Tag: enemy

step behind to move forward

Karla Lees

Most of us like to lead.
To be in control, to make the decisions, to head up the charge.

As Christians, we need to let go of our desire to lead, and learn to follow.

There is only One Head of the church, and His Name is Jesus.
He laid down His life in order to restore & love her, us. The one He adores.

Not only has He physically earned the right to lead, it is His birthright as the Son. 

The Father has Jesus sitting at His right hand & sharing the throne of Heaven.

Jesus waged the first major battle for His Bride, and came out victorious.

With a battle equipped and ready leader in our corner, why do we struggle so with allowing Him to lead?

Because we forget.

We forget He made us exquisitely complicated & meticulously  detailed to plan by His hand.

We forget He made all things, knows all things, and rules over all.

We forget He has plans for us to prosper, overcome & have a great future.

We forget He is with us, every single moment, intimately a part of our lives when we are His.

God came with the ability to lead hardwired into all He does, based upon His mighty strength, never failing wisdom, and His loving sacrificially servant heart.

We don’t.

Oh some of us have leadership abilities and wonderful talents.  In the Kingdom, He is to lead the way.

We are to follow Him home.

The road ahead will have pitfalls, gains, heartbreak, blessings, pain, joy, and road blocks.

We cannot navigate on our own if we want to make it through victorious.

For the part we cannot always see in full, He walks confidently aware of with the authority He was meant to wear.

The battle is not only waged earth, but in the spiritual realm as well.

Without the head of Heaven fighting for us, we will be damaged, wounded and defeated by the enemy.  Not because God isn’t almighty & capable to defeat him, but because we refused to let God lead.

When we go into the battle without our Shield & Warrior, we become an easy target for enemy snipers.

In Ephesians, we are reminded that most of our weaponry is defensive, made for our protection. 

Our main weapons?

Listening for instruction.
Putting on our armor.
Obeying His commands.
Following where He goes before us.

The only weapons we are to actively use are prayer & Word: both as led by the Spirit, who does all things proclaiming the Lordship of the Son & honoring the plans & Name of the Father.

The Father is the strategist.
The Son is the Warrior.
The Spirit is the Messenger.

We are to live out the message that Jesus saves.

We are to follow where He leads.

We are to remain in Him.

His part is to protect, instruct & guide us to live the lives He desires for each of us.

It is hard to acknowledge you are not meant to be on the front lines 24/7. Because we always think where the visible action is is where we want to be.

Without the reconnaissance of satellites, millions more of our military could walk into unnecessary ambushes & to their deaths.

It’s because of the bigger picture, both the overview complete with the details, which the information gatherers collect, that they are able to know where to head for safety, or where to go to avoid the ambushes & stay on target.

The planning makes the most of the data taken in, and the use of the might at hand as it aims to defeat the enemy.

When we know where best to go & how to fight, the battle is more easily won.

The Father is our satellite,
Jesus is our weapon,
Holy Spirit is the data transmitter.

We are meant to tune in, and follow as God leads.

Some of the battle being fought around us is handled by His angels.  Some through our prayers.

The one common denominator, which leave the enemy quaking in His boots is Jesus.

The One who defeated death & broke the chains forever has already tossed the enemy out of Heaven, and shown Himself the Eternal Victor.

One of the only strategies the enemy has left is to deceive us that we can successfully fight without our Victor.

Take a moment, and acknowledge to Him how much you like to be in control. (Don’t worry, I am repeating this out loud right alongside you! You are not alone.)
Tell Him you want to lay down your right to lead, and invite the One who reigns to take the reins of your life. Pour out your heart and all the burdens you have before Him.  Allow Him to comfort & strengthen you. Put on your custom fitting armor, and get ready for His battle cry to go to war on your behalf. 

Pray, listen obey, repeat.
Move out remaining under His protection, as He leads you to move.
Fall into step behind Him to safely move forward.
Let Him make the way safe before You.
Keep vigilant, and watch Him do what He does best- fight for the one He loves.
You.

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its banner time

Karla Lees

A banner is a declaration of who an army belongs to and whose name they fight over.

“Stronghold- The Secrets Behind the Wall” by Beth Kinder

The Lord is my Banner.

Exodus 17:16

So far today, I have forgotten two things i was supposed to remember to do this morning, and remembered to find something I had been looking for for the past 2 days.

My short term memory has been affected by my recent fall, and I find myself relying more heavily on sticky notes & Keep reminders to keep on top of what I need to know.

The funny thing about this short term memory issue I currently have?

I am so excited every time I read the Word!

