Tag: freedom

My testimony as shared March 17th, 2024

Karla Lees

I was recently asked to share my testimony at my home church, Northridge Community Church, as a part of their Redeemed series. God perfectly timed it for me to share this particular day as the teaching and worship, both separately prepared, all lined up to be one story of the Father’s love for His children.

How did I first come to faith?

I was three years old when my father died, and although I didn’t know it at that time, his loss left a hole in my heart. My mom remarried a wonderful man I am grateful to call Dad, yet I still felt like I didn’t fit with my immediate family. Being a creative person who has often been called overly sensitive didn’t help, neither did being molested as a pre-teen. This combo of actions and feelings led to feelings of loneliness and intense shame as I began to look for love in all the wrong places as a teen and young adult. I had known about God from growing up in church, but didn’t know Him. I was 21 and singing back up one night for a band, and somehow sensed there was something more for me while singing the song “Heaven.” Around that time, a trio of brothers with whom I went to church sensed that I was at a crossroads, and God used them to help answer my questions about heaven, faith and who God is through the Word, Christian music, and a drama called the Countdown. I accepted Christ 33 years ago this May, and fairly quickly understood what Jesus did for me to become His, but it took a lot longer for me to accept God as Father due to my hurts as a young child and for not making the wisest choices growing up. The Prodigal son passage really spoke to me about being real with my issues, and that all God the Father was waiting for me to do was to run to Him, as Jesus had already done the heavy lifting in clearing my way home.  It became apparent that my overly sensitive antenna was actually being able to hear the Holy Spirit. This has brought me much guidance and comfort as I navigated the highs and lows of my journey, knowing God is with me in and through it all.

How is God moving in my life now?

Any time I stray from following what He has for me to do and say, the Father is always waiting to welcome me back home, clean me up, heal my wounds, set me back on the right path, and pour His love into me when I am in His Presence. I am feeling His pull to do more with my gifts and talents, and to be a more intentional follower of His ways. I see how to walk out Kingdom values through the example of Jesus in the Word, I hear Holy Spirit’s direction when I listen for His prompts and guidance, and I rest in the safety of knowing there is nothing I can do to make my Father love me any less, or any more. God has filled that hole in this wounded lonely girl’s heart with more blessing than I could have imagined 33 years ago when I said yes to Him. He has proved Himself to be a good good Father.

What would I say to someone with questions?

I wasted too much time carrying burdens I was never meant to carry, and telling myself the whispers of invitation I had been hearing couldn’t possibly be meant for me, that if God really knew me, He wouldn’t want me. If you are sensing there must be more, that you want to lay down all that is weighing you down inside, or you want to know the truth about why you are here, God will meet you right where you are right now. And as the words of the song which has been playing in my mind all week say, “Run to the Father, fall into grace, I’m done with the hiding, no reason to wait. My heart needs a surgeon, my soul needs a friend, so I’ll run to the Father again and again and again.” And unlike those who have hurt us, He is always approachable, always waiting, always loving, and will never leave you.

survivor, meet the Overcomer

Karla Lees

Survivors are terrified of a reality they already innately know to be true: even if people did know, they wouldn’t do anything to help.

– Kaeyley Trillis Haver, childhood rapper survivor

When we are under siege at a very young age, we can pick up partial truths and run with them:

It’s my fault my parents divorced.

I must have done something to deserve this.

I am unlovable.

No one will help me.

As my childhood molester told me, “No one will believe you, so you might as well keep it a secret anyways.”

So I did, until I came to know God.

Shortly after, in a counseling session which ended in being Sozo in style before I even knew what that was, God showed me where He had been in that scenario, then told me to tell my mother.

And I did, and she believed me.

Because molesters and rapists like to get you alone, we all believe that there is nothing any one would have done had they known what was going on, as the above quote from a survivor states.

I don’t fully accept that statement.

In the moment we may feel that is true. However, I believe there would be more of these incidents happening if Holy Spirit led people were not listening to His prompts to leave a situation, stay in pairs, step up and speak up, or not go when we sense we should stay home.

I also believe His angels protect and cover us from way more than we realize.

Although I didn’t know God at the time I was molested, the fact that He later showed me He had been there crying over me, and had prompted my brother to enter the room when he did proves to me God cares for me. And He moved to stop it from progressing further.

Soon after I became one of the Beloved, I was waiting for the subway train late one night on my way home from working an evening shift. I was listening to my Walkman, and wearing a backpack.

Just as the doors opened and I stepped on to the subway car, someone not on the train tried to pull me back onto the now empty platform by grabbing my backpack.

