Rewards Can Be Messy

Scripture:

"Where no oxen are, the stable is clean, But much revenue comes by the strength of the ox."

Proverbs 14:4

Observation:

I look at the stable as life and the oxen as taking risks. There can be a temptation to live life in such a way that you don't want to step out in faith, take risks or let life get a little messy. After all, its a lot easier when everything has its order and you are comfortable. However, if you want to reap a large harvest or gain revenue, its going to be a little messy and you're going to have to take risks.

Application:

I'm constantly tempted to manage and control things in my life and stay in my comfort zones. There are several things that God has been challenging me to step out in and I know that I could gain so much from taking risks but it can still be scary at times. But when it comes down to it, I don't want to look back on my life and be in my nice little clean stable with no harvest. If I'm taking risks and life gets a little messy, I know that I'll be just fine.

Prayer:

Lord I thank you that I don't have to look to other things for my comfort and peace but that I can find that in you. I pray for a more adventurous spirit and a willingness to take risks. Thank you that through taking risks, the rewards that I gain will include a greater intimacy with you as I learn to step out of my comfort zone and not rely on myself.

S - Leviticus 5:1 - If a person sins because he does not speak up when he hears a public charge to testify regarding something he has seen or learned about, he will be held responsible.

O - I've heard that sin can be put into two categories; sin of comission (where you do what you are not supposed to) and sin of omission (where you don't do what you are supposed to). Here I think is an example of a sin of omission.

A - The reason this passage sticks out to me is because my personality type is one that tends to be reserved and passive. Thus, typically, my sin is one of omission, rather than commission. And I think the danger is that I can think that i'm doing fairly well because i'm not stealing, lying, and lusting. However, am I doing what I should be? Reading the bible, praying, showing love, grace, telling people about Jesus? Of course both avoiding sin of both types is important and so I need to currently work more on the sin of omission.

P - God help me to continue to refrain from doing that which I shouldn't, as well as to do more of what I should. I want not to scrape by with mediocrity but with all that I am conquer sin in my life and walk with you all the days of my life.

Proverbs 15:13

S: Proverbs 15:13 “ A happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit.”

O: We are reminded that the state of our heart affects our attitude, our spirit and our appearance.

A: This pregnancy has been incredibly confusing and challenging. It’s been a rollercoaster or concern, excitement and frustration. In the past few days, we’ve been warned of having a large child, possible surgery, various intrusive tests, scheduled induction, cancelled induction, etc. Yesterday, I realized that there’s nothing I can do but trust in the Lord. He is in control. I am not.

So…..I decided to live life and stop worrying/waiting. First thing this morning, we went stand up paddleboarding in Kihei. It was a beautiful day! Being in the sun, experiencing God’s creation and getting physical exercise was AWESOME! We came home and ate a healthy salad with a spinach smoothie! Yum! I spent a few hours studying at Borders before picking the kids up from school and ended the day having the Asato clan over for dinner. It was the perfect day! My heart was happy, my face was cheerful and I stomped out heartache!

We are living life and putting our trust in the Lord. He sees the things we don’t and is guiding us every step of the way. I’m confident of this. Trusting in God is much more fun than worrying/waiting. But I do think that my husband has a preference for the “stay at home Sharina” and the “take naps and relax Sharina”. That’s a much better pace for him. J

P: Father, you are the only one who can change my heart. You reveal your truth to me in so many different ways and you always lead me back to yourself. No one can do this in my life but you. Thank you for loving me and caring for every detail of my life. You are in control and I surrender to you.

Leadership matters

 S - But the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we. Numbers 13:31

O - 12 of Israel's best. 12 men of character and influence. Chosen to spy out Canaan, land of promise. Chosen because there was something about them that stood out in the eyes of the people.Yet when faced a difficult circumstance, 10 of them could not overcome the challenge where they could not  partake of God's promise. Their report caused grief and melted the faith of the people that looked up to them. There is power in leadership just as in the commercial when  EF Hutton speaks everyone listens. Leadership can bring victory or defeat. Leadership is important to the success of any challenge.

