And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:2, NASB95)
It is so easy to get used to reading certain verses in the Bible that we sometimes miss the real meaning behind the words we are reading. For instance, this verse in Romans is very familiar to many. I know I have read it many times and even used it in teaching.
We are now in a very significant time of preparation to celebrate the Feast of Passover. Throughout the Bible, the Lord told His people to celebrate the Feasts: “‘Now this day will be a memorial to you, and you shall celebrate it as a feast to the LORD; throughout your generations you are to celebrate it as a permanent ordinance.” …
This was the third year that Hale O Nā Kāula was invited, along with several other churches, to be part of an event that unites many churches over the state of Hawaii in prayer and worship. It was a time where we felt the Lord moving over His whole Body, and also a time of fellowship with other churches. The …
For over a week I have been living on the story of the “Vision of the Valley of Dry Bones” in Ezekiel 37:1-14. And if you don’t know this story I encourage you to read it and see the great significance it has today.
Today I read this story one more time and instead of applying it to the formation of this mighty army I started thinking of the dry bones as things in our own lives, like dreams, hopes, visions, and promises that a lot of times seem to die. We look at those old dreams they look like a bunch of dry, lifeless bones.
Even though the Feast of Tabernacles has ended, I was still thinking about the Israelites in the wilderness and how they would carry the Ark of the Covenant, which represented the very presence of God. On many occasions we see how the Ark was always in front of the people, they wanted the presence of God to lead them forward into every circumstance.
“Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. ” (Philippians 3:12–14, NAS)
As part of our celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles, we camp together and have fun with our children, teaching and imparting to them the heart behind our experience in walking with the Lord. It is always a very fun time when we play, sing, teach, eat together and experience an awesome time with the whole family. We are now …
In the Hawaiian culture, there is a great respect for the kūpuna, the older ones, the grandparents, because they pass down the knowledge in different areas of life from previous generations to the younger ones. One of the things in Hawaiian culture that is really important is the teaching of the ancient songs and chants, which were always passed down from generation to generation.
“For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known. ” (1 Corinthians 13:12, NAS)
I thought of picking up again the thread from the last blog. I kept thinking that we always think we know everything, you see that with children when you try to introduce some new food, a vegetable for instance, and at first they may say they don’t like that, but then sometimes with time they learn to like the new. I remember saying that “I don’t like this” and my mother would say “how do you know you don’t like this if you have never tried before?”
We at Hale O Kāula are always looking to be more than a church. We are determined to be a family and promote family relationships, where all ages are part of creating the whole of the family. This is exactly the same as how our natural families function! We find a balance of what everyone needs to do, from the babies to the older ones.
“‘Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.’” (Revelation 3:20, NAS)
As I read this verse, I was thinking that it is not enough to have God standing at the door and knocking. When He is speaking and I hear His voice, it is still up to me to take the action of opening the door to let Him in. Without the corresponding action as a result of hearing the Word, nothing happens.
If you hear His voice, open the door!
In this beautiful message brought by pastor Daniel, he prepared our hearts for the dedication of the newest member of our congregation, Levi Ikaika Baker, born on June 25th, 2010 to the proud parents Chris and Joanna Baker.
I have always heard this but never really stopped to think about this to actually understand the principle behind this blessing: “‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” (Acts 20:35, NAS)
I read this verse last week, and did a little study on it, but instead of applying it to material things, I actually was thinking about how much it is more blessed to give forgiveness than to receive forgiveness. Somehow the Holy Spirit led me to read Luke 6 in connection with this verse, especially verses 30-38.
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:2, NAS)
This is a verse that I have read and heard so many times in my life, but it is interesting to take a closer look in the word transformed and find the meaning in the Greek. It is also interesting to read this verse in other translations, like for instance the New Living Translation:
As a father it is always a challenge to correct my daughters; I spend a lot of time thinking about the heart behind teaching and correction and how it is perceived. Of course when you are being corrected it is hard and you have a lot of reactions to it, but on the other hand there is always a love and a purpose in God behind it. And this is why I came up with this definition of correction:
Correction is someone helping you get from A to B in the least amount of time.
As a father I am always challenged when my daughters get sick. As they grow they get all the “normal” colds and bugs that all the kids do, right?
Recently I was taking care of one of them and she was having a hard time sleeping; it was very difficult for her to breathe because of this “normal” cold. And I thought: “If I could I would be sick in your place, I would not sleep so you could sleep, I could be in pain or suffering so you did not have to go through this.”
Yesterday I woke up in the middle of the night, as it usually happens, and I started to think about all the things that we go through in our lives and how life is really just one big transition. And this is what I thought: “In a transition you have to embrace the new as much as you have to let go of the old.”
Hale O Kāula celebrated the Feast of Pentecost last week. As we did, it was interesting to notice that the factor that triggered the events on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2 was their oneness, first of all because of their obedience to what Jesus told them.
As I started to read about the day of Pentecost in the book of Acts, one thing that really stood out to me was their oneness.
I believe kindness is a powerful aspect of love, especially when applied in our homes. It is something that can cause immediate change in our day and it helps our love not to grow cold.
I wrote in a previous blog about how we should have abundant life and be in a constant process of change. But then the question is: how can we do this?
I think that the most important thing is to consistently connect back to our first love (Revelation 2:4).
Learning a second language has been a wonderful experience for me. Over the past two years I have lived in U.S., I’ve realized that it takes more than learning how to read and write in English, I have to be immersed into the language and culture. There are nuances of the language that you can only experience by really being immersed in it. Out of that immersion I have seen my fluency reach a proficiency level.
Lord, open the eyes of our hearts to see what You’ve made available for us!
The other day, my husband asked me “what makes you happy?” My first response was to think about a day on the beach with my family or a bowl of ice cream or reading a good book. I was shocked at first, to see how limited my concept of happiness was.
The truth is that what really makes me happy is a Spirit-filled life.
The word for “hearing” in the Greek and Hebrew also means “to obey.” Most of us need to repent of being hearers of God’s Word only.
When I was eight years old, my family was almost ripped apart by my father’s health issues. But out of this hard time, the Lord taught me and my family some very important things about faith.
On November 21st, 2009, Dani and Debbie Oliveira led some members of Hale O Nā Kāula Church in volunteering for the Community Work Day program in Maui. We chose to take care of Pukalani Park , which is close to our church. We removed graffiti, cleaned bathrooms, picked up trash, mowed some of the grass and fixed the basketball hoops. It was a fun day!
It’s in our hearts to bless our community, especially the children from Pukalani Elementary who use the park for PE and recess. We look forward to more opportunities like these because we love to spread Aloha! God bless Maui!
Hereʻs a video from the Hale O Kāula bandʻs performance at Praise in the Islands II. Weʻre worshiping the Lord in Hawaii!
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