Caroline Klug

Count the Cost

Tue, 30 Nov 2021 06:57:40 -0800

“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it?” (Luke 14:28)

Counting the cost means considering the impact of something on things like our time, money, conveniences, or even our reputation. To live a life for Christ demands the sum of these. It is the myriad of our material possessions, emotional comforts, and physical well-being tossed onto the proverbial table. In our Scripture above, his analogy of building a tower is simple. Christ is not demanding anything of us. He simply instructs us to take inventory of what a life of service and discipleship will require, to ensure we can finish the job.

Imagine a road. Imagine its long and winding path, sheltered and encased by the branches of majestic trees, whose roots are deep with life. You are ready. Your eye is on the finish. With each step along the narrow path you are drawn more forward by the longing in your spirit for the Greatness you know lies ahead at your destination. Along the way, you pick up weary travelers, lifeless in spirit. You tell them of this Greatness – that which can breathe life into them again, heal their wounds, and satisfy any hunger. More and more follow. You assure them that where you are going, there is plenty of room for all (John 14:2).

The journey is long and the bottoms of your shoes become worn. The night falls steadily, along with the hope that sparked your first steps. Your pace ceases as you find yourself staring dejectedly at the unexpected mountain before you. There is no way around this mountain – only over it. To take such a journey of strength will require a lightened load and the use of your hands for climbing. This...Read More

The Witnesses

Sun, 04 Apr 2021 05:48:06 -0700

Slowly, they walked up the hill at Golgotha, trying desperately to function beyond their feelings of dread. Golgotha. It was aptly named. In Aramaic, this was known as “place of the skull.” It was known for death. Breathing deeply with every step forward, they assembled there. Storm clouds formed in the sky and the wind picked up around them. They pulled their cloaks tighter and looked amongst each other nervously as darkness fell across the land. Hours went by. They were watching. Waiting. Wondering what this would mean. Fearing what this would mean. Everyone was silent. Everyone but Him who was laid bare on the tree.

“Jesus called out with a loud voice, ‘Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.’ When He had said this, He breathed His last.” Luke 23:46

Thunder clapped and echoed across the sky and the earth shook with grief. The tremors shot terror through the hearts of those standing witness, and pulsed furiously a half mile west to the Temple Mount.

“At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split .... When the centurion and those with Him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, ‘Surely He was the Son of God!’” Matthew 27:51, 54

Grief. Confusion. Anger. A complete and total loss of words. For the Apostles, the world as they knew it just came crashing down on top of them. The hope they held out seemed like a distant memory and the One they called Master was now a lifeless body hanging before their eyes. Walking away from Golgotha was longer and harder than walking to it. They wondered what all of this was for now. Their mission. If they even still had one. They wondered if all those things Jesus told them were even real. Nothing made sense anymore. Nothing.

* * *

Swiftly, the angles assembled, ready to bear witness to the most significant moment there ever was and...Read More

Speaking Truth

Tue, 12 Jan 2021 06:37:39 -0800

Throughout the course of the last week I have heard some say speaking out about what’s going on is not worth creating division between believers. I respectfully disagree. Allow me to explain.

This nation has fallen victim to political correctness. Satan has used it as a weapon to sow compromise where there should be confrontation. We have sacrificed biblical morality and have held up the idol of acceptance in its place - all in the name of peace and loving our neighbor.

Satan wants everything God has. He is a copycat, and this thick and heavy manual of acceptance has become his bible. He’s been passing it out on the street corner for decades. Even centuries. People are picking it up and reading it. They are believing it. They are even being empowered by it and seeking entitlement through it, and any stand for biblical morality is now met by an angry mob. Those people fighting for truth are shamed and ostracized. Shadow banned and cancel cultured.

If standing up for biblical truths creates division between believers, then so be it, because that could be a life-saving signal to check which manual we have been reading from - God’s or Satan’s. I said it this morning: don’t stop speaking truth and don’t stop receiving it. But if you speak truth, pray about it first, then speak what God approves in love. And if you are given truth, receive it, pray about it, and let God show you what is truth. But once He shows you, be brave and humble enough to do something about it.

