Door of Obedience

Psalm 111:10 

 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; A good understanding have all those who do His commandments. His praise endures forever.

 To me, fearing the Lord is really not what it sounds like. It is knowledge of His Will through the Word and having that deep desire to follow his ways. It is like seeing the light behind a door and knowing in your heart, that is the way to go. We need to press forward and go through that door towards all that God has for us. Fear to me, is not going through that door and having the door close on me and standing there in a dark room. Now that is fear...being alone in this world without my Abba Father! I fear not being with Him, finding guidance in Him, having Him listen to me when I cry out, to have the comfort that only He can give. I do fear, to go on without Him.

I pray that I may walk in His Word daily and truly understand what His Will is for my life. I want to go through the door of obedience and towards His light. He is the light in a dark world.

Question: Are you willing to walk through that door of obedience or do you choose to stay in darkness of this world? 

God's Puzzle of Life

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:5

As I read this well known scripture over and over again, it reminded me that life can seem so complicated for me as I try to figure things out and deal with the challenges that surround me. I don't think that is what God wants me to do. He wants me to surrender everything to Him and He will take control and will do what He needs to do. I have often had women come to me for advice and when we go into prayer, I hear the Holy Spirit saying that they need to put their hands behind their backs and let God do the work and that the women were trying to do things on their own and it was preventing God from doing His will in their lives. So often, it led the women to repent for moving ahead of God and trying to do things on their own. I too am guilty of trying to "fix" things but God wants me to trust him fully and know that I will never fully understand what is really going on in the circumstances of life. I see things from my own perspective and there are so many other pieces of the puzzle that I am not able to ever understand. You see, it is like a giant jig saw puzzle and I am trying to put the pieces together and I have only 10 pieces out of the 100 piece puzzle. I can put my small pieces together  but there are other pieces that are missing. That is "my understanding" and God is telling me, there are other pieces that you don't know about. All I have to do is trust that God knows the entire picture on the box of the jig saw puzzle and He will guide me to put my pieces together and he will pull other pieces of the puzzle from other places to make a complete God puzzle. God has the whole picture and I have only a few pieces. So, I trust in God that He will get all the puzzle pieces together and with His mighty hands, He will join them all together. When the whole puzzle is together and I can see the completed picture then I will truly be praising Him for it is God's workmanship and not my own.

Question: Are you trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together on your own? Are you willing to trust God in all situations, that He has the bigger picture?

The Pause the Refreshes

1 Corinthians 1:8-9

He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God, who has called you into fellowship with His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.

My daily devotions led me back to thinking about when I ran the Honolulu Marathon. The verses for today, spoke to me about staying strong till the end. It is about that "life race" that we are running. It is not just a short run but a long jogging trip that requires endurance. Recently, I had to substitute teach a second grade class. I discovered on the lesson plans that was left for me by the teacher, I was to take the class out to P.E. The plan said that I was to have the students do two laps around the playground. In preparation, I felt that I needed to teach the children about the concept of jogging vs. running. I could relate to this subject because when I ran the marathon, I knew it was not about speed but it was about endurance. When  you want to run a short distance and you need to get to the finish line quickly, you need to run and do it with speed. It is a different story when you have a long distance to run and you have to conserve your energy and not burn out in the first few miles. You have to pace yourself so you can endure the long distance and finish strong at the finish line. This is called jogging. When I explained the difference to the children, they seemed to get it and when it came time to do their laps, they were jogging for endurance and not running for speed. Everyone of them made it across the finish line. This was a good life lesson for me and my Christian race. I need to be strong to the end and what does that take? It takes discipline, it takes endurance, it takes a solid relationship with God. When I look at my relationship with God and spending quiet time with Him and in His Word, it is like on the marathon race course when you get to the various water stations. You stop and replenish your fluids so you can continue. This is no different from our daily Christian journey. As we read His Word and have our quiet devotion time, we are refreshed by His living water and it gets us through another day. I look forward to my daily water stops with God!

