ALOHA ! PLANTING SEEDS of FAITH ! by vanderKOK

3/4/07
ALOHA !
PLANTING SEEDS OF FAITH, HOPING FOR GOOD SOIL

WELCOME !
AND NO I AM NOT CURRENTLY IN HAWAII, BUT MY MESSAGE IS BASED, IN PART, ON REFLECTIONS & IMAGES FROM MY PREVIOUS EXPERIENCES THERE IN PAST YEARS.

Pastor Kok III
March 4, 2007
The Sunday-Monday-Tuesday Message
By Pastor Kok III

Re. Who’s in Charge?
“Whenever the Rainbow Appears…”
Empowerment
Kenosis
Ask & You Will Receive !
Accepting Grace
Water, Redemption, New Life !
Symbolic Baptism, Symbolic Communion
Protestants, Catholics, Buddhists
Praying for my Brother, Steven Paul Kok
Avoiding Pecking Order Personalities
“Beware of the Judaizers… “
Praying for My Friends from Hawaii
Planting Seeds of Faith, Hoping for Good Soil
Spiritually Healing the Physical Healers
Etc.

Good Morning ! from Santa Barbara, California !

What a week! An exhausting week! But the Sunday-Monday-Tuesday Message helps rejuvenate and restore me. What about you? I hope so for you too ! I had to get out of town (Los Angeles, that is) for a while… it becomes very small after a while for such a large metropolitan area. Of course I’ve been exploring it and pushing boundaries for quite a while now. I wouldn’t say I know Los Angeles like the back of my hand yet, the way I once knew Grand Rapids, but I would say I’m getting there.

But before I continue with the PREAMBLE, let us begin with a WORD OF PRAYER and a few songs of praise.

Prayer: Dear God, thank you for Your goodness to me, for Your goodness to us—the BODY OF BELIEVERS. You are the HOLY ONE in Whose Image we are made. We
Reflect YOUR GLORY here on earth—BRINGING LIGHT to others. We give HOPE To those with little hope. We give FAITH to those with little faith. We INSPIRE others
Because we are YOUR LIGHT—not the false light of Allah, not the false light of Buddha, not the false light of Hinduism, BUT YOUR LIGHT—THE LIGHT OF THE
FATHER-SON-&-HOLY SPIRIT, the TRIUNE GOD ! YOU lift us up when we are down. YOU put us back together again when we fall apart. YOU are our strength. YOU are the BODY & BLOOD ! We are YOURS ! And we THANK YOU Lord, thank you, thank you, thank you! It is because of our humbling of ourselves and acknowledging You as the ONLY TRUE HIGHER POWER that we are REGENERATED for another day to make the ONLY TRUE DIFFERENCE in this world—as the BODY OF BELIEVERS, YOUR FAITHFUL ONES ! We PRAISE YOUR NAME—AND WE pray in the name
Of YOUR SON, JESUS CHRIST, Whom we have become !

Song: O Holy Spirit, Lord of Grace !
http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/o/h/ohslgrac.htm

Song: Holy God, We Praise Your Name !
http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/h/o/holygod.htm

Song: Come Holy Spirit Come !
http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/c/h/chs_come.htm

Prayer: Oh good Lord, I am tired but regenerated. I am exhausted but exhilarated. And I ask for YOUR BLESSING on today’s message, THE SUNDAY MESSAGE BY
PASTOR KOK III ! Bless this message and bless YOUR BELIEVERS—let them be Edified, educated, and maybe even entertained by today’s message. Most importantly, may we ALL BE BETTER PERSONS BECAUSE OF IT ! In the name of JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD, AMEN !

My friends, as I was saying this was a long week—and here is why. Some of you know that one of my ‘missions’ in this world is the public schools. I started out as a ‘regular teacher’ in Coachella Valley back when it was a very desolate community on the far edge of the desert—and has since grown and multiplied and developed. Last week my message was composed, in part, from the east end of the Coachella Valley—and I gave you images from the National Date Festival, and ended up back in Los Angeles near the Academy Awards ceremony.

The next day, Monday, I got an assignment to the Westchester area of Los Angeles—very close to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). The automated system randomly requests substitute teachers and this request happened to be a five-day assignment and, unbeknownst to me prior to my arrival, I would be working with a STUDENT TEACHER all week.

