“My name is Maggie. I’m Christian and transgendered.” That’s the silliness I used to utter. I was raised in the church; that makes me a Christian, right? I went to church on Sundays, sang in the choir and gave to the church regularly. Surely, that means I’m a Christian, yeah? I believed in Jesus since I was a child, and I prayed. I tried to be a good person and respect the beliefs of others. As a transgender woman, I too shared my belief in Jesus occasionally, and I honestly believed that God was OK with my lifestyle.
None of that made me a Christian. I had no idea what it meant to be a Christian or even how one becomes a Christian. I heard from an early age that Jesus died on the cross for my sins. It was always said cavalierly, and it was no more important to me than my job or a favorite hobby. I heard that by accepting Jesus into my heart, I could be saved. I never knew that wasn’t biblical, and I never understood what I was saved from, and yet… I was ‘saved’ several times in my life… and nothing ever changed.
It wasn’t until my late 50s that I heard the true biblical Gospel (Good News). But I couldn’t understand it until I understood some hard truths.
No fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.
Unless a man be born again, he shall not see the kingdom of God.
The wages of sin is death.
It is appointed unto man to die once then comes judgement.
It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
Jesus said, “No one is good, not even one.”
We all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.
Many trans and gay people claiming to be Christians say, “but I was born this way.” Jesus says you must be born again. Many say, “but Jesus associated with prostitutes and sinners.” Yes He did, and He told them to go and sin no more. Many believe Jesus accepts them as they are. Scripture says come as you are and be transformed. But they say, “God is all loving, He wouldn’t send me to hell.” But is He though? All loving? Where does it say that?
God is certainly loving, to a magnitude you cannot comprehend, but scripture tells us He is also wrathful, to a magnitude you cannot comprehend. God is kind and merciful, but He is also righteous and just. He is a holy and perfectly just judge and those who die in their sin will be sentenced to eternal punishment.
Even if you are not gay or trans or a thief or addicted to porn, or an embezzler, or any other sort of criminal… if you have ever told just one lie or dishonored your parents, or had lustful thoughts, you stand condemned. His standard is perfection. Would it be justice, if God let everyone go? Of course not. We ALL have sinned and have earned condemnation for ourselves. That’s the bad news.
But God loves us so much, that He sent His son Jesus to live a sinless life, and be falsely accused and convicted of crimes He did not commit. He was beaten and mocked, stripped naked and humiliated, spat on, tortured, and nailed to a cross to suffer an excruciating death… for you. You broke God’s law, Jesus stepped in and took the punishment you earned. Greater love hath no man, than to lay down his life for his friends. Suddenly, the phrase – Jesus died on the cross for your sins – doesn’t sound so cavalier.
It wasn’t until I saw my sin in it’s true light and that I saw myself for who I was - a wretched sinner in dire need of a savior, that I was crushed. I knew I had no hope in or of myself, I knew I was destined for eternity in hell, and even worse, eternity apart from God. I saw the world differently, I saw Jesus differently; I knew who He was. He laid down His life for me, and He rose again in victory conquering death.
I cried out to God confessing my sins and asking forgiveness. I repented (I turned away from sin and toward God) and put my faith in Jesus. And then… the Holy Spirit took up residence in me and completely transformed me. I hated my lifestyle, I wanted to be pleasing in God’s eyes, I wanted to detransition for the Glory of God.
I didn’t give up anything to become a Christian. I didn’t stop sinning to become a Christian. I didn’t detransition to be saved or gain favor. I didn’t do any works at all for salvation. I simply repented and trusted Jesus. Then, I was washed clean. I was made new. I was given a new heart with new desires, and that’s why I despised my lifestyle and it is why I detransitioned. For by Grace you are saved through faith, that not of yourselves; it is a gift of God, not of works so that no one may boast.
So David, you cannot be gay and a Christian. You can be one or the other, but not both. Saying that you are both, tells the world that you are not. I urge you to consider the Gospel, the bad news and the good news. If you do not see yourself as sinful and if you do not see yourself as condemned, you’re missing something huge. David, open your heart, pray that God gives you ears to hear, and go read the Gospel of John. I will pray for you and that you will see the truth.
You can’t force them home. But you can flood heaven with prayers. And the same God who brought Lazarus out of a sealed tomb can still call your loved one out of confusion, rebellion, and deception.
Hulk Hogan’s Last Stand
Rich BittermanJuly 24, 2025
A few days ago, I wrote about Ozzy Osbourne’s death.
The article went viral…read by hundreds of thousands, reposted, debated, cursed, and praised. Some accused me of hijacking a man’s death to make a theological point. Others thanked me for writing what they’d never dared say out loud.
But now, another man has died. And this one was baptized a few months ago.
Terry Gene Bollea, better known as Hulk Hogan, died this morning. And if my words about Ozzy felt like a warning shot, then these words…about Hogan…ought to feel like a bell tower ringing in the fog.
