Letter from the Elders 5-1-20

Hello Church!

All the things we face daily in our individual lives, as a community, and as a nation are there to teach us and to enlarge our faith in Jesus Christ.  Normally these things may look quite different from the unusual challenges we are facing in our world now, but it is still true that everything is there to reveal something new about our Savior and how He cares for us, His church.  His desire for His church is to draw nearer to Him and reveal His glory to this world in all phases of our lives.  As we grow in our faith we reflect Him more and our love for Him grows deeper and stronger.  As we grow in age how we share Him to the world will probably change, but the essence of who God is should become richer in us and therefore in our reflection of His holy attributes.  As John the Baptist proclaimed in John’s Gospel, chapter 3, verses 29b – 31 “…this joy of mine is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease. He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all.”  What freedom we find in Jesus Christ, released from the bondage of expectations and free to absorb His graciousness into a new creation of wholeness in the Holy Spirit!

Some may object to, or be confused by, the avenue God is using right now to reveal new depths of His providence in our lives, but we urge you to reflect back on times in your life when God has faithfully provided for you or your family in ways you were unaware of until after the crisis was over.  Based on His faithfulness in the past, surely you can trust Him now to care for your needs; the more you surrender your will to His will, the greater your trust in His ways will become.  Are there needs you have that you can’t seem to fulfill?  Contact us, we’ll help you sort things out. 

Use your extra time to develop a habitual prayer life, and to reach out to others who may be living alone or are isolated at this time.  We’ve seen or heard so many commercials about helping others, this is a concept that the world is adopting as a result of this pandemic; but as Christians it is who we are, it is our daily mindset to love and support others in the Spirit of Jesus Christ.  Throughout Christianity persecution hasn’t stopped the Gospel from spreading; quarantine won’t stop God from working through His people either.  He’s expanding our hearts and minds as we step outside the familiar way we’ve always been His laborers and learning new, innovative ways to be Christ’s ambassadors to the world.

God bless you,

GGC Elders and Staff