Tag: Brokeness

The Mountain

Is God is calling you to climb a mountain?

You’ve been staring at this mountain long enough.

The diagnosis.
The disappointment.
The betrayal.
The loss.
The fear.
The rejection.
The impossible situation.

And somewhere along the way, you started believing that because the mountain is BIG, your God must be small.

NO.

Caleb stood at 85 years old and looked at a mountain filled with giants and said:

“GIVE ME THIS MOUNTAIN.”

Not give me an easier assignment.
Not give me a different battle.
Not wait until the circumstances improve.

Give me this mountain.

That’s the kind of faith I want.

Faith that doesn’t collapse when circumstances change.

Faith that doesn’t disappear when the answer doesn’t come quickly.

Faith that doesn’t need everything to make sense before it takes another step.

I will walk in the confidence of God- regardless of the mountain standing in front of me.

Because my confidence isn’t in my circumstances.

My confidence is in Jesus.

The mountain doesn’t determine whether God is faithful.

The diagnosis doesn’t determine whether God is faithful.

The storm doesn’t determine whether God is faithful.

The enemy doesn’t determine whether God is faithful.

God is always faithful. Period.

So bring me the mountain.

Bring me the thing that scares me.

Bring me the thing that makes me realize I can’t do this in my own strength.

Because when I reach the place where I can’t, I discover the place where He can.

I don’t need to understand the entire journey.

I just need enough faith to take the next step.

One More Step.

When I’m tired—one more step.
When I’m afraid—one more step.
When I’m hurting—one more step.
When I can’t see the way forward—one more step.

Not because I’m strong enough.

Because Jesus is.

And hear me clearly:

I am not backing down.

I am not bowing to fear.
I am not surrendering to circumstances.
I am not allowing yesterday to dictate tomorrow.

God, give me this mountain.

Because I know who walks with me.

His name is Jesus.

The One who walked out of the grave.
The One who conquered death.
The One who holds my future.
The One who has never abandoned me.
The One who is still Lord when everything around me is falling apart.

I don’t need the mountain to be smaller.
I need my faith to become bigger.

So, Jesus…

Give me this mountain.

Give me the courage to climb it.
Give me the faith to face it.
Give me the strength to endure it.
Give me the perseverance to finish it.

And when I reach the top, I won’t take the credit.

I will point everyone to you.

Because I didn’t overcome because I was strong.

I overcame because Jesus was with me every step of the way.

The mountain may be big.
The battle may be real.
The circumstances may be brutal.

But Jesus is still Lord.

And if Jesus is with me—

I will keep on climbing.

Give me the mountain.
Give me Jesus.
and let’s go.

“Now therefore, give me this mountain…” — Joshua 14:12

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Love Your Neighbor

Today’s a new day!

Maybe the hardest question we can ask ourselves as Christians isn’t, “Do I love Jesus?”

Maybe it’s this:

“Has following Jesus actually made me love my neighbor more?”

That question has been sitting heavy on my heart.

Because I’ve spent a lot of years learning about Jesus.

I’ve read the Bible. I’ve listened to sermons. I’ve sat in Bible studies. I’ve prayed. I’ve worshiped. I’ve written about faith, grace, suffering, forgiveness, hope and the goodness of God.

I’ve talked about discipleship.

I’ve talked about what it means to follow Jesus.

But lately, I’ve found myself asking a much more uncomfortable question:

Am I actually becoming more like Him?

Because there is a difference between knowing Jesus and becoming like Jesus.

And sometimes I wonder if we’ve become really good at the first one while completely missing the second.

We know the verses.

We know the doctrine.

We know what we believe.

We know what we think is right and what we think is wrong.

We know what other people should be doing.

But do we love them?

Really love them?

Not just the people who agree with us.

Not just the people sitting beside us in church.

Not just the people who vote like us, think like us, worship like us or live their lives the way we believe they should.

I’m talking about the difficult people.

The angry people.

The broken people.

The addicted people.

The people who have made terrible mistakes.

The people who don’t believe what we believe.

The people who have hurt us.

The people who have hurt themselves.

The people who don’t look like us.

The people who don’t smell like us.

The people society has decided aren’t worth much.

The people who make us uncomfortable.

Those people.

Jesus called them our neighbors too.

And that’s where this gets painfully personal for me.

Because it’s easy to love people when loving them costs us nothing.

It’s easy to talk about loving our neighbor when our neighbor looks, thinks and lives like we do.

It’s easy to say, “Jesus loves you,” from a safe distance.

But what happens when Jesus asks us to get close?

What happens when loving our neighbor means listening instead of lecturing?

