Mentors who are worth learning from and following in the footsteps of

"Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you.  Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith."

- Hebrews 13:7 (New Living Translation)

    Mentor's and leaders that I look up to who have influenced, and continue to influence, my life up till this day are:

        - Pastor Wayne Cordeiro of New Hope Oahu

        - Pastor Mike Kai of Hope Chapel West Oahu

        - Author Phillip Yancey

        - Communicator John C. Maxwell

        - Missionary and Evangelist Brother Yun

    These are also followers of Christ who have endured, asked and faced the hard questions, suffered, but whose lives have produced fruit and continue to be perfected by the master craftsman.

    Now I may not be able to physically spend time with the "courageous 5", whom I look up to, but I know that I can learn from them by reading their books, listening to the sermons and speeches, and taking from their lives lessons learned, living now as they do.

    Looking at myself now, I know and feel so far from the attainments and integrity of these mentors that I want to be like, even more so because I have allowed myself to live in a way that is not pleasing to God for so long.  So I have this festering virus that I have to allow God to heal in my life.  How do I become a person even remotely close to the heart, love, and integrity of these men?

"No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead," (Philippians 3:13 NLT)  

    Despite my past feeling like such a hindrance in moving forward, I know I must build myself up through God's word, just as the Apostle Paul did so many years ago.  By the grace of God, he absorbs our past - as far as God is concerned, though consequences of our past may still be things that we will still have to humbly go through and press into God as well.

    One thing that stands out about all of these men, one common denominator, though they all have many good characteristics and habits, is their love, obedience, and their devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ.

    My heart goes out to the families affected by the horrendous shooting that killed 6 people at the Sikh Temple in Winsconsin by Wade Michael Page.  I was thinking to myself, if this man, who is reportedly a neo-nazi and has links to white supremacist groups, can be moved to action of such hate and violence by filling his life with the very action he put out.  Then perhaps the opposite can be done for me, for others, who choose to allow God's Word to fill them up with encouragement and love, and for a future and a hope.

    What my mentor's and the shooter of the Sikh Temple filled themselves up with, that's what has become of their lives as a result of those choices.  For Pastor's Wayne Cordeiro and Mike Kai, for Author's and Leader's Phillip Yancey, John C. Maxwell, and Brother Yun (Liu Zhenying), their lives have been and are ones of close fellowship with God, of leadership and responsibility, and of growth.  Unfortunately for the lives of those taken senselessly by Wade Michael Page, he allowed himself to fill himself up with hate, anger, and thinking himself better than other races that he ended the lives of 6 Sikh worshipers before his life ended.

    What you choose to fill your life with, you will become and produce.  I desire to walk in the footsteps of my mentor's who follow Christ, to be filled with "...love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22-23)

    What fills your life, your time, and your thoughts?  That's who you will become tomorrow.

    

Am I close enough to hear God?

Am I close enough to hear God?

^”The Lord spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they paid no attention.”

- 2 Chronicles 33:10

                Manasseh, King Manasseh, was leading the people of God to sin.  He had them build and sacrifice on the alters of other god’s, even sacrificing his son on them.  God’s anger was rising, and through the prophets, he spoke of events that would soon come that would eventually lead to Manasseh being taken as a prisoner.

                But before the Assyrian army came, God once again spoke to King Manasseh and his people. ..”but they paid no attention,” the bible says.  God was reaching out for their hearts, for their attention, so that they could repent, be made right in His sight – reconciled, and call out to the Lord.

                It’s easy for me to point and say, “Yeah…duh?! He deserved what he got, they got!”  But it’s always easy to point and say what was right and what was wrong in retrospect.  What’s difficult is turning what should have been an easy given answer and response, on their part, and turning that onto myself.  And that would be, “Is God speaking to me, to my fiancé?  And if He is, am I paying attention?”  Am I positioned to hear God?  Or am I like Manasseh, stuck in my ways, stuck in sin and being swept by the currents of my own desires and selfishness, that I cannot hear…that I am paying no attention to the God who is trying to get my attention before I am swept away by the consequences of my sin.

