Charisa Stories

Category: Uncategorized

  • Can We Ban All Broad-Brushes?

    One of the things that I struggle with the most in our current cultural climate is the broad-brushing by all sides. What do I mean by that?

    If you disagree with someone’s faith or political opinion you automatically assign to them the worst values from the most extreme people proclaiming that message. Without knowing a single thing about their story, their heart, or their background we tend to throw down the gauntlet of judgment.

    A lot of Christians have been unfairly targeted recently. Some deserve to be called to accountability. I have never had a problem with being honest about how I and many other followers of Jesus often fall short of representing the grace and love of Jesus.

    That is just a fact. That doesn’t change who Jesus is.

    But one heartbreaking result is that the entire Christian faith is being dismissed and denigrated by a lot of people with social media influence.

    With just a bit of internet searching I can find example after example of failed followers of Jesus. What is harder to find are stories about the millions who serve selflessly every day and without being noticed. Why do so many people sacrifice willingly to help those who give them very little or even nothing in return?

    I know a standard answer is indoctrination as a child into this phony faith. That didn’t happen to me. I was not raised in the church as a child or brainwashed to believe. Another accusation is there is blind acceptance of faith without questioning. That is not my story either. I did a deep dive into my faith when I experienced doubts. I needed to see if I could stand firmly on what I believed. I can tell you there is intellectual depth in the Christian community that helped me sort through my questions with clarity and confidence.

    I will be honest and tell you it is hard to read some of the comments that strangers have made about my faith. It is harder still to read and hear them from people I know. But that is the reality of the spiritual battle that all followers of Jesus face.

    If it is true that there is an enemy who tries to destroy the claims of Christ then it makes total sense that the narrative he would push forward is entirely negative. The Enemy does not want the millions of stories of people making a difference capturing the limelight. That would illuminate the darkness of this fallen world with the hope of Jesus.

    So what should be our response to these attacks? Jesus made our response pretty clear.

    43 “You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. 44 But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! 45 In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. 46 If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. 47 If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even unbelievers do that.” (Matthew 5:43-47, NLT)

    When you have the opportunity to talk to someone who opposes your faith you should ask to hear their story. Why do they have such strong feelings against God? Did something or someone cause that reaction?

    It is amazing how hearing someone’s story can often soften your heart toward them. You have a much better understanding of why they react the way they do. And listening (really listening) can open a door to dialogue about your own journey and story. You will be acting as a true child of God.

    Occasionally I hear some kind things directed toward me. I am grateful for that but here is my honest response to those words. I might have some basic personality traits that were positive but I can say with 100% conviction that most of the things you like about me were cultivated, refined, and grown through the love of Jesus and the gentle teaching power of the Holy Spirit.

    Own your failures. We all fall short. I am careful not to communicate that my desire is for an unbeliever to stop living in a particular way or to quit a sin I abhor. My message is to really get to know Jesus. In the movie the Jesus Revolution a church welcomed in young men and women who were doing drugs and living a life that many in the congregation deemed decadent. If the message had been clean up your life and then you can be part of our community the revival would have stopped cold. Instead the message was come to know Jesus and let Him show you how to change how you live. That happened millions of times during that remarkable revival.

    It can still happen today. But I fear that God can not use me if I am busy broad brushing everyone I disagree with. I want to share His story without judging theirs. I am throwing away the broad-brush.

  • The Hope of Opening Day


    In my mind there is no more special day in sports than Opening Day in baseball. The smell of freshly cut emerald green grass delights the senses. The base lines are painstakingly and perfectly defined by a grounds crew that is committed to perfection on this day. Red, white, and blue bunting give the ball park a festive World Series look. The players today act like little boys. On this day these athletes appear extra grateful that they are paid to play a kid’s game. Children skip school and parents do not care because memories are being made for both of them. The hot dogs taste like gourmet food. Souvenirs are treasures to be kept a lifetime. The atmosphere is magic.

