hope has arrived, there is victory! our God glorified!

Tonight I was feeling the most overwhelmed I have felt during this whole internship. We had a great fireside chat with John Tilton, and he talked about seizing opportunities. I thought that was awesome and inspiring, and I would be gung-ho about doing the things that are before me, and see them as opportunities that will affect my future. Then I was reminded that I had a paper due tonight and a blog to finish. On top of those, I have a Bible study that I am leading tomorrow which I have been trying not to let overwhelm me! Add to that being away from home the longest I've ever been in my life and starting to feel homesick, and what do you get? EMOTIONAL. Haha.
I realized that Satan would try to bring me down as I am growing more and more, continually learning, and doing what God has asked of me. So I rebuked him in Jesus' name and asked God to fill me and empower me because I cannot do this on my own. I was comforted by several verses (some of which are part of my Bible study tomorrow).
#1. Philippians 4:13 - "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." (one of my life verses.)
#2. Nehemiah 8:10b - "...the joy of the Lord is your strength!"
#3 - Philippians 4:6-7 - "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." (another of my life verses.)
And so, with God's help, I resolved to do what I have to do, and God will enable me to do so. So I wrote my paper, then wrote this blog. When I was almost done with it, somehow the page got refreshed...and all was lost. I was very frustrated, and again rebuked the enemy. I eventually tried again, figuring I'd have to rewrite the whole thing. But then I remembered the autosave feature. And sure enough, there was my blog, waiting as a draft! Praise the Lord! :D

REMEMBER: we are in a spiritual battle.
Ephesians 6:12 - "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places."
Satan will try to bring us down, because God is using us and will continue to use us to advance the Kingdom. Satan doesn't like that. So he will do all that he can to try to stop us. But we have authority over the enemy.
Luke 10:19 - "Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you."
So let's walk in that authority, standing against the enemy, and continue to advance the Kingdom! Praise the Lord!

God’s Journey, not mine"

Saturday mornings devotions wrapped up my whole week of serving as a Legacy intern. In Phillipians 1:6, Paul talks about the good work that will be completed in our lives until Jesus returns. He is expressing that following Jesus is a long life journey until the day we meet Jesus in heaven. Along the journey there will be valleys and mountains but we should always keep our focus on Jesus, knowing that every step of the way we are getting closer to metting with Him. Paul continues writting in Philipians 1:18, that it doesn’t matter what people say about us, good or bad, the important thing is that Christ is being shared. It should never be about “me” or what’s best for “me” it is all about sharing Jesus. If we were to live by this mind set we can rejoice in the good and the bad, and like Paul says, we can continue to rejoice until we meet with the Father. This is what Legacy is all about! Refocusing on what really matters, Jesus. We are just instruments ,that by His grace, He is using. The first step of failure is thinking that it is about “us”, success is knowing that it is all about Him!

Leader's Toolbox Part 1: The Art of Delegation

del·e·gate: to assign responsibility or authority

As I'm experiencing ministry and serving in "real time," I am learning and seeing different skills that are essential for leaders to develop. The first skill that my Pastor/mentor(Pastor Brandon) was able to stretch me in was Delegation.

In the beginning, this was very uncomfortable and difficult for me. Hearing and receiving orders to do something from a higher authority? Easy for me. But receiving orders and delegating those to your peers and others to do them? Okay....

One example was this past Wednesday at the FUSE setup. Everything-the puzzles, the pieces, and the building blocks were all waiting in the foyer of the humble abode of New Hope Leeward (NHL).

They just needed to be assembled, like a LEGO project screaming for the satisfaction of being built.

Soooo.....Pastor Brandon told me certain responsibilities that needed to be done and asked me to delegate that to some of my peers. It was a new feeling, a new sense of perspective. For once, I was not just receiving orders to do myself: instead, I delegated and in turn gave out responsibilities for my peers to do.

At first my mind was racing...

What am I going to do?! How do I assign these tasks to people? Calm down, Zachary, calm down...what needs to be done? There, that person over there. Assign me that task...Wait, don't forget about that task also. Is this a good decision? Where should this be placed?

All these questions were racing in my mind in a split second. I was moving and running all over the place! But then, I had to just buckle down and take charge. I started thinking of the tasks that needed to be done and assigned them to people. People would come up to me and ask,

"Zach, where does this go?" or "Zach, is there anything else that needs to be setup?"

I enjoyed the rush and thrill of processing in my mind what tasks were done and assigning the ones that still needed to be done.

Now, I am not advocating a sense of individualism or superiority in leadership. However, I learned that as a leader, I need to be able to delegate or assign responsibilities to others to start on or finish. Because as a leader,

I can't do EVERYTHING on my own.

I must avoid gravitating towards that mentality,

"Ugh, it'll be faster and more efficient if I do it all by myself." or

"No, I want it done my way! I can handle everything--everything is okay! Leave me ALONE!"

But that is dangerous, as I can easily tire myself and burnout. Efficiency will not be at the maximum capacity, because there is no collective teamwork involved. A self-centralization (where one person is a dictator and does everything) is not as efficient as delegation of tasks (where a leader is assigning responsibilities to others and working together as a team).

Delegation is skill that I am still in the process of developing. But I think it is essential to the skills that a leader should develop in their toolbox.

What's in yours?

