Mohala Maui (Petals Unfold on Maui)Sample

Mohala Maui 2 (1 Peter 1:3)

What was your first part-time job?

I had some pretty lousy ones, you know, before dawn newspaper delivery, dishwashing in the back, and watching the servers get all the tips. Driving tours all around Maui was much better, especially with the cutbacks! But there was one part-time job I was proud of-- in high school, I taught English conversation to a group of medical doctors at a cancer center on the outskirts of Tokyo--and they paid me really well. Actually, my pay as a high school kid was higher than it is now…and today, I have a doctorate…yes, God has a way of keeping us humble!

Now, what I remember most about the doctors at the Cancer Center was the heartbreak of their work. Treating cancer patients means a sad story after a sad story…many years of seeing tears. I remember thinking, if I was ever a doctor, I would want to work in the happiest part of a hospital, the maternity ward! Every day, there would be smiles, and the tears would be tears of joy!

Birth is a wonderful thing. Birth may be as close as the natural world gets to a miracle. So, what experiences have you had with birth? A pet having puppies or kittens? The hatching of a gecko egg? Or best, the awesome joy of welcoming your own child into this world?

This reading plan will focus on key verses in the New Testament on the theme of New Beginnings. New Beginnings start with birth. And birth means smiles, wonder, and expectation!

Let’s look at today’s wonder-filled Scripture:

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy, he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

1 Peter 1:3

According to this verse, what has God given you? That is right—a new birth! That means smiles, wonder, and expectations are yours!

Take a moment. Stop. Now, smile! No, I’m not kidding! If only this one thing in the world was good for you, you should be smiling. Why? Because a new birth means abundant possibilities and potential--wonderful things are ahead!

When I was doing work at Waseda University, it seemed every girl there had read Ayako Miura—a writer who was impacting the whole country!

Before her new birth, Ayako was disillusioned with life and the entire world but then ended up 13 years, bedridden with TB and suicidal. Seven of those years, she was in a body cast, like in a cocoon, waiting for a metamorphosis… a birth.

And God met Ayako there, where she suffered, through an average fellow named Tadashi. Tadashi also suffered from TB, and he gave Ayako a Bible and reflected God’s love. Eventually, Ayako was reborn and went on to become one of Japan’s greatest women writers, publishing 80 books and winning many awards. When Ayako picked up her pen, she changed Japan. A new birth. Wonderful potential and possibilities.

Jesus Himself said,

"You must be born again. The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” John 3:7-8

And that is the life that is reborn; the Spirit takes us on an indescribable adventure, as unpredictable as the wind blowing. You will go places you never dreamed.

You have been reborn. Smile. Let it begin!

Aloha oe. Thank you for existing.

Dr. Andy