Hanalei Beach is a must do on the island of Kauai. Be sure to take photographs at sunset time if you can.....like I have missed doing each time I have been there. Maybe next time.
Kauai is the oldest of the main Hawaiian Island chain, and is found to the most northern point of the chain. It is known as the "Garden Island." Much information may be found on the Internet about Kauai; this post is meant primarily to be a visual feast for the eyes. All photographs were taken by myself; the videos by others.
Hanalei Beach
Hanalei Valley Taro Fields
Taro is a staple in the diet of Hawaiians, and most of it is grown right here in flooded fields.
Those "white patches" in the photograph are water.
Hawaiian Red Jungle Fowl
Hawaiian Red Jungle Fowl are everywhere to be found running wild all over Kauai as well as the other Hawaiian Islands. Some are more tame than others; the genuine wild red jungle fowl are more in isolated areas and are not tame. Many have interbred with domestic chickens. Notice the rubber slipper.....again, found everywhere in the islands. People dress very casual here, as a rule.
Kilauea Point Lighthouse
This lighthouse was built in 1913 and for 62 years its light guided commerce ships between Asia and Hawaii. It is located at Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge, which is 2 miles north of historic Kilauea town on the northern tip of Kauai.
There are thousands of migratory birds that use the refuge for resting, nesting and foraging. You will find red-footed boobies, brown boobies, frigatebirds, tropic birds, and wedge-tailed shearwaters here.
Also, in the 1990's, a few Nene, Hawaii's state bird which is an endangered species, were introduced here and are doing quite well. Below are some Nene which are interested in a tasty apple.
There are quite a few videos on YouTube showing beautiful scenery found on Kauai. Below are two I chose for you to enjoy. Check out YouTube for others.
Kauai has the wettest spot to be found in the United States; check it out.
Go here to find out more about Hawaiian Red Jungle Fowl.
Some other information to be found on Nene, Hawaii's State bird, can be found here
"He that loveth not, knoweth not God; for God is love." - 1 John 4:8
This Inspirational weekend post continues, in part, the discussion begun about the Tribulation Period
from last weekend (scroll down one post). World events are still happening as the Bible predicted -- and close to home here in the United States with attacks on innocent people in California, for one instance. I highly recommend that you thoughtfully and prayerfully read Matthew 24 about the signs of the end times.
Let me also quote from 2 Timothy 3: 1-5 : "This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away."
The good news is, we are so far into the last days that all such evil will not last much longer and true believers have a wonderful hope to look forward to with the Lord in heaven. Take heart and wait patiently for the Lord.
As to why, since God is love, He will unleash His wrath relentlessly in the Tribulation period, the above Scriptures help answer that question; we must remember that God is Holy, pure perfection. He is also a God of justice and cannot leave sin unpunished. God's vengeance is perfect and holy and His wrath is fearsome and something to be terrified of, unless you are saved by grace. In which case the blood of Jesus shed at Calvary has made atonement for your sins and God's wrath will not come upon you then. "Much more then, being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him." - Romans 5:9
Another reason (besides justice and vengeance from God) for the Tribulation period is to bring people to salvation. God's wrath can bring people to repent and to turn to Him. "For when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness." - Isaiah 26:9
Just like now, when God will use trials and heartaches to get our attention for us to turn to Him in faith and repentance, so during the Tribulation God's wrath will cause many to turn to Him.
It reminds me of the verse at 2 Peter 3:9 , "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance."
One thing I did not make clear enough in last weekend's post is that the Mark of the Beast referred to in Revelation 13:16-18 means the Mark of the antichrist; beast is another term for the antichrist in Revelation. A rather fitting term for someone so evil.
Like I have stressed before, believers have a hope and a future; they will not be around during the Tribulation but will be in heaven then with the Lord. It is time to get right with the Lord if you have not done so before now. "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." - John 3:16
"For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be." - Matthew 24:21
There is so much to write about the 7 year tribulation period and so many Scriptures to include that I almost don't know where to begin. Maybe a good beginning is to say that if you are a true believer, you will not be here during the tribulation period; you would have already been "caught up" in the Rapture of the Church - Jesus' "Bride" - to be in heaven with the Lord while God unleashes His wrath on the wicked, ungodly world during this time of trouble, destruction, death, and judgment of the tribulation when God punishes the wicked and defiant people left on earth at that time.