Prayer

Today for my devotions I read Philippians 2. It was something that I've read over and over before but today was different. Before I read, I prayed that God would just reveal something new to me that I've never caught before. I also asked Him to reveal it to me so clearly that I would know it wasn't me just formulating what I thought He was saying but something divine that the Holy Spirit revealed. I prayed that he would make it in my mind like it was in bold, all caps, underlined and italics... even if it just was one word. It wasn't one word, nor was it a verse, not was it a few verses... it was a whole chapter. Today I saw Philippians 2 in a whole new light. The biggest part was what he revealed about humility.
Philippians says that Christ emptied and humbled himself. Those words in Greek hold the meaning of being made worthless or without value and humiliated. He didn't just humble Himself as we think the word humbled means today. He literally made Himself nothing. Today we see humility as without pride. It is something that we do to avoid getting big headed or arrogant. Jesus saw it defined by just one word... OBEDIENCE. Verse 8 says, "He humbled himself by becoming obedient." To Jesus, humility wasn't doing His own will and then giving God the glory. Humility was the lifestyle of surrendering His will continually to the will of the Father. To Jesus, Obedience = Humility.
The hard part about this that God revealed is that without listening to His voice, I can never be obedient. And if I am not obedient then I cannot have humility. And if I do not have humility then I cannot "have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus" as Philippians 2:5 says. If I cannot devote time seeking out the voice of God and listening intently to what He says I ultimately cannot become like Christ.
Prayer can easily be considered one of the most neglected parts of my Christian walk but it is probably the most important. I need to be willing to spend time on my face before the Lord with no time limit and no distractions and seek His voice and His will. I need to distinguish the sound of His voice not just within the Scriptures but my daily life. That discernment only comes through the discipline of prayer. By praying I can hear and by hearing I can obey and by obeying I can be humble and by being humble I can have "the attitude which was in Christ Jesus"

Sunday at Manoa

Today was my very first week at New Hope Manoa as an intern. Me and Elaine helped with the youth ministry. I have been going to Manoa's youth service for 3 years now and to see where it has come from and where God has placed us now is a blessing to me. Because we have such a small church, there are only about 15-20 students that attend, from the ages of 10 to 17. It has been a great pleasure, and joy for me serving with the Manoa Youth Group. I believe in this season, God has called this ministry to take a step further into faith. Recently, I observed that the youth at Manoa are not connected with the leaders and each other, therefore most students would leave after a while. With the wisdom from the character classes and ministry skill classes, Elaine and I were able to spot out different areas that could have been improved and also things that God has blessed OGM (One Generation Manoa) with. One thing that we did today (which we havent done in a while) was small groups. Elaine and I agreed that there needed to be a time where they all can connect with one another in creating relationships and keeping each other accountable in their daily lives. There was major fruit that came out of today's service, and the fellowship was amazing. Kids were able to be very transparent with one another and really become a (big C) Church community.

New Hope Manoa

Today was my first whole day at New Hope Manoa and it was phenomenal! It's a small church with a big heart and very family oriented. The heart and passion that this church has for God amazes me and it uplifts my soul to do greater things for the kingdom! As I was sitting inside service for worship, the one song that I haven't sang in a long time, entitled, "(He's real) All the power you need" was the one song that really invigorated me, it refreshed my spirit and reminded me that "MY GOD CAN NEVER FAIL!!!" and all I gotta do is TRUST HIM because he is a God that is all powerful and anything is POSSIBLE through Him ALONE!!



All the power you need - Hillsong

My God can never fail
He's been proved time and again
Trust Him you'll see
He's got all the power you need

He's never early, never late
It takes courage and it takes faith
Trust Him you'll see
He's go all the power you need

He saves, forgives and heals
Takes back what the devil steals
My debt's been paid in full
And every day He does miracles

I got dreams turn them into plans
Too big for human hands
Trust Him you'll see
He's got all the power you need

He's real, He's real
Faith's a lot stronger
Than what you feel
He's real, He's real
I'm believing for miracles

Trust Him you'll see
He's got all the power you need

All the power you need



I must say that LEGACY was one of the best decisions I have made not only because I'm getting paid, but because I am strengthen my relationship with the Lord, figure out what my gifts and callings are, understanding why things happen, and having the opportunity to build relationships with the interns as well as the leaders and pastors! God never cease to amaze me :)

"PURE WORDS"

Today Pastor Rod Shimabukuro was preaching at New Hope Sand Island and Joaquim and I had the opportunity to be with him. That was very good!!

He was teaching us about “pure words” and what I really like that he said is

Love in, love out;

Jesus in, Jesus out;

TV in, TV out;

Music in, music out.

So, when we fill our hearts with bad things our mouth will pronounce bad things, when we fill our heart with good things our mouth will  pronounce good things, things that will encourage people. I am christian for a long time and sometimes I forget the little things that make a lot of difference in my life. I am glad that the Holy Spirit reminded about this today.

"29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you."

Ephesians 4

Obrigada :] 

shadowing.

This weekend I got the full experience of New Hope Honolulu. The impressive schedule of five services may have seemed monotonous at first (like, what in the world will I be doing over and over again for five of the same service?), but it definitely was not.
I arrived at 12:30 PM on Saturday for band rehearsal, because I was shadowing keys. For the 5 o'clock service, I shadowed backstage, with a nifty headset and everything! I got to observe the goings-on behind the scenes: making sure people were on standby, getting the right people out at the right times, keeping track of microphones. A lot of work and responsibility! Next service, I shadowed the producer, which I also did last week.
Sunday morning, 7 o'clock service, I handed out bulletins, then sat in on the message. Next service, I sat in on the whole service, on the other side of the auditorium. (different perspective :] ) For the last service, I once again shadowed producing. As you can tell, I am interested in the producing aspect. ;) I definitely I want to do it sometimes in our student-led chapels at school next year! Each time I shadowed, it was a different producer, and it was cool to see different people's styles. It was very interesting to see the same service from different perspectives, and the different behind-the-scenes work that goes into a service. It was also awesome to be able to talk to the different people I was shadowing or working with, and see and hear the heart of New Hope. :)

I was so nervous...

