Author Archives: Karla Jo Wasion

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

unreasonable love

I know God loves me, and I’ve understood that His love is unconditional. But recently, He set me on a journey that is taking me deeper, and has started a fire in me.

“On your best day, if you did everything right and nothing wrong, I would still have no reason to love you, because I am completely holy, completely sinless and all together perfect.”

That’s the statement He dropped into me, and then allowed to begin to unfold. The unfolding looks something like this ~

God never had a reason to love me. Never demanded one, and still doesn’t. His love just “is”.

“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

“This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”  1 John 4:10

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8

Before I was good, He loved me. Before I was righteous, He loved me. Before I could possibly give Him a reason to love me, He loved me.

Look at Hosea 3:1 ~ “The LORD said to me, ‘Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another and is an adulteress. Love her as the LORD loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes.’”

Israel, like us, gave God no reason to love her, and in fact, gave Him plenty of reason not to love her…just like us. And yet…He loves. It is unreasonable.

Unreasonable: not governed by or acting according to reason; not conformable to reason; exceeding the bounds of reason. (Webster)

Over the years, the question of why God loves us has come up, and I learned to give one or both of the two standard Christian answers.

  • “He loves you because you are His. Just like you love your children because they are yours.”  Not a bad answer, except that scripture says I became His child once I believed in Jesus and received Him as Savior. (John 1:12) That would mean that I gave God a reason to love me when I accepted Christ. But since God “so loved the world”, and Jesus died “while we were yet sinners”…the parent illustration doesn’t quite work. And giving this “reason” to a parent who has not loved their child, who has committed atrocities against their child, well…it won’t hold water with them.
  • “He loves you because He is love”. 1John 4:16 tells us that God is love (noun). But throughout the whole bible, He also does love (verb). The question is why does He (verb), not why is He (noun).  To say we are loved because God is love is akin to saying He loves us because He has no choice. Jesus’ death on the cross was a verb, and it was a choice He made…God giving His only Son was a choice made by love (noun) to love (verb). So once again, the standard answer isn’t really an answer.

He loves us without reason, and in my mind, that’s completely unreasonable. So I asked the question, “why is this so hard for us to grasp, and to believe?”.  His answer plunged into a deep place in me.

“Because deep down, you believe that love must have a reason. And that belief is what keeps you continually living life attempting to give Me a reason to love you. It’s also why you demand others give you a reason to love them.”

 

I find myself in deep waters. His love won’t fit into the box anymore. It is beyond explanation and completely without reason.  It is there for me and for you. For people doing their best and for those doing the worst. All of us who give Him no reason to love us.

Unreasonable love has started a fire in me. And I want more. I want it to consume me and compel me to take it to the world, or at least to the next person I meet. I want it to turn my relationship with God upside down. I want it to push past the barriers of my western Christianity and take me into places I would otherwise not have gone.

I want all of that, but right now, the fire that has started is burning to know Him more. I burn to draw closer to His heart, to live my life in the presence of the One who compels angels to sing “Holy, holy, holy” day and night. I want to gaze into this unreasonable love, until I no longer draw back or avert my eyes.

 

beautiful feet

news I live in a small town in the midwest. Not much of what is happening in the world seems to affect life here, except when I fill my gas tank, or try to find a job. But thanks to the brilliant minds of technology, I am able to open my laptop and with one or two clicks, global life is right in front of me. And with those few clicks, all of the pain that lives “over there” somewhere invades my quiet home and life. Suddenly the issues I have been focused on appear rather petty. Part of me sits up a little straighter as I join the rest of the grownups, now armed with a clue of what’s going on in the world. The other part of me wants to head right back to the kiddie table and just be petty. But it’s hard to un-know something.

So now I know. There are wars and rumors of wars; natural disasters crippling entire nations; kingdoms being divided against themselves. The discussions at the grownup table center around tragedy in Japan, radiation risks, crashing stock markets, and a place called Libya and the madman of power there. Words like Tunisia, Egypt, Darfur, genocide, reactors and meltdowns all fly past me as my brain searches frantically for Tunisia on the map in my head. Then someone mentions the name Rob Bell and the whole table erupts. And I glance longingly at the kiddie table.

They say knowledge is power. As of yesterday, I didn’t feel powerful. I felt overwhelmed and off balance. I wasn’t fearful, I just had a sudden sense that things are moving a lot faster than I thought they were. People are dying, but I have to figure out what to make for dinner. I didn’t know what to do about either one.

And then this morning, the Word of God began to speak.

From one page, one chapter, one verse to another I was reminded that He alone is God, creator of heaven and earth, sovereign ruler over all time and events, and the final authority over life and death. He laid the foundations of the earth we spin on, hung the stars and tells the ocean where to stop. Only by His consent does man move and breathe and have his being. Dominion is firmly His, and He rules over all nations.

