Slavery

So those who have had more than a couple conversations with me are probably keenly aware of my obsession with The Gospel and one particular aspect of our Christianity that goes along with it: slavery. We are slaves of Christ. In that mindset, we're on a little journey this morning:

Romans 6:16 says "Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness."

That's the set-up. Stay with me.

In the Gospel, God has cancelled "the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities an dput them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him." (Colossians 2:14-15)
John Piper, commenting on this verse says, "When Christ died for our sins, satan was disarmed and defeated. The one eternally destructive weapon that he had was stripped from his hand - namely the accusation before God that we are guilty and should perish with him. When Christ died for us, that accusation was nullified."

When we are saved, sins' power over us is neutralized. We no longer have to sin. Now, we still do sin and we are still in our bodies of flesh, but we no longer have to sin. An unbeliever sins because that's who they are. They are a slave to sin. We shouldn't be surprised when an unbeliever does something sinful. When we are saved, when we believe in the Gospel, we are no longer slaves to sin. It's no longer our first instinct. Our nature becomes new. While we may not always do the right thing, our nature is now disposed toward righteousness. When we sin, it goes against who we are. This is what the Apostle Paul is talking about in Romans 7 when he says "I have the desire to do what is right but not the ability to carry it out... Wretched man that I am." Only a saved person would struggle with sinning like this.

Paul also tells us that "no temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it." (1 Corinthians 10:13)

When you process through all this, it leads us to the conclusion that we no longer have to sin. God has truly given us everything we need not only to be saved, but also to live a holy life. We have been given the ability to not sin. We can live a holy life. After all, it's what He saved us for in the first place. (Ephesians 1:4, & 2:10)

Milton Vincent writes "As long as I am stricken with the guilt of my sins, I will be captive to them... The Devil is well aware of this fact; he knows that if he can keep me tormented by sin's guilt, he can dominate me with sin's power." When we truly understand and meditate on the Gospel, we see that we are no longer guilty before a holy God. God punished Jesus for all of my sins specifically. When Jesus hung on the cross, God treated Him as if He had committed all of my sins. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."

Romans 6:14 says "For sin shall not be master over you, for you are... under grace."

Let's live life every day with this in mind. We are forgiven. We are no longer guilty. The Gospel tells us that Christ suffered and died in my place so that I might know God. Satan (the accuser) has nothing left to say to or about me. I stand forgiven and free. The next time you are under the attack of the enemy, remember your standign before God. When God looks at you, He sees the righteousness of Christ. Live that way. Remember that whatever temptation you're experiencing right now is not a surprise. There is a way out. Re-focus on the Gospel and go forth and don't sin. Whether it's the temptation to gossip about someone, lie to someone, or whatever sin is before you. You don't have to do it. You have already been given a way out.

To me, that's good news! That's the Gospel.

The Aftermath...

So what now?
We've been to Hawaii and seen some sights.
The trip is mere 12 weeks away.
The countdown comences.

Remember - we're going to Hawaii for a purpose. Well, two purposes, truth be told.
We're going to minister and we're going to see the sights. The two can definitely go hand in hand.

Hawaii is most definitely a beautiful place. So much to see and do. You could be on Oahu for weeks and still have more to see. We've all seen the TV Shows, postcards, movies, and such. We all know what we think it will look like, and that Hawaii certainly does exist. It certainly is a beautiful place.

In the midst of that beauty, however, there is a less "tropical paradise" side. I'm not trying to get you all teary-eyed and sad, but there is a segment of people living on Oahu that have basically nothing. Our goal is to partner with Kalihi Baptist Church and help them as they seek to reach out to people living on the Island with the Gospel. We'll be doing Backyard Bible Clubs, Neighborhood Canvassing, Concerts, and a big Block Party.

When we met John Vaughn, the pastor of Kalihi Baptist Church, we were very impressed at his heart to reach and minister the Gospel to so many living in less than Tropical Luxury. We'll be focusing our efforts in a low income goverment Apartment complex that is home to people from a variety of South Pacific cultures.

That's just part of the ministry aspect. I'm very excited about all the ministry potential. We had some great conversations and there are some really cool things in the works. We'll just have to see what all God has in store for us in the ministry area.

