Call to Community
Today’s a new day! As we scroll through social media or turn on the tv, there is no doubt we are living in messy times. Sadly, across America and the world so many people have become anxious and isolated.
But, as I look at all of the craziness going on around us, all I can think about is how badly we need each other. We were not created to be divided. We have been called to appreciate and celebrate diversity. The inclusion of every culture, nation and people is an element in the reign of God, in the pictures we’re presented throughout the New Testament of the Bible, from the start of the book of Matthew to the end of Revelation. Even while much remains uncertain, the Spirit continues to summon us into the messy places of discomfort. We have been called to serve others, to help all know God’s love and peace.
We are living in messy times, but our hearts should be full of passion. A passion for stability and hope. A passion to know and see the value and worth of others around us. A passion to experience a sense of belonging and meaning. Only together, can we step forward into the mess of discomfort and build a community flourishing with the values of inclusion, hospitality, service, compassion, love and mercy. A community that is united and committed to looking past our differences and instead focusing on our commonalities.
If you have this same passion, then I welcome you to the call to community. Welcome to the mess of relationship, differences, variety and perspectives. Come on into this community where being the hands and feet of Jesus is not just another Christian cliche.
To build a community like this I need you. This community is created to welcome all people into the community as we explore the margins and celebrate the goodness.
Welcome to the mess! Let’s go make a difference. ~OC
Dear Politicians,
Dear Politicians,
As a proud and concerned American, I stand with fellow Americans in supporting everyone’s right to freely share their opinions without fear of reprisal. I believe the majority of Americans stand for and believe in freedom of speech. Whether that’s a rockstar speaking out or people working a 9-5 job.
I know there will be some who disagree with my thoughts and opinions concerning this matter. Guess what? That is your right. Just as it’s the rockstar or the soccer mom’s right to freely share their thoughts and to support who they want politically. As an American, I pray that this freedom and the many freedoms that so many American heroes died for over the past 249 years will never be taken for granted or taken from us.
Signed,
Concerned Citizen
Running On Empty
Today’s a new day! Here is another “Lost Writings From OC.” This was written in May 2023 during a hospital stay.
As I was reading and studying scripture this morning, the following came to my mind.
The Question of the Day: Do you find yourself at times, spiritually running on empty?”
Speaking for myself, I can say most definitely that there have been times when I was so focused on my spiritual destination and what I needed to do to get there that I allowed my spiritual gas tank to run dry.
Let’s take a moment to break that statement down:
– To begin with, there are a lot of “I’s” and “my’s” in that sentence – almost always a sure sign of trouble.
– My focus was on “my spiritual destination” – not on God’s intentions for me in that moment.
– My priorities were based on “what I needed to do” – not on God’s priorities for me.
– My spiritual gas tank was empty because I had neglected it; in my out-of-focus focus, I had left out the ONE who should have my utmost attention.
The Word of God gives us a beautiful comparison of two sisters with differing priorities.
Martha had invited Jesus into her home – an invitation that likely included Jesus’ twelve disciples. Luke writes, she “welcomed” Jesus. She was happy and excited to have Jesus in her home, she loved Him and wanted to serve Him well. But her focus quickly shifted from Jesus to the task of preparing the food and caring for her guests. Joyful service turned to resentment when Martha saw her sister, Mary, sitting at Jesus feet listening to Him talk.
Martha was running on “Empty” as she tried to guilt and manipulate Jesus into shaming Mary into helping her serve. Jesus kindly, but firmly, put Martha in her place. “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary.” (Luke 10:41-42)
Jesus told Martha that although she was stressed out over many things, she had missed the most important thing. Martha’s focus on the busyness of hosting and serving her guests had drained her spiritual tank and blurred her focus. She was operating on empty.
We can say and do foolish things when we are tired and running on empty.
– Martha’s efforts had depleted her spirit and left her empty.
– Martha’s joy had been replaced by irritation and frustration.
– Her sincere desire to serve had been replaced by feelings of resentment.
Then Jesus spoke words that convicted Martha deeply and likely changed her perspective forever, “Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” Jesus was saying that Mary had made the best choice – she had chosen Him. (Luke 10:42)
“The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot.” Psalm 16:5
“My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” Psalm 73:26
“The LORD is my portion; I promise to keep Your words.” Psalm 119:57
Right now is a beautiful time of the year: a time to celebrate graduations, vacations and more time to hang out with family and friends. It’s also a time to run ourselves ragged – decorating, shopping, stressing about everything we need to get done before we can rest and enjoy the moment. If we are not careful, we will find ourselves running on EMPTY.
