Author Archives: Karla Jo Wasion

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

i can live with that – part one

At the same time the Benjaminites did not drive out the Jebusites who were living in Jerusalem. The Jebusites have lived among the Benjaminites in Jerusalem to this day. {Judges 1:21}

I could go on about how I was in the book of Judges with no idea why I chose to go there. How I was reading along at more of a yada yada pace than taking a contemplative stroll. I could tell you about reading past verse 21, but not really because my eyes kept going back to it even though my brain kept wanting to move on. Get to something interesting. I could tell you all of that, but I won’t. I’ll just cut to the chase. Or to the quick. Whichever it happens to be for you.

What are you co-existing with that you should have driven out?

Personally, I needed a whole minute after that question. Could have been a month. A month of trying not to let it stop at conviction. Forcing myself to stay with it and not push it away as one of those oh, that’s good moments and then go back to being whatever it is that I am. Oblivious. Comfortable. Unconvicted.

I may need more time. But here is where I share my journey with whoever may be listening, so I’ll share a couple of miles or so I’ve gone with this so far.

The Israelites had been told to drive out the inhabitants that were in their promised land. Get rid of them. The promised land was the territory God had given them. Places He had given them the authority to dwell as His people.

What is the spiritual shadow being cast by this physical reality? What is my land, my territory of authority?

My home, family. My marriage. If I were still raising children, my parenting would be a place God has given to me, but now it’s my grandparenting.  Ministry. Calling. Gifting. My workplace. My relationships with God, and with others, inside and outside of the Church.

This is my land, my territory. God has planted me here and given me authority, spiritually.  These are the areas I have felt led to ask myself the question — what have I been allowing to co-exist with me here, rather than driving it out?

Some that I came up with apply to me, and some do not. Maybe they resonate with you, though.

Fear, including the fear of man. The fear of disappointing someone, of feeling their disapproval or criticism. That kind of fear will keep us in a place of striving, trying to please and appease. It will keep us from speaking the truth when truth needs to be spoken. Then there is the fear that comes when we watch the news. That’s the fear that can turn our desire to be informed into an obsession. And because we are obsessed with what is going on around us, we are continually fueling fresh fear.  And no, the answer is not to bury our heads, no longer paying any attention to the news. The news is not the trespasser on our land. Fear is.

{Also, for the record — fear includes control, because control is rooted primarily in fear.  Think about it.}

Pride, which includes a low self-esteem. Whether thinking too much of ourselves, or too little of ourselves — we are still continually thinking of self. Narcissism, which is pride on steroids, is rampant in the Church. One day on social media will confirm that, I promise.  Comparison is also rampant and is rooted in pride. Self-hatred, self-loathing, self-everything — all the offspring of pride.

Pride ensures that no matter where we look, we see ourselves.

{It also includes a judgmental and/or critical spirit, both of which can be traced back to pride.}

Apathy/Complacency. Couch surfing Christians. Those who believe they follow Jesus, but never actually follow Him past the couch. They keep their religion as a “private” matter, never talking about it with others.  Or, they post spiritual memes on their social media accounts and consider that sharing the gospel. It is spiritual laziness and we have made peace with it and allowed it to co-exist with us in every aspect of our lives.

I can think of others, can you? A religious spirit, unbelief, addictions of every kind, and compromise, just to name a few.

To figure out how and why these things are enemies that should not be allowed to co-exist with us, we have to consider what they destroy, or at a minimum, what they hinder in us. We’ll do that in the next mile. Stay tuned!

we’ve got better things to talk about

The shift has been subtle. My view slowly changing, steps receding, pupils dilating to take in more light, see bigger. I think God is doing something, but it’s like having a mouth full of meat. I keep chewing and chewing, trying to taste and talk at the same time. So for the next few moments, just ignore the sound of me trying to swallow something that is too big for me.

