Charisa Stories

Tag: Jesus

  • God Has A Weight Loss Plan For The New Year

    Most of us see New Years Day as a fresh start. We make steadfast resolutions of how we are going to do better this year. The reality is that January 1st is just another day. We could just as easily resolve on May 18th or August 3rd that we are going to change how we live. But there is something psychologically powerful about New Year’s Day.

    The most cited resolutions generally include things like exercising more, saving more money, getting out of debt, and reading the Bible all the way through without getting bogged down in Leviticus and skipping directly to the Psalms. The most popular resolution year after year is losing weight.

    I thought I would be doing a real service if I gave you God’s Weight Loss Plan to take into 2026. This weight loss plan will make you healthier, reduce stress, give you more joy and cause you to grow in your relationship with the Lord. By following this no subscription, no monthly dues plan you can lose the weight of bitterness and anger caused from lack of forgiveness. If you are carrying around an unforgiving spirit it is weighing you down spiritually and emotionally.

    This is from a chapter on forgiveness I wrote in “Bring’em Back Alive – A Healing Plan for those Wounded by the Church”.

    • Forgiveness is not condoning or diminishing the offense. Forgiving a person who has wronged you does not mean they are “off the hook” for any consequences or judgment that may result from their actions. Forgiveness is a personal act of your will that releases the other person from your condemnation. At that point you have been obedient to what Jesus asks of you, the other person is responsible to God for their response as you trust God to see that justice is dispensed according to His Holy judgment and timing.
    • Forgiveness is not forgetting. The old forgive and forget admonition was one of the biggest barriers I faced in my journey to learn how to forgive. You know the old mental challenge to not picture an elephant in the room. You can’t do it. Instantly the image pops into your mind. The more I tried to be spiritually mature and try to forgive and forget the more my offender became the “elephant in the room.” That person or event was all I could think of. Over time you will think less and less of the hurt and/or the one who administered same.Trying to achieve a state of instantaneous forgetfulness is setting yourself up for failure and frustration.
    • Forgiveness does not require reconciliation. Certainly it is a worthy goal to have the gift of forgiveness lead to a restoration of a damaged relationship. But it takes two people to reconcile and you have no control over anyone’s response except your own. The other person may not respond graciously. They may not be ready to accept forgiveness or acknowledge their part or even desire to be reconciled. Reconciliation is not required to be obedient to the command of Jesus.
    • Forgiveness is an act of the will and is not a response to feelings. We must choose to forgive and trust the Jesus who forgave us to eventually change our feelings. We may not “feel” like forgiveness has transpired. If you decide to wait until you “feel” like forgiving or that the other person must make the first move you will remain spiritually stuck. We have to make the choice and then wait for God to honor the choice. We make a choice to forgive and then we have faith that the Holy Spirit will reshape our feelings over the course of time.
    • Forgiveness is not ignoring or excusing the offense. There is nothing to forgive if we have not been wronged. Jesus is not asking us to ignore reality. He is asking us to acknowledge how much we have been forgiven and to extend that gift of grace. It may well be undeserved. So was my forgiveness Jesus bought for me at the Cross. Forgiveness is acknowledging the offense without cover-up or excuse and still choosing to forgive.
    • Forgiveness is not denial of the hurt. Pride will often cause us to “not allow the person who hurt us the satisfaction” of knowing we are wounded. That is absurd. Acknowledge the reality of the injury but make the choice to be healed.
    • Forgiveness is eliminating revenge as an option. Lewis Smedes makes a brilliant point about revenge. No matter how much we try “we cannot get even; this is the inner fatality of revenge.” When you start trying to get even you have already lost. How many times must I gossip about you to get “even” for the hurt you caused me? When is the scale even? The truth proclaimed by Josh Billings is “there is no revenge so complete as forgiveness.”
    • Forgiveness means understanding that hurt is part of the faith tour contract that we signed when we decided to follow Jesus. Author David Stoop notes that, “People choose the Path of Bitterness when they get caught up in trying to understand the reasons for the offense. They think, if only they could understand why the other person did what he or she did, they could get over it and let it go.” I have three words for that approach. Does not work.

