Tag: holy

Sunday Psalm: Worthy

Karla Lees

I crawl
humbly towards Your throne
on my knees
before You
Mighty God,
Maker of the Heavens & Earth,
my head bowed low
as I approach.

Overwhelmed
by Your beautiful Holiness,
Majesty & Mighty.
All glory, honor,
praise & adoration
belongs to You!

No sooner have i entered
Your Presence
then You rush towards me
to lift me with gentle
nail scarred hands,
bringing me to my feet
as You wrap Your strong arms around me
reminding me with a whisper
& a glance
that I am Yours
and You are mine.
No more fear, stain or shame
are allowed to keep me
from standing before You,
Your bride
presenting herself
to her Groom,
the Lover of her soul.

Only the One who is worthy
can make me worthy
to come into His Presence.
Only the blood of the Lamb
can cover & coat me
in His worthiness.

You are worthy of all I have to give
and beyond, God.
I stand tall
as You envelope me
with Your Presence
as Your Spirit breathes within,
and Your Son announces me
as His Beloved before all.

This is where I belong,
and I wholeheartedly
accept the hand of the One
who wants to lead our dance
into eternity.

#SundayPsalm

image

His temple will stand forever

Karla Lees

Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.
1 Corinthians 3:16-17

Do you know you are His temple?
God moved in when you accepted His offer of love, grace, freedom & belonging to His forever family.

He moved in to you & me.

Which if you have never paused to think about it before, is absolutely astounding in what that action reveals.

As God is Holy, if He lives in you & I, guess what that makes us?

Holy.

God lives in the Holiest of Holies, His throne room in Heaven, and also in each believer who makes up His living temple here on earth.

What an awesome humbling & fearful reality all rolled into one!

He truly not only somehow mindblowingly cleanses us completely when we follow Him, but His very Presence, His Spirit stays with us.

Wow.

We tend to think of Heaven being where we will fully experience His Presence, and somehow miss the stunning reality that His Presence has been with us all along!

We don’t need to wait until forever to feel Him.

And He didn’t choose to wait until we arrive in Heaven to be fully present with us.  He was 100% in front day one.

Double wow shocking stunner.

For God to live in His temple, it must be the way He wanted it.

He made us Holy so He can move in.

Not only did He supernaturally make us His temple, He arranged for the decor to be just what He needed: Holy.

You, and I, are His temple, and made Holy because of His forever Presence within us.

If like me, all you can see are the old pics you have pinned up within, or the boxes stuffed into your attic, please believe that He doesn’t see us that way.

He sees us as the most stunning treasure of them all, His Bride, whom He is ardently enamoured with, 24/7, and whom He always wants to be with, every moment of every day.

Take a moment today, and thank Him for this precious gift of His Presence.

He did all the work for us, preparing the perfect offering in Jesus to make us Holy.

Our part is to accept this gift, open & enjoy it.

His temple, where the Holy One dwells, forevermore!

Me, you!

image

everything & nothing less

Karla Lees

God uses what we love most to speak to us.

For me, that is words, written or sung.

In the span of 48 hours, an unexpected locked door, a trilogy of books,  the Word and a new CD all combined to knock me to my knees and speak deeply to my spirit.

God was throughout each  moment, and I am not the same after this series of encounters.

Everything & nothing less.

That is what God gives, gave for us….His all.

That is the kind of love pursuing us, whispering our names with such love & devotion.  The love that gave His very life for us…holding nothing back.

This is the same sort of love we are to give Him back in return.

And it’s hard to not look back at where we have failed to do so when we keep our eyes focused on ourselves, where we have come from.

The cross was lifted up so we would be too.

We need to look up to see beyond ourselves…and we can’t easily look up when we aren’t on our knees, grounded on the solid rock of His love.

We need the reminder that we meant enough to Him for Him to give His everything and nothing less to win us back.

And He deserves nothing less than our everything in return.

That means the real everything…however that looks within each of us.
Our love
Our hurts
Our dreams & hopes
Our failures
Our skills
Our desires & plans
Our time
Our energy
Our devotion
Our worship

Just as we are,
everything and nothing less.

He desires nothing less than for us to come with our everything, right now, right in whatever situation or heartbreak you are in.

The One who gave His all will be delighted with you coming to Him, just as you are.  Looking forward into His gaze, accepting His love, giving Him your all.

It’s time to bend the knee, and move into the everything, and nothing less, which He has waiting for you with Him.

Seek a quiet space, and take a moment to read these heartfelt lyrics which have been soaking in my heart for the past few days. Meet with Him in this holy moment.  

If you take the time to listen, let Holy Spirit draw you in, and reassure you He is 100% for you, always, no matter what, in everything and nothing less.

This is your holy moment.

http://www.worshiptogether.com/songs/everything-and-nothing-less-chris-mcclarney/

image

Sunday Psalm: Your Presence

Karla Lees

You opened the door
You became the Way
You draw me in
You invite me to stay

Your Presence
all i want
Your Presence
all i desire
Your Presence
calls me close
Closer
to Your Presence

Holy Holy Holy Lord
All Honour belongs to You
Alleluia Alleluia Jesus
All the glory is Yours
Worthy Worthy God
All praise You deserve
I offer up now
in Your Presence.

