The Conchshell Chronicles - Our Newsletter

Giving thanks to God is important in our relationship with God. It is an expression of ultimate faith in Him to provide, protect, and prosper us.  Jesus says not to worry, because He already knows your needs. If we follow Him, life our lives for Him and those around us, we will have all that we need. In my experience, He often gives us more than we need, so that we can become the givers that God uses to meet the needs of others.

November is the month that we dedicate a day to giving thanks. It is an American tradition that began in 1621, when 50 survivors of the Mayflower colonists celebrated an abundant harvest with 100 Native Americans who assisted them in their cultivation of crops, and literally saved their lives. There was a lot to give thanks to God about that year.

Our first president George Washington proclaimed Thanksgiving as a national celebration in 1789. The experience of the Revolutionary War, and subsequent quest for a workable form of government cause many of our founding fathers to beseech God for direction, and many credit those prayers as the catalyst for the principles formulated in our Constitution.

Regardless of our current circumstances, we all have some basic things to be thankful for. If giving thanks becomes a priority in our lives, and trusting God to guide us and provide for us, then life will become less anxious, and more peaceful.

Let us come to him with thanksgiving.
Let us sing psalms of praise to him.
For the LORD is a great God,
a great King above all gods. Psalms 95:2-3

  These ancient words are very significant and applicable to our lives now. Let’s make this a month, and year of constantly giving thanks to our Lord.   

Recently I watched a video of a young lady with beautiful tattoos on her hand. She said:

I can’t tell you if God exists but I have seen evil.

This week I bought my first Bible. I’m going to church for the first time.

We have seen things in these past five years that none of us expected! Nations locked down for months; Travel restrictions; Schools closed; Millions forced to take an untested vaccine;   Anxiety and Depression widespread through our society; Millions of migrants crossing European and American borders and the resulting cultural conflicts; the Rise of Overt Antisemitism; an ongoing war in Europe that has killed or wounded over 1,400,000 soldiers and over 50,000 civilians; a terror attack on Israeli communities that killed 1195 civilians and wounded 3400 more; the slaughter of over 40,000 Christians in Nigeria by Muslim militias.

Yes, Evil is out in the open and in plain sight.

We are unlike animals or plants. We are made specifically in the pattern of God, according to His likeness. That means that each human has Divine value and dignity. It means that all human life is precious to the Creator- thus the commandments not to murder, steal from, or lie to your neighbor in the Bible. World religions like Buddhism, Hunduism and Islam do not have this view of the preciousness of human life. That's why we see the sick lying in the streets of Asia, and infidels capriciously kiiled by Muslims. Remember it was those who hold a Biblical world view that started the first hospitals and universities. It was a group of revolutionaries that in 1776 declared that

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

A few weeks ago, I was at a memorial service at Kumulani Chapel on Maui for a friend. There were over a hundred    people there. I sat next to David, who was a manager of Kimo’s, one of the significant party places on Front Street Lahaina when I moved to Maui in 1981. Sitting behind me was Dickie, one of the Kimo bartenders. Dickie used to grow weed in his backyard and sell it to his friends in Lahaina. He bought plastic flowers and wired them to his pot plants, so his neighbors would think he was growing flowers. Next to him was Marla, a former waitress from the Chart House, another party spot in Lahaina. The service was led by Ricky, who owned a record store on Maui when I met him in 1981. As people began to get up and talk about Roger, the deceased, I realized that each of these  speakers were not Christians when they came to Maui. They came to surf, party, and enjoy life. The Deceased himself used to sell drugs at Kimo’s before he became a Karate master and opened his own dojo.

But something happened to those attending Roger’s service, including the Deceased - they became followers of Jesus. Since they were already living life in the fast lane, they took their   relationship with God very seriously and applied the same     enthusiasm to Christ as they did to their former lives. They were not spectators to Christianity but bold participants, and their efforts changed the spiritual landscape on Maui.

This morning, I heard the famous film maker Ken Burns (The Civil War, Prohibition, etc) say something very profound that caused me to consider why I celebrate the 4^Th of July each year. In essence, here is what Ken said:

“Besides the Birth of Christ, the most important event in human history is the American Revolution. Before, men were subject to other men and governments, but the Founders      proclaimed that God had given men and women inalienable rights to Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. They       were no longer subject to men but now God alone. Since then,       civilizations all over the world have tried to copy the ideals of the American Revolution.”

The Birth of Christ and his mission on Earth set mankind free from the curse of sin and separation from God, for those who choose to accept Him as Lord. Most of the Founders of our country were men who had been educated in the Hebrew and Greek language and who read the Scriptures with assurance    of their origin from God Himself. They believed that in the Scriptures, God laid out His plan for humanity and His values  for their lives and relationships with others.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

There was a song by Barry McGuire that hit the charts on 1965 called Eve of Destruction. Maybe you remember his raspy voice singing:

The Eastern world, it is exploding

Violence flarin, bullets loadin’

You’re old enough to kill

But not for voting

And even the Jordan River has bodies floatin

But your tell me over and over and over again my friend

Ah, you don’t believe we’re on the eve of destruction.

In 1965 we had just had the Cuban Missile Crisis where  Russia and the U.S. almost went to nuclear war. The Vietnam War was heating up. Egyptians, Syrians and Jordanians were rattling their sabers for another war with Israel, while we had sent the Gemini astronauts into space for four days. Racial  tensions were high in the South as Martin Luther King launched his non-violent protest over Jim Crow laws.

Now 60 years later, we have ‘violence flaring’ and some think we are on the ‘eve of destruction’.

Yet we made it through those turbulent years, 18 year- olds got the right to vote. Israel, Jordan and Egypt have peace and trade treaties with each other. We elected an African American/Caucasian president who served for two terms.

It was a usual early morning when I awoke at about 4:30 am looking forward to see how the sun would rise.  To my surprise as soon as I walk out of the room into the kitchen, I saw the bright full moon over the water through our glass window.  It was a scene I had never witnessed before because there was also a sailboat to the left of our dock and the moon shining and creating the perfect water reflection. Breathtaking!  This was a completion of a vision that we would one day have a sail boat next to the dock .

Pleasure, Power and Possessions are not enough to satisfy that deep need we have for purpose and relationship. It’s because we humans are created in God’s image, and He has placed His desires for us within our DNA. Nothing else will fill that place He holds in our lives.