Freedom
Devotions / 8 comments
It is 1 o’clock in the morning here in Johannesburg, South Africa. It’s been a whirlwind since we landed last Friday and I will never forget this experience. For the past 5 days we’ve had the privilege to meet some of the most beautiful people in the world.
South Africa is a wonderful country with very hospitable people. They are easy to hang with, love their sports and are always trying to feed you. As you can imagine, we feel right at home. However, they would tell you themselves that their history has been a “struggle”. The segregation, racism, oppression and poverty have wreaked havoc for a long time in this country. It wasn’t until the early 90’s when things started to turn around. I wouldn’t give it the respect it deserves if I tried to explain the details on the changes, how they came about and how far this country has come in such a short amount of time. I would highly recommend some personal study and research on “Apartheid” and it’s destruction.
Just a few hours ago, we were blessed to be able to sing in front of thousands of young South Africans as they sang along at the top of their voices. Dancing, chanting, jumping and worshipping with hands lifted to heaven. Shouting unto God with a voice of triumph! It was a thundering sound that will forever be etched in my heart. It was a cry from deep down. No longer a desperate weeping because of anger or sorrow. But a jubilant and unmistakable celebration of “Freedom”! How sweet it is to witness a people, once bound by slavery and the darkest of times, now “Free” to “Be Free”!
The challenge for South Africa is the same challenge that people everywhere are faced with today. How will we use our freedom? In Galatians 5:13 its says- “You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another humbly in love”. Our Pastor Rice Broocks put it this way, “Freedom is not the ability to do whatever you want to do. It the power to do what you ought to do”! What will you do with your freedom? How will you use it? Remember, it was purchased with a very high price. Don’t waste it! Don’t take it for granted. Don’t abuse it! Freedom isn’t free! Someone died so you and I could be free!
Written by: TheKatinas
Remember
Devotions / 15 comments
PSALM 103:1
O MY SOUL, BLESS GOD. FROM HEAD TO TOE, I’LL BLESS HIS HOLY NAME! O MY SOUL, BLESS GOD, DON’T FORGET A SINGLE BLESSING!
Some of you may know that this week we, The Katinas are celebrating 20 years of full time ministry. Our wives are putting “something” together for us this Thursday evening. I say “something” because while they’ve been planning this for months, we’ve been totally in “the dark”. We have no idea what’s happening! It’s exciting but I must confess, my brothers and I are a bit nervous. Usually we are the ones planning and putting the “show” together. It could get interesting. We’ll keep you posted!
At times we can become so driven and focused on the future. But there are moments when it is just as important to “remember” the past. When I reflect on the countless miles we’ve traveled, the beautiful people we’ve met, the lives that have been impacted, and the journey we’ve ventured so far, I am amazed at God’s enduring love. When we were just kids on and island dreaming that some day God would use our lives and music to touch the world. Wow, time flies when you’re having fun.
I encourage you today, to “remember”! Think about how God’s mercy and provision has kept you going. Remember how and what He’s set you free from. Meditate on how much He loves you. Bless Him! Praise Him! Thank Him! Worship Him! Even if you’re facing the most difficult of challenges, it is God who is faithful and will bring you through. If you’re past is too dark and you just want to put it behind you, remember that in God the best is yet to come!
Remembering God’s grace,
Joe
Written by: TheKatinas
Look Out
Devotions / 16 comments
Philippians 2: 3-4
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
In Rick Warren’s bestseller Purpose Driven Life, the very first words of the first chapter state the following, “It’s not about you. The purpose of your life is far greater than your own personal fulfillment, your peace of mind, or even your happiness. It’s far greater than your family, your career, or even your wildest dreams and ambitions.” Do you realize this simple fact? You were created for more than just to be happy or fulfill your own desires. God commands us to “look out” and to “reach out”!
Over 80% of churches in America are dying. Why? Pastor Ray Johnston of Bayside Community intelligibly explains, “Churches have become a holy huddle. For the most part it’s a place where Christians are taking care of Christians. We have lost our passion to reach out to the unbeliever and those that are in need of a Savior.” It seems as though we’ve forgotten that our churches and homes are supposed to be a hospital for the sick. A place of refuge and strength for the weak. A place where lost people can find their way home.
