Tag: humanity

second hand and broken

Karla Lees

The Bible is full of people who didn’t get it right the first time.
People who ended up broken & down on their luck.
Those who betrayed, wounded & ridiculed one another.

And God loves each one.

In this age where society raises people up to high pedestals and assists in crashing them down when they fall, because we all know we fail at one point or another….it is important to remember one key factor.

God isn’t surprised by any of it.

He knows humanity inside and out.

It was His concept.

We were His idea.

And still are.

God has spent millions of hours & resources, even paying the cost for our sins, since Adam & Eve first went astray in the Garden of Eden.

He knows what we are all capable of within.

When we don’t follow Him, we become the enemy’s playtoy, part of his plan to destroy humanity from within.

God has other plans in place, underway and moving forward

His Kingdom will come to pass here on earth.

The enemy is being and will be forevermore defeated.

In God’s timing,
through His Word
& the second hand and broken vessels He chooses to equip & strengthen in battle.

We all have the ability to live a Remade, new life.

It begins with getting to know God.

And there is no better place to start than His Word.

Inside it, you will find phenomenal stories of His love in action, restoration & new beginnings, woven throughout humanity’s attempts to try to live without Him.

If you are in need of direction, a helping hand, peace, or love, the God you will discover within the Bible’s cover will amaze you.

You see, the Bible is the only hook where the Publisher poured Himself out in words through the second hand broken vessels He chose to use to tell His story.

And He continues to speak through those who listen for His voice, and choose to give Him their all as they do.

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The message of the Bible is clear, no matter which translation you read it in.

God loves you.

Just as you are.

And will lovingly, patiently & carefully remake you into the one He has loved from the moment you came to be.

And loves all the more when you decide to let Him take you beyond your sin & past.

Second hand things still have value, despite their age or broken parts.

When a Master Craftsman puts them back together, and places them exactly where they were meant to be, they find their true purpose.

Yours is within the covers of this Book, and found in the embrace of the God who has described Himself within.

Open the Bible, and let the Author not only highlight who He is to you, but how He sees you, both right now & forevermore.

The Bible contains heaven’s Hope for all humanity, especially those who feel cast aside & broken.

when God arrives in your brokeness

Karla Lees

Tonight, we remember Jesus born of Mary, bundled to keep warm, resting after His big arrival in an animal’s feeding trough.

Not quite the King sized bed you and I expected for the most important king in history.
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God knew one thing that would make all the difference with the arrival of Jesus.

We need a King who isn’t afraid to get into the muck, mess, squalor of daily life.

When humanity couldn’t take another day without Him, Jesus arrived to shout to the world:

God sees us.
God cares for us deeply.
God came to be with us in our pain, hurt, loneliness, brokenness.

Because our wounds matter to Him.

Because there was no other way for the full plan God had underway to offer all people the love & hope they have, we have, all been longing for.

The baby came to lead us back to love.

Babies were designed to be created out of love, and Jesus was no different in that respect.

Born out of both God’s overwhelming love & Mary’s womb, He emerged into the weary world:

Of invaded countries pleading for freedom.
Of awkward family situations.
Of day in, day out drudgery.
Of trying to make ends meet.
Of crying overwhelmed with grief.
Of feeling invisible.
Of desperately seeking why we matter.

When Jesus arrived, it was for all people to come and find Him, not just the wise men who had by now seen the star and felt the draw of the one true King.

But wise men too have unspoken needs, just like we all do.

There is no situation that Jesus didn’t come to change for the better.

Because the change Jesus brings starts from within.

New life.

Just as He arrived that night, we can be reborn into His family, and find the love we have longed from our first cry.

Drop by again later, as this three part day unfolds…

#AdventuresinAdvent
#JesusisBorn
#LoveCameDown
#TheStoryContinues

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when the sky fills with wonder…the star

Karla Lees

We observed a star in the eastern sky that signaled his birth….

Matthew 2:2

A bright star appeared in the eastern skies to herald the newborn King.

God didn’t leave anything out in trying to reach humanity.

The scholarly Magi, exceptionally intelligent and scientifically gifted, were entralled with the wonder of this star. Why did it appear? What is the meaning behind it?

So they studied, and read old manuscripts and texts, and decided they needed to travel to where the star seemed to be hovering.

Bethlehem.

Only God could make a star suddenly erupt into the night sky, and have it keep its place.

There is only one main event that God wanted highlighted on the earth- the arrival of Jesus, God with us.

But it appears only three wise men noticed, for we don’t read that they were representatives of a bigger group. Just three wise men wonderstruck at the thought of meeting a king whose coming was announced in the heavens.

Nor knowing what this would look like, only following the prompting to come, they headed on their journey. Likely a longer journey, similar to Joseph and Mary’s. Uncertain about all the details save one: a king was being born.

