Health, Wealth and Happiness

This letter is racist and wrong.  Most of Obama’s education came from the prestigious private school called Punahou here in Honolulu.  The emphasis on the color of his mothers’ skin and father’s skin is a sick attempt to inflame racial hatred.

Obama is from the USA and has worshipped for 20 years at a Church of Christ.

When you say he’ll come from the East, do you mean Hawaii, or Chicago, or Kansas?  Which one of those is the East you are referring to?

Oh wait, he spent 2 years in a Catholic school.  He must secretly be a Catholic, right?  One could twist it that way, as well.

I am a Christian and what I see here is hogwash.  My NIV Bible does not say anything that can be interpreted in THIS way.

By the way, we are NOT at war with the Muslim Nation.  If we ever get to THAT we will lose.  The terrorists are a small group of radical Muslims amidst a very large number that are not.

I feel sorry for those that are easily misled, like sheep that simply and mindlessly forward this without questioning.  Those that are of more noble character, like the Bereans examine the Scriptures daily and make sure what they are told is true.

I will pray for those that are so easily misled.  It is sad that some are so paranoid.

I am a Christian who is for Barack even though I do not believe in everything he stands for.  He is NOT the one who has anger management issues and wants to drag out this terrible war and who stands for 4 or 8 more years of the same old same old.  He DOES stand for hope for millions of Americans who feel that their voices have not been heard.

I pray that you all will have the discernment to see through this hate-inspiring rhetoric.  I am not necessarily asking people to supoport Obama, just to have the decency to disregard this poorly disguised racial hatred.

Rick Emmerich 

It seemed so….authentic, as we met for the first time with our new evangelist and the mission team.  We were at the home of Joe and Mary Santos, who had the courage to start their own house church 21 months ago, fed up with the doctrinal changes and the attitudes of their previous church.  My wife (Dr. Malia Emmerich) and I had watched from a distance as we were forced to endure some very ‘non-christian’ behavior from that very same church, that we still attended.  Not that this post is about me, but after a long period of thought, prayer and seeking of advice we were also ready to make the break later that winter. Last night, we were one with the new arrivals from the CAICC (City of Angels Intl. Christian Church)… CAICC.org and our new evangelist, Kyle Bartholomew.  Joe had fielded a recent call attempting to slander Kyle, but Kyle’s life and his passion to work for God are an open book.  And we expect the persecution.  When others see a sold-out committed movement that actively preaches the Word and expects others to live by the Bible, they feel threatened. Our World Missions leader, Kip McKean preached a fiery and fact-filled message that dipped into little known Old Testament (OT) details.  During his history of the movement, tears were shed, and many Amens were heard.  His wife Elena’s soft voice would frequently say "Preach it Babe." As Kip highlighted, they have been persecuted mightily, but continue to do God’s work, which has shown phenomenal growth in the last 3 years.  One year ago a similar but larger missions team went to LA, with 42 members.  Through much sacrifice and then, of course lots of hard work, 101 baptisms and many resorations and move-ins have taken place in the LA area.   Again, see CAICC.org. Sadly for many were the details of how the old ICOC churches changed doctrine when things got tough and controversial, and how much those chuches (no longer united) have fallen in conviction and membership.  Many of us had been a part of those fellowships and we love so many friends that have been left behind. I have documented some of these details almost ad nauseum in other forums, but may chose to get into the previous church changes at a later date, if it’s deemed relevent.  Also, please view "Hope For The Islands" on this same site. The kick-off of this new version of the Honolulu International Christian Church was a loud, boisterous affair, with great song-leading and sharing late into the night. For those that desire a strict and thorough adherence to Biblical teachings, with the zeal and desire to seek and save the lost, join us in Honolulu at the Mauna Kea Chapel at 1330 Mauna Kea across from Zippys.  That’s Mauna Kea and Vineyard, at 10AM on Sunday morning. Can’t make it to the island, then go to http://CAICC.org to find a congregation near you.  Also, http://honicc.org and http://honicc.com for those of you who want to follow our growing fellowship.    Rick Emmerich

Thank God I got to know Jesus, and studied the Bible when I was 38 years old.

Thank God I live in Hawaii.

Thank God I met the woman of my dreams, and she saw fit to marry me.

Do you see a pattern developing here?  I love to fill in those statements.  (Don’t we all?)  It’s easy to write a few pages to explain, after the statement.  I am convinced that by being grateful and appreciative for ALL that I have, I am open to receiving more.  (I know that a lot of people feel that way.)

In fact, sometimes instead of just asking God for stuff I have grateful prayers.  Also to prepare to envision my future, I do the same gratitude preparation.  I didn’t come up with this, I’m just passing it on.  And guess what, I DON’T envison all of the bad things that can possibly happen.

Been there, done that, had the heart attack…..

In fact, try this.  Whoops, strike that.  DO this.  Finish the statement with some of the things that seemed so bad at the time.  Now, it’s not to dwell on them.  You won’t attract more positive in your life with a woe-is-me, or victim mentality.

Just look on the side of,  “What positive things happened as a result of that bad thing?”  Now I don’t praticularly care what the thing was.  There is a positive side.  There HAS to be.  At this point, some of you are thinking “this guy is nuts.”  You have not allowed yourself to look on the ‘good’ side of THAT bad thing.

Well, no matter what your ‘thing’ is, I will counter with Thank God I had a heart attack.  Then I will follow with Thank God I got divorced, and for good measure, I will throw in Thank God I abused alcohol for twenty years…

Now, follow up the statement by writing a couple of pages detailing the positive consequences that followed the ‘thing.’  OK, at least one.

BTW, this is not a joke.  It is not trivial.  It is healing.  Way more healing than   ”I think I will tell my bad story to twenty more people this next month and wallow in my pain some more.”  Or “Maybe it is good that some more people know how bad I have had it and will feel sorry for me.”  I have many of those victim stories cued up and ready to go, whenever I would want to bust them out.  But I don’t anymore. 

Anyway, from my experience, even when you don’t think you can see the tunnel, God can provide a light at the end.  Do this experience and let me know what you come up with.  Write a page at least after your Thank God I experience.  (If you feel that your Thank God I ‘thing’ is SO bad, so horrible, that’s even more reason to do this exercise.) 

There are people specifically trained to help you work through it all, and I can refer you to them.   Adios for now, Rick Emmerich

Get my book:  Thank God I…Triumph Through Tragedy    http://www.thankgodi.com/cmd.php?Clk=4313438