Forgiving instead of keeping score?

Serving instead of being served?

Showing grace instead of passing judgment?

Sitting with someone in their pain instead of trying to explain it away?

What happens when loving our neighbor requires us to put our pride down?

That’s where discipleship gets real.

Because Jesus didn’t simply tell us to love people.

He showed us what love looks like.

He touched people everyone else avoided.

He ate with people religious society had rejected.

He stopped for people everyone else walked past.

He noticed people everyone else ignored.

He loved people who couldn’t give Him anything in return.

And then He stretched His arms across a wooden cross and showed us that real love is sacrificial.

So I’ve been asking myself:

What if discipleship isn’t measured by how much Bible I know, but by how much love I give?

What if spiritual maturity isn’t about how many arguments I can win, but how much grace I can extend?

What if becoming more like Jesus means becoming slower to judge, quicker to forgive, more willing to listen and more willing to love people who don’t deserve it?

Because here’s the truth I’ve had to confront:

I can be right and still be unChristlike.

I can know Scripture and still have a hard heart.

I can defend the truth and still fail to show grace.

I can go to church every Sunday and still walk past my neighbor without ever noticing that they’re hurting.

I can call myself a disciple while becoming increasingly comfortable with people I don’t like being treated as though they don’t matter.

And that realization hurts.

Because I don’t want to simply talk about Jesus.

I want my life to look like Him.

I want people to experience something different when they encounter me.

I want the lonely to feel seen.

I want the hurting to feel safe.

I want the broken to know they aren’t beyond redemption.

I want the person who disagrees with me to know I can disagree without hating them.

I want the person who has fallen to know there is still grace.

I want the person who feels forgotten to know that somebody cares.

I want my neighbor to encounter Jesus—not because I preached a sermon at them, but because I loved them.

Maybe that’s the discipleship journey we’re missing.

Maybe following Jesus isn’t about becoming more religious.

Maybe it’s about becoming more human—the kind of human God created us to be before sin taught us to divide, judge, hate and exclude.

So I’m asking myself today:

Has following Jesus made me love my neighbor more?

Has it changed the way I speak to people?

Has it changed the way I treat people who disagree with me?

Has it changed the way I respond to the broken?

Has it made me more compassionate?

More patient?

More forgiving?

More generous?

More willing to serve?

More willing to listen?

More willing to love without expecting anything in return?

And perhaps most importantly:

Would my neighbor say that following Jesus has made me a more loving person?

That’s the question that scares me.

Because it’s one thing for me to say I’m becoming like Jesus.

It’s another thing for the people around me to actually see it.

Maybe it’s time we stopped measuring our discipleship by how many Christian things we do and started measuring it by how much love is actually coming out of our lives.

Because Jesus didn’t say the world would recognize His disciples by their political opinions.

He didn’t say they would know us by our church attendance.

He didn’t say they would know us by how loudly we defended our beliefs.

He said they would know us by our love.

So before I point another finger…

Before I criticize another person…

Before I decide who is worthy of my compassion…

Before I tell someone else what they need to change…

Maybe I need to get on my knees and ask God:

“Lord, change me first.”

Make my heart softer.

Make my hands willing to serve.

Make my ears willing to listen.

Make my eyes willing to see the people everyone else overlooks.

Make me love the people I don’t understand.

Make me forgive the people who hurt me.

Make me compassionate toward people whose stories I don’t know.

And when I encounter someone who is hurting, broken, angry, lost or far away from You…

Don’t let me walk past them.

Let me stop.

Let me see them.

Let me love them.

Let me become Your hands and feet.

Because maybe the greatest testimony we will ever give isn’t something we say.

Maybe it’s the way we love someone who thought Christians would hate them.

And tonight, I hope we all sit with this question for a while:

If the only Bible my neighbor ever read was the life I lived, would they see Jesus?

Not perfection.

Not religion.

Not condemnation.

Jesus.

Because if my discipleship hasn’t made me love my neighbor more…

Maybe the problem isn’t that my neighbor needs to come closer to Jesus.

Maybe I do. ~OC

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Moral High Ground (Look In The Mirror)

Today’s a new day!

I’m going to say something that may make some Christians uncomfortable.

Maybe even angry.

But I believe we desperately need to hear it.

If we are going to engage a culture that is increasingly broken, divided, angry, confused, and seemingly hostile toward Christianity, we had better start by recognizing something very important:

We are sinners too.

Yes.

Us.

The people sitting in church on Sunday.

The people carrying Bibles.

The people posting Scripture on Facebook.

The people singing worship songs with our hands raised.

The people who know all the right Christian words.

We are sinners.