In the past few days I have had to receive some truth and make some adjustments of my own. Adjustments I genuinely feel grateful for because they make me a better version of myself. If we continue to stand idly by and say nothing in order to keep peace with other believers, then one of us may be doing the other a grave injustice.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t ever want to be robbed of truth. It is the essential ingredient to every choice we make.

“But if...Read More

Feeling hopeless? Doing this one thing can make all the difference.

Sat, 08 Feb 2020 04:59:53 -0800

Abigail grabbed her mug of hot coffee and walked to the window. She wrapped both her hands around the textured ceramic that carried warmth to her fingers, and allowed her gaze to fall to the ground outside. The cracks in the dry and dusty mud spread out and converged like a complicated highway system. Every morning Abigail walked to that window and looked down, and every morning the ground was as desolate as her hope for the rain that she prayed for. Not a drop for the past two years, and she felt a deep fear over how long it would prevent them from growing what they needed to survive. The drought was impacting their home, their lives, and their dreams.

Abigail watched as her neighbors pulled the field equipment out of storage, changing oil and making sure it was in satisfactory running condition. She snorted and turned away from the window. She resented their optimism. Their hope. She spent the day laying on her couch, depressed, and feeling her strength to pray for the rain failing her. She couldn’t do it any longer. She had to face the fact that the life she thought they would have was no longer possible, and it was time to move on.

Early into the evening, Abigail startled when the doorbell rang. She had barely opened the door when a plate of fresh chocolate chip cookies was thrust into her face. Behind the plate was her neighbor’s glowing face, beaming with joy.

“Oh, uh, thanks, Mary.” Abigail managed to turn the corners of her mouth up ever so slightly.

“I know they’re your favorite! And I thought what better to celebrate with than your favorite cookies!”

“Celebrate what?” Abigail said as she cocked her head to the side.

“The rain, silly!” pointing up dramatically.

Abigail’s face fell in disappointment as she held the palm of her hand open, feeling nothing and looking plainly at Mary. “Oh, Mary, why would you say something so discouraging?”

Mary...Read More

What gift will you give to the King?

Tue, 24 Dec 2019 06:31:13 -0800

People pour in masses into the already crowded spaces, vowing next year to come earlier to avoid the chaos of Christmas Eve service. The worship team tunes their instruments and teases the audience with brief sounds of the songs to come. Small children sit in their finest dresses, feet dangling care-free above the floor they are not yet tall enough to reach. Friends and acquaintances warmly hug and wish one another a Merry Christmas. Others sit silently, hoping – even praying – to avoid the awkward approach of superficial conversation. Women hush their chatty children while, in the back of their minds, calculating how many minutes they have to cook the hors d’oeuvres in time for the company soon to follow.

All of heaven watches as a young man slowly and nervously enters a church for the first time in his life. He feels not only the gentle draw of the white lights and spiritual carols in the air, but the call in his spirit he cannot seem to quiet. This young man is uncertain why he is even there, but fights his doubts as he quietly slips into a chair in the back, hoping not to be noticed.

The worship time is beautiful and the sermon enlightening. The motives which stirred in hearts slowly shift with the passion of the message. The pastor is speaking of the gifts of the Magi.

The young man, uncertain of why he came, feels increasingly unsettled. There is a gentle whisper in his ear from an unfamiliar, but intriguing voice – the same voice which led him there in the first place. The service is coming to a close, and the young man is torn between the relief of leaving and the regret of leaving the same.

As closing remarks begin, there is a jolt in the pastor’s spirit, and he stops abruptly. The pastor knows what God is asking, and also knows there is nothing in that moment more important than the task in front of him. He apologizes to the audience and requests a few extra moments of their time.

The young man bolts upright in his seat,...Read More

So you tried to speed up change, you say?

Sat, 13 Jul 2019 13:15:14 -0700

It started with a simple idea. It always starts out as simple. Until you actually do it. Sometimes, you’re lucky and everything works out the way you saw it in your mind. Other times, it’s like watching your favorite ceramic mug fall off the counter, and you’re too far away to catch it. You simply have to watch it hit the floor and smash into pieces.

