Tag: Heaven

Come Home

Today is Easter. I love Resurrection Sunday. A day to celebrate the Risen King. This year for the first time in many years, I will not be at church celebrating this beautiful day. No, because of the effects of Covid and double pneumonia, I will be watching Easter service online at home. I know a lot of people are also walking through their own storms on this Easter Sunday. So I want to try and encourage you this morning with a few thoughts.

I know it can be hard to find rest when you cannot find peace. I know it can be hard to find rest when there is so much turmoil raging in your life. The weight of those storms make you feel like you are drowning. The pain from those storms are breaking your heart and spirit. Life seems overwhelming. The stress feels overwhelming. The anxiety feels overwhelming. The pain feels overwhelming. The emptiness feels overwhelming. The depression feels overwhelming. The struggle is real. Life is hard. But there is Hope.

During the times when life seems overwhelming, I want to encourage you to run to Jesus. The One who hung on a Cross and laid in a tomb for three days. The One who died for all of those storms and struggles we face. The One who is patiently waiting for us to come to him and lay all our burdens down at his feet. Today is Easter. The day Christians around the world celebrate the resurrection of the One who gave it all for us. I can think of no better day to come home to The One who is waiting with open arms.

Let me be honest before I finish. Just because you lay all your junk at the feet of Jesus, does not mean all that junk immediately goes away. Sorry for that truth. But I can guarantee you, when you decide to turn over all that junk to Him, your life will be filled with a beautiful Peace. Your life will be filled with new Hope. New Purpose. You will still have days filled with raging storms, but you will not be walking through those storms alone. No, you will have a risen King walking with you. A risen King holding your hand. A risen King guiding your steps. A risen King making a way for you during those storms of life. So I encourage you to come home today. To find rest in the Risen King. ~OC

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Living Out God’s Journey

Today’s a new day! Becoming a Christian is more than a one time decision. It’s more than waiting to die with a ticket to Heaven in our hand. No, becoming a believer in Christ is about experiencing Him here and now. To live out a beautiful creative journey.

Living out this God journey actually means believing and truly living out the scriptures. Not just the scriptures we like.

Living out this God journey actually means loving our neighbors. All of our neighbors.

Living this God journey actually means serving all people. Not just the people we deem worthy.

Living out this God journey actually means living in God’s love and unity. Not being separated by the color of our skin, denominations, political parties or anything else that tries to separate us.

Living out this God journey actually means we can have opposing opinions without having division. Being able to listen without judgment or prejudice.

God never said this beautiful journey would be easy. It will take a lot of patience, constructive conversations, listening, wisdom, love, healing and grace. But I personally believe God wants us to experience him in a beautiful creative way, right here on planet earth. ~OC

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Uniquely Created

Today’s a new day! God never compares what He created. So please stop comparing yourself to others. You were uniquely created by God. A one of a kind Masterpiece. Live out that truth. ~OC

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One Day

Today’s a new day! As we walk through this journey called life, we will experience brokenness, but we will not be shattered. God’s light will continue to shine through those cracks. We will show signs of wear and tear, but we will not break. No, we will continue to walk through this journey called life with a few extra scars. A few more stories to share. We are just renting space in these broken vessels. One sweet day, we will leave behind these broken, scared bodies and walk into our beautiful heavenly whole bodies. ~OC

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My Prayers and Thoughts

Good morning! So as I sit in this hospital room, here are some of my prayers and thoughts.

I pray my beautiful bride is resting and wakes up feeling great.

I pray that some dear family and friends who are sick, will experience complete healing.

I pray for all the Caregivers taking care of a loved one.

I pray The Holy Spirit will take over South Florida. Revival come!

I pray I will be the best husband, friend and disciple of Jesus that I can be through Him.

I pray for everyone in the military and all First Responders. And their families.

I pray for peace.

I pray for all the leaders. I pray their hearts and minds would be changed by God.

I pray for the victims of human trafficking. I pray they will be rescued and their lives will be completely restored. I pray for all the organizations fighting this horrible crime. I pray their needs will be met. Most importantly, I pray their hearts and motives are pure.

I pray for all churches, pastors, missionaries and ministries. May they truly be the hands and feet of Jesus.

I pray God will allow me to do more for everyone I come in contact with during the day.

I pray for all the patients, nurses, doctors and staff at Good Sam. Give each the strength they need today.

I pray for our schools, students, teachers, staff and administrators. I pray God would bless and protect each.

I pray I will not get in the way of what God wants to do in my life.

Here are some of the thoughts going through my crazy beautiful mind this morning:

What races will I run in 2020, if God allows me to run again? It has been almost 11 years since I last ran.

If God blesses me with the ability to run again, that means I could return to the workforce. Where would I work? Who would hire a 50 something guy who has not worked in almost 11 years, but has an incredible crazy beautiful story? Would I go on the speaking circuit? Would I look at working at a church or ministry of some kind? Would I work at a school or university? Would I be a Greeter at Walmart?

Yes, those are some of the crazy thoughts that go through my mind a lot of morning’s. I just want to be ready for whatever God has prepared for me. Even if that means never running another race or never being able to return to work, I will be obedient and thankful.

Have a wonderful and blessed day. ~OC

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Not Disqualified

We have all made mistakes and poor choices in life. Sometimes those mistakes and choices can haunt us. We can carry the shame of those mistakes and choices for years. Can anyone relate? Is anyone still haunted by those past mistakes and choices?