ALMOST EVERY future teacher starting out in college goes through a teaching program in addition to their major or majors they acquire along the way. Most programs require future teachers to do what is called “student teaching.” I did it too—back in Michigan in conjunction with Calvin College—at Holland Christian Middle School (now called South Shores Middle). Bob Kool was my ‘supervising teacher’.

So I arrive at this Westchester School and get a key to the classroom from Ms Choyce—a nice main office secretary (one of the few nice ones). And I walk to the D building—arriving at the room I meet the student teacher, “Ms. S.” She’s a student at nearby LMU (Loyola Marymount University).

Our introduction starts out relatively friendly, although I am perplexed by how she begins—as she inquires, “I heard you were a regular teacher…” …and I am thinking to myself ‘you heard…” and wondering who’s been talking and how anybody knows anything about me at all at this level.

Only a few people are privy to my personnel records (as far as I know)…but I glossed over it for the time being. She’s a young lady—and assertive—not the kind of person I wish to argue with. Because she also is resting upon her “rights” as a student teacher at the school . Anything I say could be used against me—if she suddenly becomes “legalistic” or even UNTRUTHFUL although she doesn’t seem that way.

Nonetheless, I keep the conversation at a superficial level for the time being—telling her briefly about my experience at CVUSD, noting the antagonistic politics going on there at the time. And she commiserates—saying, “I understand.” So I think everything is going to be kool.

But at the same time as the classes begin—I realize this is going to be a very “passive” week for me. Normally I am the only adult in the classroom and I have to lead the class, take control, communicate with the students, do attendance, sometimes discipline students, maintain a decent milieu, keep students from harassing each other, etc. But now she’s in charge—to a certain extent. Albeit they let me know at the office that I am ultimately the ONE IN CHARGE .

My one concern wherever I happen to be is to make sure the attendance gets taken right away. So as the first period begins I ask Ms. S who is absence and she bristles a little bit—as if I was being presumptuous talking to her directly—almost as if I am an “underling” and then she adds,
“ I like to wait a little while…”

Now for me teaching is not “just a job” nor something I do “just for the money.” There are easier ways to make money, and more money. I wouldn’t be doing what I do if it was not a MISSION. And it can also be EMPOWERING---and should be—FOR BOTH ME AND THE STUDENTS. If I walk out feeling overly beleaguered at the end of the day—something went wrong. I WANT TO BRING OUT THE BEST IN THE STUDENTS AND at the same time BRING OUT THE BEST IN MYSELF.

But as the first day wore on I realized that Ms. S. thought of herself as being a “superior’ to me. But she was a “lady” and I didn’t want to argue—that would not be gentlemanly of me, so I let it go. At the same time she NEEDED TO BE EMPOWERED and feel as if she were truly and totally in charge. So I wanted to play my part in HELPING HER BECOME A TEACHER. The “work”, therefore, became a task of diligence—trying not to OVERSHADOW HER, and letting her have the stage, so to speak. I JUST WISHED SHE COULD BE A LITTLE GRACIOUS AND THANKFUL TO ME FOR PLAYING THE PART.

Anyways, back at the main office (or across the hall in the attendance office) I mention my conflict to Ms. Torres and she says, “She needs to know you are in charge.” And I equivocate a little, but she goes so far as to say that we can have a meeting with the principal to let her know. I say, ‘Hopefully that will not be necessary.”

In fact, if there’s one thing I want least is the formal intervention of an administrator when I am at a public school. I seek to empower and be empowered at a informal level and hoped that Ms. S would realize that EXPECTATION as the week went by—that she was being empowered by me just as much as she could empower me. For that matter I was
NOT SABOTAGING her efforts as a student teacher.
But was she sabotaging me?

I was trying to give her respect and support—modeling such for the students to follow. Didn’t she realize that successful teaching usually only happens if and when the students (& others) decide to cooperate at a RESPECT LEVEL rather than a judicial enforcement level? It goes back to the same sort of relationship God wants from HIS FOLLOWERS—love not law.

Any teacher knows that it is exhausting and ultimately not very satisfying to have to be constantly disciplining and doing interventions with the students. At the same time there are students who simply do NOT LEARN TO LOVE OR RESPECT and therefore use of “the stick” (so to speak) is the only way to maintain order. And let’s face it—at a young age—a good teacher is a teacher who has perseverance—in regards to TEACHING MECHANICS.