I had the opportunity to share my testimony at New Hope Sand Island Service this morning (June 12th) about what God has taught in the last couple weeks. Pastor Rod preached about "Pure Words". Following my written testimony and the video. I shared in both services 9 am and 11 am.

My beautiful wife Amanda filmed the first one. Also, in the second service during the worship "the simplest of all love songs I want to bring to You, So I'll let my words be few Jesus I am so in love with You". I prayed with all my heart that I want to share my testimony even better because I have some problems w/ my English...hehe... An then, it was rock because the Holy Spirit gives the right sentences with PURE WORDS!!!!!!

_____TESTIMONY_______________

Words are very important for me and I know to use them a little bit. However, I was not using wisely in my marriage and Im not talk bad or offensive words but Im talk about the way that I had used my "right" words to communicate with my wife.

Sometimes, I pushed her so hard to accomplish some goals because my wife is a very gifted woman and I wanted her to use her gifts to improve her life and fulfill her dreams.

Unfortunately, my words were not nice, wise, and pure and my words had hurt her so bad. Also, I didn't know about her pain because for me I was encouraging her but I was not.

Im so thankful to the Holy Spirit because a pastor's testimony had touched me so deep and I realized that I have hurt my wife with my words. So, I have worked to change my character and the way that I use my words to communicate with my wife also become a Godly husband.

Fortunately, I have learned that my words should be used in a pure way to my wife, which means love because I love my wife so much.

__________________________

myREVELATION

-myREVELATION-

• I have been living a life which has been defined by others.
• I have been seeking approval as a way to define who I am.
• I spent my entire life seeking out "Me," but my searching has lead me to all wrong places...

Answer to my problem: I need to seek out the character of JESUS!

-"God created us to not know who we are unless we know Him. Our purpose in life is to not know who we are, our purpose is to know who God is!" -Pastor Aaron Nunez

God is moving in my life and I want to grow in a purposeful one. I need to serve HIM I need to seek out HIS character in order to find my identity! My 23 year journey in finding out who I am continues... but I am finally heading in the right direction. ---> GOD!

Effects & Convictions from the LORD.

I am Samoan. Its my identity, I thought for a long time. But in my ministry class, I learned that my identity is found in Christ. I had my week of interning. My group were able to sit in on Thrive's 10am service. The Pastor was talking about spanking his sons. Relating it to how God would discipline the ones He loves (Deut. 8:5). One of this Pastor's son looked him in his eyes and told him to hit him. Why? because this son knew his father's heart. That is when God spoke to my heart and asked me, if I forgave my parents for when they beat me up because of correction being 25% and the rest to release anger. Wow. I started crying. He is breaking me to pieces, to the point where I can't glue them together. Being Samoan is what He created me to be. Breaking the norm of abuse, unforgiveness and anger He is still scrubbing my heart. I will continue to let Him. Samoans have a motto: Mua Mua Le Atua! meaning God First! I know I am willing to let Him be first to move and take control in my life. Then use me as a tool, in my culture. I am not defeated by my past or culture. I am God's child and that's my identity. I am not defined to what culture I am or where I am from. He is effecting me greatly. I accept His discipline.

Firesite Chat with Pastor Lwin

Thursday night was a great firesite chat, we got to hear and see Pastor Elwin open his heart to us. He talked about his testimony and how he started his walk with the Lord, his struggles and how he dealt with them during the way. As Pastor Elwin was speaking to us about how he took a huge leap of faith  and when he felt the Lord was calling him to serve full time in ministry, I felt God was giving me words of conformation once again in my life. God spoke the same words , four months ago when I lived in California about faith and trusting God. I took a big leap of faith when I heard God calling me to Hawaii. I left a good job, family and many more things that had become my comfort zone. Faith is walking without seeing where your going but trusting you will get there with God’s help. Lord, my life is all in your hands let me live a life that glorifies you.

Boot Camp

Boot Camp on the beach this am, has caused my muscles to ache this afternoon. This suffering on the body pain reminds me that my muscules are growing and growth is most often painful. I can relate this physical pain and growth to my spirituial growth also. Growing physically involves prayer, devo's, reading, confession, repentance...this spirituial growth often is painful. The death of ones flesh and earthy dreams and desires hurts, yet it proves spirituial growth. Boot camp is not for those who are seeking a lifestyle if rest and relazation, it is for those who want to grow even when it hurts.
Blessings Leslie

Conditioning our hearts and health - Proud of you all!

To all of you warrior interns!

I'm so proud of you all - waking up early, doing whatever it takes to be on time, put on Christ heart and attitude...even for our Boot Camp workout with Egan Inoue! Hey - that's ministry to right! Putting on Christ for the sake of our health so that we may honor, love and serve Him with good conditioning, energy, health!

Don't forget - your spirit, soul and health is a ministry!! If we don't prioritize our spiritual and physical conditioning and health - how can we effectively honor and serve Jesus and others!

Let's get in shape - stay in shape... in heart and health!

...so Proud of You ALL!!

love,

Rod

Foxes

This past week, I have been seeing ugly character issues that make me feel disgusted, and make me want to know what freedom from them feels like.

passivity - I avoid addressing things - I'm scared of conflict 

submission - It's not easy for me to surrender when, in my opinion, leadership is out of order. 

laziness - my actions are more driven out of how I feel, selfishly instead of what I know I should do. 

image-focused - I realized in my devotion time last night that I have a lot of obstacles to get past before I can really open up into a genuine time with God - the main one being that I am concerned with how I am being outwardly perceived. It's probably the biggest hindrance in my life. I understand that I'm placing my significance in things other than God. I know that my life is to be surrendered for the Kingdom and that it involves me getting nothing out of the deal in this life,  but just knowing that doesn't make it transition into my heart and being actually walking out of that. 

