Category: Pastor’s Blog

Anticipate the Feast of Tabernacles

We are approaching the time of the Feast of Tabernacles. As Christians, we do not only celebrate it in remembrance of what God did in the past, but we also anticipate the fulfillment of what God is doing during the Feast of Tabernacles today. We believe that there are truths hidden in plain sight in the Scriptures, but we also …

Connect to the Source and Give

In our relationship with God, we can all notice how God presents constant situations in our lives where we need to take a step of trust in Him and continually give of ourselves. How do we do that and not become weary? (Galatians 6:9-10) Here is a story to help us understand that. In Palestine there are two seas, and …

The Father is Knocking, Open The Door

We must recognize and appreciate that we are living in days where God is active. We are not in the 400 years of slavery in Egypt, or the 400 silent years between the Old and the New Testament. God has prepared us for change, and these are the days when change is taking place. This should give us excitement and …

Another Exciting Year For Our After School Program

We are starting again our After School Program for our school age children. The focus of the program is very simple: We love our children.

That being our goal, we have gathered an amazing team of moms, aunties, and grandmas to help us. We bring the kids to our church facility and provide the snacks, devotional time, help with homework, story-telling, play-time, arts and crafts, and occasional field-trips.

The smiles on their faces are the reward, and a sign that it is working. The family spirit and sense of community creates the perfect atmosphere to see the love of God flowing to and from our children and families.

I have read once that it takes a village to raise a child. That statement is true, and I can safely say that it takes a spiritual family to raise these amazing kids who are being filled with love and grace. I will end with the words of Paul to Timothy as a reminder of how effective the prayers of our parents and grandparents are in raising us up to have faith and know the love of God.

Blessings to a great school year ahead for teachers, students, and families in our community!

“For I am mindful of the sincere faith within you, which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am sure that it is in you as well” (2 Timothy 1:5).

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Pentecost – Receive His Love, Be Changed

There were several times throughout Christ’s ministry where He received an impartation of God’s spirit and love. (Matt 3:16-17, Matt 17:5) These experiences equipped Him to do the will of His Father. The disciples were likewise equipped in order to fulfill the commission they received in Matt 28:19-20 to make disciples of the nations. In Luke 24:29 Jesus told them …

The Feast of Passover – 2015

As we approach the time of the Feast of Passover we are filled with anticipation to celebrate it as a family. The Feast of Passover is inexhaustible in its significance for us today because it represents the love and drive of God to see His people delivered from any obligation so they can come to worship Him only. During the first …

Feast of Tabernacles – 2014

Once again we are anticipating the period of celebration of the biblical feasts that culminates with the Feast of Tabernacles. Every year, following the Jewish calendar, we have a very special time of fellowship where we have services, teaching, worship, and a lot of fun with the entire family. The period of the Feast of Tabernacles starts with the Feast …

The Feast of Pentecost – the Feast of the Harvest

After the first Passover in Egypt the people of Israel camped in the desert, a time where God made a covenant with the people of Israel (Deuteronomy 4:12-14). When God gave Moses the law, one of the feasts He instructed them to celebrate was known as the Feast of Weeks (Leviticus 23:15-17). Immediately following the Passover, the priest was to …

The Feast of Pentecost

On June 4th, 2014 at 7:30pm, we will have a special service to celebrate the biblical Feast of Pentecost. Every year we believe for a greater understanding and experience of the true meaning and provision of the biblical feasts. In faith and anticipation we will celebrate the Feast of Pentecost, worshiping together and continuing to study and learn more about …

Multiply the Gifts

In a recent message Daniel Oliveira brought to us at Hale O Nā Kāula Church, he talked about how we should be presenting ourselves to the Father with the gifts we have and allow Him to multiply them. A particular example Daniel used that really made sense to me was the story of the little boy who came to Jesus …

Back at Shiloh

I will never forget the first time I came to Shiloh; I was with my whole family, coming all the way from Brazil right after the Feast of Passover, April of 1981. I was only fifteen years old but I had already heard so many stories about Shiloh and my heart was full of excitement. This year I have an …

The Feast of Passover

In the book of Exodus in the Old Testament we read the account of the first Passover when God not only delivered His people from the bondage in Egypt, but He also brought judgment to a whole system that was oppressing the people of Israel. It is important to notice that God’s motivation behind everything He did was to have …

God’s Tool Box

I am starting a class at Shiloh University called Spiritual Formation. It will be a very interesting process because I am sure I will experience a lot of new things in my devotional life, and it will also bring some current spiritual experiences to a new level. Essentially, this class is about the spiritual “tools” that bring us into a …

Feast of Tabernacles — 2011

We are getting ready to start the celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles. Every year, for about a month, we have a very special time of services and teaching, worship and fellowship, and a lot of fun with the entire family. The Feast of Tabernacles starts with the Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah) on September 28th. That same day begins …

The Bible – A Manual of Transformation

The Bible is the manual of transformation. But as with any other manual, it only works if you read it and apply what you are reading. Follow the instructions and apply the principles. People may collect books on how to stop smoking, on how to lose weight, how to be organized and how to better use their time, but until …

A Quick Study On Transformation

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.

Can These Bones Live?

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.

The Key to Victory in Your Circumstances

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.

There Is More!

“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)

Pule a ka Haku – The Lord’s Prayer in Hawaiian

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.

Now I Know in Part, Then I Will Know Fully

“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?”

If You Hear His Voice, Open the Door!

“‘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!

It Is More Blessed To Give Than To Receive

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.

Transformation

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:

A New Definition of Correction

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.

By His Stripes We Are Healed

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.”

Transition: Embrace the New

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.”

The Power of Oneness

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.