Today’s a new day!
Today’s a new day! Sadly, Christian Nationalism will be on every ballot this election season and the consequences for communities of faith — and for the practice of open government — have seldom been graver than this one.
As a white person of faith, I will embrace the opportunity to vote against every candidate who embraces or refuses to speak out against the hate of Christian Nationalism. On November 5th, I will take a stand against this ungodly theology and choose to “Vote with Love.” ~OC
Today’s a new day! As we start this new week, America is celebrating Columbus Day. It’s a National Holiday. Many state and federal buildings will be closed. No school for many students. Columbus Day was designated a National Holiday on October 12, 1972. But who was this man named Christopher Columbus that so many celebrate? If you do not know the truth about this man, here is some history you probably never learned in school.
Did you know we celebrate a man who never actually set foot on modern-day American soil? Christopher Columbus never stepped foot anywhere on North American soil.
Until his dying day this supposed great explorer maintained that the land he had “discovered” was Asia and not a new continent. Columbus was wrong of course, and needless to say, he didn’t actually discover anything — “America” had already been inhabited for thousands of years.
For a long time, Columbus’ discovery of America was an universally celebrated event, both in Europe and America. I remember studying about Columbus in elementary school. Wasn’t there a song about him? But as awareness has grown about the catastrophic effect his supposed discovery had on America’s indigenous populations, it has increasingly been viewed as a disaster rather than triumph, and rightly so. As a direct result of Columbus “discovery”, indigenous Americans were enslaved, killed and oppressed to such a degree that a population of around 60 million in 1492, fell by 80–90% in less than 150 years. Facts! Not made up stories.
So if in 2024, you still think Columbus Day is something worth celebrating, here are five other reasons why it really isn’t:
He wasn’t a particularly good Navigator:
After studying a handful of his favorite books, including the journals of Marco Polo, Columbus became convinced that it was possible to sail directly west to reach the “Indies”, as China, Japan and India were then known as in Europe. He completely miscalculated the distance between Europe and Japan however, estimating it to be around 2,000 nautical miles when the real distance is closer to 11,000. Columbus was definitely a lucky captain, but his navigational skills left a lot to be desired.
He was selfish and dishonest:
On his first voyage, Columbus promised the crew on his three ships (Santa Maria, Pinta and Santa Clara) that the first person who spotted land would receive a lifetime pension. Land was first spotted by Rodrigo de Triana, a lookout on the Pinta, and thereafter by its captain Martin Alonso Pinzo, who notified Columbus. What Columbus did next was nothing less than shameful. He falsely claimed that he had spotted land a few hours before Triana and Pinzo, but that he hadn’t said anything in case it was a false alarm. He thereby claimed the lifetime pension for himself, cheating the rightful claimant out of both glory and a significant amount of money.
He was personally responsible for Brutality:
Upon arriving in the New World, one of the first observations Columbus made with regards to the indigenous people was the following:
“They do not bear arms, and do not know them, for I showed them a sword, they took it by the edge and cut themselves out of ignorance. They have no iron. Their spears are made of cane. They would make fine servants. With fifty men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want.”
This was a sign of things to come. After Columbus established the first Spanish colony at La Isabela, on the north coast of Hispaniola (modern-day Dominican Republic), relations between the Spanish and the indigenous population quickly deteriorated. The natives were removed from their villages to work in gold mines and colonial plantations. This kept them from planting crops, leading to widespread starvation. Some committed suicide to avoid subjugation, others fled, but many rebelled. In response to the rebellion, Columbus ordered a brutal crackdown in which many natives were killed, and their dismembered bodies paraded through the streets. Within a few decades, only a few hundred of an original native population of 300,000 remained.
He was Stubborn:
Even after spending his whole career exploring the Caribbean, Columbus never at any point thought he had landed anywhere other than his intended destination, Asia. When confronted with evidence to the contrary, he simply could not conceive of the the idea that he might be wrong. Despite not finding any of the places that his favorite books described (places in China, India and Japan), he convinced himself that they were just around the corner. He even made his crew swear an oath that Cuba was not an island but indeed the mainland of Asia, and that China could be reached overland from there.