When is the last time you reached out to your neighbor? Do you even know your neighbor? Have you had someone over for dinner that doesn’t go to your church? Who doesn’t agree with your faith or even believe in God? Do the people that you’re in contact with on a daily basis know what you stand for? Or only what you’re against. The Bible says that it is God’s goodness that draws people to repentance. When others see you, do they encounter “God’s goodness”? If we’re going to see our lost loved ones come to know Christ in these last days, it is high time that we get our focus off of ourselves, and look out to the needs and interests of others. Find a need and fill it. Find a hurt and heal it!
Until next week,
Look Out!
Joe
Written by: TheKatinas
Looking In
Devotions / 16 comments
Matthew 7:1-6
“Don’t pick on people, jump on their failures, and criticize their faults-unless, of course, you want the same treatment. That critical spirit has a way of boomeranging. It’s easy to see a smudge on your neighbor’s face and be oblivious to the ugly sneer on your own. Do you have the nerve to say, “Let me wash your face for you, when your own face is distorted by contempt? It’s this whole traveling road-show mentality all over again, playing a holier-than-thou part instead of just living your part. Wipe that ugly sneer off your own face, and you might be fit to offer a washcloth to your neighbor. (The Message Bible)
WOW! Need I say anything else? God’s word has a way of telling us exactly what we need to do. Even when it’s not exactly what we want to hear.
I was driving home with my two sons, Josh and Eli yesterday. We were enjoying a beautiful, Tennessee afternoon. School was out for the day, the house was cleaned, cars were washed, the yard was mowed and we were going home to throw the baseball and enjoy some good home-cooking. Everything was near perfect except for a little 5 o’clock traffic. We were turning onto Mack Hatcher Parkway, a busy intersection about 2 miles from our house. When all of a sudden out of no where, a big SUV pulls out right in front of us all the way from the other lane and cuts us off. He didn’t want to wait in traffic like everyone else so he decided to sneak up on the right- hand lane that was for cars turning right but at the last second jumped onto our lane so he could turn left. I was infuriated. If my boys weren’t in the car I might have said a few choice words and even given him the half-peace sign. It wasn’t pretty. As I embarked on a journey of resentful thoughts and “under-my-breath” insults, I was gently reminded by a still small voice about my own issues. I was confronted with my anger, impatience and lack of self control. I was amazed at how quickly I allowed something so minute to change my mood and outlook on life. I glanced in the rear view mirror and discovered my nine year old, Eli looking right at me. BUSTED! Embarrassed and ashamed, I apologized to my sons. As usual, they were gracious and merciful.
It’s so easy to blame others and exterior circumstances for our attitudes and moods. We spend a lot of time trying to fix people, mend relationships and bring solutions to our distressed surroundings when really what’s inside of us is what needs to be dealt with. When you’re confronted or even cut-off with the realities of life, be quick to “LOOK IN” and take inventory before you start trying to assess everyone else and how they need to be. Let us be people that are willing and honest enough to deal righteously with ourselves. Hopefully what you will find on the inside is the peace of God that transcends all understanding, guarding your heart and mind in Christ Jesus!
joe
Written by: TheKatinas
One Life To Live
Devotions / 20 comments
Psalm 90: 10-12; We live for 70 years or so (with luck we might make it to 80), And what do we have to show for it? Trouble. Toil and trouble and a marker in the graveyard. Who can make sense of such rage, such anger against the very ones who fear you? Oh! Teach us to live wisely and well! (The Message Bible)
It was a Thursday afternoon in Tacoma, Washington. April 21, 1988, 21 years ago yesterday, our Mother, Siainiu Liu Katina, went home to be with Jesus. She was only 50 years old but anyone who had the privilege of knowing her would tell you that she lived a full, flourishing and favorable life! She was the Mom that all of our friends and cousins wish they could have. She was beautiful, elegant, sensitive, resourceful, and loved people so readily. She battled cancer for 4 years and though it was very painful to see her decline physically, we learned the most valuable lessons of life during that time. To honor her memory, we want to share with you some of those lessons.
