Tag: call

call on His name

Karla Lees

The name of the Lord is a strong fortress; the godly run to Him and are safe. Proverbs 18:10

Not only is God Himself our stronghold, our safe refuge, but His very name is a strong fortress!

Have you ever faced something so mind-numbing, grief-paralyzing or shockingly painful that the only word you could speak was Jesus? I know I have, and the peace that He poured into my heart, mind and body as I continued to cling to His Name? Amazing.

If you too need Him to draw close to you, call on His Name, and picture yourself running into His embrace.

He is our ever present source of refuge, and He is just a Name away!

Join the chorus of believers crying out for God from across the ages… for His Name was, is, and always will be our Refuge, Fortress, and Home!

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PS. This piece was featured as one of Remade Ministries Drops of Encouragement, where I am one of their guest contributors.  Drop by & be encouraged, or sign up for e-updates of new posts at: http://remade-ministries.org/devotion/call-on-his-name/

Sunday Psalm: let it be Jesus

Karla Lees

Jesus,
no other name
is worthy
of being lifted high.

Just speaking Your name
stirs me within as
You bring me back to life.

The chains are broken
and fall away
as I draw closer to You.

Jesus
Messiah
Name above all names
Be lifted up
High above the heavens

Worthy
You are worthy
of all my praise,
adoration,
thanksgiving
and offerings.

Let it be Jesus
the name I shout
when surrounded by the storm
Let it be Jesus
the name I cry
when pain overwhelms
Let it be Jesus
only Jesus
i run to
for the rest of my life.

#SundayPsalm

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cracks in the ground

Karla Lees

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The hard placeswithin
cry out for a thaw,
for an outpouring:
of Your
living water,
a fresh breeze of Your Presence,
the radiance of Your face
and burn of Your love
to melt away the
crust formed over
my heart.

Underneath
the seeds
You have planted
are impatient
to erupt,
to emerge
from under the barrier
they have been straining against,
in their effort
to obey the call
of their Creator.

As the thaw continues,
cracks emerge,
fine lined at first,
but space for new growth
begins to look possible.

Seeking more rain,
more Son,
more wind,
the season of my heart
continues towards spring.

The cracks widen
and the first of the seeds
emerges
in its beautiful greenery,
stretching up to
greet a new day
of possibility.

The bud begins to show
as the garden of my hear
continues to grow.

Despite the cold swirling
all around
this new life
is springing up
from the former hard ground.

You make everything new,
and make beautiful things
out of us.

#hopeinHisPresence

GREATER

Karla Lees

This morning, I drove my eldest to the train station as she headed off to school. And again today for the third day in a row, this song came on the radio station we usually listen to.

The cool thing, we didn’t drive at the same times…so that led me to believe God was trying to get my attention. I heard You, Lord.

So, today I am going to share the overall lyrics of the song Greater by Mercy Me one paragraph at a time, and then ask God what He has to say to me about it. Note: The song lyrics are bolded, and will be credited at the bottom of the blog, along with a link to the Mercy Me video 🙂

Bring your tired, bring your shame. Bring your guilt, bring your pain.
Don’t you know that’s not your name?
You will always be much more to me.

I tend to label myself, don’t I God?
But my name is Beloved, Redeemed.

And everyone else out there
needs to hear this message too:
Stop labeling yourself
with the negative,
stick to the positive.
God does!

Every day I wrestle with the voices
that keep telling me I’m not right,
but that’s alright….

God, You know
i struggle with
staying grounded in You
instead of what I do.
But that is no surprise to You,
is it God?

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‘Cause I hear a voice
and He calls me redeemed,
when others say I’ll never be enough.
And greater is the One living inside of me than he who is living in the world.
In the world, in the world.
And greater is the One living inside of me than he who is living in the world

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God, You continually call to me and speak my real name.
I am enough because of You, and You are SO much greater than the one living in the world….
coz he too is Your creation,
which makes You Greater!

Bring your doubts, bring your fears.
Bring your hurt, bring your tears.
There’ll be no condemnation here
You are holy, righteous and redeemed.

It doesn’t matter what I bring to You. Not only can I safely be real before You, You continue to speak out how You see me: holy, righteous, redeemed, forgiven.

Every time I fall, there’ll be those who will call me a mistake- well that’s ok….

Long term, it doesn’t matter if other people think I am a mistake, or call me names. Because what You think of me matters for eternity!

There’ll be days I lose the battle
Grace says that it doesn’t matter
‘Cause the cross already won the war
He’s Greater, He’s Greater!

I won’t do everything right or perfectly, nor win every day.
Your grace says no big deal, because You already made everything right on the cross.
You win, every time.
You are the Greatist, Lord!

