Time is flying by...

We are in the middle of week 9 - I cannot believe it! Everyday is full of new learning experiences, work and adventures. So let me share some of my notes with you to fill you in on what I've learned about in class over the past two weeks.

Week 7 - Speaker: John Leech; Topic: The Father Heart of God

Lu'au Fire Dancer

> In Matthew 3:16, God tells us three things about Jesus: "This is my son (1), whom I love (2) and with him I am well pleased (3)." So what can we learn from this passage about God's heart for His people?1. Know our identity, which is in Christ. (We are all sons and daughters of God.)
2. God is not ashamed of you - even when you are. (He still loves us unconditionally, even when we do things that hurt Him.)
3. Do not live FOR God's smile but FROM God's smile. (He does not love us more or less because of our actions - because perfect love never increases or decreases. However, if you truly love God and know He loves you, you will live from his smile and act out of love because you do not ever want to hurt him).

> SHYNESS IS NOT A PERSONALITY TRAIT. IT'S FEAR OF INSUFFICIENCY. 

> Spiritual teachings and Bible readings are not supposed to make you smarter (you don't want to become an obnoxious argumentative Bible thumper) but they should get you closer to your personal and intimate experience with God (regularly meeting with a friend to get to know him better). Understanding (everything) is not a requirement for believing.

> Stop complaining to God about what's wrong with you/wrong with your life and start praising Him for what's right with Him!

> Condemnation is of the destructive, conviction is constructive. Because condemnation connects your sin to your identity (you are a liar). Conviction shows that you are acting outside of your character (you have lied but it's contrary to your character).

Week 8 - Speaker: John Childers, Topic: Spiritual Authority

Geckos aren't always nice. Somehow the scene fits the topic.

> STOP COMPARING YOURSELF TO OTHERS. You will always loose the comparison game at some point (e.g. 'she is more beautiful than I am' or 'he is more popular than I am') because you are not able to be EXACTLY like somebody else. EVEN WORSE: Every time you win a round in the comparison game because your success comes out of and results in PRIDE. Over time, pride hardens your heart over time and makes God's heart cry every single time. Satan's original sin was PRIDE (believing that he would be more powerful than God). C.S. Lewis writes in his book, Mere Christianity, that a woman is not proud because she thinks she is beautiful (NOTHING wrong with that!) but because she thinks she is MORE beautiful than others. For my German readers :) Galater 6:4 "Dann wird er sich über sine guten Taten freuen können, ohne Grund zur Überheblichkeit zu haben." However, all of this leaves me with a bitter taste or at least a worry of what competitive sports are all about - comparison and being better than others. I would highly appreciate any thoughts and comments on this current struggle of mine.

Downtown Kona

> Sin is often very attractive because it brings instant gratification. Staying away from sin is most often hard because it let's you 'miss out' on the moment but it doesn't only keep your mind and soul healthy but also results into delayed gratification. => The comfort of sin is immediate and the destruction of sin is eternal.

> John 1:10 says that God has given us authority. Therefore, God will not do for us what He has already given us authority over to do ourselves. Therefore, don't sit and wait until God works out your problems for you but get up and be the change you want to see in the world :)

Farmers Market

> The good old question: Why does God allow suffering of the "good people" in His world? Try to change the "why" to "how" and ask: How can I still love You even though I do not understand all your ways?

> I had read the scripture Matthew 7:17 many times: "Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit." But today, for the first time, I have realized the definition of fruit: The fruit is not only the what the tree produces (like a good/bad person does good/bad work) but the fruit also carries SEEDS that will cause more trees of the same kind to grow!!

> The opposite of love? Not hate. FEAR! 1 John 4:18 says that perfect love will cast out fear. However, fear will cast out love.

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Downtown Kona

Wow. I am learning so much here and I feel changed from the inside out. Of course, I do not agree with everything that is being said in the lectures. I sometimes even wholeheartedly disagree. However, that is the reason why God has blessed us with the gift of discernment. And one message might touch one person's heart but not mine. As long as well all agree on the foundations, there is room for disagreement. And I have learned one more important lesson: it's ok to disagree, you can still love each other even if you will always have different opinions on certain things. Loving each other is the solution to the destructive power of disagreement :)