The headlines should be enough. They tell me all I need to know, but then there’s the ‘click’ as I go in to get all the details. Because we all have our magnifying glass in our hands, like children on the ground trying to see the smallest parts of our world. So we move in on the stories of horror and grief and mankind slipping further and further into an abyss of madness, and we try to pretend we are staying informed but not affected. Like traipsing through the muck of our current culture and having incessant discussions about the latest acceptable deviance isn’t doing anything to our hearts.

(But it is, you know.)

And I see God’s people sifting through the garbage dump. Horrified by what we see, but unwilling to look away. Pointing and announcing how unacceptable the garbage is, as though the rest of us need to be convinced. Sometimes it feels like the only thing we talk about is how dark the darkness is becoming. And how the darkness doesn’t line up with God’s word.

(as though it used to but now, oh the terrible times we live in now)

But I feel the shifting, don’t you? God calling His people to look up. To set our eyes on Him. To remember. To stop trying to convince the garbage dump that it is full of both garbage and the disapproval of God. To stop trying to convince the world that God is on our side and not theirs.

(as though God so loved us and not the world)

Let’s get off the ground. Stop examining the dirt. Look up and get some perspective.

Evil exists. Depravity abounds. People are doing things and believing things that are ungodly. We can stop looking so surprised and appalled. And afraid.

(we have nothing to fear. nothing.)

I don’t want to be filled with righteous indignation because some man is demanding the right to be a woman. There’s nothing wrong with being aware of what’s going on, but I don’t need to give it the attention it wants.  It’s a conversation for my prayer closet, not a threat to my faith, or to the Church.

{And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.} Matthew 16:18

I want to be filled with wonder as I watch God pursue the heart of my co-worker. I want to be giddy over what He is doing through local ministries bringing His hope to the broken. I want to shout for joy because He is answering prayers for family and friends. I want harvest parties when hard sowing bears beautiful fruit. I want to go deep into the stories of how God is loving people, showing mercy, rescuing sinners and making them saints.

I feel Him tugging. Gently urging us to our feet, from peering at the dirt as though dirt is something new.

Anyone can look at a garbage dump and talk about the garbage. But we are the children of God. We recognize Him when others cannot. We know what it looks like when He is moving. We know His handprint when we see it. We are the ones who know Him, know that He is moving in the earth, healing, delivering, saving. We have the spiritual eyes to see Him pursuing people, drawing them to turn around and follow Him. We are those who know that God is showing love to the least and compassion to the hurting. Remaining faithful and not walking away when it gets messy and hard.

We know He is not shouting at the garbage, but reaching in and pulling people out of it. One at a time. Drawing them with His kindness, not His wrath.

We are the only ones who can see what our Father is doing, and do it with Him.

do you love me or are you just checking out my fruit?

To God’s church at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus and called as saints, with all those in every place who call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord—both their Lord and ours. – 1 Corinthians 1:2

The salutation alone should convict us. But let’s go on.

In the next 5 verses Paul affirms the Christians in Corinth.

…you do not lack any spiritual gift… He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you will be blameless …you were called by Him into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. 

And then he begins to address their sin.

“For it has been reported to me about you, my brothers, by members of Chloe’s household, that there is rivalry among you.”  (1:11)

In fact, you are still not ready, because you are still fleshly. For since there is envy and strife among you, are you not fleshly and living like unbelievers? (3:2-3)

 For who makes you so superior? What do you have that you didn’t receive? If, in fact, you did receive it, why do you boast as if you hadn’t received it? (4:7)

It is widely reported that there is sexual immorality among you… (5:1)

I say this to your shame! Can it be that there is not one wise person among you who is able to arbitrate between his brothers? Instead, believer goes to court against believer, and that before unbelievers! … Therefore, to have legal disputes against one another is already a moral failure for you.(6:5,7)

Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good morals.” Come to your senses and stop sinning, for some people are ignorant about God. I say this to your shame. (15:33)

And it goes on. He addresses the way they took communion, their handling of the spiritual gifts, and the disorder of their services.