    It is Opening Day and every team has hope. Each fan has dreams and they are hopefully, or perhaps hopelessly, optimistic. Last year’s disappointments are gone and the hope of a new season dawns for fifty thousand fans in the park and thousands more across the area. The mood is upbeat and the expectations high. This is a new day and a new season. Old mistakes are forgotten. Past errors are no longer important. Today is the annual renewal of the incredible marathon that is big league baseball. It is a clean slate. The team has a new identity.

    The example of Opening Day can also be a reminder about my walk with Jesus. Recently I have been understanding that God’s Word tells us that every day can be like Opening Day (Dave’s paraphrase). I do have a clean slate because of Christ. There is hope. Yesterday’s sins are forgotten if you have accepted the gift of Jesus on the Cross. Every morning that I awake and see the magic of a new sunrise I can believe that I have been renewed and optimistically face the day. I don’t have to wait a year to have a chance for renewal. Paul writes that every day has the potential for the spiritual magic of renewal and victory in Christ.

    And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice–the kind he will accept. When you think of what he has done for you, is this too much to ask? Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is.

    As God’s messenger, I give each of you this warning: Be honest in your estimate of yourselves, measuring your value by how much faith God has given you. Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, 5so it is with Christ’s body. We are all parts of his one body, and each of us has different work to do. And since we are all one body in Christ, we belong to each other, and each of us needs all the others.

    God has given each of us the ability to do certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out when you have faith that God is speaking through you. If your gift is that of serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, do a good job of teaching. If your gift is to encourage others, do it! If you have money, share it generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.

    Don’t just pretend that you love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Stand on the side of the good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. Never be lazy in your work, but serve the Lord enthusiastically.

    Be glad for all God is planning for you. Be patient in trouble, and always be prayerful. When God’s children are in need, be the one to help them out. And get into the habit of inviting guests home for dinner or, if they need lodging, for the night.

    If people persecute you because you are a Christian, don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them. When others are happy, be happy with them. If they are sad, share their sorrow. Live in harmony with each other. Don’t try to act important, but enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all!

    Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. Do your part to live in peace with everyone, as much as possible. (Romans 12, NLT)

    I am grateful in my spiritual journey that God has given me a chance for “Opening Day” renewal every day. I have had some down seasons during my career as a follower of Jesus. But I am learning that everyday is a gift.

    The fragile nature of our lives makes the bigger questions so much more important even as I enjoy the hope of Opening day.  I realize that every day with Jesus can be like this special day in baseball. I can be transformed and new. Past losses (sins) are redeemed and forgiven. There can be freshness in the journey and joy. I can realize that I am a child of God and I can be grateful that I call Him Father. I can believe that hope for the future is real. I can understand that I must be a better teammate to others that I encounter and not expect my team to be perfect. The magic of a fresh start happens once a year in baseball. It can happen any day and every day for a follower of Jesus.

  • No Matter How Many Years We Live We’re Only Here for a Little While

    This life is just the warmup act for followers of Jesus. A classic tune from the Righteous Brothers reflects my hope.

    If you believe in forever,
    Then life is just a one-night stand.

    Those lyrics reminded me that even if you hit triple digits on the age odometer this journey is still an eternal blink of the eye. Your significance is not how long but how well you live your life. Not how much fame or money you gain but what you do with time you are given.

    This weekend a song popped up on satellite radio called “We’re Only Here for a Little While”. Billy Dean is singing about leaving a funeral and recognizing his need to slow down and enjoy the everyday blessings of life. He decides to become intentional about doing the things that matter instead of worrying and tweeting about things that don’t amount to a hill of beans in eternity. 

    Gonna hold who needs holdin’
    Mend what needs mendin’
    Walk what needs walkin’
    Though it means an extra mile
    Pray what needs prayin’
    Say what needs sayin’
    Cause we’re only here for a little while.   