Within a split second of my face registering fear, a man within arms length inside the train grabbed me by the shoulders and yanked me forward so the doors could close.

He saved a perfect stranger from who knows what, and he didn’t have to but he stepped up and rescued me anyway.

Some times the truth is found somewhere between the lies we believe based on our experience and the vastly bigger reality God sees and moves in.

God in all His wisdom knows what we have come out of and what is coming ahead for us.

He doesn’t leave us how He found us to just survive our past any longer. God takes us gently by the hand, helps us to face our pain stored there, shows us the truth in a loving way, and guides us on into the wide open future ahead He has for us.

We are not left as just survivors in His Kingdom. God not only rebuilds and restores us, He bestows us with the ability to overcome through His Presence, power and strength.

When we are able to leave our pasts in the past as just part of the story which helps shape us but doesn’t dictate our storyline, we will no longer see ourselves as survivors.

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We will know and be able to walk out the truth: we are overcomers in and through Him.

And we will know that for every person who won’t get involved to help when there is a need, there is One who always will.

He can’t help Himself, His very nature of love cannot help coming to our rescue. Every time we cry of to Him, and even those times He sees our need before we do.

May we leave our outdated pasts and mindsets fully in the past, and move with confidence into the freedom God has for us as He walks beside us into the wonders up ahead, Beloved!

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PS. If you are in need of healing from something in your past, I have found God led counseling sessions very effective to help me step into the freedom I have in Him. Sozo is one such tool I have both experienced and learned about. If you would like to learn more, please visit http://bethelsozo.com/

Kingdom work

Karla Lees

When I go to work, I’m going to the Kingdom. I’m not working for the King, I’m working with the King. The Kingdom is not restrained to the walls of the Church. -Kris Vallotton

Many days, I used to drag myself to work.

But its not that I don’t love my jobs, for I do.

Rather its because I wasn’t seeing the bigger perspective about work in general.

Years ago, when in bible college, I dreamed of working in a church. One professor made a comment about how I was too radical to be church acceptable staff material, and my soul took on the weight of that barb.  Not knowing any better at the time, I let my dream of being on church staff fly away into my lost dreams pile.

Fast forward to more recent years.  Spending more time in the Word, I realized that the church in Acts seemed to do more “church-like” Kingdom work outside of the walls of the church buildings, right in the communities, wherever they were.

Immediately my eyes were opened to the reality that church work, Kingdom work, was never meant to be limited inside the walls of a building.

Kingdom work was always intended to be carried within the heart of everyone in the Kingdom, and shared with those who need to hear the Good News that they are welcome in His Kingdom.

  • The Kingdom is within me, for I am His.
  • The Kingdom walks with me, for the King is with me wherever I go.
  • I work with the King, wherever I work
  • All my work matters for His Kingdom when I do it for His Kingdom come and His glory.
  • When I am aligned with His heart for those around me, I am doing Kingdom work.

And I don’t need to be church staff, or in a church building to do so.

I only need to be lead by Holy Spirit, following Jesus’ example and allowing my heart to beat with my Abba’s to do Kingdom work.

For wherever I am, the Kingdom is too.

And the same is true for you!
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Hello, it’s Me

Karla Lees

Like so many of you, I too have been enthralled by Adele’s song Hello. Everyone can relate to feeling disconnected from someone who love, who may not be returning our affection. The passion Adele harnesses as she sings it stirred me so, it brought her revelation that someone this song was really God’s song for the ones who don’t yet know Him.

I have pondered, played and waited on rewriting this song to be sung from God’s perspective over the lost. For if He sings over us, which the Word confirms to be so, He must be singing a song for everyone. Whether we answer His call to relationship and restoration or not.

May He stir us anew to know his heart for the lost, those without hope or direction,  those who are looking for home but haven’t found Him yet.

For the ones He loves are never far from His thoughts and are ever constant on His heart.

Hello, it’s Me
I was wondering if after all this time you’d like to meet
To discover everything
that really matters to you
But I seem to be the only One trying
Hello, can you hear Me
I’m right here in the Word showing you who you could be
When you were innocent and free
You’ve forgotten how it felt before sin dropped you to your knees

There’s such a wall between us
And a million miles

Hello from the other side
I must have called a thousand times
To tell you I paid for everything that you’ve done
But when I call
you always seem to be on the run
Hello from here deep inside
I’ll never stop My loving cry
To tell you I’m here to help restore your heart, and your life matters
dont let things tear you apart anymore

Hello, how are you
It’s so typical of Me
to talk about you
I’m sorry you’re not doing well
Do you want to be free of that lie
where nothing good will ever happen?

