Charisa Stories

Tag: Jesus

  • 21 Connect: Day 7 – This Crisis Can Teach us the Wisdom of Sabbath

    21 Connect: Day 7 – This Crisis Can Teach us the Wisdom of Sabbath

    On the seventh day God had finished his work of creation, so he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day when he rested from all his work of creation.

    Genesis 2:2-3, NLT

    God did not need to rest. He was modeling for His creation that we need to slow down and relax. Think of that. The God of Creation can kick back and enjoy what has been accomplished. Our Creator is telling us that we are creatures and not machines. What is wrong with us that we cannot take moments to enjoy and appreciate both our gifts of grace and the work of our hands?

    God understood that the body, mind, and spirit need rest and refueling time. Our culture has lost that instinct and ability to give ourselves permission to rest. Now a worldwide pandemic has forced many of us to slow down. For some it has been a maddening and boring time. For others it has been a revelation of how our busy lives have caused us to forget the simple and sacred moments of daily living.

    Jesus demonstrated that the command for Sabbath observance was not about following a hyperlegalistic rule. It was about taking the time to get over ourselves and see what God is doing. Remember this encounter with the Sabbath police?

    One Sabbath, Jesus was strolling with his disciples
    through a field of ripe grain. Hungry, the disciples were
    pulling off the heads of grain and munching on them.
    Some Pharisees reported them to Jesus: “Your disciples
    are breaking the Sabbath rules!”
    Jesus said, “Really? Didn’t you ever read what David
    and his companions did when they were hungry, how
    they entered the sanctuary and ate fresh bread off the
    altar, bread that no one but priests were allowed to
    eat? And didn’t you ever read in God’s Law that priests
    carrying out their Temple duties break Sabbath rules
    all the time and it’s not held against them?
    “There is far more at stake here than religion. If
    you had any idea what this Scripture meant‘
    I prefer a flexible heart to an inflexible ritual’— you wouldn’t be nitpicking like this. The Son of Man is no lackey to
    the Sabbath; he’s in charge.”
    Matthew 1 2 : 1 – 8 , The Message


    While I am reasonably sure that Jesus did not say “lackey” to the Pharisees, it sure is fun to think about. But the point is that the heart of Sabbath is not rule keeping. It is resting in the One who is our Sabbath. I can acknowledge that God has this under control and He can get by just fine without my assistance for a few hours. Writer Wendell Berry captured the spirit of letting go of my need to control every moment:


    “Sabbath observance invites us to stop. It invites us to rest.
    It asks us to notice that while we rest the world continues
    without our help. It invites us to find delight in the world’s
    beauty and abundance.”


    The world gets along just fine without my help. That is disappointing and liberating at the same time. Noted author Dallas Willard, who possessed a far bigger brain than I have, says this about the fourth commandment:

    “The command is ‘Do no work.’ Just make space. Attend to
    what is around you. Learn that you don’t have to do to be.
    Accept the grace of doing nothing. Stay with it until you stop
    jerking and squirming.”

    Accept the grace of doing nothing. I love that thought. I failed to recognize how innocuous and mundane little activities add up, draining my life battery.

    Sabbath truly is vital to our very well-being. It can be an oasis in the desert of busy living. God does not ordinarily clamor for my attention. He waits quietly for me to show up, be still, and spend time with Him. I don’t do that often enough.

    This time of rest might have been forced upon us but we would do well to learn the lessons of reflection, time, and worship. Things will return to busy soon. Let’s not forget the sacred value of Sabbath.

  • 21 Connect: Day 6 – Through the Eyes of Children

    21 Connect: Day 6 – Through the Eyes of Children

    In 1971, I was working as a local disc jockey in Chillicothe, Ohio. Yes, I am that old. The world was a scary place in the late 60’s and early 70’s, and my generation was determined to make a difference. Our hearts were in the right place, but our strategy was flawed. We thought political change was the answer. I have since learned that changing the hearts of men and women is the answer, and that happens best through a redemptive and real relationship with Jesus.