He wasn’t the first to travel from
Europe to America:
The Vikings sailed to, and colonized parts of Newfoundland, Canada, around AD 1000. Many believe that they sailed even further south, maybe as far as New Brunswick. In any case, we know for a fact that Europeans traveled to America almost 500 years before Columbus. There are also theories that the Irish arrived far before the Vikings, and that the Chinese and Polynesians may also have visited the Americas before Columbus.
So, there you have it; five reasons not to celebrate Columbus Day this year (or any other year).
Instead of celebrating the falsehoods of Christopher Columbus today, take time to remember the Native Americans who have been brutalized by “Conquering Heroes” over the decades. They are the only true Americans. The rest of us are immigrants from around the world. ~OC
Today’s a new day! Did you know there are 1,430 hate groups in the United States alone. Sadly, those numbers are growing. While many tend to be small, they have political power and want to see unrest across America.
Hate groups will continue to poison hearts, stir up violence, and polarize people in 2024 and beyond. So to gear up for these challenges, I reflected back on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s book Strength to Love. I encourage you to check it out.
The book is a fascinating read, but one of the phrases Dr. King used truly grabbed my attention. Dr. King calls us to be “Transformed Nonconformist” Here is the scripture that Dr. King used to come up with this beautiful term.
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2).
Transformed nonconformists reject racism, discrimination, hatred and anything that tears our society apart and tries to divide us.
Transformed nonconformists break the chain reaction of evil by refusing to “fight fire with fire.”
Why? Because as Dr. King explains, “Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies violence… in a descending spiral of destruction” This is one of the main reasons for not responding in kind to evil. In the powerful words of Mahatma Ghandi, “An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind.”
The second part of Romans 12 describes the divine reason we break the chain reaction of evil. The Scriptures command us to conquer hate through the power of love:
*Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse (v. 14).
*Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone (v. 17).
*If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone (v. 18).
*Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath (v. 19).
*If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink… (v. 20).
*Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good (v. 21).
These commands indicate that a transformed nonconformist is in fact a peacemaker. And these peacemakers break the chain reaction of evil – through suffering, absorbing pain and responding in love.
Peacemaking is not for the faint of heart. Peacemaking demands an uncompromising rejection of the unloving ways of the world and a radical embrace of the enemy-loving way of Jesus.
I read an article once where a civil rights worker was asked how he was able to endure racial hatred and violence while working for justice. “The hatred coming at me in those fists and clubs was bouncing right off me back into the air, and it could just continue to spread like electricity. I decided not to fight back. I would let my body absorb that hatred, so that some of it would die in my body and not bounce back into the world. I now see that my job in the midst of evil is to make my body a grave for hate.”
Did you catch that last sentence? “Making my body a grave for hate.” That sounds scary. It is! That is why I chose to follow Jesus – the one who made his body a grave for hate, the one who rose from the grave, and the one who said, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you” (John 20:21).
I pray you will join me on this journey of Love over hate. ~OC
As the election season heats up, there is a lot of talk about the 🇺🇸 and how we should respect it and how people are disrespecting it. Let me drop a little knowledge this afternoon . Based on the U.S. Flag Code Chapter 10:176, the following are disrespectful:
*The flag should never be carried flat or horizontally, but always aloft & free. (Ever watch NFL pregame ceremonies).
*The flag should never be used as wearing apparel, bedding or drapery.
*The flag should never be used for advertising purposes in any manner whatsoever. It should not be embroidered on such articles as cushions or handkerchiefs and the like, printed or otherwise impressed on paper napkins or boxes or anything that is designed for temporary use and discard. Advertising signs should not be fastened to a staff or halyard from which the flags is flown.
*No part of the flag should ever be used as a costume or athletic uniforms. However, a flag patch may be affixed to the uniform of military personnel, firemen, policemen & members of patriotic organizations. The flag represents a living country & is itself considered a living thing. Therefore, the lapel flag pin being a replica, should be worn on the left lapel near the heart.
*The flag, when it is in such condition that is no longer a fitting emblem for display, should be destroyed in a dignified way, preferably by burning.
