Tag: Forgiveness

Christian Nationalism Part I

Today’s a new day! I became a Christian when I was 10 years old. I have not lived a perfect life, but I have always tried to be the best person I can be. As I have walked my faith journey, I have seen and experienced many things that I do not particularly care for in my Christian faith. But there is one thing that has me more concerned than ever about the Christian faith. And that is the rise of Christian Nationalism.

What is Christian Nationalism? Christian nationalism, in short, is a worldview where one’s theological imagination is coopted by state power. It exchanges the church’s loyalty to the God of Peace for a false god fashioned political ideology.

So for the next few days, I will use this blog to share about Christian Nationalism and the harm it brings to the Church and to America.

How can we tell if we or someone we know is a Christian Nationalist? This might be difficult, but below are five questions that might help us answer this question.

*Should the U.S. government be declared a Christian nation?

*All U.S. laws should be based on Christian values?

*If the U.S. moved away from our Christian foundations, we would not have a country anymore?

*Being Christian is an important part of being truly American?

*Has God called Christians to exercise dominion over all areas of American society?

I encourage everyone to review the above questions and take time to honestly answer them. Then take time to do the following:

*Pray

*Reflect

*Discuss

I am not sharing this post to point fingers, to judge or cause division. I am sharing my thoughts to help bring peace and unity to America. ~OC

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Let’s Go!

Today’s a new day! Dear Champion, Warrior, Overcomer,
 
As we start this new week, I want to encourage you that God has uniquely wired and placed you right where you are for this season.
 
Each of you has been placed in your neighborhood, workplace, and your circle of influence for this moment in time. To be used right where God has you planted and growing.

When you decide to not be afraid of the darkness and begin to push past it into the light, it changes everything. People begin to change.
 
But what does it look like when you begin to use your gifts and push past the darkness? It can be as simple as…
 
A pray group at your house or on Zoom.

A prayer group outside a local school, prison or hospital.

Standing up and speaking out for the marginalized and persecuted.

Having a weekly dinner at your house.

A weekly prayer breakfast in person or online.
 
Living a life of service rather than a life of feeling stuck by all the negativity you see around you.

You have been created for this moment to be part of God’s life changing plan to push past the darkness and negativity of this world and be part of establishing God’s beautiful light in your community. Let’s go! ~OC

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Brokenness….A Gift

Today’s a new day!

Sometimes I feel broken.

There are times I look at my life and see all the ways I fall short. Maybe it was my negative attitude or words that negatively affected someone else.

There are so many ways to feel broken- physically, emotionally, mentally or spiritually. In the middle of our brokenness, it’s easy to agonize over whether or not we can ever be acceptable to God or be used by Him during our brokenness. I know I struggle with this sometimes.

During this crazy beautiful health journey, God has taught me a valuable lesson about being broken.

Our brokenness is a gift. A gift? Yes, a gift because our brokenness connects us to other people walking through their own brokenness. A gift because our brokenness brings us closer to God. It is during our brokenness that God makes us whole.

Sharing our brokenness brings meaning and healing to our own crazy beautiful journey.

Blessings happen during the brokenness. As I have shared my health journey with others, people have reached out to me and shared how my journey has helped them walk through their own crazy beautiful journey. It has been a blessing to see God move through my brokenness.

Being broken is a gift, because through our brokenness we recognize our need for God. Because only through God can our broken life be made whole.

I am so grateful for the gift of being broken. During my brokenness God has continued to love me and use me in spite of my brokenness. What a gift.

My prayer for you is that during your brokenness, you will look to God and allow Him to use you during this time. I pray you will find the gift of brokenness as God puts your broken pieces back together. ~OC

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Sometimes You Have to Speak Out

Hello! My name is Todd OC Shoemaker, I am a Missionary, Traveling Prayer Warrior and Storyteller. I use this blog to share about my health journey and thoughts that God puts on my heart. I write as a Christian, Husband and someone who cares deeply for America.

There is a time in each person’s life where you have to stand up and speak your truth. That can be difficult when you know there will be negative blowback from some family and friends. From a whole community. But I feel it’s time to take that risk. I want to share the following as America prepares for an election in November.

I do not believe that pastors and churches should endorse political candidates or political parties. I do not believe Voter Guides should be handed out by churches. I am happy that I attend a diverse church, full of people from all walks of life and political backgrounds. I believe people are smart enough to make their own decisions.

