Charisa Stories

Tag: colossians 3

  • Who (or What) Are You Serving?

    Who (or What) Are You Serving?

    Recent news headlines and Old Testament daily readings generated today’s musing. I read the story of the Israelite people turning again and again from the God who had faithfully provided for and protected them. They decided to take control and follow man-made gods and worthless idols. I immediately flexed my judgement muscle and wondered how they could be so foolish? Then a quite voice in my head said “not so fast my child”.

    Followers of Jesus in this country have been blessed with freedom of worship and expression for decades with very little push back. That is changing and I fear we are reacting a lot like the Israelite people did in the desert. We want to take control. We are prone to take our eyes off of God and put our hope in other places. Nothing that is happening is a surprise to our Sovereign God. His plan for mankind will be accomplished and He is our only reliable hope for the future. Hear me out. I am not saying we shouldn’t be active and concerned citizens who love the land God has given us. I am saying we must do those things through the lens of God’s Word. We must respond while heeding His commands for how His children should behave when we represent Him.

    I thought about some seriously head and heart messing stuff I have been reading from Tim Keller. Keller wrote a thought provoking definition of idolatry and how we can substitute even good things for God.

    “Sin is building your life and meaning on anything, even a very good thing, more than on God. Whatever we build our life on will drive us and enslave us. Sin is primarily idolatry.” (Tim Keller, “Talking About Idolatry in a Postmodern Age,” www.thegospelcoalition.org)

    That is disturbing for a guy who was taught from childhood that sin is simply a list to check off to validate my righteousness. That list contained but was not limited to movies, liquor, cigarettes, dancing, shacking up, long hair and rock and roll. I thought I was doing pretty well on the idolatry commandment.

    Tim Keller’s definition of sin takes all of the fun out of self-righteous comparison and judging. Idolatry is building your life on anything more that God. I once built my own political idols. I am embarrassed to confess that for a season of my life it consumed my heart and thoughts more than God. It doesn’t matter if the idol was an elephant or a donkey. The sin was placing my hope in the ideology of a political system and not on the foundational truth of God. It is no surprise that it was a time of frustration, anxiousness, and anger. It is also not a surprise that God seemed distant.

    My grace epiphany changed me. I realized I could not place my faith or hope in fallible people. History shows us that the politics of man change constantly. Only God is unchanging, loving, and faithful. From that day on I decided I would not forget where my hope is found. I determined to pray that no matter how much I might be anxious about something my God can use events for His plan. And that means praying for those who I disagree with and not making them my enemies. God is in control. How could you have seen how God would use the evil actions of Joseph’s brothers when they sold him into slavery? His brothers were convinced that Joseph would exact revenge. His response of grace and understanding of God’s sovereignty is a blueprint for all of us.

    “Don’t be afraid of me. Am I God, that I can punish you? 20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people. (Genesis 50:19-20, NLT)

    Where I place my hope will define my actions and reactions. I wrote this in Waking Up Slowly. My worth is not in always being right or being the smartest guy in the room. My worth is defined by being a child of God and a friend of Jesus. When I keep my eyes on Jesus, I maintain a better perspective on every area of my life. It is a hard truth to admit that we often worship the things of this world because they really can be good things. God in His loving grace does not desire for us to be deprived of good and pleasurable things. He simply wants us to place them in proper order and to understand they are sources of happiness and not the source of joy. Later in the passage Paul gives one key to avoiding idolatry and where our identity should be found.

    Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like Him. In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and He lives in all of us. (Colossians 3:10-11, NLT)

    Your assignment is to take a moment to read verses 12-17 to see what the results of this action might look like. There will not be a quiz.

    Another key is to remember a campfire song from the Jesus movement that was, to borrow the approach of Law and Order, “ripped” from the Gospel of Matthew. (Matthew 6:33)

    Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness;
    and all these things shall be added unto you.
    Allelu, alleluia

    Everybody is going to serve somebody or something. Who (or what) are you centering your life on today? There is no other hope that I can trust like hope in Jesus.

  • Don’t Kid Yourself

    Don’t Kid Yourself

    After listening to a few minutes of depressing news I needed a little soul nourishment. Rich Mullins is one of my go to songwriters for that need. The first song that played was very timely in this season of sadness and uncertainty. “We Are Not As Strong As We Think We Are” shows how our relationships can be fragile in the best of times.

    Well, it took the hand of God Almighty
    To part the waters of the sea
    But it only took one little lie
    To separate you and me
    Oh, we are not as strong as we think we are.

    If only we could acknowledge that we are not as strong as we think we are and then live accordingly I believe we would see an amazing difference.

    I need God and the community of believers to be spiritually and emotionally healthy. Yet pride tells me that I am able to handle the situation. Fear tells me that revealing the needs of my heart will only make things worse. So one little lie or misunderstanding dealt with in my own strength negates the strength of a God who could part the waters of the seas. I choose my power over the One who could heal my pain if only I would let Him.

    I remember when a major food company recalled thousands of chili cans that were tainted with deadly toxins. A later follow-up to that story told about cans of chili exploding as the pressure built up inside the containers.
    That is a messy and disgusting metaphor for how we deal with the internal toxins of relational hurt, misunderstandings, accusations, and fear. We seal those emotional and spiritual poisons up and store them away hoping it will somehow be okay. But the toxins in our heart have not been killed, only compartmentalized. The pain continues to grow, slowly and inexorably. Finally the pressure builds to the point of explosion. There is a better way.

    Paul described that better way to the Colossians.

    Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.

    (Colossians 3:12-15, NLT)

    Sometimes I dream that the body of Christ would commit to spend 30 days living and breathing just those four verses. What would that look like? How much healing would happen? I think four verses could spark revival.

    But we pull back and try to go it alone. Even if we attempt to walk in community we are too afraid or proud to share our needs. Rich Mullins was exactly right. We are not as strong as we think we are. Especially in this weird socially distanced isolation we need each other more than ever. So I am going to encourage you to reach out before you lash out. Ask for healing before you hurt yourself and others.

    And if you find yourself in a decent place right now ask God to show you someone that you can reach out to and love. Call them. Text them. Ask how they are doing. God is serious about how we communicate about others in the flock. Peter writes:

    Be agreeable, be sympathetic, be loving, be compassionate, be humble. That goes for all of you, no exceptions. No retaliation. No sharp-tongued sarcasm. Instead, bless—that’s your job, to bless. You’ll be a blessing and also get a blessing. (1 Peter 3:8-9, The Message)

    Rich Mullin’s wrote that weakness is not a sin. Failing to acknowledge our need for God’s strength is the sin.

    We are frail
    We are fearfully and wonderfully made
    Forged in the fires of human passion
    Choking on the fumes of selfish rage
    And with these our hells and our heavens
    So few inches apart
    We must be awfully small
    And not as strong as we think we are.

    No, we are not as strong as we think we are. We need to acknowledge that He is God and we are not. We need one another but I know that too often we let each other down. At that point another Rich Mullins song comes to mind about our need for Jesus. The irony is that we often resist that always available grace.

    Surrender don’t come natural to me
    I’d rather fight you for something
    I don’t really want
    Than to take what you give that I need
    And I’ve beat my head against so many walls
    Now I’m falling down, I’m falling on my knees…

    When your soul is dry as dust and everything seems hopeless this chorus is a healing prayer.

    So hold me Jesus,
    Cause I’m shaking like a leaf
    You have been King of my glory
    Won’t You be my Prince of Peace

    He will hold you in your fear. We need to leave our pride at the foot of the Cross and depend on His grace and strength. And we need to not kid ourselves about this simple truth. We are not as strong as we THINK we are. We need Jesus. We need each other.