What happens when God tells you to do or believe something that makes no sense in the natural?  We are called to this incredible life with Jesus.  The Lord is actively working on moving the Kingdom of God forward through interceding for us and moving us to believe and act in faith.

That is exactly what happened to many people in the Word of God.  The Lord would tell them to go and do things that were far beyond their ability to see the work done in their own strength or their even in their own wisdom.  Abram was told to leave a place where he was born and go to a land that he had never been before, one knew nothing about. ^

^"By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going." Heb 11:8 Abram believed and obeyed.  He took action on his faith in the God he loved. That is why he was blessed, that is why he was his life still has impact on us today.  Had he never stepped out, Abram would have missed an adventure of faith that teaches us to believe for what we can not see.

Noah was told by God that a flood was coming that would destroy the entire population of the earth.  "By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith."  Heb 11:7Noah had never seen a flood in fact he had never seen rain.  He had never built a boat, definitely not one of the size and magnitude of the Ark.  He worked on the Ark for 120 years.  Every day trusting the God who spoke truth into his life. Even when what God had said had never been seen before.  What kind of faith did Noah have? Would we be as committed to the voice of God and believe when all those around were telling him he was crazy. But Noah was unwavering; he prepared himself, his family and the Ark for this incredible step of faith that required Noah to believe.

These two men are examples to us that we can do it too.  We can walk in faith and trust that the Lord who tells us to believe in Him.  WE are not called to see and believe we are called to trust and obey. For us in the nation we have become so skeptical of everything, may it never be so with our trust with God.  It is time in my opinion for us to become men and women of God who take Him at face value.  When we believe God and take steps of faith, even when we can't see how it could happen, we please Him. Those steps of faith open the doors to the miracles and the overwhelming blessing of walking in greater dependency and intimacy with God.  I am praying that each of us who call Cornerstone our church would have a fresh encounter with the God who still speaks.  Let us listen to and obey. Let us believe even when we can't see how God can do it.

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When we talk about faith in God and what we believe, it really comes down to what we believe about God.  Hebrews chapter 11 is known as the Hall of Faith in the Word of God.  The chapter is full of men and woman who stood strong in their faith when it would have been much easier to doubt.  Over and over the writer of Hebrews says that these people lived and operated by faith.  Faith is not a mystical concept as much as it is a relationship with a personal living God.  So the question we must ask ourselves is what do we believe about Him.  Is He the God that hears our prayers?  Is He the God that answers when no one else can?  The  dynamic of believing is not for the squimish or the timid. It takes great strength and great fortitude to trust God with everything and to take Him as His word.  Believing is a statement of absolute trust in God and His divine ability to move in ways that exceed our comprehension. 

There are times in scripture that a persons faith for someone else's was a catalyst for miracles in the lives of those they loved and cared for .  In Luke 7  When the centurion's servant was sick and near death, the Centurion moved with compassion came to Jesus asking for a miracle and the Lord was ready to come to the home of the Centurion .  But the Centurian said, don't trouble yourself with this, "I am a man under authority with soildiers under me.  I tell this one go and he goes and that one come and he comes.  "But say the word and my servant will be healed" Jesus was amazed because this man who was not even Jewish, Believed!   Jesus said to the crowd near by that He had not seen such great faith in all of Israel.    The Centurion believed not because he had to pump up some kind of religious energy, but because he believed that Jesus had the authority to do whatever He wanted.  That is actually the beauty of believing, when we have relationship with the God of the universe there is no doubt that He will take care of us and that He will do what is best.  What did the Centurion believe about Jesus?  What do you and I believe?  I am asking you to consider with me that we may have missed a key ingredient to seeing God work in the miraculous.  We may have put our emphasis on seeing rather than in believing.  God who wants us to trust Him long for us to know that He is all that He has promised and more.  Let our prayer be "Lord teach us to believe in you, you are still the author and finisher of our faith.  You are still more than able to meet us at the point of our greatest need.  Teach us to Believe even when we do not see.