So how do I change these things?

I don't know, but I know that I am going to sit amongst these things. They are undoubtedly in me. My heart is experiencing all of these things. I feel restricted by self-image, and self-satisfaction more than I feel freed by Christ's accomplishment to love joyfully.

Sunday Sunday Sunday!!!

So Sunday was my first taste of what it was like to be apart of full time ministry. I have been involved in bits and pieces of the Sunday logistics but never have I been involved in Sunday ministry as a whole, working full time. This new experience was unlike anything I have ever been a part of before. It was draining and filling all at the same time.
First was waking up at 4am, which was an work in itself. Then between setting up, helping out with the fundraisers, setting up for the meeting, running errands, and meeting with a friend and a debriefing and planning meeting in the afternoon; it was an exhausting day. Yet somehow I felt refreshed. It was a different kind of exhaustion that I ever felt before. It wasn't that my muscles were sore or strained. It wasn't that my eyes were tired or heavy. It wasn't that my brain wouldn't function anymore. It was a content tired. I felt filled and renewed despite my exhaustion and it almost seemed as if the reward for it was worth doing it all over again if I had to. It was a weird revelation that happened on Sunday. It was almost another confirmation that this is what God has called me to do...

Team Time

What happens when you put 14 Christian Legacy members in a room and give them a project? Team, passion, gifting, planning, and purpose to name a few outcomes. Please keep Saturday July, 23rd open for brunch with a mixture of all the above named ingredients. Thanks Julies and TJ for sharing your time and wisdom with us today....Blessings Leslie

Leeward Experience

Firesite chat with Pastor Mike & Family

 Tonight we had a wonderful experience at the fire site chat with Pastor Mike and his wonderful wife. We had a great fellowship, we talked story and had Q&A time. Something that I learned tonight from the chat is how when we are in the ministry we have to balance our time with our family. And many times I forget to balance my time with my husband. I get so caught up in the works that I need to do for church I tend to forget to just spend some quality time with my husband. I can’t imagine my ministry without my husband. As I continue learning about ministry, I pray to the Lord to help me in this area of my life so that I can balance my time with my family.

Identity

For many years, i found my identity in things and people.Through yesterday's session, God has revealed that my identity was created to be based on HIM because HE is unchangeable, whereas all the things and people i do base my identity on are very much changeable. I dealt with insecurity, and finding my identity in christ, yet I strongly have a passion for serving in ministry. I know that this isn't going to mesh at all, it is important for me to truly know who i am before i get into serving other people and God. If I dont know who i am and still serve, i will find my identity in ministry. As an outcome, I will start seeking others for security and significance. When God strips me away from the ministry, I see no worth or significance in myself and life in general.


Yesterday during devotional time, I was thinking about what I would do if God was to take hula away from me. Hula is all i know how to do well, and if I suddenly didn't have it anymore then I wouldn't know what to do. It came to my realization that hula has become who I am, and if that was gone then there would be no "ME". All the years that I have been dancing hula I didn't become concious of all the pride that it brought, even if I intentionally had a heart to bless the people I was satisfied by the compliments that I recieved from them. By knowing and seeking God's face i can now say that Hula is still a very strong passion of mine, yet I know that it isn't who I am. By seeking God's face, and growing in my relationship with Him, I am able to better know my own true identity, the identity that God has made me to be.

Week 2 - More death to come!

It's not ministry that's draining, it's the pouring out and giving of our energy into other's lives. It can also be the inner work of God's Spirit that is challenging us, even conflicting with our inner man. As God confronts our flawed character, while our hearts desire transformation, the inner battles can be wearing on us. There are times when God is working deeply in me, I become irritable and impatient. It's as if my flesh or sin nature is being confronted and I can resist, fight against or even neglect the inner working of the Holy Spirit.

Verses 14-15 makes sense, when you read the first 13 verses in Philippians 2. It's hard not to grumble when we are discipling our flesh to yield to Paul's exhortation in Phil. 2:1-13

Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe - Phil 2:14-15

So interns, leaders, pastors - you want to shine for Jesus? Become blameless and pure? Don't whine and complain, as the Lord calls us to live the life of death to ourselves. Let the inner battles continue - the call to death to self is very real - very draining - very rewarding!

And we are only in week 2!!!! More death to come! Cheeeehooooo!

What is my ministry?

"Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her" (Ephesians 5:25 - NIV).

I have learned so much through LEGACY about character and not just a good character but a GODLY character. As a result, a healthy ministry can be developed. So, what is mine ministry? "My ministry is my wife" (Legacy Pastor).

I had realized that I have not acted with a Godly character in my marriage like as, Jesus Christ loved the church and I will apply all my efforts to fix that and be a GODLY HUSBAND to my wife and then I may become a pastor.

JESUS IS THE BEST everything is from, through and to HIM (Holy Bible).

Forgotten foundation

These lyrics really stuck out to me this morning:


When the walls close in around me
Let Your glory light the darkness of my night
When the suffering's all that I see
May I walk with You by faith and not by sight

Amidst a season of the Lord saving me from a 'me-and-my-works' based understanding of serving Him, working me down instead of up, simple instead of complex:


I realized how wrongly I've been approaching desert times with God. 
Somewhere along the way I've began to develop this horrible misunderstanding that says since I am growing and now know more about walking with the Lord, I've lost my rookie card, and can't use the "I have no idea what's going on God, but I need you." I missed the Truth that says I don't have to diagnose all of my spiritual problems and prescribe remedies to them, I can forever cry, "Lord I'm sinking, I have no idea what's going on, save me! Let your Glory light the darkness of my night!" 


