Charisa Stories

Tag: Jesus

  • What To Give Jesus On His Birthday?

    What To Give Jesus On His Birthday?

    Christmas shopping can be really difficult for my species. Many of us men give gifts to our significant others with fear and trembling. Humor writer Dave Barry relates the confusion most men deal with when giving a gift to their wife.

    He could tell by her reaction to the gift that she had not been dreaming of getting an auto emergency kit, even though it was the deluxe model with booster cables and an air compressor. Clearly, this violated an important rule, but the man had idea what the rule was, and his wife was too upset to tell him.

    Barry continues his thoughtful treatise…

    So why is the Christmas season so difficult for men? There are many complex reasons, by which I mean: women. The problem goes back to the very first Christmas. We know from the Bible that the Wise Men showed up in Bethlehem and gave the baby Jesus gifts of gold,frankincense, and myrrh. Now Gold is always a nice gift, but frankincense and myrrh – at least according to my dictionary – are gum resins.

     Barry asks the vital question…

    Who gives gum resins to a baby? The answer is…Men. The three wise men…being men, didn’t even start shopping for gifts until the last minute, when most of the stores in the greater Bethlehem area were closed for Christmas Eve. The only place still open was Big Stu’s House of Myrrh.

    Even though Barry’s interpretation of the Gospels might be a little suspect…I do think he is correct about the difficulty in finding a gift for Jesus on His birthday.

    On December 24th or 25th most of us will exchange gifts to celebrate the birth of Christ. Suppose you had a big party to celebrate my humble birthday this April. All of my close friends and acquaintances show up and exchange gifts. But there is nothing for me. Finally someone mentions how grateful they are for my birthday so we could all be together. I become hopeful. Then somebody yells that the refreshments are ready so everyone rolls into the kitchen and I am left sitting with no gifts on my birthday. I wonder if we don’t do that to Jesus. We put up a reason for the season signs and all of that. But it is so easy to get all caught up and not even think of a gift for the guest of honor at our Christmas celebrations.

    So what can you give the Lord of the Universe? If you think your mother-in-law is tough to buy for what do buy for the Savior who has everything? I decided to go back to the Three Wise Men and see if there was more to their gifts than first appears. What was the meaning of the gifts presented by the Magi? The simplest meaning is that these men brought items which represented the greatest worth. All of these gifts were rare, precious and expensive. Whatever else we may learn from this story, we know that they gave their best in honor to the One they believed to be the King, the Messiah. It’s interesting that we don’t know the names of the Magi but we know what they gave. We don’t know where they came from but we know that they worshiped the  Christ child.

    They entered the house and saw the child in the arms of Mary, his mother. Overcome, they kneeled and worshiped him. Then they opened their luggage and presented gifts: gold, frankincense, myrrh. (Matthew 2:11, NLT)

    The key fact for Nativity purists is the Magi did not visit the Baby Jesus in Bethlehem. So the typical Nativity scene on the mantle is chock full of Biblical errors. They showed up at the house, bowed down before Him and they offered Him gifts. What an amazing spirit that must have surrounded that child that caused men of importance, wealth and education to fall down before Him!

    The first gift mentioned is gold. Gold has always held in extremely high value – as long ago as 2,500 BC, gold was especially prized, and used as a medium of exchange. Even today when investments get shaky you start hearing about buying gold as a hedge against economic downturns. The value of gold seems to be a constant in our civilization. In both the Old Testament Tabernacle and the Temple, gold was used plentifully and was clearly associated with worship.

    So should we give Jesus gold on His birthday? Most of us have a rather limited supply of gold. I am going to suggest that we give Jesus a commodity that is as valuable in today’s culture as gold was in the time of the Magi.

    That commodity of great value?

    Time.

    When I think of gifts that I can give to Jesus…is there anything more precious than my time?

    When you love someone you want to spend time with them. If you say you love your wife but you go several days or weeks without talking to her she might be suspicious. When we say we love our children but we can’t work them into the schedule they begin to have doubts. When a young couple falls in love they want to spend every moment together. When they are apart they think of each other. As Percy Sledge famously sang that when a man loves a woman he can’t keep his mind on nothing else.

    So we say we love Jesus. But we probably have little difficulty thinking of something or someone else. We tell others that He is the center of our universe…but we can’t carve out the time to spend with Jesus to develop that relationship. I am confessing here that I have been guilty of this far too often in my journey with Jesus. My lips confess my commitment to Him but my time with Him reveals my true priorities. The uncomfortable truth for me as a husband…as a father…and as a follower of Christ is that my calendar reveals my heart. I make time for the things that are most important to me.

    Gift suggestion number one for Jesus on His birthday…give Him a little time. Sit down with Him…talk to Him…enjoy His company.