Because the water doesn’t save, but it tells the story of the One who does.
The Wrestler Who Couldn’t Wrestle Time
When I was a teenager, I believed Hulk Hogan could stop time. I watched him tear his shirt down the middle like the Red Sea and hurl giants to the mat with a body slam like it was a declaration: I can’t be broken.
He seemed immortal. A yellow-and-red supernova of muscles and sweat and Americana.
But time cannot be suplexed. And death is not impressed by how many pay-per-view titles you’ve won.
This morning, the world’s strongest man became the world’s smallest headline.
Hulk Hogan is dead.
Hulk Was Baptized
Let’s pause there. Let’s say it again slowly: Hulk Hogan was baptized.
This isn’t hearsay or rumor. Not long ago, footage surfaced of Terry Bollea being baptized in clear water.
He emerged from the pool slowly, hands raised, tears behind those sunglasses, a heavy man moving like a child newly born.
He didn’t cut a promo. He didn’t say, “Brother.” He just looked upward.
I don’t know everything that led to that moment. I don’t know what he said in the quiet before or after. But I know what the water means. And I know what kind of God meets a man beneath it.
Not a Celebrity Conversion
Don’t confuse this with those headlines you scroll past: “So-and-so finds faith.” This isn’t about public image.
Baptism is not an aesthetic. It is a funeral.
It is the burial of a past and the beginning of a future that death cannot cancel. It is a man saying: Not my name. Not my story. Not my strength anymore.
It’s a man surrendering.
It’s Terry Bollea, who once stood in front of 90,000 screaming fans, kneeling in front of the only throne that matters.
And that throne doesn’t ask for fame. It demands repentance.
Two Deaths, Two Men, One Christ
Ozzy once called himself the Prince of Darkness. But now, he stands before the true King. Whether he ever bowed, only God knows.
But Hogan’s death? It’s something else.
It’s a reminder that mercy is real.
That the water still holds.
That Jesus still saves men with broken bodies, flawed pasts, and names too big to hide.
Ozzy made a living crying out into darkness. I pray he found the Light before the end.
Hogan, near the end, whispered into eternity.
What Happens When a Giant Dies?
When a man dies, something happens. Not figuratively. Not emotionally. Something happens.
His soul is torn from his body. He does not drift into unconscious stardust. He does not become a memory.
He stands. Awake. Aware. Known.
The Bible says it like this: “It is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment.”
The appointment is kept. The judgment is real. And for the one who has gone through the water and clung to Christ, there is no condemnation left.
Not because he performed well.
But because Christ did.
The Illusion of Strength
Hulk Hogan made a living flexing in front of mirrors and cameras. But mirrors lie. They show you biceps. They hide your soul.
And if you spend your whole life flexing, the first moment of real weakness will feel like drowning.
But if you’ve already died in the water…if you’ve already laid it all down…then death has nothing left to threaten you with.
You’ve already lost everything that doesn’t last.
And you’ve gained everything that can’t be taken.
There Is No Tag Team at the Judgment Seat
You die alone.
Not in spirit, but in accountability.
There will be no ring announcer. No walkout music. No partner to slap into the fight.
Just you.
Just God.
Just the record.
Every secret thought. Every false smile. Every whispered sin. Every word spoken when you thought no one was listening.
And for those who are in Christ, the books will open and every line will read: Paid. In. Full.
Because Jesus didn’t just die for your sins.
He died with your name in mind.
The Man Behind the Muscles
This is what haunts me: we’ve built a world that worships images.
Ozzy became a symbol. Hogan became a costume.
And beneath it all, they were men. Dust and soul. Born. Buried. Breath-takers.
No different than me.
No different than you.
But now, the stage lights are off. The band has packed up. The crowd has gone home.
And both men have stepped into something terrifyingly real.
For one, we don’t know if repentance ever came.
For the other, we saw the water.
And I pray we saw a new birth.
But What About You?
Let’s forget Ozzy.
Let’s forget Hogan.
Let’s talk about you.
Yes, you…the one scrolling this with numb fingers and tired eyes, wondering if it’s too late or if you’re too far.
You’re not.
If breath fills your lungs, mercy still stands open. You don’t need fame. You don’t need clarity. You don’t need a church full of people cheering for your comeback.
You need Christ.
You need to die before you die.
To bow before the throne instead of pretending you are one.
To walk into the water with your pride buried in your fist and come up with His name on your lips.
You don’t need to become religious.
You need to become His.
One More Ring Entrance
I picture Hogan walking into heaven like a man limping from the last match of his life. The crowd he lived for is silent now.
But there’s a new crowd. One that doesn’t cheer flesh.
They bow before a Lamb.
And Hogan, in that final entrance, doesn’t rip his shirt or point to the sky.
He falls to his knees.
Not because he lost.
But because he finally knows what winning really means.