Author Archives: Karla Jo Wasion

“On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?”…From this time many of His disciples turned back and no longer followed Him. “
You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve. Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.”” John 6:60, 66-69

Following Him was not a walk in park. He taught hard things. Even those closest to Him didn’t fully understand Him or His mission. But while others fell away, the twelve kept going. Because they knew. Because for them, something had changed and at least one thing was clear. Jesus was who He said He was, and eternal life would not be found anywhere else.

We are no different. We know, don’t we, that following Jesus isn’t always easy. He teaches some hard things. And we mess up, bicker with one another and even argue with Him when He seems to ask the impossible from us (read John 6:5-7).

But this we know:  We have come to believe and know that He is who He says He is, and eternal life is not found anywhere else.

What we don’t know can sometimes make us want to walk away. It’s what we do know that keeps us going.

Today, remember what you know.

“He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners…and provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.” – Isaiah 61:1-3

He cares about your broken heart. He is against your captivity. He wants your mourning to end and your dancing to begin. He takes no pleasure in your despair. He wants joy to be yours.

He wants good things for you. Jesus was sent because the Father is for you, not against you.

Last year’s mourning can become this year’s dancing. You can be whole and not broken. The despair you have been wearing can fall, and your lamenting can turn into praise.

Because your Father’s heart is good, and Jesus has come for you.

“Let it be as becomes those who believe gospel truths, submit to gospel laws, and depend upon gospel promises; and with an answerable faith, holiness, and comfort. Let it be in all respects as those who belong to the kingdom of God among men, and are members and subjects of it.” – Matthew Henry Commentary

Jesus died so that I could live. He took all of my sin upon Himself so that I could be forgiven. He suffered so that He could defeat death and spend eternity with me.

The gospel is worthy of more than lying back in the grace of God, nestled in the assurance of forgiveness and the love that God has lavished upon me. It is worthy of more than claiming allegiance to a cross that I refuse to carry.

This gospel marks us, His Church, and it is worthy of more than our bickering and our offenses, our need to be seen and applauded. It is worthy of being a people who lay down their lives for Him, for one another and for the lost. It is worthy of taking the towel and washing the feet of our comrades. It is worthy of dropping our stones and choosing to love the worst of us.

Today, may we consider what manner of living is worthy of the gospel, and then live that way.

Lord, forgive us, and raise us up to be a people with a passion to live worthy of Your gospel.

Newness of life. We humans like newness. Fresh starts. Do overs. We purge our closets and our lives, resolve to change, to do better, we sign up, join up, and promise to not give up. But the problem with our own starting over, the newness we get by throwing out old stuff and old habits, is that it ends at some point. For most of us, our resolutions to change don’t last past the first month.

Every process devised by man to have new life  comes to an end, because nothing we can do for ourselves is eternal.

New life begins with a new heart, not a new routine. 

Lord, I want to walk in new life this year. I want to abandon the old ways of last year, ways that did not lead to life or to Your glory. I’m tired of settling for what I can do on my own, so I’m asking that You would revive my heart this year. I want a heart that remembers that on my own, I can do nothing, but I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. I want to lean on Your power and not my own, and I want to walk by Your Spirit, in Your ways, for Your glory. Thank You Lord, for new life.