    The late author Lewis Smedes wrote that only forgiveness can “release us from the grip of our history.” We cannot change an abusive upbringing. We cannot alter dysfunctional theological training that denied grace. We cannot simply deny the hurts that have been visited upon us and be spiritually free. Only forgiveness can release us from the grip of these real and historical events.

    Forgiveness is not the cop out of weak people. The reason you need to forgive is that our Designer knew that is the only way for you to be fully healed. You have a Savior who understands the pain of betrayal. That is why Jesus gave up His glory in Heaven to take on flesh.

    Is forgiving easy? Of course not. I believe that forgiveness is the single hardest thing that Jesus asks us to do. But He knows how important forgiveness is for own growth. But why would you want to live in anger and carry the extra weight of an unforgiving spirit when Jesus has something better for you? The Apostle Paul’s wrote these words in Colossians.

    Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. (Col 3, NIV)

    That can lighten the weight of bitterness and anger as you trust God this year.

  • This Is My Christmas Wish For You

    Amy Grant recorded “My Grown-up Christmas List” for her “Home For Christmas” album. The lyrics imagine an adult going back to Santa with a different perspective on what matters most in life. Instead of material things the writer now asks for good things for others. I love the sentiment of the song.

    No more lives torn apart
    That wars would never start
    And time would heal all hearts
    Everyone would have a friend
    And right would always win
    And love would never end
    This is my grown-up Christmas list

    I thought about my “grown-up” Christmas list this week. I would love for all of the things in the lyrics above to come true. But I have lived enough to know they will not. Everyday lives are torn apart. Wars start too frequently. Time does not heal every heart. Some who are reading this are lonely. Right seems to lose way too often and love ends for many.

    So what could I wish for that would be available for all? My grown-up Christmas list would have one simple wish. That every person would truly understand the outrageous grace gift that God offers to each one of us. All we have to do is open that gift in faith. Christmas is when the gift came to earth wrapped in swaddling clothes.

    I wish that everyone who hears the Gospel message would comprehend the one way love that God demonstrated. Instead of turning His back on sinners who deserved just that God chose to reach out to His creation with a radical plan for forgiveness. A plan that is unlike any other religion in history. Man made religion always demands something to earn salvation. God’s plan for redemption requires the lost to bring nothing to the table other than their sin and the need for salvation. Nothing.

    God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. (Ephesians 2:8-9, NLT)

    Not a single requirement other than believing. A gift of grace. The plan is so radical that it feels otherworldly. Salvation is complete and God’s gift shows His desire to know us as His beloved children.

    I wish that everyone who believes the Gospel would truly believe that they are a brand new creation. Recreated as a saint with complete freedom in Christ. Adopted as a child of God. Forgiven forever. And that all of those things are completely true because of Jesus.

    I wish I could give those things to everyone on my list. Life will give us sadness, loss and loneliness but trust in Jesus gives us hope in the darkest storm. It started with the baby we celebrate at Christmas. The gift of forgiveness and hope is available to everyone. Receiving that gift is my wish for you this Christmas.

  • When Feeling Misfit Head To The Island Of Grace

    Christmas really is the most wonderful time of the year. I love the music, the memories, the traditions, and the chance to annually think about Burl Ives.

    His memory returns with the annual airing of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Ives is the voice of Sam the Snowman who narrates the “enhanced” story of Rudolph.

    Rudolph and his elf buddy Hermey don’t fit in with the others. Rudolph looks different than his peers. Hermey is not interested in making toys. In an odd plot twist, Hermey wants to be a dentist. Not surprisingly, his elf supervisor is upset with the unproductive Hermey. So the two outcasts set off to find their purpose and a place to be accepted.

    The part of the story that resonates with me these days is when Hermey and Rudolph find their way to the Island of Misfit Toys. All of the toys on this island are castoffs because they are flawed and deemed worthless. There is a “Charlie in the Box” and a train with square wheels. A boat that sinks in water and a squirt gun that shoots jelly. All of these flawed toys are banished to the Island of Misfit Toys simply because they are different and judged as worthless.