    One of the songs that impacted me deeply during my early DJ days was compiled by a Los Angeles disc jockey named Tom Clay. He remixed two hit songs from the sixties—“What the World Needs Now Is Love” and “Abraham, Martin and John,” adding audio clips to create a compelling social commentary.

    The medley is as powerful today as when I listened to it as a young radio announcer. The record begins with a child being interviewed about the meaning of segregation and bigotry, but the youngster clearly has no idea what those words mean.

    Then Clay powerfully integrates excerpts of speeches by John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., and Ted Kennedy’s eulogy for his assassinated brother, Robert. Those moments are intercut with sound bites of news coverage of their tragic deaths and other news stories.

    At the time, I didn’t realize the implications of how volatile our country was during that period. My parents rarely shared their fears, but they must have wondered if my generation would have any hope at all with the violence and hatred running wild. Hearing those heart-wrenching sound bites mixed in with the lyrics from “Abraham, Martin and John” still makes me emotional.

    “Abraham, Martin and John” laments that Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr., and John and Robert Kennedy all died too young as victims of senseless hatred. As the lyrics ask if anyone has seen my good friend John, the remix interrupts with CBS broadcaster Walter Cronkite’s special bulletin on November 22, 1963: President John F. Kennedy is dead.

    The song turns to “my old friend Martin.” Were King’s words included in the song—“Difficult days ahead . . .”—a possible premonition of his own violent death? And when Senator Robert Kennedy pays tribute to Dr. King, lines from that speech are stitched into the lyrics, wondering who
    will be the next person to “suffer from some senseless act of bloodshed,” an eerie self-prophecy. Kennedy would die during the presidential campaign of 1968.

    The compilation gently transitions to the lyric “what the world needs now is love, sweet love,” ending with the child’s voice again, asked to define the word prejudice.

    “Umm, I think it’s when somebody’s sick.”

    Spot on.

    Fast-forward fifty years, and it feels like not much has changed

    I am sick. So are you. Since the Garden of Eden all of us have been sick in our sin. Christians are forgiven, justified, and righteous because of Christ, but (and this is a big but) we are saints who still sin. We still have blind spots.

    I don’t know if those responses from the children in the song were spontaneous or scripted, but I do know that Jesus asked us to have the trusting heart of a child. Jesus is not saying that I should act childish and immature. If that were the case, I wouldn’t need much teaching. Instead, he meant that I must have that childlike trust, dependence, surrender to authority, and need for relationship. A child isn’t born hating another color, country, or idea. That is learned from adults.

    Pray that God will allow you to see everyone you come in contact with today as a child sees him or her. Without prejudice or bigotry or judgment. That may prove harder than you expect. But that may reveal exactly how desperately you and I need new lenses.

    GOD’S TAKE
    About that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?” Jesus called a little child to him and put the child among them. Then he said, “I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.” Matthew 18:1-4

    Taken from Waking Up Slowly

  • Connect 21: Day 5 Receiving the Gift of Grace

    Connect 21: Day 5 Receiving the Gift of Grace

    Today’s chapter from Waking Up Slowly is about our reluctance to receive the gift of grace. This 21 day journey explores the actions and attitudes that drive us away from God. One of those is refusing to accept that our salvation, sanctification, and satisfaction are all about what God has done and not about our own self-efforts.

    As a follower of Christ, I have everything I need to be content. Yet I wander, looking for something new or the latest trend in the church. What I was looking for in every book, program, study, and event was the sweet gospel of unconditional love, unmerited forgiveness, and complete acceptance. I was looking for grace.

    This line from poet Nancy Spiegelberg may be the most indicting summary
    of the grace I misunderstood for decades: “Lord, I crawled across the barrenness to You with my empty cup uncertain in asking any small drop of refreshment. If only I had known You better I’d have come running with a bucket.”

    I am indeed awakening to the mystery, the majesty, and the unquenchable supply of grace given to me each moment.

    Grace.

    It is a word that has lost its power through misuse and overuse. Fearful grace objectors banter about the ridiculous concept of cheap grace as if I must be wary of receiving a gift from my Father in heaven. Are you kidding me? If I view grace like a sales pitch for a time-share resort, I am listening to the wrong voices. There are no strings attached with grace. No fine print. No hidden costs. No promises to lure me in that have not already and forever been fully delivered. Grace gives me full title to the resort and all the first-class amenities.