    That is a pretty good to do list to live a life that makes a difference. Being present with those you love. Forgiving AND asking to be forgiven. Taking your journey with Jesus seriously. Understanding and practicing the power of prayer. Speaking the truth in grace and love. The last lyric is the one that is most fraught with danger. We often find it easy to say what we think needs to be said. It is such a difficult thing to speak truth into the life of someone who is determined to go their own way. Perhaps a gigantic how to clue is embedded in a verse from the Gospel of John.

    Now the Word became flesh and took up residence among us. We saw his glory—the glory of the one and only, full of grace and truth, who came from the Father. (John 1:14, NET)

    Jesus was full of grace and truth. Most of us are full of truth or we are full of some variation of that. I suspect in God’s wisdom, grace comes first because we have a far harder time communicating with grace. I am often willing to be “honest” and tell you where you are wrong. Doing that with grace and truth requires me to love you and to be vulnerable. Jesus modeled a perfectly balanced blend of grace and truth.

    That is my prayer as I engage those who have made mistakes and are suffering the consequences of those decisions. I pray that I will always present truth as a gift of grace from a loving God instead of performance demands in order to be acceptable to Him. The following principle is nearly always true.

    Truth presented as law hardens hearts. 
    Truth presented with grace changes hearts.

    When we meditate on the grace given to us as a free gift by our gracious God we can can begin to model Paul’s words to the church at Ephesus.

    Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. (Ephesians 4:15, NLT)

    Meditate on Paul’s words and remember we are only here for a little while. That would help us worry a little more about the things that matter for eternity. And focus on the One who can unite us.

  • God Doesn’t Punish

    One of my favorite lessons from Stay came while rescued Lab Maggie and I traversed the usual path. She sniffed and I listened to a podcast as we paced briskly through a Texas morning. She spotted something and moved toward the curb. My eye caught something at the same time, and I jerked violently on her leash to pull her toward me.

    She looked surprised, puzzled at what she had done wrong for such a harsh correction from me. The truth was that she hadn’t done anything wrong. Some knucklehead had shattered a beer bottle and a jagged piece was right in her path. She could have been seriously cut by the razor-sharp glass. I was thankful I had spotted it, but I could see that my action confused Maggie. I needed to assure her that my unexpected reaction was not punitive but entirely out of concern for her.

    I immediately dropped down to my knee, scratched Maggie’s ears, and verbally praised her. “It’s okay, girl. It’s okay.” 

    I was glad that she perked up immediately. Her uncertainty vanished, her drooping tail began to wag, and her beautiful eyes brightened again. She understood we were good. It was another lesson for me to ponder. 

    How many times have I responded in confusion and hurt when God gently or not so gently pulled me off a path of destruction when I had no idea what He was doing? Instead of trusting God I start second-guessing when God throws me a curve. I get out the transgression magnifying glass to detect which sin might have caused God to withdraw His favor from me. 

    Pastor Tullian Tchividjian answered my question with this insight.

    “Until we see God-sent storms as interventions and not punishments, we’ll never get better, we’ll only get bitter. Some difficult circumstances you’re facing right now may well be a God-sent storm of mercy intended to be his intervention in your life.”

    Precisely. God sees the jagged glass that I am about to step on and He pulls me back in love. The problem isn’t with Him; it’s my response to the correction. I am still learning to trust that God loves me no matter what my circumstances might look like.

    In the New Living Translation the passage heading for the first twelve verses in Hebrews 12 is spot on: “God’s Discipline Proves His Love.”

    For too many years I thought God’s corrective actions were punishment that proved His displeasure, when in actuality that discipline proved His love. 

    Have you forgotten the encouraging words God spoke to you as his children? He said, 

    “My child, don’t make light of the Lord’s discipline, and don’t give up when he corrects you.

    For the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes each one he accepts as his child.”