    Stay tuned for another last minute gift idea for Jesus. Perhaps it is not that hard to give something to Christ this Christmas.

  • Monday Musing: Redeemed. Believe it.

    Monday Musing: Redeemed. Believe it.

    One of my phone apps offers new music that I can redeem from the app. Recently I went to download a song and this message came up.

    Already redeemed.

    I had already acquired the song. There was no need for further redemption. It was mine. How I wish I could trust that for my relationship with God.

    A song by Big Daddy Weave called “Redeemed” sums up my struggle and encourages me to know that I am not alone in this battle.

    Seems like all I can see was the struggle
    Haunted by ghosts that lived in my past

    Bound up in shackles of all my failures
    Wondering how long is this gonna last

    Then You look at this prisoner and say to me “son
    stop fighting a fight that’s already been won”

    That is the truth I have to remind myself just about every day. The fight has already been won. Yet I too often live as if my self-effort is required to make up for past struggles and efforts. That I need to earn the grace that is already mine. I need to remind myself everyday what the lyricist proclaims next.

    I am redeemed, You set me free
    So I’ll shake off theses heavy chains
    Wipe away every stain now I’m not who I used to be
    I am redeemed

    I am redeemed. Paul had to remind the Ephesians in the first chapter that they already could count on these three facts being true. They already were:

    • Adopted
    • Redeemed
    • Sealed

    Makes me feel a little better that folks who were mentored by Paul needed a refresher course in who they were. It makes me feel a lot better that Paul understood that the first thing on the list was to remind them of who they were and then address their wrong behavior. We too often reverse that order. One more line from this wonderful song by Big Daddy Weave…

    I remember oh God, You’re not done with me yet.

    Praise God for that! And praise God for His amazing grace and amazing patience.

     

  • Done

    Done

    One of my favorite songs from Tenth Avenue North popped up in the rotation recently. The song “You Are More” talks about a young woman lost in fear and shame.

    She says, “How did I get here?
    I’m not who I once was.
    And I’m crippled by the fear
    That I’ve fallen too far to love”

    That is a lie from the very pit of hell. The lyrics beautifully convey that no one has gone too far to experience God’s amazing Grace.

    But don’t you know who you are,
    What’s been done for you?
    Yeah don’t you know who you are?

    You are more than the choices that you’ve made,
    You are more than the sum of your past mistakes,
    You are more than the problems you create,
    You’ve been remade.

    Most of us have heard the passage from 2nd Corinthians preached over and over.

    So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. (2 Corinthians 5, NLT)

    I am ashamed to admit that I too often glazed over and thought about lunch when that verse came up again. I know that already! Give me something deep. Should we go for brisket or Tex-Mex?

    The truth is that I forgot or didn’t trust the truth of that passage. I once wore a WWJD bracelet. I quit wearing it because the bracelet only reminded me of how often and spectacularly I failed to do what Jesus would do.

    The truth is the bracelet should read W.H.J.D. anyway. What Has Jesus DONE? Here is a partial list of what He has DONE for you. Finished. Completed. Finis.

    • You have been changed.
    • You are a new creation.
    • Your sins are forgiven. Past, present and future.
    • Jesus loves you just as you are
    • You are righteous because of your relationship with Christ and not by your disciplined attempt to do right things.
    • You have the power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in you so you don’t have to be a slave to sin.

    In short, you have been remade.

    This same God that created the heavens and earth has changed this creature named Dave Burchett into something I never thought possible. Godly. A saint. Righteous. Are you kidding me? But that is what God says is true about me. And can be true about you if you put your full trust in Christ. It is DONE. The chorus of the song reaffirms that truth.

    ‘Cause this is not about what you’ve done,
    But what’s been done for you.

    This is not about where you’ve been,
    But where your brokenness brings you to

    Paul finished his letter to the Galatians with this thought.

    Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is the new creation. (Galatians 6, NLT)

    Trust that truth and see what a difference it can make in the New Year.

  • Hump Day Hope: This Little Light of Mine

    Hump Day Hope: This Little Light of Mine

    For some reason this song came to mind today.

    This little light of mine,

    I’m gonna let it shine.

    The song was written by Moody Bible student Harry Dixon Loes as a children’s gospel tune. “This Little Light of Mine” also became a Civil Rights anthem in the 50’s and 60’s. Racial reconciliation is still an area that could use a lot of Gospel light.

    I didn’t realize that the full lyrics included a bit of light for each day.

    Monday gave me the gift of love,

    Tuesday peace came from above,

    Wednesday told me to have more faith,

    Thursday gave me a little more grace,

    Friday told me to watch and pray,

    Saturday told me just what to say,

    Sunday gave me the power divine,

    Just to let my little light shine.

    Wednesday is have more faith day. Regular readers know that I will love Thursday.

    Jesus told His followers that we are to be a light to those around us.