His letter to them was very disciplinary in nature. Apparently, they needed quite the spanking. But here is what he never said to them:

You are bad Christians. You are so-called Christians. You are not really Christians.

Ok, let’s table that for a sec.

We are fond of checking one another out in search of fruit. We love to quote Jesus saying “you will know them by their fruit”, which apparently permissions us to demand to see some fruit as validation of one’s true Christianity, as though we’re the border guards of heaven.

Can you tell it just peeves me?

Let’s read it together. But this time, let’s read the entire passage, instead of just the last verse.

“Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravaging wolves.  You’ll recognize them by their fruit. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes or figs from thistles? In the same way, every good tree produces good fruit, but a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good tree can’t produce bad fruit; neither can a bad tree produce good fruit. Every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So you’ll recognize them by their fruit.” (Matthew 7:15-20)

Question: Who will be recognized by their fruit? Answer:  False prophets. The context of this fruity passage is false prophets, not the brethren (I just like saying that word).

Since we’re doing this, let’s look at a different passage.

“I give you a new command: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you must also love one another. By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:35)

Question:  How will followers of Christ be recognized, by all people? Answer: By the way we love each other.

I’m begging us to love one another and stop pointing our fingers across the aisle, demanding to see fruit. Especially from people we only know from the other side of a computer screen. The internet is no place from which to judge authenticity, purity, or any other fruity substance.

If you’re going to demand to see my fruit, we’d better be in some kind of relationship, know what I mean? 

We are to bear much fruit. For.our.Father. Not so that our fruitfulness can be weighed and measured by our brothers and sisters and a decision can be reached as to whether we really are who we say we are.

Paul’s letter to the Corinthians teaches us something if we will dare to learn it. It’s the art of calling believers up and out of their sin.

Do not be deceived: No sexually immoral people, idolaters, adulterers, or anyone practicing homosexuality, no thieves, greedy people, drunkards, verbally abusive people, or swindlers will inherit God’s kingdom. And some of you used to be like this. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. (1 Corinthians 6:9-11)

Paul doesn’t deny their believership (yes, spell check, I did make that up. go with it.). He affirms it and calls them to come up to it, basically saying to them, “This is not who you are anymore. Stop living as though it is.” How ’bout we do that? Call one another up to our true identity, as those in Christ. What if we affirm one another instead of yanking out our fruit-seeking spyglass. What if we loved each other enough to say ‘Stop that. That’s not who you are.’?

I know. I get it. There is just something in us (some of us, not all) that feels the pull to point out what others are doing wrong. Not because we love them, but because we are offended and highly indignant that they are sinning. We feel the need to defend the image of Christ. We get mad when someone sullies it with their sin.

And we’re cranky because we have this log in our eye so we can’t see too good and that makes it hard to look for your fruit.

when will i just stop surrendering?

Quick. What do you think when I say the word surrender?

I think song lyrics. I think on my knees before God. I think giving up.

A word I say, and think I’m doing, but really, I’m not.

 I’ve looked. I cannot find one scripture reference to humans surrendering to God, using the actual word surrender.

As though God wants to take prisoners rather than be reconciled to His children.

But I remember all those times on my knees, weeping and singing the lyrics. Don’t You remember those, God?

So He said to me, ‘Jonah’, and something in my stomach dropped as I reached for my bible.

Jonah was commanded to go prophecy to the city of Ninevah that God was going to destroy it because of their wickedness.

So Jonah ran. Ended up on a ship, a storm came, they threw Jonah overboard, big fish swallowed him. Jonah sees the error of his ways from inside the fish, and says this…

but as for me, I will sacrifice to You
with a voice of thanksgiving.
I will fulfill what I have vowed.

{and i think to myself…hmmm. that could be called surrender, right?}

Big fish pukes Jonah out onto a beach. He went to Ninevah and preached against it. All of Ninevah repents, turns from their wicked ways. God chooses not to destroy the city.

