Tag: rescue

Take me away…

Karla Lees

Take me away, a secret place
A sweet escape, take me away
Take me away to better days
Take me away, a hiding place

– Natasha Bedingfield, Pocket Full Of Sunshine

My heart started crying out this song to my Abba these past few days.

When life gets tough, my first reaction is instinctively to ask to be rescued, for a quick escape so I don’t have to deal with whatever is currently facing me.

Afterwards, it used to be I would escape into a bag of sour cream potato chips or a sitcom, licking my wounds and berating myself for rolling over and taking a beating yet again. 

We never learn to be proactive and change our ways by just thinking about it. We need to do it.

Instead of being passive and keeping my hurts buried in the hidden spaces within, I am learning to run to the secret place.

His embrace.

I am invited there 24/7.
365 days a year.
And on into eternity!

I stopped short quite some time ago as I was headed down the wrong path of response when it hit me.

Why wait for eternity to fix everything? Why not now?

If we are called to supernaturally live in, through and with Him…then here on earth is where we need to do so.

Just as Jesus did.

Jesus took Himself away at times. Not to kick his wounds or hide away, but to reconnect. Becoming rejuvenated and reinvigorated for the plans He was to walk out with His Father. (Luke 16:16, Mark 1:35)

Jesus never backed down from doing His Father’s business where He saw His Father inviting Him into a situation.

I need to do the same.

Instead of allowing fear and survival instincts to drive me, I need to choose faith and supernatural instincts to guide me.

He promises to always be with us, and show us how to live free.

Our part is to choose to stay in His embrace through our days, and refuse to allow the lure of other pleasures to steal us from where our souls and spirits know is where we belong.

With Him.

He may take you away from a situation by prompting you to remove yourself from it.

He may guide you as to what to pray to shift the atmosphere.

He may tell you what to say to diffuse discord and bring peace.

The whole time, He will be with you.

I would rather be in His embrace in a hurricane than left alone to my own devices.

Lead me away from what doesn’t work, Abba, and keep me headed on the path You have for me. May I run to You first, and You alone, when the storms begin to circle.

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when it’s hard to believe for the best

Karla Lees

Yesterday was a day filled with highs and lows, from which I am still both in shock and filled with praise as i process it all.

It is hard seeing your child reeling with hurt. One of mine is struggling to show honor in a placement where she has been discouraged and put down by the leadership for the past several weeks, simply because they are negative people.

The other child heard he may need surgery to fix a disc and nerve problem.

It has been hard to come alongside them and not take over, as the momma within rages at the circumstances.

Instead, I have stood and praised Him despite how I am feeling.

My children are not my babies anymore. They are both young adults who have had curve balls hurled their way, and are still standing up to praise Him in the midst.

If I have done nothing else right in the hard times of my life, seeing my kids raise Him in praise no matter the season blesses my heart for my part modeling how to do so.

But more importantly, it blesses His heart for their part in bringing Him the sacrifice of praise.

Last night, my country took a radical turn politically.  One that i sense will leave scars across every province. People who had served their constituents well were voted out because the nation decided to teach its former leader a lesson.

Experience can help guide us in the hard times, but faith in who you believe in needs to be our bedrock during the storms.

There is no one politician upon whose shoulders Canada can rest for safe haven in the coming storms.

There is only One pair of arms who can wrap around us and help us to stand, safe and secure in His embrace from what may come.

That became evident in a conversation with a coworker who had been reeling from an unexpected demand to prove himself again to a new team addition in another organization he works for, when he already has done so to the team as a whole for over a year.  His commitment to his word and the Word has been an inspiration to those who know Him, and inspired me to dig deeper into all He has for me. He cried out to God, spoke in response as He led, and God is stirring up the leadership to come out swinging in his defence.  As he waits, not yet knowing how this will all play out.

Yet He knows His security is not found in the support of human leaders, although he is blessed with their favor, but the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

In the last 48 hours I have stepped up to the plate three times as God has called me to, and used my gifting in ways I wasn’t quite ready for.  I suspect that was so He could show me just how solid and dependable He could be for me as I solely put my Hope and trust in Him to strengthen and empower me for the tasks I stepped into.

He blew me away with His grace, and the knowledge He was with me. He showed up in power, and lives were blessed through the encounters with Him as a result.

Because I emptied myself of me all the more, He had more room to move through and in me to use me as a blessing where He had placed me.   It wasn’t easy to let go of my struggle to be in control, but it was so sweet to rest in Him and allow Him to lead.

In a hard place?

Wounded from an unexpected arrow in the battle?

Weary from the race?

Fearful of what lies ahead?

Find comfort in knowing you are never alone, Beloved.

Draw strength from His embrace.

Proclaim His praise even when things look dim and grey.

Rest in Him, as He keeps you by His side, and helps you to stand.

