Tag: scripture

Be Still

Today’s a new day! Have you ever gotten so busy with your To Do List, that you miss out on the things that truly matter? I think we have all had moments like that in life.

The Bible talks a lot about the busyness of life and the importance of taking time to just be still.

Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” ~Matthew 11:28

“Be still and know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world.” ~Psalm 46:10

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.  ~Philippians 4:6-7

For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven. ~Ecclesiastes 3:1

As we look to a new week, I pray you will spend some time reflecting on the scriptures above. If you’re like most people you already have a full list of things to do this week. My encouragement to everyone who already have a long list of things to accomplish this week, is do not allow that list to keep you from taking some time this week to just be still.

Do not miss a moment to really sit still and calm your mind. I know that can be difficult for some people. We are used to moving from one thing to another. Most people are not comfortable just sitting still. But when we are constantly on the move, we can miss the signs of God wanting us to have a quiet moment and spending it with him. Having this intimate moment with God and just leaning into him when our minds are racing can give us the everlasting peace we need. It doesn’t matter how much stuff we accomplish this coming week or how much we have left on our list; we cannot let a fear of not accomplishing enough get in the way of how much we see God wanting to spend time with us. What matters most is that we recognize that God’s hand is in everything and to make him a priority above all things. We need to calm our minds and be still, knowing that our time with God is a vital part of our day in order to really feel his true presence in our lives. So this week spend some time just being Still. ~OC

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Take Heart

Today’s a new day! We may struggle with not totally understanding the journey God currently has us walking. We may have questions about what He is doing. But we can take heart and lean into His words: “So are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts higher than your thoughts” ~Isaiah 55:9

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Romans 8

In Romans 8:5-11, we see the difference between a Christian and the non-Christian, or as Paul says, those who set their minds on the Spirit and those who set their minds on the flesh. I think the difference between these two kinds of people, is like the difference between a fake flower and a real flower. The fake flower has no imperfections, it’s perfect in every way, and it does probably look much better than a real flower, though it’s entirely dead and void of all life. The real flower though, has imperfections to it that reflect its own uniqueness. The real flower might even be drooping and losing a few pedals but it’s truly alive. When you give water to the real flower, it’s likely to spring back up and grow healthier and stronger.

Such it is with those in the flesh and those in the Spirit. Those in the flesh might look like they’re thriving and strong, perfect in every way, but they’re dead. While those in the Spirit are fully alive even though they have imperfections and might droop just a little. Day by day the Spirit sees to them, nurturing them with resurrection life until the day they blossom fully at Christ’s return.

Romans 8:5-11, reminds us that we cannot have two masters. We cannot be in Adam and in Christ. We cannot be in the flesh and in the Spirit. We’re either under the hand of sin or walking in the freedom of Christ. It can be a constant battle.

Where are you today? Who or what has power over you today? I pray you’re living in the beautiful peace of God today. And may you be filled with His amazing Spirit. ~OC

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Romans 8:1

Today’s a new day! I am currently studying Romans and here are some thoughts from Romans 8:1:

In Romans 8:1, we read “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

The power of Paul’s words are very strong. There is absolutely no possibility of condemnation coming from God towards believers. Once you are in Christ you are uncondemnable by God.

But what is condemnation? It is an unfavorable or adverse judgment made about us. God makes no unfavorable or adverse judgment about his children.

Now, we might condemn ourselves. We might not yet feel and experience the grace of God upon our lives. We might roll around in our feelings of guilt and shame for past mistakes but this is not from God. There is no condemnation from him.

We might feel condemnation from the world. Others might point and criticize and judge. Being a disciple of God’s will raise the bar of expectation. Condemnation might flow from others, but this is not from God. There is no condemnation from him.

And condemnation might come from the enemy of our souls. A shadowy feeling of failure is a great weapon of the enemy. The enemy loves to convince us of God’s dissatisfaction in our lives, but this also is not from God. There is no condemnation from him. ~OC

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White Christian Nationalism

Today’s a new day! I believe one of the biggest threats to America and the American Church is White Christian Nationalism. This false doctrine has been around for years, but since 2016 White Christian Nationalism has become a major problem in the American Church and the Christian community. Sadly, I have seen it separate churches, families and friends. White Christian Nationalism, has definitely made it difficult to be a white Christian who does not believe in the teachings of this cult like community.

White Christian Nationalism is far from the teachings of Jesus. Christian Nationalism is a political movement cleverly wrapped up in religious language. The movement is more concerned about spreading the American gospel and less concerned with sharing the love of Jesus. The movement wants control over people and issues they do not agree with -which is the exact opposite of what the Gospel teaches us. The Bible shares Jesus came as a servant who sacrificed lhis life for all of us, whether we’re gay, transgender, straight, rich, poor, black, white, refugee, different languages, backgrounds or faith.

Those who have been corrupted by White Christian Nationalism do not reflect the teachings of Jesus and how He lived his life. The theme of the Bible is God’s amazing love and sacrifice for all of us – regardless of our skin color, political affiliation, economic status or sexual identity. As a Christian, I believe God’s love is for ALL people. The Gospel is a beautiful gift. This life changing gift should never be used as a weapon against people or issues we disagree with.

What can Christians who disagree with the false teachings of White Christian Nationalism do? We can continue to pray. We must become more educated about this false and dangerous movement. We must speak up about the dangers of White Christian Nationalism. As Christians, we must earnestly pray that the false teachings of Christian Nationalism come to light in churches and in the hearts of those blinded by the lies of this cult. That truth prevails.