Jonah gets mad. Says this —

That’s why I fled toward Tarshish in the first place. I knew that You are a merciful and compassionate God, slow to become angry, rich in faithful love, and One who relents from sending disaster.

So then God and I discussed Jonah.

He surrendered, right?

Is it surrender to agree to obey Me once I have taken you into the depths? Is it surrender to stop fighting only because I have put you into a position where you can no longer fight? When I’ve cut off your ability to run? Is it surrender when you finally realize that you cannot hide from Me?

What is really being established — your surrender, or My sovereignty?

Why do you think Jonah ran in the first place?

Because he didn’t want to preach to Ninevah.

No. Jonah ran because he knew Me, but did not trust Me. 

He knew I am a compassionate God, a God rich in love and mercy. Jonah could not trust that I would do things the way he would do them. Jonah’s heart was to destroy Ninevah because that’s what justice looked like to him. He didn’t trust Me to do what was just.

Oh. Ok. {awkward silence} So, am I like Jonah? Knowing You but not trusting You? Surrendering because there are no further options?

Is my surrender really surrender, or is it Your sovereignty being established?

{i knew the answer. So did He. He was gracious to move the conversation along.}

What about Mary?

Mary. Teenaged girl, engaged to be married. Suddenly there’s an angel named Gabriel in front of her. Mary remained calm. We can ponder that some other time.

Gabriel tells Mary that she will become pregnant by the Holy Spirit and give birth to the Messiah.

“I am the Lord’s slave,” said Mary. “May it be done to me according to your word.” (Luke 1:38)

Was that it? Was that her surrender?

No. Mary didn’t need to surrender because she never chose to fight. She trusted Me.

I want you to consider this the next time you are singing those lyrics, the next time you are on your knees before me, pledging your surrender. 

Are you surrendered like Jonah, or like Mary? 

I don’t actually want your surrender. I don’t want to have to fight with you until you finally give up. Surrender is not the same as obedience. Surrender is not the same as trust. Surrender is simply acknowledging that you are in a battle that you cannot win. That isn’t what I’m after.

I am not your opponent, I’m your Father.

I want you to know Me. And because you know Me, you trust Me. If you know Me and trust Me then you will not have to surrender in order to obey Me.

The conversation spanned two weeks. I know that we use the term ‘surrender’, because it best fits our heart’s posture at the crossroad. I don’t think there is anything wrong with that.

But I do think God wants to shift something. To have us step into the light and get a better view of Him.

He never wanted to fight us in the first place. He wanted to love us, rescue us and bring us back to Himself. We’re the ones who turn it into a fight.

He will establish His sovereignty if that’s what has to happen.

Or, we can seek to know Him, choose to trust Him. We can have obedience that didn’t require surrender.

We can choose to believe that He is worthy of not just our worship, not just our praises, but worthy of our obedience. Worthy of our trust. Worthy of so much more than our surrender.

Because He is not a worthy opponent. He is a worthy Father.

resist the rabbit

As I was falling asleep one night recently, I got a picture in my head.

And I knew exactly what it meant, what I need to talk about, and who I need to talk to.

Primarily women. Mostly in their 20’s, 30’s and 40’s. Maybe teens. Maybe seniors. Moms. Singles. Marrieds. You’ll know who you are in just a moment.

You see those dogs racing around that track? They are chasing something they will never catch. It’s put in front of them to motivate them to run as fast as they can. They don’t know they’ll never catch what they’re chasing.

Neither do you.

This comparison thing? That’s your racetrack. And you can just pick your rabbit. I bet you don’t even have to think about it. You know what it is. I’ll name a few, in case you need a prompt.

Looks, Finances, Clothes, Home, Husband/Boyfriend, Marriage, Children, Career, Ministry, Education, Gifting, Friends, Followers, Likes.