Praise Him for being the most incredible teacher ever; revealing to us where we're missing it, and blessing childlike desperation!
I love you FATHER!

At New Hope at Ferrington this weekend, God's word was delivered about family. The importance of quality family time together is something that is being lost in this next generation. It was interesting to find out how important family dinner times are. Regular family dinner times help kids achieve higher academically and decrease the risk of drug or alcohol use, and early sexual behavior. It was very interesting to hear all this, and it will be very helpful to use when thinking about raising a family. We also learned the importance of leading by example, doing daily devotions and making the right decisions to show the next generation how to live fully for God. It was a great service at Ferrington, and I'll be looking forward to the next!

"Somewhere in the meddle You will find me"

Hi!

I went to the New Hope Leewad and I didn’t expect to be so touched for God in the whole service.

It all started with a great and very fun worship that end with this song that makes me cry so much in the arms of my Lord.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGnJq-av6TY&feature=related

After this song Pastor Mike Lwin started to talk about “Somewere in the middle you will find me” and then I realize that I was…in the middle! O NOOO! What am I doing there? God wants us to be in the center of the relationship with Him and NOT in the middle. And guess what?? God whants to give us directions but… who reads directions? We almost never pay attention untill something happen, same thing came from God. There is some parts of my life that I was in the middle but I am given those parts for God then He will find me in the middle and lead me to the center of His heart. 

Pastor Mike & Lynn

What a great night of food, fellowship and faith building. Thanks so much for all who are pouring into my life. Thanks Pastor Mike and Lynn you are special. Blessings Leslie

A look Inside New Hope Leeward

Yesturday, Sunday morning, we had the opportunity to look at how New Hope Leeward operates. It was a great opportunity to see how a successful church runs and the amount of effort and teamwork that it takes in each service. The atmosphere of the church was inviting, friendly, warn and very family oriented. We attended the service and I was blown away! Worship was so refreshing, it prepared me for Pastor Mikes message. My biggest take back from this opportunity was seeing the excitement in each Pastor as they shared about their church, New Hope Leeward. It felt that they were so grateful and humble to be part of what God is doing at their church. Even though New Hope Leeward has 5 services with a average of about 600-800 people in each service they are still looking forward and expanding the vision that God has given them. We must never limit God, because if we do we can miss out on amazing blessings He has prepared.

HE>ART

GOD is GOOD! This past Thursday I kind of grasped how God works...kinda :)...What I've seen is that through others He shines light and from the last FireSide-Chat, my eyes were open to beauty of His arts. I've always had trouble seeing the ministries in art and me loving all forms I personally have the hardest time giving it back to God. But thanks to Aunty Gayle I've learned that the ART is all about the HEART. I always thought the only way I could give my art to God was only by creating a piece of flawlessness, but God doesn't want our physically appearance, He wants our heart. Giving my heart by worshiping while I paint or sculpt means so much more to God then me always just trying to impress Him. God gave me gifts to produce thing, I just need to rely on Him. "I NEED TO RELY ONLY ON HIM!" (picture: Aunty Gayle with her beautiful smile and hula, expressing God's gift, she showed me another form of worship...IT WAS SUCH A BLESSING!)

WEEK 1

So this first week of LEGACY was THE BOMB!!! I am beyond blessed by what this internship has to offer. The one question that always pops up in my mind is, "what internship gets paid???" I reflected upon this whole week and it's a blessing to see how much God has been working within each and every one of us. The leaders and pastors as well has blessed me by pouring out their wisdom and knowledge into us so that we soak it all in and live out the KINGDOM reality!

So this picture to the left represents how God placed me here in Legacy with these AMAZING (name tags) people! No matter what battle I come up against, these people will be there for me to persevere and fight through it. The Lord has been so good to me and there's no words that can express how amazing this program has helped me understand deeper meanings of why things happen (in the Bible as well) and how I should live my life.

so happy together :)

I have been here in Hawaii for a little over a week now (time is flying by! :( These eight weeks will be over before we know it...ok let's not think about that now) and so far it's been great! I have eaten a lot of great food, made so many new friends, and God has been working like crazy! But one thing that really amazes me is how close we interns have gotten. Yes, quite a few of you I knew already, but I have grown so much closer to you since this internship started. And those of you I met for the first time here, I feel like we've known each other forever! There is such a great bond in our group! And it's barely been over a week! I love how God brought us together! And I love how we can challenge, encourage and keep each other accountable as we grow together. I am so looking forward to to see what He does with us in the next seven weeks!

"As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend." - Proverbs 27:17 (NKJV)

Perspective Changed

Yesterday (6/5/11) it was my first New Hope Oahu services behind the scenes. We went on a tour, and in my mind I was thinking, "Oh I know about this auditorium." When we started, it was alright. I learned "the lay of the land" it was about the front lawn and how many different things are happening outside. But then we went to the "cat walk" and wow that amazed and frighted me because it seemed I was on a cool secret mission (for God that is.) Now I am very blessed to be with Pastor Justin at Farrington because evangelistic (I think he is this one) is every different for me. I am being stretched physically (coperate work out) and minstry wise because we shadowed producing. That is the reason for the picture. My group was on campus from 1-9pm and we seen the run through of the service. Then we sat up front for the 5pm service and it was so great. Then 7pm, we were thinking where to go and we went with Pastor Justin to the top of the auditorium. It was amazing to see the service from another perspective! But what amazed me was meeting Donovan. He is 15 years old and attending Punahou and he is doing this tech things! The next part blessed my heart; during the worship I glimpsed to the left and I seen him worshiping with a hand raised. I seriously was sore all over, but when I seen Donovan be true to God, he gave me a "Holy Boost" with everything I do. I was simply blessed by my first saturday services.