#SundayPsalm
#hopeinHisPresence

image

Sunday Psalm: wHOLY Worthy

Karla Lees

Only You are worthy
of all our praise & adoration
O Lord.

Its only Your blood,
Your sacrifice
that cleanses us,
makes us whole.

Its only Your Presence
Your holiness
that reminds us
how much we need You
every moment
of every day.

My holeness
is made whole
through
Your wHOLYness.

So I come close,
thankful Jesus covered me, restored me
so I can draw near
and become
as You intended.

I offer all I am,
all I have
back to You
as a whole sacrifice
with a grateful heart,
humbling bowing
before the One
who made,
restores
& holds us all.

In You alone
my hope, my whole
is found.

#SundayPsalm

image

Reason #5 to Give Thanks: Because You Can

Karla Lees

The last my top 5 reasons to give thanks ends with:

Because You Can (also known as Why Not?)  🙂

If you are alive, you have a reason to give thanks.

If you have anyone on earth or in heaven who loves you, you have a reason to give thanks.

If you can eat, breathe, sleep, sing, walk, talk, create, move, see, hear….

you have a reason to give thanks.

The Word is full of verses about why to give thanks, but here are my fave four as to why we can, besides the fact we are alive (as I outlined above):

1. Because you are made by His hands:

Oh yes, You shaped me first inside, then out; You formed me in my mother’s womb. I thank you, High God—You’re breathtaking! Body and soul, I am marvelously made! I worship in adoration—what a creation! You know me inside and out, You know every bone in my body. You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit, how I was sculpted from nothing into something. Like an open book, You watched me grow from conception to birth; all the stages of my life were spread out before You; the days of my life all prepared before I’d even lived one day.

Psalm 139:13-16

2. Because He is the Only God!

I will give to the LORD the thanks due to his righteousness, and I will sing praise to the name of the LORD, the Most High.

Psalm 7:17

3. Because He is not only good, but He loves us FOREVER!

Give thanks to the LORD of hosts, for the LORD is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!

Jeremiah 33:11

4. Because of who He IS, Holy, Mighty, Awesome, Just, True, Good….

We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, who is and who was…

Revelation 11:17

Every day, we have a reason to thank God.

Every day, we can offer Him thanks, even on those days when almost everything seems to go downhill… 😉
image

presence

Karla Lees

Presence.

What do we really mean when we use the word “presence”?

Presence
noun

The Google Dictionary:

1) the state or fact of existing, occurring, or being present in a place or thing. (“her presence still comforts me”)

synonyms: existence, being there

2) a person or thing that exists or is present in a place but is not seen.

synonyms: ghost, spirit, specter, phantom,apparition, supernatural being

3) a group of people, especially soldiers or police, stationed in a particular place.

Dictionary Reference.com:

1. the state or fact of being present, as with others or in a place.

2.
attendance or company:
Your presence is requested.

Presence:
Where God is, eternally, visible in heaven & sensed on earth.

Who God is, His being, God with us, God within us, God present, supernatural being, almighty God, Spirit, everywhere present.

Invited by His people to reveal more of Himself to us, to come and be present with us in a deeper life altering way, especially when we are gathered seeking Him.

I know I need His Presence more and more as I get to know just how wrecked and broken I am within.

His Presence restores what sin batters.

His Presence binds up what remains in tatters.

His Presence brings hope & comfort to inner shatter.

His Presence is where we find what truly matters.

You don’t need to be in a large group of fellow believers, a trained minister, or doing anything in particular apart from seeking Him to sense His Presence.

He just requires us to tune in and seek His frequency.

Did you know that everything has a frequency?

I believe that as Jesus walked the earth, the atmosphere around Him literally changed because of the Holy frequency He was emitting.

And those around Him were not only attracted to Him, but changed in the encounter. Eternity meet humanity and radically changed the present forever.

God invites us to tune in.
Seek His Presence.
Be present in His company.

In fact, He delights in us, and longs to spend more time with us. He wants to be our soft place to land, our cover when the battle rages, our shelter in the storm:

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble…

Psalm 46:1

Like the father waiting day after day for his beloved son to return home, God is always present in His wait.

He is all in.

His heart is to reassure us with His love, restore us as only our designer can, equip us for daily living out our faith, and enjoy spending time together.

His Presence
in our present
fully present.

What a present, indeed!

image

look up

Karla Lees

When I feel low, its usually because I have taken my eyes off of God.

When God is in His proper place, and I acknowledge how big, strong, mighty my God is, I can’t help but look up to Him.

Focusing on the problem makes it block out my view of God. It doesn’t mean God is not in the picture.

I was at a training course, where the teacher shared a part of someone else’s story.  A young man was crying out to God in a drug trip to reveal Himself. All the man saw was a tiny distraction, which led him down a tormented path for years.