May He fill your heart to overflowing with His love, as you fix your eyes upon Him above the waves, and take hold of the Rock of Ages. He promises He will come to us, His Beloved, the ones He died to save from sin. He will not abandon us in the battle.  He will come to our rescue, and show Himself strong as our defence.

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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/

wrapping Words

Karla Lees

I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. John 14:18

12 short words.

Unwrapping His promise.

Encompassing the Father’s heart, the Present of Jesus,
the Presence of Holy Spirit.

God initiated.
God with us.
Embraced into His family.
Present, wherever we are.
Spoken by God to us.

Wrap His words around yourself  and live cloaked,
well covered in the knowing:
He has chosen YOU.
He loves YOU.
He will not leave YOU alone.
He is coming for YOU.

12 words, simply put, from His heart to yours.

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If you need a physical reminder of His love & Words, consider purchasing one like I did this week at:
www.goodnewsbracelet.com

Part of this post was also seen this week at: Remade Ministries

snapshots along the way: broken to Passover

Karla Lees

1 Then Pilate took Jesus and flogged him. 2 And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head and arrayed him in a purple robe.3 They came up to him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and struck him with their hands. 4 Pilate went out again and said to them, “See, I am bringing him out to you that you may know that I find no guilt in him.” 5 So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, “Behold the man!” 6 When the chief priests and the officers saw him, they cried out, “Crucify him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves and crucify him, for I find no guilt in him.” 7 The Jews[a] answered him, “We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die because he has made himself the Son of God.” 8 When Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid.9 He entered his headquarters again and said to Jesus, “Where are you from?” But Jesus gave him no answer. 10 So Pilate said to him, “You will not speak to me? Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you?” 11 Jesus answered him, “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above. Therefore he who delivered me over to you has the greater sin.”

12 From then on Pilate sought to release him, but the Jews cried out, “If you release this man, you are not Caesar’s friend. Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar.” 13 So when Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called The Stone Pavement, and in Aramaic[b] Gabbatha. 14 Now it was the day of Preparation of the Passover. It was about the sixth hour.[c] He said to the Jews, “Behold your King!” 15 They cried out, “Away with him, away with him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.” 16 So he delivered him over to them to be crucified.  John 19:1-16 (ESV)

While the preparations were under way for Passover, Jesus was preparing to sit at a different table.

Pilate might have thought he was the ultimate judge on the judgment seat at Gabbatha, but the real Judge would be raised up at Golgatha.

He knew there was no other way for us to pay the price for our costly sin.

Don’t you realize that He tried every other way

Throughout the Scriptures, God continued to try and save as many of His people as He could.

Through deliverance, answered prayer, prophets, the Kings – God never stopped rescuing His people from themselves.

He  knew it would take an ultimate act only by His hand to release the freedom only He could command.

He could not pass-over the sins of the world any longer.

The Passover blood, previously seen as a symbol of death passing over became the full blown expression of His heart accepting the sacrifice of His own Son’s live giving blood for us to be restored.

As His life flowed out, our life, our real life, could begin.

The Lamb went willingly to the cross, enduring the betrayals, strikes, blows, beating, humiliation & mocking which we should have received.

For even on the cross, in dreadful pain, He could not help trying to save those he came to set free.

The thieves, His best friend, His mother…. and all of us yet to be.

The cost?  One sacrifice paid the debt humanity had built up against the very one who set the plan in motion from the beginning of time.

He was broken, to death to appease the Law.

And for a split second after He breathed His last labored breath, and gave Himself up to His plan, the enemy thought he had won.

50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.

51 And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, & the rocks were split. 52 The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, 53 and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city & appeared to many. 54 When the centurion and those who were with him,keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake & what took place, they were filled with awe and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!” Matthew 27:50-54

And with His death, there was immediate victory released, although the best was yet to come.   The soldiers stationed at the cross believed.

Can you imagine? You were one of the soldiers who mocked Him, flogged Him, stabbed His with your spear or forced Him to carry the cross…and after you did your job, your eyes were opened to the truth of who it was you helped to kill?

God wasn’t surprised.

It is only when we become aware of just how broken we are, and how dirty our hands are that we can acknowledge Jesus as our desperately needed Savior.

His broken body, His precious blood.

Given up for you and I.

The first Communion lived out only hours after He revealed it was to come to His disciples.

Broken so God can now Passover our sins, because the full price was paid in Jesus.

loveranred

 

 

 

 

 

 

when your knight comes to your rescue

Karla Lees

I have a confession to make.
I am a huge believer in romance.
I love to read classic, well written tales of how two people fall in love. I love to watch it play out in front of me on the big screen.

I don’t believe I am alone, for who doesn’t want to meet that one perfect person meant just for them, have him ride in to rescue you like the knights of old, fall head over heels in love and ride into the sunset?