You cannot take insults from students at a personal level, nor can you hope for or depend upon their affection. But hopefully some sort of decent “relationship” can fall into place after a while. Nonetheless, it only takes one or two unruly, disrespectful, students to sabotage a classroom milieu. It can be difficult.

Remembering some of the things I learned along the way and recalling some of my own experiences I vowed to not take any of the student teacher’s slights of me at a personal level. She was young, relatively small in physical stature, albeit with a strong voice and obviously intelligent—but she needed support from me as well as the other adult in the classroom—a special education teacher who assisted.

So I ignored the slights and did not make a “power play” for control—as she apparently was doing to me. Nor did I sabotage her efforts to lead which would have been very easy. I decided to accept being “second fiddle” even if it meant feeling unempowered and even passive to a certain extent. It was a lesson in TOTAL humility –thankfully ONLY FOR A WEEK !

If I unempowered myself too much for too long it would be hard to reverse the flow, part of the problem being that there may have been a little “passive-aggressiveness” in Ms. S. If I allowed her to disrespect me for too long—she may have taken that as a “victory” of spirit & strength over me. At one point she even said to another student that she is “above me.” Again, I didn’t argue. She was falsely sure of herself— sure she was superior to me.

Scripture: Mark 1:17-18
"Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." At once they left their nets and followed him.”


So for an entire week I listened to her teach—occasionally offering assistance to the students –taking attendance and even walking it to the office myself a few times (not minding a reason to step out of the classroom for a few moments). One of the strengths of Ms. S. was her discipline of the students—and she pounded the “mechanics.” She didn’t ease up too much, which was good. She may have been even better in an elementary setting—which requires a very regimented approach, more so than high school.

And it became clear that she did not want advice from me. I think she would have been happier had I not been there at all. On the first day I asked her if she felt comfortable alone—thinking I would step out to the restroom for a few moments and she said, “Oh God yes, you’re just required to be here…” and then said, “Take your time.”

Well, yes, I suppose “by law” I am required to be there—but I choose to be there because it is part of a “MISSION” of mine. I tried to go back in my mind to the way I saw things when I was a student teacher at Holland Christian Middle. Back then my allegiance was still towards my college—the English Dept & education program. They were my “supervisors”—not so much the principal, and the teachers at the school were not really my “colleagues.” Likewise, I think Ms. S. thought of LMU as to whom she was accountable not the school or the district---and her SUPERVISOR came twice to observe during the week.

Her supervisor, by the way, a large African American woman, was only briefly sociable towards me. The rest of the time she was blank-faced and sitting in the corner. And when I gave her a nod of acknowledgement she did not acknowledge me in return. It was as if there was a concerted effort on the part of the two of them to let me know they thought I was a “NOBODY.”

Thankfully, that attitude was not widespread beyond the classroom. I’ve had successful experiences at this particular school previously and the office employees are much more grateful for our presence as substitute guest teachers. It’s not as if we don’t have the education—in some cases even more so than some of the regular teachers. Of course, on the other hand, some substitutes have just the bare minimum—so it varies greatly. In my case I have two BA’s, regular teaching experience, and an M.Div. I am not “posing” when I speak with some authority based on education and experience. I am not acting.

The best word I can come up with for describing my role this week is a theological term, ‘kenosis.” It refers to the “emptying” of one’s self for the sake of others (see
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenosis ) based, in part, on Philippians 2.5-7ff which says,

“Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.”
Phil 2:5-7

How far to take that is the question? How far do we go in “making ourselves nothing.” For a while Christian (including Catholic priests) pastors were accused of preaching and teaching too much humility and subservience to their followers—to the extent that they took advantage of them (especially Catholic priests). In such cases the lesson of being “like a servant” was wrongly applied.


Paradoxically, the aspect of kenosis seems to be more assertive than passive. By actively allowing or accepting or taking on the role of a servant you actually empower yourself and others in the process. You do not allow yourself to be totally compromised (especially in a sexual manner such as priests have done to young boys). Being a servant means helping and assistant others, even walking an extra mile sometimes (
“ If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles” Matt 5:41). It’s being pliable but not breaking.

One thing you can be sure of is that Jesus Christ never totally broke down and gave in to the darkside. Likewise, neither shall we. He was tempted and afflicted but never lost hope, never lost faith. Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen (Hebrews 11.1).

