Keep the Faith

 Logo Designed by: Kaitlyn

What's up OLSO Readers?!
     1 Thessalonians 1:3-"We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ."

This blog talks about mailing our OLSO Leader Packs and includes a Keep the Faith Challenge.

OLSO Leader Packs

     Today, we mailed One Love Skate Outreach Leader Packs. Three packets were sent to leaders in Oahu. We also sent a packet to Big Island, Ohio, and SC. These included One Love tracts, stickers, and a street pack (A tiny OLSO Composition Notebook w/tracts to give away and then to write names and prayer requests of people you talk to). We've been giving these packs and a bunch of tracts to leaders on Maui. As Nicole and I distributed the packets we prayed hard that nothing will be wasted and that God will use this print media to Glorify Himself and bring many people to Him.

 These tracts and stickers are a great way to connect with the culture and communicate the love of Jesus (Acts 17 style).
---Be on the lookout for a video blog coming soon featuring the message on the tracts and Paul's example in Acts 17.

Keep the Faith

     Lately, I'm constantly reminded that God is totally perfect and totally in control, but we (the human race) consistently decide not to follow His perfect, purposeful, refreshing, merciful, substantial commands and, instead, we follow our own desires (Romans 3:23). Ultimately, this leads to misery and depression (Look closely at any story in the Bible).
For example: We may pursue selfish leisure time or relationships or social status or financial "peace" or selfish fleeting pleasure rather than laying our life down for Jesus and finding true life in Him (Matthew 16:24-26).

This morning, my wife, Nicole, posted this on Twitter:

Beautiful paradox:  Try to save your life, you'll loose it; if you lose your life in Christ, you'll find it. Matthew 16:25-Relinquish control.

     That's so clear, but we (the human race) don't get it enough to let Jesus transform our lives. This concept of TRUE LIFE in JESUS vs. TEMPORARY, PLEASURABLE DEATH in WORLDLINESS has been heavy on my heart. It's great to be back on Maui, but with this broken foot and not being able to drive I've really been spending a lot of time sitting. It's been great to read the Word and pray and read some other solid books I'd been wanting to read before I start school again in the Fall, but I also find myself overwhelmed by all of the need here. There's "So Much Trouble in the World." I'm so burdened to see so many youth and even adults choose to live for foolishness and destroy their lives.
     - I'm amazed at how deceptive Satan can be, and all of us face this constant battle between living through the Holy Spirit and living for the sinful nature (Galatians 5:16-17).

      Yesterday, my wife and I watched Pay it Forward. It definitely had some sketchy parts, but it did portray a lot of the negative effects of living for sin. After watching it, I was amazed that the world loves a concept like: "Do 3 random really good things for strangers," but often does not accept Jesus' instruction in Matthew 22:36-39:

 "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'

     What Pay It Forward didn't portray is that following the Bible is the way to life and even to "a world that wouldn't suck" if everyone actually obeyed what God instituted. However, in the world, as Pay it Forward portrayed, we've chosen to break God's law of love, and we live for selfish pursuits that the movie accurately portrayed (alcoholism, porn, heroine, sex outside of marriage, abuse, selfishness, and violence) all of which lead to misery and death.

     My devos were in Isaiah 55-58. God's dealings with the nation of Israel show that God offers Salvation to anyone who walks with Him (Isa 56:1-2). God offers true life. He says in Isaiah 55:2:

"Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare."

      So I want to encourage you to "Keep the Faith." Walk with Jesus. In Him alone is life (John 14:6). Everything else will crumble.

      We're studying the thirteen letters of Paul with the youth group at Pukalani Baptist, and tonight we're in 1 Thessalonians. This video is a cool way to help remember some of the concepts in the text, and I want to share it with you guys:

      Keep the FAITH. Live life with purpose. Keep praying that the message of One Love is clearly communicated with the world and that God brings revival on Maui and in all of Hawaii. Do what God calls you to do and represent Him well with your actions and your words (Romans 10:14).

     Also, pray because my friend Kaipo has the OLSO camera today, and Lord-Willing he and the band 7 Simple Pieces and some Upcountry Youth are recording some new Gospel Presentations and  testimonies right now that will be up on OneLoveSkateOutreach.com very soon.

Rep the King (2 Corinthians 5:20),

Josh