’s just my opinion. Feel free to have your own.

“… your prayer has been heard.” There are a few possibilities here as to what the angel meant by “your prayer.”

  • Zechariah, even in his old age, was still praying for a son;
  • The angel was referring to prayers that had once been prayed, but are prayed no longer;
  • Or, the “prayer” in question wasn’t for a son at all, but was the prayer Zechariah was praying in his role as a priest. Very likely a prayer for Israel’s redeemer to come.

If it was the first one, well, good on Zechariah for sticking with it.

If the second, what hope that should give us, to know that prayers we once prayed are still before the Lord. Still awaiting His answer. Not dead and forgotten in the heavens, even if so in our heart.

And if it’s the last one, that would mean that God was actually answering two prayers at the same time. Because surely Zechariah had, at one time, prayed for a son. And surely, as a priest, he would have offered up prayers for Israel’s redeemer, the Messiah to make the oh so long awaited appearance. John the Baptist, as we know, was the forerunner to the Messiah. The herald of the redemption that was about to draw nigh.

This entire scene feels otherworldly and full of mystery. After 400 years of silence, a heavenly messenger appears to an aging priest as he prays at the altar in the holy place—and with that, the shift begins. A crack forms in the darkness, and light starts to break through. An ancient prophecy is awakening, and soon the whole world will feel its impact.

More than just words on a page, the Scriptures draw us into the mystery of God’s redeeming plan for creation—into His very heart—inviting us to stand in awe of His power, His wisdom, and His absolute Godness.