Charisa Stories

Tag: grace

How to Choose Hope and Light over Doom and Darkness

I remember reading Chicken Little when I was a child. The story tells that a young chick walking along was unexpectedly struck on the head by an acorn. With no further investigation Chicken Little came to the kind of well reasoned conclusion that floods our social media today.

The sky is falling!

Today Chicken Little would be an excellent politician or cable news anchor. Every time I violate my own personal mental health policy and turn on the news I am plunged into despair.

The sky is falling! Look! There is an expert displaying a colorful chart to prove it! Hear me out. I know is important to communicate information for our actions and safety. But the tone and sheer volume of fear mongering is depressing.

When I fall totally into the abyss and survey social media I see overwhelming fear, anger, gloom, and apocalyptic doom. Again, I understand the need to be informed. But I am beginning to think that fear is the most consistency ingredient for too many sources.

As a follower of Jesus how do I process this tsunami of doom? I need to remind myself of some fundamental truths that I hold true. I find myself doing this over and over because the noise from the culture can drown out the quiet voice of the Spirit of God. Here is a small dose of my faith vaccine for fear.

These events are NOT a surprise to God. Violence, hatred, bigotry, and division are a product of a fallen world that will someday be redeemed. Jesus made it very clear that following Him is not a get out of grief card.

“I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33, NLT)

Yes, there will be troubles but He has overcome the world. What does that mean?

It means even in my deepest fear and darkest hour I know that I am loved, adopted, redeemed, and I have the promise of eternity with God. I have hope to sustain me. I am not anxious to leave this world but I am also not afraid. I believe I have an eternal inheritance given as a free gift of grace awaiting me.

I do my best to obey the laws the authorities lay out for me. I try to be a good neighbor and a responsible citizen. After doing all of those important things I stand on this conclusion drawn by David when he was afraid for his future. His lament sounds like he could have written it today (after watching cable news).

My heart is breaking
    as I remember how it used to be:
I walked among the crowds of worshipers,
    leading a great procession to the house of God,
singing for joy and giving thanks
    amid the sound of a great celebration!

David was isolated. His days of joyful gatherings were just a memory as he hunkered down alone in fear. But he remembered the key to his joy and thankfulness. He remembered where he placed his hope.

Why am I discouraged?
    Why is my heart so sad?
I will put my hope in God!
    I will praise him again—
    my Savior and my God!

In Psalm 73 the author laments how the wicked seem to prosper and he wonders if his efforts are in vain. Then he recognizes the problem is not the world but the bitterness in his own heart. He acknowledges that he may face troubles but his source of strength is eternal.

My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak,
    but God remains the strength of my heart;
    he is mine forever. (Psalm 73:26, NLT)

The next time the news or a social media influencer is causing your heart to be downcast remember the words of Paul to the church at Corinth.

“For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.”
(2 Corinthians 4:17-18, NLT)

Today I choose to focus my gaze on the source of hope and light.

Jesus.

Fear causes you to take your eye off of the source of your strength. Keep your eyes on Jesus and the words of a classic old church hymn will begin to ring true in your heart.

O soul are you weary and troubled?
No light in the darkness you see?
There’s light for a look at the Savior
And life more abundant and free

Turn you 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 pray that you will choose to focus on the hope and light of Jesus to get you through the cacophony of doom and gloom that surrounds us.

April 27, 2020
Connect 21: Day 20 – The Best Present You Can Give.

Every day I am gifted with 86,400 seconds of precious time. I cannot possibly use all of it wisely. But I can invest more of that daily gift into my relationships with God and others. I can’t draw interest on unused time to be used later.

Time is far more valuable than the money we so doggedly pursue. I can lose all my money and make more later. But if I lose my time, it is gone forever. Solomon actually beat me to this message by about three thousand years, give or take. He decided that, all things considered, the best way to live is to enjoy the moment.

After looking at the way things are on this earth, here’s
what I’ve decided is the best way to live: Take care
of yourself, have a good time, and make the most of
whatever job you have for as long as God gives you
life. And that’s about it. That’s the human lot. Yes, we
should make the most of what God gives, both the
bounty and the capacity to enjoy it, accepting what’s
given and delighting in the work. It’s God’s gift! God
deals out joy in the present, the now. It’s useless to
brood over how long we might live.
Ecclesiastes 5:18-20, The Message

Not to be maudlin, but that is the reality of this earthly existence. We don’t know if we have tomorrow or even the rest of today. Certainly we must be wise to plan and prepare for a long future. But we must also invest in now, in case that is what we are given.