Question: Have you stopped today to get refreshed with God? How can you plan to have more water stops in your life daily?

What We Do Not See

"Now Faith if being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." Hebrews 11:1

During my nine day fast, I had a wonderful revelation that was God inspired. I wanted to share this with all of you. You see, I had gone out to my rose bushes and pruned them all back. I had cut them down, knowing that they would eventually have new growth and pruning would produce more flowers. I knew that this process would take awhile and it would be months before I would see a new blossom. Then a few days later, in the middle of my fasting period, I was astonished at what I saw! I went outside to get my mail and there was a beautiful rosebud. "How could this be, when I just pruned?" I heard from deep within me, the Spirit whisper this answer. "You see with your human eyes and understand from your human wisdom but God is always working behind the scenes when you think things are not possible. God was working on this blossom for you and you did not even know it. Know that God is always working, even though you don't see it in your life. God will surprise you when you least expect it, just to show you that He is always with you." My eyes welled up with tears and I knew like in Hebrews 11:1, that I cannot only believe in what I see with my own eyes, but I need to have faith in what I cannot see. God truly spoke into my life that day!

Question: Are you in a situation right now, where you are thinking, where is God when I need Him? Why am I not seeing my prayers answered? Just have faith dear friends, and know that God is truly working behind the scenes for you.

Fasting Breakthrough

"The Lord is my strength and my song; He has given me victory. This is my God, and I will praise Him-my Father's God, and I will exalt Him! Exodus 15:2

Here I am, on the second day of the Daniel Fast through my church, Hope Chapel West Oahu. I awoke this morning feeling like a sea slug! On my first day, it was not a pretty sight. By about 3 pm I was suffering from the lack of caffeine. I was tired and a headache had set in. It began to throb and then I laid down. When I awoke from a short nap, I was in a full blown migraine headache. I had nausea and began throwing up. I had to take my Excedrin Migraine tablet. By evening I was tired and just "hangin". I think it is the lack of caffeine in my system and my body is freaking out! Today, I am a little better but feeling tired and "fuzzy headed". I know that last night, I kept thinking about foods and how I miss some of the foods like coffee, meat, sugar...and then I realized...THAT IS WHAT FASTING IS ALL ABOUT! Oh yes, I sensed the Lord telling me, "How much are you truly seeking me? How much are you truly willing to give up? How important is this fast to you? Are you on a food diet or are you really seeking me by denying yourself?" Oh, that was BIG. It was a barrier I just climbed over. It was about dying to myself and to stop thing of me and the fast and now to SHIFT my focus on God. Then this morning as I was doing my devotions, Exodus 15:2 really spoke to me. God is telling me through His Word that HE is ENOUGH for me. He is my "strength" but also my song. How is that? Well, I saw it as God can get me through this fast but what I need to do is to focus on Him and stop looking at myself. I need to die to my physical self and focus more on HIM and I can do that through praising Him. So I went to my iPod with my worship music and began praising Him. I had forgotten to be praising Him in the middle of this food struggle. Now, with this verse, it takes me right to where I need to be and I realized how far off I was. I had slid down that spiritual path and had been focusing on me, food and getting from one meal to the next. Now I feel like I am back on the path and dusting myself off and now I am standing up and have a new beginning and focus for this fast. Now, through praise and worship, the fast and praying is starting to kick in and I can begin to get clarity. Praise God!

Question: When was the last time you have earnestly sought God through fasting and praying? What areas in your life do you need clarity? Join me for the next nine days in fasting and praying, using the Daniel fast. Check out the HCWO website for more details. Seek Him and you will find Him!

