Charisa Stories

Tag: Waterbrook Bible Fellowship

  • For Years I Fought A Battle That’s Already Won

    I love the worship atmosphere at my church, Waterbrook Bible Fellowship in Wylie, Texas. Some mornings the songs and spirit impact my heart in unexpected ways. Recently a familiar song from Shane and Shane titled “You’ve Already Won” nearly floored me. The lyrics summarized my decades long struggle where I felt like I had to do more for Jesus or I would not receive His love, forgiveness, and eternal security.

    I grew up in legalism. We were taught accurately that you are saved by grace. And then it went doctrinally South. We were taught that sanctification came through grit and not grace. You had to work extra hard to stay in good standing with God. And if you sinned and didn’t immediately repent your salvation might (probably would) be compromised. So I served God out of anxiety instead of confidence and trust.

    I was wrongly convinced that to grow in my faith I had to do more. Try harder. Pray more. Read the Bible more. Have more devotional time. All of those things are good when properly utilized. But there is a problem if self-effort is your sanctification strategy. Our self-righteous busyness does not please God. It is our faith that pleases and glorifies Him.

    We are saved by grace and we grow more like Jesus by abiding in His grace.

    The lyrics of this song penetrated my heart as I remembered my years of unproductive self-effort.

    There’s peace that outlasts darkness
    Hope that’s in the blood
    There’s future grace that’s mine today
    That Jesus Christ has won
    So I can face tomorrow
    For tomorrow’s in Your hands
    All I need You will provide
    Just like You always have

    If I believe that Jesus is Lord then today, tomorrow, and the rest of my days are covered by God’s plan and infinite love. God is sovereign. The one thing I can control is trusting Him.

    But here is the game-changer I finally understood in my faith journey. Everything was given to me at the moment I put my trust in Jesus as my Savior and Lord. Everything.

    I felt that spiritual growth and change can only happen when you work hard for God. 

    The truth is that a dramatic change already happened at the moment you make your faith commitment to follow Jesus. Let’s just hit the highlights. Your sins (past, present, and future) are forgiven. You have a new identity in Christ Jesus. You are literally a new creation with rewritten spiritual DNA. You have the imputed righteousness of Christ. God sees you as righteous because of your relationship with Jesus. That’s it. Nothing you have done or ever will do earns that righteousness. You are adopted as a child of God. You have the constant presence and power of the Holy Spirit indwelling in you. There is no condemnation in Christ. His unconditional love is not based on your behavior. You have guaranteed eternal security when you genuinely put your trust in Jesus. All of these incredible gifts of grace were granted at the moment you decided to follow Jesus.

    Peter described the magnitude of that salvation moment in 2 Peter, chapter 1.

    “May God give you more and more grace and peace as you grow in your knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord. By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises…”

    You have everything you need to grow in Christ at the moment you put your faith in Him. You don’t achieve bonus spiritual gifts by personal achievements. I spent so long looking for the keys to growing my faith until I finally realized I had the keys in my pocket from day one.
    This chorus from “You’ve Already Won”overwhelmed me.

    I’m fighting a battle
    You’ve already won
    No matter what comes my way
    I will overcome
    I don’t know what You’re doing
    But I know what You’ve done
    I’m fighting a battle
    You’ve already won

    For years and years and years I fought a battle that had already been won with the sacrificial death and resurrection of Jesus. I was changed completely when I trusted Christ. Instead of feeling shame when I fall short I now see a different picture. 

    I see Jesus putting His arm around me and explaining that I have been changed. That I don’t have to grit my teeth and try harder to win favor and please Him.

    I think that is why Jesus can say this in the Gospel of Matthew.

    “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)

    That is my prayer for today. To let Jesus teach me with gentleness. To learn from His humility. And to find rest in Him. 

    Serving God is no longer out of anxiety but out of gratitude for the gift of grace. I don’t have to work my way into His favor like I used to believe. I am already there because of Jesus.

    Did I mention that the battle is already won? Thank you Lord!