Sometimes those past mistakes and choices make us feel like second class citizens. We feel like damaged goods. I am hear to tell you that God still loves us in spite of those past decisions. Let me encourage you to stop living in the shame of your past.  Those past choices might have knocked you down, but you do not have to stay down. Remember you are a child of God’s. He sent his only son Jesus down from Heaven to wash away all those past mistakes. God has a wonderful plan for each of us. We are more than conquerors. What we did in the past, is not who we are today.  God can use those past mistakes to help us become the person he created us to be. Those past choices do not disqualify any of us from experiencing the love of God and the amazing plans he has for each of us. Today, release all that guilt and shame and start living in the victory of Jesus. ~OC

 

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Relationships

Life is defined by our relationships. Some of our past and current relationships bring a smile to our face. They conjure up great memories. Then there are some relationships that bring pain when they come to mind. Relationships matter.

God is all about relationships. He desires to have a relationship with each of us. God allowed Jesus to come down from heaven to have a relationship with each of us. A way to be forgiven for our past and future sins. A path to truly live a life full of forgiveness. Forgiveness allows us to deal with relationships from our past. Acceptance lets us connect with relationships in our amazing future.

Relationships can be messy, but they can also offer us a beautiful gift. ~OC

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From Heaven

Today’s a new day! This crazy/beautiful journey is not about me. It’s not to show you how strong I am, for my strength comes from God. It’s not to show you how great my faith is, for my faith is a gift from God…exactly at the time I need it. Anything you see in me that is good is not of my doing… it’s from Heaven. ~OC

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Stop Using Jesus

Dear Christian Brothers and Sisters,

We need to talk. I need to share my concerns over the current state of Christianity in America. This talk is not meant to attack the Church or my fellow believers in Jesus Christ. But I feel, I need to share my concerns. Did you catch that? My concerns. My opinions. My thoughts.

When I study scripture, I see a God who is loving, forgiving and stern when the situation calls for it. I see a God who is full of grace and mercy. I think we could all use a little grace and mercy. As I study scripture, I see a lot of Love. There is even a chapter in the Bible called the Love Chapter (Check out 1 Corinthians Chapter 13). Jesus commands us to love. To keep no record of wrongs. To be patient. To not boast. To not be rude. If you check out the books of Matthew and Mark, they talk about not judging others. As I have studied the scriptures, I still have not found a section where it says we should be judging or hating others.

In some circles, Christianity as become more about what we hate and less about what we love. That breaks my heart. More importantly, it breaks Jesus heart. When did Jesus give us permission to start categorizing the levels of sin? Or to hate someone based on their brand of sin? Once again, I looked through scripture and did not find any giving us that permission. Sin is sin. Jesus  is not up in heaven categorizing sin. I do believe Jesus is shedding some tears because we judge people more harshly based on their brand of sin. I totally get why some people want nothing to do with this brand of Christianity and why so many people walk away from Jesus. Have you turned on the tv, scrolled through social media or walked  into some churches lately? Some people have turned Christianity into a bad Jerry Springer Show. I know the Church is full of broken people, but we must do better. We share we love Jesus and his teachings, but our actions and words show a completely different story. We cannot only talk the talk of faith, we must live it out. The Church and it’s people need to be a safe place for other broken people to come. In Mark 2:17, Jesus shares “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Did you catch that? 

I truly love the Church and it’s people. I have spent over half of my life in the church. I have spent over half of my life reading and studying scripture. That is why it grieves me, that so many professed Christians spend more time judging others than they do loving them. Jesus did not come down from heaven, die on the cross and rise three days later so we could judge others. No, Jesus came down from heaven, died on the cross and rose three days later to teach us the true meaning of love. So dear Christian brothers and sisters, lets stop using Jesus to judge and spread hate. Instead let us be a people of love, forgiveness and grace. ~OC

 

 

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Power of Prayer

As I continue to walk through this crazy beautiful health journey, I depend more and more on prayer. Before I got sick years ago, sometimes when I felt God calling me to pray I would ignore that calling. I was too busy with life. I can always pray later I thought. I cringe as I write these words. How many amazing beautiful interruptions did I miss because I was too busy to pray?

Today, my life is full of prayer. Even as I write this blog, God is bringing people to mind that I need to pray for. So, I stop writing and pray for those individuals. I don’t write this to brag. No, I write this to remind myself of the importance of prayer. My life literally depends on the prayers of many. I want to encourage everyone to live in a spirit of prayer. A spirit of prayer? What does that even mean OC? I am glad you asked.

For me, living in a spirit of prayer means I am always open to hearing from God and following through with what He asked of me. That means praying for that friend when God brings them to mind. Not waiting until it fits my schedule. That means not telling someone I will be praying for them, but actually taking the time to pray for them that very moment. Living in a spirit of prayer means stepping out of my comfort zone. Being Present. Being Obedient. I am far from being a biblical scholar, but that is my personal definition of living in a spirit of prayer. Remember, I am just a simple man.

During my 17-year crazy beautiful health journey, God has taught me to always be in a spirit of prayer because my prayers carry weight. Not because of my power, but because of His power. You have the same power. Really, you do! Every time we pray we unleash the power of heaven.

Prayer is not a passive act. No, prayer is powerful and active. When I pray, I feel God’s power flowing through my body. Prayer is life changing.

I will leave you with the word P.U.S.H.

P-ray

U-ntil

S-omerhing

H-appens

I pray you will choose to live in a spirit of prayer. I pray you will pray with boldness. I pray you embrace the power of prayer. ~OC

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