And if we forget that, we will eventually become the very kind of people Jesus warned us about.

Jesus told us about the danger of looking at the speck in someone else’s eye while ignoring the plank in our own.

And honestly?

The Church has become really good at finding specks.

We see the sin in somebody else’s life.

We see their political beliefs.

Their sexuality.

Their addiction.

Their language.

Their lifestyle.

Their mistakes.

Their failures.

Their past.

And we point.

And we judge.

And we condemn.

And then we wonder why they don’t want anything to do with Christianity.

Maybe we should ask ourselves a difficult question:

Have some people rejected Jesus—or have they rejected the version of Jesus they’ve seen in us?

That’s a question that hurts.

Because sometimes we have been so busy telling people how lost they are that we’ve forgotten to tell them how much Jesus loves them.

We’ve become more passionate about being right than being Christlike.

More passionate about winning arguments than winning souls.

More comfortable condemning people than sitting beside them in their pain.

And somewhere along the way, we’ve forgotten something incredibly important:

Jesus didn’t come for people who had their lives together.

He came for the broken.

The hurting.

The addicted.

The rejected.

The ashamed.

The lonely.

The prodigals.

The sinners.

People like us.

Look at the people Jesus surrounded Himself with.

They weren’t all polished.

They weren’t all respectable.

They weren’t all religious.

They weren’t all acceptable to the religious crowd.

And Jesus didn’t stand at a distance shouting, “Clean yourself up and then come see Me.”

He walked toward them.

He sat with them.

He touched them.

He listened to them.

He loved them.

And then He changed them.

That’s grace.

And here’s where this gets painfully personal:

I don’t need Jesus because I’m better than the people around me.

I need Jesus because I’m not.

I’ve fallen.

I’ve failed.

I’ve made mistakes.

I’ve had moments when my faith was weak.

I’ve had moments when fear was louder than faith.

I’ve had moments when I didn’t understand what God was doing.

I’ve had moments when I needed forgiveness.

I’ve needed grace.

And so have you.

That’s why I can’t stand on some imaginary moral high ground and look down on someone else.

Because when I look at the cross, I don’t see a platform that makes me superior.

I see a place where a broken sinner like me was rescued.

And maybe that’s what the Church needs to rediscover.

Humility.

Not compromise.

Not abandoning biblical truth.

Not pretending sin doesn’t matter.

But humility.

Because there is a massive difference between saying,

“You’re a sinner, and I’m better than you.”

and saying,

“You’re a sinner. I’m a sinner. But there’s a Savior who loves us both.”

One builds walls.

The other builds bridges.

One pushes people away.

The other opens a door.

One says, “Get your life together.”

The other says,

“Come as you are. Jesus isn’t finished with you yet.”

The world doesn’t need Christians who are perfect.

It needs Christians who are real.

People who can say:

“I don’t have all the answers.”

“I’ve struggled too.”

“I’ve cried too.”

“I’ve questioned too.”

“I’ve fallen too.”

“I’ve needed forgiveness too.”

“But I’ve discovered something.”

Jesus didn’t give up on me.

And if He didn’t give up on me, He isn’t going to give up on you.

That is the message we should be carrying into this culture.

Not hate.

Not arrogance.

Not condemnation.

Jesus.

Because at the end of the day, people don’t need another Christian yelling at them about how dark the world has become.

They need someone willing to walk into the darkness carrying a light.

They need someone willing to sit beside them when they’re hurting.

They need someone willing to love them before they agree with them.

They need someone willing to tell them the truth without making them feel worthless.

They need someone who remembers that Jesus died for them too.

So before we point our fingers at the culture…

Let’s look in the mirror.

Before we demand repentance from everyone else…

Let’s repent ourselves.

Before we ask God to change the world…

Let’s ask Him to change us.

Before we complain about how far America has fallen…

Let’s ask how far the Church has fallen from looking like Jesus.

Because perhaps revival won’t begin when the world finally starts acting like Christians.

Perhaps revival begins when Christians finally start acting like Jesus.

And maybe—just maybe—the greatest witness we can give this broken world isn’t telling people how bad they are.

Maybe it’s being honest enough to say:

“I’m broken too.”

“I’ve needed grace too.”

“I’ve needed Jesus too.”

“And I’m still standing—not because I’m perfect, but because He hasn’t let go of me.”

That’s the Gospel.

That’s grace.

That’s hope.

And that’s the message I want to carry.

So I’m not going to stand above you.

I’ll stand beside you.

I’m not going to pretend I’m better than you.

I’m going to remind you that we’re both desperately in need of Jesus.

