Leading believers into a lifestyle of communing with God for the purpose of building greater intimacy with Him.
About Karen Lemburg
The Lord got hold of my life when I was in my early 20’s. That’s when I really began to pursue Him. Before then I had been making one bad decision after another. I am forever grateful to Jesus for pulling me out of the kingdom of darkness and into the Kingdom of His beloved Son. If not for Him, I would be just one more statistic: a lost and hopeless human in search of fulfillment and significance in all the wrong places.
I am a wife, mother and grandmother. I am not a teacher, but have facilitated several ladies Bible studies and been involved in leadership at our local church. My spiritual gifting seems mainly to be in the realm of the prophetic.
For the past several years I have been pursuing a deeper, more intimate relationship with Jesus. One morning during my prayer time I realized that I was doing most of the talking and very little listening. It occurred to me that maybe God has more to say than I had been giving Him credit for. After all, He DOES know everything! So I told Him that I was going to shut up and start listening.
When I take the time to listen, He actually speaks to me. And I have begun writing down what He reveals in a journal. When I sense God’s prompting, I send them out to everyone on my email list. You can receive them by subscribing to “A Personal Word from the Father’s Heart.” I hope they bless and comfort you as much as they do me.
God has created each of us with purpose—a personal calling. We all share this inward tug. So moving forward without any real sense of direction in life can’t help but be frustrating. “What am I doing for God? I just don’t know what my purpose is.” Take heart! It’s not an uncommon problem. Christians often find themselves stuck in the disappointing position of not understanding God’s intent for their life. I often sense it myself. At times even those who have been used by God in some powerful way share this frustration. We apparently can’t just sit back and rest on our laurels. Why God doesn’t just paint us a clear picture, I can’t say. It must have something to do with that old faith thing. But though it’s clearly not easy, finding God’s purpose for our life actually isn’t out of reach. Intimacy with God holds the key. ... See MoreSee Less
Jesus expects us to grow spiritually. Our job is to prepare the soil of our heart to receive that growth. But it doesn’t happen overnight. It comes from pressing forward—trying to live in a manner pleasing to Him. It’s all about “presenting our bodies as a holy and living sacrifice, acceptable to God” (Romans 12:1). Making godly choices sets us on that road. Early in the process there are lots of opportunities to slip back under the spell of the old self. That’s why we must always be vigilant. Over time, as we experience degrees of transformation, the likelihood of backsliding keeps diminishing. Be encouraged! Somewhere along the line it’s virtually impossible to get mired once again in the pit of that old self. Why? Because our character has been forever altered—who we are has changed. Once our character is transformed, we truly are no longer our former selves. ... See MoreSee Less
Intimacy with God needs to start somewhere—we know that! So our pursuit of God is often rooted in a sense of obligation. And that’s an okay beginning. Yet there’s something wrong if seeking Him doesn’t become a pursuit of the heart rather than merely a sense of duty. God has given us the key to intimacy: it’s His Son, Jesus! Through Him we’ve been given both the honor and the privilege of sharing His glory. What an awesome gift! Jesus has provided the means for our relationship to bear much fruit. And the good news is that we don’t have to worry about trying to force the issue. All we need to do is cooperate and abide in Christ. He has taken our humanity into account and is in this thing with us for the long-haul. Rest assured, He will accomplish in and through us what He has purposed. ... See MoreSee Less
We often think our conflict with sin stems from two natures struggling within: the sin nature of our flesh set against our redeemed inner man. “My higher nature should be victorious over my lower nature,” we’re taught. So when we sin, it’s hard to understand how we could be so weak. “Shouldn’t I be something more than what I so obviously am? What’s wrong here?” Actually, this is not a battle between two natures; we are merely witnessing human nature in action. What we’re really seeing is two kingdoms, each tugging at us. Our basic nature doesn’t change once we’re saved. I’m still the same old human me. What’s happened is our spirit, no longer dead because of sin, is now capable of functioning for the purpose which God intended. Our spirit has become united with the Holy Spirit residing within. In spite of the weakness of our flesh, we are now alive to God! ... See MoreSee Less
Like it or not, we’re all slaves. Those who live according to the flesh are hostile toward God from the very core of their being. No wonder they refuse to subject themselves to Him. Their slavery to sin renders them incapable of doing otherwise (Romans 8:7). But in the mysterious riches of God’s love Christ died for us, even while we were steeped in our slavery to sin. In so doing, He gives us the opportunity to choose His gift of eternal life—redeeming us from sin to become His own children. Once we’ve made the decision to receive Christ, God goes into action; He immediately rescues us from the domain of darkness and transfers us to the kingdom of His Son (Colossians 1:13). We become “slaves of righteousness.” We’re no longer in the flesh, but in the Spirit. Even though our body is dead because of sin, our spirit is forever alive to God (Romans 7:4. – 6). ... See MoreSee Less
The Lord got hold of my life when I was in my early 20’s. That’s when I really began to pursue Him. Before then I had been making one bad decision after another. I am forever grateful to Jesus for pulling me out of the kingdom of darkness and into the Kingdom of His beloved Son. If not for Him, I would be just one more statistic: a lost and hopeless human in search of fulfillment and significance in all the wrong places.
