Lunch with God

At a recent visit to the Veteran's Care Home, I shared a story that impacted me years ago.  The story goes like this:

There once was a little boy who wanted to meet God.  He knew it was a long trip to where God lived, so he packed his suitcase with Twinkies and a six-pack of root beer and started his journey.  When  he had gone about three blocks, he met an old woman.  She was sitting in the park just staring at some pigeons.  The boy sat down next to her and opened his suitcase.  He was about to take drink from his root beer when he noticed that the old lady looked  hungry.  So he offered her a Twinkie.  She gratefully accepted it and smiled at him.  Her smile was so pretty that the boy wanted to see it again, so he offered her a root beer.  Once again she smiled at  him.  The boy was delighted!  They sat there all afternoon eating and smiling, but they never said a word.

As it grew dark, the boy realized how tired he was, and  he got  up to leave; but before he had gone more than a few steps, he turned around, ran back to the old woman and gave her a hug.  She gave  him  her biggest smile ever.  When the boy opened the door to his own house a short time later, his mother was surprised by the look of joy on his face.

She asked him, "What did you do today tat made you so happy?"

He replied, "I had lunch with God."  But before his mother could respond, he added, "You know what?  She's got the most beautiful smile I've ever seen!"

Meanwhile, the old woman, also radiant with joy, returned to her home.  Her son was stunned by the look of peace on her face; and he asked, "Mother, what did you do today that made you so happy?"

She replied, "I ate Twinkies in the park with God."  But, before her son responded, she added, "You know, he's much younger than I expected."

In 2 Peter 1:12-15, he writes:  "So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have.  I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body, because I know that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me.  And I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things."

As we invite those who need to know our Savior, know that a smile, a hug, a shared meal and a timely visit can go a long way to testify to the reality of His Resurrection. 

He is Risen!  He Is Risen Indeed!

Hi everyone! What an incredible month March has been! We praise God for the spiritual impact as we attended the Evangelism Conference held at Kaumana Drive Baptist Church earlier this month. The Hawaii Pacific Baptist Convention and our Big Island Baptist Association hosted this event. Mahalos to Michael “Bong” Abagon and David Whitehead for their leadership! We joined fellow brothers and sisters in Christ from eight of our BIBA churches and missions. We were led in worship by the worship teams of Kaumana Drive and our very own KIBACH Praise Band.

Wally Dyer said that he was totally amazed to see how many great musicians from our fellowship that God has raised up to express their devotion through their musical gifts. And although we miss those whom God has reassigned to seminary, bible school and other mission assignments, God has indeed richly blessed us with very talented and capable musicians to presently lead in worship and witness every Sunday! We say Amen and Amen with you, Wally! We also were treated to great teaching and great food—typical Baptists who enjoy feeding our stomachs!

The keynote speaker Gary Hollingsworth from the North American Mission Board shared Psalm 126:5-6 “Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy. He who goes out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy carrying sheaves with him.” He took just forty minutes to present the four imperatives: Go! Sow! Weep! Reap! It has taken me the past four Sundays to unpack his message. Instead of shouting to the outside world “You all get in here, you sinners!” We need to go outside these “safe” walls and share the light and life of Jesus.

This Sunday is Palm Sunday with the Zachary Suffern’s baptism. The Lord’s Supper will be moved from April 1, to April 15. Then we celebrate Easter Sunday with our Joint Service @9AM followed by a special presentation of the Possess the Land-Room to Dream, refreshments and traditional Children’s Easter Egg Hunt. Remember to sign up for our One Month to Live small group bible study campaign that will begin the following Sunday, April 15 and end on Sunday, May 20. Gail Inamine will be preaching the first two Sundays and I will be preaching the last two Sundays of the campaign but prayerfully invite those who may be looking to make some positive changes in their lifestyle to enjoy the best life that God makes available.

When we get serious about following Jesus, what an incredible journey He takes us on! Have a great week! Pastor Daniel

The Greatness of God

February 7, 2012 Hi everyone!
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.” Ephesians 6:10-20

Recently, a church member approached me following one of our services and asked a question: “Pastor, do Baptists not talk about the devil? I don’t recall in any of your messages where you talk about the devil! Is there a particular reason why this subject is not talked about?” I tried to answer the question as honestly as I could and said: “I am not sure why other Baptist churches and their pastors do not speak much about the devil but I believe that it is due to personal preference. For me, to the contrary, I do talk about the devil fairly often, calling him by the names in the Bible as “the enemy of our souls”, “Satan”, “ the evil one”, the “accuser”, the “thief that comes to steal, kill and destroy, the father of lies”. BUT I make a conscious effort not to give him center stage and prominence in any of my messages. The Bible is quite clear when it says that “the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” (1 John 4:4) Christ in us gives us the authority and the power to overcome the evil one. I choose not to give Satan any more attention than necessary. I believe that God alone is Creator and the devil is like us in that we are created beings, lesser than God. That is why we call God Almighty! James 4:7 reminds us that our focus instead is to be on God. “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

If we keep our focus on God, then He gives us all that we need to resist the “flaming arrows” of the evil one and we will then enjoy the fullest life possible! Live life to the full, Kinoole! Fix your eyes fully on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith and stand fast! Stand firm on His Word and pray. And thank you for praying for Gail and me and our families! We are indeed blessed to have your prayer support! Pastor Daniel

A Belated Happy New Year Greeting!

