Rough Conditions

Count it all joy because He has given us all we need for life and godliness lacking no good thing! (James 1:2-4, 2 Peter 1:3, and Psalm 34:10) 

When I woke up today and looked outside, I saw rain clouds and heard the wind blowing. Immediately, I knew, today will not be perfect conditions for stand up paddling.  

Please allow me to explain, I really like glassy conditions. Glassy conditions are peaceful. Rough conditions…not so much.

I really wanted to go paddling so I sucked it up and went. As soon as I unloaded my board, a friend and fellow (seasoned) paddler said, "It's rough today, stay close to shore." I listened to him because he has paddled way more than I have. And he had already been out. So he has "been there". 

As I paddled in the rough water, against the wind, I envisioned my heart, lungs, and core getting stronger. I was actually joyful during the "fight". Not exactly the conditions I would've chosen for myself; however, I made a conscious choice to mediate on the advantages instead of meditating on all the disadvantages.

The wind was blowing me around and the water was bumpy but I saw something I had never seen before while on the water. I saw three water spouts. They were very small (Approximately three feet in height and approximately fifteen feet from me.) but big enough to knock me off my board if they got too close. 

I reached for my phone (in it's waterproof case) because I thought, "What a great video!" Then wisdom kicked in and I thought, "Ok, if the turbulence from the water spout knocks me off my board, I most likely need my paddle, not my camera in my hand." And, I really didn't want to see my phone drown.

The first two water spouts went past me from a safe distance.  I looked up and the third water spout was headed straight for me. Wisdom kicked in again and I thought, "I do not want to get caught in that"...although, in hindsight,  it would make for a great story if accompanied by video. Perhaps it's time for me to invest in a Go Pro Cam! 

Back to the waterspout. I didn't want to get beat up today. I just wanted to paddle. So I looked at the spout directly in front of me and I said, "You may NOT come near me in the name of Jesus." 

True story...the water spout immediately changed course and turned away from me, passing me from a safe distance.

I've said it before, I'll say it again…stand up paddling is a lot like every day life. 

• Some days are perfect conditions. 
• Other days are rough conditions. 

Thank God who has given us our friends, and apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers who have gone before us. They've "been there" and as we heed their advice, we walk in wisdom and stay "close to shore" not being blown out to sea. (Proverbs 27:9, Ephesians 4:11)

Thank God for spiritual authority and for teaching us to speak to the "mountain" and/or water spouts. (Luke 10:19, Mark 11:23)

Thank God for teaching us to count it all joy when (notice that verse does not say, if) we experience rough times because of His promises to work all things for our good. And since He be for us, who can be against us? (James 1:2-4, Romans 8:28, Romans 8:31)

What are your conditions like today?

No Trespassing!

Look, I have given you authority over all the power of the enemy, and you can walk among snakes and scorpions and crush them. Nothing will injure you. (Luke 10:19, NLT)

Sunday was our youngest daughter's birthday. To celebrate, we went to the Probowl game in Honolulu with friends. On our way to the game, we had to drop our dog off at our store. For some strange reason, doggie seats were not available at Probowl. Otherwise, I'm sure Bo would have thoroughly enjoyed himself as much as we did!

When we drove up in the parking lot of our store to drop Bo off, individuals had "set up shop" in our back door and was doing business. Literally, complete with bed, full length mirror, etc. 

I have never seen Mike get real forceful (verbally or otherwise). He is a very quiet, gentle, compassionate man; however, he is a Texan to his core and has very deep ideas of what is right or wrong. He drove right up to the "hooch" (that was a new word for me) and put the car in park. He ripped the tarp back and...well, lets just say everyone on the block knew he was not playing around when he said, "Get out!"  He turned to me and said, "Call the police." At which time, people started to scatter. 

There was one person who, lets see...how do I describe this...stalled in leaving. I'm sure street drugs were preventing this person from using common sense. 

The police arrived very quickly. (Mucho mahalos to the Honolulu Police Department!) Once the police cars arrived, there were no trespassers to be found in any direction. The police quickly took our report and searched for the people to insure there was no misunderstanding they were to never trespass on our property again. We were told we could dispose of all their property (approximately a small truck load). We assumed we would have to clean up the nasty mess but we decided to clean up later because we didn't want to be late to the game. 

We made it to the Probowl just in time for kickoff. Once the game was over, we went back to the store to get Bo. Obviously, the officers handling the case was very convincing because all the items had been removed and the area was totally spotless! Not even a piece of trash remained. 