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Recently while driving through downtown Baltimore, I noticed a theme that was painted on objects along the street. The theme was not graffitti or some expression that can not be repeated.  The theme was simple, clear, and to the point, it  said, "Believe".   Over and over again it was painted with no explanation or definition. I am stillnot sure what it meant to the city, maybe it meant to believe in the revitilazation of the downtown, or to believe that the Ravens will win the Superbowl or to believe that the Orioles will be better next year.  Whatever it was supposed to mean was lost on this non resident, but was not lost was the message that came with it to every follower of God.  Believe!

In our walk with God, one that is growing more and more, we want to understand what the Lord is looking for from us, what are His expectations for His people. Often, the call  Christians is that God would come in and save the day and do all that only God can do, and make everything right. All of us have felt that same feeling of dependance on God to intervene on our behalf.  Perhaps some of us are there even now and crying out to God to take over. But there is more to our relationship with God than merely being spectators of His divine power. Reading out of Isaiah 43 today, encourages us to know that there is no other God like our God. "Fear not, for I have redeemed you: I have summoned you by name: you are mine.  When you pass through the waters, I will be with you. And when you pass through the rivers they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned: the flames will not set you ablaze.  For I am the Lord, your God."

Reading those words are incredibly encouraging and powerful, but a deeper look tells us that God is expecting us to "Believe" that even when things are not going easy,  He is is still there.  Through waters of life and rivers of stress, and flames of crises, God says believe that I am there.  We can develope in a Christian life a feeling at times that because things are not going smoothly that God is upset with us and our prayers are not having any affect.  Yet what God is often times trying to get us to understand is that we can believe that He will be with us always. In every situation and challenge.  God's call for us to Believe , is not merely a call to know His power to change things, but also to know His presence and faithfulness as He walks with us.  God expects us to believe His Word that says, He will never leave us or forsake us.  It has been my experience that the times I have learned to understand God and His ways more are often the times of greatest trials.  Maybe because it is much easier to realize that there is no one else to turn to, and no one else who knows what the feelings and fears that we are facing.  God is there with us and we are called my Him to Believe in Him and His faithfulness no matter what may be happening around us.  "Isaiah 43:10, "You are my witnesses, declares the Lord and my servant whom I have chosen so that you may know and Believe...."   That is my prayer for each of you who are reading this entry, that you may know and Believe.  God is changeless and faithful, He is with you today and forever, and will not leave when the going gets hard.  This week let's ask God to teach us that belief is not a feeling it is a choice to take God at His Word!  Next Entry "What do you Believe about Him!

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Looking at the calendar today we can see that it is time for us to turn the page on a new month.  September begins and with it we say good bye to the summer and look ahead  what this month and beyond will hold.  It is funny how a simple act of turning a caledar page has the potential of bringing new hope and fresh encouragement. 

This past week as school started in our area I was driving and got behind a school bus that was making frequents stops that seemed to last longer than normal. As I got closer to the bus with a less obstructive view, I could see why the bus driver was lingering at each stop.  Near the door of the bus as the children prepared to enter, there was a large group of parents who were not only seeing there kids to their first day of school, but wanted to get a picture to commerate the event.  What was neat to see was the mix of joy and concern on the face of each parent.  Each parent wanted to climb on the bus with their child and go with them through their first day just to make sure they would be ok. (Many of us have been there and could feel all the emotion of the moment with them. ) Some parents not only wanted to take the picture of their children getting on the bus but also one last one on the bus as they made child made it to their seat.  This scenario was repeated at each stop until the bus turned and made it's way to the school.  

 My wife has done a similiar ritual as she documented our boys history in photos on each first day of their of their new school year, from kindergarten to college. To look back over the years and see how they have grown and matured brings that sensation of joy of hope and thanks to God for His faithfulness and watchfulness over their lives.

I wonder if God does the same thing that earthly parents do, but on a much larger scale?  The word of God says that He rejoices over us with singing and that His thoughts towards us are innumerable.  Does He take divine snapshots of His kids?  Does He take the time to paste them in a special book and celebrate over us with Joy and Hope?  Does He look back with pride and see us as we have grown? I think He does.  Since our God is the giver of all good things, it makes sense to me that what He put into the lives of parents in the way of love and care,  He posseses in even greater measure.  Our heavenly Father loves us and is proud of His kids, as they take steps of new beginnings and new levels of intimacy with Him.  The Psalmist said that we can never leave God's thoughts or His love.  We are always in the Lord's care and under His watchful heart. We will never fully grasp the Love of God on this earth, and even in Heaven it will take us eternity just to begin to fathom the Father's love for His Children.  I wonder if the Lord will allow us the joy when we get to heaven of looking over our pictures that He has taken over the years.  I for one can't wait, because they will not be pictures of the times we failed or of the times that we missed His best.  The pictures that He will show us are the days we started fresh with Him, our new beginnings and the days we got it right.  The times we brought joy to His heart and the moments when His love for us was connected with our love and obeidence to Him. 

