Charisa Stories

Tag: grace

  • Finding Hope in the Hurt

    Being in community with others means you share their joys and their sorrows. Sometimes the sorrows come in tsunami waves and all you can do is care, pray, and be present. Good and decent people deal with financial, emotional, and physical suffering all around us and it is easy to lose heart. The news seems to be only tragedy and heartbreaking sadness. What can be redeemed of all of this suffering?

    A song called “The Hurt and the Healer” by MercyMe resonated when I first heard it but now that same song is a go to when facing trials. The lyrics ask the question we all struggle with. 

    Why?
    The question that is never far away
    The healing doesn’t come from the explained
    Jesus please don’t let this go in vain

    I can’t explain why things happen. Sometimes it is sin. Sometimes it is simply life. I have learned in my years of following Jesus that He does not let suffering go in vain. I have seen over and over how God redeems sadness and tragedy. He does bring beauty out of ashes. When I cannot see how any good can come out of a trial I trust my Abba Father in faith. Believe me I don’t “feel” that but I can move forward in faith. God has never let me down. And I believe He never will.

    Breathe
    Sometimes I feel it’s all that I can do
    Pain so deep that I can hardly move
    Just keep my eyes completely fixed on You
    Lord take hold and pull me through

    Most of us have been there at some point. If not, you will be someday. Peter talked about the inevitability of suffering in this life in a passage that we usually leave out of the brochure when we tell others about our faith. All of us who follow Jesus are still likely to suffer.

    “Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you. Instead, be very glad—for these trials make you partners with Christ in his suffering, so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing his glory when it is revealed to all the world.” (1 Peter 4, NLT)

    Count me among the brethren who tried to dance around this truth for as long as I could. Be very glad? Seriously? But when you have nowhere else to turn but to Christ you find out that you should have turned to Him first all along.

    So here I am
    What’s left of me
    Where glory meets my suffering

    I’m alive
    Even though a part of me has died
    You take my heart and breathe it back to life
    I’ve fallen into your arms open wide
    When the hurt and the healer collide

    Jesus meets you there and not just in theory. He suffered. He agonized with God the Father. He knows the human condition. He has already been where you are. When the hurt and the Healer collide something amazing happens. The pain may not immediately go away but peace and hope begin to slowly heal the pain. Peter did not end his writing on suffering with the buzz kill of Chapter 4. He wrapped it in a bow of incredible hope in the next chapter.

    “In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, He will restore, support, and strengthen you, and He will place you on a firm foundation.” (1 Peter 5, NLT)

    That is a promise that we can hold on to in times of sorrow and suffering. I am trusting that promise for myself and my friends and family who are hurting.

  • Quit Waiting for the World to Change

    Joni and I have been listening to my eclectic mix of music on the road this week. The lyrics from a song released 17 years ago sounds like it was written this week. The artist was John Mayer and he won a Grammy for Best Male Vocal Pop Performance with his song “Waiting on the World to Change”. 

    The song describes the apathy displayed by many of Mayer’s generation toward political and social disunity. The words are powerful and, to me, a bit depressing.

    Me and all my friends 
    We’re all misunderstood 
    They say we stand for nothing and 
    There’s no way we ever could 

    Now we see everything that’s going wrong 
    With the world and those who lead it 
    We just feel like we don’t have the means 
    To rise above and beat it 

    So we keep waiting 
    Waiting on the world to change 

    That accurately describes our culture today. We are discouraged and even paralyzed by things out of our control. We feel like the world is hopeless.

    Sadly, this song also describes a growing attitude in the church. Many find fault with the church and those who lead it. Some of it is justified but too often we decide that we don’t have the energy or heart to help change it. Mayer describes the next step.

    It’s hard to beat the system 
    When we’re standing at a distance 
    So we keep waiting 
    Waiting on the world to change 

    Rather than step in it is easy to step back. It is even easier to step away. Researcher George Barna notes that millions of self-described born-again Christians have left the church. Many are standing at a distance and waiting on the church to change.

    A lot of disenfranchised Christians would tell you they support the church in theory. But they are sick of the church for…

    ___ Teaching that is too theological
    ___ Teaching that is not theological enough
    ___ Being too much about politics
    ___ Not aggressive enough politically
    ___ Being too legalistic
    ___ Being too freedom oriented
    ___ Playing music that is too modern
    ___ Playing music that is too old fashioned 

    You get the point. It is not a problem to find a problem. And we keep waiting. Waiting for the church to change.