When he finally went for healing and freedom, he asked God to reveal where He had been in the room at that exact moment.

God did.  He completely filled the room.

We can miss the bigger picture and how big our God is (as far as our finite minds can grasp an infinite God) when we narrow our focus.

When we limit our vision to what we think we should see, instead of seeing whatever God wants us to see.

Himself, reigning over all, no matter what we see going on around us.

We serve the one and only God, who is seated on His throne:
the Creator of all we can see on our earth, in our universe, and beyond.
the Savior of all people, who has never and will never stop reaching out his arms to them, us.
the Healer of all brokenness and wounds within us.
the Provider of all good gifts
the Guide who shares all wisdom, knowledge and discernment to all who seek and ask
the King who reigns forever and ever
and so much more!!!

In light of who He is, we need to remember He is greater than all we will come across:

The enemy who is being and will be defeated.
Those who hate and harm us.
Painful situations caused by sin & selfishness.
All disease, mental illness & sickness.
Losses and grief.
Broken hearts.

Today, I am reminded anew to lift my eyes up, and keep them focused on God, not how I may be feeling.

I will look up.
I will proclaim God reigns over everything happening in my life.
I will choose to put my hope in the One who gave so much for me.

Its never too late to look up.

image

thin places

Karla Lees

They are locales where the distance between heaven and earth collapses and we’re able to catch glimpses of the divine…

Eric Weiner

Where Heaven meets earth.

Thin places.

They can be in many locations, but one thing remains the same…

Those who experience a thin place are never the same.

I find there are times when I am worshipping with other people, and this happens right where we are.

You can feel God enter the room, and it is amazing and holy and humbling and thrilling and awestruck wonder all rolled into one.

People are changed.

Being on the shore looking out over the waves of the ocean.

Walking in a forest where the trees tower overhead in a woven canopy of cover.

These are other thin places for me.

Where the aching draw to meet my Creator face to face wells up within my heart, and I am overwhelmed with love, adoration and His majesty.

His presence transforms each person who encounters Him.

You might feel this is a bit mystical, or out there for your taste or beliefs.

That’s okay.

But God is bigger than we limit Him to in our thinking.

And I like to think that in the brilliance of a never before seen and never will be again sunrise or sunset, there are thin places where I can see a tangible wants to meet with us God, each and every day.

My longing for Him will never end when heaven finally comes down to earth and eternity is unveiled.

Until then, may I be tuned into Your presence in the thin places, God.

image

*Quote from http://mobile.nytimes.com/2012/03/11/travel/thin-places-where-we-are-jolted-out-of-old-ways-of-seeing-the-world.html?_r=0

downpour

Karla Lees

Oh my.

There was a huge battle waging within me as we began to rehearse for last night’s Downpour service. Singing with new people, in a new situation, and new songs aside, inside I was on edge. I knew something was going to happen.

Didn’t know God was preparing to rock my boat.

As a paid social media & web content writer, I battle with “Will this person like it when/if I do…” And when I work, that is something I need to keep in mind, but not obsess over.

Jumping in over my head last night musically caused two things. One, the mental battle to heighten, and for me to briefly take my eyes off the reason for my singing (He is Worthy) and onto the gift He gave me (my voice) and how it would be received.

Then, in one sweet moment of surrender to God and whatever He wanted to do with and through and in and around me last night, it got wild within me. God let loose, in fact, in all of us at almost the same time across the room.

His Presence became so thick, present, sweet and holy awesome all rolled into one.

People were changed.

Hearts were stripped bare for God to see.

Freedom from the way it has been and what God has done moved some into the Right Now where God was moving right now in this moment.

A new song was birthed about the One who overcame.

There were tears of joy, yelps of gladness, laying on of hands and release all around.

I knew it was God, as one of the first forms of attack I get when I am singing is against my throat. I claimed the fact that God was moving in me right now so I was not going to be hindered, and kept on singing. God took care of the voice coming out. My left hip also reverted to a previous injury. And I refused to stop. If God is for me, no one can stand against me.

Because if its for the weight of His glory, God will enable us to stand.

The One who has overcome helps me to do the same in His strength.

Last night was one of those nights where some moments seemed to creep forward painfully slow, while others seemed to hang on an exquisite moment with a glimpse of forever.

When He enters the room, everything changes.

Heaven comes down to earth, with forever impact.

He rained down His mercy, grace, love and joy in us, on me.

He kept pouring out onto His people through our gifts.

Once you have jumped into the river, with no holding back…tasted and seen that He is good…felt His presence flow through you like a heavenly jolt of electricity….you are never the same.

For He doesn’t just come and be when He encounters us. We are changed. He can’t help Himself, He loves us with such abandon and passion and zeal and holy wildness that He heals, loves up on us, makes us whole where we are needing His touch, wraps His Presence around us in an embrace that our soul is longing for but cannot quite put into words.

If you have a chance to encounter God, run for His downpour. It isn’t about the people there, its about the God who is waiting to pour out into you.

Its gonna rain….
image