During this election year, Christians against White Christian Nationalism cannot be misled by self-serving politicians or Christians who are promoting false teachings. We cannot be silent like the Churches and Christians in Germany were in the days of Hitler. As Christians who truly believe in the teachings of Jesus, we must continue to live lives of love and respect for ALL of our neighbors regardless if we agree with them or not. ~OC

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Prayer

Today’s a new day! Prayer has been a major part of my life. Especially, as I have walked through this crazy beautiful health journey. I have learned a lot about prayer during this time. I thought I would share a few things I have learned about prayer over the years.

I believe prayer is an act of listening to God, not just talking. Prayer begins with listening, or being still as the Psalmist says. Without this, I believe prayer can be downgraded to transactional communication.

Prayer was not designed to be transactional. Prayer is relational. I believe we must learn to listen to God before prayer will have the true meaning He desires for each of us to experience.

During this crazy beautiful health journey, I have learned a lot about just listening to God. Being still.

As I shared earlier, I believe prayer begins with listening. But it eventually becomes a way of life. I believe prayer is a divine attentiveness to the things of God in our everyday lives. It’s an increased awareness of God’s movement in the world. I believe this explains why Paul tells us to “pray without ceasing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-17)

Over the years as I have learned to sit still and just listen to God, I have found peace in my health journey and in every area of my life. What a beautiful gift.

When prayer truly becomes a way of life, nothing happens by chance. No moment stands alone. Everything is connected. Good or bad, nothing is wasted. Every circumstance is an opportunity to see God, a realization of his movement in the world.

Prayer, the transformative kind, cannot be rushed. Short little pop up prayers are not wrong. God can use those prayers in powerful ways. There is also nothing wrong with scheduling a time for prayer. But I believe to truly experience God and the Spirit’s fruits (love, joy, peace, etc.), prayer must become something our day revolves around rather than something crammed into an already busy schedule.

I encourage everyone not to hurry through prayer. You just can’t. In America, everything is built on speed. We’re an on-demand, right this minute culture. And while there’s nothing inherently wrong with this, it’s toxic when we try to impose these cultural values onto prayer.

A few more thing I believe we sometimes miss about prayer.

Prayer is intensely personal and extremely intimate. When it comes to intimacy, how you approach it with God is how you approach it with everything in your life. If you struggle to find intimacy with God, it will impact intimacy with your spouse, family, friends, and everyone else you connect with in life.

Prayer shapes our capacity for relational intimacy. It’s hard to be intimate with another divinely-created person when you’re not intimate with the divine Creator.

My health issues continue to be a battle, but I strive to be still and listen to God throughout my day. By doing this, I feel more connected to God and I am more grateful for my life and relationships. I am also more concerned about the wellbeing of others. This journey is not all about me.

Coincidence? No. I believe my increased intimacy with God has given me a different lens in the way I look at people and the world.

So, as I continue to walk out this health journey, focused and intimate prayer will continue to be a major part of my life. I pray as you walk out your own journey, prayer will guide your steps and become a special and life changing time in your daily life. ~OC

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Bottom Line

Today’s a new day! We all need the love, forgiveness and grace of God because:

We fail,

We lie,

We hide things,

We get mad,

We gossip,

We’re impatient,

We’re not thankful,

We’re selfish,

We feel entitled,

We’re unloving,

We hold grudges

We refuse to forgive,

We’re greedy,

We think other peoples sin is worse than ours,

Bottom line: We all need love, forgiveness and grace. ~OC

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God and Justice

Today’s a new day! As I study scripture, I have come to the conclusion that faith in God and a desire to do His will goes hand-in-hand with standing for social justice. Honestly, I do not believe you can have one without the other. You cannot fully walk with Christ without serving the the least of these and you cannot fully serve the least of these without an understanding and faith in Christ. Without Christ, you will never fulfill more than the surface-level needs of those you are trying to serve.

This is where Christians needs to take a stand. We should be a fortress for social justice. If we were truly following the scriptures, Christianity would be synonymous with social justice. I think our faith and social justice should be so intertwined they cannot be separated from each other. As Christians, we truly need to be the hands and feet of Jesus. We cannot just talk about the different issues that plague our country and world. We cannot continue to deal with every tragedy by just expressing our thoughts and prayers. No, as Christians we need to stand up for what’s right. Even if that means being challenged by society or other Christians for our beliefs. I believe social justice is close to the heart of God. ~OC

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Still Standing

Today’s a new day! I am still standing. On 3/20/09 after having what doctors thought was a cold, my wife Laura was informed she needed to take me to the emergency room. I was having trouble breathing and was extremely weak. My cold actually ended up being Myasthenia Gravis. I was in a Myasthenic Crisis. Some doctors were concerned I would not make it through the the night. Most thought I would not make it through the year. Here we are 14 years later and I am still standing. Still fighting. Still thriving.

This twenty-one year crazy beautiful health journey has not been easy. On more than one occasion, Laura has been told by doctors that my condition was critical and things did not look promising. Throughout this journey, Laura and I have looked to God for guidance, strength and wisdom. He has never failed us. We do not know what the future holds for me health wise, but we know who holds our future. Laura and I will continue to make beautiful memories. We will continue to encourage people with our story. I will continue to fight. After all these years, I am still standing. Still praising God. ~OC

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A Life of Surrender

Today’s a new day! I would encourage everyone to search our hearts and ask ourselves, “Have I totally surrendered every area of my life to Jesus?” I am not talking about the time we asked Jesus into our life. No, I am not talking about our salvation. I am talking about living a completely surrendered life to Jesus. Living a life that is willing to be honest and raw. Living a life willing to believe and live out the scriptures. Living a life willing to believe that when Jesus went to the cross He paid our sin debt in full. Living a life trusting Jesus has a beautiful plan for each area of our lives. Living a life acknowledging that Jesus has the right to expect us to say, I Surrender All. ~OC

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