As we start this new month, let's allow God to take new pictures.  Let's turn the page of our old way of doing things and draw closer to God.  This month can be one in which we all bring joy to His heart and recieve fresh hope for what is to come. So lets you and I be ready to take these new steps and look forward to pleasing God in greater ways than ever before.

Smile God is about to take your Picture! 

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About seventeen years ago my wife Dee gave me a great gift that has kept on giving.  She gave me a devotional book by Oswald Chambers . "My Utmost for His Highest"  This daily devotional has become part of my daily routine and with very few exeptions has been a great source of encouragment to me in my walk wiht God.  Today's devotional was just so good I hadto share it with you and introduce you to Oswald Chambers, a man I have never met in person since he died in the early 1900s but who has become a great instrument of God to many lives through the writings that bear his name.  Here is a taste for you,  I hope it speaks to you like it has to me.

 The Unsurpassed Intimacy of Tested Faith!

Every time you venture out in your life of faith, you will find something in your circumstances that, from a commonsense standpoint, will flatly contradict your faith. But common sense is not faith, and faith is not common sense. In fact, they are as different as the natural life and the spiritual. Can you trust Jesus Christ where your common sense cannot trust Him? Can you venture out with courage on the words of Jesus Christ, while the realities of your commonsense life continue to shout, "It's all a lie"? When you are on the mountaintop, it's easy to say, "Oh yes, I believe God can do it," but you have to come down from the mountain to the demon-possessed valley and face the realities that scoff at your Mount-of-Transfiguration belief (see Luke 9:28-42 ). Every time my theology becomes clear to my own mind, I encounter something that contradicts it. As soon as I say, "I believe 'God shall supply all [my] need,' " the testing of my faith begins ( Philippians 4:19 ). When my strength runs dry and my vision is blinded, will I endure this trial of my faith victoriously or will I turn back in defeat?

Faith must be tested, because it can only become your intimate possession through conflict. What is challenging your faith right now? The test will either prove your faith right, or it will kill it. Jesus said, "Blessed is he who is not offended because of Me" Matthew 11:6 ). The ultimate thing is confidence in Jesus. "We have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end . . ." ( Hebrews 3:14 ). Believe steadfastly on Him and everything that challenges you will strengthen your faith. There is continual testing in the life of faith up to the point of our physical death, which is the last great test. Faith is absolute trust in God- trust that could never imagine that He would forsake us (see Hebrews 13:5-6 ).

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In the book of Genesis chapter 32 one of the most unusual encounters ever recorded in scripture takes place. Jacob who has experienced many things in his life, from being called a deciever and tricking his brother, to having a vision of God's angels at Bethel, has a moment where he wrestles with God Himself.    This wrestling match takes place the day before Jacob goes to meethis brother Esau who he has decieved out of blessing and birthright.  One can only imagine what was going through Jacobs mind.  Would Esau hate him, or even kill him the next morning?  No doubt that Jacobs only concern that night was making it through the next day. But God had other things in mind in the midst of Jacob's struggle, God wanted to change something in Jacob, his name and his relationship with God.  That evening Jacob wrestles with God in the form of a man.  God says to Jacob "Your name will no longer be Jacob, (supplanter or one who grasps) but Israel one who struggles with God, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome."

What a statement and what a transformation.  God was changing Jacob;'s name and God was doing a new thing in him by calling him Israel.  But that was not all that occured that evening, before the night was over God touched Jacob's hip and forever changed Jacob's walk.   From that day on he walked with a new name and a limp. The name was given to remind him of a divine wrestling match and the limp was given so that Jacob, now Israel and those who he encountered would never forget.