He is my God. And this is His heart ~

“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

Many believe that the events we are watching in the world are described in Matthew 24. If this is true, then the world has much more to fear than earthquakes and radiation. But for those who know Him, those who have called upon the Name of Jesus, there is nothing to fear…there is just much to say. Because what we know far exceeds the importance of leaking radiation, falling stock markets, and kings who have been raised up and taken down. What we know outweighs the devastation the world is watching and living in.

Enter the reason for the strange title of this post.

“…for, ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!'” Romans 10:10-15

I know little about nuclear reactors or why it’s bad if they have a meltdown. I would be hard pressed to find Tunisia on a map, or tell you the name of Egypt’s ruler and why they don’t like him. I spend a lot of time confused when I sit at the grownup table.

standfirmBut here, in my quiet town in the midwest, I know what much of the world does not. So Lord, in the midst of pain and death, the shaking of the earth and the fear that has come with it, in all of the chaos and confusion…make my feet beautiful.

No One Gives Like God Gives

I know people who are naturally very giving. My sister, Kim, is one of them. She has one of the most generous and giving hearts I know. Just like her Father. But, unlike God, as much as givers love to give, their ability to live out of that heart is limited. Only God gives what cannot be received from anyone else.

Strength…

“He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.” Isaiah 40:29

“I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.”  Philippians 4:13

Our greatest strength is nothing compared to what comes from the power of God. Oh that we would finally drop our fists, bend our knees and confess our weakness! The world has taught generations of people that weakness is a flaw, something to be overcome, and if not overcome then at least hidden.  In this world, the weak are picked on, maligned and held in contempt. Those that do so do not know the ways of God. They are unaware that He protects, defends, rescues and takes up the cause of the weak. And He strengthens them with His power. If I am facing a battle, who do I want on my side? A man who lives life in the weakness of his own strength, or the weak man who walks in the strength of His God?

Rest…

“The LORD replied, ‘My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.’”             Exodus 33:14

“Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Matthew 11:28-29

The word “rest” in Exodus was used to describe the “quiet possession of the promised land” that God gave to the Israelites after conquering the inhabitants of the land.  We have spiritual land that we must battle to take, in our homes and families, in our churches, and in our communities. We will not take that land and come into the “rest” of possession unless God goes with us. His presence will give us rest…the quiet possession of land once inhabited by the enemy. Have I been fighting for land all on my own? Have I asked the Lord for His presence in my life and in my battle? Have I, like Moses, determined that I will not go unless He goes with me?

In Matthew, Jesus bids them to come to Him for rest from the yoke of the law. Religion will keep us striving and working to “be good enough” for God. It is a yoke of fear, because deep down, we know ourselves all too well. We try really hard to do all the right things and be good people, and then we mess up.  That leads to more striving to try to make up for what we’ve done, trying to gain God’s favor or at least His tolerance again. Religion is a heavy yoke indeed, and leaves people weary to the bone.  Jesus offers the relationship of grace that finally brings us to the rest that He alone can give. How do I live in this relationship of grace? Has my soul found rest here, or is it still trying to be good enough for God?

Life…

“…the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” Genesis 2:7

“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

No big bang. We didn’t evolve from some lesser life form into what we are today. It’s very simple.  Our life originated from the breath of God. I continue to live and breathe on this earth because He makes it so.  No one can give life apart from Him.  When I find myself despairing of life, I do well to remember it is God’s gift to me. What will I do with this breath from God?

 And how do I respond to the promise of eternal life that is given through my faith in Christ? Does that promise pale in the light of all of my earthly problems? Is it tucked away somewhere in the recesses of my mind, only remembered during communion Sunday? Has this amazing, unfathomable gift become, God forbid, common? Or is it the source of my joy and my patience in affliction? Has heaven become home for my heart while I run this earthly race? Does the promise of life evermore, with God, eclipse anything and everything that this earth has to offer?

My heart doesn’t always like it when these questions come, but it continues to beat out the answers, good or bad, right or wrong. It beats now, and will beat forever in one form or another, only because God and God alone gives life.

Strength, rest, life, peace, wisdom, revelation, provision, knowledge, His Spirit, spiritual gifts, the Kingdom…and on and on. There is no giver like God, and no one else can give us what He gives.  No matter what we offer up to others, even if we give everything we have, we will never be able to out-give our God.

a sovereign plan

The spread of the gospel for the building of the Church was in no way accidental or coincidental, but was perfectly planned by God.  If we step back from the story contained in the book of Acts, we can catch glimpses of the sovereignty of the Planner. I cannot help but consider how foreign His ways seems to us today.