Let's beat Procrastination!

Hello Team Legacy,

Just a short, challenging, thought-provoking excerpt from John...

http://www.theenhancelife.com/2008/03/six-sources-of-procrastination.html

The sluggard craves and gets nothing, but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied. Proverbs 13:4

overcoming by Jesus grace,

Rod

Community

One of the things that is required for this internship is that we workout three times a week, two on our own initiative and one as a group. I've lifted weights ever since high school so I was pretty confident that this workout would be fairly easy for me and would be more of a time to spend with my fellow interns versus getting a workout. I couldn't have been more wrong. The warm-up part of the workout was pretty mild. It got my heart beating a little bit but nothing too difficult. After that we moved into a four workout circuit which didn't sound so bad when it was being explained, but, man did it test my endurance and my perseverance. Several times during that circuit, I thought about quitting and giving up. However, looking around and seeing all my other interns struggling yet still persevering gave me hope. It made me realize that I wasn't alone and that we were all in this as a team, struggling yet persevering together. Throughout this internship, I know that I know that I know that there will be times that things will get hard, my plate will be full, and that my time will be pressed; however, I am not alone. My fellow interns will be going through the exact same thing. I am not one man by himself going through this internship alone. I am apart of a team and through we might be struggling, we are in it as a team and we are able to feed off of each other and persevere together. I'm so happy that I am not alone in this but am able to encourage other as they encourage me and persevere through these tough times together as a community known as Legacy.

Applying Our Heart to God’s Knowledge

“ Incline your ear and hear the words of the wise, and apply you heart to my knowledge. For it is pleasant thing if you keep them within you; Let them all be fixed upon your lips, so that you trust may be in the Lord.” Proverbs 22:17-18

This is my reflection on Tuesdays devotions from Proverbs. There are so many wise men & women with a powerful Holy Spirit led message. Scripture tells us to open our ears to them, to learn and receive their message. As we all know, there is also many wise men & women with a distorted ungodly message! As followers of Christ we need to discern which is a God given message, but how do we do this? How can we discern? How do we know? Proverbs teaches how. It tells us to open our ears to these wise men but apply our hearts to God’s knowledge. The word apply can be defined as: to bring into nearness or contact with something. We must always stay near the Lord, we must at all times live in a constant contact with the Lord. This is how we know which is a Godly message. As we grow, continue learning, we must be careful not to miss this principle. It reminds me of Proverbs 9:10 “ The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” True wisdom comes from fearing God and coming in contact with Him first. Many people will be deceived, not because of a distorted message (that will be the final blow) but being deceived really starts when we stop being in constant contact with the Lord. When we stop applying our hearts to God’s knowledge we start moving into a broad road of deception!

In this season of growth in my life, I must be constantly reminded that a constant contact with the Lord is the key to a successful ministry. As much as there are great books and speakers to learn from I must never stop learning from God’s word first. I must never replace God or His word with anything or anyone!

Legacy

LEGACY New Hope 2011 LIVING OUT YOUR LEGACY TODAY!





Proverbs 3: 5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding


1 John 4:7
Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.
Acts 10:36
You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, announcing the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.



Romans 14:11
… ‘every knee will bow before me; every tongue will acknowledge God.’

1 Corinthians 13: 7, Love… It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres.

Revelation 22:20
He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.


L Lean on the Lord.
E Every knee will bow and confess Christ.
G God loves us we love Him and others.
A Always walk in love, even when it is hard.
C Christ is Lord of all.
Y Jesus is coming.

be

A big hope I had coming here was that God would give me more direction (mainly vocationally). That he would allow me to taste what walking in the the rhythm of gifts for Kingdom is like. I don't know how I will be able to tell, but I know that I'm not doing it yet. I feel like I'm wasting my time. There's this kid walking around in the mall right now with his pajama's on, drinking a beer (it's 3pm). Sometimes, I fall into feeling like that with God. "Lord I'm doing nothing for you, I'm wasting my life." Finding the line between being and doing is hard. I know and see God doing an awesome work inside of me and I know that he's really transforming me, but I seem to constantly have this weight hanging over me saying I need to find IT (the good works that He prepared in advance for me to do). 

That's the heart I brought over. 

All the other interns seem to have their IT at least somewhat clear to them. "God's called me to be a pastor," "I feel called to worship arts, counseling, youth ministry..."

I tried to explain it to pastor Rod when he asked me "So what's your plan?" That's my least favorite question right now. 

He could tell that I was confused and searching and so something that he told me was that God's not ambiguous about things like that. He's not out to confuse us. If we're in it for Him and are willing to be obedient to Him at all costs. Even when He says, "Billy, I want you to go live in a tent in the muggiest, hottest, poorest country in the world and start an excrement refinery - single." 
God is not opposed to revealing to us what He's up to if our heart is right and ready.  


So I've come to start thinking that He might not share it with me as "Billy, I want you to be a plumber, or a teacher, or a pastor, or a professor." I need to be ok with that. I need to come to a place of not only being able to say with my head but also with a deep contentment in my heart, "God, I would love it equally to clean the bathrooms at McDonalds for the rest of my life, or be a teacher. What are place, pay, coworkers, and reputation compared to knowing You? 


I'm not there. But I want desperately to be. 

God or Man?