At least, that’s way the books & movies see it. The boy or girl from the wrong side of the tracks falling for the upperclass girl or boy, and a happily ever after in their future.

Life isn’t really like that.

I learned that the hard way at 16 years of age. My first breakup was a head smacking fall back to earth and reality. Love doesn’t work the way I believed it did from the Disney movies or the fairy tales.
But I still clung to the standard of Mr. Darcy, and believed my hero would come to my rescue one day.

Five years later He did.

What i realized in the weeks that built up to our meeting, this face to face falling deeply & madly love, was how people will always let us down. And how I needed rescuing, from my beliefs and my actions.

And when I got down on my knees and admitted my need, my Knight quickly rode in to rescue me.

He knocked out the enemy guards, broke my chains and burst me from my cell into wide open spaces of love, grace, mercy and His Presence.
image His name is Jesus.
He is my Beloved, and I am His.

Woah there girl, you may be thinking. You were talking romance and now you are asking me to believe Jesus is the one you were waiting for?

Absolutely.

He loves me with a fervour I can barely grasp. Died for me in a beautiful bloody exchange that cemented my freedom & released His power in a declaring blaze across all known space & time.

Jesus was and is indeed the white knight who swooped in to rescue me from the dark knight’s clutches, claiming me as His bride. Restoring me and adoring me along the way as I get to know Him more each day. He was the rescuer I needed, unlike any other.

What does that mean about romance? Is it dead here on earth?

No. Whenever someone lays down their wants & desires to put another’s first, true Love is seen.

We tend to think of romance as the falling in love part of the relationship. The getting to know one another, beginning of the story.

Real romance is the day in day out staying together as you walk out your love.

Its what happens after the wedding and honeymoon. The courtship is only the first part of the story.

The same with our relationship with Jesus.

When we meet, He courts us, showing us His love, freedom and promises. Once we accept His love, the real romance begins.

Wooing may get you to the door,
real love waits for the owner to hand over the key so they can enter with permission, and put both your names on the deed. Proud to merge together after making the promises to be exclusively each other’s forever.

Marriage on earth is to be a reflection of the love God has for us when He comes knocking at our door. He waits for the invitation to come in once we have accepted His forever offer of love, and He gives us our new name as His beloved. We becomes His.

So do I believe in romance?
Absolutely.

But from the changed perspective of the One who designed it, and reveals it to each one seeking real love.

I realized when I met my husband that I didn’t need rescuing any longer. My Knight had already come.

I have been given my husband to love and cherish, to try to walk out & show His love towards him on a daily basis as long as we both shall live. A living demonstration of the love God expresses to us as He loves us.

Passionately. Ardently. With abandon. Totally. Devotedly. Eternally.

So when I watch a movie or read a book about romance (or any other theme), it needs to fit into a few must have categories:

1. Keep it pure:
No smut, no swearing, no explicit scenes, no gore or horror for horror’s sake. No excuses. We have a turn it off policy after one incident, no exceptions. I have walked out of a movie theater or two and always gotten a refund when I was offended by the content. I try to get a sense of the movie through online reviews & word of mouth.

2. Keep it holy:
God must be in the story, either directly or in the belief systems in place. There must be a clear sense of right from wrong. I don’t watch movies based upon adultery, hurting one another as your relationship disintegrates, or free love being spread around. Those aren’t influences I want to share my headspace.

3. Keep it real:
I love Jane Austen, CS Lewis, Lucy Maude Montgomery and many of the classic writers because they wrote about real life within a framework of stability. Faith, marriage, community. There were hard times and difficult situations, but also forgiveness and real life consequences. Real people have flaws, a real God can restore them.

4. Keep it in perspective:
God is love, and shared that love with us- first to know Him, then to share within the appropriate relationship boundaries to make Him known as we love one another.

5. Keep in prayer:
A few times, God has warned me to stop watching, or to get rid of a movie as it doesn’t have a good influence woven within. Not always one I can see or sense myself.

There would not be such a high demand for romance novels or movies if people just wanted sex. People are crying out for more. For true love.

I want to be able to meet my White Knight, my Groom, my Beloved face to face when the time comes, and known I have maintained my romance with Him before all others. That I have loved my husband in a way that brought God glory. That I have loved my children, family, friends, church, coworkers in a way that helps reveal Him through my care for them.

The real romance worth fighting for is the one that will last forever.

With Him at your side, you can battle for your marriage knowing the Lover of your souls is with you, helping and encouraging you to stay true to one another, and live out a sharing of love others are desperate for.

God will continue to come to our rescue when we need Him as we seek Him first.

And Mr Darcy? He’s only a small echo of the amazing God striding towards us to offer His unswerving devotion & unconditional love.

Just thinking about how He loves me makes me swoon with joy 🙂