There are times in our lives that the cares and concerns that we carry can overwhelm us.  But it is often at those times that the Lord will get our attention and desire to change us into what He longs for us to be.  He will give us a new name and a new character as well as a new walk.  One that is dependant on God alone and one in which we never forget for a moment that God is the one who has seen us through each of our trials and each of our failures.  Walking with a limp spiritually is not a bad thing, in fact it is something to be desired.  What have you been wrestling with God about?  What is He attempting to do in your life that will leave you walking with a limp, but walking in total and complete dependance on Him?  As we come to the end of the summer and thank the Lord for His protection and mercy, we also pray Lord change us! Move in us and speak to us at the point of what you say we need most. Jacob did not need favor before meeting with Esau the next day, he needed favor with God, that could only come about through struggle and blessing.  This week let's make a determination to be open before God and allow Him to change our name our character and now be ashamed to show Him and all others that we walk with a limp, so that only His glory and grace will be seen.

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The Lord has a way of doing things that take our weaknesses and faults and make something lasting out of our willingness to obey God.   This trip was no execption.  We were a team of eleven who left for the Amazon not sure what to expect.  Yet as all of us were praying here at Cornerstone and also the team as well, God was already preparing the way and looking out for us as well as answering the prayers of the new believers in the village of  Jempentes in Ecuador.

When you spend the night in the Amazon the Sun goes down by about 6:30PM each night. So with no electricity the best thing to do is cool down, talk with each other and look at the sky. When you are near the Equator the sky that you see is unique.  Three prominent star constellations are in plain view, the North Star, the Southern Cross and Orion's Belt.  The sky unhindered by street lights is beautiful beyond words.  One night as we were looking at the stars, I was reminded of the account in Genesis chapter 15 when God told Abram to look at stars.  Abram was just like us, wondering whether or not his life would have an impact.  Wondering if he was really hearing God's voice when he heard the promise that he would have a son.  These were questions in his mind and God chose the stars to give an answer to Abram.  "He took him outside and said, "Look up at the heavens and count the stars-if you indeed you can count them. Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be."  The next verse is a great encouragement to us.  Abraham believed the Lord and He  (G0d)credited to him as righteousness."    God had the answer to Abram's question written in the stars.  What God was saying to Abram is the same thing he says to us.  Whether we are on a trip to Amazon or a trip to school or around the beltway.  God says, "Believe that I am!"  Believe that He is the God who still answers today.  Believe that the God who is in love with you and is eternal is also the God of all of our today's and all of our Tomorrow's. Don't trust others who question God or His leading. Don't let time or the delay of the answer shake your faith in God's ability to fulfill all that He has promised.  Each one of you had a part in this trip to the Amazon.  Each person who prayed or went or gave will have part of the joy in seeing what the Lord will do with this investment of your hearts and lives.  One day we will stand before God and celebrate  all that God did in those days in the Jungle.  We will rejoice over people who are in Heaven because of that week and the ripple effects of simple steps of obedience and faith.  But if in the mean time you are wondering whether or not God will fulfill all that He has promised , or whether our life will make a difference for eternity?  Or if you are going through an especially difficult time in your life, take a trip outside in the evening and look up to the stars and remember God is still saying "Believe I Am"

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Maybe because your awareness is greater when you are on a trip in another country. Or maybe it is because you depend on God more when you are out of your own comfort zone.  But it  was definetly the result of prayers  that  had a great affect on the Divine Timing we saw throughout this trip.

WE arrived on time to Quito and then headed to the airport at Shell Ecuador.  This is the same landing strip where Jim Elliot and Nate Saint left from more than fifty years ago when they went to reach an unreached people in the jungle and gave their lives as Martyrs for the Gospel.  In fact the house that Nate Saint lived in is still their right next to the runway.

We took off from Shell in small airplanes three or four people at a time to take the 45 flight to Jempentes.  Each seemed that after we arrived things went so smoothly as we transitioned our minds and bodies into a new culture that none of us were familiar with.  God's divine timing to have just the right people and the right number on this trip is always a wonder to me. We had eleven total on our team which was just the perfect number not to many that people would be standing around looking for something to do and not too few that would hinder the work from being accomplished.