Maybe the message that resonates the most for me is that we cannot receive postdated grace. We cannot order grace for the future. We receive grace in the now. Grace is God’s greatest gift of my being present with Him. When we are disconnected or distracted, we miss that blessing of real-time grace.

If I had to write a one-sentence summary of what I learned on this odyssey, it would be very simple. Spend focused time with those you love and with your God. Speaker-writer Zig Ziglar wrote about spending time with loved ones.

“One of these days you will say either, ‘I wish I had,’ or ‘I’m glad I did.’”

How heartbreaking would it be to find yourself at the end of this pilgrimage with the regret of “I wish I had” roiling in your soul? My heart’s desire is that I will gratefully say, “I’m glad I did.” If you want to give the very best present to your spouse, kids, friends, and God, the grace challenge is simple.

Be present.

I have never forgotten what entrepreneur Mary Crowley said to me when we were discussing the challenge of parenting. Mary said she had one regret. “I wish I had answered at the first tug.” That is simply being present.

If a friend is suffering, you can show no greater love than to simply be there for him or her. Not offering great theological insight or stories of your own or other’s suffering. Just to be present.

When you talk to a friend, be present. Not looking around as if your friend is merely a temporary diversion before someone more compelling comes along. That is the best thing we can give to others. Nothing makes a person feel more valued than being fully present.

Being present is the best worship we can give to God. We can sing and raise hands in worship to God, and that is good. We can talk about His love and forgiveness, and that is good. But nothing communicates our adoration for God more than being fully present with Him.

The enemy will remind you over and over of all that needs to be done. He will remind you of past wounds and failures. It would be wise to remember a couple of things at this point. Jesus has experienced exactly what you are going through right now. He was tempted in the desert by Satan. He was tired, hungry, and lonely. Jesus experienced this trio of circumstances that often cause me to yield to temptation, and He conquered them with a simple strategy. Jesus focused on the Father and rebuked Satan with Scripture. First Jesus was tempted to gratify His extreme hunger by turning the stones into bread. Then the Accuser taunted Jesus to prove His divine status by throwing Himself off the Temple and to be rescued by attending angels. The Message colorfully describes the third temptation of Jesus.

For the third test, the Devil took him to the peak of a
huge mountain. He gestured expansively, pointing out
all the earth’s kingdoms, how glorious they all were.
Then he said, “They’re yours—lock, stock, and barrel.
Just go down on your knees and worship me, and
they’re yours.”
Jesus’ refusal was curt: “Beat it, Satan!”

I cannot tell you how much I love the image of Jesus turning to the enemy and telling him to “beat it.”

The story continues. He backed his rebuke with a third quotation from
Deuteronomy:

“Worship the Lord your God, and only him. Serve him with absolute single-
heartedness.” The Test was over. The Devil left. And in his place, angels! Angels came and took care of Jesus’ needs. Matthew 4:8-11, The Message

There is so much good stuff in those verses. Jesus’ rebuke was backed by the Word of God. That gave authority to the command to “beat it.” I can have a colleague tell me that I should complete a task at work. I may or may not do it. I can have a peer tell me. I may or may not respond. But when the boss tells me to do it, the job will certainly get done. He or she has authority. I am under that authority to obey, unless I make the bad choice of not responding, which may mean I will be looking for another job. That is what was going on here. Satan has power, but it is limited. God has the authority, and Jesus simply used that power.

Serve Him with absolute single-heartedness. Be present. We cannot multitask and be fully present with God.

Some anonymous person summed it up perfectly. People who have a lot of money and no time we call “rich.” People who have time but no money we call “poor.” Yet the most precious gifts—love,friendship, time with loved ones—grow only in the sweet soil of unproductive time.

The world might call quiet moments of presence with God and others unproductive time. I am learning that there is no more productive way we can spend our time. Everything that truly matters springs from that presence-enriched soil.

My heavenly Father is always present. I just need to show up for Him. That is the essence of spiritual growth for me. Just showing up in humility every day, seeking His presence.

I will stumble in this journey to be present. I probably will need a refresher course often. But I am confident beyond confident of one truth that Paul wrote to the church at Philippi, which is true for you and me today.

I am certain that God, who began the good work within
you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on
the day when Christ Jesus returns.
Philippians 1:6

I am waking up slowly in this life. But one day, fairly soon, I will wake up glorified. I believe the epithet written on Ruth Graham’s tombstone will also describe my journey: “End of construction—thank you for your patience.”

Excerpts from Waking Up Slowly

April 9, 2020
21 Connect: Day 18 – The Value of Silence

It comes as no surprise that the Bible regularly addresses our need for silence and solitude.

