Tag: Truth

Fourth of July and Church

Today’s a new day! A lot of churches will celebrate the 4th of July today. I love America, but I have never liked when a church makes the 4th the main event of the service. I tend to skip that service in person and try to find a church service online that might acknowledge Independence Day, but not make it the main focus.

I believe acknowledging the Fourth of July should not require devoting the whole service to it. Churches might consider setting aside a special time of prayer for the nation and its leaders, in accordance with I Timothy 2:1-2. Pastors can thank God for the positive aspects of America and then move on to a service that shares the gospel and celebrates God.

One of the most useful exercises when thinking about the Fourth of July at church is imagining that you have Christians in attendance from across the world. For many churches this will not be difficult since they have a diverse community of believers. Americans, like citizens of all nations, have a natural fondness for the land of their birth. But as Christians we know that our ultimate citizenship is in heaven.

Therefore, churches should do nothing that would give our global brothers or sisters reason to feel like they don’t belong in your Fourth of July service. Such things could include the indiscriminate blending of worship songs with patriotic anthems, making it unclear whether we’re supposed to praise God or the American flag. Another would be to suggest that America is a nation uniquely favored by God, as if it is the latter-day biblical Israel.

By all means, let’s thank God for the good things he’s given us in America. Foremost among those things is the freedom to practice our faith without the fear of persecution. Let’s pray for our leaders to possess and employ godly wisdom.

On this Fourth of July, let’s remember that America is not a believer’s eternal home. ~OC

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Where’s Your Hope?

Today’s a new day! When the Christian community believes it needs a political party or leader to protect its existence, it no longer believes Jesus is the hope, truth and light. ~OC

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More Jesus

Today’s a new day! Christianity in America does not need more political power.

It needs less arrogance.

It needs less judgment.

It needs less hate.

It needs more love.

It needs more forgiveness.

It needs more grace.

It needs more humility.

It needs more compassion

It needs more understanding.

It needs more Jesus. ~OC

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Let Go To Grow

Several people have inquired about Todd taking an indefinite break from social media and sharing his daily thoughts. He wanted to share a few thoughts about his decision to take some time away from the world of social media.

Today’s a new day! When I hear God speak to my heart, I have learned that it serves me well to listen.

So a few weeks ago, I heard God share that it was time to take a break from social media. Then I started questioning the role of social media in my life, comparing and contrasting the pros and cons of it. I have taken breaks before so I thought about those times, too. Then it pretty much dawned on me as the following words were impressed upon me in a real way:

I was not created to spend so much time on social media. These platforms should not take away from time reading, journaling, praying and most importantly spending quality face to face time with real people.

There are some beautiful benefits about social media. They allow us to interact with old friends and meet some amazing people from all over the world. To stay in touch with loved ones. To read and hear about their life experiences. To pray for people. All amazing things. The problem is that social media always demanded more than I truly wanted to give.

The different social media platforms offer us endless opportunities to share our everyday lives, to pose questions, share world events, our opinions and photos of our favorite foods. There is always something to post or respond to. For me, it never stopped. If I missed a day of posting, I would have multiple people reaching out to me asking why I did not post. Not necessarily a bad thing, but a lot of pressure.

The good and bad thing with social media for me personally, is that I really tried to use my accounts to encourage and love on people. I could probably sit around all day long and just be corresponding with people. People feel comfortable sharing their life journey with me. So many people feel like they’re stuck or they’re hopeless. So they would reach out to me. I found myself pouring so much of myself out into so many people. Not complaining because it’s always my honor to connect with people willing to share their amazing life experiences with me. But a few weeks ago, I realized if I truly wanted to help and serve people, I needed to make sure that I was taking care of myself. Which was not always the case.

So, I have officially been off social media and not sharing daily thoughts for about a week. I have used that time to focus more on the truly important things in my life. I have enjoyed a quieter and less hectic week. Being off social media has given me the beautiful gift of rest and peace.

Will I return to social media at some point? I am not really sure. As I have taken a break from social media, God has given me this simple phrase “Let Go to Grow.” ~OC

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Racism In America

The following was written based on the white guy from Arizona who traveled to Atlanta in May to start a race war in America. The story broke my heart. I wanted to take some time before commenting on this horrible incident. So here I go.