I am learning
to run freely
Understanding
just how He sees me
and it makes me
love Him more & more
He’s Greater, He’s Greater!

God, thank You to teaching me
I can run free
when I accept how You see me.
My heart & spirit
jump with gratitude.
You truly are
the GREATEST thing
to happen to me,
and to everyone
who meets you!

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Greater written by songwriters:
Bart Millard, Mike Scheuchzer, Robby Shaffer, Barry Graul,
David Arthur Garcia, Nathan Cochran, Ben Glover.

Hey, if you need a morning pick me up song to remind you who He is and how He sees you, I would recommend you watch the video below, buy the song or CD, and for an extra boost of God Greatness, watch the story behind the song.

Greater video by Mercy Me

MercyMe “Greater” Story Behind The Song – YouTube

you make me brave when feet may fail

Karla Lees

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I stand before You now
The greatness of Your renown
I have heard of the majesty and wonder of You
King of Heaven in humility, I bow

As Your love in wave after wave
Crashes over me, crashes over me
For You are for us, You are not against us Champion of Heaven
You’ve made a way For all to enter in

I have heard You call my name
I have heard the song of love that You sing
So, I will let You draw me beyond the shore Into Your grace, Your grace

As Your love
In wave after wave
Crashes over me, crashes over me
For You are for us You are not against us Champion of Heaven
You’ve made a way For all to enter in

You make me brave You make me brave You called me beyond the shore Into the waves
You make me brave You make me brave No fear can hinder now The love that made a way

You make me brave You make me brave You called me beyond the shore Into the waves
You make me brave You make me brave No fear can hinder now The promises You’ve made

As Your love In wave after wave
Crashes over me, crashes over me
For You are for us You are not against us Champion of Heaven
You’ve made a way For all to enter in
– You Make Me Brave, Bethel Music

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You call me out upon the waters
The great unknown where feet may fail
And there I find You in the mystery
In oceans deep My faith will stand

And I will call upon Your name
And keep my eyes above the waves
When oceans rise
My soul will rest in Your embrace
For I am Yours and You are mine

Your grace abounds in deepest waters
Your sovereign hand Will be my guide
Where feet may fail and fear surrounds me
You’ve never failed and You won’t start now

So I will call upon Your name
And keep my eyes above the waves
When oceans rise
My soul will rest in Your embrace
For I am Yours and You are mine

[6x]
Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders
Let me walk upon the waters Wherever You would call me
Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander
And my faith will be made stronger In the presence of my Savior

I will call upon Your name
Keep my eyes above the waves
My soul will rest in Your embrace
for I am Yours and You are mine
–Oceans (Where Feet May Fail), Hillsong United

What keeps me brave?

Wrong question.

Who keeps me brave?

It is certainly not an inner characteristic I would refer to myself as. In fact, before becoming a follower of Christ, I was a mouthy sarcastic on the offense as my defense coz i was hurting so on the inside teen. One who thought nothing of using words as a weapon to try and avoid getting hurt.

The hurting becoming the one hurting others.

The gift being used against those it was intended to bless.

Unless I was singing, or writing for an assignment, my words were not my best work.

When God found me, I was desperately afraid, deeply wounded in my heart & soul, and headed for depression. My outer actions reflected my inner turmoil. Erratic, reactive, quickly combustible, highly regrettable.

I was so not what you would call brave.

God entered my life, and everything changed.

I had to walk out onto the deep waters, keeping my eyes fixed on Him, in order for Him to reach me to be brave.

I needed many words of love, comfort, healing and wholeness spoken over me, and many words of regret, sin, bad memories, strongholds and lies released from within, cleansed in His waters.

The only way I could face all the pain of what had been was to allow the One who was, is and is to come to make me brave.

I kept calling out to Him, and He kept reaching out for me. Keeping my head above the waters, allowing me periods of rest to ease the strain of becoming whole, until the next time He called me to step out, leave more of the old behind me, and press on through the storm towards the new He has prepared for me.

These past six months have been especially healing for me. I felt stirred to begin to write again. In a way I hadn’t felt since high school writing class.

Deep calling to deep.

God made me brave to start the first day. And has keep me brave each day since as my story, His Story through me, is being laid out, word after word, grain of sand after another.

The call to express in word.

The call to express in song is now being fanned into flames again, brighter than the call to write.
Which, quite frankly, scared me more than a little.

But i know that as I follow where He is calling, He will again make me brave enough for each day as it dawns.

For He makes the way for me.
He calms the storms with His presence.
He commands the waves.
He calls me to come.
And makes me brave enough to step out into the great unknown.
Leading me to a greater dependence on His strength, equipping and presence, in His power.

My feet may fail,
But God will catch me.
I am in His grip forever.
And that makes me brave.