So before we start judging who is disrespecting the flag, have you done any of the above? ~OC
Today’s a new day! I have a question for white Americans. It’s not a trick question or a very difficult question to answer.
When was the last time the white population in America was locked up for simply being white? A will play the Jeopardy theme song for a few seconds to give you time to think…………………………………
Okay, I’m back. How did you do? Ready to share your answer? If your answer is anything, but zero you might need to take a history lesson. Because white people in America have never experienced being locked up simply for being white. Sadly that cannot be said for all. Let’s take a stroll down American History Lane…
Native Americans slaughtered and others put on reservations. Young Indian children sent to boarding schools to “Reeducate” them. Families torn apart forever.
Innocent people from Africa and other non-white countries brought to America and enslaved. Families torn apart forever.
During World War II, Japanese Americans sent to internment camps. Families once again torn apart forever.
Jim Crow laws that discriminated against African-Americans.
None of the groups mentioned above did anything wrong. They just happened to be born something other than white.
So when I hear so many white Americans complaining about their rights being violated or taken away, I encourage you to educate yourself on the true meaning of discrimination in America.
Oh in case anyone is wondering, I am a white American. ~OC
Today’s a new day! This morning as I reflect back on Tuesday September 11, 2001, many thoughts come flushing in. I literally could write a book about that day that changed America in so many ways. But instead of writing another book, I thought I would share a collection of stories about that day that America stood still.
On this 23rd anniversary of 9/11, I remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when the two planes crashed into the twin towers of the World Trade Center, another one into the Pentagon and a plane of heroes crashed in Pennsylvania. I watched the events unfold on a TV at work with my co-workers at a secure building close to Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Florida. I immediately called family and friends to make sure everyone was okay. I remember thinking how surreal it was, “Is this truly happening?” while watching the twin towers collapse. In that moment I thought America had lost its infallibility. Since that day 23 years ago, I don’t think that either our worst fears or our highest hopes have been realized. But the memory of that day serves as a constant reminder that we cannot take anything for granted. Life is to be cherished. We honor those we love. We honor those we have lost. We need to embrace every moment. We can Never Forget. ~OC
Tomorrow, most everyone in America—and most of the world—will take a moment to remember what happened on that Tuesday across our nation September 11th, 2001.
We will fall silent as bells toll for the almost 3,000 people whose lives were lost in those Tuesday morning attacks.
Countless others have been lost over the years due to health issues caused on that tragic Tuesday twenty-three years ago.
There will be tributes paid to the heroes who responded to the attacks—those members of the public who fervently worked to help rescue people from the rubble, even when there were so few left alive to rescue.
We’ll pay tribute to the 184 who died at the Pentagon.
We will salute the courageous passengers of United Flight 93—the very first soldiers to engage the enemy in a post-9/11 war. We will remember the words “Let’s Roll.”
We will remember where we were when we heard the news—what we were doing, how we found out, who was there with us… who shouted and who cried. Who was speechless.
We will all recall asking “Why?”
We will recognize the lessons learned on Tuesday September 11th—perhaps we’ll even celebrate the unity we had on September 12th.
But what of our recollection of 23 years ago today?
What about September 10, 2001?
On the morning of September 10, 2001, Katie Couric and Matt Lauer opened NBC’s TODAY show with news of “anemic” economic growth, noting the Dow and the NASDAQ at near record lows for the year. Al Roker giving us the latest weather for our neck of the woods.
On September 10, 2001, ESPN was discussing the Dallas Cowboys loss the day before to my Tampa Bay Bucs. Headline news was discussing shark attacks along the eastern seaboard. And the entertainment world was a buzz about the first Harry Potter movie.
In our nation’s capital, news outlets chronicled the investigation into the disappearance of Capitol Hill intern Chandra Levy, and ever-increasing suspicion that then-Congressman Gary Condit knew more about the matter than he was saying.
Only a tiny number of people even took notice of international news that Ahmed Shah Massoud—the leader of the so-called Northern Alliance fighting against the Taliban in Afghanistan—had been killed by a suicide bomber disguised as a journalist.