    As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as his own children. Who ever heard of a child who is never disciplined by its father?  If God doesn’t discipline you as he does all of his children, it means that you are illegitimate and are not really his children at all. Since we respected our earthly fathers who disciplined us, shouldn’t we submit even more to the discipline of the Father of our spirits, and live forever?

    For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God’s discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in his holiness. No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.

    Hebrews 12:5-11

    Even as a self-confessed imperfect father (corroborating evidence available from all three sons), I distinctly remember that I disciplined my children so they would grow up to be honest, kind, and loving. I didn’t want to make their lives miserable, stick it to them, or make them sad. On the contrary, I wanted them to learn how to live joyfully and well. If a flawed earthly father can have that heartfelt desire, how much more does my heavenly Father desire for my growth and good? It is all in understanding the motive behind the action.

    What does it mean that God administers His discipline in the realm of grace? It means that all His teaching, training, and discipline are administered in love and for our spiritual welfare. It means that God is never angry with us, though He is often grieved at our sins. It means He does not condemn us or count our sins against us. All that He does in us and to us is done on the basis of unmerited favor.

    I’m taking Maggie’s response to heart. When she looked at her master and saw that she was okay she relaxed, turned, and kept on walking. The journey continues for both of us.

  • God is Bigger than the Valley

    This journey is not easy. Never will be. Everyone of us will suffer heartaches and sadness. King David wrote these words while traveling a difficult valley.

    The LORD is close to the brokenhearted;       
    he rescues those who are crushed in spirit.  Psalm 34:18

    There are so many brokenhearted people who simply need a caring heart. But the most important thing they need to understand is that Jesus understands your pain and He never leaves you alone.

    My pastor and friend Jeff Denton has been going through a difficult season after receiving a devastating cancer diagnosis. I have observed first hand as Jeff has shown me what it looks like to live out faith through the darkest valley. Jeff began writing about his journey and now has released those powerful insights in a must read book titled God is Bigger that the Valley.

    I love the subtitle of Jeff’s book.

    A 30 Day Encouragement Guide Through Cancer

    Sounds like an oxymoron doesn’t it? Encouragement? Are you kidding me? But that is Jeff’s gift as a pastor and writer. He can find a way to be a light in the darkest moment of his life. His vulnerability, honesty, humor, and deep biblical insight combine to make this one of the most valuable resources for facing cancer or any terrible life storm. Here is a brief excerpt from the book.

    God doesn’t change in those moments, but it can feel like He does. Does He care? Is He really in control? He may not change, but He can change for you.

    Whether or not God was relevant to you before your diagnosis, you may suddenly be struck by bigger questions. Eternal issues. I’ve been there. I’ve received the diagnosis. I’ve had to process the information with my wife. I’ve had to call the kids to tell them. I’ve had to face a church family as a pastor and decide if God was still as good the day after the diagnosis as He was the day before.

    God hasn’t changed, but you have, and so have those closest to you. You have to soak it in, adapt, and wrestle through the news. You have to face a different future than what you likely expected or planned. God is still there and ready to help you on your journey.

    This will be the book I will give to anyone going through a critical health diagnosis. This will be the book I will turn to whenever I face a darkening life storm. Pastor Ed Underwood also faced a diagnosis that threatened to end his life. He understands everything that Pastor Jeff is going through. This quote from the forward written by Ed Underwood may be the most compelling endorsement I can offer.

    “I wish we—me, my bride, my children, and the dear saints I served during my darkest days—would have had this book to help us through the first thirty days. Knowing God is bigger than the valley and living in light ofthat precious truth are not the same. Jeff is not only living it; he’s bringing it to life for you—a daily
    reminder that Jesus loves and cares for you.”

    I hope you invest in this powerful new book if you, a loved one, or a friend is facing a difficult valley. I will always have copies available on my bookshelf.

  • I Know Who Holds Tomorrow

    I miss my Dad. It was over nineteen years ago that he passed into eternity with Jesus. I still find myself wishing I could share good news with him.