Renewing of the Spirit

"Therefore we do not lose heart, though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day."  2 Corinthians 4:16 (NIV)

I have roses growing in my garden and I get excited when I see a new rose bud on my rose bush. It all begins with a small bud that does not even have any color and then it develops into a full blooming flower in just a few days. Then, it will eventually begin to wither and eventually it will die. That is really no different from the seasons in our own human lives. We were just babies once, like those buds on the plant and slowly we begin to bloom and when we are in the fullest of the blooming process, the petals are wide open and the fragrance from the center is sweet and pleasant. But the times comes when the entire process will end. That is like the life span of a person. Eventually our bodies will begin to ache and we have little groans and pains. But what is exciting is that the Spirit inside us continues to bloom and grow and never wilts or fades. No matter how old we get, we continue to grow rich in the Lord and continue to be a sweet fragrance to God. Everyday, though my physical self gets older, the more I read God's Word everyday, I get more and more refreshed in my spirit. I read everyday and I learn more about God and how to live my life and live it to the fullest for Him. As I write this, I see my wilting rose on the table but I know it is nothing like my spirit for I am charged and being renewed daily by reading His Word and coming to Him in prayer everyday for repentance and filling.

Scripture is God-breathed

"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training the righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." 2 Timothy 3:16-17

I honestly can say that I cannot go through a day without reading God's Word and writing in my journal. I think it is in my blood. When I read this verse in Timothy, the words "God-breathed" seemed to jump out at me. I have often heard the term, "the Breath of God" and so I did a little research. God breathed into man at the beginning in Genesis and man became alive. Breath gave life. In Ezekiel, in the Valley of the dry bones, God again breathed on the dry bones and they became alive. As my thoughts seem to go further, it also could be interpreted as not only giving life to something that is dead but it could also inspire action. To go from being dead, to living, is something when God breathes and here in this verse, it says that "Scripture" is that for us. God took words and breathed on them and now they are alive. How many times I have done what I did this morning? I opened the bible and when my eyes hit upon a verse, something very profound resounded in my soul. The Holy Spirit convicts and guides us to truth. This is exactly what I mean, a verse will become illuminated or magnified and it will almost jump off the page at you, then you receive the deep and God inspired meaning. That is the breath. In Hawaii, we have the word, Aloha. The "ha" part of the word is breath. In old Hawaii, when a person would greet another, they would breathe on them a warm love and caring breath.  Not only does God breathe into His Word, but He shows us how to use it in our live through the  application of His Word. We can read, but if there is no action, then it is for no purpose to us at all. That is why I like to journal. It takes me through the reading of God's Word, then I need to use that verse and think how it applies to my own life. Then, if I stop there, only part of the process is completed. The last step, and most important step, is looking at what I need to do with God's Word. What changes or correction do I need to make? What is God telling me to do? that is exactly what 2 Timothy 3:16 is telling me. I need to apply this to my life. This application is how God will breathe into my life and what is the fruit of this? I will find that it will help equip me to do His Kingdom work, here on earth. Question: When was the last time that God's Word was illuminated and you took action? What can you do today to apply God's Word in your life?

Pollution in our Lives

"Therefore, give the people of Israel this message from the Sovereign Lord: Do you plan to pollute yourselves just as your ancestors did? Do you intend to keep prostituting yourselves by worshiping vile images?" Ezekiel 20:30

In my devotions this morning in Ezekiel 20, the words "pollute yourselves" was magnified to me by the Spirit. The word "pollute", sparked my interest and the more research I did on the internet, I saw images that were vile and disgusting. I saw God's beautiful creation of land, water and sky, all being polluted by things that man put into the environment. It amazed me that we are doing it to ourselves! Without even thinking, man is throwing toxins out there and in turn it comes back to harm us! I think that is how I can get off tract too if I am not in God's Word daily or in prayer. There are many earthly vices that are all around me and I need to be grounded and solid in my faith, to be able to make good choices, or I too will be polluting my life. Pollution can enter my life  through my thoughts, what I view, what I hear and what I experience. I need to guard and protect what enters my mind by filtering it through God's Word. God's Word is the way of stopping pollution before it enters our lives, for it sifts through all the stuff that is out there in this world and compares it with God's Truth. I think of the television shows that people turn on nightly and the messages that they contain. Often, they give subtle messages of what is "acceptable", according to the world's standards and yet, it is not acceptable according to God's standard, as found in His Word. When I read Ezekiel 20 today and the verses of worshiping vile images, I think of worldly magazines, books and television where we read or view and then absorb the content into our minds. As a Christian, I need to always be filtering what I see, hear, do and experience for it does not take long to pollute. A stream was not polluted in a day, but it took small amounts of toxins released day after day and in time, the stream became completely polluted. That is where reading God's Word daily and also praying daily, is essential. Praying is the way i can release any toxins/poisons that I have allowed to enter into my life. All I need to do is get on my knees and ask God to cleanse me and restore me. Like in Psalm 51:10 says, "Create in me a clean heart and renew a right Spirit within me."  May I be more aware of those pollutants around me before I allow them to enter into my life.