It occurred to me as the week went by that this young lady might be Catholic although it could not be taken for granted. LMU is a Catholic university meaning they probably attract more Catholic students than other universities but I’m not sure if devotion to Roman Catholicism is a prerequisite to admission. And I didn’t ask her because she made it clear that she wasn’t interested in conversation—apart from what she began. It was more like “speak when spoken to” with her. She did not successfully differentiate between adults and students in the classroom.

So here I am with a young lady student teacher empowering herself at my expense, but accepting it, for the time being. It’s the nature of the job to a certain extent—as long as it doesn’t go too far. We are adults empowering young people through education and social interaction—and have to set our ego aside sometimes—not totally, but to a certain extent.

They cannot see things with the breadth that we are able to as adults—merely because of longevity more than anything else. We have lived longer—traveled more, been there done that, so to speak. But we don’t want to empower those who don’t show potential for positive leadership and respect for others. Our job is not to breed terrorists who will harm the cause of greater good .

Did Ms. S have the potential for good? I think the seed was in her. I didn’t see long-term character traits of total power and control. I saw flashes of it in her now as a young lady but give society time and allow the aging process to do what it does to all, and she will be mellowed. It is almost inevitable.

However, it is not always guaranteed. There are teachers in some public school settings who have managed to maintain a very tight grip on power and control dynamics within their classroom (sometimes for better other times for worse)–which they sometimes carry over into expectations in society—that simply don’t work. The reason they have power and control in the classroom is because we let them have it—NOT BECAUSE THEY ARE SO PERSONALLY GOOD, GIFTED, TALENTED, AND HARD WORKING.

They are what they are because of GRACE—and that’s a hard lesson to learn for some people. When decent people with power & control don’t learn that lesson they can become self-glorifying TYRANTS. My role in the classroom, in part, is to try to identify some of those future tyrants and not to let them become OVERBEARING.

And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness. 2 Cor 12:8-9

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. Eph 2:8-9

“… who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began…” 2 Tim 1:8-9


One thing I’ve experienced in almost ten years of guest teaching now is that “regular teachers” usually go out of their way to make the “guest teacher” feel appreciated . And usually they do their best to leave a lesson plan, seating chart, and other accessories that make the day go easier. I’ve never experienced a “regular teacher” being condescending towards me. So it surprised me when Ms. S seemed to be a little hierarchical in nature, despite the fact that according to the people in the office she was “below me” in terms of the “pecking order.”

Should I have gone out of my way to bring this to her attention? But it brings me back to the issue of her possibly being Catholic—and the fact that the Catholic church is much more hierarchical in nature than that of the Protestant Church. Was that part of the dynamic in play here? I wasn’t sure.

The other factor that left me uncertain was not being sure of her age. She made reference at one point about having been an “assistant editor” for a magazine (while she was teaching the 6th period journalism class). Was she a “return student” as I had been when I went through the teaching program at Calvin College? Despite that—and despite feeling older then (back in 1994 I was 27 years old) —I really was not all that old or experienced. Now I am forty. Was she thirty? Twenty-five? Older? Younger? It was difficult to tell. And she wasn’t offering too much information.

One thing is for certain though –when I am a guest teacher in the classroom I am there for the “greater good.” I am trying to benefit the most people in one sitting, at that particular time and place without compromising my integrity or conscience. I am not pushing or pulling too much of my own personal agenda other than that which coincides with the greater good, a larger truth. And for me—the reason I do so is none other than God Almighty Himself. That’s what keeps me constant, steady, and absolute.

In fact sometimes it is such an emptying (kenosis) of myself that I have to do some ego indulgence activities as soon as I leave—for me one of those is going to the chiropractor and having them adjust my back. It’s nothing too indulgent but it sure feels good to have somebody “crack my back” and take care of me for fifteen minutes. Of course I also need it to a certain extent given the constant chronic pain in my neck, left side, and left leg.

And as I was saying a few weeks ago I recently went to the California Natural Healing Arts College for a massage. I haven’t been back there, but I found a new Massage College in Redondo Beach this week—a time for self-indulgence following my Kenosis at the Westchester School. And also an opportunity to reach out in the name of Jesus to another person.

I just happened to be driving by and saw the sign $29 for an hour. I was feeling low---not just physically but also emotionally—and I find that just being touched
(nothing kinky for those of you with perverted minds) helps me mentally & physically. So I inquired and a gal by the name of Chieko came out.