Not just Energy Empty…Spiritually Empty.
How can we keep our spiritual tank filled?
– Remember the focus is on God’s Love and His Ultimate Gift to Mankind (Don’t focus on yourself)
– Follow God in the moment (Don’t over plan and obsess on the details)
– Make God’s priorities yours (Don’t neglect your daily devotions and prayer time, keep first things first)
– Choose Jesus, He is your best choice – your perfect portion
The amazing thing is this, when we choose God as our focus, we will be filled, and we will stay full.
“And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.” (Philippians 1:9-11)
“For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”
(Ephesians 3:14-21)
Finally, I encourage us all to spend more time enjoying the journey and less time stressing about the outcome. ~OC
Take His Hand
Today’s a new day! When you feel overwhelmed by the storms of life and cannot see a way out, God sees through the darkest moments and will pull you out of the raging waters. Just let Him reach down and take your hand. God will never fail you. ~OC
Let Love Flow
Today’s a new day! Here is another “Lost Writings of OC.” This was written back in 2023.
“Love overlooks the mistakes of others, but dwelling on the failures of others devastates friendships.” ~Proverbs 17:9
Jesus said that “your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” (John 13:35)
One way of showing love is forgiving people’s fault. Even if they chose to hurt you on purpose.
Forgiveness can be difficult, but when we consider what God did through Jesus Christ, in that He made allowances for our faults before we made them, we should be able to find a place in our hearts to forgive.
So today, let us take time to search our hearts and make the decision to let love flow. To let love prosper. To make the choice to forgive. Today, let love win! ~OC
Let Love Win
Today’s a new day! Don’t you think fear has won often enough in your life? Don’t you think anger has won enough in this world?
What if, just for today, you did absolutely everything in your power to see that love wins for a change? What if your small acts of love spread from community to community and across the world? What if it creates an absolute tidal wave that circles and embraces the entire world?
What if one act of love and kindness from you was the very thing someone needed to restore their faith in humanity or try one more time to keep running their race? To not give up.
What if you are the spark the world is waiting on to shift from a fear-based mindset to a love-based mindset?
Let’s let love win today and see what happens!
Wherever you are on your journey, remember you are awesome! Show some love and kindness today. ~OC
A Prayer for America
Today’s a new day! Dear God, my heart grieves for America. Your word tells us that any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall (Luke 11:17). Our nation is so divided, and it pains me to think of our country falling. But I know we cannot stand without you at the center.
We know we must honor you, recognize you as Lord and Savior. We must acknowledge our shortcomings and failures. We must be willing to surrender to you, to follow the plans you have for us. As a whole, our country has fallen away, turned our backs on you.
But, for the sake of the faithful remnant, we call on you to be merciful to us. You know there are those who continue to choose you, who continue to truly seek your face. You know there are faithful ones who truly desire to honor you, to point the world back to you. For the sake of the faithful ones, hear our prayers and save our nation.
This world continues to grow darker. We know the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing (1 Corinthians 1:18), but we continue to cling to the old rugged cross. We know it is only because of the gift of your Son, Jesus Christ, that we have forgiveness and can enter into your presence.
As the world grows darker, we have an opportunity to let our lights shine brighter, to let your light shine through us to illuminate the darkness. May we reflect your goodness and grace for all the world to see. May we be purified as silver so the world sees an accurate reflection of you.
America has become such a hotbed of dissension. I pray that we, as Christians, would lead the way in putting aside our differences and learning to listen to those with whom we disagree. My dearest brothers and sisters take this to heart: Be quick to listen, slow to speak. And be slow to become angry, for human anger is never a legitimate tool to promote God’s righteous purpose. So this why we abandon everything morally impure and all forms of wicked conduct. Instead, with sensitive spirit we absorb God’s Word, which has been implanted within our nature, for the Word of Life has power to continually deliver us. (James 1:19-21)
Help us to be wise in the way we conduct ourselves, in the way we live our lives. May we remember, it is to one’s glory to overlook an offense. (Proverbs 19:11)
May we set our hearts and minds on things above, not on earthly temporal matters. Because we are your chosen people, holy and dearly loved, help us clothe ourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. May we bear with each other and forgive one another… as the Lord forgave us. And over all these virtues may we put on love, which binds us all together in perfect unity. (Colossians 3:12-14)
I pray we would focus completely on you so your perfect peace will rule in our hearts, since as members of one body we were called to peace. And help us to be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among us richly, as we sing to God with gratitude in our hearts. And whatever we do, whether in word or deed, may we do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Colossians 3:15-17)
In this day and age where people freely say whatever they think, whatever they feel, I pray we as Christ-followers would remember the importance of speaking words of life and hope. Help us remember that if we consider ourselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on our tongues, we deceive ourselves, and our religion is worthless. May we show the world true religion that you accept as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep ourselves from being polluted by the world. (James 1:19-20)
Don’t let our faith be dead. Instead, help us show our faith by our actions. May we reach out to those who are hurting, those who are in need. May we be the hands and feet of Christ, meeting the physical needs of those around us. May we share your love by giving to those around us, by proving our faith through our actions. Never let us be all talk with no action.