1. Make the best of every situation!
We moved to Samoa in 1977. It was a tough transition for our family. Dad and Mom had steady jobs in Oceanside, California and we were blessed to live in a middle-class neighborhood. Then we discovered, Samoa. To be honest it was not “the islands of our dreams” at the time. No running hot water. All of us contracted various diseases because of the change of climate and diet. Moving from village to village, living with relatives that were speaking a foreign language. And worst of all for any American-born child, “no McDonald’s”! Mom was our constant source of encouragement. She did her best to stay positive even when situations were difficult. James reminded us of how resourceful she was. She could make a great meal out of nothing. We couldn’t afford to buy clothes from the store so she would buy fabric and sew our clothes. She tried her best to stay current with whatever was in style. She wasn’t always successful, but we didn’t have the heart to tell her, “Mom this doesn’t look like what everyone else is wearing.” Like her, we tried to make the best of the situation!
2. Pray!
She prayed about everything. For several years, our house was just a shell without walls. It was divided by curtains. We would hear Mom just about every night, crying out to God for our salvation. She wasn’t gifted musically, but she constantly prayed that her children would be used to bring people to Christ. She prayed fervently for her siblings, nephews and nieces. She prayed that they would accept Christ as their Lord and Savior. It’s amazing that even after her death; those prayers are still bearing fruit today! It always seemed like when Mom prayed, God answered.
3. Love People!
She would say this to us continually, “Love People!” They were words she lived by. Occasionally, we would have troubled teenagers or homeless families living with us. Dad’s discipline and strict rules would keep them in check and give them a house to stay in. But Mom’s love and tender heart would bring transformation and provide them with a home. We literally saw lives changed because of the depth and sincerity of Christ’s love in her. She embodied so many great qualities. But her greatest attribute was love.
We could do a 52 week series and still have plenty to say about Mom. But I’ll close with this. She lived each day, the way she lived her 50 years, “to the fullest”! I often wonder what it would be like if she could have met her Grandchildren. She never got to see any of them. I wonder how proud she would be of the wives we chose. I imagine she would enjoy visiting with each of them and telling them our childhood stories. What would it be like to have her at one of our concerts? What would she think of the men she raised and prayed for? She never got to see us perform a full concert. She died shortly before our first recording came out.
I am certain of one thing, the legacy she left behind still speaks loud and clear. She lived her life wisely and well! You and I have the opportunity today to do the same. We have “one life to live!” Live it wisely. Live it well.
Until next week,
Live Strong!
-joe
PS We will continue the “Looking” series next week.
Written by: TheKatinas
Looking
Devotions / 24 comments
Today’s constant uncertainty and economic chaos has found many of us in a plight we’ve never experienced before. Questions are being asked but very few answers are given. People are wondering where to turn, what to do and how to make it through. What about you? Does your conduct agree with your creed? In moments like these, where are you looking? Do you feel like ol’ Waylon when he sang?
Looking for love in all the wrong places,
Looking for love in too many faces,
Searching your eyes, trying to find traces….and so on, and so on.
For the next 3 weeks, I want to encourage you on where to be “looking” so that you don’t get distracted from reaching your destiny. It’s easy to start focusing on the problem and not the answer. Don’t get caught “rubbernecking”! You’ll start a traffic jam and maybe even another accident. Get your eyes on the prize!
1. LOOK UP!
Psalm 121:1-2
I lift my eyes to the mountains where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.
Luke warned us that these days would come. Luke 21:28 encourages us to “LOOK UP” for our redemption is coming. He tells us to stand up with your our heads high. Help is on the way! There is light at the end of the tunnel. We’re getting closer and closer to our destination. I’m not suggesting that we all pack our bags, move to the hills and get ready to leave. No! God has so much for us to do here. There are lives to be changed and nations to be reached with the Gospel of Jesus. If you are reading this, God has plenty for you to do. However, it is so important that you keep our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of your faith. Keep your mind stayed on Him, and He will keep you in perfect peace! The stock market has definitely seen better days. Job security as we once knew it no longer exists. Our great country seems more polarized than ever before. However, our God still reigns! He is the same yesterday, today and forever! He is Shalom, our peace! El Shaddai, God Almighty! Jehovah Rafa, our healer! Jehovah Jireh, our provider! He still comforts the hurting. He promises to make the weak, strong. He will never leave you. He is here with me and there with you simultaneously. Time cannot hold Him. Death couldn’t keep him.
