Miles Walked 14.2 / 94 Degrees F.

Area: I-15 Junction through Entiwanda, Fontana, Rialto, on into San Bernardino, CA

Day Of Decision 

Today is going to be hot as I walk off my third road map onto my fourth… Now, after days of prayer and the intercession of others…I made my directional decision to walk east toward and beyond San Bernardino into what many would see as negative, dangerous, and potentially unproductive. Some may say my doing so defies common sense. But, I concluded that it must be God’s will for me to head into that arena if the devil was trying so hard to make me go around it. I know those people who warned me had foundation for their concerns. My immediate surroundings were known to be both California and our nation’s “most violent” area based on statistics.  Still…Jesus told us... we can have peace and to, “…take heart, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).  Honestly, one is always safest in the middle of God’s perfect will… What is His perfect will? Answer: doing what Jesus did and continues to do each day in the lives of those who need Him (John 14:12).  It’s important that we remember Jesus typically left crowds to find those lost among rough groups, in bad situations, and without accepted social standing. Please do not forget…”all people” are equally created in the image of God. Yes, all! Who are we to judge others in God’s stead? God loves us all…

First Steps

Taking my first steps today…I walked under 1-15 leaving the flourishing community of Rancho Cucamonga toward inner city San Bernardino. I passed two churches just on the east side of the freeway before heading into unknown territory…I I navigated my way through several communities along historic Route 66. After passing those churches, I did not see another for 13 miles. As I moved east toward the inner city…I watched area conditions and tone grow more discouraging. It was obvious that economic, relational, and spiritual issues grew more negative with each passing step due to lacking employment opportunities, increased gang activity, and diminishing hope…symptoms of the missing Church. And yet, I found those people of all races and creeds to be kind, helpful, and reasonably open to an outsider like me. Having something to do with a guy like me is a miracle in and of itself. Once again, I was reminded how people can either choose to believe what papers write about others and the areas within which they live…or…they can encounter, venture respect, and meet them and find that they typically return what they receive.

I'm Not From Here 

One statement I hear often as I inquire of those I meet is…”I’m not from here.” Almost everyone seems to be from somewhere else working in a place they do not live. How unlike my home community back in Washington where people typically live, work, and many times play in the same area. That’s a farm boy for ya… Stepping ahead…I found myself running into an occasional panhandler I had formerly bumped a few towns prior. It seems they move from place-to-place on some undefined circuit if-you-will. Yet, their presence wove a significant thread into the fabric of the area I was passing through, thereby seeming to make sense of the local demographic equation. All-in-all, I was blessed to meet the great people I encountered…vacuum salesmen on bicycles…mom’s walking with children…occasional pit bulls…bouncers outside of bars…kids leaving school…police officers…garbage men doing their jobs…and a “rare” pastor to name a few.  In retrospect…I found it troubling how uninformed human perspective makes snap decisions looking down upon the lives of those struggling in real life circumstances without ever taking time to meet the faltering traveler in person…one-on-one. Sure, all societies have their troublemakers who pour hell out upon those around them. I do not condone or have sympathy toward such behavior. Yet; many good, innocent, earnest, hard-working, and unfortunate people get swept into the dirt along with the rabble-rousers dotting their community grid.   Everyone deserves a chance to stand on their own merit…everyone! Remember, Jesus did it for me…and he did it for you.   Jesus said, “…go into all the world…to mend the broken-hearted….” He never gave His people permission to touch only the easy and convenient parts of their dying world...

A Challenge To Rise

My trek today took from the affluent areas with churches of 12,000 and open campus into areas of obvious oppression where churches were fenced, locked, vacant, and/or non-existent. As a believer…I simply do not grasp how we call and believe ourselves Christians when we shrink back, bow to darkness, let the government do our work, and refuse to seek and save the lost at any cost… I walked into inner city San Bernardino well after dark… I was met by both kind people and interesting circumstances which I will discuss more in depth in my upcoming article…”Building On Another Foundation.” Keep looking up, believe in others, and stay in the battle… Certainly, we all hope someone would come looking for us if we were down-and-out…right?  How can we hope for what we refuse to give?

Considering The Cross….Greg