I have been in prayer on the upcoming event Legacy interns are responsible. I feel as this is from God but pray about it and see if you agree with this.
Isaiah 1:10-17
New Living Translation (NLT)
10 Listen to the LORD, you leaders of “Sodom.”
Listen to the law of our God, people of “Gomorrah.”
11 “What makes you think I want all your sacrifices?”
says the LORD.
“I am sick of your burnt offerings of rams
and the fat of fattened cattle.
I get no pleasure from the blood
of bulls and lambs and goats.
12 When you come to worship me,
who asked you to parade through my courts with all your ceremony?
13 Stop bringing me your meaningless gifts;
the incense of your offerings disgusts me!
As for your celebrations of the new moon and the Sabbath
and your special days for fasting—
they are all sinful and false.
I want no more of your pious meetings.
14 I hate your new moon celebrations and your annual festivals.
They are a burden to me. I cannot stand them!
15 When you lift up your hands in prayer, I will not look.
Though you offer many prayers, I will not listen,
for your hands are covered with the blood of innocent victims.
16 Wash yourselves and be clean!
Get your sins out of my sight.
Give up your evil ways.
17 Learn to do good.
Seek justice.
Help the oppressed.
Defend the cause of orphans.
Fight for the rights of widows (NLT).
I was praying about legacy and all the hard work we will need to put in this project. I started thinking about feeding the homeless and the video and where we are headed. This may be from my own desires and flesh but I would like for you to please seek God and see if this resonates with you. We are the pilot group of interns from Legacy. I really feel we need to set the mark high and leave a legacy for those to come. If we feed 200 people tomorrow will anyone remember it next year? Even if we do a great video will it leave a legacy? I feel like God is saying whatever we do it needs to be something those bring glory to God. Something that everyone will know it was not by man but by God and God alone. I am not sure where God wants us to go, but I think it is much bigger than we thought. Love you all. Blessings Leslie

Romans 15:5,
5 May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, 6 so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ(NLT).

Growing up

“Train up a child in the way he should go, And even when he is old he will not depart from it.”

                                                                                                                                           Proverbs 22:6

DUSAN PETRICIC ILLUSTRATION FOR THE TORONTO STAR

Since Saturday I am learning to be thankful to have a family who taught me how to love Jesus. If this didn’t happen with me, I don’t know if I would be here in the Legacy today.

I just arrive here last Friday, look like a short time but God is doing miracles in my life already and moulding me. It just start! 

Obedience and Sacrifice

Today for my devotions I read through Romans 11 and it completely shook me. It was not some new theological revelation or ground-breaking Scriptural discovery... it was simply a call. It was a call to actually live out what I say I believe.

Romans 11:33-35 (NASB) says, "Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His counselor? Or who has first given to Him that it might be paid back to Him again?"

I have been a Christian for a while now and ever since I became a Christian I've understood that God is smarter than me and He knows better, so when I read this in my devotions, I thought, "Well of course You are wise and knowledgeable." But as I really began to meditate on it I realized that as much as I know it and proclaim to believe in it, I don't live my life as if I do. Belief is not just a mindset but rather a way of thinking that requires action. If I truly believe it, then people should see that I do by how I live my life, not by me saying that I believe in it.

In theory, it is so easy to say, "Yes God!! Of course I believe that You know better than I do," but when I apply it practically to my life and say, "Okay if I truly believe it then I'm going to obey Him when He tells me to do ______ when my heart wants to do _______. " I am currently in a situation now where God has called me to give up something. It is not a sin issue but it is something very close to my heart that can distract me from what God has for me in this season and in this internship. Now here's where the Word becomes alive and real. Am I going to hold on to this and disobey and not give what God has called me to give up for this season because I am prideful and I think I know what is best? Or am I going to trust in Him knowing that He foresees the future and actually live out my belief that His ways are unfathomable and His judgments unsearchable? Easy to say "Yes" in theory but oh so hard to follow practically.

God, I will obey and I will trust. I will trust that You know what is best. I will trust that You know better than me. I will trust that You have my best in mind. I lay down my pride and humbly accept Your plan for my life wherever it leads me.

All for the KOG (Kingdom of God)

"for if we live, we live for the LORD, or if we die, we die for the LORD; therefore whether we live or die, we are the LORD'S" (Romans 14:8)

Because I don't have my own bible, I have to use my dad's old bible, so every time I read devotions his notes and comments are on each side of the margins. This morning while reading devotions with two other interns, I had come across this scripture, Romans 14:8, that my dad had previously bracketed and wrote "LEGACY" in the left margin. After seeing this, I got kinda freaked out, yet at the same time amazed at how strong God's message was. He spoke to me and made clear that I must always remember that during this internship, EVERYTHING I do (whether it may be serving at fuse, writing papers, or typing blogs) must be for His glory. He continued to speak into my heart through my fellow interns and also the sessions that we have had today. After the devotionals and morning session, it was time to get down to business. I have never experience so much information all at once. It was honestly difficult for me to keep up with all the work that we had to do and stay on task. But because of His awesomeness, He pulled me straight back to this verse and reminded me how everything I do isn't for the people but for Him alone. PRAISE DA LORD!

Saturday: 5/28/2011

Saturday night of the retreat, I experienced something that I never thought I would express in front of people that I just met... I broke down and started to cry. As Pastor Rick went down on his hands and knees and took my right foot and began to wash it, something happened inside of me. It was almost like knots or butterflies but the feelings were not coming from my stomach, the feelings were bursting from my heart. God is working in my life, He is hitting me hard with conviction, but I am SO HAPPY! I am happy that He convicted me and I am stoked to know that this is only the beginning of my Legacy in glorifying Jesus Christ.

ADVANCE THE KINGDOM! Cheeee...

So today was absolutely AMAZING!!!! As I grow deeper pursuing God, my perspective in life starts to shift and everything seems to make sense. I was completely blown away by Pastor TJ's teaching today on a overview about D.E.S.I.G.N. and there were a whole lot of things that I've learned, but one thing I got out of it was our goal. Our goal in life is to ADVANCE THE KINGDOM! Everything I do should be all for the kingdom of God which includes the Great Commission, living out what we believe and many other things that follow that. It is US not I that God is speaking to. He wants us as the body of Christ to SERVE one another by building relationships and being relational.

