Forgiveness 1.1

The following is an article that I've written for a newsletter.

Good News: Forgiveness

by Pastor Jonathan Daniels

            Praise the Lord, readers! I wanted to share some good news today, something that I’ve personally experienced and grown in recently – forgiveness. Now, I know that this topic –forgiveness – may not be the most exhilarating or soul-stirring one to discuss, but God recently revealed to me a new understanding of the power and freedom that comes with forgiveness.

            Recently, I had somewhat of a confrontation with someone close to me. In the heat of our “spirited” discourse, the other individual spoke some things contrary to what God had spoken to me regarding my ministry and my life.

After that meeting, I felt indignation rising up from within – this person said some hurtful things to me.  The enemy almost immediately tried to flood my mind with thoughts of doubt regarding my ministry, my place in Anointed Word Fellowship, my direction in life, and even my relationship with God. So, I was alternately indignant and warring with the words spoken to me/over me.

Whenever I have a mental tug-of-war, I go into my prayer closet with my Bible; this time was no exception. While in the midst of prayer, God spoke to me in a small, still voice - “Use your weapons. Forgiveness is a weapon.”

Forgiveness, a weapon? But then I remembered II Corinthians 10:3-4:

³For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:

⁴(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)

And I realized that, in my flesh, I wanted to give somebody a piece of my mind. Just as they had come up against me with words, I wanted to really respond to them in kind. But, the above scripture let me know that I can’t respond carnally, because I’m in the middle of a spiritual war; I have to use spiritual weapons to win my battles.

Then, the Spirit led me to another scripture – Luke 23:34:

Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.

Jesus said, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” This is, of course, a familiar passage of scripture to many believers, including myself. But, this time, I saw it with new eyes. I realized that Jesus had an understanding of the spiritual ignorance of his enemies better than the average Christian. He realized that they really didn’t understand what they were doing. In their minds, they felt perfectly justified in the judgment levied against Jesus Christ. They really didn’t understand that the devil was using them against Jesus! They didn’t understand what was going on spiritually! So, Jesus, right there on the cross and with this understanding, was able to pray for forgiveness of his enemies in his weakest moment.

Likewise with my situation – that other person thought that they were expressing themselves. They didn’t realize that the devil was using them to try to cast a shadow of doubt over all that God has done and is doing in my life. They didn’t realize that they could have potentially veered me from my God-given destiny, my “expected end”.  So, just as my Lord and Savior understood the spiritual ignorance of his enemies and forgave, I also forgave.

In forgiving, I was freed from indignation, anger, and doubt. I was instantly reassured of God’s plan and purpose for my life. I was able to pray for the spiritual scales to be removed from that individual’s eyes. And most of all, I received forgiveness from God.

For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:  But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

(Matthew 6:14-15)

Haters: Cincinnati Edition

Hello, my name is Jonathan Daniels, and I live in Cincinnati, Ohio. I was born here, raised here, educated here (well, I went to college at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, but that's close enough), and I live here.

I write today regarding my reactions (and other people's reactions) to the results of the recent local/state elections, and a sense of negativity that I've perceived for years in this city.

Yesterday (November 8) was election day; yes, I did vote. Locally, the election was a big surprise to many as four incumbents (all Republicans) were unseated and replaced with three Democrats and an former councilman (Christopher Smitherman) who ran as an independent candidate (Here's a link to an article regarding the election results).

The thing that's bothering me most with the elections is people's reactions. In the article that I read (which I've  provided a link for in the previous paragraph), there was an interview with Councilwoman Leslie Ghiz, who lost her bid for reelection. The article reported the following as her response:

Ghiz said she didn't feel particularly sad about the loss. She was relieved she wouldn't have to face a December of contentious budget battles. She did say she and her husband would put their North Avondale house up for sale Monday. They'd been waiting for the results to make a move.

Really??? That sounds like a really sore loser to me. More than that, it makes me believe that she wasn't really committed to her service to the city, but to the benefits of being on city council - $66K a year plus benefits, name recognition, and so forth. I'm compelled to put her in the category of being an opportunist; and now that the opportunity is passed, she will be moving on to different territory (the 'burbs).

Also, I read many of the comments that were left in response to the Enquirer's article; all I could do was put my head in my hands before logging off. The main gripes that were posted about the election were dealing with the fact that now that there were seven Democrats on council, that Cincinnati is going to become Detroit (I'm assuming those people are inferring that Cincinnati will be met with financial ruin). These commentators claimed that this new council will raise taxes, spend money that the city doesn't have, empower the "thugs" and other "have nots" of the city, and force the tax base out of the city.