And I’m not going to point my finger at you while pretending I don’t have my own scars.

I’ll show you mine.

Because maybe when you see that I’m broken too…

You’ll finally believe me when I tell you:

There is a Savior who still loves broken people.

There is grace for the sinner.

There is mercy for the mess.

There is forgiveness for the failure.

There is hope for the hopeless.

And there is still a cross standing in the middle of this broken world saying:

“You are not too far gone.”

So before we try to change the culture…

Let’s let Jesus change us.

Because the world isn’t looking for another group of people who claim to have it all together.

It’s looking for people who have been broken, redeemed, forgiven, and transformed by Jesus.

And maybe that’s exactly what the Church was supposed to be all along.

Not a museum for perfect people.

A hospital for sinners.

And I’m not ashamed to admit it:

I’m still a patient.

I still need Jesus.

Every. Single. Day.

And so do you.

Now go back and read that one more time.

Because this time…

don’t read it looking for someone else.

Read it looking in the mirror. ~OC

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Men Stand Up

MEN, WE NEED TO TALK.

Not about politics.

Not about sports.

Not about money.

Not about who is right and who is wrong.

We need to talk about what happened to the men of God.

Because somewhere along the way, too many of us became comfortable sitting in the church while our families, our neighborhoods, and our communities were crying out for men who would actually stand up and lead.

We have plenty of men who can talk.

Plenty who can argue.

Plenty who can criticize.

Plenty who can tell everyone else what they’re doing wrong.

But God isn’t looking for more men who can point fingers.

God is looking for men who will get on their knees.

Men who will pray.

Men who will serve.

Men who will sacrifice.

Men who will give.

Men who will love.

Men who will stand in the gap.

Men who will say, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

Paul wrote:

“Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.” ~1 Corinthians 16:13-14

Read that again.

Be courageous.

Be strong.

But don’t miss the last part:

Do everything in love.

Because biblical manhood isn’t about domination.

It’s not about control.

It’s not about being the loudest voice in the room.

It’s not about demanding respect.

It’s about becoming the kind of man who looks like Jesus.

Jesus picked up a towel.

Jesus washed feet.

Jesus touched the untouchable.

Jesus welcomed the rejected.

Jesus fed the hungry.

Jesus defended the vulnerable.

Jesus wept with those who were hurting.

Jesus prayed.

Jesus served.

Jesus sacrificed.

And ultimately…

Jesus laid down His life.

So if we want to be men of God, maybe we should stop asking,

“Who is going to serve me?”

and start asking,

“Who can I serve?”

Maybe it’s time for us to put down our pride and pick up the towel.

Put down our excuses and pick up our Bibles.

Put down our anger and pick up our cross.

Put down our phones and look our children in the eyes.

Put down our criticism and start praying for the people we’re so quick to criticize.

Men, our families need us.

Our wives need husbands who pray.

Our children need fathers who are present.

Our sons need men who will show them that strength isn’t about how much power you have, but how much of yourself you’re willing to give away.

Our daughters need to see what a godly man looks like.

Our churches need men who don’t just occupy a chair on Sunday but carry the burden of the Kingdom Monday through Saturday.

Our communities need men who will stop driving past brokenness and start walking toward it.

There are people all around us who are hurting.

People battling addiction.

People drowning in loneliness.

People wondering if anybody cares.

People who haven’t stepped inside a church in years because somewhere along the way, Christians made them feel like they weren’t welcome.

Men, what if we became different?

What if we became the men who showed up?

What if we became the men who prayed?

What if we became the men who served without needing recognition?

What if we became the men who gave without expecting something in return?

What if we became the men who loved people who could never repay us?

What if we stopped trying to build our own kingdoms…

and started building His?

I’m praying for something bigger than another men’s conference.

Bigger than another Bible study.

Bigger than another church program.

I’m praying for revival in the hearts of men.

I want to see men so completely consumed by Jesus that their families can’t help but notice.

I want to see fathers praying over their children.

Husbands praying with their wives.

Men opening their Bibles before they open social media.

Men serving the homeless.

Men feeding the hungry.

Men visiting the sick.

Men mentoring young men who desperately need somebody to tell them,

“You matter. You’re loved. You were created for something greater.”

I want to see men walk into the darkest places carrying the light of Christ.

I want to see men who aren’t ashamed to worship.

Men who aren’t afraid to cry.

Men who aren’t afraid to say, “I don’t have it all together.”

Men who aren’t afraid to get on their knees and cry out,

“Jesus, change me before You use me.”

Because maybe that’s where revival begins.

Not with a crowd.

With a man.

One broken man surrendering.

One father praying.

One husband repenting.