It’s no secret that one of us
Could be running out of time

Come home Love is My forever cry
I must have called a million times
To tell you I paid for everything that you’ve done
But when I call, you always seem to be on the run
Hello here from deep inside
I’ll never stop My loving cry
To tell you I’m here to help free you at last and you truly matter
dont let life batter you down anymore

Hello I’m waiting for you
My arms are open wide
Can’t you hear my heart beat wildly
As I keep looking at you?
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O Come O Come Emmanuel

Karla Lees

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O Come O Come Emmanuel and ransom captive Israel…

This hymn may seem like it doesn’t fit in the category of praise, until we remember how its sometimes in our darkest days that we are able to experience God the most.

When we encounter Him at our lowest, we cannot help but change our song of lament into a new song of praise.

Isaiah 64:1-2 reminds us how God’s people had been crying out for a Deliverer, beyond the kings, prophets and judges they had asked for.

Humanity came to realize it could not save itself. It needed a Deliverer to set it free from its captivity to sin.

Only God could fix what humanity had broken in the Garden, but continued to dig deeper and deeper over time.

This hymn reminds me of the cry for freedom we all have deep within us, if we are all honest with the state of our hearts when we choose to be left to our own devices.

Those who have tasted the freedom God offers desire to become freer, as we learn to place more of ourselves into His loving hands.

The Deliverer Israel was wanting was the same one that miraculously freed them from Egypt, parted water before them, fed and clothed them in the desert.

The same one who gave them a new home, a new hope and a fresh start as He guides them into the Promised Land.

The same one they turned away from as they looked more at the gift instead of the Giver.

They allowed their eyes to wander from His wonder and gaze upon the wonderlands of earth.

What they came to realize as foreign nations subjugated them over and over?

The God they had turned away from had never turned away from them.

And the lament which that realization stirs within each of us who have wandered is echoed in the haunting strains of O Come O Come Emmanuel.

But the author(s) of this song doesn’t leave us only with the lament of those who know they are the chosen people, and long for restoration.

He trusted in the Promises, and because of his hope, could pen the chorus of this hymn which has rung out over the ages:

Rejoice, rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to us,
O Israel.

Historical Background:
The author was likely one or more monks over 1200 years ago. An Anglican minister John Mason Neale first translated it from the Latin, and the melody has been attributed to Henry Sloane Coffin and Thomas Helmore to reach the version we sing to Him today!

let your weight of burden go

Karla Lees

I forget what is in the past and try as hard as I can to reach the goal before me. Philippians 3:13b

I have had a few conversations of late where wonder was expressed at how I can leave my past behind me.

It was not easy learning to let go and to forgive, but I figured out quite quickly I couldn’t hold on to the old me if I wanted to become the new me He had in mind with my design.

The tighter we grip our past, the less able we are to step forward.

We weren’t meant to be under that kind of strain, nor to carry that kind of baggage.

God reminds us that we are to:

Come to Him, all those who are weary and burdened, and He will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28)

Al;though I knew this as we all do on one level, God made this verse come alive to me in a very unexpected way.

One day, soon after my second child was born, I was walking from our car into a mall to go shopping.  The moment i got out of the vehicle, with each subsequent step, I could feel an increasing weight being applied onto my shoulders. I felt more and more weary,  with a strong sense of despair all at the same time.

I was beginning to hunch and limp so much so as I kept walking I thought I might be having a stroke. I was pretty close to completely freaking out on the inside when it suddenly occurred to me to pray in the moment.

So I did.

The weight briefly got heavier as i did, and then i heard, “Are you ready to let Me carry those burdens?” in His sweet soft voice.

That was the eye opener my squelched down hurting soul and spirit needed.  I stopped, prayed and asked Him to take anything i might be carrying off of my shoulders, and to give me rest in the place of those burdens.

He did, almost immediately.

My  exhaustion and sense of burden lifted. My back straightened, my neck and shoulders loosened up, and my gait realigned with every step i took after giving Him that weight.

The weight of our past and our disappointments we were never meant to be lugging along with us.

We were meant instead to carry the weight of glory, Beloved.

The moments in our past where we were hurt or experienced a sense of loss?  He asks us to give Him those as we draw close to Him.

The moments in our past where we felt joy or celebrated? These too can become traps when we stay stuck in them, and can’t move beyond them.

We are meant to live in the now of this moment, Beloved.