As for the "tourist" side - don't worry. We'll definitely be tourists quite a bit as well. While we were there, we pretty much found the "must do's" and one "Definitely not worth it" activity. Hawaii is an amazingly beautiful place. I have to admit, that after seeing Waikiki and walking on the beach for a few minutes there, I wasn't that impressed. Newport has Waikiki beat for beach and simple getting in the water. But then we drove out of the city for just a few minutes and discovered the "Real Hawaii." Man!!! Amazing! I can't even describe in words what it was like. I'll be putting a few pictures on facebook, so go check them out.

So be getting ready. Be praying. Be in the Word. It's going to be an amazing trip! Get ready!

Rob
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SoCal vs. Hawaii

I'm not sure who wins.
But it's nice to be back!
Moe Hurtado was gracious enough to pick us up all the way out at LAX.
I'm tired and while I'm sad to not be on a beautiful tropical island anymore, I'm happy to be home.

Pictures coming soon. I'll put an album up on facebook.

Aloha!

Maui [not so] wowie...

So the island jump over wasn't bad...
But after waiting for luggage...
Waiting in line for boardig passes again...
Being sent back to an "Agricultural Check Station"...
Back for luggage checking...
Dropping off luggage with TSA (this actually went right by)
Another wait at airport security...
Only to return to where we had JUST been...
Now we have only 15 minutes before boarding re next flight.
At least there's a restaurant right across from our gate with a super-nice waitress. (tipped her well)

So now begins the 15 minute countdown until 6 hours sandwiched between two people I don't know.

I land late tonight.
Sleep late tomorrow.
Oh, wait...
I work tomorrow.
I might be in a bit late... Shh! Don't tell anyone... ;-)

Walking to Maui

We had to walk out to the plane.
It's so small than I can touch both sides at the same time. My wingspan is as wide as the plane is.
They charge for water. LOL!

I almost didn't need the ramp to get into the plane. I think our Steward might also be the co-pilot.
This just has me laughing. Well at least I'll be able to say I've been to both Oahu AND Maui!

And as Jefè has suggested: pray for the other passengers as their fate is linked to ours.

One final thought: do you watch "LOST?" because they film that show somewhere in Hawaii. I hope we don't become permanent residents on "The Island..." are there any "Others" on the plane with us? :-O

Cheetos & Snapple

So our grueling airport adventure has begun. Instead of booking a direct flight, El Jefé booked a layover in Maui. Now, normally I'd be thinking, "Hey! Another island!" The timing, however, will not allow us to leave the airport. Our first check-in person seemed a bit confused. I think that us changing airlines on Maui was disorienting. We're going to have to go to baggage claim, get our bags, go back through security, check in again, pay another luggage fee, and sit for six hours on another crowded plane. We are truly suffering for Jesus! ;-) If only we had snorkeled this morning, it might have been worth it.

I also forgot that you can't bring any liquids through airport security, so I got to throw away the completely-full-still-sealed bottles of water I bought for the flight. I'm dumb.

And since we're flying a little Island hopper, we're in the tiniest section of the
Airport. Smaller than Long Beach even. Only one snack stand means lunch is Cheetos and Snapple. Well at least it's my all-time favorite: Diet Peach Tea. And the company is the always-zany El Jefè Bum!

Perhaps we can get into mischief while waiting an hour and a half with nothig to do and only Cheetos to eat...

More to come from Maui. I wonder what will happen there?

P.S. - it's a good thing we got the optional insurance on the Rental Jeep. The dent in the fender was spotted instantly. Of course, you'd have to be blind to miss a chunk like that (check my facebook for a photo)

Third time's (not) the Charm!

So Hanauma Bay is the top-rated snorkeling in Hawaii. Perhaps even the world. We knew this before coming. So we first attempted to check it out on Tuesday, but they're closed on Tuesday (important detail to know). Then we attempted again yesterday. They were very crowded and when they reach a certain number of people, they don't let any more people in (good to know as well). So on our final attempt, the beach was closed due to a pack of angry jellyfish. There were at least 39 jellyfish on the beach, meaning that we definitely do not want to be in the water. We do thank the Park Rangers. We also met BJ, a really nice lady who runs the snorkel renting place on the beach. Got quite a bit of useful information from her. The most helpful information, however, was from Fred. Fred told us how we could obtain a special "permit" that will, essentially, make us VIPs when we return in June.

So even though we didn't get to snorkel, it was productive. (and we saved $25!!!)

So back to the hotel room to pack. And now that we have some extra time, we'll have time to stop by Da Kine Bail Bonds and perhaps meet Dog the Bounty Hunter. I'll let you know how that goes...