Question: How has this journal spoken to you today? When was the last time you read God's Word? Prayed? What pollutants have you allowed to enter into your life?

Hole in the Wall

"Dig a hole through the wall while they are watching and go out through it. As they watch, lift your pack to your shoulders and walk away into the night. Cover your face so you cannot see the land you are leaving. For I have made you a sign for the people of Israel." Ezekiel 12:3

During my devotions in Ezekiel 12 this morning, I had this scripture illuminate in my soul. God told Ezekiel to dig a hole through the city wall and as he would walk away, he was to cover his face so he could not see where he came from. I thought about how God will often use the wall to get us to a "Hole nother level" in our spiritual walk. A "Hole in the Wall Experience" are those times when we may feel trapped in the circumstances of our lives and we are pushed to desperate measures. Ever been at that point in your life when you are faced with a wall? Ever been at that place that there seems to be no way out? You cannot climb over the wall for it is too high, you cannot go around it because it surrounds you, so you have to use what you can and dig through it. God will provide just what you need to dig through that experience. It will be a means of escape and it is God inspired. I sense that when we come against the wall, we could think of so many options but that is the problem. The problem is that WE try to find the solution on our own. We may try to climb the wall and then we fall. Then we may search for an opening in the wall and there is none to be found. That is when we come face to face against the wall, fall to our knees and the only place to look is up. When you look up in surrender to your "wall", that is when you will find your answer. You will find your answers in God. God will provide a way out and it may be in a way that we would least expect. He may ask us to dig a hole through the wall! God promises in His Word that He will never give us anything that is too hard for us to bear and that He will always show us a way out. (1 Cor. 10:13).  I remember hearing a speaker give a great illustration of this. He said that we are like a piece of cloth on the ironing board of life. We are all made from different textures. Some are cotton, linen, silk, rayon and polyester. God is the iron and only He knows when He is straightening out our wrinkles in life, exactly how much heat to put on us. He will never put a linen setting on the iron and press it on silk, for it would burn. God knows just the limit we can endure in order to get us to the place where he wants us to be - perfectly wrinkle free!

Question: Are you facing a wall today? Will you get to your knees today and look up? God promises to you a way out but it starts by seeking Him with all your heart. God then will take you to the next Hole Nother Level.

The Rosebud

"All I want is for you to be able to develop a way of life in which you can spend plenty of time together with the Master without a lot of distractions: 1 Cor. 7:35 (MSG)

It is only a tiny rosebud
A flower of God's design
But I cannot unfold the petals
With these clumsy hands of mine

The secret of unfolding flowers
Is not known to such as I
GOD opens this flower so easily
But in my hands they die

If I cannot unfold a rosebud
This flower of God's design
Then how can I have the wisdom
To unfold this life of mine

So I'll trust in God for leading
Each moment of my day
I will look to God for guidance
In each step along the way

The path that lies before me
Only my Lord and Savoir knows
I'll trust God to unfold the moments

Just as He unfolds the rose.

What a great lesson for you and me. If I were to give you a rosebud and ask you to open it without tearing off any petals, could you do it? It is an impossible task. But the importance in knowing that we cannot possibly open a rosebud by our own human effort, helps us to understand the will of God for us. What I learned was to WAIT on God and watch HIS power develop in our lives.

Question: Are you trying to open the rosebud of life by your own efforts? What have you learned from this illustration?