Some time after the Rapture - we don't know exactly how long - the tribulation will begin when Israel and the antichrist sign a peace treaty, a covenant = Daniel 9:27. But 3 1/2 years after signing this treaty, the antichrist will break it when he enters the temple and desecrates it and causes the sacrifices to cease and disrupts the Jews system of worship. "When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)" - Jesus speaking at Matthew 24:15. This marks the 3 1/2 years of what is to follow: the "Great Tribulation" of the last 3 1/2 years of that period, which will be the worst ever for the horrific destruction and afflictions that will be unprecedented in all of human history. This 3 1/2 year period (or 1,260 days) is spoken of in many Scriptures : Revelation 12:6, 14; Daniel 12:5-7; Revelation 11:2-3 and others.
During this last half of the tribulation, the persecution and wrath and judgments will be extremely severe on the Jewish people. The great tribulation is meant to bring the Jewish people, Israel, to their knees in repentance and for them to acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah. And in the end of the tribulation, when Jesus appears in all His glory as the Messiah, all Israel will be rescued by Him.
Below are two videos (not mine) that go into greater detail about what happens after the Rapture:
And salvation in the tribulation:
I highly recommend that you watch these 2 videos; they are chock full of interesting and life-saving information.
As to the fact that many will be saved during the tribulation period, here is Scriptural proof at Revelation 7:9,14 = "After this I beheld, and lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands...........And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of the great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." So, as you can see, many will become Christians during the tribulation period.
Don't be misled and think you do not need to get saved before the Rapture and before the tribulation; the antichrist will want you to take the mark of the beast (more about that in another post) in order to buy, sell, eat and simply to live and exist. Men with families may go ahead and think they need to take care of their wives and children and take the Mark in order to do so, only to be eternally damned for pledging allegiance to the antichrist instead of to God Almighty. So a person may cave in and take the mark of the beast out of weakness and self survival. To defy the antichrist and the one world government means certain death, either from starvation and famine or by being killed, probably being beheaded as in Revelation 20:4 = "And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years." This is very plain, and when you consider what is even now going on in the present world with all the beheadings of believers, this Scripture really hits home. As for the mark of the beast, again, that can be a topic for another blog post, but many scholars believe it will be either a tattoo or more likely an RFID chip implanted in the forehead or the right hand. That technology is already here and is being used to enter locked office doors, to pay for purchases, etc., and the powers that be want everyone micro chipped by 2017. Like I say, a subject that needs more attention in another blog post.
For true believers and for those who endure until the end, a wonderful future awaits us in heaven with the Lord.
"And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away." - Revelation 21: 3-4
"The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe." - ,,,,,,,,,,Proverbs 29:25
Sometimes the study of Eschatology (study of end times) can bring fear even to Christians if they are not grounded in the saving Scriptures of the Bible. Some believe Christians will go through the horrific 7 year tribulation period, and that erroneous belief would cause fear to anyone if they are aware of the judgments -- God's wrath - that will be poured out during that time. I will talk about the tribulation period soon in another post.
This time I am concentrating on taking one day at a time, as the old hymn goes:
"One day at a time sweet Jesus
That's all I'm asking of you
Just give me the strength
To do every day what I have to do
Yesterday's gone sweet Jesus
And tomorrow may never be mine
Lord, help me today, show me the way
One day at a time."
There is more to the hymn, but the above words pretty much sums it up. In other words, just follow Jesus one day at a time; one hour at a time; one step at a time.
"Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble." - Matthew 6:34
"Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid." - John 14:27
If you are a true believer, you need not be afraid of many things that vex the world today. Just put all of your trust and hope in the Lord; He will take care of you and rescue you from the wrath to come.
There is something peaceful about watching a turtle resting on a log or a rock. We need to be like that turtle and hold fast to our Rock, Jesus. He will not let us drown in the murky, dark waters of sin or this wicked, turbulent world of evil. If we keep our focus on and cling to Jesus, worry and fear will not overcome us.