News of that terrorist attack would have massive repercussions just days later.
But terrorism was the furthest thing from virtually everyone’s minds.
The 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center—which killed six and injured hundreds more—was barely a distant memory for all but a few police professionals still working “the terrorist angle.”
There was no mystery surrounding the most recent attack on the United States—al-Qaeda had claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing on the USS Cole as she was being refueled in Yemen’s Aden harbor, killing 17 sailors and wounding 37 others less than a year prior.
American law enforcement officers were correctly focused on keeping the streets safe from criminal mayhem perpetrated by the thief who comes to steal and kill and destroy—but they were doing so almost entirely “below the radar.”
It’s difficult to believe that the 9/11 terrorist attacks occurred twenty-three years ago tomorrow. Sometimes it feels like it was yesterday.
It’s even more difficult to believe that on 9/10 America as a whole—and many ways, Americans individually—had a unique brand of innocence. We didn’t know it at the time, but we did have it.
However, that purity wafted away in the smoke and cinders rising from the smoldering craters in lower Manhattan, northern Virginia, and a plane in rural Pennsylvania.
On Wednesday 9/12, our thinking about the world was vastly different from what our thinking was on Monday 9/10.
Remembering Monday 9/10/01, is to be reminded that we simply cannot know what tomorrow may bring, or what may follow thereafter.
Today is September 10, 2024—twenty-three years ago today 2,996 families spend their last day together as a family.
Today is September 10, 2024, what thoughts and memories are going through your mind? ~OC
In 2023, I attended the Asbury Revival with some friends. During and after that experience, we saw pockets of revival happen across America. But the small fires of revival never turned into a spiritual wildfire. Why is that?
Let me start off by saying, I believe that revival is a gift from God and He grants it sovereignly according to His will. But sadly, I do not believe the American Church or the Christian community is living out scripture in a way that revival can spread beyond those small pockets of fire. The following are some things I believe need to happen before revival can be experienced across America. Remember, these are just my thoughts. Things I believe God has revealed to me, since the Asbury Revival of 2023. But of course, God can bring revival to America and the world anytime He wants. I pray He would.
1). I do not believe God’s people in America are truly desperate for God. We may say we’re desperate for God, but our hearts do not match our words. It has been some time since I have seen a church or faith gathering truly plead for God’s presence.
2).The Church and its members tend to be more concerned about the sins of others and less concerned about their own shortcomings. Few people in the church are so broken over their personal shortcomings that all they can do is cry out to God.
3). In America we love our stuff. That includes Christians. We know it’s all fleeting, but we treat it as if it weren’t. The more stuff we have, the happier we feel and the less we feel we need God – and most people in America have much more stuff than the majority of the people around the world do.
4).Most Christians do not take time to know God’s word. To really let it sink into our hearts. Those that really do know the word, tend to have more of a head knowledge and less of a heart transformation. I am thankful for those believers who not only know the word, but actually live it out.
5).The Church is lacking prayer warriors. Have you tried to put together a prayer gathering lately? You usually get the same few people and even that can be like pulling teeth. Our prayers tend to be reactionary; that is, we pray only when we must. Not many people are lying on their faces at one or two in the morning, pleading with God to fall on us with His power.
6).Too many churches appear more concerned about opening up more campuses and less concerned about growing more disciples. In my experience, a lot of churches that show any signs of growth seldom feel the need for revival.
7). Is the Church and the Christian community ready to pay the cost of revival? When God falls on us in His power, the result must be a brokenness that leads to repentance from sin and weeping over lostness. It means calling the church to holiness. Revival often wounds first before it heals – and I’m simply not convinced that the American Church is ready for all of that.
I will continue to pray for real revival to move through God’s people and the Church. I pray with anticipation for God to move in a mighty way across America and the world. Blessings. ~OC
Today’s a new day! I have always felt blessed to have been born and raised in America. Even with all the challenges our nation faces, I am thankful for all the beautiful opportunities. To enjoy the freedoms granted by our constitution’s amendments.
