Pastor’s Message

 


Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

 

Text Box: Recently I read a book that covered the subject of prayer that raised the question of what happens when the mountain does not move. That is to say, we believe that with our faith we can move mountains. Check out Matthew 21:21-22. Yet, after we pray, we do not see the mountain moving.  The book went on to talk about patience, which is of course a great Christian virtue.

 

After putting down the book, I began to ponder for myself that if God is not moving the mountain, then perhaps God wants me to move instead. That seems right to me. I am supposed to respond to the power of God as much as the mountain, an inanimate object. 

 

Moreover, I take into account that Jesus himself never actually moved a mountain. He was taken to high a mountain by Satan and offered all the kingdoms of the world, and it was from that mountain that Jesus cast away Satan.  Christ went up the mountain he preached to the people, and from that height we received the Sermon on the Mount.  Jesus trekked up the mountain to be transfigured, and at that moment the Glory of God was revealed around Him. Lastly, Jesus went to Mount Olivet to prepare for the Passion.

 

Also, I consider the missionaries that first came to Waimea, the Whitneys and the Ruggles. They sailed around the Cape of South America to journey here from New England. The voyage took over nine months. In hindsight, we see that they essentially sailed around the Rockies, Sierra Madres, and Andes. The year they left Boston (1819) was still before the Steam Age; the transcontinental railway could not have even been envisioned yet. 

           

When those selfsame missionaries were called to start a church in Hanalei, they paddled around the island in canoes rather than traverse the Napali. I believe that those early missionaries indeed possessed the faith to move mountains, and God has the power to throw the mountain into the sea, but God called for them to go around instead.

 

I have the faith to remove mountains. I believe. This is the faith that my Lord suffered and died to grant to me. I just ponder if I have the faith to move myself. When a mountain stands before me, I have to ask myself, “Can I cast out evil from this height? Can I preach, and be heard from here? Can I see God’s Glory from this vista? Can I prepare myself for what God calls me to do?”  

           

When the mountain will not move, let God move you instead.

Aloha ke Akua, Pastor Olaf 

 

 

Please come to a special Kauai Association (KAUCC) meeting on Tuesday, September 22nd, 6:30 pm at the Lihue Christian Church for a presentation on the 2009 UCC General Synod.