I am a registered Independent. I was a registered Republican until the party took a drastic turn in 2016. Neither party fully represents my Christian beliefs. Not even close. Both promise a lot, but rarely deliver. I tend to vote based on the issues and not the candidates.

All that to say, there is an issue I have decided I need to say something about. And that issue is former President Donald Trump. I oppose his election as President, and believe that his election could be harmful for America. I realize in the Christian community, I am probably in the minority. But I believe I must share the following.

I do not believe that Donald Trump has the best interest of our country in mind. He has shown on many occasions, that he cares more for himself than he does about America. His actions and language are dangerous. Do you realize that when he made the comment, “I could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and not lose votes”, he was speaking at a Christian College in Iowa? The crowd laughed and clapped, and some in the audience shouted out love for the former president.

I find it hard to believe that people who claim to love Jesus, could support someone who holds and proclaims racist, sexist, and violent views. These are in direct contrast to the words and life of Jesus.

I believe that the former president has taken the name of Jesus in vain on multiple occasions. He continues to misuse the Christian faith by claiming to be “a great Christian” while not feeling the need to seek God’s forgiveness. And the sad part is so many pastors, Christian leaders and some in the Christian community continue to cheer him on and make excuses for him.

I also happen to disagree with the former President on some actual issues, but that isn’t the point. I disagree with all the candidates on various issues. My opposition to Mr. Trump is not about his political party or beliefs; this is about his character. Character should matter. Especially in the Church.

I did not vote for Mr. Trump in 2016 or 2020 and will not vote for him in November. I truly believe a second term under the former President would only cause more harm and division.

This is my choice, and I am not telling anyone who to vote for. This is still America and everyone is free to make their own decisions and follow their conscience.

I will continue to pray for this country and its leaders on both sides of the aisle. Once again, my name is Todd “OC” Shoemaker and I approve this message. ~OC

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Seasons

Today’s a new day! This journey called life is made up of many seasons
some seasons slip away, never to be seen again while other seasons look like they’re slipping away, but they have only just begun

Like the dim light on the road ahead on an evening run, we only get a glimpse of the secrets of the world
May never pass this way again

Noises all around us
the seasons come and go
May never pass this way again

The dreams we dream keep us moving forward in the difficult seasons of life, those dreams keep us flying like an eagle on a warm summer breeze
May never pass this way again

Like Dr. King in the olden days
we must gather all our courage and live out our dreams
May never pass this way again

So cast away your fears
Our dreams will ebb and flow
different seasons will come and go
May never pass this way again

I wanna laugh with family and friends
I wanna cry and not waste a tear
I wanna dream and live in the moment
May never pass this way again

I wanna dance with my bride on a cool summer night to the sounds of the 80’s in the background
I wanna drive down the highway with adventure in my heart and some Motown playing on the radio
May never pass this way again

On those tough days when my body is failing me, I want to look in the mirror and not see a life of washed out dreams, on those days when it’s hard to breathe, I wanna hear Journey in the background reminding me Don’t Stop Believing
May never pass this way again

As the season change, I’m still standing, maybe not better than before, but living as an Overcomer
I wanna keep dancing in the light
May never pass this way again. ~OC

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A Garden

Today’s a new day! For just a moment, imagine that our minds are like a garden. The thoughts we entertain are the seeds we plant. Loving thoughts are like seeds of beautiful flowers and nourishing vegetables. Our garden flourishes when we plant these seeds, tend to them, and water them regularly. However, if we plant seeds of envy, division, hate, arrogance, or resentment, our garden becomes overrun with nasty weeds, that slowly choke out the beauty and nourishment.

To cultivate a garden of love, we must intentionally plant seeds of patience, kindness, forgiveness, grace, humility, and truth. This requires effort and care, just as tending to a real garden does. Doing so creates an environment where love thrives and bears fruit. ~OC

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Joyful Warriors

Today’s a new day! Are you a joyful warrior? Would you like to be? I hope so. That’s who we are called to be as we run this crazy beautiful journey. We are called to love God above all else and others like ourselves. It’s not as easy as it sounds, but the benefits are truly out of this world.

Be joyful. Grow to maturity. Encourage each other. Live in harmony and peace. Then the God of love and peace will be with you (2 Corinthians 13:11).

