October 2107 Newsletter
Save The Date- Pastor Appreciation Day October 8th
Prayer Corner- Please pray for the continues recovery from Hurricane Irma in our community and state. Also, pray for those who have been impacted by major natural disasters around the world who face devastating losses and are continuing to recover and rebuild. Should they know Jesus, may his everlasting love and peace surround them through this difficult time.
Faithful 500 part 2
By Bill POwell
When I left you last time, I was explaining how we had incurred numerous equipment breakdowns. And as I wrote my article, lightning hit our building at WMFJ and took out the line to the building, the meter can, and the meter. As I explained, our equipment failures were not caused by old equipment going bad but by lightning and odd failures. Then, I also mentioned the costs from Hurricane Matthew. Matthew meet Irma. Really, you can’t make this stuff up.
Here is a copy of the email I sent to the Board of Directors on 9/21/2017. By the time you receive this, we should be back 100%, just a little lighter in the wallet. This is probably the best way to explain the events of the last month.
Sorry, I haven't done a very good job updating everyone; it has been a roller coaster.
As of today at 2pm, this is where we stand:
New Smyrna is finally off-generator, so as of yesterday, all is well on 89.7. We were only off the air one day. The only damage was a tree we had to cut down in the driveway.
90.3, including St.Augustine, is up and running with the exception of the phone line. Thanks, in part to Dave Murray, we were only off the air three days. No damage except the phone line.
Deland 97.3- no problems, off just when 89.7 was off for one day.
Deltona 102.7- Duke Energy was very slow. No damage, but power was out until today. The only reason it was fixed today was because the Spanish station owner who rents space in our equipment box flagged down a Duke truck. We called them several times, and each time, they assured us it would be back by the end of the day.
Key West is down, but praise the Lord no flooding or damage to our equipment that we know of. It all seems to be running. We don't have internet, so we can't access it or get our signal there. But AT&T is scheduled to come fix it tomorrow between 9am and 1pm.
The big problem is WMFJ. The building flooded about a foot. This has never happened to my knowledge before, ever. The generator malfunctioned, so when we lost power, we lost internet, email, and the FTP site. The generator repair guy had to order parts. When the parts came it still had a problem. We are waiting for more parts, and there is a chance it is ready for the trash heap. We had trouble getting the power on to be able to assess the damage to the equipment. Once again, thanks to Dave Murray who knew a guy that expedited getting us power. The transformer got wet, and the transmitter would not start, blowing the breaker. Lou found the cause of that, and we are waiting for parts. When that is fixed, there is still a chance there are additional problems. We won't know until that gets fixed. We keep getting calls, some not so nice, wondering if we are coming back.
The studios became like a castle with a moat around it. Everyone on each side was flooded, and the properties in the back (up to our building) were flooded. The generator came on and was on for a day and a half. Our downstairs air conditioner got water in it and had to be repaired. Thank God, that is all the damage here at the Studios. You could have sailed a sailboat behind us.
Last but not least, we were scheduled to have our fall fundraiser last week but had to reschedule to next Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. We are seeking 500 faithful listeners to give $100 dollars each. As of now, we need 380. We are pleased at what we have collected so far. We need 500 and cannot stop the campaign until we reach 500. We will only interrupt programming for 3 days. We are optimistic. Unfortunately, this is what we needed prior to Irma. We have incurred several thousand dollars in costs not expected because of Irma.
As always, we will trust the Lord to provide what we need. Let’s face it; this could have been way worse. We are thankful. We are blessed and highly favored.
Psa 50:5 "Gather to me my faithful ones, who made a covenant with me by sacrifice!"
Psa 50:6 The heavens declare his righteousness, for God himself is judge! Selah
Loving His Appearing!