One son coming home.

One man saying,

“Jesus, I am Yours.”

And then another man catches fire.

And another.

And another.

And suddenly…

THE FIRE SPREADS.

It moves through families.

Through churches.

Through neighborhoods.

Through communities.

Until an entire city begins to feel the presence of God.

Not because men became louder.

But because men became different.

Not because men demanded their rights.

But because men started laying down their lives.

Not because men conquered people.

But because men started loving people.

I want to see men set on fire for Jesus.

And I don’t mean a temporary emotional high.

I mean HOLY FIRE.

The kind of fire that changes the way we live.

The kind of fire that changes the way we speak.

The kind of fire that changes our marriages.

The kind of fire that changes our parenting.

The kind of fire that changes how we treat strangers.

The kind of fire that makes us uncomfortable when we’re sitting still while somebody else is hurting.

Men, I’m calling us higher.

Higher than comfort.

Higher than complacency.

Higher than excuses.

Higher than church-as-usual.

Higher than cultural Christianity.

I’m calling us to Jesus.

To surrender.

To sacrifice.

To service.

To prayer.

To courage.

To holiness.

To love.

Because our communities don’t need more men pretending to have all the answers.

They need men who know where to take their questions.

To the feet of Jesus.

So tonight, before you criticize another man…

pray for him.

Before you complain about your church…

serve it.

Before you complain about your community…

love it.

Before you tell the world what’s wrong with Christianity…

show them Jesus.

And before you demand that everyone else change…

get alone with God and ask Him to change you.

Because revival may be closer than we think.

Maybe God isn’t waiting for the perfect man.

Maybe He’s waiting for the surrendered man.

The available man.

The obedient man.

The man who will say:

“Here I am, Lord. Send me.”

So, men…

Are you willing?

Are you willing to lead when nobody applauds?

Are you willing to serve when nobody notices?

Are you willing to give when it costs you something?

Are you willing to pray when you’re tired?

Are you willing to love when it’s difficult?

Are you willing to forgive?

Are you willing to repent?

Are you willing to surrender your pride?

Are you willing to pick up your cross?

Are you willing to follow Jesus even when it costs you everything?

Because here’s the question I can’t get out of my head:

If your family became exactly like the Christian life you are living right now…

would you be proud of what they became?

Let that sit there for a minute.

Don’t scroll.

Don’t defend yourself.

Don’t think about the man sitting next to you.

Think about you.

Look in the mirror.

Look at your Bible.

Look at your family.

Look at your community.

Look at your life.

And ask yourself the question that may be the most important question a man can ever ask:

AM I REALLY THE MAN GOD HAS CALLED ME TO BE?

And if the answer is no…

Don’t run from that conviction.

Run toward Jesus.

Because He isn’t finished with you.

Men, let’s rise.

Let’s pray.

Let’s serve.

Let’s give.

Let’s love.

Let’s lead.

Let’s surrender.

Let’s become the men our families need, our churches need, our communities need—and most importantly, the men Jesus has called us to be.

One man.

One surrendered heart.

One family.

One church.

One neighborhood.

One city.

Until the fire spreads.

MEN, IT’S TIME.

Let’s set your city’s on fire—not with our anger, not with our politics, not with our pride…

but with the radical, reckless, transforming LOVE OF JESUS CHRIST.

In Jesus’ name, Amen. ~OC

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Lack of Leadership

There is something deeply troubling about what we are seeing within our United States military.

The men and women who volunteer to serve our nation deserve better than political distractions, culture-war battles, and leadership that seems more interested in appearances than in the people entrusted to its care.

What happens in an organization is often a reflection of its leadership—from the head down.

When leadership loses sight of the mission, the people eventually pay the price.

Our military exists to defend this nation. It exists to protect Americans, deter our enemies, respond to threats, and ensure that the United States remains capable of defending itself in an increasingly dangerous world.

That should be the priority.

So when military leadership appears more focused on debates over the color or gender of our soldiers than on their readiness, morale, training, equipment, mental wellbeing, and ability to accomplish the mission, I believe we have a serious leadership problem.

And when tragic incidents occur aboard ships such as the USS Abraham Lincoln, we should be asking hard questions.

Not partisan questions.

Not political questions.

Leadership questions.

Are our sailors adequately trained?

Do they have the resources they need?

Are maintenance and readiness being taken seriously?

Are commanders being held accountable?

Are we listening to the people actually serving aboard these ships?

Are we spending our defense dollars where they will make the greatest difference?

Those questions matter far more to me than whatever political culture war happens to dominate the headlines this week.

Our service members don’t need Washington to constantly find another distraction.

