Author Archives: Karla Jo Wasion

^“Late in the afternoon the Twelve came to him and said, “Send the crowd away so they can go to the surrounding villages and countryside and find food and lodging, because we are in a remote place here.” He replied, “You give them something to eat.” They answered, “We have only five loaves of bread and two fish—unless we go and buy food for all this crowd.” – Luke 9:12-13

These same twelve had just returned from being sent out by Jesus to heal people and cast out demons. But when faced with hungry people and not enough food, they can only consider what is humanly possible.

But what catches my heart this morning is this:  His followers were called to participate in His power. He sent them out, in His power, to heal and deliver. And then He included them in the miraculous feeding of hungry people. Until He sent them out, they had watched Him minister with power, but now He was calling them to do with Him what He had been doing alone.

It will always be His power at work, but as His follower, I have been called to co-labor with Him. Sometimes, that will mean feeding people who are hungry, rather than sending them away.

His power reaches every part of our lives. The sick parts, the tormented parts, and the hungry parts. Today, don’t overlook the places His power wants to touch through you.

“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.