Here is what I learned: When we walk in our God given authority, darkness scatters. 

Here is the analogy:

Mike knows he is the store owner. 
We must know who we are in Christ! (Luke 10:19)


Mike knew he had the authority to remove the trespassers. 
When darkness (strife/offense/envy/depression/murmering) attempts to trespass, we must use our authority and remove it! (Mark 11:23)


He boldly took the necessary steps to protect his store.
We must boldly approach God and seek His Word on how to take the necessary steps to protect our mind/mouth/home/relationships and Facebook pages! (Ephesians 3:12)


When one trespasser stalled, the HPD removed them. 
When we submit to God and resist the devil, he has no other option, he must flee! God rebukes the devourer for us! (James 4:7, Malachi 3:11)

My youngest daughter got upset when she saw the homeless man taking down his bed and tarp and said, "But Mommy, if CPR is a house to that homeless man, now he has nowhere to live!" We prayed for the trespassers and I explained, we tried to work out a deal with the man. He was to keep our parking lot clean of trash and debris and he was allowed to stay. But he continues to occupy more space. And the more we looked the other way. Initially, he only had one small corner in our parking lot. But left unchecked, he had his belongings strewn halfway across our parking lot and ended up completely blocking the door. 

Darkness operates the same way; for example, when strife attempts to rear it's ugly head, we can't look the other way. A "deal" can never be cut with darkness. If not addressed immediately, darkness continues to occupy more and more space until we adversely affect everyone we come into contact with. 

• We must take every thought captive and refuse to sow discord! (2 Corinthians 10:5, Proverbs 6:16-19) 
• We must shine our lights before man so our Heavenly Father is glorified! (Matthew 5:16) 
• We must speak peace and life into every situation! (Romans 12:18, Deuteronomy 30:19)

When we pray, walk in authority and purpose to speak God's Word about every situation, darkness doesn't block the door, we block the door to darkness and protect what God has so richly blessed us with!

Submission, Obedience and Authority, Oh My!

“For I also am a man placed under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” (Luke 7:8, NKJV)

Submission: Ahhh…there’s that lovely word that some cringe at the sound of! 

Submission defined is: The action or fact of accepting or yielding to a superior force or to the will or authority of another person.

Obedience defined is: Compliance with someone's wishes or orders or acknowledgment of their authority.

A quick disclaimer: 

Let’s not go off the deep end with this. Let’s all operate in wisdom. If an authority figure is telling us to do something illegal, immoral, or unethical, obviously we don’t do it because God is our final authority.

A recent Facebook post from a close personal friend set my brain to some very deep thinking.

“When someone asks what exactly I do at WOW (Walk on Water Faith Church, www.faithman.org) I always respond, "Whatever Pastor Loretta asks me to do." Why? Because that is what I am called to do even if it is outside my comfort zone or my known gifting. God will equip me for whatever I am asked to do AND prosper it because I simply obeyed. Hopefully this will help more of you find your place in the Kingdom of God.” Gwen Payne

I am the president of our family owned business. Being in that position of authority has taught me about submission. We have five locations on four different Hawaiian Islands. We have over a dozen employees. Over the past several years, the employees at our business have been indirectly teaching me about submission to authority. I ask them to do something and they do it. I say, “Will you please _____fill in the blank_____?” And they immediately respond with, “Yes”. They don’t quiz or ask for full disclosure before doing what I ask. Sometimes, they don’t agree with me. But I make decisions from a different vantage point. I am privy to information they are not always privy to. We are blessed with the best crew God has available. I would walk through the fire with any one of them. They are phenomenal group of individuals and we are very grateful for each of them. I am especially grateful to them for teaching me this lesson on authority.

I equate my position of authority in our company much in the same way as my pastor’s position of authority at church. I am learning how to submit to his authority on a new level. I am learning how to submit to his authority on a deeper level, not because he is perfect but because my attitude in submitting to his authority is directly linked to my obedience to God.

Our pastors may not always do everything exactly how we would like to see them done. Nor will they always take the church in the direction we would like to see it go. Doing what God has called them to do isn’t a power trip and a lot of the time they make decisions that are not even remotely fun. Oftentimes, they are called to do what is very difficult and must be obedient to God’s prompting. God didn’t call me to pastor. He has called me to be obedient to His Word.

"God will equip me for whatever I am asked to do AND prosper it because I simply obeyed." Gwen Payne 

We would love to hear from you! 

Tell us, what have you learned about submission?