Anyone who believes racism is no longer an issue in America is lying to themselves. Some might say this is an isolated incident, but it’s not. This story just made the news. But every day, there is a good chance a person of color will face some type of racism. That’s not a made up statistic, a political statement, it’s a fact. As a nation, we can no longer keep our heads in the sand and hope racism away. We need to have constructive dialogue on the issue of racism in America. There can be no American Dream if we refuse to acknowledge and discuss this issue. We cannot experience unity if we refuse to have real conversations about racism. We cannot honestly say the United States of America, if we do not discuss the issue of division caused by racism in America. This is a conversation where everyone needs to be sitting at the table. Only by having real, raw and constructive conversations can we even begin to think about a country and world without racism. I hope you will take your seat at the table. I will be waiting. ~OC

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Love, Forgiveness and Grace

Today’s a new day! Attention to all Christians. Before you jump on social media and start posting, ask yourself a few questions before clicking the send button.

1). Is what I am about to post judgmental, gossip, hateful or even true?

2). Is what I am about to post going to unite or divide?

3). Is what I am about to post going to add or delete from someone’s life?

4). Is what I am about to post going drive people closer to God or push them further away?

Our conversations online and in person should be filled with love, respect and words that encourage people. We do not have to agree with people on everything in order to love and respect them. As Christians, we should be inviting everyone to the table. As Christians our friendships should be filled with diversity. As Christians, we should be building bridges; not walls. Remember as Christians, it’s not our job to judge anyone. As Christians, we should be the first ones showing love, forgiveness and grace. ~OC

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Come Together

Today’s a new day! God, you created all of us in your beautiful image. Open our hearts and minds to this truth. Help us to recognize that all of us, regardless of skin color are your children. Dear God, help us build bridges of community and hope and not walls of hate and separation. Teach us to love, serve and listen. Open our eyes to the sin of racism. Give us the boldness and courage to stand up against the evil of racism and all hate. Dear God, teach us to celebrate our differences and to see diversity as a strength and not a weakness. Bless us with grace and patience to work together to end racism and hate in our world. Dear God, give each of us the desire to truly live together as brothers and sisters. Amen. ~OC

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Forgiveness

Today’s a new day! Have you heard the expression “Let go and let God”? Easier said than done sometimes. But when we choose to keep holding onto things so tightly, we cannot have open hands that can receive, so it’s better to let go of it today and give it to God. One major issues we hold onto is unforgiveness. So many people allow unforgiveness to rule their lives.

I think we can all remember a time, where someone has hurt us or let us down. And on many of those occasions, we decided to hold a grudge against that person. To not forgive that person, whether they asked for it or not. Who’s tracking with me on this? But stop for a second and think about all that God has forgiven us for. He chose not to hold a grudge against us. God never holds back forgiveness from us. So why would we choose to withhold forgiveness from someone? That does not mean their actions did not hurt. Forgiving them doesn’t necessarily mean we will hang out or have a relationship with them. The forgiveness we give is more for us than them. By forgiving someone we are removing any power they may have over us in our hearts and minds. Sharing forgiveness allows us to experience peace. Forgiveness is the first step in the healing process.

Finally, showing forgiveness to someone who has hurt us is important, but do not forget to forgive yourself. Ouch! Did I hit a nerve? This can be one of the hardest things to do in life. But please stop holding unforgiveness from your own life. Stop replaying the past. God loves you. He does not want you holding that pain in your heart. Today, make the decision to forgive yourself. Regardless of the mistakes you may have made in life, God loves you. He is not holding a grudge against you. Forgiving yourself is the beginning of you experiencing life changing healing. ~OC

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Leave It At The Cross

Today’s a new day! Stop allowing the mistakes of the past and regrets to steal your joy, peace and hope. When we allow fear and our past to overwhelm our lives; we’re essentially telling Jesus that His suffering and death on the Cross wasn’t enough to take away our past mistakes. Today’s a new day; it’s time to let go of your past regrets and mistakes. Leave them at the foot of the Cross. ~OC

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Go!

Today’s a new day! I’ll never forget when God called me to write about and share my crazy beautiful health journey so openly. I thought what do I have to say that people want to hear? There are definitely more qualified people than me. But I truly am living proof that when God calls you to do something He equips you with what you need to carry it out. Those times I do not feel comfortable or qualified, God whispers, “Todd, I do not need you to be nailed to the cross. I’ve already taken care of that. I just need you to go and share the story of how I’ve moved in and changed your life. Can you do that?” As I continue running this crazy beautiful health journey, my current situation is considered critical, but I continue to lean into His loving arms and I trust in God when he says “Go and share my love. Go and serve. As I “Go”, God has never let me down and always shows up with His words, wisdom and strength.

Is there something in your life that God is calling you to do that you have put off because it was too scary, didn’t make sense or you felt like you weren’t qualified? I encourage you to pray and then pray again. Ask God what His purpose is for your life and be ready to accept that calling and Go when He whispers, Not your will, but Mine. Will you trust and follow Him? ~OC

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