    “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.” (Matthew 5:14-16)

    I don’t know about you but those challenges from Jesus are daunting. Sometimes I don’t feel much like a light to the world. I feel more like the dimmest bulb in the Church Light Store. A quote from one of my favorite authors gave me hope.

    “Imperfection is the only prerequisite for grace. Light only gets in through the cracks.”~ Philip Yancey

    For years I tried to patch the cracks with new disciplines and phony masks. Now I own each and every flaw and crack that allows the light of the Gospel into the darkness of my soul. And when I am vulnerable to others they see that light shining right back through those same cracks of imperfection. And suddenly the command of Jesus is not so daunting because it has NOTHING to do with me. It is all about letting the light of the Gospel into my heart and sharing that light with others. Then good deeds flow out of gratitude and not begrudging obligation.

    Another of my favorite writers is 19th Century preacher Charles Spurgeon. He said this about the topic of light.

    “I would not give much for your religion unless it can be seen. Lamps do not talk, but they do shine.”

    Remember where your light comes from today. And let a little bit reflect back to a world that could us some light now.

  • Weekend Wildcard: Blessings Are Not Always Obvious

    A very dear friend is going through a deep trial. This faithful follower prays for wisdom, guidence, assurance and peace. The result so far is confusing. When they pray to hear the voice of God they hear spiritual crickets. Nothing. The frustration is real. I want to do something to help and all I can offer is prayer and presence.

    Problems Ahead

    But when we study how God works in our lives should we be surprised with the process? A song by Laura Story resonated with my soul on a recent walk. The song is called “Blessings” and the words are profound.

    We pray for blessings
    We pray for peace
    Comfort for family, protection while we sleep
    We pray for healing, for prosperity

    There is nothing inherently wrong with praying for those things. But my attempt to maneuver God to grant my wishes is wrong. Laying out my will and praying for God’s notary seal is not what He desires. Blessings are not just receiving good things from God and that truth is beautifully captured by Story’s lyrics.

    ‘Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops
    What if Your healing comes through tears
    What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You’re near
    What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

    Her lyrics come out of learning to trust the object of her worship even through the trials. Her website bio describes her journey.

    But amidst that success a brain tumor hospitalized her husband in 2006. The faith Story sang about was put through the unexpected fires of fear and loneliness; most young newlyweds don’t imagine being kept alive at one point by breathing machines or having to find their way through significant post-operative vision and memory loss. Could grace notes resound from such a life-altering struggle?

    We know that pain reminds this heart
    That this is not our home

    Story relates the question she faced during the health crisis she faced with her husband.

    “But there’s a decision that I find God is asking us to make: whether we are going to choose to interpret our circumstances based on what we hold to be true about God, or whether we’re going to judge what we hold to be true about God based on our circumstances.”

    Our faith is not based on feelings or circumstances or checking off items on the prayer list. Our faith is based on the object of our faith. God is faithful. He hears our cries. But sometimes the answer is not what we desire. Paul learned the same thing and he wrote about it to the church in Corinth. You likely know the passage. Paul was given “a thorn in the flesh” that he begged three different times to be removed. Paul had a pretty strong signal on the Faith-o-meter. Five bars. But God said no. I like the translation from The Message.

    Because of the extravagance of those revelations, and so I wouldn’t get a big head, I was given the gift of a handicap to keep me in constant touch with my limitations. Satan’s angel did his best to get me down; what he in fact did was push me to my knees. No danger then of walking around high and mighty! At first I didn’t think of it as a gift, and begged God to remove it. Three times I did that, and then he told me,

       My grace is enough; it’s all you need.
    My strength comes into its own in your weakness.

    Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ’s strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size—abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become.  (2 Corinthians 12, The Message)

    The gift of a handicap? Are you kidding me? But as I look back on the deep valleys and trials of my journey I see God’s hand and my growth through those events. Blessings from the pain? Without question. And I am learning the truth of Laura Story’s experience.

    What if trials of this life
    The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
    Are your mercies in disguise?

    More and more I am realizing that they are.

  • Monday Musing – Live Like You Are Loved

    Monday Musing – Live Like You Are Loved

    Regular readers of the humble ramblings (you both know who you are) know that I often confess how my brain was not wired to factory specs. There is no other explanation for the dizzying turns my mind makes. For example, this weekend I heard a song from my ’70’s disc jockey days. The song was Tin Man from America and the normal brain would have heard the song, registered a like it or don’t like it vote and moved on. Not my brain. I fixated on a piece of the lyric and spent time linking it to a spiritual epiphany in my life.

    You may recognize the lyric that started this Monday Musing.