    I wish he could have seen how his grandsons in Texas have grown up to be godly and good men. I wish he could have seen how his daughter-in-law trusted God as she faced down cancer. I wish he could have seen how his son finally began to understand how to live in the amazing grace of Jesus. I wish I could have told him that his example gave me a foundation for how the grace of God is possible. If my flawed earthly father could love me that much and without condemnation, then I can begin to understand how my merciful Heavenly Father can love me despite my junk and flaws. Not every man can say that about his earthly father and I am grateful that I can.

    I often think of him when I watch or read the news. The current division in Washington and the selfish agendas of our “representatives” would have driven him nuts. I could almost hear him ranting about the politicians and how we just need someone with “some uneducated good old common sense” in our Nation’s Capital. He earned the right to rant. He was one of the incredible men and women who served our country during World War II. The flag from his military funeral is one of my proudest possessions. 

    I find myself becoming my Dad more and more each day and that is not a bad thing at all. Sometimes I dial up his music as emotional comfort food. I can’t listen to more than an hour of Willie’s Roadhouse on Sirrius/XM radio without a song generating a memory of him. But it is the Gospel songs that really make me think about my wonderful reunion someday.

    Today I listened to one of my Dad’s favorite Gospel songs and felt comfort wash over my soul. The song is called “I Know Who Holds Tomorrow” and it was written in 1950 by a traveling preacher named Ara Stanphill. This is a song of trust written during a time of agony and doubt in the songwriter’s life. Stanphill’s wife battled addiction and left him for other men. You could imagine the gossip that flew in that era when a preacher’s wife left to live a life of promiscuity. Yet Stanphill forgave her, tried to reconcile and remained true to his vows. But he was human, and he suffered depression and grief. He wondered why God would allow such a fate for a man dedicated to His service. One day he was feeling sorry for himself as he drove. In the book Turn Your Radio On author Ace Collins relates the struggle that Stanphill faced. In the depths of his sadness he began to hum a tune and the next thing he knew he was singing a song. He sang about not knowing what was in the future but knowing that God was with him every step of the way. He rushed to his piano when he arrived at his office and jotted down the words.  I remember hearing Faron Young sing these lyrics on a scratchy vinyl record growing up.

    I don’t know about tomorrow;
    I just live from day to day.
    I don’t borrow from its sunshine
    For its skies may turn to grey.

    I don’t worry o’er the future,
    For I know what Jesus said.
    And today I’ll walk beside Him,
    For He knows what is ahead.

    Many things about tomorrow
    I don’t seem to understand
    But I know who holds tomorrow
    And I know who holds my hand.

    I believe those words. I don’t know why some things happen. I get frustrated and deeply concerned about what is going on in our country and the world. But at the end of the day I put my hope not in politics or the culture but in Jesus. I know who holds tomorrow and I know who holds my hand. And then I listened to what I would guess was my Dad’s favorite song. He would sing along loudly and I remember that I also inherited my Dad’s lack of singing talent. But his heart believed the words that Red  Foley and the Sunshine Boys sang.

    Well, I’m tired and so weary
    But I must go along
    Till the lord will come and call, call me away, 
    Well the morning’s so bright
    And the Lamb is the light
    And the night, night is as black as the sea, 

    There will be peace in the valley for me, some day
    There will be peace in the valley for me, oh Lord I pray
    There’ll be no sadness, no sorrow, my Lord,
    no trouble, trouble I see
    There will be peace in the valley for me

    My Dad is experiencing that today. No more sadness, no sorrow, no troubles. In the midst of craziness and confusion I hold on to the hope that my Dad believed. I know who holds tomorrow and I know there will be peace in the valley for me some day. More and more I understand the words that C.S.Lewis wrote.

    “If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.”

    That is what Jesus was saying as He comforted His followers with these words recorded in the Gospel of John. 

    “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you.”

    It is going to be okay. I know who holds tomorrow.

  • The Next Jesus Revolution?