This bit of drama brought to you by the midlife crisis my hair seems to be having. My simple idea? Get a pixie haircut. “It will be fun,” they said. “It will look great on you,” they said.

My favorite mug lay shattered on the ground in a bazillion pieces.

I know I’m being dramatic, but that’s kind of how I felt for at least three solid minutes. As a side note, I mean no disrespect or chiding to the woman who cuts my hair. I think she did a most excellent job, and nailed the picture I gave her to base the cut on. So after I stared dejectedly in the mirror for a couple of minutes, I gave myself a pep talk that hair grows, and it would all be okay in three to six months. Three to six months. That’s a long time. I needed a new plan, and a new plan is exactly what I came up with. I waited almost eight excruciating weeks for it to grow out a bit, and then I decided I was going to color it all. Platinum white. It would look spectacular. It would look so spectacular, I would no longer notice how much more I look like my brother. I would just be enamored by my cool hair color.

I made that appointment for Thursday. It was going to be fantastic. I could feel it. I’m not exactly sure what chemicals are used to lighten hair, but I’m pretty sure it's a combination of hydrochloric acid and sulfur acid. Maybe a touch of gasoline. My scalp was on fire. But as my daughter used to say when she was in high school, “Beauty for pain.” I guess she was right.

After two rounds of the acid-like treatment, we learned the hard way that my hair is stubborn, and doesn’t like to lighten. So instead of the...Read More

When the wait feels too hard

Sat, 15 Jun 2019 09:38:43 -0700

The following is taken from my book, The Waiting Room, available for purchase from the bookstore.

I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. John 16:20-21

Jesus is comforting His disciples in this passage. They’ve just learned they’ll soon be without Him, and they’re completely dismayed at the thought. Jesus is helping them understand the glory in His death, and the necessary pain required to birth a joy that is everlasting. You can apply these words as a healing balm to your own suffering heart while experiencing a time of waiting.

There are times when God chooses to deliver us out of a trial or bring an answer very quickly. Can I get an amen? However, there are times God will require us to walk what feels like a very long road. This requires a lot of trust in Him but, let me assure you, God doesn’t do anything haphazardly. Stop with me for a moment and think about the fact that every day of your life was written in God’s book before one of them came into being (Psalm 139:16). Really digest that concept. Powerful stuff, right? I don’t know about you, but my mind gets completely blown when I really try to process the forethought God has on every day of every one of our lives. Our God is a planner, and there is order to everything He does. You can be confident in His forethought of your present situation, and the steps required to bring it to fruition. This brings us to the heart of our time together today.

Within our journey, a crucial developmental process is taking place. Just as a baby in the womb, if we force it out too soon, there are complications, and often, death. The development of a...Read More

The faithfulness of God

Sat, 16 Mar 2019 14:06:01 -0700

"Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness." Lamentations 3:22-23

I’m an early riser. Always have been. Even in college I would sign up for early classes. I’d be up at the crack of dawn, exercise, get ready, and enjoy breakfast, long before I needed to walk to my 8am class. My college roommate, who wasn’t so fond of early mornings, imposed a rule on me. I couldn’t speak to her before 8am. I think she found my morning energy a bit, well, overwhelming. Through the years, I’ve held strong to my early morning routine. It makes me feel as though I’ve made the most of each day. One of the things about morning that never gets old to me is watching the sun rise. I find it spectacular and mysterious all rolled into one. I love the different colors and even the shapes those colors can take on. When I got up to pray this morning, it was still dark. I found myself about to thank God for the sunrise and changed my words to thank Him for the sunrise I knew would be coming soon. In that moment, God took an old concept and let it fall fresh on me.

When was the last time you found yourself wondering if the sun was really going to rise today? Since our earliest memories until this very morning, our sun has been in the sky waiting to say good morning, without fail. This is so meaningful because God shows us who He is in everything He makes (Romans 1:20). The sun that rises over us faithfully every day is a perpetual reminder of the presence of God in and over our lives. I understand it might be difficult at times to know God is there if you can’t see Him in the flesh. Be encouraged because, just like the sun in the sky, God will give you so many signs and wonders if your heart is actively seeking Him. If you don’t believe me, I’d challenge you to make it a priority to start each day on...Read More