July 2017 Newsletter
Save The Date
July 4- Independence Day
July 17-28- Summer Giveaway
Prayer Corner
As we reflect on our Independence Day celebrations, let us pray for our military, our governmental leaders as they steer the course of the U.S. both locally and globally, and the 115th Congress in session. Also, with hurricane season, please pray for the Lord to steer the courses of upcoming storm systems away from any populated land in our hemisphere.
GOD BLESS THE TOURISTS
Greetings everyone,
Summer is upon us, and vacation talk is in the air. Something to consider is that many people vacation here in our community. I am sure you may not realize how your support of the Cornerstone influences tourists. One of our listeners who worked for a car rental company made it his ministry to set all the radios to the Cornerstone. Another person drove a cab, and if you got in his cab, you were going to listen to The Cornerstone. Many businesses have us on all day.
My favorite vacation story happened during the Coke Zero 400 race at the speedway. A gentleman called us and said he was sitting in traffic on Williamson Boulevard after the race- I am sure you all know what that is like. He said he was listening to us, and a song we played touched his heart. He had not been living right, and the song convicted him that he should return to Christ. It was life changing for him. The song was, “Instead of Me”. From that song, he realized that it was Jesus Christ’s sacrifice on the cross that set him free from the penalty of death and hell that he deserved. We always hope you are blessed by the programming of the Cornerstone, but don’t forget- you are helping make a difference in peoples’ lives, including the tourists’.
We do hope you all get a chance to get away. Know 24/7/365 that any tourist who comes to our area will have a place on the dial to go to find rest for their souls. Thank you so much for your support. This has been a lean year so far, but your faithful giving has helped to sustain us.
Oh, I almost forgot. Let me give you a TV update. We have added Ravi Zacharias to our line up and are very close to adding several more programs. At the time of this writing, we have had over 2,700 views and over 60,000 viewing minutes from 27 countries. Wow, that is mind blowing! We are planning our summer giveaway and plan to bless several listeners with Roku devices and some other goodies we’re getting together. Make sure you stay tuned and listen up.
To God Be the Glory,
Bill Powell
Coffee, Burnt Taste Buds, & The Power of The Tongue
I could barely contain myself as the Keurig® machine was brewing its final drips. I had my creamer ready and couldn’t wait to take that first sip. After a quick stir, I brought the cup to my mouth, and then it happened! I knew I shouldn’t have been so eager, but now it was too late. Pain surged through my mouth as my taste buds seethed as though on fire and then went numb. All the anticipation of that fresh brewed goodness wasted as I realized I’d have to now suffer through the day’s long recovery of those tiny little sensors. I still drank the coffee but the satisfaction was incredibly diminished, and each sip reminded me of the foolishness of lacking patience and timing.
In the hours and days that followed, I thought about that little sip with big consequences. I chuckled at my foolishness, but then I thought about something different. I imagined for a moment what it would be like if the Lord allowed our tongues to burn with furious rage each time we spewed out something rude, cutting, and unchrist like. Our tongues, though small in size, are atomic in power. Like a ravenous lion, an untamed tongue can do more damage than can almost be imagined. There’s not one among us who hasn’t hung their head in shame after unleashing a torrent of words laced with anger, bitterness, vulgarity, or the like. Our conscience immediately sends waves of negative feedback, and the Holy Spirit quickens our hearts to know we’ve taken a dangerous path that needs to be quickly abandoned. I can’t speak for you, but I hate the gut-wrenching feeling that comes after I’ve sinned with my mouth. The words are gone, and like weapons freshly fired, they cannot be pulled back. Have you ever looked upon the faces of those you’ve offended with your words? Looks of pain, shame, horror even! The Lord might not make our tongue sting with pain like mine did that day with the coffee, but he does, in His mercy, allow our hearts to throb with grief and agony as we behold the devastation our words may have created. We must thank Him for His kindness in not allowing us to “get away” with such foolishness. Our God is such a good, good Father, and He’s filled the Scriptures with many helpful truths regarding our tongues that we’d be wise to heed. Like a wonderful sip of a perfectly brewed cup of coffee brings joy to our day, may the following passages encourage you as you follow Christ today!
