So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. (Colossians 3:1-2) Proverbs 31 depicts an ideal wife and husband. These ideals are impossible without God fueling you by his grace. How do we get there? Being grace-fueled starts with Jesus. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. But setting your mind on things above is not possible without the resurrection of Jesus Christ. You first must be raised with Christ and put on your new self in him. Additionally, you a ..read more

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as God also forgave you in Christ. (Ephesians 4:32) I’ve been watching a video feed of an eagle pair that is incubating three eggs, high up in a Jeffrey Pine tree in Big Bear Lake, California. The mother and father take turns sitting on the eggs. Periodically, they stand up and roll the eggs. The mother takes longer turns than the father, but they trade places, so the eggs always stay warm. There have been several snow storms, yet the eagle stays in the nest. The father eagle sometimes catches a fish that he brings to the m ..read more

The Lord said to Israel, “I gave you a land you did not labor for, and cities you did not build, though you live in them; you are eating from vineyards and olive groves you did not plant.” (Joshua 24:13) In the final chapter of this epic book, God recounts from the time of Abraham how he had kept his promise to bring Israel into the Promise Land. Their 400 year-old dream had finally become a reality. God proved his faithfulness to Israel again and again. We see throughout the book of Joshua that God called, rescued, protected, empowered, and provided for them. He kept his end of the bargain ..read more

Over the past few decades, the term “evangelical” has become primarily a political label in America. It’s become a group of people who are defined by what they are against: abortion, LGBTQ rights, immigration, environmentalism, and in the past few years, masks and vaccines. While some of those positions have biblical support, social issues are not what “evangelicals” have historically been defined by. The term comes from the biblical word euangelion; which means “good news” or “gospel.” Evangelical is supposed to define what we’re for more than what we’re against. That’s why our denomination ..read more

These four chapters have a huge amount of good stuff in them, but let’s just focus on Chapter 20 for today.  There’s an old saying, “A text without context is a pretext.”  So bear with me as we go through a short history of justice. In Genesis 4:23-24, we meet a man named Lamech who is bragging to his wives about how overwhelming his revenge is: “I have killed a man for wounding me, a young man for striking me.  If Cain’s revenge is sevenfold, then Lamech’s is seventy-sevenfold.”  As you look around the world, “blood vengeance” has been the norm for what is considered just ..read more

God has saved failures and called them his own, but he has also prepared good works for them to do. His grace saves us so that our faith is expressed in a life of gratitude. The good work God prepared for us often is difficult and challenging, but God demonstrates that any good work coming from Him is worth the trouble. After the Israelites were saved from slavery and brought into the promised land, they were commanded to drive out the inhabitants. But the Israelites did not completely follow through God’s commands. Why? Because of their complacency. For one reason or another in their minds ..read more

“I followed the Lord my God completely.” (Joshua 14:8) Let’s hear from an old man, Caleb, the story of his life, as Joshua recounted in chapter 14… “I was born a slave in Egypt. I crossed the Red Sea, was present at the giving of the law at Mount Sinai, and then at the age of 40, I was sent as one of the twelve to spy out the Promised Land. Joshua and I were the only of the twelve that trusted God to give us the land. The other ten brought back reports of giants and difficulties. The people believed them and were unwilling to possess the land. Joshua and I were devastated; however, Moses prom ..read more

I know plenty of Christians who do yoga or tai chi exclusively for the health benefits. They ignore the spirituality that surrounds it, and focus only on the strength, balance, flexibility, and calm it can bring through the isotonic/isometric exercise. But it’s important to at least be aware of the spirituality that most yoga practitioners espouse. Because in the pursuit of mind/body balance, they often encourage Eastern meditation: emptying your mind and focusing on your body or on nothing at all. The Bible never calls us to empty our minds, but always to fill our minds with God’s word. That ..read more

“I have now come as commander of the Lord’s army.” Then Joshua bowed with his face to the ground in worship and asked him, “What does my lord want to say to his servant?” (Joshua 5:13–14) God has a calling for you. He has a purpose for you wherever you’re reading this from–here on Oahu or away, taking a break at home or from work. We may not know what that calling is, but as believers and God’s adopted children, we can trust that He has our best interests and His glory in mind. Likewise, God had a calling for the Israelites to return to the Promised Land, Canaan. In the last 40 years since Go ..read more

The Lord said to Joshua, “Look, I have handed Jericho, its king, and its best soldiers over to you.” (Joshua 6:2) There’s a lot of good stuff in Joshua Chapter 6, but I’d like to focus on the first half of the chapter. Actually, let’s go back to the last three verses of Chapter 5 (vv.13 – 15) to begin. The chapter breaks did not exist in the original language of the Bible but were added centuries later to help us study better. So, in 5:13 Joshua is out near Jericho when he encounters an armed warrior, sword in hand. Joshua challenges him with, “Are you for us, or for our adversaries?” Sounds ..read more