The star shone the way.
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Image from: http://www.bethlehemstar.net

This star was not just a sign for the times, or these wise men, but for all generations who read the Christmas story.

It shines for all to gaze at the wonder of its Creator.

For we worship a God who not only caused a star to emerge at exactly the right time, but this same God sent His son to become flesh and emerge as a babe into our world.

The King who stepped off His throne to be wrapped in humble garments. The Mighty One who limited Himself into human form, a wee baby, and entrusted Himself to a young couple to raise Him.

The star to me signals how much God loves to highlight His son, whom He adores.

Wonder with me at how much He loves us to have set Advent into action.

God in all His majesty, might and power shone a star spotlight on Jesus’ birth.

Reminding us of His love, wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.

Calling us to come & see.

May we never lose the wonder at the whole of this amazing, wonder filled, awesome true story!

But the star was only one part of the wonder to appear that night….

#AdventuresinAdvent continues!

womb with a view

Karla Lees

This title would not let me go:
Womb with a view.

What else would you call it?

Jesus, one third of the Trinity,
enfolded His divinity
with the help of Holy Spirit
and became flesh,
bone & blood
in a virgin’s womb.

Wow.

Just that action, a flash of a nanomoment in human time, sent shockwaves out across the universe & heaven in an act intended to rock all known existence.

God with us, on His way.

That is mind boggling enough, but here is where I am drawn today…. and maybe, just maybe you might be too.

Jesus, full of Holy Spirit and yet fully human, in the womb.

Could He chat with God from in there?

Could He hear His Father’s voice in the womb?

If so, the womb takes on a whole new significance with Jesus within.

Children in the womb take on the mix of their parents’ traits while developing.

Was Jesus growing with any of Joseph’s physical traits?

Because I suspect after all the shock Joseph has already gone through, and might be up ahead as the father of the Messiah, God would have made Jesus look like Joseph.  Not 100%, as with any newborn, but enough that Joseph would wonder again at the miracle, and his heart would be melted towards His son.  Maybe his nose, or build…

Because God chose Joseph to raise His son, I have to believe His compassion would be for Jesus to resemble His earthly father, enough for tongues not to wag too much about His parenthood.

I wonder how much of Mary was already visible in the baby in her womb? Did He already have her heart for worship? Her eyes?

We know Jesus was fully human & God from the second that creation spark started Him growing in the womb.

We just don’t know what that looked like, really, as He grew there.

I believe He would have had a sensitivity to learning about His earthly parents while inside.  Prayed for them on the hard days, rejoiced with them in the moments of celebration.

I wonder if He tried not to kick Mary too hard as they traveled to Bethlehem.

I wonder if He prayed for a smooth delivery, for God to be with Him in the shock of entering the world, for angelic protection as He did.

All we know: Jesus was fully human, and fully God, all in one miraculous present.

And somehow, God would have worked out all those details of human appearance intertwining with Godly character in the arrival of Jesus.

Who is still in the womb on His way to Bethlehem.

While we may wonder at the view He had in the womb, how He was born of Mary and all God all rolled into one tiny baby is a fact!

#AdventuresinAdvent continue 😉

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on the road to Bethlehem

Karla Lees

We left off with Joseph & Mary on the long trek to Bethlehem.

Still on the road…

I wonder if Mary asked,  “Are we there yet?!” as her womb started sending signals it was full and had had enough.

I wonder how sick of leading the donkey and being on his feet all day Joseph was?

How the outdoors only reminded them both of how much they wanted to be back home already, resting indoors. Census over and done.

Instead, the road continued to stretch out in front of them, still needing to be traveled.

Can you relate?

I often grow tired of my daily walk.  I fail to see the purpose in endlessly folding laundry, constantly washing dishes, ceaselessly cleaning the house, just to do it all over again.
The familiar, the routine, the repetition. Dreary with doing the same jobs, traveling the same roads over and over…

Not all that different than finding ourselves on the road to Bethlehem again.

Except this year, I am determined to not take the Advent story for granted.

Having been raised with it, it can seem like a pointless journey to take again each December, save for this fact:

The arrival of Jesus changed everything.  God reached down, touched an average woman and folded Jesus into her womb, to slowly grow until He was to emerge and meet His creation face to face, God with us.

In the familiar, the routine, the repetition, we find we are no longer alone.  We have been met in our humanity, in the dreary drudgery of our daily to do list. By the God who wants us to be known, embrace us in our hurts, bind our brokenness, restore our energy, guide our steps, helping us move beyond the words and enter the story.

You see, God knew the road we were traveling was a dead end without His intervention.

The road to Bethlehem was always part of God’s plan. 

For Jesus was meant to be born in David’s city, fulfilling the promise God gave David so many generations before- the Deliverer was coming.

But first, He needs to be delivered into the world.

Picture weary Mary, struggling to get comfortable in her last weeks of her pregnancy…whether on the donkey, or lying down.