But as I sit and watch all the political ads, rallies and negative rhetoric, I have been struck by the division between our own sense of what it means to be a U.S. citizen and what we’re experiencing in this current election cycle.
By now most of us have heard of Project 2025, a presidential transition project for the next conservative president.
As I have read through Project 2025, I have seen how this project seeks to infuse the federal government with “Christian values,” but the policies it proposes do not reflect the values proclaimed by Jesus Christ.
Side note, before you share any thoughts negative or positive, make sure you have actually read this document.
Project 2025 outlines the efforts of various conservative organizations working together under the leadership of the Heritage Foundation to deconstruct the current administration by assembling a collection of candidates to be considered for hire in the next administration and providing online training for those individuals.
Project 2025 is a 180-day roadmap for the former president to hit the ground running if elected in November. The plan basically outlines four priorities:
*Restore the American family. There definition of the American family.
*Handcuff the bureaucracy. Once again, there definition of bureaucracy.
*Defend the nation by removing the U.S. from international organizations, sealing its borders, and increasing reliance on fossil fuels.
*And Finally, Project 2025 prioritizes the pursuit of happiness, which is startlingly interpreted as follows: “Our Constitution grants each of us the liberty to do not what we want, but what we ought. This pursuit of the good life is found primarily in family – marriage, children, Thanksgiving dinners, and the like.”
Knowing that Project 2025 and its supporters are hoping to “reshape our republic” in this fashion, I cannot sit around and not speak up and help educate. It breaks my heart to think about what our country and our freedoms will look like should this project be implemented. The recent denial from the former president about not knowing anything about Project 2025, does not change my concern over the project and the future of our country. America will never look the same if Project 2025 is implemented.
My concerns are not just about Project 2025, but I am angered by the attempt to co-opt Christianity in support of such radical policies. The kind of Christianity that is being described and embraced in the pages of this project are no where close to the words and actions of Jesus that we read about in the Bible.
I am saddened that so many Christians are less concerned about upholding the dignity of and providing for the needs of those who are most vulnerable in their society – widows, orphans, the imprisoned, the lgbtq+ community, women, those who are dealing with health issues, those who are disabled and those who are poor.
The earliest Christians banded together to share their resources with one another and give to those who were in need. Moreover, Christians throughout history have transcended national allegiances based on their faith, as their faith draws them toward mutual understanding and peaceful relationship with the whole of the human family.
It is true that Christianity has been co-opted throughout the centuries by various political rulers who have used it as a tool to accomplish their purposes (slavery, Jim Crow and dictatorships come to mind). And although some Christian leaders used their religion to achieve political power and prestige, there has always been a strong Christian community that resisted the co-opting of their faith for political purposes, resisted the temptation to join their faith to greed of all kinds, and resisted the joining of their faith with nationalism.
Today, I urge every Christian and all those interested in history not to allow Christianity to be co-opted by a political manifesto that wants to remove our freedom to be ourselves, with all of our differences; that wants to restrict so many freedoms; that wants to allow white supremacy to continue to poison our country’s citizens and communities; that wants to eliminate policies that grant basic dignities to poor people; and that cares only for economic gain to the detriment of our planet and our people.
I am urging everyone to reject Project 2025. I believe our future depends on it and our faith demands it. ~OC
Today’s a new day! I have been part of the Christian Church since I was ten years old. The church has played a major role in my life. A positive role. But for the last nine years or so, I have seen so many Churches, Pastors and Christian Leaders, become more concerned about political power and less concerned about the gospel of Jesus Christ. The Gospel has been forsaken for a Big Lie. That big lie is Christian Nationalism.
I personally believe there is no greater threat to the democracy of the United States than Christian Nationalism. Sadly, it’s on display at so many political rallies and in so many churches. This bold expression of Christian nationalism- the conflation of nationalism and faith, American flags and crosses, in which giving to Caesar and giving to God is made easy because they’re seen as the same thing. No one can tell them apart. Sadly, some Christians in this country, have turned America into a god. Their primary devotion is to country. But that’s not patriotism; that’s nationalism. And to God, that is idolatry. ~OC
The Blessed Overcomer 