"No one can pray and worry at the same time." - Max Lucado
"Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow. It empties today of its strength." -
Corrie Ten Boom
Worry is a sin, because we are doubting God when we worry and are not showing faith in Him. If we have a close, intimate, love relationship with God through Jesus Christ, we will not be overcome with fear and anxiety. Christianity is all about a relationship with Jesus more than it is a religion. If you truly love God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength and all of your mind -- and are a true follower of Jesus - you will have peace that passeth all understanding. (Matthew 22:37-40; Matthew 10:38; Philippians 4:7)
Part of the secret to peace and taking one day at a time is to learn to wait upon the Lord.
Psalm 27:14 says, "Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart: Wait, I say, on the LORD." I wrote a post about that here , which explains why waiting on the Lord can be a good thing.
Have a happy weekend ! Below is a beautiful video (not mine) with gorgeous scenery for you to enjoy over the weekend.
Go ahead and smile:
Internet photo
What fun captions could be made for this amusing photograph ! Like maybe a mother saying to her adolescent, "I said don't talk back!"
"This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come." - 2 Timothy 3:1
There is such power in the ocean waves; there is more power in God's Holy Word to change hearts and also the power to predict the future. We are living in the last days. Just read the news and look around you at all the violence and immorality and lawlessness....better yet, just read the Bible and it describes the times we are living in exactly. I do not want this post to be all doom and gloom, but the world needs to be aware that God's wrath will soon be poured out upon it for all of its evil and its rejecting Jesus as Savior. Bad news for unbelievers, good news for true believers. Followers of Jesus will be caught up to heaven to be with the Lord before God's day of wrath and destruction on the earth.
"But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but My Father only. But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be." - Jesus speaking at Matthew 24:36-39.
There was much corruption in Noah's day. The fallen angels had come to earth and married the women there and produced giants as offspring (Genesis 6). These fallen angels also tampered with the DNA so that all mankind was not as God intended; that is, except for Noah and his family, their bloodline was still pure so that the Messiah would one day come from them. The devil was trying to defeat God's purpose to have a pure bloodline for the coming Messiah. (Genesis 3:15 --Satan's seed and the woman's seed.)
This may sound far-fetched to many, but it is the only explanation that makes clear why God had to destroy that evil society and even the majority of the animals. Below are two videos that go into more detail on this and the days of Noah.
Today scientists are experimenting with the same type of procedures that were prevalent in Noah's day. They are into trans-humanism, mixing animal and human DNA, chips to implant in soldiers to make them superheroes with extreme endurance...even to control them like robots. I could go on and on, but perhaps you would like to view the videos above and do some research on your own. In a nutshell, they are also trying to achieve immortality through science and become godlike.
There are many signs that we are living in the last days found in Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21 and other places in the Bible. Again, all you have to do is to look at what is currently happening in the world. Here I am focusing primarily on how things today are similar to the days of Noah.
"So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand. Verily I say unto you, this generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled." - Jesus speaking at Luke 21:31-32.
For those who scoff at this and say there have always been wars and bad times and evil, then there is a Scripture written about them at 2 Peter 3:3-4 : "Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of His coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation."
In the Bible, we are not told the day and the hour when Jesus will return to take the Church, all true believers, up to heaven in the Rapture, but we are given signs to know when His return is near. Unbelievers don't see it, but believers can discern the times and know that it is very near now. Look at what is going on in the Middle East. Previously I made a post here concerning what is presently going on in Syria, how Russia is mentioned in Ezekiel 38, and how Damascus will be totally destroyed soon according to Isaiah 17:1. So there are many other current events that point to the fact that we are now living in the last days. There are, in other words, many prophecies in the Bible that are coming to pass at an accelerated pace all at once now; a convergence.
Remember, God does not unleash his wrath without first giving a warning. He warned for 120 years through Noah as he built the ark. Lot and his family were warned and helped before the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrha. There are many more examples of this in Scripture. Romans 5:9 says, "Much more then, being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him."