    But Jesus has a different plan that could help this dilemma and also the apathy that Mayer sings about. Jesus asks us to accomplish the goal with a radical plan to change the world.

    He asks me to change. He asks you to change. Don’t focus on everyone else. Jesus tells us that we are accountable for ourselves. Period.

    Do you think things would change if we could implement the instructions below written to the church at Colossae?

    So if you’re serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don’t shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ—that’s where the action is. See things from his perspective. 

    And later in the chapter Paul describes what that would look like…

    So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It’s your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it. 

     Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other, in step with each other. None of this going off and doing your own thing. And cultivate thankfulness. Let the Word of Christ—the Message—have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in your lives. Instruct and direct one another using good common sense. And sing, sing your hearts out to God! Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way.  (Colossians 3-The Message)

    Can you imagine what the church would look like if we lived those few verses alone? Accepting the love and light of God’s grace will change you. Then shining that light of grace will change others. If enough of us follow that plan the church will change. No waiting. And if enough churches change then the world will change.

    So that is the plan. No waiting required. Get started on you today. I will work on me. We can stop waiting for the church to change and we can stop waiting for the world to change. We can start trusting God to change our hearts and be obedient to do our part for His plan. It is a start. I believe it is the only way the world can change.

  • There is a Better Way

    Philip Yancey always challenges me with his writing. He is the writer I want to be when I grow up. I was reviewing past reads and I revisited his book Vanishing Grace : Whatever Happened to the Good News?. 

    I originally discovered the book from an interview in Christianity Today. Philip Yancey has written over a dozen best selling books and one of those is What’s So Amazing about Grace? I found the first question of the interview fascinating.

    Why did you choose to revisit the subject of grace?

    I know why the interviewer made the inquiry. You want “new” material from an author. Why plow the same ground? But I think that question is a mirror to one of the big problems in the Christian community. We never get past our daily need to revisit grace and the Good News of the Gospel. Martin Luther said that “you should preach the Gospel to yourself daily.” Why? Because you and I forget the depth and the power of grace everyday.

    Yancey’s response was thought provoking.

    “Sociologist and researcher Amy Sherman has said that Christians tend to have three models for interacting with society: fortification, accommodation, and domination. To put that in layman’s terms: We hunker down amongst ourselves, water down our witness, or beat down our opponents. For many reasons, those aren’t New Testament models.

    So what should we be? We need to create pioneer settlements that show the world a different, grace-based way of living.”

    Christianity Today

    That is brilliant both in diagnosis and prescriptive cure. Can you imaging the power of truly grace-based living in this wounded and desperately thirsty culture?

    His next observation parallels the message that I have awkwardly been trying to communicate in my decades of writing.

    “We hear nowadays about Christian groups losing university recognition or public prayers and Christmas displays being banned. We feel on the defensive and that we’re the outliers. But much of Christian history has been lived this way, like it was during the Roman Empire, when a small number of Christians modeled another way to live. In a culture like ours, we need to demonstrate first how faith in Christ makes a difference in how we live.”

    Simply put, when we encounter people resistant to our message we must show them grace and the source of that grace, Jesus. I wrote about how this ragamuffin band of Jesus followers went from cultural curiosity to world changing movement in my book When Bad Christians Happen to Good People. One key component was selfless service.

    “Remember that the early Christians lived in a pagan culture that featured infanticide and gladiator combat. The early church’s revolutionary view of the value of life was sacrificially demonstrated during the two great plagues that devastated the Empire in the second and third centuries. While pagans avoided any contact with the sick and even cast them into the streets while still alive, Christians nursed and cared for the sick even though it cost some their lives. The selfless service of the early church won many converts to the fold.”

    When Bad Christians Happen to Good People

    Against all odds and with no cultural advantage the early followers of Christ made a difference. We are not yet in such a dark place but I think it is fair to say the odds are against the church. We have lost most, if not all, of the cultural advantage. Maybe that is where we need to be if the body of Christ is going to bring light into the darkness of this world. Apart from God’s intervention it looks hopeless. But if we review the redemptive love of God throughout history we see that when you have to completely depend on God you are actually in a pretty good place. The words of David resonate today.

    But when I am afraid, I will put my trust in you. I praise God for what he has promised. I trust in God, so why should I be afraid? What can mere mortals do to me? (Psalm 56.3-4, NLT)

    The culture is full of confusion, hopelessness, and hatred. There is a better way to live.