There were three incredible instances that we know about that showed us that God had us there in the village at the right time.  On Wednesday as we were finishing the church structure and had already put up the radio tower, the village had two visitors who had walked more than eight hours to get their. They walked in and begin to talk to one of the missionaries and a Shaur Pastor. These two were members of a very violent group called the Aukshaur. The Aukshaur people are  remote and very difficult to interact with.  You can not come into their village without invitation because if you do you may never get out.  The Aukshaur area people group of about 15,000 with little or no witness of the Gospel. These two Aukshaur came on that day by divind providence and it so happened that they saw all our team was doing and how hard we worked. They also realized that we were not oil people or some group trying to take advantage of the people. The Aukshaur asked about us and what we were doing the Pastor and Missionary told them all that we were offering to the villagers.  The Aukshaur listened and were so impressed by what they saw that they said to the Pastor. If these people will work this hard here we want them in our village as well. What a miracle and what incredible timing to have them come on that day.

Another instance took place as some of our team was leaving on to go back to Shell on Thursday afternoon.  Because of the short runway our plane could only take off with about 400 pounds aboard so this meant that only two people could get out and only a total of five from the team would make it back to shell that day. It was necessary to ferry two passengers at a time via the small aircraft to a near by village which had a longer runway.  In that village some of our folks were waiting and a missionary and a Pastor were there.  They begin to talk with the villagers and listened as they told them they had heard about our team and what we were doing in the village.  God opened up some incredible doors of oppurtunity for one of the Pastors to share in that village with no gospel witness.

God's Divine Timing is at work long before we arrived in Ecuador.  When deciding the dates of trip and working with Joil Marbut our missionary there we decided ot come on the 12th of August and leave on the 20th. At the same time the Lord was organizing a team of three a Doctor and two assistants from Kentucky and Alabama, who would come into the village of Jempentes on the 20th and offer medical care to the same village where we had just installed the water treatment systems the church and the tower.  How awesome to think that the people we made contact with and had favor with would open a door for this medical team to treat the physical needs of the people.  God orchestrated all of this long before we got there. 

In addition to these things God's perfect timing was shown in numerous ways as he protected us and lead us.  In fact even our flight back to the states was a God thing.  When you fly to Ecuador it is always much better to leave BWI and fly to Miami and then return to Miami on the way home. This shortens the trip by about an hour.  But for some reason we could not book a flight through Miami that would work for the team. We tried several times but to no avail.  As we prepared to come home from Quito on Monday we understood why. Hurricne dean was positioned directly between Quito and Miami and had we planned on making it back to Miami on that day we might not have made it with another day or much difficulty.  How great it is to know that God is always leading and always directing our lives and the things that concern us. The Word of God says that God directs our steps and that His way and His timing is always right. 

My prayer for our church and for you is that we would be open to the timing and leading of God. He may not always work on our schedule, but He is always working on our behalf and on the behalf of the Gospel.  His timing is right and perfect. Some times we get impatient with God and wonder when He will answer or when the time will be correct.  God says that all of our days are in His hand and that the steps of the righteous are order by the Lord. Please pray with me that we would all be open to the Holy Spirit's leading on all the times of our lives.  Lord give us a heart to say that we will trust in God's ways and His Timing.  Next Installment  "Believe I Am" 

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Not only was the trip to the Amazon an amazing experience for each one of us but it also afforded us the oppurtunity to meet some new friends.  Each one of them was special and unique and each one of them is someone I wish you could meet. 

Jorge was the first person to accept Christ from the village of Jemptes.  About a year ago someone told him about Jesus and it changed his life.  He heard that there was a missionary in Sucua who taught new believers how to live for God and tell others in his village. So Jorge made the trip to Sucua and does so each month although it takes two days to get there.  He is being trained to be a Pastor for this village.  He has a great love for God and took extra special care of us to have rice and meat ready to eat each day we were there.  His life is not an easy one.  He faces persecution from most of his village for his faith in Jesus and yet stands strong.  Please pray for Jorge and his family.  About two weeks ago his four month old grandchild died of an infection.  I went to see the grave and with tears we prayed together with the family that God would give great grace.