    That is how I picture so many sad and tired followers of Jesus. They see themselves as misfits. They believe they are flawed and not worth much of anything. They have allowed a perceived idea of what a “good” Christian should look like to cause them to feel like they don’t measure up. The doubts overwhelm them.  Discouraged followers of Christ start thinking thoughts like these.

    I don’t have theological training.
    I can’t sing well.
    I am not a good teacher.
    I am afraid to share my faith.
    I feel awkward in groups.
    I am not a leader.
    I don’t have much to offer.

    But that is not how the Bible describes a follower of Christ. Every Christian is described as being part of the body of Christ. Scripture makes it clear that every part of the body of Christ is vital to the healthy function of the church. Henri Nouwen wrote that every follower of Jesus has a God designed role.

    “We seldom realize fully that we are sent to fulfill God-given tasks. . . . We act as if we were simply dropped down in creation and have to decide how to entertain ourselves until we die. But we were sent into the world by God, just as Jesus was. Once we start living our lives with that conviction, we will soon know what we were sent to do.”

    So if you are feeling like a misfit toy this Christmas season you can trust this truth. You have a divine purpose. God does not make misfits. He creates people in His image with value and great worth. Satan would like you to retreat to your own island of misfits to feel sad and worthless. But God has another gathering place in mind.

    The Island of Grace. On that island you are not a misfit. You are a beloved child of God. You are a saint. And in this wonderful place there are no misfits. Every blemish makes you more valuable, not less. Brokenness makes you more beautiful. The miracle of Christmas makes us friends to the King. Paul made that abundantly clear with these words of encouragement to the Church in Rome.

    So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God. (Romans 5:11, NLT)

    Friend of God? Hard to feel like a misfit if you believe that is true. Receive that gift and keep it close to your heart.

    Merry Christmas!

  • The Miracle Revealed In A Manger

    One of my contributions with these modest weekly musings is to ask tough questions.

    While listening to the Christmas carol “Away in a Manger” my inquiring mind kicked in. You likely know verse three of the song.

    The cattle are lowing
    The poor Baby wakes
    But little Lord Jesus
    No crying He makes

    As I listened an important series of difficult and probing inquiries popped into my head. 

    1. What noise, exactly, were the cattle making when they started lowing?
    2. Was this normal cow talk? 
    3. Did lowing just sound better than mooing in the lyric or is lowing a more spiritual and reverent cow sound?
    4. And then the most important question came to mind. What is wrong with me?

    I can’t answer the last question but I can help with the others. Lowing is defined at dictionary.com as “the characteristic sound uttered by cattle; a moo”.

    So little baby Jesus was awakened by the characteristic sound uttered by a cow. That would not have flowed well in the lyric so I understand using lowing. The next part of the song is disturbing to those of us who are or have been parents. If any of the babies who grew up in our household were awakened by cattle lowing they would be squalling (defined as “the characteristic sound uttered by a ticked off baby; a scream”).

    I remember as a child singing “Away in a Manger” and picturing the baby Jesus with this beatific smile on his face and a little halo hovering over his head. In my imagination the animals were swaying and singing like the campfire scene from the movie “Three Amigos”.  My images of the baby Jesus were indeed childish. But I wonder if we don’t carry a little of that flawed perspective about the “Baby Jesus” into our adult Christian journey.

    Every Christmas I take time to ponder the incredible implications of the incarnation. That nice little theological word is used to denote when the second person of the Trinity assumed human form in the person of Jesus Christ and became both fully God and fully man. C.S. Lewis called the incarnation “the Grand Miracle.” He wrote: “The central miracle asserted by Christians is the Incarnation…. Every other miracle prepares for this, or exhibits this, or results from this…. It was the central event in the history of the Earth–the very thing that the whole story has been about. By a miracle that passes human comprehension, the Creator entered his creation, the Eternal entered time, God became human–in order to die and rise again for the salvation of all people.”