Hello everyone! Sorry this is already twelve days late but maybe the saying "Better late than never!" applies here! This comes with a New Year's prayer, from the Apostle Paul's letter to the Ephesian church in chapter 1:15-20 For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know Him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and His incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength,20 which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms. . . the Apostle Peter caugtht this thought when he wrote his letter to the saints in 2 Peter 1:3-4 "His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires." God makes His power available for life and godly living but we cannot go with God and remain the same as we are. As we begin this new year, remember what Jesus said to the Apostle John in Revelation 2 to give to the church of Ephesus: "Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love.5 Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place." May 2012 be the best year ever as we return to our first love, to love the Lord our God with all our hearts, soul, mind and strength! Amen? Let's get to work! See you this Sunday! Pastor Daniel

Emmanuel: God Is With Us!

Hi everyone! Possess the Land: Room to Dream is now officially a reality! With the wonderful memories of the Celebration Event still fresh in our minds, with the Thanksgiving season reminding us to be thankful for God's abundance and with the Christmas season upon us pointing us to the Reason for the Season Is Jesus! God has surely blessed Karen and me! On the last night before my 90-year old mother left to return to Maui, she prayed to receive the Lord and accept God's offer of salvation and eternal life(heaven). For over 50 years, ever since my sister came to faith in Christ as a freshman in high school, many people has prayed for the salvation of her family, especially Mom and Dad. God has been faithful to answer these prayers! Great is His faithfulness! God has reminded us that acquiring the next door property is not about land but expanding His influence here in Hilo. He wants every person in Hilo to come to a saving knowledge of His Son! Everywhere the church is: in our homes, in our neighborhoods, in our work places and places of recreation and activity, He is inviting us to be the salt and light for those we know to come to know Him. In Jesus' priestly prayer(John 17:3), Jesus prayed: "Now this is eternal life; that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ , whom you have sent." 1815 Kinoole Street is where the church gathers each week and where He scatters us to be His witnesses to those being saved and to those perishing. Now He has entrusted us with expanding our gathering place to include an additional acre in one of the busiest and most trafficked intersections in all of Hilo. Why? Because He wants "every knee bowed and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Philippians 2:10-11) This is our time to trust God to do the impossible! I remember my pastor once saying: "If God can perform the greatest miracle in our lives by making our hearts tender toward Him, every other thing that we may consider impossible IS POSSIBLE WITH GOD! He is looking for a people who will trust and obey! Are we ready? Do we want to see God do the impossible? Let's join God as He does the impossible, shall we? Exploring God's riches of God together, Pastor Daniel

Happy 65th Anniversary Kinoole Baptist Church!

Hi everyone! What an incredible Celebration Event! Lauryn really outdid herself in the decorations, simple but really elegant! And the Possess the Land: Room to Dream banner was striking! Food selection great, portions generous and tasty! And thank you ladies for the wonderful desserts(I especially enjoyed the mochi and the chi chi dango!) The assorted delicacies was worth braving the rainy conditions! Over 75 people in attendance, including children AND 49 families making commitments to give above their regular giving for the next 3 years. What a great display of trusting God! Ken's and Lauren's giving testimonies were impactful! Please pray for God's leadership and protection! Have a great thanksgiving this week with family and friends! We love you all! Pastor Daniel and Karen

Keep It Up! Don't Quit Now!

Hi everyone! I trust that this blog finds you well and that you are looking to Jesus for your help! In our bible study this week, we were reminded in Romans 14:12 "So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God." Because God is owner, we are managers or stewards. Everything belongs to God and one day, He will call us to account for our:

Use of Words: Matthew 12:36-37 But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”

Use of Spiritual Gifts 1 Peter 4:10 "Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms."

Use of Possessions Luke 16:1-2 "Jesus told his disciples: “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. So he called him in and asked him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer."

In the movie Spiderman, Peter Parker is reminded by his Uncle Ben: "Remember Peter, with great privilege comes great responsibility!" Similarly, we have been privileged to serve the Master of the Universe, our Lord Jesus to represent Him before an unbelieving Hilo. But with this privilege also comes responsibility to be faithful, to walk the talk, to be the bibles that people will read this week and see the love of Jesus. May God help us, His church here at Kinoole, to be faithful to the call! Have a great week!
one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.
We are responsible to God to be good managers of our Possessions. (Luke 16:1-2) Jesus told his disciples: “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. So he called him in and asked him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.’

We Can’t Do This In Our Own Strength! Because when we do, we will fail: Jesus said “Apart from Me You can do nothing.”