Until next week,
Keep looking up!
joe
Written by: TheKatinas
Alive
Devotions / 18 comments
Churches everywhere are bracing for Easter Sunday. Regular attendees as well as “EC” (Easter and Christmas) goers will fill chapels, sanctuaries, cathedrals, gymnasiums, ballrooms, theaters and anywhere else people gather to worship. There’s a cemetery down the street from our house and even they are advertising a “sunrise service”. Yeah baby! Church in the middle of a gravesite! That’s what I’m talking about!
Why not? After all, that’s where Easter started anyway. Imagine with me that morning? Religious leaders preparing for Sunday service without the distraction of having the self-proclaimed Messiah around. They had finally put him away for good. Roman soldiers who thought they were the stuff, “out cold”. Then all of a sudden, “EARTHQUAKE”! The mammoth boulder that covered the tomb rolls away like a child’s marble. BOOM! BAM! SHAZAAM! Jesus, Savior of the world, King of kings and Lord of lords walks out to the stereo sounds of angels singing and worshipping His majesty! Scarred from the nails driven into his body three days earlier, yet “ALIVE” and well! He was beaten, bruised, and pulverized beyond description on Friday, but today……He’s “ALIVE”!
Over 2000 years later, we celebrate! What separates us Christians from every other faith is the very fact that Jesus is ALIVE! He is no longer in the grave! Everyone else, Mohammed, Buddha, Confucius, Zoroaster or anyone else people choose to worship are all dead and decayed by now. But Jesus, “HE’S ALIVE”! If I come across a little excited, it’s because I am. You see, I was dead too. I was laid up in a grave of sin. I was bruised and beat up by my own selfish desires. I was burdened by the pain of guilt and shame. And then one day, “BOOM, BAM, SHAZAAM”! Jesus came into my heart and set me free. He took the debts I owed and paid for them all on His own. He forgave me of every sin I ever committed. Because of love, grace, and mercy…..Because of Jesus, today “I’m ALIVE”!
Romans 6:6-10; Could it be any clearer? Our old way of life was nailed to the Cross with Christ, a decisive end to that sin-miserable life-no longer at sin’s every beck and call! What we believe is this: If we get included in Christ’s sin-conquering death, we also get included in his life-saving resurrection. We know that when Jesus was raised from the dead it was a signal of the end of death-as-the-end. Never again will death have the last word. When Jesus died, he took sin down with him, but alive he brings God down to us. You are dead to sin and alive to God. That’s what Jesus did. (The Message Bible)
Share your story. If you wouldn’t mind, take a few minutes and let us know how Jesus gave you life. How you were once dead, but now you’re ALIVE! If you’re not sure of where you stand today, let me know. I’d love to talk with you more about Jesus. He would love for nothing more than to see you ALIVE!
Until next week,
Happy Easter!
joe
Written by: TheKatinas
The Cross
Devotions / 21 comments
Over 2000 years ago, the story began. A man named Jesus was falsely accused by self-righteous religious leaders of crimes he was totally innocent of. He was disowned, beaten and made fun of by his very own people. The same ones he loved affectionately and performed many miracles for. Then he was beaten again, spat at, whipped and flogged for several hours. The Roman soldiers did this to the point his appearance was unrecognizable. That wasn’t enough though. They gave him a “CROSS”. A cross was usually reserved for the worst of criminals. They made him carry it for several miles up to a hill where he would hang naked before the whole world to see. In excruciating pain, he willingly took the blame and suffered consequences he did not deserve. Frederick Farrar described the torturous effect: “For indeed a death by crucifixion seems to include all that pain and death can have of horrible and ghastly—dizziness, cramp, thirst, starvation, sleeplessness, traumatic fever, tetanus, shame, long continuance of torment, horror of anticipation, mortification of untended wounds—all intensified just up to the point at which they can be endured at all.”
