Tag: the Word

love in action

Karla Lees

Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.

–Philippians 2:2-4 MSG

Living in community can be rough at times.  And God knew this.

These verses on their own capture how to help make successful community. Putting one another’s needs ahead of ours, seeking agreement, helping others fulfill their dreams, actively loving one another.

But these verses, although they contain the action steps we are to take for healthy, united community, don’t explain the why.

The first verse of Phillipians 2 does.

If you’ve gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if His love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care— then do me a favor:

Because of what God has given us, His love. 

Because of the family we are now a part of, His.

Because He is awakening in us a care for  others from His heart.

Because of what our laid it all down Jesus has done for us, we are to likewise lay ourselves down for others.

There are times when we can pick verses out of the Word, examine them closely and still miss the point, if we aren’t allowing Holy Spirit to heighten our awareness of what wisdom He wants us to learn when we study it.

The Bible isn’t just a collection of writings spanning hundreds of years and dozens of authors.

It is a living Word.  God Himself inspired it through listening hearts. God Himself collected it through willing hands.  God Himself is contained within it, and knows what we need to be fed each time we pick it up and invited Him to do so.

For we are not just in community with people, but with God Himself!

May He deepen your awareness of how to live a life of community which blesses Him, those around you and yourself as you follow His lead.

Love.
Love deeply.
Love actively.
Love completely.
Love sacrificially.
Love as He leads.

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for the best

Karla Lees

No weapon that can hurt you has ever been forged.
Any accuser who takes you to court will be dismissed as a liar.
This is what God’s servants can expect.
I’ll see to it that everything works out for the best.

 -God’s Decree, Isaiah 54:17

God Himself has told us what to expect in the battle days ahead.

There is no weapon forged or fashioned that can ever separate us from Him, nor that will defeat us.

But how is this possible when I have ____________ afflicting me right now, you may ask?

Our physical bodies are not eternal, only our spirit is.

And when we are His, He’s got our spirit covered & surrounded with His.

So the garment we all wear, our body, may get hurt in the flack of battle.

But that part of us that is most precious is safe in His care, when we hide ourselves in His embrace, His Stronghold, in Him.

The accuser of the brethren? He is known for who he really is, a liar. There is no wool he can pull over God’s eyes to trick Him.  God knows his true nature, and will always expose him as the liar he is.

God’s plan, His best for us, His children?

It will always come to pass when God is in control of the world, which He always is.

The enemy may have won ground, but that ground always was, always is, and always will be His.

The One who made all things will never give up on His plans being fulfilled, its not in His nature to give up.

He continues to speak His truth into our Spirit, to give us hope when all we can see is dim or shrouded in uncertainty:

I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you, give you a hope & a future.

All things work together for My good.

You can do all things in My strength.

You are never alone, I am always with you.

May our spirits remind us of the truths God plants within us to help us through the hard times, and may we never cease to keep our eyes on our Protector & Lover of our souls, no matter what is surrounding us.

He’s got us, He will never leave us,and all things will work together for our best. For He has promised it, and declared it to be!

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motivation matters

Karla Lees

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We are the people of busyness, aren’t we?

Life has become faster paced with the addition of increased technology & connectedness in our world. You can now have 24/7 access to almost any topic of interest around the clock. With email & cell phones you can be reached world wide.

We need to unplug from the busy & ask ourselves the why behind what we are doing.

Busyness for the sake of being busy is draining, lonely & empty.
With the radical rise of depression (by 2020 it will overtake heart disease as the number one cause of death & disability) we need to take the time to know the reasons we have for our actions, and live out lives of purpose.

Before we do anything else, as His people, we need to come close to Him. Enter His Presence, soak up the Son, connect with His heart, listen for His voice, act on His guidance….before anything else.

A wise man I work for says, “Make the most important thing the most important thing.”

Does God know you have made Him #1?  Do you make spending time in worship, prayer & the Word the priority in your day?

Does He have your heart? Do you know His heart for you?

Does the clamor of demands overpower the desire to connect with Him?

The sobering reality? No one else is going to help you make Him number one in your life.  They can make suggestions, share tips & resources, but only you can put them into practice.

For several years, I had my 30 min of quiet time in the afternoon, when my kids were napping and/or in kindergarten.

When they got older, around eight pm after bedtime worked for a few years, when hubby worked evening shifts.

When I worked the opening shifts at the coffee shops, I woke myself up with worship music, and had my quiet time when I got home from my shift while everyone else was still out.

I now get up earlier to do my 30 min before my work days, so they don’t become a daze of pointless busyness.

The past year, I have determined to do so, and I am healthier overall for it.  I feel closer to God, know He is for me, and I can depend on Him, so when the next wave of demands crashes on me, I am able to keep my head above the water & hear His voice.

Join Remade Ministries {and me :)} for 30 days of 30 minutes of time investing in blessing our King.

He not only deserves it, He longs for one on one time with you too.

Relationship over task, every time.

We can best serve with our hands & feet when our hearts & minds are fixed on doing what He ask us to do.  When our whole hearts are invested in making Him first place in our lives.

Then, and only then, our ministry will have impact for His kingdom.

For 30 days, give Him your first 30 minutes.  Make getting to know Him your priority over all else, and see how your life will change for the better.

When God reminds you what to say yes to, you will have no problem saying no to busyness for busyness’ sake. Your priorities will start to shift and fall as you follow His lead.

We are not meant to do it all, but we are all meant to know Him.