See Joseph limping from the rough terrain, shoulders sore from guiding the occasionally stubborn donkey, stomach rumbling from the excursion.

The road to Bethlehem was a labour of love. 

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Not only through Joseph and Mary’s obedience, nor Jesus’ impending delivery…

God labored to bring Advent about: the dream, the decision, the preparation, the effort & the teamwork within the Trinity- all designed to collide with humanity at the end of the road to Bethlehem.

God had every right to be weary of us. Selfish sinful flesh. Wanting our own way. Discontent until we could connect with our Creator, helpless to make the changes we needed in ourselves to make it happen.

So God decided to make it happen for us. To make the way for us.

The #AdventuresinAdvent are only part of the way to the big finale. 

I can only hope that like me, God is stirring up the desire to see His story, His gift to us all, in a fresh light. To be struck with the wonder awaiting us at the end of the road ahead.

touchy touchy

Karla Lees

There are moments when we don’t want to be touched.

When we want to stay entrenched in our fury, stand on our injustices and refuse to allow the pressure to  release.

When we want to be right even though a little voice may be poking us to tell us we aren’t.

When we have lost what feels like our world from beneath us, our grief emanating from the depths of who we are.

When the pain radiates so strongly that the lightest of touches feels like a bee sting.

When we are too touchy and prickly in our woundedness.

These are the very moments God came to touch us in.

I have had several car accidents (as a passenger) that have left my neck & shoulders exceptionally tight.  I can feel relaxed everywhere else, but not in those two spots.  Prayer helps with the pain management, yet the work I do typing daily doesn’t help. 

I need the strong touch of my massage therapist or physiotherapist to help get the knots out, and smooth away my tense muscles.

If I go too long in between, I feel it.

In the same way, we were not designed to be solitary creatures, keeping ourselves removed from God’s loving touch.

We were meant to reach out and touch God. Our bodies, minds, emotions & spirit need His touch in order for us to let go of what needs to be uprooted or sloughed off under His soothing gentle yet firm touch.

Let God help you release the tension….
Get rid of that knot of burden you refuse to take off your back…
Help your stiff neck turn towards Him again…
Soothe the raw nerves as only He can….
Bring deep penetrating rest into the areas you may not even consciously be aware need it…

In the Old Testament, God kept Himself apart, and required distance from direct contact with His people.

Jesus arrived, and turned this on its head!

Jesus touched people everywhere He went…
the hurting,
the diseased,
the paralyzed,
the lonely,
the beggars,
the lepers,
the outcasts,
the grieving,
the children,
the ones seeking their last hope,
the untouchables,
even the dead.

Against all traditional beliefs in how God should treat people, God in Jesus touched lives beyond what we believed possible in a holy God.

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He touched our hearts as He did.

For all the world to see, Jesus reached out and embraced the cross. That touch reverberated through out known time and space, rippling out into heaven and eternity.

When He allowed man to touch Him, wound Him over & over, and crucify Him, He knew intimately how some touches can devastate us.

When He rose from the dead, He knew how much those He had left behind, His disciples & followers would need the real touch only a loving God can bring:
compassion
forgiveness
mercy
love
grace
kindness

He still offers this to us each and every day.

Are you ready for God to collide with you right where you are at? Embrace you, holding you closer than you can dare to imagine?

God’s touch brings the hurting, broken and dead areas in us back to life again.

Reach out and touch His outstretched hand.

All it takes is one touch for your life to change.

the hues that matter

Karla Lees

Today I was struck anew at God’s creation.

I went downtown, and people observed every step of the way.

Not only do people come in all shapes and sizes, they come in many different hues.

Like me, you may be thinking Hugh Jackman, Hugh Laurie or Hugh Dancy (three of my favorite Hugh’s)…but that is not what I meant.

People were adorned in every color possible. Some with brights (neons, multi textured patterns), some in neutrals (white, beiges, grays & darks).

But the colors they wore don’t reflect their hues.

A crazy person, I know, but I like to smile at the bulk of the people I walk by.

Many gave off vibes of stress, anger and frustration.

A rare minority smiled back.

The majority avoided eye contact, content to look down or at their phones.

Others were yelling or talking loudly into even more phones.

A few were bopping along to the beat of their own personal music mix.

Each one giving off a hue of what is going on within.

Most not realizing that today was a gift.
And some may not have another one tomorrow.

The people who smiled and made eye contact, or offered their seats on the subway or train?

Their true hues of compassion, sensitive to the needs of others.
Listening to the leading whispers of the Spirit, responding with kindness when prompted.

Those are the kinds of hues that truly matter.

Not what ethnicity, hair or eye color, height or weight, wardrobe or style choices we have made, rather what we choose to color ourselves with from the inside out:

So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It’s your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it.

Colossians 3:12-14

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Image from: http://erikadawson.com/heartfelt-compassion-verses-pray-kids/