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From The Pastor's Pen - September 2010

It was wonderful to see so many of you come out Saturday and work on the property; so much was accomplished. What unity and oneness of heart in longing to see this property become our church home here on earth. I continue to rejoice in God’s wonderful providence in providing for us the land and house on Ridgewood. God is so good to His people and gives us much to be thankful for. We can never repay Him for what He has done. As I have thought about the remodeling and building of a sanctuary I have been impressed to encourage all the members of Grace to give sacrificially so that we might be able to do this work debt free and in a timely fashion. Our slogan will be “Equal Sacrifice not Equal Giving”. I pray that everyone will seek to make the same kind of sacrifice in giving but this kind of giving must be from a cheerful heart not out of compulsion. Heed the words of Paul in 2 Corinthians 9:6-7 “But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.” I know from experience the truthfulness of this passage of Scripture. Many of you, like me, could give numerous testimonies of God’s faithfulness to you and your family. NONE! can out give God. Paul tells us to give according to what we have purposed in our heart, this speaks of the quality, manner or nature of our giving. I cannot help but think of Zacchaeus after he was saved, “Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, ‘Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.’” Luke 19:8-10 A biblical evidence of true conversion is a desire to give to God’s work and for His glory. As Paul says: “so let him give” it is of his own will and free choice, from his very heart; not as directed or forced by others but according to his own counsel and determination. It is not to be done “grudgingly” not with pain or uneasiness of mind, grieving over what you give as the Pharisees did or out of necessity; or force by coactions; being obliged to it by the influence or commands of others but liberally and freely. Such giving brings great joy and peace to the giver. This is the kind of giver that God loves, but ones giving is not the cause of God’s love but the means, God blesses such a person; shows His love the him. Why? Because he demonstrates that he has received a “new heart” from God and it is a testimony of God’s grace in him. I pray that each of you will experience God’s blessings during this time as you cheerfully give and God is glorified through your giving. Finally, I want to mention that we will have a special offering on October 3rd for everyone to give a one time gift to the building fund and also to make a pledge to what you believe you will be able to give weekly or monthly to the building fund until it is completed. As soon as we have an amount that we are seeking to raise this will be announced so that we have a goal to seek to reach. Some of you have already begun to contribute and I thank God for your faithfulness. What a testimony it will be to our God as we see how He leads each member to reach this goal and pay for this work before it is done, as we all make “Equal Sacrifice”.

Pastor Thomas Winn