She happened to be from Japan. And she happened to be Buddhist as I found out over the course of an hour as she gave me a “Swedish massage” (nothing sensual; see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massage ). And I kept up a conversation with her for the entire time—telling her about Jesus Christ, the difference between Protestant & Catholic, why I believe in God—my belief that God was in the room with us right then and there, and so on and so forth. I’ve never “gushed” like that before. It was a valuable opportunity. She not only listened but seemed genuinely interested.

And she talked about her Buddhist faith—the primary difference in her faith being that she was fearfully trying to perform for her god and to please him, whereas I told her that my relationship with my God was a relationship of LOVE AND TRUST, and observed, gently, that her relationship sounded more like that of the Jewish faith.

She also confided in me that she prayed mostly to her ancestors and even left food out for them. By the end of the session I hadn’t convinced her to abandon her Buddhist faith but maybe I planted a seed that would grow later. I put my arm around her as I left and said, ‘God bless you” and later sent a little card mentioning the name of Jesus.

We live in such a touch phobic world---especially where I came from in West Michigan. And in the schools, of course, any sort of physical touch, even accidental, can cause people to bristle. So sometimes you have to find somebody willing to touch you –even if they are not persons OF THE FAITH. She didn’t hurt me, nor did she molest me. I felt a little better physically leaving there, and a little lot better emotionally –having had an opportunity, spontaneously, to speak of my faith, which, most importantly, was what it was all about.

I learned a little from her and maybe, hopefully, she learned from me. I couldn’t force faith into her. It would either come via the grace of God and her slight inclination or it wouldn’t. Why do some people become Christ believers and others do not? It may be a matter of “election”. All we can do is plant the seeds, hoping some will find good soil. We are FARMERS FOR CHRIST !

Song: Be Thou Supreme !
http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/b/t/s/btsuprem.htm

Song: Someone’s Knocking at Your Door ! Could be Jesus !
http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/s/o/m/somknock.htm

And that’s my message for today. May God bless the message, the messenger, and those who receive this message in faith. May the Spirit be with you. May you trust with all your heart, mind, and soul !

Pastor Kok III

P.S.
Subsequently, I sent a fax to the student teacher (Ms. S.) and the assistant (Ms. W.) as well as the lady in the attendance office (Ms. T), explaining some of my thoughts and feelings; and I also encouraged Ms. S to use her gifts & talents to the best of her ability. And I hope I may have planted a seed of faith in Ms. S, as well as the others. Only time will tell.

P.S.S.
It also occurred to me that there was a different cultural perspective at play as well. The lady in the attendance office probably comes from a working class family where the man is not respected if he does not maintain command & control even to a physical extent; whereas it seemed to me that the young lady student teacher came from a professional family which does not place much, or any, emphasis on nor care about the man as masculine leader, perhaps placing all the emphasis on cognitive ability. Both extremes are wrong. Biblical manhood can be gentle as well as strong, intelligent as well as sometimes happily ‘simple.” Because how one should “be” depends on the situation and is reliant upon the Holy Spirit, there is no one single specific defining characteristic of those living in the Spirit of Biblical Manhood & Womanhood.



Jesus answered and said to her, "Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life"
John 4:13-14

"Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away. This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous" Matt 13:47-49


March 4, 2007
Pastor Kok III
Pray for My Brother,
Steven, a Great Kid !

"But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.
" Luke 15:32


The Sunday Image Message
by
Pastor Kok III:
Hawaii 1986 Merges with Hawaii 1989
(this image message starts at the bottom)

"You will drink the cup I drink
and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with..",
Mark 10:39




In 1989 I returned to Hawaii for a week with my parents and younger brother, Steven.I was a senior in college by that time. Steven was in his senior year of high school.
Above: 1) One of my favorite places to go in Oahu is a place called, informally, "The Toilet Bowl". It's a circular bowl-like area amongst rocks which regularly fills up with water and then empties out, hence the name "toilet bowl." When it fills with water you can jump in and wait for it to drain. You cannot get out, however, until the water comes back in and pushes you up and out on to the smooth rocks around you. Here I am, Pastor Kok III, in the empty toilet bowl; 2) Here is Jim Kok in Hawaii, posing for the camera; 3) Jim & Linda at the top of Diamond Head
above Waikiki, 1989


Above: 1) Back to Chaminade, 1986--as I mentioned earlier--one of our fellow students started the Chaminade Scuba Diving Club. One day we took an outing and some of them (those with scuba diving licenses which did not include me at the time) went scuba diving while the rest of us just had a good time at the beach. Here I am, Pastor Kok III, in a rubber raft (center with arm raised); 2) and this is in 1989 with the family; 3) Pastor Kok III taking a nap in the sun.