There are many times when I freak out when God calls me to do things that I know I can't and don't feel like doing. The picture below shows how my facial expression looks like majority of the time God tells me something to do. I doubt myself in all circumstances and I didn't realize that I am doubting the power God has, to rule over my life... No matter what God tells me to do, I need to, in obedience, follow Him and sacrifice some things for the sake of the KINGDOM!

Kingdom of God

What a week!

It is such a privilege to be learning from such inspiring leaders of the New Hope community, and a true blessing to be sharing from the experience and wisdom of our mentors. In today's ministry class, the Legacy interns' minds were sharpened as we learned part of what we were designed to do here on earth. The Church is here to advance the Kingdom of God on earth, and to bring others to salvation so they can do the same. We also learned why it is important not to read the Bible with our own world view, but to hold on to the truths that are found in the rest of the scriptures. Character class on Wednesday was also very impacting, teaching us the difference between gifts and calling. This week week has been an amazing time of learning and growing, and I am excited to see what God is going to do in the next few weeks!

Fear Not

Jeremiah 1:5-8
"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations."

Then I said, "Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth."

But the LORD said to me, "Do not say, 'I am only a youth'; for to all to whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, declares the LORD." (ESV)

Fear is something that has been way too prevelant in my life. Fear of what people think of me. Fear of the unknown. Fear that God might call me to do something that I am incapable of doing. Feelings of inadequacy. And these fears always held me back.

I have been unable to be used to my full potential by God because I have been hindered by fear.

Pastor Justin gave me this verse that just spoke volumes to me. God knew me before I was born. He consecrated me. He told me not to be afraid.

And so I will not. I'm truly going to trust God in all things and allow Him to use me however He wants. He is with me to deliver me. It's a promise.

Character Classes

Today was a day full of knowlege, as we started our character class. This class was amazing! The Holy Spirit was revealing Himself in an amazing way. Many times we get so confused with our own idea of what ministry is to us. But ministry is totally somthing different from what I thought it was. According to Pastor Aaron ,ministry is ,"When the Holy Spirit moves". WOW!!! Somtimes you really have to take away your own ideas and let the Spirit of God take the lead. I am so excited about this class. Even though it's hard work and determination , I know God is going to mold us into the mature children of God He wants us to be.

Cracked Foundation

Today's class by Aaron Nunez was "different." When we started, the topic was Pastoral Care. Aaron told us that our time together would insist on critical thinking and ministry. We first listed down what the "ministry" was to us. We had a pretty decent list of ministry. Then Aaron wiped it off the board and wrote, "when the Holy Spirit moves." That alone, made me feel bare or stripped of all I knew. I always knew how ministry was portrayed, but wow this one was like a eye opener. Then we made a list on the word "Pastor." Again we had another long list. Then Aaron told us about gifts and callings. He told us about how people use those two words as if they have the same meaning. Then we discussed about what is a Pastor. Now, I am just taking this all in. Pastors are referred to as shepherds, and I discovered its not the physical appearance, rather the unconditional care they have for their "one missing sheep." In our ten-minute break, I realized my foundation had cracked and fell apart. Wow, it was hard for me to grasp what had just happened. It was hard because I wanted to be a Pastor, but after this first class I was cracked. But I had done devotion yesterday (05/31/11) and I had read Proverbs 17:3, "Fire tests the purity of silver and gold, but the Lord tests the heart." And today was when the Lord tested my heart, to see if I would still trust in Him about my calling in ministry. God is good and will help me prevail and continue to lead me. In His timing, He will give me an answer.

Steppin it UP!!!

This is my first week out of High School, and God has already forced me to STEP UP my game. So far, in the Legacy internship I have built strong relationships with my fellow interns and strengthen my personal walk with God dramatically. Being the youngest one on the team, I didn't know what to expect out of this internship. I was very scared and nervous because of my lack of experience. A couple weeks prior to Legacy, through devotions and hardcore prayer, God had made it clear that although I am young and inexperienced, He still had a purpose for me within the internship. Ever since the begining of Legacy, God has never ceased to fill me with wisdom, from the hearts of awesome men and women that are a part of this amazing program. I'm excited to see what God has for us in the upcoming weeks!

The "New Intern"

(Author's Note: My first day was yesterday (May 31) and I wrote it on that day, but "published" it after the midnight mark. I apologize for the confusion.)

Today was the start of a new day.

And the start of working at my assigned campus.

I admit, I was really nervous at first. But after cordial introductions, hugs, and many handshakes, I felt a little bit more comfortable.

(Photo Above: First day as the new intern? I hope not.)

Throughout the day, I was able to meet new people ,while learning how to do "office" work (I assure you, no slave-labor was enforced by my boss...yet).

I found it amazing that worship sessions and prayer times were done before staff meetings and at the beginning of the work day. It showed how the staff and Pastors wanted to really acknowledge the importance of putting God first--even in the mundane things.

I was reminded of putting God first, in my devotional reading today,

"Commit your work to the LORD, and your plans will be established."

--Proverbs 16:3

As I start into this new season of serving, learning, and being mentored, I want to make sure that I am committing everything to God. I must constantly pray,"I am doing this for You God and You get all the glory. I just ask that you help me, give me strength to finish, and establish it according to Your Will."

To all the staff, volunteers, and Pastors at New Hope Leeward(NHL), I look forward to getting to know you all and working with you guys for the next 8 weeks. Thanks for the AWESOME first day! ^_^