“But the Lord said to Ananias, ‘Go! This man is My chosen instrument to carry My name before the Gentiles and their kings, and before the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for My name!’”  Act 9:15-16

The man who had been zealously persecuting the church, was God’s chosen instrument to build the church.  And Galatians 1:16 tells us that he had been chosen long before the encounter with Jesus knocked him off his high horse. Paul had been “set apart from birth”.

Would we consider that God would call someone so vehemently against Christianity to become it’s chief champion? Many of the believers of his day didn’t. “When he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple.” Acts 9:26

“Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to.”  Acts 16:6-7

God didn’t come up with the overall plan and then leave the details to Paul. The whole plan, including the details, belongs to God. Paul thought it would be good to go to Asia, but God wanted them in Macedonia.  

We know God has a plan, and that He is still building His Church. But deep down, do we believe that He’s leaving the details up to us?

“One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: ‘Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city.’ So Paul stayed for a year and a half, teaching them the word of God.”  Acts 18:9-11

In Acts 22:17, Paul was telling the crowd in Jerusalem the story of his conversion. He told them that the Lord said to him at that time, “Quick! Leave Jerusalem immediately, because they will not accept your testimony about Me.”

The care and protection of God is so clear.  He alone knows whether we are to stay put, or get out quick, and He will not hide it from us. Does He still speak to His Church so clearly today? I believe He does. The question is do we hear Him? Or have we become skilled enough at this thing, that we are no longer desperate for the voice of God to direct our next step?

In the overview of Acts, I see the sovereignty of God. His plan for His Church, being carried out by His followers, at His direction.  He is sovereign down to the smallest detail.

He has not changed, and neither has His plan.

And if we believe that He is still, in His sovereignty, carefully tending to the building of His Church and the completion of His plan, watching over every detail, setting up divine appointments, and using the most unlikely of people…do we also believe He is doing the very same thing in the individual lives of His followers? Do we view our lives as being the plan of God? Do we see the trials and the shipwrecks as all part of that plan? Do we believe that our coming and going, and the timing of it all, is held in the heart of God?

Or do we know He has a plan, but deep down believe He’s left the details to us?

what weighs more?

God spoke to the church at Antioch and told them, “Set apart for Me Barnabus and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” (Acts 13:2) So off they went on their mission trip. 

~ In Paphos, “Elymas the sorcerer opposed them…” (13:8)

~ At Pisidian Antioch, they were asked to preach two weeks in a row, and drew quite a large crowd. “When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and talked abusively against what Paul was saying.”, (13:15) and “stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region.” (13:50)

~ At Iconium, “…the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers” (14:2), and plotted to stone them. (14:5)

~ In Lystra, they stoned Paul and left him for dead. (14:19)

Finally, they returned to Antioch “where they had been committed to the grace of God for the work they had now completed.“ (15:26)

 Imagine returning from such a trip! What would you tell people?

Here is what Paul and Barnabus told the church that had sent them out:

“On arriving there, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them, and how He had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.” (15:27)  They would have reported that…

~ In Paphos, “When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord.” (13:12)

~ At Pisidian Antioch, “When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed.” (13:48)

~ At Iconium, “There they spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews and Gentiles believed.” (14:1)

~ In Lystra, they encountered a man who had been crippled his whole life, who listened to Paul speaking. Paul “saw that he had faith to be healed and called out, “Stand up on your feet!” At that, the man jumped up and began to walk.” (14:9-10)

~ In Derbe, “They preached the good news in that city and won a large number of disciples.” (14:21)

There are two truths that I walk away with from God’s word today.

  • The works of God far outweigh the works of men. 

When Paul and Barnabus returned to Antioch, they told the church all that God had done. My guess is that they may have also talked about what men had done to them, but what is noted by Luke (the writer of Acts) is that they spoke of God.

It comes down to a very simple thought for me. Will I talk more about what man is doing, or what God is doing? Is my report more about what is happening to me, or is it about what I see of God?

  • Regardless of opposition, God is always at work. 

My calling is not to stop the opposition, it is to continue with the mission. Whatever the enemy is doing through men, God is doing more through His Spirit.

So, do I allow opposition to discourage me, confuse me or even stop me? Or will I see opposition as part of the calling, and continue on, knowing that whatever He calls me to do, I can complete, because He is at work in far greater measure than the opposition?

The answers I give will depend on what weighs more in my heart and mind.  What happens to me, or what happens through me. The opposition, or the work of God.

arrows

arrowsRevelation from the Word of God is truly a wonderful thing. But when it comes to you flying in on the arrow of conviction, it’s a different kind of wonderful. Today, my heart was flooded with just such wonderfulness.