Let all that I am wait quietly before God,
for my hope is in him.
He alone is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress where I will not be shaken. Psalm 62:5-6

Perhaps the most consistent role model for the need for solitude and silence was Jesus.

Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus
got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place,
where he prayed. Mark 1:3-5, NIV

Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed. Luke 5:16, NIV

Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the
night praying to God. When morning came, he called
his disciples to him and chose twelve of them. Luke 6:12-13, NIV

Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make
him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain
by himself. John 6:15, NIV

Jesus understood the need to recenter and reconnect with the Father. He understood the power of quiet to be able to hear the voice of His Father. How can we think we are able to function spiritually and emotionally without occasional silence and solitude? This is not something I am accomplished at. I have probably had more intentional, undistracted time during this pandemic than I have had in years, if not ever.

Noise becomes a habit. If I am alone, I used to need the television in the background or music in my ears. I am learning that sometimes I just need silence.

A. W. Tozer said that “only after all the noise has spent itself do we begin to hear in the silence of our heart, the still, small, mighty voice of God.”

That requires us to slow down, give up our perceived control, and simply be quiet. I can tell you it does not come naturally in this culture. Being alone and quiet so you can hear the still voice of the Holy Spirit is about a heart attitude more than location. For me, there is one really important benefit of reflective quiet in the presence of God: it interrupts my typical prayer time of delivering a monologue to God. I was taught to make my requests known in prayer after a little perfunctory praise. I went down my list, and I was done. One-way conversation.

I am outta here!

Forcing myself to be quiet gives me a chance to look inward. To see where I might need to allow the light of God’s grace to shine on some dark area. I allow myself to be fully in the moment and not worried about tomorrow. I allow myself the time to reflect on who I am and how the Father looks at me. It clears my mind to clearly think about what needs to be done. I remind myself that I don’t have to constantly manage and be in control.

Be still, and know that I am God! (Psalm 46:10)

The Hebrew word for “be still” might be better translated as “cause yourselves to let go” or “let yourselves become weak.” I have had to learn to slow down, unplug, and be still. And I have had a major surprise: I am really enjoying it.

It is a lesson I intend to build on. God is powerful enough to teach an old dog new tricks. I invite you to find a place to be quiet today. In the sounds of silence, God may very well meet you.

Excerpts from Waking Up Slowly

April 7, 2020
Connect 21: Day 17 – Words Matter…A Lot

I am saddened, sickened, disturbed, and frightened at how the word hate is being hurled around in our national discourse. Red-faced politicians spew vitriol at those they disagree with. It can be an honest and complicated issue, but they reduce the debate to hating their opponents. Author James Baldwin made this insightful observation:

“I imagine one of the reasons people cling to their hates so stubbornly is because they sense, once hate is gone, they will be forced to deal with pain.”

Isn’t that the truth? It is so much easier to demonize than to understand. It is up to me and to you to change the discourse. The politician’s favorite tactic of justifying bad behavior with other bad behavior does not work with a holy God. Frankly, I am grateful He loves me too much to give me a pass on my blindness. Pastor Mark Mitchell is one of many people who has reflected on Rabbi Joseph Telushkin’s assessment of the power of words.

Rabbi Telushkin, author of Words That Hurt, Words That Heal, has lectured throughout this country on the powerful, often negative impact of words. He often asks audiences if they can go 24 hours without saying any unkind words about, or to, another person. Invariably, a small number of listeners raise their hands, signifying “Yes.” Others laugh, and quite a few call out, “No!”
Telushkin responds, “Those who can’t answer ‘yes’ must recognize that you have a serious problem. If you can’t go 24 hours without drinking liquor, you’re addicted to alcohol. If you can’t go 24 hours without smoking, you’re addicted to nicotine. So if you can’t go 24 hours without saying unkind words about others, then you’ve lost control over your tongue.”

Hate is a very serious word to use when talking about anyone, and especially another believer. As Christians, we simply do not have that option. Try to avoid these verses at your own peril.

If someone says, “I love God,” but hates a fellow believer,
that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see,
how can we love God, whom we cannot see? (1 John 4:20)

If anyone claims, “I am living in the light,” but hates a fellow believer, that person is still living in darkness.
(1 John 2:9)

Ouch. It’s very clear—and uncomfortable to hear—that I need to pray for those I disagree with in the faith community. But beyond that, I think we need to be extraordinarily prayerful about throwing the hate card at anyone.

Martin Luther King Jr. had some legitimate reasons to hate, but he chose not to. His words have not lost their power:

“I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.”

Another courageous African-American, Booker T. Washington,
made a similar choice.

“I will permit no man to narrow and degrade my soul by making me hate him.”

