by Pastor Dani Castillo
Joyful Anniversary greetings to my beloved GSCC family on our 5th Year! God is truly faithful to His promise as written in Philippians 1:6, “…He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” It is undoubtedly the work of grace upon our hearts, the work of Christ in our lives, not our works, that we have come this far. It is the transforming power and step-by-step guidance of the Holy Spirit that we can stand. We could not on our own, have accomplished growth and stability as a church. This accomplishment required the almighty power of God. GSCC is the work of God.
We have had many “ups and downs” during these five years and people have “come and go.” There are times we have not been faithful to God, individually and as a body. But He remains faithful, and by His grace and mercy, we receive second chances. We have learned to take challenges as lessons learned from the Lord. The “40 Days of Community” and the “40 Days of Love” series, as well as the many Bible lessons we have learned together draw us closer to God and to each other. And that is what church is about. It is about loving God with all we’ve got, and loving others as a result. We are on the right track, my brothers and sisters. Yes we slip here and there, but we have always lifted each other up, carried each other’s burdens and have gotten up on our feet again. And we shall do it again, and again, and again! Jesus did not give up, despite falling several times, He did not give up on us. He went all the way to the cross!
Hebrews 12:1-2 encourages us: “So then, let us rid ourselves of everything that gets in the way, and of the sin which holds on to us so tightly, and let us run with determination the race that lies before us. Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from beginning to end. He did not give up because of the cross! On the contrary, because of the joy that was waiting for him, He thought nothing of the disgrace of dying on the cross, and He is now seated at the right side of God’s throne.
This same Jesus, my dear GSCC “runners” is He who now cheers for us. So let us get in shape, learn, train, be equipped and run with all we’ve got, for His honor! God bless you all!