  • Another Spiritual Hero is Heading Home

    I have written tributes over the years to men and women who have significantly influenced my spiritual journey. Too often those tributes come after those inspiring followers of Jesus went home to Heaven. I have another spiritual hero who will soon be united with Jesus. My friend and my pastor Jeff Denton is near the end of his cancer journey. I wanted to write this while he is still able to hear what his testimony has meant to me because too often we save those words for memorial services.

    Waterbrook Bible Fellowship Lead Pastor Jeff Denton has been one of the most amazing leaders I have ever had the opportunity to serve under. His skill set would make me jealous if he wasn’t such a kind and grace filled friend. Jeff is a talented preacher, visionary director, administrator, counselor, creative writer, and inspirational leader. I know! How does a medium size church in Wylie, Texas find a leader like that? Clearly it was God’s sovereign plan to bring Jeff to Waterbrook Bible Fellowship fifteen years ago.

    Pastor Jeff took a church at the crossroads of success or failure and built a solid foundation of community, grace, and love for one another. As the church was poised to explode in growth the pandemic hit. Once again, Jeff provided leadership that was exceptionally wise. Waterbrook came out of the pandemic quagmire and was again ready to thrive. No one was prepared for the news we received in June of 2022. Pastor Jeff was diagnosed with a rare form of bile duct cancer that was inoperable and medically incurable. The doctors said his time remaining could be as little as five months.

    The diagnosis was devastating to the congregation. The volume of prayer was amazing but the cancer Jeff was fighting was incredibly difficult. Jeff dealt with nausea and severe pain on a daily basis. I was privileged to drive him to his treatments on many days and the conversations we shared are a treasure to my heart. I could write my longest blog ever about the impact Jeff has had on my life and faith but I want to focus on a couple of things.

    The first lesson is when you trust God completely and faithfully through trials you will be a light in the darkness for those around you. Pastor Jeff trusted that God would redeem his difficult journey. He didn’t know what that would look like but Jeff lived everyday with the belief that God was present.

    I have been overwhelmed by the number of people who have been encouraged, blessed, and inspired by Pastor Jeff’s unrelenting faith. When he received his daily infusion treatments the oncology nurses would introduce other patients to Jeff for prayer and encouragement. Some of those hospital staff members visited Waterbrook Church to hear him speak. Jeff’s heart and concern for others as his own health deteriorated rapidly was so touching. I watched him live out what it looks like to apply the words that Paul wrote to the church at Philippi.

    ”I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.“
    ‭‭Philippians‬ ‭4‬:‭11‬-‭13‬ ‭NLT‬‬

    Pastor Jeff showed me and countless others how that verse looks when applied in tough trials. Most of us have read and commented on that verse. But that truth impacts others for the Gospel when you actually live it. That is what my friend Jeff has done. He preaches it. He lives it. He showed that he was content because of the strength he received from Christ. That is why his life has touched so many people in our congregation and in our community.

    The second thing I learned from Pastor Jeff’s journey is you make a choice when life takes a tough turn. You can either quit or you can live fully in each moment for as long as you can. We have witnessed Jeff showing up for church and church events when he clearly did not feel his best. But he showed up with joy in his heart and spirit. Pastor Jeff’s favorite scripture about God’s will is found in 1 Thessalonians.

    Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:15-18, NLT)

    Jeff shared the verse with us. Then he lived it. In the deepest valley he still showed joy, a prayerful spirit, and a heart of gratitude. That is what I want to do as I honor my friend and pastor for the rest of my journey. We prayed for healing. God granted us much more time than the original prognosis. I will be forever grateful for that extra time.

    Soon I will have my last opportunity to visit with Jeff. Here is the thing that gives me the most hope and joy in this difficult moment. My last word to him each time I leave will not be goodbye. I will say this with 100 percent confidence.

    “See you later.”

    I am already looking forward to that reunion some day.

    Note to those going through deep valleys. Jeff Denton wrote an amazing real time journal through his early cancer journey. I keep copies around to share with anyone facing a hard medical diagnosis. Click here to find out more about God is Bigger than the Valley.