I know there are some people who are so evil that they seem unredeemable outside of a true miracle. But I have found that the majority of folks who disagree with me are generally decent people, when I take the time to hear their stories and get to know them. We hate people we don’t know and, without a doubt, that suspicious attitude prevents us from ever engaging with them.

I have decided to severely curtail my use of the word hate. I am making the choice to permit no man to degrade my soul by making me hate. And for the spiritual hall monitors, be aware that I am not going squishy on sin. There are actions, attitudes, and sins that I hate.

I have to remind myself that the actions that make me angry are the result of our fallen nature and sin. Hating people will not fix either of those issues. I can’t influence hearts by using inflammatory words. Words do matter. A lot.

Excerpts from Waking Up Slowly Book

April 6, 2020
21 Connect: Day 16 – Get Over Yourself

Valuing everyone is how Jesus lived. He modeled that with women, children, people with physical and mental challenges, lepers, social outcasts, and sinners. He served the weak and loved the unloved. He created the template for how the New Testament church should look if it functions biblically.

How did the early church explode and multiply against all odds? By serving selflessly, recklessly, and fearlessly. There was nothing comfortable about spreading the news about Jesus in the days, months, and years after His resurrection.

The apostles understood after the Cross what Jesus had been trying to tell them earlier. That the world measures greatness on an entirely different scale from the one that God uses. Remember that debate among the apostles? They had the criteria for greatness completely wrong.

They began to argue among themselves about who would be the greatest among them. Jesus told them, “In this world the kings and great men lord it over their people, yet they are called ‘friends of the people.’But among you it will be different. Those who are the greatest among you should take the lowest rank, and the leader should be like a servant. Who is more important, the one who sits at the table or the one who serves? The one who sits at the table, of course. But not here! For I am among you as one who serves.” Luke 22:24-27

The best way to take your eyes off your own circumstances is to serve others. Even as Jesus faced the horror of the Cross, He was serving others. Martin Luther King Jr. said it well: “Everybody can be great . . . because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.”

Every person in the body of Christ can serve in some way. It may be running errands for a seasoned citizen who can no longer drive. It may be babysitting for a harried young mom. It may be providing a meal to a family dealing with illness. It may be calling or visiting a lonely person. Sometimes listening is one of the greatest ways to serve others. Maybe one subtle way to serve is simply appreciating those people whom you work and live with in community.

The Carrot Principle, a book by Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton, determined that appreciation might well be the missing accelerator for happiness and self-esteem. Based on a ten-year study in which two hundred thousand people were interviewed, the authors conclude that appreciation tops the list of things employees say they want from their bosses. For those who worked in offices with high morale, an amazing 94 percent reported that they were shown appreciation. Not surprisingly, when employees quit, nearly 80 percent cited lack of appreciation as the number one reason.

We have a fundamental need to be affirmed. The authors of The Carrot Principle were surprised at how sparingly this blessing is given to others. I suspect it is often in short supply in our faith communities as well. That is a wonderful way you can serve others. Simply affirm and bless them in their gifts and skills.

Serving can be the smallest gesture, or it can be a selfless response to a crisis. I absolutely love the slogan that the Salvation Army has been using recently: “We combat natural disasters with Acts of God.” That is a powerful thought. We as the body of Christ commit “acts of God” by loving, helping, and healing those who suffer from a disaster, or sometimes just from life. My insurance policy outlines “acts of God” as a way to diminish liability. My understanding of God’s Word is that we have increased liability when others need help.

I pray that I will be willing to commit an “act of God” whenever I see a hurting person. When a student is struggling and needs mentoring, you can commit an “act of God.” When a family does not have money during this financial crisis, your “act of God” will make the difference. When someone is feeling blue, you can affirm and lift that person’s spirits by simply being present and caring. Jesus taught that these things we do are acts for God.

The king will say to those on his right, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty
and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.” Then the righteous will answer Him, “Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed you, or thirsty, and give You
something to drink? And when did we see You a stranger, and invite you in, or naked, and clothe you? When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?” The King will answer and say to them, “Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.” (Matthew 25:34-40, NASB)

Part of the journey to be more connected to God and others is simple. Get outside yourself by serving and affirming others. The rewards are remarkable.

Excerpts from Waking Up Slowly Book.

April 5, 2020
21 Connect: Day 15 – Let God Love You

I am learning to look into the mirror and see someone that I accept by faith and not by my feelings. I see a saint. That’s right. Many (maybe most) of Satan’s accusations about me are true. But what I now see is a man who is a saint. I found forty references to saints in Paul’s writings in the English Standard Version. From his additional descriptions, I am pretty sure that the recipients of his letters were not always behaving like saints. They were saints because of Christ, and not by meticulously following the law. God sees those who trust Jesus as righteous, no matter how many accusations are thrown at them.

