Cornerstone Arts :: Newsletters :: Called Out of Egypt

A very special thanks to friend Egor Egorov for this and many more professional pictures. I hope you like the new picture!

Dear Friends & Family

Greetings from Sevestopol, Crimea! Okay, pull out your world map, and take a look. You'll find that it's the capital of Crimea, a region of land north of the Black Sea, east of Ukraine and south of Russia. A beautiful area filled with lots of fruit trees and sunny coasts. Unfortunately for me, I've been so busy, I haven't even see one yet!

Called Out of Egypt

Having a few days off, with a layover in Cairo, was just the best news anyone could hear! I had a chance to visit the pyramids, and they truly are inspiring! I was just amazed at how beautiful they really are. And the Sphinx was also majestic. We had lunch overlooking two of the pyramids and the Sphinx in the center.

However, I was most surprised when I asked the guide if he knew anything about Joseph and Mary living in Egypt. He told the driver, "Take a turn here" and away we went to St. Sergius church in the Christian region of Cairo. There, inside this church is the crypt where Joseph and Mary lived with baby Jesus while they fled the madman Herod. We walked down the street that was in front of their home… they must have taken this same street themselves hundreds of times, and to imagine it was all still there! We weren't allowed inside their living quarters, but just to be there was a very special blessing.

In Matthew 2:15, the scriptures say that Jesus was called out of Egypt. So was I. After Wednesday of last week, I flew to Kiev, Ukraine, and spent a few days visiting friends as that was my point of destination. I had a chance to meet with my dear friend, Pastor Henry Madava, where I will be presenting a new musical in November.

Talk about wonderful! I had a chance to visit Joseph & Mary's home with infant Jesus while they were in Egypt during Herod's reign. The crypt is situated inside St. Sergius church in Cairo.

Production Update

From Kiev, I flew to Sevastopol on Monday of this week, and have gone into Auditions, into Casting and into Rehearsals. The churches here have been AMAZINGLY UNITED! This is the FIRST time I have ever seen such unity! Fourteen churches are working beautifully together. I have worked with several cities where the churches worked together, and no matter how they presented themselves, the overall feel was "We're grinning and enduring each other". This is the first time I've seen an actual love for each other. I've been so blessed to see that! The administrator from Yalta, Igor Aksionov, is the one to credit. He has worked with them and has brought them together and invited me to Sevastopol. The pastors have carefully organized prayer meetings, fasts, and promotional activities to make sure that this is the biggest outreach that Sevastopol has ever seen! Wow! I'm so humbled to see their efforts. With this kind of committment, it's no surprise that we're going to see an unprecendented harvest for the Lord!

A Life of Excellence

So, how's life? Most of us will admit that there are areas in our life that could be better. The fact is that for every choice we make, we can expect a result, good or bad. We have three choices daily: to be lazy, to be mediocre, or to be excellent. Even though we come face to face with mediocrity every day by those who make the choice to live there, it should in no way keep us from becoming that way, too.

In order to raise our level of integrity as we walk with the Lord, we need to understand the three choices before us. There are three levels.

Level One. Laziness is, plain and simple, destructive. Proverbs 24:30, 31 says, "I went by the field of the lazy man, …and behold, it was all grown over with thorns…and the wall was broken down." A lazy man does what he likes, and that's usually as little as possible. Remember that there is always a result for the choice we make. His result is that he's unhappy, and jealous that others have more. He doesn't plan, and fails to take care of things.

We're already at it! Our first rehearsal with the brand new cast here in Sevastopol, Crimea. There are 14 churches working together to make this production possible!

In reality, though, I am talking about something in each one of us. You see, there are certain areas of our lives where we have developed a lazy attitude. We wish we had better children, but aren't willing to invest the time needed to help them become so. We wish we had a better government, but we don't take the time to get the issues, and write the appropriate letters that will make an impact for the good. We wish we were thinner… but….you get the idea.

Level Two. Most of us struggle with some areas of laziness, but more of us struggle with mediocrity. It's that spirit that says, "Everyone else is doing this the same way. I'm just like everyone else." The problem with that mindset is that "they" are living in mediocrity! You're not really bad; you're just not really good. Most people who live like this are constantly frustrated and unfulfilled. They're not living up to their destiny!

While in Cairo, I had the chance to visit one of the Seven Wonders of the World, the pyramids of Giza! Of course, it wouldn't be complete without one "schleppy" tourist on camelback! You can thank my tour guide for that! His idea, not mine!

You can see mediocrity raise its ugly head when you litter because everyone does. You go to check out a book at the library, or rent a video, or buy an item in a store, and when you change your mind about it, you leave it where ever is the most convenient place, after all, "It's not your job". One thing that I have learned by traveling is to respect the countries I'm in by being a "neat freak". I make my bed in host homes, I leave everything clean, including my host's dishes. I don't litter. In fact, I clean up trash off the street from time to time. Do I have to do that? No. You see, mediocrity is so prevalent in society, that people wonder why I do those things. I don't want to be mediocre! I want to leave the world (literally) better than I found it.

Level Three. You've heard the adage, "Character is who you are when no one is looking." I want to take that a step further. God is watching. There's nothing you do that He isn't personally seeing. So, with that thought in mind, imagine the task that is before you, and how are you doing it? Would He be proud of your excellence to do a job right, or do you scrimp, or cut corners just so that you can end early?

A good standard of excellence in the Bible is found in Matthew 5:41. You and I do not serve a mediocre God. No! We serve a God of excellence. He does "exceedingly, abundantly above that which you can ask or think of" Ephesians 3:20. We must represent Him and His character in everything we do. In no way am I saying that when we try to live our lives in excellence, we're living in perfection. Far from it.

After viewing hundreds of pictures in books, magazines and encyclopedias, it was amazing to finally see the Sphinx with my own eyes.

Daniel 6:3 says, "Daniel was distinguished above the others…because an excellent spirit was in him, and the king thought to set him over the whole realm." He not only did things in excellence, but he had an excellent attitude! If you have an excellent attitude, you will take whatever task is before you, and do the absolute best that you can with it.

Choose the Level you want to live on. Trust the Lord, by asking the Lord to bring light to the areas of your life that need changing, and make a list of what you would like to change. Plain and simple, if you want your life to change, then your choices have to change. Do you want to bring glory to God? Then do it daily by the life you lead! Don't choose laziness, or mediocrity. Choose to go the extra mile, and be a person of excellence!

Do Pobachenia!

That's Crimean for "Goodbye!" I have hit the ground running, and I look forward to the production here in Crimea. The saints here have been expecting me, and they are in earnest prayer for some supernatural things to happen. When you have those kind of people supporting you, the Lord will hear their prayers, and we will SEE miracles occur! However, I earnestly covet your prayers as well, my friends. God bless you, and keep us in prayer as we stage this new production of "The Judgment Seat". Take care!