They need leadership.

They need leaders who understand that behind every uniform is a human being—a son, daughter, husband, wife, father, mother, brother, sister, friend, and fellow American.

They deserve leaders who will fight for their wellbeing as fiercely as they expect those service members to fight for our country.

And this isn’t an argument against sports, entertainment, or morale events. Our troops deserve opportunities to relax and enjoy themselves. They deserve camaraderie and moments of fun.

But there is a difference between supporting morale and allowing distractions to become substitutes for leadership.

Dear military leadership: let’s spend more time and money addressing the problems that are actually affecting our military and less time chasing political headlines, building extravagant ballrooms, or putting the spotlight on MMA fights.

Let’s invest in readiness.

Let’s invest in maintenance.

Let’s invest in training.

Let’s invest in our sailors, soldiers, Marines, airmen, guardians, and Coast Guard members.

Let’s make sure they have the equipment, resources, leadership, and support they need to come home safely.

And let’s remember something incredibly important:

The military does not belong to a political party.

It belongs to the American people.

The uniform doesn’t belong to Republicans or Democrats. It belongs to the men and women who raised their right hand and swore an oath to defend the Constitution.

They deserve leadership that takes that oath as seriously as they do.

America doesn’t need leaders who are constantly looking for the next culture war to fight.

America needs leaders willing to fight for the people who actually fight for America.

Our service members deserve nothing less. ~OC

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Jesus Over Tribalism

I have come to a place in my faith where I would rather upset my fellow Christian community by loving the people Jesus called us to love than fit comfortably among Christians united by who they condemn.

That may not always make me popular.

It may not earn me invitations.

It may make some people question my theology, my priorities, or even my faith.

But I can live with that.

Because when I look at Jesus, I don’t see someone building His ministry around determining who was worthy of love.

I see Him moving toward the hurting.

Toward the rejected.

Toward the outcast.

Toward sinners.

Toward people religious society had already written off.

Jesus touched the untouchable.

He ate with people others avoided.

He spoke with people others ignored.

He defended people others condemned.

He showed mercy when others demanded judgment.

And He commanded us to love our neighbors—not just the neighbors who look like us, vote like us, worship like us, think like us, or agree with us.

Love is not supposed to be selective.

If my Christianity requires me to hate someone in order to prove that I belong to the right group, then I need to take another long look at Jesus.

I don’t want to be part of a Christian community that is united primarily by the people it opposes.

I want to be part of a Church united by the One it follows.

Jesus.

I would rather be criticized for loving too many people than praised for condemning too many.

I would rather be accused of having too much compassion than too little.

I would rather stand beside someone who is hurting and remind them that they are loved than stand at a distance and remind them of everything they have done wrong.

That doesn’t mean truth doesn’t matter.

It does.

But Jesus never separated truth from love.

Grace and truth walked together.

So if loving like Jesus makes me uncomfortable to some Christians, I’ll accept the discomfort.

If compassion makes me controversial, so be it.

If welcoming the hurting makes some people question me, I’ll answer with the example of Christ.

Because at the end of the day, I don’t want to be known as someone who was really good at identifying who was wrong.

I want to be known as someone who loved people well.

I want people to encounter Jesus when they encounter me.

Not my politics.

Not my anger.

Not my judgment.

Not my tribe.

Jesus.

There are already enough Christians standing together because of who they condemn.

I want to stand with Christians who are willing to love because of who Jesus is.

So yes…

I would rather upset my fellow Christians by loving the people Jesus called us to love than fit comfortably among Christians united by who they choose to condemn.

Because I would rather be uncomfortable with people while following Jesus…

than comfortable with people while becoming unlike Him.

“By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” — John 13:35

Love isn’t weakness.

Love isn’t compromise.

Love isn’t abandoning truth.

Love is one of the clearest ways we show the world that we belong to Jesus. ~OC

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My Medical Rap Sheet Doesn’t Get The Final Word

Today’s a new day!

Here is my medical rap sheet.

  • Crippling Arthritis — 2002 (Ended up being cancer)
  • Cancer — 2003
  • Parkinson’s Disease — 2007
  • Myasthenia Gravis — 2009
  • Gastroparesis — 2015
  • COVID Long Haulers — 2022
  • Type Two Diabetes 202 (medication induced)
  • Cluster and Migraine Headaches — 2024
  • Dementia — 2024

Looking at that list, many people would probably assume my life is over.

They would assume the best years are behind me. That my dreams have ended. That all that’s left is surviving.

But they would be wrong.

Every single day, I choose life.

