Dear Family and Friends, 

We took a break from our discipleship series a few weeks ago as we transitioned back home.

We were in the midst of examining why we don’t always obey Jesus. As a refresher of our discussion, the reasons were categorized into three “C’s,” Complacency, Consequence and Confidence.

Complacency means self-satisfaction. Consequence is the result or effect of an action or inaction, and confidence is the feeling or belief that one can rely on someone or something. All three C’s are interrelated and can lead to disobedience or as we shall see today, obedience. Today, let’s discuss the second C – consequence. 

I vividly remember my first months at Kaimuki High, mostly because my days were filled with fear. Among my fears were loneliness, rejection, and looking stupid in class.

My biggest fear however was getting hijacked and beaten up. I had been warned to avoid certain hallways and restrooms and to never make eye contact, so I was usually very careful.

Until one day my nightmare came true and I found myself confronted by the bull of Kaimuki. He was this huge human being with dark glaring eyes, and he looked way older than us, probably because he was. I went without school lunch that day, and the next, etc. 

I hated going to school. Living in fear – in the classroom, during the breaks and now lunch time – all day, every day was tiring to the point of exhaustion. 

I wonder how many of us are exhausted today, tired of living in fear. Many of us have had to fight our worst fears this past year.

Fear of death. Fear of loneliness. Fear of failure. Fear of pain. Fear of losing face. Fear of losing our job, security, money. Fear of losing control. Fear of lacking in essentials, e.g., toilet paper. 

Today, the emotions of many of us are raw; anxiety is at an all time high. If this is you, hang in there as God has a solution. “The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace.” Psalms 29:11 

There is no better solution to our fears than the peace of God. God created us to live in peace. Adam and Eve once lived in peace, until the evil one instilled fear in them.

Fear robs us of the best of life. Fear robs those who succumb to fear of life itself. Fear robs our hearts of the peace promised by Christ Jesus.  

But what does all of this have to do with consequence? Simply put, the consequence or benefit of obeying Jesus is peace, and a whole lot more.

“Mark the blameless man, and observe the upright; For the future of that man is peace.” Psalm 37:37 

“See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse – the blessing if you obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today.” Deuteronomy 11:26-27

“He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk in integrity.” Proverbs 2:7 

“If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened; but God has surely listened and has heard my prayer.” Psalm 66:18-19

“You are My friends if you do what I command you.” John 15:14

“Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.” John 14:23

Do you want peace in your heart, to be blessed by God, to have Godly wisdom, for God to hear your prayers, to reach“friend” status with Jesus, to have an intimate familial relationship with Jesus and the Father?

All this and more are ours when we obey the Lord. My wish is for everyone to experience these consequences of obeying Jesus.

That we all experience the life God wants for us.

You won’t believe this but soon after our initial encounter, the bull of Kaimuki and I became friends. I started taking two quarters to school and instead of waiting for him to ask, I looked for him and invited him to have lunch.

What he really wanted was to know someone cared.

An added benefit was that no one ever bothered me at school again. I indeed found peace by obediently loving others.

In love always,