Author Archives: Karla Jo Wasion

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

give no advantage

“If you forgive anyone, I do too. For what I have forgiven—if I have forgiven anything—it is for you in the presence of Christ. I have done this so that we may not be taken advantage of by Satan. For we are not ignorant of his schemes.“ 2 Corinthians 2:10-11

Paul is talking to the Church about restoring a sinner back to fellowship, but let’s not miss the implication.  Our unwillingness to forgive gives the enemy an advantage and is part of his scheming against us. In other words, unforgiveness on the part of a believer is a bona fide weapon in the hand of the enemy.

demonic eyesSome offenses are easy to forgive, while others are not. But forgiving someone does not depend on the size or impact of the offense, but on the willingness of our heart. Because forgiveness, like love, is a choice we make, not a feeling we feel. The key, for me, is in recognizing that forgiveness is not just an issue between me and the offender. There are spiritual eyes watching to see if an advantage will be given or not.

Forgiveness is a spiritual game war changer.

 

don’t be lazy

crossing-the-finish-line-4-dr-diva-verdun“Now we want each of you to demonstrate the same diligence for the final realization of your hope, so that you won’t become lazy but will be imitators of those who inherit the promises through faith and perseverance.” Hebrews 6:11-12

We go to church every week, spend our quiet time with Jesus almost every day, attend bible study, attend all the events, and we talk about Jesus, like, all the time.  So we can skim over Paul’s warning not to become lazy, because we are, spiritually speaking, pretty. darn. busy.Continue reading “don’t be lazy”

in search of a wilderness

“Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.  After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.  The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”” (Matthew 4:1-3)

This taking to the wilderness fascinates me. Maybe because I feel like I’ve stumbled my way through the desert a time or two.

OR

Maybe I’m fascinated because I need a wilderness experience right about now. Maybe my faith feels dull like a butter knife and maybe I pretend there is no war and maybe this lethargy is making me sick. Maybe.

“Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.”  And in that dry, lonely place, faith and temptation and hunger would collide and it had purpose and was on purpose and He was led there. He didn’t wonder why. He didn’t try to turn around and find His way back to comfort. He followed.

God, make me brave like that. Lead me to what I need and give me courage to follow.

” After fasting forty days and forty nights, He was hungry. The tempter came to him…”  The tempter came when the hunger came. But it wasn’t physical fullness that prepared Jesus for the face off, it was the spiritual fullness that came from forty days and forty nights of denying His flesh. 

And I know that I have been physically full and spiritually hungry for far too long.

 “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.  Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

The devil is many things, but dumb is not one of them. This was not an identity issue. He knew Jesus was the Son of God, and so did Jesus. He was tempting Him to fill His own need. To provide for His own hunger, without seeking His Father’s will first. Later, Jesus would tell His disciples “the Son can do nothing by Himself; He can do only what He sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.” (John 5:19) So the way I see it, Satan is tempting Jesus to do it by Himself and for Himself. 

And so I say to myself:  This is not an identity issue. You know you are a child of God, and so does the devil. Stop going around in circles trying to prove that you know who you are. Stop ringing that bell, and wake up to the real issue. 

BECAUSE of your identity, the tempter is trying to get you to do it by yourself, and for yourself. 

To meet your own need. Fill your own hunger. To make your identity about you, instead of about the One who gave it to you.

Four verses from easily my favorite book in the Bible, and one of my favorite passages from that book. A passage I have read hundreds of times. Really. But today four verses have me undone. Today, four verses brought an answer to a problem that I’ve been ignoring.

I have been physically full and spiritually hungry, and, from a biblical standpoint, this is backwards. It has made me dull. Spiritually lazy. Selfish. (Oh. So very selfish.) I’ve just gotten self-consumed, and frankly, I’m a little sick of me.

Today, four verses confirmed my suspicions.

I need a wilderness.Autosave-File vom d-lab2/3 der AgfaPhoto GmbH

bathsheba and the whole story

“David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife”  Matthew 1:6

062-Widow-Mourning-q75-500x317I didn’t see it at first, even though that one sentence seemed to stand alone on the page. I read it, and went on with my day, but my mind kept repeating the words. “…whose mother had been Uriah’s wife.” Why did He breathe those words? Why didn’t He call her by name? There were other women listed in the who-belonged-to-who section, why not hers? Her name was Bathsheba. Why didn’t He say it? It felt almost offensive, this dismissal of a woman.Continue reading “bathsheba and the whole story”

she was guilty

stone“Then the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery,making her stand in the center.  “Teacher,” they said to Him, “this woman was caught in the act of committing adultery.  In the law Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do You say?”  They asked this to trap Him, in order that they might have evidence to accuse Him.” John 8:3-6

Yesterday my team was discussing ways to get 6 women, living together in a recovery home, to be on each other’s side instead of backbiting, finger-pointing and tattle-telling on one another. This story came up. Getting them to see one another through the eyes of Jesus.Continue reading “she was guilty”

pieces

One song played in my house all weekend. It’s called “Pieces”, sang by Steffany Gretzinger at IHOP’s One Thing 2015. These words got down deep in my soul…

“Your love’s not fractured, it’s not a troubled mind

It isn’t anxious, it’s not the restless kind

Your love’s not passive, it’s never disengaged

It’s always present, it hangs on every word we say”…

For two days this song thumped it’s beat on my heart until my heart began to respond. At first, it was just background music while I did other things, but before long…I couldn’t do other things and I couldn’t stop thinking about Him.

About this Love that I had gone back to earning. As if.Continue reading “pieces”

pearls

“Return to your rest, my soul, for the Lord has been good to you.” – Psalm 116:7

My soul gets restless. It wanders through the mundane places and the places of need and want and longing and becomes dissatisfied.

My soul gets overwhelmed. It feels the passing of time and the adventures not yet lived and all of the undone things and my soul wants more.

This morning, this scripture called out to my restless, overwhelmed soul and peace was mine again. Return to your rest, my soul. Remember His goodness to you. Remember that you are loved. Come, my soul, and consider all of the ways your Father has lavished you with love and blessings.Continue reading “pearls”