    Lord Jesus, give us the grace to show it.

  • How to Focus on Jesus in a Chaotic World

    When I feel a bit discouraged or sad I like to cue up songs that remind me that my hope was, is, and will always be in Jesus. Today I listened to Michael W Smith sing a hymn that was written in 1918. That makes this week’s song even older than me.

    Helen Lemmel, an accomplished hymn writer and soloist, titled the song“The Heavenly Vision”. But most of us know it by the first line of the refrain, “Turn your eyes upon Jesus”.

    Turn your eyes upon Jesus
    Look full in his wonderful face
    And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
    In the light of his glory and grace

    I love the concept of turning my eyes toward Jesus but I am all about application. How can that action cause my struggles to dim in the light of His glory and grace? I think there are two foundational steps to get me to that place of comfort with Jesus.

    Step one is reminding myself of all of things Jesus accomplished for me and gifted to me when I put my trust in Him as my Savior. We subtly (or in my own experience, not so subtly) believe that growth is about doing more right things. That righteousness somehow requires busyness for Jesus. We think that change can only happen when you are trying hard and being disciplined for God. The truth is that a dramatic change has already happened when you make that faith commitment to follow Jesus. Scripture tells you that you now have a new identity. You are literally a new creation. Your spiritual DNA is completely changed. You have the imputed righteousness of Christ. That is a nice theological term that simply means that God sees you as righteous because of your relationship with Jesus.

    All because of Jesus. That’s it. Nothing you have done or ever will do earns that righteousness. It is a gift of grace. And Jesus gave us the most amazing gift when He returned to His Father in Heaven. Followers of Jesus now have the immediate presence of the Holy Spirit to comfort, direct, and give strength in trials. Jesus explained the ministry of the Holy Spirit in John 14.

    And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. (John 14:16-17, NLT)

    When I turn my eyes toward Jesus I meditate on the transaction that occurred the moment I trusted Christ. I am forgiven. A saint. A new creation. A child of God. I have the constant presence of the Holy Spirit. All because of the finished work of Jesus on the Cross.

    The second step is remembering all of the times that God was present in difficult seasons. When I review all of the answers to prayers, blessings I have experienced, and growth I experienced in my trials I know that I am loved by Jesus.

    I was changed completed the moment I trusted in Jesus. The trick is living out of that truth. I often let my shortcomings and sin get me down. Satan attacks and tells me I am failing miserably. When those attacks inevitably happen I picture Jesus putting His arm around me. I see Him telling me that my sins are completely forgiven. I see Him explaining to me that all of those things that used to be true about me are no longer true. That no matter what the Accuser might say those things are dead and buried at the Cross. I see Jesus telling me that I have the Holy Spirit to comfort me and provide an unshakeable source of strength. That I don’t have to grit my teeth and try harder to win favor and please Him. That sin does not have power over me anymore.  That if I trust Him and let God love me I will please Him. My faith and trust is what pleases Him according to God’s Word.

    Those two meditations allow me to focus on Jesus and look full in His wonderful face. The second stanza of the song is so true in this crazy and unsettled world.

    His word shall not fail you he promised
    Believe Him and all will be well
    Then go to a world that is dying
    His perfect salvation to tell

    His word shall not fail. I do believe that all will be well even in a world that is dying. His words comfort me today and everyday.

    “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid. (John 14:27, NLT)

    When the world seems overwhelming take a moment. Turn your eyes upon Jesus. And if you fully embrace what Jesus has done for you the things of earth will fade in the light of His glory and amazing grace.

  • Grace is Wonderfully Messy

    Sometimes I just want to step away from people. I get tired. Living in honest community can be frustrating and discouraging. And then the song “Lean On Me” cycles up my playlist. That is not funny Lord. The lyrics sung by Bill Withers talks about being there for others.

    Sometimes in our lives
    We all have pain
    We all have sorrow

    But if we are wise
    We know that there’s
    Always tomorrow

    Lean on me, when you’re not strong
    And I’ll be your friend

    I confess that I struggle with the cost of walking in honest relationship with people. It is hard.

    I have come to understand why legalism is so much easier than grace. Legalism allows me to assess the situation and then apply a verse or assign a task. If that person rejects that Biblical admonition or task then legalism allows me to withdraw because they are disobedient. Grace does not give me that option. Grace demands that I move toward the struggle of my brother or sister and not away in judgment. No wonder grace is a tough sell.

