Tag: made

Chosen to speak

Karla Lees

image

But you are the ones chosen by God, chosen for the high calling of priestly work, chosen to be a holy people, God’s instruments to do his work and speak out for him, to tell others of the night-and-day difference He made for you—from nothing to something, from rejected to accepted. 1 Peter 2:9-10 (MSG)

As I sit to write, fingers hovered over my keyboard, head bowed in prayer, the old doubts try to sneak their way in. ‘Why bother wasting your time’ springs into my mind.

What timing for the enemy to attack when this verse so clearly tells me why I am to write, and why you, too, are to do what He has called you to do.

Beloved, you were CHOSEN — on purpose. To serve Him and His children. To do what He desires you to do, and to speak out about the freedom you now walk in as His Beloved.

For He has brought you and I out of the shadows of night, and into the bright light of His Presence.

Once nobodies, we now are known.

Once orphans, we now have a Home.

Once rejected, we’ve been claimed as His own.

Once outside, we now are accepted and brought inside.

We are now set free to speak to others of the wonders He has made of our lives.

What lies of the enemy do you need Christ to crush once and for all? Invite Him to empower you with boldness to share what He has done for you, to free you to be who He designed you to be!

May the truth that I am Yours take root until it blooms in praise and adoration as I share You with all who will listen!

This post first appeared over at Remade Ministries: http://www.remadecommunity.org/chosen-to-speak/

life is precious

Karla Lees

Nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. Matthew 10:16

This is a hard one to write.

Because of the depths the enemy has swayed humanity to reach new levels of depravity.

This week, news spread that one of the major players in crusading for abortion hasnt been walking their talk.

You heard that right.

You can’t have it both ways, Planned Parenthood.

And God has known your secret from the beginning, and is now exposing it in all its ugly truthfulness.

You can’t convince people that the unborn aren’t of value, then profit from the sale of those same unborn’s parts, and think you can get away with it forever.

When the God of eternity shines His flashlight of truth upon your hidden places, the ugliness becomes displayed for all to see.

The One who planned parenthood from its inception is not standing idly by.

Reaping from abortion violates the sacredness of creation, and horrifies the heart of the Maker of us all with each heartbeat it mercilessly stops.

Make no mistake, abortion is murder.

Not because I say it is, but because He does.

The only hope humanity has is to stop making up rules for ourselves which allow us to do whatever we want, whenever we want to.

We need a standard that is solid, secure and unchanging to help counter the cultural shifting of opinions.

He reminds us He is this standard in His Word….

I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Jeremiah 5:1

Psalm 139 reminds us that He not only knows all about us, He knit our very beings together:

For You formed my inward parts;
You knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise You, for I am fearfully & wonderfully made.
Wonderful are Your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from You, when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in Your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.

God knows the plans He has for each person on this planet…and watching us murder His handiwork, especially when they are still being formed, wounds Him deeply.

Make no mistake, every life is precious to Him. 

All will be held accountable for their part in snuffing a life out, regardless of the circumstances.

What can we do?

Fall to our knees and humble ourselves before our Maker. Ask for His heart for His creation, His handiwork.  Increase our prayer that what the enemy does in secret to harm His people will be brought into the Light, and He will stir us up to act as He leads to make things right again.

Our hope through all of this is found in Him alone, because He never stops loving us, no matter what.

When all we can see is a large organization which has railroaded the unborn to death and doesn’t seem to be running out of steam, God sees it as a small gnat in comparison to Him.

I can tell you that abortion doesn’t just harm the unborn child.  It not only devastates the spirit of the mother, it often has a physical, emotional and mental impact which can take years to work through and overcome. A few who are close to me have ventured down this road.

Our wombs were designed & made to honor the treasure He blesses us with, not allow the enemy to plunder it.

It’s time we speak up about what really matters.  Sisters, your loved ones & friends may have hard choices ahead because of their actions, or the sin forced upon them. Encourage them to seek wise council. Go to a pregnancy center or church which can help support them. Remind them:
-all life is precious
-love can put the needs of another ahead of its own to bring new life into this world
-there are empty arms just longing for a child
-there are blessings which come for those who honor His ways
-they are not alone

For those who have already taken that step and chosen the harder path which has separated them from their child forever on this earth, He still waits to embrace & heal you with His love. Forgiveness, mercy and grace await you.