Who is our "family?" In some cases it refers to our literal father, mother, brothers & sisters. In other cases our real "family" are those IN CHRIST ! In 1989 I returned to Hawaii with my LITERAL FAMILY (minus my older brother & sister). Some of my LITERAL family members are still IN CHRIST, praise the Lord !

I was baptized as an infant, but I believe in symbolic second baptisms as well, and I believe both 1986 and 1989 were SYMBOLIC BAPTISMAL events for me (and for some of those with me). The WATER that surrounds you on all sides when in Hawaii symbolically represents a CLEANSING, and has SPIRITUAL significance--but only if INTERACTED with in the right state of MIND AND BEING !Above: (left) Even having a cold can of Coors at the beach in Waikiki back in 1986 had spiritual significance, because it was consumed with sincerity & truth, without a weakened conscience.(right) & Sleeping all night outdoors in a hammock on Hickam Air Force Base was awesome !

'And immediately he and all his family were baptized. Now when he had brought them into his house, he set food before them; and he rejoiced, having believed in God with all his household. Acts 16:33-34


Jesus made reference, unapologetically,
to wine (alcohol) in the Bible:

And no one after drinking old wine wants the new, for he says, 'The old is better.'"
Luke 5:39
Of course much of it had symbolic reference but
He nonetheless did not back away from it in a timid manner.


I don't hear from Steve too much anymore,
but I pray that he is alive IN THE SPIRIT.
Please pray with me.


Pastor Kok III:
Memories of Hawaii !
1986, 1989


With my parents & brother in the Spring of '89 we did more of the normal tourist things such as going to an Aloha show, among other things. The locals put on a good show for the "haoles" (which is what they call Anglos from the mainland in a semi-affectionate way, although not always).
(see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haole )


Above: 1) Jim & Linda in Hawaii, 1989;
2) Jim & Linda learning how to do dance, Hawaii style

Above: 1-3) And we visited Pearl Harbor, and the Arizona Memorial. It was a very memorable moment. It brings the event to life--to stand literally in the place where one of the U.S. ships went down.
A beautiful rainbow over Waikiki, 1989

" Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth."
Gen 9:16




Pastor Kok III:
Confession
No Way to Get Around it,
Some of the Time Was
Just Having a Good Ol' Time
COMMENTARY:
"I. Here is a caution to take heed of judaizing teachers, or those who would impose upon Christians the yoke of the ceremonial law: Let no man therefore judge you in meat nor drink, etc., v. 16. Much of the ceremonies of the law of Moses consisted in the distinction of meats and days. It appears by Rom 14 that there were those who were for keeping up those distinctions: but here the apostle shows that since Christ has come, and has cancelled the ceremonial law, we ought not to keep it up. "Let no man impose those things upon you, for God has not imposed them: if God has made you free, be not you again entangled in that yoke of bondage."
(from Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible: New Modern Edition, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1991 by Hendrickson Publishers, Inc.)
Col 2:16-23

That was then, this is now. The festive atmosphere of those five months in Honolulu was simply spontaneous. Hawaii was popular in the media at the time. It was a good time to be there. The time was right. And I laid the foundation for a return some day (without, to be honest, consciously realizing it)--a return for the sake of follow up, in CHRIST. I know I will be going back there, again, SOONER OR LATER, just like I went back to the Philippines.

Must all church celebrations be done formally within the walls of a church building? Evangelism would be impossible as such. Could we have been "breaking bread together" without consciously knowing it? None of us mentioned it as such. Did God bring us together without pretense? But there was a Spirit of positive communion amongst us for those five months--something I NEVER EXPERIENCED IN SUCH A WAY BEFORE.

Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with bread without yeast, the bread of sincerity and truth.
1 Cor 5:8

We were all young and in some ways just surviving.
Pray that the fellowship we experienced together mostly in a social, somewhat frivolous, way will some day deepen into a spiritual communion, IN CHRIST ! I now value those few months, in retrospect, much more than I did at the time.