A - Two men characterize leadership by their background and name.  Caleb (Dog) - - Tribe of Judah (Praise). Joshua ( Yahweh is salvation- to be victorious) Tribe of Ephraim (For God caused me to be  fruitful in the land of my affliction). When faced with mountain of circumstances, I have to be faithful, praise God, have faith to be  victorious and trust God, for He is the source of my strength. For me, that is my challenge not the circumstances.

P - Lord help me to have the spirit like Caleb, a different spirit from the 10 spies so I can be a conqueror in Jesus. Amen.

Faith and Identity

Acts 14:8-10 NKJV

And in Lystra a certain man without strength in his feet was sitting, a cripple from his mother’s womb, who had never walked. This man heard Paul speaking. Paul, observing him intently and seeing that he had faith to be healed, said with a loud voice, “Stand up straight on your feet!” And he leaped and walked.

O/
Hear the word and have faith and you can be healed.
To see the healing of others observe the hearts of people and discern, through the Holy Spirit, whether or not they have faith to be healed.
We have that power and authority to discern and speak for the healing of physical infirmities.

A/
I want to be bold and to know this 100% in my heart with no doubt that Jesus won "complete" victory on the cross. That we/I have the same power that Jesus has.

P/
Father thank you!!!! You have blessed me with Your gifts and have blessed me with Your Helper! Help me to know who I am in You even more. So that I can have security, boldness and power to preach Your word. Thank you. In Jesus name Amen.

The Usual

Scripture:

"Paul went to their meeting place, as he usually did when he came to a town, and for three Sabbaths running he preached to them from the Scriptures." Acts 17:2 (The Message)

NASB says "and according to Paul's custom..."

Observation:

"and according to Paul's custom", this seemingly insignificant comment made at the beginning of this verse really challenged me. When Paul would come to a town, he would find the meeting place of the people, go there, and preach, thats just what he did, this is what people could expect him to do. In chapter 14 it mentions Paul doing this very thing, going to a city, finding the meeting place and preaching. However in vs. 19 it says that Paul was stoned, dragged out of the city, supposing him to be dead. So what does he do next? Go home and live in fear? Nope, he goes to the next city and the next city and the next city, doing what he usually did, what was according to his custom...preaching the gospel.

Application:

Reading about Paul's life through out the scriptures I can see why people would say that it was usual for him to go to a city and preach, because he did it ALL the time. He was consistent and didn't live according to fear, or his emotions, or circumstance. Whether people wanted to worship him as a god, stone him, or receive the message of Christ, the gospel was always preached. The reason this challenged me so much is because it forces me to look at my life and see what are things that I do..according to my custom? What are people's expectations of me because of the way I live my life? Paul's consistency and custom may have brought him a little bit of recognition, but in the end it was a great testimony to the power of the Holy Spirit moving in some ones life. Paul always made sure to glorify God in all that he did and I really do hope that the things that I do, day in and day out, the usual things, would not be about managing people's perception of me, but rather would make it so obvious to others how great our God is.

Prayer:

Lord I pray that I would live in such a way that the "usuals" in my life would begin to change. The fact that I "usually get stressed out when I have to preach" would turn in to "I usually love to preach and with boldness", or "I usually care too much about what other people think about me" would turn in to "I usually don't get affected by what other people have to say about me". Help me to change so that my life and "my customs" would draw people to you.

Business Impact

Scripture: Acts 19:24
"For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, which made silver shrines for Diana, brought no small gains for the craftsmen."

Observation: The business of the gospel affected the secular business of its day. Yes, transformation will positively affect the businesses of all in the area - but that is only partially true. Godly businesses will be blessed. But those upholding unhealthy values and practices will be negatively impacted. Jesus invading the marketplace affected the business of the idol makers and they lost money and market shares. The decrease of income created a tension and persecution resulted.

Application: I've felt a tinge of guilt getting into the fro-yo business because it might "steal" business from other fro-yo shops. But, in my heart, I want everyone to succeed. I don't want us to succeed at the expense of others. If we could all gain market shares together - that would be the best scenario. But, if that doesn't happen, I need to resign myself to God's will being done in areas I'm not conscious about. Are the other businesses God-fearing, with values of integrity and industry? Will they glorify Him? Whoever has God's hands upon them will prosper, with the possibility that the others might not.

Prayer: "I thank You for guiding and giving wisdom to do Your will. I commit all businesses to prosper in following Your will since the Maui business market is so large, there's room for all of us!"