Is that enough? Can you find your rabbit yet? The thing that makes you feel less than or not enough? Whatever is making you work harder, run faster, buy more, do more, be more, so that you can finally feel like you aren’t losing. Trying to keep up with the latest trends, whether it’s what you hang on your wall or put on your kid, so that you aren’t in the back of the pack. The thing you chase, that always seems just a few more steps away.

Tell me. Have you ever caught that rabbit?

I wonder what would happen if you just stopped. Stopped racing and chasing. Left the track altogether. Seriously. Just walked away.

It’s highly unlikely that a group of anything chasing something will all stop at once. Whether it’s a pack of dogs or a generation of humans — someone has to stop chasing first. Others will follow.

It will take courage to be who you are without feeling like you should be more. To be okay with what you have. To celebrate your life as it is right here in this space of time. To relax with your flaws, your scars, your shabby without the chic.

To just be content.

Because whether we admit it or not, all that comparing just breeds discontent in us until we are compelled to the chase. But let me tell you, enough gazing over the fence and before long, who we are and what we have and who we have just isn’t enough. Don’t you know that’s where this chase is designed to go? To make us look around and conclude that there must be something better out there waiting for us. A better job, better house, better spouse, better marriage.

Don’t we know who’s holding the rabbit?

But I believe in you, Beloved. I believe that you are the generation to end the chase. I believe that you will see the rabbit for what it is. I believe that you will refuse to raise another generation of daughters who chase what cannot be caught. Daughters who cannot look in the mirror and see enough. Daughters who take the bait and enter a race they’ll never win.

I believe that you are the generation who will raise up women who fight for one another instead of compare one another. Women who would rather walk in authenticity than walk in someone else’s shoes. Women who know they are fearfully and wonderfully made, uniquely created, fully known and fully loved.

You can be the brave ones who will stop running. Who will turn around and walk away. Who will say enough. We are enough. 

We need you to be who you are, to fulfill the purpose God has for you. Just you. And the next generation needs to see you being you, so that they know it’s ok for them to be them. They need to see you resist giving chase to something you can’t catch, so that they know they can resist it too.

Resist the rabbit, dear ones. It will always outrun you.

what are you doing in the presence of God…

It started a couple of years ago, actually. This feeling would creep up whenever the talk turned to more of God. More of His presence. Something about that didn’t sound right to my spirit, but I didn’t know why.

Not too long ago, a well-known preacher (one of my favorites, in fact), spoke about this very thing, this hunger for more of God’s presence. I understood the point he was trying to make, but that creeping uneasiness was now full-on stalking me. Still, the very next time I was in prayer, I told God I just wanted to be in His presence, told Him I wanted more. So He said something back to me.

Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? – 1Corinthians 3:16

Presence. Dwelling in me.

“I am crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me.”—Galatians 2:20

Where is there more than that? Where will I find more presence than Jesus living in me? Just what is this hunger for more?

Why are we hungering for something we have dwelling within us? I think if we’re going to be hungry, raise our hands and fall on our knees and cry out ‘more Lord’, we should know why, shouldn’t we?

Maybe not. Maybe there is no rhyme, no reason. Maybe God follows the rule to ‘always leave them wanting more’. Maybe we want all of Him and all of Him doesn’t fit inside jars of clay. Maybe we all just instinctively know that there must be more.

Maybe we need a different question. Maybe God asked me a question that won’t leave me be. Maybe you need to hear it too.

How are you stewarding the presence you already have?

My soul feels sucker-punched. And since we’re wanting more, there’s more.

What are you doing, in the presence of God?

What are you saying, in the presence of God?

What are you watching, in the presence of God?

What are you thinking about, in the presence of God?

How are you loving, in the presence of God?

How are you serving, in the presence of God?

How are you living, with Christ in you, the hope of glory?

Everywhere we go, we bring the presence of God with us. How are we stewarding that presence? Who around us is hurting? Who is struggling? Who needs encouragement? Who needs to see light in the darkness? Who needs to witness the goodness of God in a corrupt world? Who needs to see the integrity of Jesus, the faithfulness of Jesus, the willingness of Jesus to draw near when others pull away?