He’s making it new, fresh & alive with each Word.

Its as if its for the first time all over again, which for me & my recent studying, is actually true!

These truths I shared above are just a few of the ones I am trying to etch into my heart, and remember every step along the way.

God is the banner over me.

I am His, and He is mine.

I belong to Him, His at great cost.

He fights for me, my Captain.

I am part of His army, lifting His name high for all to see.

If I forget where I put a piece of paper, my favorite pants or my glasses, no biggie in the big picture.

If I forget His banner over me is love, grace, mercy, refuge, truth & so much more?

I might take a blow I wasn’t prepared for, because i stepped out of His Stronghold.

There are two strongholds in the spiritual realm: His, and his enemy’s.

I want my spirit to be living in the True Stronghold, no longer flirting with or stumbling into the enemy’s counterfeit one.

My spirit’s true Home is with its Maker, the One who died for me to become fully His as I was, and who is reshaping me to become who He knew I could be in His hands.

The enemy’s plan is to distract me from His truth, to lure me off the path with a trail of stale breadcrumbs instead of feasting on the Word which gives me life.

I need to know who He is in order to remember who I am, & come fully to life in His hands.

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God is my Banner.

He is More than Enough.

He is Love.

He is Truth.

He is covering me, and has it all covered.

All my hope is in Him.

His promises never fail.

He is my anchor in the storms.

Dig deep into the Word.

He is a treasure within just waiting to be found!

lining up where I shouldn’t

Karla Lees

Don’t compare yourself to others. Compare yourself only to the person you were yesterday. @toddclark

The comparison trap will cause me to believe what I see, and forget what I know. Beth Kinder  www.strongholdthebook.com

I have a problem with my mirror. Maybe you can relate.

My mirror doesn’t show just my reflection, but lines me up beside others I compare myself to, every time i approach it.

In fact, I can’t remember a time besides my wedding day, that i looked in the mirror and just saw me.

Until yesterday.

I decided after having some fun with matching my red undertones for an all over foxy red these past eight months to head back to my roots.  Which are a dirty blonde with i suspect a few streaks of grey.  I am trying to simplify my life, and fussing with hair dye every time my roots show is too high maintenance for me (but that is me, if you can do it, bless you!)

After my daughter helped get all the dye on, i realized that as I was looking in the mirror, I was wondering what people would think if the grey starts coming in as I let my hair go natural.

Then i thought of a few women i know who always have perfect coiffed hair, as my nana would say.  Without a hair out of place.

And as my mind began to wander down that path, this time i caught myself, as i reminded myself of a quote that came to mind:

Not my circus, not my monkeys.

I don’t need to worry or compare myself to others, because let’s face it, everybody is struggling with something.  Just because it can’t be seen on the outside, doesn’t mean it isn’t there on the inside.

I am tired of judging myself by people’s standards, and lining their opinions up beside me in the mirror.

I choose His standard for me, which is Jesus.

I choose His design for me, which is unique.

I matter to Him, because of His timely & costly investment in me.

I don’t have to compare myself to anyone, but rather I choose listen to His heart for me, which is to live free & close to Him.  I choose to change the things He is most concerned about uprooting from me, and embrace the newness He has waiting for me.

Quite frankly, my hair color, or my extra weight, or my freckles, or my naked nails are between God & me.

Stop allowing the enemy to invite other people into the conversation God wants to have with you alone.

It was quite a jolt to my mind to realize where my thoughts naturally start to wander.

And they wandered back to a particularly hurtful grade 7 classmate, who embarrassed me in front of the whole class through her writing about me. Which I believed has been fully dealt with, not!

God reminded me today that the reason there was still an entry point for the enemy was due to my harboring unforgiveness, and shared with me that the person wasn’t trying to be deliberately cruel as it came across, but was very insecure & jealous and was trying to knock me out of competition for our mutual friend’s affection.

By my not forgiving her as a person, but just the action, I allowed a piece of the root to remain, and the enemy has been nurturing it to grow down deep over the years.

I am so done with that!

So i pray,

“God, I fully and completely forgive S___________. I believe Your blood is more than enough to forgive all my sins, and I extend the same mercy to her that You extended to me. Full & utter forgiveness in Jesus’ mighty name.  Wherever she is, I ask You to release Your Spirit to whisper the truths You long for her to hear into her mind, heart & spirit.  I ask You to restore to me the joy I had in being myself, in embracing who You designed & called me to be.  Uproot the enemy plant You have just destroyed, and release a fresh sense of Your wholeness and peace where it used to live.  May I ever delight in hearing Your words spoken over me. May I ever trust in You as the Lover of my Soul.  May i never lose the wonder of knowing how much YOU delight in ME. May I continually bring the things which are breaking me down & place them into Your hands for You to build me up. Where the enemy played for harm, restore Your goodness & purpose in my life.  Blessed be the Lord!  I pray this as one of Your beloved, Abba.  In Jesus’ name, and Holy Spirit power. Amen.”