Proverbs 15:4, “A wholesome tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit.”
Ephesians 4:29, “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.”
James 1:26, “If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless.”
I Peter 3:10, “For whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit.”
"Can You Believe That?"
Christina Hutchinson
I’ve had some interesting conversations the past few weeks. Each one of them I boiled down to the question “Can you really believe that, and if so are you willing to risk everything else on something that could potentially be a lie?” This article is not to rant on about where these few people went wrong, but really to point out that we need to be oh so careful in guarding our hearts against things that seem to be true but turn out to be false.
Most of the time, unbelievers build their beliefs off of someone else’s ideologies or opinions leaving them no solid foundation of truth to stand on. They are told “They say this…” or “Experts say that..” you get the point. So I put these things to the test according to God’s Word. I don’t have to guess whether or not “they” or the “experts” got it right or wrong because the Bible is very clear on God’s purpose for this planet and for you and me.
The Creator of the universe is also in control of it; there is nothing that is beyond His knowing.
1. God created the world:
Genesis 1:1 In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the earth.
2. God is in control of everything in the world:
Job 38:12 “Have you commanded the morning since your days began, and caused the dawn to know its place.”
Job 38:25-27 “Who has cleft a channel for the torrents of rain and a way for the thunderbolt, to bring rain on a land where no man is, on the desert in which there is no man, to satisfy the waste and desolate land, and to make the ground sprout with grass?”
Job 39:27 Is it at your command that the eagle mounts up and makes his nest on high?
The list goes on and on, but I don’t have enough room to list them all. I encourage you to read the entire book of Job; God unleashes an enormous amount of deep truths that in reality free us from doubting that He is in control and will continue to be for eternity.
3. God has revealed His purpose for you and me:
God’s purpose for all of this? That we would come to know and believe in His Son who He sent to die on the cross in our stead. Without Christ, we’re doomed to eternal wrath!
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
Can you believe that? I can, and I thank God for opening my eyes to His truths and for giving me His Word as a foundation and standard for my life.
O Taste And See
Denisha Stearns
The dogs thought they were getting a treat. They stood at rapt attention in front of me, ears straight up, drooling as I held “it” up before them. Ending the anticipation, I let each take it from my hand, which they each promptly dropped to the floor. Drat. I picked the pills up, smelled them, and instantly reeled back. They smelled like dirt. What? No cherry flavoring? I thought. I wrapped the pills up in their favorite cheese snack,but they dropped the pills and devoured the cheese, thank you very much. Sigh. Channeling my determination, I then made a stew of the medicine (crushed), more cheese, beef broth and kibble. Ahhh, success! A few hours later, as they paced, fussed, and gulped down excessive amounts of water, I thought, poison? No..Isn’t medicine supposed to be good for them? Prevent sickness, reduce symptoms, and even HEAL?
Haven’t we humans had our experiences with bitter pills? It is hardly believable that something so distasteful could benefit us in any way at all. Do people, even Christians at times, find the Bible to be somewhat distasteful, like a bitter pill? Maybe because of the power it has to convict us of sins that we have committed or are thinking of committing. It can seem bitter when we want to ignore its warnings about relationships that a run healthy for us, its suggestions of how to treat people and government, or its mandates which put parameters on our own behavior. Then, instead of thankfulness, we sometimes respond with anger or annoyance. Or worse, we decide to disbelieve.
Yet Psalm 34:8 says,” O taste and see that the Lord is good.” King David wrote in many of the psalms how he loved God’s precepts, statutes, and judgements. How did King David find the Bible to be so “sweet”? If God’s Word (and the Christian life) is found by some to be difficult to swallow, is there a remedy? A spoonful of sugar, perhaps? How do we adopt King David’s perspective? One way, I think, is to remember what He promised within the Bible’s pages, such as, “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.” (1 John 5:13). Eternal Life, whoo hoo! Also, I reflect on the analogy of the Bible as a love letter with the Lord as the author, motivated by His perfect love for us. As well, I consider some of the Bible’s healthful benefits- instruction, correction, comfort, and encouragement. When I open my Bible to read, I pray that the Holy Spirit would help to reveal its truth to me, and may I always find it sweet. It is just the medicine I need! How about you?