God has reminded us in his Word how He has plans and a purpose for us, each and every one of us.  Good plans.

Plans which will incorporate the blessings and lessons from your the past, as He uses them to help His design come to light.

If you haven’t fully stepped out of the reach of those shadows lurking from your past, take comfort.  God knows.

His plan is for your full freedom.

And your full freedom will come to pass, because He isn’t a liar.

When the weight of the past speaks loudly at you, remind it you know it isn’t His voice trying to get Your attention.

Its time to take the igniter out of the liar’s hands, and let God heal and remove the past wounds weighing us down.

Then He can reignite…

Our hearts with His love.

Our minds with His hope.

Our bodies with His touch.

Our purpose with His guidance.

Our lives with His life in us.

Before this busy season of celebration begins to pick up speed, set some time aside to soak in his Presence.

Just like a bubble bath relaxes you physically and emotionally, soaking in his Presence helps the dirt of the past to be washed away as He restores and rejuvenates your spirit.

Let the weight of His glory cover you and make you whole as you place the weight of your burdens and hurts into His loving hands.

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careless in His care

Karla Lees

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I have been an avid bird lover since I learned that penguin parents sing to their young.

As a ‘songbird’ myself, that resonated deep within me.

I liked that love can be shown through a song.

As a child, i often wondered to myself who cared for all the wild birds I enjoyed soaring across the sky, nesting in the trees and flocking around.

That question gave me a swift shove after I became a believer as a young adult, and first read Matthew 6.

I am called to live carefree.

Nor carefree without consideration for others, but carefree in the ability not to worry.

Because I am covered under His wings, safe in His embrace, completely cared for by the God who loves me.

And the birds we all see about us remind me of that truth almost every day.

If birds are cared for, all their needs are met and they are able to chirp, fly, nest as birds are meant to do because of His care….why do we tend to think He would care less for us?

As a mom and wife, I have a tendency to make sure my kids and hubby are well taken care of before meeting my own needs.

That is a characteristic of our heavenly Father we reflect here on earth, when we care for our loved ones.

He’s a good good Father.
It’s who He is.
Not chooses to be, but intrinsically part of His very nature.

So when we read verses about living carefree in His care? He wants is to take Him literally.

For God doesn’t lie.

If He says He is caring for us, He is.

If He says we are of great value to Him, we are.

You don’t offer up your son as a sacrifice for people you don’t care about.

You give your best for those you adore, don’t you? On their birthday, graduation, Christmas?

God gave His very best on a regular day, because He knew we would need to know He cares about all our days, not just the religious ones.

Just as every bird is under His watch, so is the rest of creation.

But the pinnacle of His love is found in the ones He made in His image.

You and me.

We are the ones He cares so much for He made sure His heart of love and all the actions it inspired was recorded. A living testimony to the God of life who allowed Himself to be recorded within the Word.

In snapshots of promise, hope, purpose, love and care.

His love in action, caring for us all.

He not only shows us how much He loves us, He reminds us how much He longs to take our cares upon His shoulders and shoulder the load for us.

Every care we have matters to Him, because all of us matter to Him. All our hopes, dreams, worries, concerns…. He cares about it all.

So I don’t have to carry my cares all upon my shoulders.

He calls me to bring what I care about to Him, and allow Him to carry it for me, so I can live carefree in His care.

His love is so great for me, He not only rescued me but He holds my cares for me.

He paid a weight of love to redeem me from my sin, and carries the weight of my cares so I can be free to follow Him without worry.

Does that mean I never worry?
I can honestly say, I don’t worry as long as I used to.

God made this verse come alive to me about 15 years ago and each year I take shorter and shorter the length of time to bring my cares to His waiting hands.

I am loved by You.
It’s who I am.
Completely cared for in the safety of Your love.

May God give you too a revelation of His love for you. May it awaken within you like the song you were meant to sing. May you remove the weight of your cares, and allow Him to carry them, and you, as you follow Him into the wide open spaces of grace He has waiting for you.

remember

Karla Lees

It is Remembrance day in Canada today.  I am so thankful to our soldiers who pursue justice at great cost to themselves, some even to death, to take a stand for freedom and to protect people in need. I have met a few over the years, and each one was changed after having served. Both my grandfathers served in the Second World War at great personal cost.

There is a sacrifice many time we take for granted, and only really acknowledge deep within at Easter.

Jesus on the cross.

Where do you think humanity got the idea to serve and protect? I believe the Father, Son & Spirit wove in their characteristics into each of us when they created us.
We are, after all, made in God’s  image.