Instead of letting ourselves see just our outer beauty, let’s join God in seeing His hand & move in our lives.  As children of the King, as the beloved bride of God, let’s allow the Lion of Judah to arise within, and move forward in the confidence of who we really are.

self-improvement

No matter what we look like its who we are inside that truly counts.

His handiwork.

His child.

His delight,

His beloved.

His!

3 ways words pack a wallop

Karla Lees

Many of us can recall a time when we were hurt by someone else’s actions.

But we likely all can remember a time when someone’s words hurt.

Words bypass race, size, religion, gender, class and strike right at the heart of us, often before we know it.

There are three ways we can be wounded by words have been wielded as a weapon:

Unintentionally:

Gossip can catch us off guard, and broken telephone can contribute to us being hurt when we hear things behind our backs.  Hearing your BFF actually hates your new dress but tells you how flattering it looks to your face because they know how much you like the color & they don’t want to hurt your feelings… still hurts when you realize they withheld the truth from you when asked for it.

Sometimes we don’t know the other person well enough to not accidentally make a comment slip (like how you dislike Timmy’s coffee and it turns out to be their favorite daily coffee place) and hurt their feelings.

Be careful what you say when you don’t know all the facts or people in a situation. Ask God for wisdom to help you steer clear of unintentionally using words that hurt.

Accusingly:

When we hear an accusation, we are all initially hurt: either by the truth, or by the lie.

The truth can pack quite the wallop when we are hiding from it, can’t it? There have been times when I need to catch my breath from its jab. The point of these words is to rebuild & restore us, despite the surgery that may be involved uprooting what shouldn’t be within us.

Unfortunately, the delivery method can pack as much of a punch as the words spoken.

When God speaks the truth to us, whether in His word or through another follower, it might be blunt but it is to be delivered with love and a desire for God’s best. Not the judgment that tends to slip out, which reveals the state of our own hearts.

Which leads me to the other way that an accusation can hurt: when its a lie.

You know, “lie” is a word I prefer not to use, because I like to lie down to rest, and I don’t like to use words in two ways when I have an options. Lies as a plural, is perfect. As a writer, word choice is important to me for setting the right background or revealing the best picture.

I choose to use the word “falsehood” for two reasons. False is the opposite of Truth, which also shows we are aligning ourselves with the enemy “hood.”

Falsehoods hurt because of their design. They are enemy snipers designed to take us down any way they can. When they are used by a non-Kingdom dweller, we aren’t as surprised, for we know who they are aligning with by association.

When falsehoods are used by a believer, a tear forms in the fabric of the Kingdom, and a tear falls from the face of its Leader.

We are not designed to speak what is false, but:

Brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable —if anything is excellent or praiseworthy —think on such things.

Philippians 4:8 NIV

We are not to walk back into the enemy hood we have been delivered out of, but keep the best of the Kingdom on our hearts & in our minds, as the above verse suggests. Even more clear is the comparison seen in the Message version of the same verse below:

Fill your minds and meditate on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse.

Philippians 4:8 MSG

Which leads to the last way words can wound us when they are wielded as a weapon:

Deliberately:

This reveals more about the character of the speaker than the hearer.

Deliberately using your words, whether truth or false, shows you have a foot in the enemy hood, whether you would like to hear that or not:

Because you KNOW your word will hurt.

And that knowledge means you purposefully are aiming at another person to wound them.

Not cool.

I have been the recipient of deliberate, calculated falsehood in a time of great loss or shock, from those I adored.

Although I have forgiven them, the scar remains.

Those deliberate words? They are the bombs to the single gun shot of unintention and the Uzi of accusation.

Last Word:

All of these wound causing word weapons can come with a complication. How it impacts our relationship with the speaker of these words.

We need to run to God first to ask Him to separate how we have been hurt from the person who hurt us. Once we have dealt with the wounding, then we need to ask Him how we are to speak to the wounder. He may reveal an insight we could not know, and have us either set up a new boundary or reinforce our friendship, addressing the situation from His perspective.

Words hurt, but in His hands we can be fully healed.

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when no is the final answer

Karla Lees

All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.

Matthew 5:37 NIV

When the phone rings, the letter or the email arrives, a person inquires and a request is involved, God gives us two options of response.