I choose to keep making memories with my beautiful bride of twenty-six years. I choose to laugh, to love, and to appreciate the moments that many people rush past.

I choose to continue advocating for other patients who need someone to remind them that they are more than a diagnosis.

I choose to keep fighting against human trafficking because there are people who desperately need hope, justice, and someone willing to stand in the gap.

Does that mean this health journey is easy?

Absolutely not.

There are days filled with pain. Days of exhaustion. Days when my body reminds me of every diagnosis on that list.

But years ago, I made a decision.

This health battle would never become my identity.

My diagnoses describe some of the battles I face—they do not define the man I am.

I refuse to allow illness to steal my purpose. I refuse to let disease dictate my joy. I refuse to surrender the calling God has placed on my life simply because my body doesn’t always cooperate.

Instead, I choose to keep living.

I choose to keep loving.

I choose to keep serving.

I choose to keep overcoming.

If you’re walking through a battle today—whether it’s a health crisis, grief, depression, financial hardship, addiction, or something no one else can see—I want to encourage you.

Don’t let your battle become your identity.

Keep fighting.

Keep making memories.

Keep dreaming.

Keep showing up.

Keep loving the people around you.

Live your life to the fullest, even if it looks different than you once imagined.

Champions aren’t defined by the battles they face.

They’re defined by the courage to keep getting back up.

So today…

Choose hope.

Choose purpose.

Choose joy.

Choose life.

And whatever comes your way, keep overcoming.

Live like a champion. ~OC

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When the Church Chose Power Over the Cross

There is a temptation that has followed the Church since its earliest days.

It is the temptation to believe that changing the world requires political power more than spiritual power.

It whispers that if we can simply gain enough influence, enough seats at the table, enough cultural dominance, then God’s Kingdom will flourish.

But Jesus never asked His followers to seek power.

He asked them to pick up a cross.

Those are two very different paths.

The Way of the Cross

Jesus entered Jerusalem not on a warhorse, but on a donkey.

He wore no crown of gold.

He commanded no army.

He never sought political office.

Instead, He humbled Himself, served the least, loved His enemies, and willingly laid down His life.

When Peter drew his sword to defend Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus rebuked him.

“Put your sword back in its place.”

The Kingdom of God would not be established by force.

It would be established by sacrificial love.

The Cross—not the sword—would become Christianity’s greatest symbol.

A Different Kind of Kingdom

Jesus made His mission unmistakably clear before Pilate:

“My kingdom is not of this world.” (John 18:36)

That statement should forever shape how Christians think about politics.

Earthly governments rise and fall.

Political parties are born and disappear.

Empires come and go.

But the Kingdom of God endures forever.

When the Church forgets that truth, it begins to measure success by elections won instead of lives transformed.

The Seduction of Influence

Influence is not inherently sinful.

Joseph served Pharaoh.

Daniel served Babylon.

Esther influenced a king.

There are faithful believers throughout Scripture who served within governments.

The danger comes when the Church begins depending on political influence instead of the Holy Spirit.

History has shown that whenever the Church becomes too comfortable with worldly power, it often sacrifices its prophetic voice.

Instead of speaking truth to those in authority, it begins protecting them.

Instead of confronting sin wherever it is found, it excuses it when doing so preserves influence.

The prophets of Scripture never operated that way.

Neither did Jesus.

We Forgot Who Our Neighbor Is

Political division has convinced many Christians that those who disagree with us are enemies instead of neighbors.

But Jesus told us to love our neighbors.

Even more challenging, He told us to love our enemies.

The Cross leaves no room for hatred.

No room for contempt.

No room for celebrating the downfall of those made in God’s image.

If our politics make it difficult to love people, then our politics have become a spiritual problem.

The Church Was Never Meant to Mirror the Culture

Too often, the Church has adopted the world’s methods while expecting God’s results.

We have traded humility for outrage.

Grace for suspicion.

Peacemaking for culture wars.

Faithfulness for influence.

The Church was never called to reflect the values of the surrounding culture.

We were called to reflect Christ.

That means telling the truth with courage.

Showing mercy without compromise.

Standing for justice without hatred.

Loving people without demanding that they first become like us.

The Early Church Changed the World

The first Christians possessed almost no political influence.

They had no voting bloc.

No media platform.

No lobbying organization.

No cultural dominance.

Yet within a few centuries, the Gospel had spread throughout the Roman Empire.

Why?

Because believers loved radically.

They cared for plague victims whom others abandoned.

They rescued unwanted children.

They fed the poor.

They welcomed strangers.

They forgave those who persecuted them.

They lived lives that could not be explained apart from Christ.

Their greatest strength was not political power.

It was Christlike love.