Struggling to contain my own emotions, I’m reminded of the ultimate sacrifice that was made so that I could be forgiven. I’m confronted with the fact that my Salvation that is so rich and free is definitely not cheap. Theologians say that the cross was actually just a beam. I wholeheartedly disagree. Nailed to that cross, whatever it looked like, was every…………pain, heartache, sickness, failure, fear, doubt, addiction, divorce, depression, discouragement, disease, death, dysfunction, curse, and sin we could ever imagine or commit.
As we approach Easter, let us remember the message of the cross. It still has the power to save and to forgive. For some it many it be too gruesome to fathom, but without the cross, there would be no hope for the world. Let it be more than a piece of jewelry you wear, a decoration in your house or a tattoo on your body. May it resonate loud and clear by the way you live.
1 Corinthians 1:18
; For the story and message of the cross is sheer absurdity and folly to those who are perishing and on their way to perdition, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
-Joe
Written by: TheKatinas
Persistence Of A Dream
Devotions / 16 comments
Persistence of A Dream
Persistence comes from the root word “Persist”. Here are a few definitions that I came across.
1. to continue steadfastly or firmly in some state, purpose, course of action, or the like.
2. to last or endure tenaciously.
3. to be insistent in a statement, request, question, etc.
In the last three weeks, we talked about several aspects of a Dream. 1- The Power of a Dream, 2- The Purpose of a dream and 3- The Passion of a dream. I believe that all of these points have and will continue to help us to dream like never before. As we come to the end of this series, I would like to leave you with one last thought. In order for you to experience the power, realize the purpose and feel the passion of a dream, you must be PERSISTENT!
Why is it important to be persistent with your dream? Because often times it is through your persistence in the process of dreaming that God will meet the desires of your heart. (Psalms 37:4)
The seed that was planted in your heart long ago will not come to fruition unless you are persistent in accordance to God’s will for your life.
What will it take to be persistent with your dream? The best way to answer this question is to fully understand that there is an enemy that is intent on stopping you from dreaming. This enemy comes only to kill, steal and destroy (John 10:10). Therefore, if that is what we are up against, then we must be fully armed to fight back (Ephesians 6:11-17). Be steadfast, stand firm, endure tenaciously and be Persistent!
What will happen when you are persistent with your dream? I thought that it would be appropriate to answer this final question with an example of a man who persisted in his dream, even at the cost of his very life. That man is Dr. Martin Luther King. Here is the last portion of the famous “I Have a Dream” speech. As you read this transcript, may these words inspire you to not only dream, but to be persistent with your dream.
I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.”
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; one day right there in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.
I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.
This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.
This will be the day when all of God’s children will be able to sing with a new meaning, “My country, ’tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim’s pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring.”
And if America is to be a great nation this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania!
Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado!
Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California!
But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia!
Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee!
Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.
And when this happens, when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, “Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!”
James
Written by: TheKatinas
The Passion of a Dream
Blog, Devotions / 27 comments
At the age of six, I began to dream that one day I would be a part of something that would bring hope and healing to hurting people around the world. I didn’t have to look far. It has been well over twenty years that I have been traveling with my brothers fulfilling that same dream.
Do you have a dream? Do you have passion behind that dream? Psalm 37:3-4 says, “Trust in the Lord and do good, dwell in the Land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.”
Your passion will be tested by these five principles:
D. R. E. A. M.
D – Devote your whole trust in no one else but the Lord
R – Release good deeds from your heart
E – Edify yourself in the presence of God
A – Acknowledge the faith and blessings of God
M – Make God happy through your talents and abilities
You may have an idea of what you want to do, but you must remember, an idea is a figment of one’s imagination. A “God idea” is birthed from the heart of God into our hearts. It then becomes that dream that becomes our life assignment and our passion.
Make a choice today to D.R.E.A.M. God’s way. He will show you His plan and you will only then understand the passion of a dream.
- Jesse
