If you have access to the internet you may see these "Notes of Faith" at:

www.communitygrace.church
and
Facebook.com/cgbclb

Thank you to those who have continued to send offerings through the mail or give directly through your bank or through our website. We still pay all of our missionaries, staff and building costs though most of those are less due to our not holding services there.

Joy is one of the hallmarks of the Christian life. This isn't something that happens automatically when we receive Jesus as Savior, although that experience is where it all begins. Unlike happiness, which is related to desirable circumstances, joy is gladness of the heart that results from a growing relationship with Christ. It is the reason James could say, "Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials." James 1:2

Life does not always work out the way we desire. Sometimes it is full of pain, trouble and loss. But joy is not dependent upon our circumstances. Shortly before Jesus was crucified, He told His disciples, "These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full. John 15:11 However, the news that He gave them seemed anything but joyful - He was going to die, and they were going to be hated and persecuted. What the disciples did not understand was that Jesus' death was the beginning of the restoration of all things.

While becoming a Christian does not remove us from the pain and suffering that come with living in a fallen world, we can rejoice because God is indeed making all things new!

Pastor Dale