 Idalgo is a little eight year old boy who captivated all of us.  He is small for his age but has a huge smile that seemed to radiate joy.  He and a few other young boys like Jefferson and Yani were like are masqots working with us following us around and just watching us. One day angie taught him to snap his fingers.  With great determination he did it until he mastered it.  All of our group seemed to go out of their way to encourge Idalgo and the other children by giving them candy, or like one day when Woody played a game of tag with them.  One of the last images that I will remember is on the day we left the village seeing Ildalgo waving to us and thinking Lord I pray that I will see him in heaven. What a great day that will be.

Pastors Angel, Francisco and Oratio are Shaur Pastors who came to help us build and encourage this new church.  Please pray for them as they oversee not only their own churches but rotate into these many villages on a monthly basis to teach and encourge.   Please Pray for Oratio whose wife was beaten by a madman who burst into their home just two months ago.  It was a direct attack of the enemy on their lives and we know that God is helping them.  At times we forget that the enemy is working and that we need to pray.  That is true in Ecuador and in our Nation and church as well.

Finally I wish that you could meet the "New Friends"  who accepted Jesus as their Lord the last night we were there.  Several people, Martin, Iraiz, Lenny, Angie, Sunil and Kevin shared their testimonies and then we brought a word about the fact that God knows your name.  At the end of the meeting outside under the new church structure an altar call was given by Pastor Francisco and twelve people made a decision to follow Jesus.  These will also faced persecution.  Would you please pray with me that God who is so wonderfully faithful will protect these new friends and grow them to live for Jesus and touch their world.  One day we will see them face to face in Heaven and we will all rejoice that God has been so awesome to each one of us for allowing our lives to affect others. 

These new friends are only the beginning of what God will do because you were willing to pray and to send and to go.  May God give us a renewed heart to see new friends find Jesus.  Next Installment ""Divine Timing"

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After doing our best to get some sleep on Monday evening we woke up early to get ready for the day.  There was alot of excitement to get started on the construction of the Church structure and the Radio tower as well as getting the material to put together the water purification systems for the village of Jempents.  What we were not complety ready for was the heat and humidity.  We realized that it was going to be a hot day and we assigned Pat and Angie to keep the entire team hydrated.  Which meant that they had to get the water from the local water source and them filter it which took about 20 minutes per batch and then distribute it to us.  They did an awesome job under some tough conditions.  We set up in three different groups with several working on getting the beams and rafters up for the church and them assembly the radio tower. Arnold and I went down river in a dugout canoe with a group of shaur Pastor's and local villages to sift the stones and sand needed for the water purification. What was necessary to do was to take a shovel full of rock and sand and sift it three times in a home made sifter where two people shake the material until what drops through the filtering screen was the right size. This process was repeated several times until enough  sand and three different size stones were extracted.  All these folks worked so hard in the heat that was even for the local intense.  I did not have a thermometer with me but it had to be well over 100 with the humidity also at extreme levels.  But God was gracious to us and after a couple of hours we gather enough to fill the dugout canoe with bags and buckets of this precious material. One thing I have to tell you about the dugout canoe, it was not new nor was it in great condidtion.  In fact there were leaks through out it. As we were in the duguout 14 people and now several hundred pounds of material the boat of course was not just inches off of the water.  As we headed back to our village beach it was necessary to stop on and get mud from the bank of the river and patch the holes where the water was pouring in. We made it safely back but the work was not over.  We now needed to bring the material up to the village along a muddy steep path of changing turrain about a half mile away.  So the team with buckets in hand began to bring up the material on this first load.  All the while the heat was not letting up.  People on our team wore long pants and long shirts to void the bugs that were looking for a meal.  Some of our team was brave and wore shorts but either way we were all dripping wet.  While we were getting the Sand and gravel the rest of the team had been working on the church structure and had put up the beams and the rafters and were ready to beging running the roof metal.  Our missionaries began the first row then Tim Glass who was a welcomed addition to the team along with sunil continued it on the first side. All in all the first full day was a successful one. We ate MRE's and also sampled some of the local food that was prepared for us.  We were most greatful to God for His grace in getting us through the day.

Each night we had a service of the team and anyone from the village who wanted to attend.  One of the Shaur Pastors lead the worship and all of us were touched with the presence of the the Lord.  There are certain things that translate no matter what the language or the culture, praise to God is one of them.   You would have been proud of the team and them working without complaining through the hottest day most of us had worked in. One of our team members said that they will never say it is hot in the Maryland again.  Next Installment "New Friends"

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