Notice pray about it isn’t one of them in the verse above.  In the context of the paragraph this verse comes from in Matthew 5, oaths are being discussed.

We are not to make oaths or swear on the life of a family member.  We are to let our yes’ be yes, and no’s be no.  We are to keep the words that come out of our mouth as  promises.

Other than making a few key ones into covenants, God deals with us in promises.

He will be with us.
He is with us.
He loves us.
He is for us.
We are His.

These are just a tip of the promises God reveals His character and heart through to us.

God’s Yes and No are set once they are spoken. He doesn’t say what He doesn’t mean.

Our responses are to be the same.

Over the past few weeks, I covered a few extra shifts at one job, and gave 2 months notice to my other one of my shift changes (I set my own hours at this one) as a result.  Once I committed to working those set shifts, my promise was given.

Unless there is a medical or major emergency beyond my control, I try to keep my yesses.

I also have been learning that if I have to ask God about it, it is likely a no. 

If I don’t know whether it fits with my gifts, talents, time or family life- its a no. 

If it is a major request such as sponsoring, if the budget can’t stretch, its a no. 

If it isn’t something I am passionate about, or directly helping someone in need, its a no. 
If its a one off, then I will know immediately if it sits right with me, especially if its relationship building. If not, you guessed it- no.

If it is going to become all about me if I step into it, its a no.

I am not called to be anyone else but me.

Just because someone thinks it might be something I should do, doesn’t mean it is.

By now, I have a pretty good grasp of who I am, flaws & all, and saying no has been an issue in the past when I was more insecure.

I realize now that stepping out when I wasn’t to be was a huge contributing factor for insecurity sneaking its way in.

Stepping out where we are meant to trod, we know the yes that lead us there was meant to be.

There are many things we are all capable of doing.

Then there are the gifts that inspire the happy place within to burst forth and passionately spread as we use it, let it grow and deepen.

There will always be requests to answer.

Yes or No.

Maybe, let me think about it, and I will get back to you are not part of Matthew 5:37.

Simple, yet complex at the same time if you don’t know yourself very well.

If the asker won’t like you for saying no, that is their problem.

God blesses us when we walk where He is guiding us. Don’t add undue stress by veering off the path trying to impress, or by mollycoddling someone’s feelings.

Let your yes be yes, and your no be no.

The enemy already has enough options to try and attack us on.  Don’t give up any unnecessary ground because you are more concerned about another’s feelings than God’s plan for you.

And my last comment?
Don’t apologize, simply say no.

You don’t need to explain.
They shouldn’t push you for one.

Your boundaries should be in place to have the confidence enough to answer yes or no, and end of discussion.

Do you ever have a problem saying no?  Can you relate?

There is a freedom found in saying yes to the best and no to the rest.

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As you press close to His Presence, may God help you know who you are, and how He is calling you to fulfill your purpose. 

the force

Karla Lees

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Are you an ally of the Force?

There are only two to align yourself with…as we all see so visually made clear in the Star Wars saga.

You can align yourself with good, or the dark side.

The best? Being led by Holy Spirit.

The less? Being led by the enemy.

If you are unsure about which force you are aligning with, there are two sure fire questions to ask yourself:

1. Will this action I am considering hurt anyone, myself included, in any way?

2. Will this action I am considering bless anyone, myself included, in any way?

Door number one leads to harm, and is not the force you want to be joining up with. The enemy of humanity wants nothing more than to tear each and every person down, in an futile effort to try to show God he is His equal.

Door number two leads to blessings, and is the force you want to join and walk through life with. The creator of humanity wants nothing more than to build up and draw to Him each and every person, in an overwhelming love call to remind us that He alone is God, and wants the best for us.

It doesn’t matter what the outsides look like, as Yoda so aptly demonstrates in Star Wars.

It matters which well you are drawing your strength from.

If you don’t take the time to think through before you act, you can unknowingly align with the enemy.

Harm is never worth it.
And always does more damage eternally to the one who delivers it, if left unchecked.

Good is always worth it.
And always does more building up of the Kingdom and blesses the one who offers it, even if left unnoticed.

The Force is with you.
Your choice? Which side you will join.

The battle has already been won.

God will be the victor.
And the enemy knows it.

Don’t miss out on all He has for you, to bless you, give you a HOPE and a future.

May The Force behind all Good, Holy Spirit, be with you.

free to say….

Karla Lees

I said yes to something today (extra work) when I should have said no.

I have a hard time accepting i am free to say no.
Still too much wanting to please people left within me.

