Long overdue but much anticipated we are now back up and running on our new ministry website . . . no small thanks to the amaaaazing Dawn Rudolph!!  Thank you, Dawn!

And now I'm stepping back into the water of blogging.  And its always a step of faith for me. Because I'm not certain anyone is reading, nor do I fully understand the process, and it takes faith to know that God will somehow use thoughts and words filtered through His Spirit to encourage others.

Stepping into water is a powerful metaphor for faith in the Bible. In our series on Exodus, God's people step into the deep basin of the Red Sea and experience God's wondrous deliverance from a pursuing enemy. Not too much later, Joshua leads God's people to step into the chilly current of the Jordan River to at long last lay claim to the rich blessings of the Promised Land--all by faith, all trusting in something they could not see. Finally, Peter, the New Testament hero of the church, at Christ's urging, steps into Galilee's stormy waves to grip the hand of His Savior and God. They all received the blessing of God's provision!

That of course is the essence of the Christian life--trusting when we cannot see. In fact, the Bible says without faith we cannot bring delight to the Lord. Are you walking by faith today? If so, in what area are you trusting Him completely to come through for you? Or are you resisting and placing a bit more confidence and reliance on yourself? Hmm. I invite you with this initial blog to "step into the water" with me. Let's see what God will do when we really trust Him with whatever it is we're holding so tightly to. And let me hear from you! Post a reply and tell a story of something you need to take by faith.

Hey, come on in . . . the water's great!

With gladness---Pastor Mark