                I’m not perfect, and as most people say, “No one is.”  But that is not an excuse for me to be ignorant, lazy, or both in being receptive to God’s love.  Because that was what God was trying to do with Manasseh and his people.  He was trying to love them.  Yes, God was angry at their sins, but I believe that he was even angrier knowing what would befall him and the Israelites if they did not turn to God, did not hear His warnings and change their ways.

                The best thing for me to do is to daily come before the Lord and pay attention.  To leave my heart and mind open to Him, that he can prune, change, and grow me from the inside out, before trouble comes (because times of trouble will always come).  The question is whether I have my rock, a solid foundation and place of refuge to go when such times do come.  The more frequent my “check-ups” are with God, the healthier, the closer my heart will be to the Lord.

Ask yourself:

                Are my thoughts going astray?  Are the things on my mind pleasing to God, or are they displeasing?  Do they make me want to be closer to God, or shame me and want to hide?

                Ask yourself these things, and be honest with yourself, be honest with God.  Speak with Him and allow Him to make the necessary corrections and heart adjustments so that we may be close and I am positioned to receive not just his love and blessings, but his strength and protection through troubled times.

Be close to God.

May Love give Love, create Love, and give Again

May Love give Love, create Love, and give Again

“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another- and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”

- Hebrews 10:24-25 (NIV)

               As a friend, a son, a fiancé, and co-worker, I must not separate who I am, what I believe, or my relationship with Christ, from what I speak or do when around others.  Just as I should be a voice of wisdom to potential believers, by Christ, even more should I be a voice of encouragement and love to my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ to do good, to share our faith and belief – to live out my faith in action, whether seen or unseen – so that we are following the instructions of Christ (being the good Samaritan, being the salt and the light, and making disciples to share their relationship with the living and loving God).

               How hard this is when my flesh gets in the way with my own personal emotions and resentment, or frustration with others.  But how much more important it is for me in those times to pray for myself to dissipate and Christ, the Holy Spirit, to be the choice lived (for he is the way the truth and the life).  Like choosing what channel is showing through the tube, I must choose to allow Christ to come through what is seen.  Not being fake, not saying that I’m not going to deal with what emotions might have initially stopped me from doing it God’s way, but choosing to love versus choosing to let my emotions that does not honor God aside for God to deal with, for us to relinquish together, or however it is done.  The point is the choice made, for it’s the choice that matters more that the emotions that were felt upon making the choice.

               Christ is the truth, the way, and the life.  This is what should matter beyond all else, and Christ is what I must train my body, emotions and all, to point others towards.  This is why we must encourage each other, because it is difficult to do alone.  Where a single cord my break under pressure, three braided together would be able to persevere and stand the strain of whatever pressure may come.  Whether we see the Day Christ comes back while we breathe, or while we rest in the earth, we should encourage each other, we need to encourage each other.  Because our time on this earth is surely short, and God knows this, it is short for both believers and potential brothers and sisters alike.  We do not know when a close friend, a co-worker, or family member will have their time cut short.  But as you realize and understand the shortness of the time we each have here, be sure to relay this urgency to your actions so that no one is left in the dark concerning Christ.

               Confess Christ to others, do it in a way that is easy for others to understand, do it creatively, do it with honesty and integrity, but like Nike's (tm) infamous quote says, “ Just do it.” 

I must encourage myself, and my fellow worshipers to be a light, to be creative in sharing Christ, and using our hands and minds to do more than speak with words who Christ is, but show in love and deeds.  Whether by volunteering, being and example in your house, learning to truly forgive another, building houses for others, giving to the poor, adopting a child, loving truly your own family, or wherever you may fit this into your life.  Wherever, however, with the love of and encouragement of Christ, let it be done.