Amazing.

All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. Even
before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 1:3-5)

That is my (and your) identity as a follower of Jesus. Holy and without fault in His eyes. I will be accused again, probably sooner than later. But I am learning to simply say this to myself:

“That is not who I am anymore. I am holy because of Christ.”

When I forget that truth, I allow doubt, confusion, shame, and sadness to creep in. Not leaning on the finished work of Jesus as my strength and identity sets me up for a frustrating masquerade of faith.

There may be no element more important to living fully in the moment with God than accepting that I am loved by Him right now just as I am. That is so counterintuitive to how “love” so often works in my experience. I have talked with too many men who justify their extramarital relationships by saying they deserve more than their current marriage provides. It always hurts my heart because those they hurt deeply do not deserve to be wounded by betrayal. I try to never forget what I said on that July day more than forty years ago to my bride. I made vows to Joni Lynn Banks before God. I did not sign a contract with escape clauses based on my happiness at any given point in time.

The world speaks a different love language. “I will love you while you are attractive.” “I will love you when you make me happy.” “I will love you when you do what I ask you to do.” Human love almost always includes conditional elements. That is not God’s love.

The Lord your God is in your midst;
he is a warrior who can deliver.
He takes great delight in you;
he renews you by his love;
he shouts for joy over you.
Zephaniah 3:17, NET

The attributes of God’s love are mind boggling. It is personal. You and I can relate to God the Creator of the universe as our Father. Think about that. I mean really think about that.

I am conditioned to believe that if something seems too good to be true, then I am being deceived. That is what Satan would have me believe. But the stunning radicality of grace is that what seems to be too good to be true is more true than I can imagine. This unconditional love from God is unrelated to the emotions, expectations, and desires that taint my human love. God’s love is offered to the undeserving and unworthy, regardless of status, gender, color, nationality, wealth, or educational achievement. God loves us first. He is the One who woos us to Him. He is the patient, loving Father who never leaves and is always there when His child finally comes home.

This love is ours to receive. We don’t have to do a single thing except bring our wounds and sins to the loving Great Physician. When I believe that Christ died for the sins of the world, I am moved. When I believe that Christ died for my sins, I am changed.

I am choosing to believe that today.

Excerpts from Waking Up Slowly Book

April 4, 2020
21 Connect: Day 14 – We Need a Village

Not all of us have experienced the joy of Psalm 133:1: “Behold, how good
and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!” (ESV).

There is no more powerful community than a group of believers who live in unity. And nothing should level the playing field like embracing the teachings of Jesus. He cares not a whit about color, status, or appearance. Jesus looks only on the heart. In Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians, he offered the benefits of honest community:

Brothers and sisters, we urge you to warn those who are lazy. Encourage those who are timid. Take tender care of those who are weak. Be patient with everyone. (1 Thessalonians 5:14)

Isn’t it interesting that the challenges Paul lists are arranged from easiest to hardest? I can admonish the lazy all day long. I am pretty good about encouraging the timid. On my good days I help the weak. But be patient with them all? Come on, Paul. Do you know these people?

But that is the attraction of community. It is messy and beautiful. Frustrating and fulfilling. It is life. And it is best lived together with other messy, beautiful, frustrating, and fulfilling saints who still are quite capable of sinning. And that tees up the biggest need for community as found
in Galatians:

Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself.
Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important. (Galatians 6 :1-3)

That seems like such an essential passage for this culture as I contemplate the devastating and heartbreaking toll of sin. I know. That is not politically correct. But there is no other word that describes what I am seeing today. Since I began this project, I have seen a beloved and effective pastor
lose his ministry for the false hope of an inappropriate relationship. Somehow he stepped away from the power of grace in community and listened to the siren song of sin.

Sin says that there is more. Sin says that you deserve to be happier and that it will be true only in a different relationship. Sin says that God does not really have your best interest at heart. I hate those lies from Satan that we continue to believe.

Christians really do have a wonderful message of hope. But too often we don’t communicate the liberating joy of the gospel. We attach strings, instead of shouting that all we need to bring to Him for salvation is our sin and need. Jesus has done the rest. Paul makes it pretty simple:

If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (Romans 10:9)

I must begin to concentrate on the message of what Jesus has done for me. Whether my sin inventory fills multiple volumes or a Post-
it note is irrelevant. I need the Cross. Only the finished work of Jesus makes me flawless. I am wounded and need acceptance.

Lord, forgive me for my sinful judgment of wounded souls, and help me to be a light to a very dark world.

Excerpts from Waking Up Slowly Book

April 2, 2020