    But Oz never did give nothing to the Tin Man
    That he didn’t, didn’t already have

    Wizard of Oz

    The lyricist double negatived his way to an important truth. The Tin Man from the Wizard of Oz went on a long journey to try and find a real heart. But all the Wizard did was affirm what he already possessed. Sadly that confused search is what so many of us imitate as followers of Jesus. We go on a journey thinking if we can only find the right training or Bible study or church or friends or pastor that we will become more righteous and effective for God.

    But if we could have followed the yellow stone road to meet Paul he would have told us we were wasting our time trying to find the perfect things to change our walk with Jesus. Paul would have (and did) simply affirm who we already are.

    This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! (2nd Corinthians, 5:17, NLT)

    Because of Christ you have a new identity. You are righteous because of Him and not because of trying to do more right “stuff”. You are a saint and there is no condemnation in Christ Jesus. It is a liberating and joyous message. But there is a problem. Satan hates that message of hope and change. And so he goes about trying to “steal’ our identity in Christ. I am afraid we make it all too easy because we find it difficult to really trust that we are changed.

    You are righteous because of Christ. Period. When you trust that and believe that all of the guilt and shame and sin that used to define you is no longer true. That old life is gone. New life has begun. All of those accusations that Satan (and others who are quite happy to help) hurl your way are no longer true about you.

    My life was changed forty-five years ago (ouch) when I decided to trust Jesus as my Lord and Savior. It has just been in the past few years that I have begun to fully understand who I am in Christ and that I live my life daily desperately dependent on grace. I have often quoted from my friends at Truefaced. This statement rocked my world.

    If you are a Christian God is not interested in changing you. That has already happened. You were changed when you trusted Christ. You were imputed with His righteousness. Your very spiritual DNA was rewritten and you became a new person. So the change happened right away. God is now interested in maturing you into what is already true about you.

    We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God freely and graciously declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.  (Romans 3:22-23, NLT)

    Remind yourself daily who you are. That you are a new person. Righteous because of Christ. A new life has begun. Live it joyfully and without condemnation. I am deeply loved by God today. I pray I will live like it.

  • Weekend Wildcard : Where Does Healing Begin?

    Weekend Wildcard : Where Does Healing Begin?

    I interact with a lot of wounded people. My books and a big hunk of my writing have been directed toward those who are beaten up by life, religion and too often by other people in the church. There is a better way. A song titled “Where The Healing Begins” by one of my favorite groups, Tenth Avenue North, describes that way.

    So you thought you had to keep this up
    All the work that you do
    So we think that you’re good
    And you can’t believe it’s not enough
    All the walls you built up
    Are just glass on the outside

    All of those years of working hard (and then harder) to be Godly and I found out to my great sadness that it wasn’t enough.  Not only was self-effort not enough it was counterproductive to my desire to experience God’s presence and love. The walls so carefully constructed were, in fact, see-through to those who really knew me well. I picture that in my sadness and tiredness God smiled. He didn’t smile because I was suffering or sad. He smiled because I was finally ready for grace. At the point of brokenness I was ready for the healing to begin.

    So let ’em fall down
    There’s freedom waiting in the sound
    When you let your walls fall to the ground
    We’re here now

    This is where the healing starts
    When you come to where you’re broken within
    The light meets the dark

    Coming to the point where I was broken and realizing my own inability to walk this journey of faith is where the healing began for me. Letting the walls down and trusting God and others with who I really am is where the healing continued. Understanding and trusting that I am completely forgiven and my past is completely forgotten is where the healing became real. Knowing that Jesus loves me desperately on my worst day is where the healing began to translate to the daily walk.

    Afraid to let your secrets out
    Everything that you hide
    Can come crashing through the door now
    But too scared to face all your fear
    So you hide but you find
    That the shame won’t disappear

    For too many years I danced that awkward and ugly dance of hiddenness and shame.  For so many anguished years I thought that if I was a better Christian this wouldn’t, this couldn’t, be happening. If I prayed/studied/fasted/read/attended more church events I would be more Godly. I was depending on the wrong source.

    When you come to where you’re broken within
    The light meets the dark
    Sparks will fly as grace collides
    With the dark inside of us
    So please don’t fight
    This coming light
    Let this blood come cover us
    His blood can cover us

    This is where the healing begins

    healing

    I love the image of grace invading the darkness and sparks of healing flying as the truth about me was set free. I am a child of God who is deeply loved. For decades I lived with a God who I suspected had a contractual obligation to love me because of Jesus but who was generally disgusted with me. I fought grace because it seemed too easy. Not spiritual. Not enough sacrifice. Not enough obedience. Not enough…me. Paul wrote this to the Church at Ephesus.

    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. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. (Ephesians 2, NLT)

    My fear of punishment led to strained and inconsistent compliance with a law I couldn’t possibly keep. Grace and forgiveness have led to joyful obedience nourished by gratitude and love. That is the product of the healing power of grace and I second my brother from Taursus. I can take NO credit for this.