I am free to say yes, but just like with everything else, I have to live with the consequences.

More work, less rest while dealing with a health concern was not wise. I have modified my next two days to accommodate more rest as a result, which will help in the long run…but not tonight when I am feeling drained.

I am also free to say no, but just like with everything else, I have to live with the consequences.

Less work, more rest while dealing with a health concern would be wise. I would have to modify my budget to match less income coming in, which is temporarily tight but tonight I would feel less drained.

The ability to decide yes or no began before the Garden of Eden.

It began with God saying yes to creation.

And Satan saying no to serving God.

Those were the background decisions that led up to the Garden.

And man has been struggling with saying yes to what is best ever since.

We like instant, don’t we? Immediate gratification when we make our decisions.

Life doesn’t work like that.

And God’s ways are mysterious, and don’t flow as easily as we think.

We ask God for a speedy drive to work one day when we are leaving late, and we end up in a traffic snarl. But had we been at that intersection ten minutes earlier, we might have been schmucked by that car weaving out of control.

We ask for all our debt to be removed by saying yes to the weekly lotto ticket, but end up in more debt with the addiction of believing in easy money.

Our decisions, our yes’ and no’s, ultimately determine where we go when we leave this life behind.

Saying yes to Christ means a loving forever home with Him in heaven.

Saying no to Christ means a forever home with the enemy, separated from love, for eternity.

The little decisions impact us on a daily basis. Saying yes to what is best for us in the immediate may be hard, but will pay off in the long run.

Don’t wait until its too late to say yes when it counts the most…

balance

Karla Lees

Today, Beth Moore talked via DVD about the temple in the last of our current bible study series.

Knocked me almost out of my chair.

Actually onto my knees.

I, like many of you, have struggled with my weight going up and down. Mine is a combo of hormones, lack of self control and some strongholds/idolatry.

Beth reminded us (me) that we are the temple for Holy Spirit, and we should be doing all we can to make Holy Spirit feel at home in our skin.

We need the stuff that isn’t our individuality or personality, both God given traits, to leave so we have more room for Holy Spirit to move in. Basically, our fleshly wants and desires, along with anything that may have attached itself to them.

Beth gave an example about a gal whose weight has fluctuated between a size 6 to a 14. At a size 6, she found she was consumed with thinking about what she ate all day long, obsessed with staying at that weight. At size 14, she threw caution to the wind and gave in to her appetite with anything she wanted, also referred to as gluttony.

Both extremes led her into different kinds of bondage.

Her happy weight for her body, where she is balanced with exercise, taking care of herself and predominantly health eating is a size 10, for her build, height and bone structure.
Asking God to set her free from society’s expectation of beauty & wellness and pressing in to have Him help her maintain a healthy temple aka. body, she is now free to be herself at her natural best.

Which caught my attention, and I had a conversation about it with God, with me mainly listening.

I am on the taller side of the spectrum with a medium build. I have never been, as a teen, below a size 10.   Have been a size 20 after giving birth at my heaviest. My natural weight seems to hover around a current size 12, which is likely the size 10 of my high school days.

My weight has gone out of control for one main reason. I overeat. Along with that comes the lack of energy, digestive issues, and when added to some food reactions and not dealing well with how I am feeling, is it any wonder. When I feel at my lowest, I don’t want to get moving or look at a vegetable.

But no longer.

I re-dedicated myself to God today. Asked Him to tear down the strongholds of gluttony and idolatry, and to set me free to seek my best for His glory. My body as His temple. I want Holy Spirit to be at home in me.

I can’t do it without Him. Been there, done that, not going back to Egypt again.

So the balance I am talking about comes from keeping my mind fixed on Him, my heart pure and worshipping God alone, my body under control, my strength found in deep rooted faith and trust.

One day at a time.

I will be choosing life and freedom. Walking with God.

Does that mean I will never enjoy another bag of potato chips or a coconut chocolate bar again?  No. But I will not be eating the big bag of chips, or the full bar. More like one small bowl or a snack size portion.

I also am cleaning out the other unwanted tenants: Depression, loneliness, abandonment, homeliness.
See you later in Jesus’ Name.
I kick you out, coz I am no longer partnering with you.
It’s time to move out, coz I have a roommate who needs more space for His art studio and garden. This temple is under major renovation as He retrofits His design.

Welcome into your bigger space, Holy Spirit.
I hope You make Yourself at home, and let me know if there are other tenants who need to be evicted.
I look forward to our talks to come over tea, and your words of wisdom as You guide me towards Your best for me. I anticipate unveiling a redesigned temple some day soon.