All of the above information is good news to Christians, for soon they will be with the Lord in heaven. It is time for unbelievers to repent and turn to Jesus as their Savior and by faith begin to live a godly life. The time on earth after the Rapture of the Church will be a time of much destruction and death known as the 7 year Tribulation. It will be too late then as most people in that time will not be inclined to accept Jesus, though some will. The Tribulation will have to be a subject for another post in the future.
"For I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day." - 2 Timothy 1:12
"Once more, never think that you can live to God by your own power or strength; but always look to and rely on Him for assistance, yea, for all strength and grace." - David Brainerd, Missionary
These powerful waves in the photograph above remind me of God's great power and strength. Watching the surf is a spiritual experience for me, even though I am a little afraid of the water, especially powerful surf like this. I suppose that is like we love God, but are in reverent fear of Him at the same time. That same reverent fear of Him should guide us in leading godly lives.
Grace is unmerited favor; something we do not deserve. Many of you may be familiar with GRACE
being "God's Riches At Christ's Expense." The gift of salvation that is in and through Jesus Christ is God's greatest act of Grace. It is available for all who accept this gift by faith.
"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast." - Ephesians 2:8-9
By His shed blood at Calvary, Jesus was our substitute and purchased every sinner and, once a believer, you are sealed with the Holy Spirit and are a child of God destined for Heaven.
Without going into a lot of detail, the good Lord has helped me to overcome many obstacles and I am forever grateful for that and for His love and guidance. I identify with Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:9 : "And He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me." In my life, God has made a way where, humanly speaking, there was no way. I have learned to follow what it says in Proverbs 3:5-6 , "Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths."
I am weak and imperfect, but when I rely on the good Lord He gives me the strength and power to overcome my weaknesses and to carry on when things get tough.
"Grace, then, is grace, - that is to say, it is sovereign, it is free, it is sure, it is unconditional, and it is everlasing." - Alexander Whyte
"Extraordinary afflictions are not always the punishment of extraordinary sins, but sometimes the trial of extraordinary graces. Sanctified afflictions are spiritual promotions." - Matthew Henry
We should be thankful for the gift of grace, and praise God in song and worship. One hymn that brings me to tears is "Amazing Grace", because I at one time was so wretched but God has made me whole through His Son Jesus Christ and I am so very grateful. Below is a video of LeAnn Rimes' version of this moving hymn:
Since God has been so loving and full of grace towards us, we also should extend grace to others. We may not be in a position to make large cash donations, but we can show simple acts of kindness and helpfulness to others. We can be generous with our smiles as well as visit the sick and the elderly. We certainly need to be forgiving of others. Look how much Jesus forgave us!
"Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man." - Colossians 4:6
Remember, God's grace saves us from death and eternal torment. It also gives us a sense of peace and much comfort to know we are bound for heaven one day.
"But to the God of all grace, Who hath called us into His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you." - I Peter 5:10
"Love is the sum of all virtue, and love disposes us to good." - Jonathan Edwards
And here is to you having a wonderful weekend ! This post is about love - again. So much can be said about love that it is impossible to put it all in one blog post. Now I will focus primarily on how much God loves us using Scriptures, videos, and my own reflections on the subject.
Below is a video that shows how much Jesus loves us.
"Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins." - I John 4:10
"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." Jesus speaking at John 15:13.
"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." - John 3:16
We humans cannot totally comprehend the great love God has for us; God is love, it is His very nature. I John 4:8, 16. Everything He does is out of love; yes, even when He disciplines us or allows hardships to overcome us. Because trials and hardships help mold us into what God desires us to become; we can grow spiritually from His correction.
Another music video below concerning Jesus' love for us. "Above All" by Michael W. Smith
"While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.." - Romans 5:8
When I consider all that God and Jesus have done for me and all true believers, it fills me with so much love and gratitude that I could never explain the depth of it all in words. What amazing love ! Even when I am experiencing trials, I still have peace in my soul because of the Lord's great love and the fact that I am aware of His presence and helping hand.
"Doubt not His grace because of thy tribulation, but believe that He loveth thee as much in seasons of trouble as in of happiness." - Charles Spurgeon