Then there’s this. Are we entering the room with ourselves in mind, looking for our own needs to get met, wanting, needing attention? Do we come in complaining, discontent, or distracted? I’m talking about the grocery store. The gas station. Our jobs, our churches. I’m talking about our homes.

Or this. How powerless are we living? How addicted are we? How much weakness do we claim? How defeated do we feel? How less than, unworthy, unwanted, unvalued do we believe we are?

I don’t think there’s anything wrong with hungering for more of God. There is a very real ache in the Beloved, a longing, a yearning, for Jesus. But I think we may have become preoccupied with believing the answer is found here, usually in a really good worship service/revival meeting/conference. But let’s just be honest about this thing.

We go to all the worship services and are genuinely moved to worship. We attend the conferences and leave with our treasures, our takeaways, our nuggets to ponder. We attend all the things, go where we think His presence is going to be ‘poured out’. And often, we do encounter Him through conviction, through worship, through a revelation of truth.

But it doesn’t make it go away, does it? We still long for Him. We still want more. We’re still hungry for His presence.

Because this isn’t heaven. 

Until we see Him face to face, something in us will continually long for more of Him.

But I think God may be asking us why we want more when we don’t really know what to do with what we already have within us.

I think He’s asking what we’re doing here, in the presence of God.

i’m begging us to stop it

Beloved, can we stop aligning ourselves with something just because it sounds good? Because when we post these self-empowering statements for all the world to read, here is what we are really saying…

People are the basis of my worth, my peace, my joy, my self-respect. People will determine how I see myself and how I feel about myself, and people have the power to determine my inner-world.

Their brokenness threatens my wholeness.

What tickles the ears of the world should sound so foreign to ours. People using people for their own self-worth should not be a concept that resonates with us.

We are the sons and daughters of God. Not one ounce of our worth depends on the thoughts or opinions of fallen human beings. Jesus, not mortals, is our peace, our joy, our reason for living, and there should be nothing so strong as to move us from that position.

We are ambassadors of Christ, His representatives on the earth. We are the people commissioned to love others with the love of Christ. His is not a love that is dependent on reciprocation. It does not demand to be noticed, to be treated fairly, to be respected or to be made to feel valuable. Just as Jesus was complete in His Father and needed no man to confirm His identity, so it is with us.

We are complete in Jesus, and we need no earthly form of confirmation of our value.

So when we begin to question our worth, think less of ourselves, lose our peace, lose our joy and resort to self-empowerment clichés to pump our self-esteem back up, the issue is not the people who surround us.

It’s the unbelief within us.

There is great need out there. People all around us need to feel valued, to believe they have worth. People need peace, and Lord knows real joy is in short supply.

But we are not the answer to their need, we are the ones who know the answer. Jesus. Always, Jesus.

But if we don’t know, believe, live like He is our answer, they aren’t going to buy it when we tell them He is their answer.

So I’m begging us to stop posting platitude memes that have no biblical foundation of truth in them. Stop blaming people for our self-esteem issues. Stop demanding people make us feel what God has already told us we are. Let’s stop loving God but believing people. Let’s love God and believe God so that we can truly love people in a way that leads them to God, not to us.

Say it with me now…

I am a child of God. Completely known and completely loved. I am of great worth to my Father, and could do nothing to cause Him to love me less, or to love me more. I am a foreigner on this earth, a citizen of heaven on a pilgrimage home. I am not a victim, I am more than a conqueror through Jesus. I have overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of my testimony. My destiny has been established by God. The peace of Christ is mine, the joy of the Lord is mine, and my feet are planted on a rock, not shifting sand. I am the Beloved of God, His church, His Bride, the one He died to save.

I do not, nor will I ever, need fallen human beings to prop up my self-esteem.

Jesus is enough for me.

#bedifferent  #betheChurch