A joyful warrior is someone who’s fighting the storms of life with joy, not only in their own battles, but helping fight the battles that their family and friends are walking through. Because when we walk through a storm with someone else, we cannot help but experience the presence of hope and joy.

And isn’t that our purpose in life? To love others with God’s love. Most of the time these acts of love are very small and we might not even notice them ourselves. But the impact can be tremendous. As we walk through difficult moments with friends and loved ones, we can be conduits of great joy and deep refreshment.

Yes, ultimately our lives are in God’s hands, but we also need other people to walk with us on this journey called life. We are called to live in peace, unity and love. It does matter how we treat each other. We can be joyful warriors by helping those in need. Because it truly takes a village to spread hope and live with joy. But it can be done. Because God is always with us. His supply of joy is unlimited. Besides loving to pour out that sweet joy, God also loves sharing his hope, love and grace.

God is the ultimate joyful giver. But we are also called to be joyful givers. God has more joy than we can ever use in a lifetime. Our joy cup will never run drive. The more joy we pour out, the more joy we have. This is one of the beautiful mysteries of God. But it works. And it makes us victorious joyful warriors. And for that I am grateful.
 
Dear God, Thank you for the gift of joy
and the gift of joyful warriors in our lives. Today, allow us to be beautiful joyful warriors. Help us to bring hope and joy in the midst of the storms. Let us fight division with the amazing gift of peace, grace and joy. In the craziness of this world, help us to be joyful warriors. ~OC

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Love Our Neighbors…No Exceptions

Today’s a new day! In the age of social media and partisan cable news, one of the most common questions I get as a Christian is how do I stay in relationship with the family member or friend who believes differently than I do? It can be difficult when we are all firing off text and social media post without giving it any thought or even taking a breath. Things can get nasty and personal real quick.

I recommend that each of us get in the habit of never posting a quick reply to another person’s post or text we disagree with. This can be difficult. We so desperately want to share our opinions. If something someone has posted or shared really bothers you, take a day to think about it and then message them. Maybe you need to type something out to get your feelings on screen.  If you’re like me, once you get your feelings out, you realize there is no real need to push send.

Sometimes you may need to adjust the settings on your email or social media to “mute” a certain person’s messages. They don’t have to know you aren’t reading the stuff they are sharing and forwarding to you.  You can spare yourself and them the awkward discussion of why you “unfriended” them.

Other times you may have to take the hard step of “un-friending” someone or maybe just letting that person know you need to communicate with them in other ways besides social media, text or email, because you can’t keep your emotions in check. I’ve had to make this move with some close friends, because what they share or post provokes a reaction in me I don’t like.  I’m pretty sure the stuff I share and post has caused that same kind of reaction in them. I’m definitely sure that what either of has posted has never changed their mind or mine.

Finally, there are those people who share such negative and personal things that it may amount to emotional abuse. In such cases, setting firm boundaries is necessary for your own well-being and health. Loving your neighbor can only happen from a safe distance with some people.

Remember the biggest companies with the smartest minds are working non-stop to keep us glued to our phone, tablet and computer. They make money and lots of it, the longer we keep using their app or watching their channel. The easiest way to keep us making money for them is to keep us outraged. There are genuine things to be outraged about in the world, but few of them are ever changed by a shared social media post, a forwarded email or text.

Sadly, our culture does not reward maintaining relationships with people different from ourselves. It rewards outrage and remaining in your own bubble. Yet, if we are really going to “Love our neighbor. No exceptions.” it has to cut both ways.

Nobody ever said this Christian life would be easy. ~OC

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Reach Out

Today’s a new day! Praying for those who stay strong even when they feel weak. Praying for those who feel tired and sad, but cannot say anything because the word’s just will not come out. Praying for those who hide all their pain just not to bother anyone and keep a smile on their faces all the time.
Praying for those who want to scream, but they stay calm to not rock the boat. Praying for the fighters, the survivors, the overcomers who keep pushing through every single day even though they may give up along the way but manage to get up again. Praying for everyone who continues to grind. Please do not run your race alone. Reach out. I am praying for you. ~OC

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Taste

Today’s a new day! Dear Christian’s, imagine everyone we come in contact leaves with a little taste of what Heaven will be like. Will they walk away with a taste of honey or vinegar from their encounter? ~OC

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