Life can quickly get busy and chaotic. During those times we often lose sight of priorities and can find ourselves isolated and alone and our needs not being met. Often, one of the first things we let slip is our commitment to meeting with the community of faith, the church. This is both sad and harmful. Sad because we are alone when we need to be surrounded by people we love and who love us. Harmful because the local church is how God provides His grace. Sometimes we can be deceived and buy into the ‘Jesus and me is all I need’ idea. But the reality God teaches us is that His help comes through His people who live in close relationship to one another for care and accountability.

God can prepare us for things we cannot see, expect, or predict through the love and grace He provides. That help comes through His people. I pray God will lead you to that strong community for your growth so that your life may be overflowing into the lives of others. Living on an island may sound like a paradise but living on an island of isolation isn’t. If you find yourself isolated, maybe today is the day you come back into a community of friends.

We would love to have you.

Bro. Tony

Well, the past 16 months have been crazy to say the least. Between, COVID, questions about
personal health, government shutdowns, and individual crisis, no person could have predicted
the things we as a people have experienced. However, none of that came as a surprise to God.
It is natural for us to project forward with expectations of what the future will be for us, but the truth is none of us really know. This shouldn’t scare us as much as it should inform us on a couple of things. One, we need to trust God and His leading today, for He knows what
tomorrow will be. He can prepare us for things we cannot see, expect, or predict through the
love and grace He gives us. This should draw us closer to Him, not push us away. Second, we
need a strong faith-based community of friends to give and receive love and help. God in His
perfect plan has chosen to manifest His grace through His people. While health-related social
distancing may be appropriate for some, for a time, God didn’t design us to live very long in
isolation. Living on an island may sound like a paradise but living on an island of isolation isn’t. If the past 16 months have caused you to be isolated, maybe today is the day you come back into a community of friends.

We would love to have you.
Bro. Tony