And one day in Heaven, there will be such a reunion of all these unborn children, fully whole & perfect, with their natural mothers who receive Him.

There will not be a dry eye in the place, especially His.

image

fashioned with care

Karla Lees

image

We were fashioned with care.
Hand made by God.
Planned out.
On purpose.

Crafted in the secret place.
On display as His handiwork, for all to see.

We are each a walking creation, made in the image of our Creator.

God took what He wanted us to have from each of our contributing parents, added His sweet purposeful touches to the DNA- our talents, gifts, dreams- and with a spark we came to be in the secret place within our mothers.

But God didn’t leave it there.

We are not only made with care.
He cares for us.

Individually.

And with one seemingly reckless act, God paid the outstanding account, in the enemy’s log book of our wrong doings, with the spilled blood & the offered body of Jesus- the son of man & God.

Love with a passion we can barely comprehend, that such a God would wrap Himself in flesh, live among us and make a way for us to reconnect with God, and join His family, forever.

We are each His beloved.

Psalm 139 includes fascinating account of how you and I were fearfully & wonderfully made by God.

The rest of the bible is His love story, written for us, of how God cares for those He has handcrafted with such purpose and care.

Each and every one of us.
Who has ever been, is or ever will be on this earth, in all of history.

Take a look around you. The similarities and differences make each one of us unique yet stamped with the same Creator’s handiwork.

Made by the Master craftsman.

For His glory.

Wow.

May you start the day knowing you are here on purpose, made exquisitely with love by your Creator.

It is no accident you are alive.

Don’t miss the rest of your story by not knowing the Author.

ten things I like about you

Karla Lees

I really like ten things about you.
Even though i may not have met you yet.

That may sound strange, but as an observer of people, I have finally figured these things out.

And you probably need to know what these things are.

1. I like the fact that you aren’t me.
I spend more than enough time with myself, so I like that you are not me. I find our differences interesting. Think about how boring it would be if we were all alike.

2. You are here on purpose.
You were not an accident, no matter what anyone else had told you. God planned you, on purpose, from the spark that He first set off when He created you in your mother’s womb. You are handcrafted, and a one of a kind original. There will never be another one of you, ever. He designed you after Himself. He intentionally placed you in this place and time.

image

Image from- http://cdn.theresurgence.com/files/2013/08/05/Wired_ResurgenceTemplate2.jpg

3. God has equipped you with talents and gifts.
Sometimes you need to be reminded that you are good at something. We all have strengths, and when we get to know each other, we begin to see these in one another. It may take a friend or coworker to point it out to you before you may begin to see it in yourself. You likely are good at a few things, not just the one you may be best at.

4. God cares for you.
Each and every person who ever has been, is or will be is important to God. So much so that Jesus died for each of us, to pave the way for us to draw close to Him. He is the closest friend you can ever have, will never leave you and always wants the best for you. He is in your corner no matter what.

5. You are here for a purpose.
You are meant to do wonderful things with your life. Bless people through your profession, invent something, raise your kids well, mentor or teach others, encourage and help others. God will reveal the things you are meant to do as you get to know Him, and yourself through His eyes.

6. You are worth being heard.
If no one has ever told you so…what you feel and think matters. You have a story worth telling, and it deserves to be told. And heard.

7. You look great when you smile!
That’s right, a smile makes you look your best. And when you smile, it increases the likelihood that those around you will smile back at you.

8. Things may be tough, but they will get better.
This world is just our temporary home, and it’s a hard life most of us are living through. But its not our final destination if you believe in Jesus, and place your hope in Him. Heaven will be your forever home. No more tears, sickness, disease, pain or loneliness.

9. You always have something to be thankful for.
As bad as things can get, take some comfort in the small things around you if you can’t see any big things to be grateful about. Being able to breathe, read, hear, walk. A roof over your head, food on the table, a job. A cloud in the sky, sun, rain puddles, flowers, cat purrs. Whatever you can find, remember to be thankful for having it.

10. Someone is thankful for having you in their life.
They are. Whether a family member, close friend, coworker or a stranger you helped out…someone has been blessed to have you in their life.

I hope we meet, whether virtually, here on earth or in heaven one day.

Until we do, remember these ten things that you need to know about yourself.

It took many years for me to reprogram the lies and believe these truths about myself. May you cast off what needs to go to make room for these truths you were meant to know about you.

I am glad you are here.