    That is the glorious dichotomy of grace. Grace wears me out and lifts me up. Grace frustrates and exhilarates. My old nature screams that people who make bad decisions over and over get what they “deserve”. They don’t “deserve” to be pursued and loved and restored. They made their bed now let them lay in it. But there is a small quiet voice in my heart that tells me that they have value. That they are loved by their Creator. And that voice asks who am I to decide who “deserves” anything?

    A quote by Pastor Paul Donnan says it far better than I ever could.

    Grace doesn’t treat us better than we deserve. It treats us without the slightest reference to what we deserve. Grace ceases to be grace if God withdraws it upon any human failure. If Grace is in any way tied to something you do, then it is no longer a gift but a wage, and that’s not grace.

    And, to be selfish, the lyrics of Bill Withers tells me why it is in my own best interest to give grace willingly.

    I’ll help you carry on
    For it won’t be long
    Till I’m gonna need
    Somebody to lean on

    Yep. It is just a matter of time until I will be begging for grace for some stupid action or word. Paul knew that was true and reminded the Galatian Church.

    Live creatively, friends. If someone falls into sin, forgivingly restore him, saving your critical comments for yourself. You might be needing forgiveness before the day’s out. Stoop down and reach out to those who are oppressed. Share their burdens, and so complete Christ’s law. If you think you are too good for that, you are badly deceived. (Galatians 6, The Message)

    Why are we so willing to receive grace and not extend it? Maybe the next lyric has a clue.

    Please swallow your pride
    If I have things
    You need to borrow
    For no one can fill

    Pride. Pride causes us to cover our needs because that would show weakness. Pride tells us to wear a mask of false joy so that others won’t know our shame and sin. Our Father in Heaven designed this journey to be lived in community. God knows that we need Him and we need one another. Healthy community is not unlike two parents being the healthiest community for children. Sometimes a child needs his or her father and sometimes only the mother can touch their need. In the same way there are times when only Abba Father can comfort my soul but at other times I need the community of fellow believers to get through.

    We all need somebody to lean on
    I just might have a problem
    That you’ll understand

    We all need somebody to lean on

    Yes it is hard to walk with the wounded. Yes it is frustrating to watch messy people make the same mistakes over and over. Yes it is tiring to give grace to the needy. But my heart’s desire remains the same. I want to follow the game plan of Paul in the book of Acts.

    But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God. (Acts 20:24, NLT)

  • The Most Needed Parable of Jesus in this Culture?

    I can’t remember a more contentious cultural climate in my lifetime. Followers of Christ are wondering how to make a difference in an unfriendly environment. I think modeling a parable related by Jesus is desperately needed today. You probably know the story well.

    One day an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus by asking him this question: “Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?”

    Jesus replied, “What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?”

    The man answered, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

    “Right!” Jesus told him. “Do this and you will live!”

    The religious “expert” should have quit right there. Instead he did what many of us try to do when Jesus tweaks our hearts. We look for the loopholes.

    The man wanted to justify his actions, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

    He was hoping to put boundaries on his personal responsibility. The Greek and Hebrew definition of neighbor would have been someone nearby or that they associate with. That clarification would have eliminated Samaritans, Gentiles, and foreigners. That was the answer the scholar was hoping for when Jesus blew the lid off his selfish hope.

    Jesus replied with a story: “A Jewish man was traveling from Jerusalem down to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road.

    “By chance a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. A Temple assistant walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side.

    “Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, telling him, ‘Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.’

    Jesus always looks on the heart. He knew exactly what the man was doing so He presented a scenario that had no nuance. The man was robbed and stripped so he could not be identified by his garments. He was simply a man in dire need. A priest would have known the law of love in God’s teaching. He chose to not get involved. He could have rationalized that touching the a potentially dead man would have made him unclean for priestly duties. A Levite or Temple assistant also walked by without helping. To be fair to both of them stopping to help could have put the Priest or Levite in personal danger. So the easy thing to do was look away and keep walking. The one who stopped and risked everything was reviled in that culture as an unclean sinner. The Samaritan not only put himself at personal risk but also gave unselfishly from his own resources to make sure the victim would be cared for. His gesture was an extraordinary example of compassion and kindness. The kind of mercy that turns heads. And then Jesus asked the uncomfortable question.