Father, we long to see your face, to see your hand of grace and mercy over us. See our hearts as we bow before you. See our longing to know you better.
May your remnant, your people, who are called by your name, humble ourselves and pray and seek your face and turn from our wicked ways, so you will hear from heaven, and forgive our sin and heal our land. (2 Chronicles 7:14)
Help us all to put away politics, and join together and pray your blessings over America. Pour out your spirit of wisdom and reconciliation to our political leaders. Give them a heart that longs to seek you, to follow you. Give our political leaders a desire to sit with those who think differently, who have different agendas, and to listen, to find common ground, to find ways to bridge the gap and move forward together.
Dear God, we pray for unity within America. We don’t always understand why things happen as they do, but we do know you are still in control. May we commit to praying for each of our leaders, for our country, each and every day. May we commit to doing our part to bring unity wherever our journey takes us.
Dear God, we are yours. Hear our prayers, our pleas, for healing in our nation. We know it can only come through you, through your mercies which are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness! ~OC
The Day After Easter
Today’s a new day! It’s the day after Easter. It is easy to get busy with the next thing on our list or start planning for the next holiday on the calendar. But I encourage us all to not forget about Easter and do our best to keep Easter alive.
The magnificent sounds of the trumpets, organ, bagpipes, all the other instruments, and, of course, the choirs, are still ringing faintly in our ears. The colors and aroma of the beautiful Easter flowers are pleasant, but fading, memories. The company has gone home, or perhaps you yourself have returned from visiting friends and family. It was a wonderful, and beautiful weekend. But now it’s Monday and we are exhausted, weary, and perhaps feeling the effects of stress from such a busy weekend. Now it’s time to get back to the grind of another week. So much on the to do list.
It’s only been a few hours since we were together for sunrise service or in a full church service shouting “He is Risen Indeed!” We felt good and confident that, for a few moments, everything in our life seemed to be okay. Collectively we had a sense that whatever challenges we may face in the next few days, we could come out ahead. God seemed closer and more real than he has in months, if not years.
And now it’s Monday, the day after…
We aren’t sure what the disciples did on the Monday after. Maybe they stayed together celebrating the news of the resurrection, while keeping a low profile in case soldiers or religious leaders came looking for them. We can’t be sure what they did on the day after Easter except we know that their lives were never the same. The men who had been so timid and fearful were now becoming courageous and brave. Their moments without faith were forgiven and their new mission was becoming very clear. Easter became such a huge part of their lives that nothing would ever be the same again.
For most people the day after Easter will seem like any other day. But it doesn’t have to be that way. You can keep the joy of Easter alive not just today or this week but much, much longer. Let the spirit of God fill you with faith and the certainty that hope and optimism are yours through Jesus Christ.
Do not allow the day after Easter to take away the encouragement and optimism and hope you felt and knew on Easter Sunday. The tomb was empty and as you face whatever challenges that may come your way just go back in your mind to that empty tomb. There is real power and hope and optimism there. ~OC
Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God. ~Psalm 42:11
Resurrection Sunday!
On Friday morning, Jesus was crucified. On Saturday, the disciples and all who loved Jesus mourned his death. Everyone thought it was over with. It was finished! But thankfully, we know the whole story.
The first Easter Sunday Mary Magdalene and some other women who followed Jesus went to Jesus’ tomb. The tomb was empty and two angels were there. They asked the women a question we read in Luke 24:5-7:
“Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’
These women had seen Jesus die on the cross. They knew he had died. What a question-“why do you look for the living among the dead?”
Jesus defeated death for us. His resurrection is proof that when he died for our sins, it accomplished the plan of God.
Jesus lives! He is alive on his throne in heaven and one day he will return.
Because he lives, we can face the problems of this life. Because he lives, we can face tomorrow whatever it brings. Because he lives, we have hope in any situation.
Happy Resurrection Sunday! ~OC
The Blessed Overcomer 