    I recently watched the movie Jesus Revolution.

    I was deeply moved by the main theme of the movie. It doesn’t matter how much a particular group offends your personal standards of behavior and upsets your judgemental apple cart. We, as followers of Jesus, have been commanded to love others and to share the hope we have in Him.

    “So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.” (John 13:34, NLT)

    Not suggested.

    Commanded.

    I grew up in a church that was much like the lukewarm assembly that Pastor Chuck Smith shepherded in this story. The congregants were set in their ways and had no patience with these long-haired hippies committing heinous sins like drug use, unmarried sex, and angry protests against the government. It was true that those actions violated God’s standards for believers. Too many in the church held these young people to standards that were proclaimed for Christians and not for those who still needed to find Jesus. What frustrated me in that season of life were these self-righteous churchgoers who had tons of patience with their own sins of hypocrisy, gossip, and not caring about the souls of these hippies.

    The story of the Jesus Revolution is powerful. Many of these young people were desperately looking for identity, purpose, and self-esteem in all the wrong places. When they discovered that Jesus offered the things they were looking for it caused a revival that swept Southern California and the rest of the country. I personally know a woman who came to know Jesus in that tent at Calvary Chapel and was baptized at Pirates Cove in the Pacific Ocean. She is still a devoted follower of Jesus. Her testimony is one of millions that attest to the reality of that spiritual movement.

    Pastor Chuck Smith was moved by the passion of the young people who had moved from drugs and other sinful pursuits to find peace and hope in Jesus. He allowed these “hippies” to attend his church much to the horror of the uptight congregation. Chuck Smith followed the command of Jesus. He loved these unlikely new members.

    I left the theater feeling uplifted and convicted at the same time. I wondered if the Holy Spirit was showing me how the church today is judging young people and not actively caring about sharing the love of Jesus with them. At the risk of getting canceled, I hear often how angry and judgmental Christians can be toward young people trying to figure out cultural issues like gender, historical interpretations, and losing the ability to communicate because everything is offensive to them.

    I kept thinking about how God used a small movement in Southern California to show what the power of Jesus can do in a life that is confused. Are we missing the chance to make a difference by not being accepting of young people who are pursuing the same things the 1970’s hippies were trying to find? Identity. Purpose. Self-esteem. Hope.

    So I am asking myself these questions. Do I care about the souls of these young people going down paths that I might think are crazy? Do I pray for them? Am I willing to welcome them into my fellowship? Do I think that Jesus loves everyone no matter how much I might disagree with their current philosophical positions? I looked at those angry churchgoers demanding that the hippies be sent away and wonder if we are doing the same thing with the younger generation today.

    God does not ignore sin. God will judge all of our sins. But God is always mercifully seeking sinners. Paul said it so perfectly.

    But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. (Romans 5:8, NLT)

    Every single one of us was doing things that violated the holy standards of God. But His patience and gentle persistence brought us into His fellowship through Christ. We can’t let sins that offend us more than our particular sins affect our heart for reaching out to others with the Good News of the Gospel.

    There is a scene in The Jesus Revolution where there is clear division in the room. On one side were the traditional conservative church goers wearing suits and dresses. The other side was filled with barefoot young people wearing tie-dyed clothes, jeans, and flowers. At one point an angry older man stood up and demanded that control to be returned to the people who supported the church financially. Pastor Chuck Smith refused. He led a group of people out of the church. On his way out the man turned and looked at an older gentleman with a look of expectation that he would join them. The old man stood up and began to walk. All eyes were on him as he slowly moved out of his pew. He walked over to the hippie section and settled in with them as the others slammed the door on their way out.

    I want to be that guy. The one who cares about people different from me. The one who is willing to move out of my comfort zone to share the grace and love of Jesus.

    Today there are signs that a new revival is sweeping through the younger generation. I want to be a cheerleader and prayer warrior for that movement. God is creative and I don’t want to get in His way.