Returning to Our First Love

Perhaps the greatest need in today’s Church is not another political strategy.

It is repentance.

Repentance for the times we have defended power more passionately than truth.

Repentance for placing party loyalty above Kingdom loyalty.

Repentance for allowing fear to shape us more than faith.

Repentance for forgetting that our Savior conquered through sacrifice, not domination.

The Church is at its best when it remembers that the Cross always comes before the crown.

The Cross Still Changes the World

Every generation must decide what kind of Church it will become.

One that seeks influence at any cost.

Or one that faithfully follows Jesus, even when it costs everything.

History remembers powerful kingdoms that have long since disappeared.

But it also remembers ordinary believers whose quiet faithfulness changed lives for eternity.

May we never trade the Cross for political power.

May we never confuse national success with spiritual revival.

May we never allow our allegiance to an earthly kingdom to overshadow our devotion to the King of Kings.

The hope of the world has never been found in Washington, Rome, London, or any other seat of earthly power.

The hope of the world has always been, and always will be, Jesus Christ.

May His Church once again become known not for the power it seeks, but for the Savior it follows. ~OC

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You Can’t Outrun What You Won’t Face

Today’s a new day!

One of the hardest lessons in the Christian life is this:

You can’t outrun what you won’t face.

We often try.

We stay busy to avoid the pain.


We distract ourselves from conviction.


We bury wounds beneath success.


We pretend everything is fine while our hearts quietly break.

But the things we refuse to confront eventually confront us.

Unforgiveness grows into bitterness.


Hidden sin steals our joy.


Fear becomes a prison.


Grief that is never processed weighs down our souls.

Jesus never called us to run from our brokenness. He invites us to bring it to Him.

The beautiful truth of the Gospel is that we don’t have to face our struggles alone. Christ walks with us through every valley. The Holy Spirit gives us the courage to confront what we’ve been avoiding, and God’s grace meets us there—not with condemnation, but with mercy, healing, and hope.

Sometimes the greatest act of faith isn’t running harder. It’s stopping long enough to say:

“Lord, here I am. Search my heart. Heal what is broken. Change what needs to change.”

Healing often begins where honesty begins.

Freedom often begins where surrender begins.

And victory often begins the moment we stop running.

Whatever you’ve been avoiding today—a difficult conversation, a painful memory, a lingering sin, a wounded relationship, or a fear you’ve carried for years—don’t keep running.

Bring it to Jesus.

Because what you surrender to Him no longer has to define you. ~OC

“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” — Psalm 139:23

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Not Dead Yet: A Joyful Rebellion

Today’s a new day!

There is something beautifully rebellious about waking up each morning, opening your eyes, taking a deep breath, and whispering, “Thank You, Jesus.”

In a world that expects you to quit…
choose joy.

In a culture that celebrates outrage…
choose peace.

When pain tells you to give up…
choose hope.

Every smile in the middle of suffering is an act of defiance.

Every prayer whispered through tears is a declaration that darkness doesn’t get the final word.

Every act of kindness in a cynical world is a revolution.

I’ve learned that joy isn’t pretending everything is okay. Joy is looking straight at the storm and saying, “My God is still faithful.”

My body has given me more reasons to complain than I can count. There have been diagnoses, setbacks, fear, uncertainty, and days when simply standing up felt like climbing a mountain.

But here’s the beautiful truth:

I’m not dead yet.

So I still have a purpose.

I still have someone to encourage.

I still have songs to sing.

I still have prayers to pray.

I still have love to give.

I still have a Gospel worth proclaiming.

The enemy may have tried to silence my voice, but he couldn’t silence my praise.

He may have attacked my body, but he couldn’t steal my hope.

He may have shaken my world, but he couldn’t move the Rock on which I stand.

So every day I laugh…

Every day I worship…

Every day I love people…

Every day I forgive…

Every day I choose gratitude…

That is my joyful rebellion.

Because joy confuses despair.

Hope frustrates fear.

Love outlasts hate.

Grace overwhelms guilt.

And Jesus has already won.

If you’re reading this while carrying a burden no one else can see, don’t let your circumstances write the final chapter.

As long as God has given you breath, He has given you purpose.

As long as your heart beats, your story isn’t finished.

So stand up if you can.

Smile if you can.

Sing if you can.

Pray when you can’t.

And if all you can do today is whisper the name of Jesus, that’s enough.

Because the greatest rebellion against darkness is a life that refuses to stop believing in the Light.

Not dead yet.

Still praising.

Still believing.

Still loving.

Still becoming.

Still following Jesus.

And by His grace…

I’m just getting started. ~OC

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