“He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?'” (Acts 9:4)

I cocked my head and thought, “actually, Saul was persecuting the Church”.

And then I heard the faint sound of an arrow somewhere off in the distance, as my mind began to fill with  other words spoken by Jesus.

““The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.’” (Matthew 25:40)

“He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me.’” (Matthew 25:45)

Flying arrows can actually get quite loud. I did not know that before today. And then it hit my heart, and all grew quiet as the beautiful, painful mixture of revelation and conviction began to seep into deep places. Then came a whisper…e Church is the Body of Christ, and He is the head. They cannot be separated.

“He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.  And He is the head of the body, the church…”Colossians 1:17

Flashes of scriptures flood my mind. Many more than I will put into this post.

“Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.” Romans 12:10

“…serve one another in love.” Galatians 5:13

“Be kind and compassionate to one another”  Ephesians 4:32

“Brothers, do not slander one another…”  James 4:11

What is being done to His Church, whether from within or from without, is being done to Him.  That is an inescapable fact. 

Once again I am reminded that, as always, in all things…it is about Jesus. Every word we have been given, every instruction, every command to love and forgive…it is all about the One we follow.

Lord, what have we been doing to You? 

And He responded… “Revelation comes with conviction, not condemnation. The question is ‘what will you do now?'”

isn’t she lovely?

Holy Spirit discernment and a message that both offends and invites.  These are the characteristics of the early Church that were highlighted for me this morning as I read chapters 7 and 8 of Acts. 

Discernment ~ Go back with me to chapter 5 and the story of Ananias and Sapphira. Peter said to Ananias, “how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land?”

There was no way for Peter to have known what Ananias was really doing without the discernment of the Holy Spirit. 

Now jump ahead to chapter 8, where we meet Simon the Scorcerer.  Again it is Peter who says to him, “You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God. (v.21)…For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin.” (v. 23)

You could argue that it doesn’t take much discernment to know that a man trying to buy the power of the Holy Spirit isn’t altogether right with God. But Peter saw more than that. The word for “bitterness” (bitter gall, in the King James version), means extreme wickedness.

Simon had offered money “so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit”. I wonder if some of us today would have argued that his heart was in the right place, his intentions were good, he just needed some teaching…a little redirecting. Because we want to believe the best about people, that they really do have good intentions. I think calling people wicked makes us uncomfortable, unless they are “out there” somewhere, not in here, trying to be one of us, excited about what we’re doing and wanting to be a part of it. But God is not building His Church using our human tendencies or desires to believe that everyone is, deep down, good. To cover the weakness of our desires, He gave us discernment through the Holy Spirit. 

Discernment comes before the gate opens. Discernment came before Ananias and Sapphira were able to bring deception into the Church. It came before Simon could bring wickedness into the Church. Both would have brought injury and destruction, if not for the protection God gave through discernment.

Discernment is necessary to the Church as a whole, but no less necessary in our individual lives. Personally speaking, I have often discovered what the enemy is doing after he has brought injury to my life. Discernment after the fact isn’t discernment, it’s hindsight. So today, I have determined to seek God for discernment for myself and for my church, so that neither of us live in hindsight.

The Message ~ In Chapter 4, the Sadducees “were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead.” (v. 2)

In Chapter 5, they “were filled with jealousy” (v.17), and said, “you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man’s blood.” (v. 28), and in verse 33, “they were furious and wanted to put them to death.” (That word “jealousy” in the Greek is really a “contentious rivalry”)

In Chapter 7, we find Stephen giving the sermon of his life to the Sanhedrin. Their response? “When they heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him.” (v.54). But Stephen kept going, and “at this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him…” (v.57) And they stoned him to death.

The early Church preached a message that offended and infuriated people to the point of murder.  It was a message that opposed certain people’s belief system and exposed their guilt.  The Church was never compelled to water anything down, soften it or try to make it taste sweet. The message is what it is.

On the other hand, 3,000 people accepted their message on one day (2:41), and more were being saved every day (2:47), and more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number (5:14).

A message both offensive and inviting, depending on who is hearing it.  Nevertheless, they preached the message.  We have the same message, and we preach to people who are no different than those ‘back in the day’.  Some will be offended and even furious. Some will say yes to the invitation to believe.  But we must remember that the message is what it is.

This is the Church.  Protected by Holy Spirit discernment, carrying an offensive, inviting message.  Emerging in the midst of the explosion of God’s miraculous power and the enemy’s fury.

For some reason, I hear Stevie Wonder in my head right now.

“Isn’t she lovely, Isn’t she wonderful…”