Now, I was very disappointed in hearing that people would write such negative comments about their outlook on the future of our city, and that people were actually expressing a desire to just give up on the city and find a suburb to relocate to. We don't know for certain how these new council members will interact with each other, the mayor, and other city officials; in fact, the newly elected council persons won't even take office for another three weeks.
But, bigger than the election, bigger than local politics, is the issue of self-hatred in Cincinnati. Too often, I hear people be so negative about Cincinnati. Yes, there are many things that need improvement in Cincinnati - and the Number 1 area of improvement for Cincinnati is ATTITUDE.
People here have such an negative attitude in general, and don't even take time to appreciate the positive things about living in Cincinnati, and even living, in general. Cincinnati schools are continuously improving. Cincinnati has some of the most respectable schools in the nation (including my alma mater - Walnut Hills High School). Cincinnati has a unique cuisine (Cincinnati-style chili, Grippos, LaRosa's, etc). Cincinnati has some stunning river views and some awesome city and county parks. Downtown Cincinnati has one of the livest skylines one could ever drive up on. Cincinnati is one of the most centrally located cities in the country (you can reach most of America's major cities in less than 12 hours). Cincinnati is home to one of the livest churches in America - Anointed Word Fellowship (I know that was a shameless plug, but it's my blog - lol). I could continue, but I think I've made my point that there is much to celebrate in our city.
Yes, there are issues (financial issues, housing issues, employment issues, public safety issues). But, those are issues that can be improved and remedied. But, with the average Cincinnatian seeming to only desiring to expressing his/her sense of hopelessness and/or looking to escape to some suburb or other city, how can we really improve upon the issues and celebrate the great things going on?

I could write more on this issue, and there surely will be part 2 sometime in the future, but I just needed to get this out there. People in Cincinnati really need to seek God for hope and optimism. If we don't believe in Cincinnati, neither will others.

Go Metro?

So, I was catching up on local news on Cincinnati.com, and I came across an opinion piece dealing with Metro service written by Krista Ramsey (for my non-Cincinnatians, Metro is the local public transportation service). (Here's a link to the article)

I felt that she makes some good points in advertising some of the good that Metro does in the community (the relationships with local colleges/universities, the fact that more than 20 major employers subsidize employees' bus passes or allow them to pay for the passes pre-tax, and being available to persons with disabilities).

However, I generally felt that her perspective was a little twisted. She holds the idea that if more people would ride Metro, then it would resolve the economic problems facing the bus system. I disagree with this perspective, for a few reasons-
1. Leadership in this area aren't overly concerned with transportation. This is evidenced in the fact that most of the board members of SORTA (the governing body of Metro) live in areas that aren't accessible by public transportation. As these people are drivers, they have no regard for the average Metro rider (working class, poor, students).
2. Metro routes are often inconvenient. In most cities, the buses travel to all the malls - not in Cincinnati. In most cities, there's plenty of east-west bus routes - not in Cincinnati (only 3, at best). In most cities, buses travel to the heavy employment areas - NOT IN CINCINNATI.
3. Metro continues to cut the length of routes while increasing fares. A year ago, they raised bus far $0.25, and raised transfers $0.25, while cutting routes by 20%. What does that look like? Well, I live on a main thorougfare here in Cincinnati, yet the bus only runs every 1/2 half on my street. Then, the bus used to go past a main shopping center on my side of town, but after this fare increase, they cut direct service to that shopping center. So, now I have to pay an extra 25-50 cents to walk up a hill a block to go to that shopping center.
4. I don't like the fact that my school is ten minutes from my home, yet I have to spend 45 minutes and catch two buses to get there. I don't like that I have to spend an hour and catch two buses to my job (which is 15 minutes away). I don't like that my church is 10 minutes away, and it takes two buses and an hour to get there. I don't like that the bus drivers allow these disrespectful, nasty teenagers get on the bus and eat, drink, blast that rap music, use all kinds of profanity, and roll up joints on the bus. I don't like these chicks that get on the bus with these supersized strollers and expect the bus driver (or someone else) to grab the stroller for them - girl, you need to at least ask somebody!!! I ain't the nigga that got you out here riding the bus with a baby!