    Grace.

    So God comes along with a redemption plan so radical that we have a hard time believing it could be true. This is what I almost always hear when I share God’s grace with unbelievers or fellow recovering legalists.
    “Is this true?”
    “Yes, it is,” I affirm.
    The follow-up question is the same one I asked when I first heard the grace message.
    “Why haven’t I heard this before?”
    To be completely honest, I had heard versions of that message over my first few decades of faith.

    Thank God I finally understood that I could not do it myself. I could not earn my way to righteousness. And more importantly, I finally understood that this was the best news ever. I could quit flailing and start trusting God’s
    gift of grace.

    You don’t have to do anything but believe. Radical. Crazy.

    Grace

    GOD’S TAKE
    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)

    A DOSE OF GRACE
    Grace is by definition an undeserved gift. Look for people in your life to whom you can give this gift of acceptance, love, forgiveness, and kindness today. Don’t expect reciprocity when you give grace. This is such an important piece to connect more with God and others. Accept His grace as a wonderful gift, and feel free to regift it over and over again.

    Excerpts are from Waking Up Slowly. Check it our here.

  • 21 Connect: Day 4 – The Owner’s Manual

    21 Connect: Day 4 – The Owner’s Manual

    Today’s chapter examines the role of the Bible in our culture and how there is a movement to diminish the importance of Scripture. Many are quick to find ways that unloving and graceless misapplications of biblical texts have done harm, while dismissing the incredible positive impact this same book has had on history. Commandments against murder, stealing, and lying are the basis of our legal system. The teachings of Jesus lived out by His early followers radically changed the status of women and children. Biblical stories and characters flow throughout great literature and art. Much of the true humanitarian work in medicine was born out of biblical conviction.

    Pastor Tim Keller had this insight about Scripture.

    If the Bible really was the revelation of God, and therefore it wasn’t the product of any one culture, wouldn’t it contradict every culture at some point? Therefore, if it’s really from God, wouldn’t it have to offend your cultural sensibilities at some point? Yes, it should. If the Bible is the revelation of God, then it follows that this volume contains insights into my spiritual and emotional DNA that only the Designer can fully explain.

    Tim Keller

    An engineer can look at a design problem and provide a solution. He or she designed the product and knows where the problem exists and how the solution can be implemented. A software designer can look into the code and find the offending bug that wreaks havoc. The designer knows how the program works. I believe that to be true about my design. God knows how my software is written and how to keep it virus free and functioning normally. I capitulate that “normal” may look a little different for me than it does for you, but that is my design.

    Psalm 139 was part of the beginning premise of this book. In that text David writes about how we are formed. Keep in mind that he wrote about the miracle of conception and life centuries before sonograms and the advanced knowledge of DNA:

    You watched me as I was being formed in utter
    seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
    Psalm 139:15

    Look at the language that David uses when he writes about how life is formed in the womb, using a word that the ESV translates as “intricately woven.” The Hebrew word can be translated to variegate, which means to weave with multicolored threads. The word suggests the complex patterns and colors implemented by an embroiderer.

    David could not have used a more apt illustration for the complex beginning of life than the handiwork of an embroiderer.

    According to Carl Sagan, a single human chromosome (a DNA molecule) contains 20 billion bits of information. But what does that mean? What if all this information were written in an ordinary book in contemporary language?

    Twenty billion bits are comparable to about 3 billion letters. If there are roughly 6 letters in the average word, the information contained in a single human chromosome is equivalent to about 500 million words. The average page of printed text contains approximately 300 words, which translates to
    roughly 2 million pages. Assuming the average book contains 500 or so pages, the information contained in a single human chromosome adds up to more than 4,000 volumes.

    Sagan goes on to conclude, “It is clear, then, that the sequence of rungs on our DNA ladders represents an enormous library of information. It is equally clear that so rich a library is required to specify as exquisitely constructed and intricately functioning an object as a human being.”

