Author Archives: Karla Jo Wasion

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

still building

I have just a few, scattered thoughts today after reading the fifth chapter of Acts.

Ananias and Sapphira (v. 1-11).  Right away God made something clear to the Church. He will not allow deception to prosper.  I think it was quite the ‘tone setting’ moment.  A look at the different headlines, just in my lifetime, tells us not everyone has heeded the tone.  The list of various scandals regarding deceptive practices by church leaders can be discouraging, except for the fact that they were discovered.  Because God is still building His Church, and deception will not prosper today, anymore than it prospered then.

The Apostles jailed (v. 17-21)  The miraculous signs and wonders performed by the Apostles led many more to believe in Jesus, once again landing the Apostles in jail. Funny thing about jails. They can keep us in, but they can’t keep God out. He sent in His angel who opened the jail doors and brought the Apostles out. Why? Because God was insistent that the gospel be told. “‘Go, stand in the temple courts’, He said, ‘and tell the people the full message of this new life'”. (v. 20) And that’s what they did.  Nothing that man does will stop God from building His Church. 

Gamaliel (v.34)  He was a Pharisee, and as it turns out, a very wise man. After the great escape, the Apostles are once again brought before the Sanhedrin, and, once again, explain that they are opting to obey God rather than man. The rulers are furious and want the Apostles put to death. Enter Gamaliel, who with great wisdom ends up making one of my favorite statements in the book of Acts. He reminds the Sanhedrin of all the other men who rose up to lead a revolt, and how those men, and the revolts they attempted, came to nothing. And then he said, “Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.” (v. 38-39) Profound, and stunningly prophetic. As you and I sit here today, carriers of the same gospel the Apostles preached, members of this beautiful Church that God began and continues to build, we are the evidence of the truth of Gamaliel’s statement.  It would be nice to travel back in time for just a short moment, to whisper in this wise man’s ear, “You have no idea how right you are!”.

And they rejoice (v.41)  Gamaliel’s statement persuaded the Sanhedrin to release the Apostles, with the obligatory order not to speak in the name of Jesus. By this time I can’t imagine any of the Pharisees actually thought that order would be obeyed. And the Apostles left, rejoicing. And here is what caught my attention. They weren’t rejoicing because they had been released, they rejoiced because they had suffered disgrace for the Name! They were thrilled to have been counted worthy of suffering for Him. I believe this rejoicing for suffering was a mark of the early Church.  I also believe the mark has faded in the Church today, at least in the western Church. At least in my own heart.

The suffering I do as a Christian is, well, not really suffering.  A few people probably roll their eyes at me, but always when I’m not looking. They may make fun of me, but never within earshot. Is it because I rarely allow myself to be in a position to suffer any more than that? Is it because I am not really proclaiming anything that actually produces anger or indignation, or at least makes people uncomfortable?

I have grown tired of all of this thinking. But rather than let me close the book and move on to lamenting the fact that I have run out of coffee (speaking of suffering), He gave me one final thought.

He is still building His Church, and I am still a part of that process. There is still time for rejoicing.

i want to be like them

A miraculous healing turned into an opportunity for the gospel, which resulted in persecution, which brought yet another gospel moment, resulting in threats, which compelled the Church into prayer, which brought an outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the boldness they were seeking.  All that took place in the 3rd and 4th chapters of Acts, and I find it all very fascinating. But there’s more to this story that catches my eye and my thoughts.

“While the beggar held on to Peter and John, all the people were astonished and came running to them in the place called Solomon’s Colonnade. When Peter saw this, he said to them: ‘Men of Israel, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk?’“ Acts 3:11-12

“By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through Him that has given this complete healing to him, as you can all see.”  Acts 3:16

Peter was adamant that only Jesus would get the recognition for what had taken place. He refused to be the star of the show, acknowledging that neither his own power, nor his own godliness was at work in the healing.  Humanity, and it weaknesses and tendencies have not changed over the centuries. If I am not careful, I too can find myself looking for a hero in the men and women of faith around me. I could find myself watching God’s miracles take place, and assume that it had something to do with the power or godliness of the person through whom His power flowed.  “Lord, remind me of the Name. The only Name that is to be lifted up in my heart.”

 “When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.”  Acts 4:13

It’s like a lightbulb went on for the rulers, elders and teachers that Peter and John now stood before.  They saw ordinary, unschooled men of courage standing before them, boldly proclaiming Christ to them. And then it dawned on them. These men had been with Jesus. The original wording of ‘been with’ means “to be privy to; to know”. Peter and John had not just “been around” Jesus, they had been with Him, they knew Him, and the rulers took note of that.  “Lord, I want to be “with” You, I want to have that intimate knowledge of You, so that no matter who I am speaking to, regardless of their title or their station in life, I will speak with courage, boldly proclaiming Christ. Produce in me the courage that comes from being with You.”

“Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied, ‘Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God. For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.'” Acts 4:18-20

They were compelled. Couldn’t help it. Had to do it.  What have we seen and heard? What have we been witness to that needs to be proclaimed? “Lord, I want the “cannot help it” that was in Peter and John to be in me. I want to be compelled to speak of You, of Your wondrous works, of all that I have seen and heard.”

“Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness.”  Acts 4:29

I find this amazing. They had been told not to speak the Name of Jesus anymore, and “after further threats”, they were let go. (v. 18-21) What is so wonderous to me is what they didn’t pray. They didn’t ask God to stop the threats, or strike down the ones making the threats. They didn’t ask for anything that would make it easier on them. They asked for boldness to do what they had been told not to do. Proclaim the Name. “Lord, put these kind of prayers in me. I want to be a woman who will not pray for whatever will make my life easier, but will pray for the boldness to do what You have called me to do. I don’t want to pray threats out, I want to pray boldness in.”

This was the Church being built by God.  A place where the Name of Jesus is the only Name lifted high, where men are men, not heroes or superstars.  It is in His Church that being “with” Him, knowing Him intimately, produces men and women of courage and boldness, who are compelled to speak of what they have seen and heard.  Where both healings and persecution become opportunities for the gospel. The Church, made up of men and women who prayed for boldness rather than comfort. People to whom the Name of Christ is that important.

Beautiful, isn’t it? I want to see that beauty in the Church today. It’s there, because God is still building, I just need to open my eyes.

the ‘we’ of God

Exodus closes with the building of the tabernacle and the glory of the Lord filling it. As I turned the final page of that book, my mind immediately went forward to what God is building today.

“And in Him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.” Ephesians 2:22

So I will stay here for awhile in my blogging.  The building of His Church, and the detailed way He builds.  To start the process, I must go to one of my favorite passages describing this magnificant place of His habitation.

“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” Acts 2:42-47

Isn’t it beautiful? The pronouns are especially lovely. They, everyone, their, anyone. God is such a “we” God.  From the very beginning, the Church was about community, because God is about community…nations, tribes, clans, families…the Church.  We can’t be the Church by ourselves, it can only be done in community with other believers.  And the description of the first church indicates that it can’t be done by simply showing up to a building on Sunday and leaving in time for lunch, and it surely can’t be done by staying home and having only occasional interaction with fellow believers, mostly online.

I love the “we” of God. I love that I am not called to be the Church all by myself, but have been placed in a community of believers who, together, are being built into the dwelling for God’s glory. And like any other community, we have clashes and friction, issues with one another that must be dealt with, offenses to get over, and weaknesses to bear with as we become what He is building us to be. We also have love, compassion, fellowship, laughter, and tears together. We love, teach, and occasionally discipline one another’s children, celebrate and grieve together, hold one another up in battle, give what we have to the ones who need, and remind each other of just how very loved we are by God. It’s community. It’s the “we” of God. It is His Church, and it’s beautiful.

don’t fit in, stand out

“Then Moses said to Him, ‘If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here.   How will anyone know that You are pleased with me and with Your people unless You go with us? What else will distinguish me and Your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?'”  Exodus 33:15-16 

I remember when I was a little girl, one of the most important things to me was that I “fit in” with everyone else.  I tried hard, but could never quite get there.  It took many, many years to discover that I was not the strange misfit I thought I was, but was instead uniquely made by God (just like everyone else). And yet,  in some deep place in me there remained the desire to fit in.  And if I couldn’t fit in, then at least don’t make me stand out. 

What compels young girls today to abuse their bodies in an attempt to achieve a ridiculously thin look? Or a woman to get multiple surgeries and injections in her frantic effort to defy the aging process? The need to fit in with the world’s view of beauty.

What is underneath the corporate ladder climbing that makes a  man a stranger to his family? The need to fit in with the world’s view of success.

What causes a woman to hide the fact that, despite all outward appearances, her marriage, her family, her world, is quietly falling apart?  The need to fit in with the world’s view of  womanhood.

Moses understood that fitting in with the people around them was far from God’s heart for His people.

“I will make a distinction between My people and your people.”  Exodus 8:23

“Then you will know that the LORD makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.”  Exodus 11:7

“And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.”  Malachi 3:17-18

Beloved, God’s heart is to make a distinction between you and those who do not know Him, and to have you live by a different set of definitions.

Redefined beauty…

“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”  Psalm 139:14

“Your beauty should not come from outward adornment…Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.”  1Peter 3:2-4

A redefined path to success…

“All a man’s ways seem innocent to him, but motives are weighed by the LORD. Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed” Proverbs 16:2-3

A redefined womanhood…

“A wife of noble character who can find?
   She is worth far more than rubies.”  Proverbs 31:10

“Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
   but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.” Proverbs 31:30

Throughout His word, we are called to be different. In the New Testament, God’s people grieve, pray, fast and war differently. We don’t worry about what others worry over, and we don’t chase what they chase. His heart remains consistently insistent that His people be distinguished from all other people.

So stand up, stand out and refuse to fit in. Live a life of distinction. 

beautiful whispers

As I met with God in the 19th chapter of Exodus today, I began to hear a whisper. It started out faint, but once it had my attention, it grew louder. Whispers from the God who knows the beginning from the end.

“Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be My treasured possession. Although the whole earth is Mine, you will be for Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.”  (v. 5-6)

{“I have claimed you as Mine.”}
“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God…” (1Peter 2:9)

~  ~  ~

“And the LORD said to Moses, ‘Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. Have them wash their clothes…'” (v. 10)

{“You washed, but could not come clean. So I did it for you.”}

“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.” (1Corinthians 6:11)

~  ~  ~

“On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast… the LORD descended on it in fire…and the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder.”  (v. 16, 18)

{“I will come for you! With loud shouts and trumpets, I am coming for you!”}

“For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God…” (1Thessalonians 4:16)

Just whispers. Shadows darting in and out of the story. But it is enough to make my heart bow once again in awe of the One who has laid claim to me, to my heart and my life, the One who did for me what I could not do for myself. The One who promised to come back for me. Beautiful whispers.

looking past me

“In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The Israelites said to them, ‘If only we had died by the LORD’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.’” Exodus 16:2-3

He had freed them from bondage, completely destroyed their pursuers and allowed the Israelites to walk through the Red Sea on dry land, after which they sang a spontaneous song of jubilation (15:1-18).

But now they were hungry. Forget what happened months ago or even days ago. Forget that they were on their way to a promised land. Right now, they were hungry. In this moment, they had discomfort, and it caused them to recall “back when” their stomachs were full. Even after all God had done, their empty stomachs convinced their minds that God would not continue to be good to them, that He would not meet their immediate needs. This “I know You’ve done great things, but what have You done for me lately” pattern would repeat itself many times in this epic journey.

And then I heard God speak to me. “They could not see past themselves to the destiny I had for them. Will you be different?”

With all of my heart, I want to be different. I ache at the thought that I would be among a generation that would die in the wilderness because I could not see past myself.

And so I speak to my own heart:

“Stand up and cast your gaze outward, past yourself. See that God is calling you to your destiny, a destiny that leaves a legacy of faithfulness. Quit looking back, for behind you is the place of your captivity.

Your flesh craves comfort and a feeling of fullness, causing you to dwell only in the moment of need. But you were made for more than this kind of dwelling. You were made to journey with Your God, through the wilderness and barren places, through valleys and up mountains, past quiet streams and through fire. You were made to have hands trained for war and a heart ruled by peace. You have a destiny and a purpose beyond this wilderness of self focus and self want. Turn down the sound of your craving for lesser things, so that you can hear deep calling to deep…the deep places in the heart of God calling to the deep place in you, stirring a craving for something so much greater than your personal comfort.

You have a hope and a destiny. Will you look past you to see it?”

the long road to glory

My continued reading in Exodus today led me to the subject of shortcuts.  I did a brief review of my life and realized that taking the shortest way to anything was my general lifestyle, and it still is. From getting my GED rather than finish high school, all the way up to checking my facebook page this morning, I have lived on shortcuts. Even my microwave, which I dearly love, and use FAR more than my stove, is a shortcut. 

“When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, ‘If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.'”  Exodus 13:17

God doesn’t care about shortcuts. He cares about the people He is leading. My research tells me that, although the road through the Philistine country was the shortest route, it was also heavily guarded by the Philistines.  God knew His people were not ready for what they would face on the shortcut. And God still knows that although the shortcut looks most appealing to us, it is also the road that is heavily guarded by the enemy. Maybe because he knows it is the way we are most prone to taking.

But there was another reason for taking the long road, which placed the Israelites with the Red Sea on one side, and Pharaoh’s army on the other side.

“The Egyptians will know that I am the LORD when I gain glory through Pharaoh, his chariots and his horsemen.” Exodus 14:18

“And when the Israelites saw the great power the LORD displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD and put their trust in him and in Moses His servant.” (14:31)

I was reminded this morning of God’s intervention in one of my “shortcut” decisions. At a time in my  life when divorce was clearly the quickest way out of pain and into a “normal” life, God stepped in and invited me to follow Him on a long road of marriage restoration. I struggled with the invitation because frankly, the shortcut looked better. I finally said yes, and followed Him on the long, often difficult road to a restoration that only He could have accomplished. It was on this road that I found some of the deep places of God’s heart, as He led me into healing and forgiveness. It was in following God the long way that I learned what it really means to die to myself, to love with His love instead of mine, and to seek His glory rather than my own comfort. It was also the road that many times left me feeling as though I had a Red Sea on one side, and the enemy on the other. For those that watched the process, including my family, and for those with whom I now have the privilege of sharing my testimony, God is clearly seen, and glorified. The long road left no doubt that He is able to do what is clearly impossible.

We are a people with a shortcut mentality, physically and spiritually. We so often bemoan how long God is taking to get us from point A to point B. The temptation is always there to take matters in our own hands and figure out the shortcut. For many of us, decisions are made based on the shortest distance to where we want to be, not even thinking that there may be a long road God wants to lead us down.

Remember…the shortcut looks appealing,

but it is the long road that leads to Glory.