Dear God, today allow me to live with….
Love>Hate
Grace>Judgement
Forgiveness >Unforgiveness
Truth>Culture
Faith>Fear
Present>Past
~OC
Are You Truly Available?
I often hear Christians say they want to be used by God. They are ready to serve God. Then when an opportunity comes up to serve God by helping set up the church for service, to serve in children’s ministry or a clean up day rolls around, suddenly they are not so available.
This is not a knock on my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. This is just my observation. Some people love to serve when it is convenient for them. Or maybe when the opportunity to serve will put the spotlight on them. Let’s be honest, we are all guilty of take a look at me moments. Look what I am doing. It’s just human nature. But sometimes, God is looking for us to serve without any fanfare. To serve in ways we could never imagine. No spotlight.
As many of you know, my amazing wife and I went to Plains, Georgia a few weeks ago to hear former President Jimmy Carter teach Sunday School. Such a cool experience. But you know what I enjoyed most about that trip? Meeting Mr. George. Who is Mr. George you asked? Mr. George is the man who greets everyone as they drive onto the property at Maranatha Baptist Church. What’s so special about that OC? Oh, did I fail to mention that people start arriving for President Carter’s 10am Sunday morning class at 5 or 6pm Saturday night. That’s right. People start arriving the day before to hear President Carter teach. And guess who is there to welcome each and everyone of them? That’s right, Mr. George. He is there all night and into Sunday morning welcoming everyone with a smile on his face and some great stories. Oh, then Mr. George volunteers greeting inside the church, doing some filming and singing in the choir. Did I mention that Mr. George is in his 70’s. Mr. George saw a need and stepped up. I can guarantee you, that anyone who has attended President Carter’s Sunday School Class will have fond memories of Mr. George. I know I do.
When I got sick almost 18 years ago, I never imagined my medical journey would last this long. But along the way, God opened the door for me to encourage and love on people at my many medical appointments and hospital stays. Not a very glamorous way to serve God. No spotlights. No fanfare. The people I have met over the past 17.5 years have blessed me tremendously. I could write a book just on those experiences. Would I have chosen this opportunity? Probably not. But I would not trade the opportunities God has blessed me with along this journey. I am thankful, I continue to be available to serve God during this crazy beautiful health journey.
I am not sure what God is asking you to be available for. Maybe it will be to share the gospel with millions of people from a stage. Maybe it will be to lead millions of people in worship. That would be awesome. But maybe God wants you to be available to greet people as the drive into church during the middle of the night or to love on people as they receive news that will forever change their lives. Just Be Available. ~OC
Are They Welcome?
I love Sundays!!! That is a day of church for my wife and I. I enjoy seeing everyone and spending time worshiping together. It just energizes me.
As millions of people across the world attend church this morning, I have a question. When the doors of your place of worship open this morning, will everyone be welcomed inside?
Will the homeless person be welcome inside?
Will the addict be welcome inside?
Will the divorced person be welcome inside?
Will the unmarried couple who’s living together be welcome inside?
Will the single parent be welcome inside?
Will the person with multiple tattoos be welcome inside?
Will the person from a different political party be welcome inside?
Will the person from the LGBTQ+ Community be welcome inside?
Will the refugee be welcome inside?
Will the prostitute be welcome inside?
Will the person of a different faith be welcome inside?
Will the person dealing with a physical or mental health issues be welcome inside?
Will the atheist be welcome inside?
Will the lost be welcome inside?
I pray that everyone who walks into a place of worship today will feel welcomed. No judgement. No stares. No gossiping. No shunning. Just loved. I pray everyone will leave our places of worship feeling more loved than when they walked in. ~OC
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
Purpose In The Pain
Today’s a new day! There is pain and suffering involved with this crazy beautiful health journey. To endure, I must stay focused on the purpose of the journey. My crazy beautiful health journey has given me clear purpose. That purpose is to love people without judgement and to serve God. ~OC
To The Person I Lost,
Dear Person I Lost,
You are missed every day. It’s hard knowing I will never hear your laugh again. I will miss your encouraging text. I will miss celebrating the holidays with you. I will miss celebrating life with you. I wish you would have reached out to me. I wish I would have reached out to you more. I try not to blame myself. I know I wasn’t the problem, but it’s still hard.
I go through most days asking a lot of questions. Could I have done more? Could I have asked more questions? Why didn’t I asked those tough questions? Why didn’t I say yes to more lunches, instead of always being too busy? I am sorry. I hope you know I really care for and love you.
I go through moments of being angry with you because you chose to leave us. I wish you would have fought harder. But then I realize how hard you did fight. How hard you tried to live.
I am happy you are not suffering anymore, but how I wish you could have found that healing here on earth. I know you tried.
I am sure the days will get easier, but it will take awhile. I will seek God’s guidance, comfort and strength. I know that’s what you would want. I will carry on until we meet again.
Finish Strong,
From the Person Who Misses You
LOVE
The Bible mentions Love between 500-800 times based on the translation. I guess love is pretty important to God. It’s kind of like when your mom would use your full name. You knew she was serious. So I think love is pretty important, if the Bible mentions it hundreds of times.
Today the word love is tossed around so causally. We love our sports teams. We love the latest music from our favorite artist. Who we love by the way. We love our favorite tv show. And who doesn’t love Taco Tuesday? We love everything. Or do we?
Do we love the homeless person begging for money, food or a job at the stoplight?
Do we love the refugee?
Do we love the person who worships differently than us?
Do we love the person who speaks a different language than us?
Do we love the atheist?
Do we love the addict?
Do we love those in the LGBTQ+ Community?
Do we love the Democrat?
Do we love the Republican?
Do we love the Independent?
Do we love the person who’s opinions are different from ours?
Do we love our neighbor?
How did you answer those questions? Did you cringe a little as you read through those questions? When I read the scriptures, I do not see where God looked down on any of the groups above. I do not read where He avoided them. I do not read where He judged them. No, when I read God’s Word, I see where He loved them unconditionally. Are we doing that? Are we at least trying?
Today, I would encourage each of us to examine what Love truly means in our lives. Are we living out the true meaning of Love? ~OC
Good Morning God
Good morning God. Thank you for blessing me with another day. May my thoughts, words, attitude and actions reflect your presence in my life. Please bless and protect my family, friends and those around the world who are in need. Thank you for loving me on my worst day. Amen. ~OC
Today I Choose
Today I choose to listen more than I speak.
Today I choose to speak words of encouragement.
Today I choose not to judge others.
Today I choose to love the immigrant.
Today I choose to look at the best in people.
Today I choose to speak out against injustice.
Today I choose love over hate.
Today I choose to love the unlovable.
Today I choose to love those that look different than me.
Today I choose to love those that worship differently than me.
Today I choose to love those who vote differently than me.
Today I choose to love those with different opinions than me.
Today I choose to speak truth.
Today I choose to check in on my friends.
Today I choose not to give up.
Today I choose to embrace adventure.
Today I choose to have a positive attitude.
Today I choose to spend time with God.
Today is all we have. Tomorrow is not promised. Yesterday is a memory. How will you choose to live today? ~OC
The Blessed Overcomer 