    Take a moment to meditate on the mystery of that. Fully God and fully man. I am sure the little Lord Jesus would have had the normal response to being awakened by any cow noise…lowing or other. His swaddling clothes had to be changed just like any baby. The Son of God was sleeping in a feeding trough. The King of Kings entered our lives in unparalleled humility.

    Because God became flesh I can relate to a Savior that understands the frailties of my flesh. Because the Creator understands His creation I can be sure that God understands my pain, frustration, and loneliness. It is difficult for me to relate to an invisible God. That is another miracle of God becoming man. I can relate to Jesus because He has walked in my sandals. That is the Sovereign genius of the incarnation. We can relate to God in flesh in a way that is different. When I suffer I know that Jesus understands. He has been there. When I am lonely or feeling betrayed I can know (in my finite ability) that He understands. When I am joyful and laughing He understands. By becoming like me I can believe that Jesus can empathize with me on a different level. Because I know He gets it then I also get it. God loves me and Jesus has my back.

    My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous. (1 John 2, NLT)

    Jesus became our advocate and our path to salvation when He arrived on earth. The miracle in the manger was not Jesus ignoring whatever cow sound they were  making. The miracle was God becoming flesh.

  • A Sacred Plan To Make Thanksgiving Day Special

    I encourage you to turn off the news Thanksgiving Day and concentrate on what you have to be thankful for this holiday. I think you might be surprised at how many good things you take for granted everyday. I love the concept of Thanksgiving. The idea that we collectively take a day to concentrate on the abundant blessings we have in this country.

    Thanksgiving Song by Mary Chapin Carpenter captures the intimacy of this wonderful holiday.

    Grateful for each hand we hold
    Gathered round this table.
    From far and near we travel home,
    Blessed that we are able.

    I have so much to be grateful for this Thanksgiving. I am grateful for another year with my wonderful wife Joni. I am grateful for three wonderful sons, three amazing daughter-in-laws, and eight heart stealing grandchildren. I am blessed that our family is able to be together this Thanksgiving. I am grateful for good friends. I am grateful to be an American.

    Grateful for this sheltered place
    With light in every window,
    Saying “welcome, welcome, share this feast
    Come in away from sorrow.”

    Every year brings sorrow. Friends and family have suffered illness this year. Some have gone through deep trials. Some have passed away. Sorrow is a part of this journey. But there is something healing about counting blessings and feeling gratitude. Taking that time provides a sheltered place from sorrow. For me the light in the window of my soul is my trust in a God that is faithful, loving, and good in both blessings and in sorrow.

    Grateful for what’s understood,
    And all that is forgiven;

    Jesus is the light that said welcome when I felt anything but welcome. He invited me to the feast that I did not deserve to attend because of His grace. Jesus said I was forgiven. How can I be anything but grateful if I understand the magnitude of that undeserved love?

    We try so hard to be good,
    To lead a life worth living.

    I might add a little personal clarification to Carpenter’s lyric. I understand the desire to live a life of significance. I get trying to be good. I believe we have a reason for being here. But my experience with the grace of the Lord Jesus has taught me that it is not trying so hard to lead a life worth living that brings peace and joy. It is following Jesus each day. It is allowing God to love me and asking Him to help me give away that love to others. It is trusting God to provide opportunities to serve. It is believing that God is faithful even through sorrow. It is trusting that what God says about me is true. I am so grateful for grace. So very grateful.

    Paul’s words to the Colossian Church make a fitting devotional thought for this holiday.

    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.

    Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father. (Colossians 3:12-17, NLT)

    I hope you have a blessed Thanksgiving.

  • I Am So Grateful That I Know Who Holds Tomorrow

    My Dad passed away twenty-one years ago but I still 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 can imagine 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.

    Sometimes I dial up his favorite music as emotional comfort food. It is the Gospel songs that really make me think about my wonderful heavenly 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.

    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.

  • Finding Light In The Darkness Of This 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 one of my favorite Christian artists, Lauren Daigle, sing a hymn that was written in 1922. 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 past 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 flesh reactions 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. 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.