From our Pastor

The universal Church of God has people from nearly every walk of life and from many backgrounds.  Some Christians come from solid Christian backgrounds with generations of believers.  Chattahoochee Christian Church has members who have been a part of the congregation going back decades.  Some Christians come from challenging circumstances.  When we consider the make-up of the Church, I like to begin at Golgatha.  Golgatha was the hill where Jesus Christ was crucified.  On either side of Him hung two career criminals.  The biblical text tells us that the two thieves mocked Jesus.  But, something happened!  Suddenly, one of the criminals stopped mocking and began confessing.  He suddenly realized that he was on that cross because of his sins.  I believe a miracle suddenly occurred when the thief confessed his sins.  His spiritual eyes were opened.  He no longer saw the man called Jesus of Nazareth, bloodied, beaten, stabbed.  The thief saw GOD.  He said to Jesus, "Lord, remember me when you enter your kingdom."  Jesus responded to the thief turned saint, "Truly, this day you will be with me in paradise."  I am one of those Christians who was not born into a Christian home, who faced many challenges including becoming a foster child.  I witnessed things no child should witness or experience.  The wounds of childhood became the flames that led me to abandon faith in my twenties.  I have known extreme poverty, alienation from those who cared for me, and worst of all, a period when I rejected God.  I live with the scars of those years, and I am not alone.  Many people have faced life challenges that have left scars.  But, when I hear the whispers from Satan that I am not worthy of salvation, I remind myself of a thief on a cross.  He was not worthy either, yet, after confessing his sins, looking to God for hope, Jesus took him to paradise.  None are beyond the reach of Christ's eternal love.

​​

​