    “Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?” Jesus asked. The man replied, “The one who showed him mercy.

    Then Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.”

    The religious expert couldn’t even bring himself to call the man who was a good neighbor a Samaritan. He simply called him the “one who showed mercy”. Jesus drove home that there is no one outside of the mercy and compassion of God and therefore there should be none outside of our own caring.

    The parable Jesus told is a vital one for Christians in our contentious society. Followers of Jesus need to show kindness and compassion to the neighbors we are comfortable with and especially to those we are are uncomfortable with. We can not look away when we encounter any person in need no matter what their color, status, beliefs, or behaviors might be. We are called to compassion and only that kind of faith will cause change.

    My friend Chris Taylor has gone to be with Jesus. He made this parable so practical in real life. His take on helping others will always be in my heart. Chris had this simple but profound approach to loving your neighbor.

    “If I can help someone I don’t need to think or pray about it. I just do it.”

    That is exactly what Jesus was saying to the religious expert. Don’t rationalize why you can’t help your neighbor. If you can help then you do it. That is how Christianity got an early foothold in an antagonistic culture.

    Professor E. Glenn Hinson writes, “The early Christians impressed the culture with high moral standards and their practice of charity for all, regardless of social status” (emphasis added).

    Today’s church could earn a doctorate in cultural impact just by integrating those two qualities into the fabric of daily life.

    That is the kind of faith that makes a difference. We are past the point of legislating, arguing, and litigating change. How can you risk loving and having compassion for those who oppose you? By remembering the gift of grace that you received from a merciful, loving, and exceedingly patient God. Over two-thousand years later we still describe those who go above and beyond as Good Samaritans. We need God to raise up an army of those selfless servants to impact this culture. Volunteers are needed today.

  • A Recipe for Revival


    When I got serious about following Jesus there was a song we sang regularly at gatherings.

    We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord
    We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord
    And we pray that our unity will one day be restored
    And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love
    Yeah they’ll know we are Christians by our love

    What a difference the body of Christ would make in today’s contentious world if we believed and lived these very simple words.

    We are one in the spirit.

    There should be no separation by wealth, color, talent, or power. We are one in Jesus.

    We pray that our unity
    will one day be restored.

    We are still praying that today. It is not a difficult concept to understand how important unity is to achieve any goal. Can a team of self-centered football players win a championship? A team needs to have one unified focus to achieve success. How much more important is unity in the body of Christ as we seek eternal goals? Certainly one of the enemies primary strategies is to create disunity. The frustrating thing is how we can become disunified over issues that would be incredibly embarrassing and humbling if Jesus appeared in person and asked what our problem was.

    “Well, uhhhh, we were arguing about how the church should respond to (fill in the blank).”

    I can picture the person squirming as Jesus looks into their eyes and, even more uncomfortably, into their hearts. When we forget the forgiveness, love, patience, and grace of God we lose our unity. And social issues become giant chasms of division that cause people to run away from our message.

    My friend Pete Jung shared a quote with me from John Alan Turner that is also uncomfortably convicting.

    “It’s hard to convince people that a God they can’t see loves them, when a church they can see doesn’t seem to like them.”

    Ouch.

    Paul wrote to a divided Corinthian Church with an admonition. But he began by reminding them of their blessings.

    4 I always thank my God for you and for the gracious gifts he has given you, now that you belong to Christ Jesus. 5 Through him, God has enriched your church in every way—with all of your eloquent words and all of your knowledge. 6 This confirms that what I told you about Christ is true. 7 Now you have every spiritual gift you need as you eagerly wait for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. 8 He will keep you strong to the end so that you will be free from all blame on the day when our Lord Jesus Christ returns. 9 God will do this, for he is faithful to do what he says, and he has invited you into partnership with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. (I Corinthians 1:4-10, NLT)

    We have been given extraordinary gifts of grace. Spiritual gifts. Forgiveness. Partnership with the Father through Jesus. And then he outlines how we should respond in unity.

    10 I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose.

    How will they know we are followers of Jesus in a life-changing way? Jesus makes it clear.

    35 Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” (John 13:35, NLT)

    That is how the early church changed the culture and that is the only way Christians can impact the divided world we live in. It ain’t happening through Instagram, TikTok, or Facebook. Jesus is the ultimate influencer and His words are eternal.

    “Your love for another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”

    Love for one another and unity in Jesus is the recipe for revival. And they will know we are Christians by our love.