But it isn’t just obedience or duty that makes our soldiers do what they do, nor was it so with Jesus.

It is the love.

Love of country, and love of those they wish to be reunited with are what drives soldiers to keep serving.  A sense of justice, and a call to make things right where they are off balance added to that passionate love makes it love in action.

Jesus was no different.

He loves His country, His people, justice, freedom and restoration.

This was the heart and mind package added to His obedience and willingness to lay down His life which kept Him on the road to the cross.

His love for us is what kept Him on that cross, and enduring that pain.

For those of you whose spouse did not return home the same after serving their country, I pray for God to show Himself strong as He restores each of you and your marriage.  That He would pour in His love

For those of you whose lives one did not return, please hear that God’s heart breaks alongside yours. He understands the pain of separation.  He knows our loved ones are emblazoned upon our heart and minds, and how it hurts when we are suddenly ripped away from the one we love. When part of our very being feels like it has died.

God severed His constant communion with the Son He adores so our freedom could be bought.  He really loves us.

Did you know your name is written on His hands?

The surge of tattoos, family portraits and custom jewelry in our culture tells me that people want to remember what is important to them, and want visual reminders to do so.

In Jesus’ case, His nail scars are emblazoned on His hands for each of us to see how much He loves us.

He will never forget us, nor should we forget the cost His love paid for our freedom.

We are meant to remember the high price of freedom, so we never take it for granted.

Many lives have been lost defending our nations from outside attack.

May we honor our fallen, support our wounded and never forget the high cost of our freedom.

In our countries on Remembrance Day, but in our churches, workplaces and homes every say.

We remember, Lord.

May we spend our lives following Your example to lay down our lives as You lead for what matters most to You, each one You love.

Justice. Honour. Freedom.
#LestWeForget

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let His praise break out

Karla Lees

Are you letting your chains break your praise or is your praise breaking your chains?

-Word of Life Church

Yesterday I almost let my praise be swallowed by my circumstances.

Almost nothing frustrates me more at work than technical difficulties, especially after several hours spent getting them resolved.

I was so irritated by the problem, I momentarily lost my peace.

Then i realized if He is with me at all times, He is with me even in those technical difficulties.

Even when all I want to do is lay my head down on my desk and cry.

Not only because I had had it with the tech problems, but because I have had it up to here with myself allowing my peace to be swayed by outside circumstances. Again.

God reminded me through a song and an image that He was with me. Right then and there.

Those few precious moments, only a blip in my day, were enough for me to grab onto Him for dear life and restore my perspective.

It doesn’t take much to cause us to slip, and it takes even less for us to be restored to solid ground.

It takes believing in the Rock, and resting in Him through all coming our way.

Your storm may be relational. It may be technical. It may be emotional. It may be sudden or take a long time brewing.

It doesn’t matter.

Whatever the circumstances which are trying to chain you down, God’s for you. He’s got you.
He’s with you.

Because of who He is and what He has done, we can continue to praise Him through and in all circumstances. Always.

May you praise Him loud and proud, no matter what, always. May the chains of fear and timidity break off and forever be broken off of you as you lift His Name higher above every situation you encounter.

Allow who He is to rise up from within you and proclaim His Kingdom over your life. In every situation. In all circumstances.

Watch Him break your chains as He releases Himself mightily on your behalf!

He is worthy of our praise, and wants us to walk into the full freedom He has for us bear on earth.

Let His praise resound and hear the snapping of the chains trying to keep you down. Your freedom matters to Him, and He has given you a mighty weapon to add to your arsenal. It may appear to be redundant or miniscule compared to what you are facing, but He is sooo much larger and mightier and holier and stronger and freeing than we can imagine or see encased in our humanity.

Raise His praise, Beloved, and watch in awe at what He will do when you lift Him above all things!

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Sunday Psalm: Let Heaven Come

Karla Lees

When Your people
humbly drop to their knees
before You
inviting Your Kingdom
to come & invade us,
You come.

Just as You have
throughout human history
since its beginning,
come and let what You
want to be done
happen here on earth.

Take our brokenness
and let Your Light shine through it.

Take our wounds
and bind them in Your strength.

Be the One who holds us all together.

Use our gifts, our passions
as only their Giver can.

Let our hands, our feet, our words, our actions show Heaven to a hurting world.

Let Love lead the way to freedom & victory.

Let the lost be drawn in,
and make their way Home.

Your Kingdom.
Now.
In every moment.

Let Heaven come.

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