 Basically, I'm not feeling Ms. Ramsey. Maybe if I lived Downtown, or OTR, or Clifton, maybe even Northside or Hyde Park, or even if I worked Downtown, my perspective on Metro would be better. However I'm not within two miles of Downtown, and I'm thinking that the 8-10 hours a week I'd save from driving is worth more than the 2-3 dollars I would save from riding Metro.. That's why I plan on leaving Metro alone as soon as this income tax check comes through.

These are just some thoughts... off the dome.

O'Dell Owens (Legacy, Part III)

I'm salty that the local "newspaper", The Cincinnati Enquirer, is trying to start some drama over O'Dell Owens. Dr. Owens is the Coroner of Hamilton County, and was recently selected to be the President of Cincinnati State Technical and Community College (here's a link to his bio). According to the article, he's currently serving on both capacities until after Election Day. What's newsworthy about that? Why aren't you covering some other news? And why are all these folks throwing shade in the comments section of the at Cincinnati.com???

I personally have admiration for Dr. Owens. That man has come up from humble beginnings in the West End, to getting a medical degree from Yale, and a job at Harvard, to coming back to Cincinnati and making his mark here. Whereas most intelligent, talented people leave this area, this man came back and is out here trying to make a difference. As coroner, he goes around to school and community groups to encourage and empower everyone in the Cincinnati community, especially youth. He uses his position as coroner to promote life and abundant life in a community where people seem to be anti-life at times, physically, mentally, and spiritually.

I feel that The Cincinnati Enquirer put this article out to try to create a scandal around Dr. Owens. He's been one of the few elected officials in the area that hasn't had any scandal/controversy about them. There are many people that have two jobs, and if he's getting two checks for two jobs, then so be it. So what they're both "government" jobs? He's doing two jobs, so he's supposed to get two checks! Most of those ding-a-lings on city council get two checks for two jobs, as being on city council is considered a part-time job and many of them hold positions with private companies (wish I could have a part-time job that pays $66k+ with benefits...). NO ONE is complaining about that situation, but folk want to throw shade over Dr. Owens getting two checks for two jobs??? It's political - Owens is the Democratic Hamiton County Coroner, and the conservative paper (and it's conservative readers) want to throw shade.

However, I don't think it's wise for Dr. Owens to have assumed the responsibilities of those two particular positions simultaneously. I'm wondering how much time he gets to spend on sleep and family, as I'm assuming that each of those positions - Hamilton County Coroner and College President - are VERY time consuming. Even though it's only for a season, it probably would've been wiser to hold off on accepting the Cincinnati State position until he felt comfortable in leaving the Coroner position.


The main reason this article caught my attention is because, with all that's going on in Cincinnati (being the 3rd poorest city in the nation, for example - blog on this is forthcoming), we need to be appreciative of positive people who are willing to use their time and talents to uplift the people and make Cincinnati a better place. Dr. Owens could've probably built a wonderful life for himself in New England, or in any other part of the country, and he would've been celebrated. But he comes back to Cincinnati and has great success in the medical field and in public service, and people want to hate on him.
I'm tired of the miserable people chasing away wonderful people from Cincinnati because of stupid reasons (political affiliation, economics, unwillingness to consider different ideas). I pray that Dr. Owens continue to work hard and not let the Enquirer and others that would like to use his situation to show out dissuade him from continued success.

Legacy (Part II)

In a way, this blog is a continuation of the thoughts I shared in the blog I did in December dealing with Brian Kelly leaving UC to take the head football coach position at Notre Dame. But this time, it is Bob Huggins who has motivated me to revisit this topic.

I remember when UC first joined the Big East conference back in 2005. I remember many basketball fans and commentators who questioned Huggins' ablility to lead UC to basketball success in this new conference. Well, five years later, after UC hosed Huggins (in my opinion), Huggins is now head coach of a Big East team playing in the Final Four of the NCAA tournament (the ONLY Big East team to make it to the Final Four). I love irony, and the fact that Bob Huggins coached West Virginia to the Final Four - I love it. I can't stand West Virginia, but being in the Final Four is the perfect "middle finger" to everyone that questioned his ability to coach successfully in a "major" conference (gee, I hope that analogy wasn't too bad...).
Anyway, I think it's funny that the one coach that was successful that probably would've stayed, they get rid off; and the other succesful coaches couldn't wait to parlay their success into "bigger/better" opportunities (such as going to Michigan State or Norte Dame). It's funny that someone who was being a trailblazer, UC didn't want him, but they welcomed those who only wanted to make a name for themselves, and left after doing so. I also find it really funny that the UC President who campaigned for Bob Huggins to be gone isn't even in Cincinnati anymore - she jumped ship last year to be the Chancellor of The State University of New York system. Hilarious!!!