    By the way, Carl Sagan was an astronomer and atheist, and he believed this all happened by chance. And yet that same information led former atheist Francis Collins to come to faith in Jesus as he studied the human
    genome.

    As the director of the Human Genome Project, I have led a consortium of scientists to read out the 3.1 billion letters of the human genome, our own DNA instruction book. As a believer, I see DNA, the information molecule of all living things, as God’s language, and the elegance and complexity of our own bodies and the rest of nature as a reflection of God’s plan.

    Francis Collins

    For me, I have found that no volume addresses the most fundamental questions of humankind as completely as the Bible.

    Why am I here?
    Do I have a purpose?
    Is there anything after death?
    Is there a God?
    Can I know God personally?
    Is God a loving or vindictive force?
    Why is there pain and suffering if God is loving?
    How can I find happiness?

    These questions are honestly examined in the Bible, through words and interactions in the stories of the people struggling with those same imponderables. People like you and me. The Bible does not sugarcoat the failings of the most revered biblical figures—it honestly explores evil, sin, consequences, suffering, and pain. It sets forth the basis for true justice for the poor and oppressed, something that people still seek today. I have found principles for success in marriage, parenting, work, leadership, and friendship. I see hope for the future when others say it looks bleak. I realize salvation requires nothing to be sacrificed, other than my unwillingness
    to confess my need. Today I will meditate on this verse.


    All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.
    2 Timothy 3:16

    Excerpts from Waking Up Slowly.

    I welcome your comments, thoughts, questions, concerns, and praises. Let’s talk!

  • 21 Connect: Day 3 Busyness is Not Next to Godliness

    21 Connect: Day 3 Busyness is Not Next to Godliness

    My personal belief is that one of the biggest and most damaging mistakes that the church makes with new believers is not teaching clearly and continually what happens when
    you put your faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. It seems that we too often get young Christians immediately into studies and activities, suggesting that change can happen only when you are trying hard and concentrating on the spiritual disciplines.

    That was my struggle for forty years before I realized a simple truth. Dramatic change took place the moment I made that faith commitment to follow Jesus. Scripture tells
    me that when I decided to become a follower of Christ, the following things happened immediately:

    I was given a new identity.
    I became a new creation.
    I received the gift of the righteousness of Christ.

    I struggle with that concept because I am not always righteous in my behavior. That may well be the biggest understatement in this volume. Here is the amazing theology of the gospel: God sees me as righteous and worthy because of my relationship with Jesus. Nothing I have done or ever will do could earn that righteousness. It is a gift of grace because of the finished work of Jesus on the cross.

    I was changed completely when I put my trust in Christ as my only hope for salvation. I did not have to struggle with futile performance to change. I was changed that day. But it has taken me forty years to know Him better, never realizing I had been carrying around the key to that kind of relationship since day one.

    Now I see a different picture. I see Jesus standing at my side and explaining that I am completely changed. I see Him telling me that my sins are forgiven and I can quit relitigating past mistakes. I see Him explaining to me that all of those things that used to be true about me are no longer true. I see Him repeating that, because I tend to nod my head without really believing it. Jesus explains to me that no matter what the accuser might say, those things that used to define me are dead and buried at the Cross. I see Jesus telling me that I have the Holy Spirit to comfort me and provide an unshakable source of strength.

    He reminds me gently that I don’t have to grit my teeth and try harder to win favor and please Him. He tells me for the ten
    thousandth time that sin does not have power over me anymore.

    And I see His demeanor being just as patient and kind as the first time He told me that truth. I hear Him remind me that power over sin is looking to Him for my strength and not trying to fight it with my busyness and resolve.

    I see Jesus looking deeply into my eyes and tenderly expressing (again) that it is my trust in God that pleases Him. No other works are required. My faith is what pleases Him according to God’s Word. Nothing else. I picture Jesus embracing me and saying, “Relax. Rest. Let Me love you and then, out of that rest and love, you can love others. Quit making it so complicated, Dave.”

    I have a hard time putting my full weight on those truths. Today I want to meditate on these words from Jesus.

    “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” Matthew 11:28-30, NLT

    What a wonderful thought for such a time as this.