In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.Rom 8:26


"Come, follow me," Jesus said,
"and I will make you fishers of men."
Mark 1:17-18
Pastor Kok III
Making Friends for Christ
Fall Semester, 1986
Chaminade University of Honolulu
You see, discipleship is a process, and might not always show immediate results, if at all. Did my new friends do what I commanded them to do? Well, I wasn't telling them directly, in words, to "Go and make disciples..." (Matt 28. 19) one reason being I had not yet made them my disciples. All I could do is try to plant a seed. And I did plant a lot of seeds mostly through "presence evangelism." Whether they landed in good soil I do not yet know. Only time will tell.
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Prayer Request:

To this day I still think about and pray for these "friends"--most of whom I do not know their whereabouts. I do know that Ron & Kimo are still in Hawaii (but not exactly where), whereas Ed Durkin is here in Los Angeles working for Merril Lynch ( I have his office address and send him something from time to time). I ask you, fellow believers, to pray for them too!




"A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop-a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. He who has ears, let him hear." Matt 13:3-9
Pastor Kok III
Making New Friends
at Chaminade University of Honolulu
Fall Semester, 1986


I made a lot of new friends (or acquaintances) while at Chaminade University. 1) Of course Ron Foo, my roommate, became a friend (shown here with his surfboard); 2) as did Ed Durkin (from Pennsylvania; shown here in the front of the picture on a sailboat owned by a friend of Durkin's father) who lived one floor above me in Hale Pua; 3) and there was Jay from Alaska (shown here with Ron Foo)


1) Another new friend I met in the dorms was Mike (shown here behind Ron Foo at the famous Matsumoto's shaved ice grocery store; I don't remember his last name) from New York. He was a tough-talking kid with a good heart--who had a brand new motorcycle shipped to Oahu ( a gift from his grandmother) 2) Here's Ron catching a wave; 3) As you can imagine, the temptation to party excessively is great--being in Hawaii with like-minded others, living in a dorm with friendly, same-age persons (not to mention a co-ed dorm). And so I did, a little,and if I had stayed more than a semester it might have been the end of me (not literally but in terms of an ability to handle academic rigor). Praise the Lord for giving me one good semester there and pulling me out before I partied myself to spiritual, academic, or cognitive death. And somehow I was able to maintain my vow of celibacy prior to marriage while in Oahu. That was not an easy task either .


Meanwhile, unbeknownst to me I (or God) was laying the groundwork for a return--as a person with more discipline--later on in life. Essentially what I was doing there, although I did not the term for it then, was pre-evangelism. 1) Here's Ron Foo again; 2) And here's Ed Durkin with his roommate Ed Perez (from Guam)



Jesus said:
Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command.
John 15:13-14

March 4, 2007
Pastor Kok III
Letting My Light Shine
(for Jesus!) in Oahu
A Semester at Chaminade
University of Honolulu
1986
After my freshman year at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and having grown up in Grand Rapids, MI; I realized I needed a new perspective--a change of some sort--a different school (at least for a while). My freshman year at Calvin was okay, but it was so close to my high school that it did not feel like a big change.

I even lived in the dorms with a friend I had known almost all my life (Keith Steensma). He was a great roommate and a great kid (now an adult working for his dad's insurance company in GR) but I felt inclined to go somewhere new for a while.

Many of the kids I saw around Calvin College campus my freshman year were also familiar faces from my high school. My Christian High School (Grand Rapids Christian High) feeds into the nearby Christian denominational college and so for locals it seems like an extension of high school to a certain extent, at least socially.

So I applied to Chaminade University of Honolulu and was accepted ! As you can imagine (if you grew up in a cold weather state) going to Hawaii was a big change of climate as well as a significant change of student body (for me).

There were no "Calvinists" around the campus (Chaminade is from the Roman Catholic tradition but you are not required to be Catholic to attend, and recently I've noticed they have begun more describing themselves more specifically as "Marianists" see http://www.chaminade.edu/misc/marianistsInHawaii.php) although there were a lot of "mainlanders" in Hawaii for the first time. Like most of the mainlanders I was there for the weather, a place to continue to get college credits. Unlike some others I was also there for spiritual reflection


I arrived at Honolulu Airport in the Fall of 1986 a week or so before classes began and was picked up by a representative of the university who drive me to my off campus dorm, Hale Pua, where I would live for the year (or semester as it turned out). I met my new roommate, Ron Foo, an Asian-American, for the first time. He was from Islip, New York.

And I signed up for my classes. I took "core" classes. including anthropology & biology among others, that would transfer back to Calvin College or anywhere else

CHIEF BIG FAITH