Charisa Stories

Tag: paul

  • 21 Connect: Day 2 – Stinkin’ Thinkin’

    21 Connect: Day 2 – Stinkin’ Thinkin’

    Stinking thinking is “a bad way of thinking, that makes
    you believe you will fail, that bad things will happen to you,
    or that you are not a very good person.” Actually that pretty much
    describes my junior high experience.

    We all fall victim to stinkin’ thinkin’, but it is particularly
    distressing for a follower of Christ. Christians feel an even
    bigger sense of failure. They think, If I can muster up more
    faith, prayer, study, or general busyness for Jesus, I can overcome this malady, right?

    I have to admit that I am afflicted with some degree of
    stinkin’ thinkin’. There is a spiritual war happening
    with an enemy who delights in my doubt and shame. The
    culture contributes a tsunami of unbiblical images and words.

    How can I overcome this daunting challenge?

    Paul has the perfect antidote to stinkin’ thinkin’ in his letter
    to the church at Philippi. The letter is written to encourage
    believers living in a culture that was often hostile to faith,
    not unlike the times we live in now. Paul penned this uplifting missive of hope while he was suffering for his faith in a Roman prison. But Paul did not let his circumstances defeat him, and he did not want the Philippians to lose their joy because of opposition.

    Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—
    rejoice!
    Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do.
    Remember, the Lord is coming soon. Don’t worry about
    anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what
    you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you
    will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we
    can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and
    minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
    Philippians 4 : 4 – 7

    Those are wonderful words for sure, but then Paul gets to the kicker in the next verse, pinpointing what can stand up against (or take down?) stinkin’ thinkin’.

    Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and
    right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about
    things that are excellent and worthy of praise.
    Philippians 4 : 8


    That is holy positive thinking! Write that reminder on a card. Make it the wallpaper on your device. Write it on the palm of your hand. Stick it on a mirror or the refrigerator. Do whatever you need to do, in order to have these words handy when you find your mind drifting toward stinkin’ thinkin’.

    I love how The Message unpacks this even more:

    Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by
    filling your minds and meditating on things true,
    noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—
    the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly;
    things to praise, not things to curse.
    Philippians 4 : 8 , MSG (emphasis added)

    Today, consider how you will pivot from false accusations to truth. How you plan to switch your thoughts from negative to noble, from angry to gracious. How you can consider the best and not the worst.

    A DOSE OF GRACE

    Identify any negative thoughts, images, or ideas you have. Then replace them with your reflections on the encounters, feelings, relationships, and moments today that are true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, and admirable. Carry Philippians 4:8 with you and read it throughout the day. I think you might be surprised at the power of this word of grace as an antidote to stinkin’ thinkin’.

    Excerpts from Waking Up Slowly.
    

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

  • 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!

  • 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.