    Excerpts from Waking Up Slowly.

  • 21 Connect: Day 1 – The Curse of Culture

    21 Connect: Day 1 – The Curse of Culture

    Not sure how many of you volunteered for this trip but welcome aboard! Here is a prayer that I will start with each day.

    Good morning God.

    I believe that you know everything about me. I believe that you are everywhere that I am. I believe that you have a purpose for my life and for this day. I pray that you will show me your presence today. I pray that I will slow down, quiet my mind, open my heart and eyes and look for a postcard from You.

    I am grateful that because of Jesus I can boldly ask You for tender mercies today whether it is a day of great joy or profound sadness. I know whatever my circumstances that You are there. I believe you are all around me. I know because of your grace that there is nothing I can do to lose your approval. So would you show me your kindness, your beauty, your power, your comfort and your love today?

    I pray this in Jesus name.

    Each day will represent a chapter from Waking Up Slowly with a “grace” challenge at the end.

    Today’s topic is overcoming the cultural messages we are bombarded with daily. Our culture has Information Fatigue Syndrome and Christians are just as infected by IFS as the general populace. Three-quarters of adults now use a social networking site of some kind. The average time spent on social networking sites is a staggering 16 minutes per hour. The answer suggested by one publication is a Digital Detox. That is defined (and I am not making this up) as “a period of time during which a person restrains from using electronic devices so one can focus on social interaction in the physical world.”  

    You might remember those activities by such labels as “talking to people” or “interacting with humans”. We are the most connected culture in history and yet, at the same time, the most disconnected from God and one another. We can’t get through a dinner without furtively glancing at our smart phone just in case some “important” message arrives. The hard truth is we need to be willing to disconnect to be able to connect.

    For many of us this is a real relational, emotional and spiritual issue. So how do we reconnect with God and each other? We need a transformation in our heart and minds. Paul prescribed this to the church at Rome.

    Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.  (Romans 12:2)

    I love the way Eugene Peterson fleshes out this verse and the process of renewing our minds in The Message.

    So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.  (Romans 12:1-2, The Message)

    It so easy to get caught up in the negatives that deluge us in this difficult season. Today I am going to put down the device and thank God for every seemingly mundane, good thing that comes my way. A hot cup of coffee or tea. A green light on your way to the grocery to find toilet paper. A favorite song playing. Laughter. A smile from a friend or stranger. A tasty treat. A cuddly dog. A beautiful tree or flower. A blue sky. What is your list of small and overlooked daily mercies? As we read in The Message…”Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering.”

    The Grace Challenge…
    Take a moment to reach out to others today. It becomes even more important now to reach out in personal ways even as we stay safely distanced. Today I will remind myself of this simple truth: The things I take for granted, countless others are longing to receive. As you focus on that truth, I think you will be amazed at how much work you and I need to do to transform our hearts and minds.

    Excerpts from Waking Up Slowly.

    I welcome your comments, thoughts, questions, concerns, and praises. Let’s talk!

  • Up for a 21 Day Journey Together?

    Up for a 21 Day Journey Together?

    My book Waking Up Slowly was written to be used as a 21 day journey to become more connected to God and one another. Since many of us just picked up some extra time I wondered if a few of you would like to join me on a three week quest? You don’t need to buy the book but if you want to here is the link.

    I will post an excerpt each day with a quick devotional. I will ask for your comments on that day’s topic and how God is using this worldwide storm to bring us closer to Him. I noted in Waking Up Slowly that we are the most connected culture in history but arguably the most disconnected from God and one another. Our three week journey will cover actions and attitudes that cause us to become more or less connected to God. We will discuss things like fear, pride, gratitude, doubt, busyness, kindness, grace, regret, lack of forgiveness, and many more. Some topics will hit home more than others and you might choose to revisit those again after our journey. I don’t know how many of you will join me on this trip. I just feel like somebody needs it right now and I have the time. If you are already signed up to receive my blog it will be delivered by email. You can sign up today to be on the email list. The signup box is on the front page of the site. And I will link each day to my author page on Facebook. We launch our journey this Friday. Hope you join me!