Persistence in Faith

Luke 18:8, "When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on earth?"

Jesus asks the question in Luke 18:8, 'When he Son of Man comes, will He find faith on earth?." I believe that Jesus is giving voice to persistence in faith. The widow in this parable illustrates this kind of faith. In spite of opposition, she perseveres on, in faith - praying and believing. Jesus is excited when His chosen ones practice this kind of faith!

A noteworthy insight from this parable is that the widow experienced immediate opposition to her request, yet, she was inflexible and pressed on. She wanted release from her oppressor! The king had the authority to end the tyranny. She understood this to be so and she kept on coming back time after time, after time and again until the king vindicated her. This is the kind of faith our Lord is looking for when He returns to earth.

Furthermore, persistent faith is essential in prayer. "We should always pray and not faint.' Jesus would often go to a quiet place and pray all night. We are commanded to pray under any condition.

'Faith is to prayer like flames to fire.' Author, unknown.

The widow keeps pleading to the king, "Grant me". She is earnest. Because she persists in prayer, he grants her justice. The Israelites groaned in prayer in the Book of Exodus, and God gave them a deliverer. Hannah cried, deep in prayer, and God granted her request. In the Book of James, chapter 5, the laborer's prayers went up to the God Almighty.
These are only a few examples of persistent prayer in the Bible.

God will hear persistent prayer!
Be encouraged!

Let's Give it Another Whirl...I've Been Busy...

Many months have gone by since I last wrote. Philly won the World Series in 2008, and now, I'm in the thick of checking the stats for this year, with dreams of another Philly victory. The Yankee/Red Sox rivalry always has my attention, because I am so NOT a fan of the New England teams. Living in Providence makes it, shall we say, interesting.

Work is busy. I'm the Chaplin for the Dartmouth House of Corrections in Fall River. Teaching these men, intensively about the love of God is a full time job. It is our continued prayer to have them enter into the Teen Challenge Program after they finish their time in jail. We have seen some wonderful, victorious testimonies come out of the prison, and at the same time there are some tragic losses along the way. But, I continue to stay close to the Lord and do all that I can for these men.

Edward is taking classes this summer and he has experienced a huge learning curve, because his dorm is more like an apartment and he is responsible for feeding himself, rather than having a food plan and a nice college cafeteria, to feed him. His health is very good (he has Type 1 or Juvenile Diabetes), and he is excited about the work he is doing with story boarding and animation.

Amy continues to keep busy, doing craft shows, making jewelry, doing her photography, blogging, running the household. Always a project. She is now the 'official' Government Relations person for the State of Rhode Island, representing the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. She's just getting her feet wet in this position, and I'm certain she'll make a big difference in helping raise awareness to find a cure. Very proud of her, and Edward!!

Hopefully, I'll check in more. Blogging is a great tool for someone like me. I just need to find the time!!! We did have a good week of going to the beach here in RI. I find that longs walks by the ocean w/ Amy and my Lord are very, very rejuvenating!!!

PHILLY WINS THE WORLD SERIES...PTL!!!

World Series, 2008...GO Philly!!

Anybody who knows me, maybe, even just a little, knows that I am a STAUNCH Philadelphia fan. That covers everything. Basketball, football, hockey and baseball! Right now, as you can imagine, I am in Philly heaven. Living in Red Sox territory (no need to mention the other teams...lol), I have managed to hold my own over these past few years. I am generous, I am a good loser, and I have been a good sport, but, New England, it very well could be MY TURN!! Stay tuned people, stay tuned!

Isaac and Melissa, September 20

I have known Isaac since he was a little boy. My wife has known him from the time he was an infant. His parents, our friends, Chuckie and Lorraine (photo of Lorraine above) are God parents to our son. My wife and I fell in-love over dinner at Chuck and Lorranie's house. So, when Isaac and Melissa called me when they became engaged and asked if I would officiate their wedding, this was a huge full circle moment. My wife, cried every time we talked about it, for months...happy tears. I had the honor of marrying them in the beautiful Botanical Gardens in Brooklyn, NY, at twilight on Saturday. The reception was in the Palm House, just a few hundred yards from the field where the wedding took place, hence, the photo of the palm! Isaac and Melissa are humble, kind, generous, smart kids, and we look forward to a full and blessed life for the now, Mr. & Mrs. Cohen!

Prayer for Trip to Nairobi, Kenya

I have been asked to go to Nairobi, Kenya, from September 5-13. My good friend and close brother in the Lord, Gary Wilkerson has been used by God to open the door for me to make this journey. Gary and I have been friends for close to 30 years now. You all have friends, brothers or sisters in the Lord, whom you don't see often, but when you do, no time has passed between you and you are able to pick up where you left off. Gary and I traveled around the country together many years ago, when Gary was just a teenager, evangelizing in many major cities. Over those years of travel, we developed a life-long friendship of mutual respect and love.

My mission in Nairobi will be to minister to a group of around 200 men, pastors, elders, leaders in their communities, about counseling. The following is the foundation of my teaching:

The counselor is one of the more important elements in a counseling situation. Although technique is important and an understanding of human behavior is very helpful, the counselor must know Jesus Christ and be directed by the Holy Spirit. In reality no one should be better qualified to counsel than the true man or woman of God.

The fruits of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5:22,23 are the qualities which allow us to counsel successfully. LOVE, JOY, PEACE, LONG SUFFERING, GENTLENESS, GOODNESS, MEEKNESS & TEMPERANCE.

To be effective counselors, we must first be the right kind of people ourselves. When God takes charge of our lives we draw on God's wisdom, which is the single most important ingredient in counseling. James 3:17 - 'But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy'.

I would ask for your prayers for safe travels, for God's anointing to manifest in a powerful way, that lives are changed into the likeness of Jesus Christ as a result of the many days of teaching. Please pray that my health remains steady. Please pray for my son, Edward, as he will be going back to college while I am away, and for my wife Amy, as she holds down the fort in Rhode Island.

My Son, Graduations...

This is my son, Edward. He will be 19 years old in a couple of weeks. The top picture is Edward when he 'graduated' kindergarden with his teacher. The middle picture is his 6th grade graduation, andthe BIG photo is from the evening of his High School graduation. Hard to believe, this curly haired little boy is getting ready to enter into his Sophomore year of college. He and I have a great relationship. From the second he came into this world, screaming his little lungs out, we've been like 2 peas in a pod. I love this kid so much. He has Juvenile or Type 1 Diabetes. Hard for me to talk about it, I get too emotional. He has been well trained, if you will, especially w/ the daily, 24/7 input from Amy, my wife. We ALL got diabetes when he was diagnosed, almost 7 years ago. The good news is that technology is on the cutting edge for Diabetics and he is the recepient of all the great strides that have been made, even over the past 5 years. When we sent him off to college, we put him in God's hands, we trusted the Lord that Edward would manage his diabetes on his own. It was time and he was ready. God answered our prayers and he did not get sick once. So, now, we are getting ready to send him off again. There are no guarantees, but we are trusting Jesus for his very life, 24/7. We ask that you would keep our precious boy in your prayers as he happily flies the coop!