It's like there's some type of backwards spirit, or a spirit of poverty over Cincinnati. It's almost as though leadership (whether in government, business, church, or education) is afraid of success, and it's because of this spirit in the atmosphere. I pray God does something, because I'm tired of seeing talented people pack up and leave. I'm tired of having to fight to temptation to just pack up and leave (I promise, if it wasn't for AWF...). Lord, turn this place around!

Last week's thoughts (Part II) - Brian Kelly, Cincinnati, and legacy

OK, so at the beginning of the last blog that I wrote, like, five minutes ago, I mentioned that there were three topics that caught my attention. I talked about Jay-Z and Nas & Kelis in the last one, but decided to do a separate blog regarding my thoughts surrounding Brian Kelly. Here it is....


So, for those who don't know, Brian Kelly is the new football coach of the University of Notre Dame. He was the football coach of the University of Cincinnati until about a week ago (yep, a week ago exactly). After Notre Dame fired whomever (not a Notre Dame fan - sorry), they talked to Kelly, who couldn't pack his bags fast enough to get out of Cincinnati.

At first, I was salty - I ain't gonna lie to kick it. UC has had an awesome season this year, and this mess with Kelly definitely has been a stain on an otherwise excellent year of football for the hometown team (12-0 record, Big East Champions, #4 in the polls, Sugar Bowl bid to play against Florida). Most people (including me) around here expected it; unfortunately, Cincinnati has been a pit stop on the road to "greener pastures" for many.

Personally, I thought that it would've been better for Kelly to stay and build a legacy for himself. I think of the legendary teams in college sports (and even professional sports) - the one thing that made them legendary was the charismatic (and highly talented) coaches and/or players that played. I think of Kentucky basketball and think of Rupp. I think of UCLA basketball and think of Wooden. I think of the Boston Celtics and think of Russell. And one can do the same thing for Michigan football, UC basketball, Notre Dame football, and other sports teams.

But, Kelly is doing like many/most do and traveling a blazed trail rather than being a trailblazer.... Now that I've had a week, I can't be too mad at him - he'll now get even more exposure, attention, and even more $$$. I just wish all of this could've been postponed after the Sugar Bowl though. Oh well - when opportunity knocks, huh?


But, thinking about the whole Brian Kelly situation made me really think about Cincinnati and legacy. There's a lot of things that really IRK me about Cincinnati, but I'm from here, and I got much love for Cincinnati. Cincinnati, despite all the issues (close-minded, conservative, backwards in some ways, cliquish, et cetera), is a unique place to live. We have unique foods (Grippos, LaRosa's, Gold Star, Skyline, and so on), unique neighborhoods (OTR, Mt. Adams, and so on); we have all these hills (most cities I've visited, have been pretty flat), wonderful river views, and lots of charm and character. Plus, the cost of living is very reasonable, the educational institutions here are great (especially post-secondary), and we have pro sports (how many cities can claim two or more pro sports teams?)

Yes - Cincinnati is a unique place, but it's sad that most people who live here for any length of time can't see what I see. I've seen so many people who are unable to see past the issues and end up either leaving for "greener pastures" or stay here to live a pissed off existence. We have leaders who stay to either be the big fish in the small pond, or to make a name for themselves for when they leave for "greener pastures" (like Brian Kelly).

Most of those special people that could really make a major impact on the quality of Cincinnati living choose "greener pastures". Many see Atlanta, Charlotte, Portland, Columbus (OH), and other locales to be better places to set up and build their legacies rather than stay here in Cincinnati and try to build something worthwhile. I understand - it's purely by divine intervention that I didn't pick up and move at different times. I wondered at times if my employment opportunities, quality of life, and spiritual growth wouldn't flourish in another city south or west of Cincinnati.

However, I'm now willing to stay and try to build something for myself here. Perhaps God will use me to enhance the spiritual environment here. Maybe I can motivate and encourage others through ministry. Maybe I'll finish a book, make lots of $$$, and be able to work towards reducing homelessness, blight, crime, and hopelessness through the Word and through providing [financial] resources. Maybe God can and will use me to change Cincinnati's mentality so that we'll collectively have some self-esteem. Maybe one day, after I'm gone, part of my legacy can be that I've played a part in Cincinnati being seen as "greener pastures".

All this thought now has me thinking about my life - what I'm doing, what I'm trying to do, my dreams. Maybe I'll blog about it next week, maybe not - ha ha!


Laton!