By Chris Johnson
“Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.” 2 Timothy 4:8
Do we think about His appearing? Do we long for His appearing? Do we love His appearing? These are very important questions because our answers have great bearing on our everyday lives. I’ve been thinking a lot about how we navigate through these days as we continue to witness moral decay, justification of all kinds of sin, and unspeakable acts of violence all around us. Often we are tempted to shut ourselves in from the world, keep the curtains drawn tight, and only go out when absolutely necessary, but would the Lord have us live that way? Can we really be the light of the world and the salt of the earth if we seclude ourselves away from the world we live in? 2 Peter 2:11 would encourage us to live in the world but to do so with the full intention and pursuit of a godly life. We must be careful not to shift our lives into neutral and simply coast through our days. Instead let’s choose to boldly, joyfully, and faithfully pursue Christ with all our hearts, soul, mind, and strength. Let us bind together in prayer for each other and for our world. May we encourage one another with the words of Scripture and an often extension of brotherly kindness to those God brings to our path. Finally, may we never be ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ but instead share it freely and courageously, remembering the good news of Jesus is in fact the power of God unto salvation! Let us love His appearing by deliberately seeking first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. This pursuit of Christ will certainly cause us to stick out in a world gone mad but so too does a full moon, with its gleaming light, stand out in the midst of a dark night sky, beckoning all who see to flee the darkness and look full into its marvelous light. As we reflect the light of Christ into this dark world let us love His soon appearing, knowing that our lives are given to yield and submit to the Lord that He might use us to bring greatly glory to Himself!
Through Faithful Listeners
By Christina Hutchinson
This year’s Faithful 500 fall fundraiser has really got me thinking about the word faithful. When I think of that word what instantly comes to mind is our ever faithful Creator. His love never fails and His promises never fail. For Christians, we know these truths. We have been through our battles where we choose to either lift our hands and praise Him through the storm or lift our hands and say “why?” In any of these circumstances God is still God, He’s still there with His promise “I will never leave you or forsake you..” (Deuteronomy 31:6) Here at The Cornerstone we have faced so many trials in one years time. I talked a little bit about that in my last article, and as you know Bill has written quite a bit of detail on the matter in his last two articles. This article is not to write about all the mishaps but really to encourage you faithful listeners to let you know that you serve a ministry that has always and will always, through any trial, lift our hands and praise God with thankfulness. We are beyond blessed to be able to witness year after year, sharathon after sharathon, the work of the Lord through faithful listeners like you; regardless if we reach our goal or fall short. What truly amazes me is your reason for giving to this ministry. It is not because you have faith in us but because the object of your faith is in Christ; knowing that He will provide for us whatever it is that He has in store, because He is faithful.
Whose Will Be Done?
By Denisha Stearns
I could have had a great weekend. I could have had a peaceful, restful, and energizing weekend. A bit reluctantly, I canceled my well-intended ministry and social plans to help meet a family member’s physical needs, give emotional support, and run errands. And I traded in my peace for annoyance, not because I don’t love my family- I do very much- but because it is a scenario that has replayed itself many times this year, making me a little tired, and also because I thought what I already had on my schedule was good and was in God’s will. Why couldn’t I just keep it the way I planned it? Yet, while I planned, I think God laughed. Well, maybe it was more like a ‘tsk,tsk’.
Have you ever had a similar experience? You started your morning with the Lord’s Prayer, including “Your will be done.” You asked for the Lord’s will to be done in a general sense, but you didn’t REALLY mean for God to apply it personally to your life because you have many things just as you want them- all the comforts of home, your work-to-home-to church routine, and your social circle of friends and activities. You thought your heart was telling you to commit to that activity, start that project, or make that investment. So, you didn’t think much of the first roadblock. You just moved it. Then, you came to another and another. After that, came the detour, where you found yourself on a different road entirely.
“Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails” (Proverbs 19:21). I wish I had spoken with God earlier about this situation to remind me of that verse. As well as the passage where both Jesus and the Apostle Paul serve as our examples to deny ourselves and to crucify the flesh. Rather than being annoyed at my plans being changed (though for a very good cause), It would have been much more peaceful to consider God’s reason for this new road I was on, look for opportunities to share Jesus there, and to be thankful for the change of scenery. After all, whose plans are going to be the best? Oh yes. His.
