Fearlessly Courageous
Desk of Dennis Piller
10 16 2024
Grace Family Church canceled our Annual Man Event this weekend because of the devastation of our city last week. As much as we love this time of refreshing and coming together to get reset it was clear our brothers and sisters were in much more need than many of us. It was decided to ask everyone who had planned to attend this Saturday, Oct. 18th to give up that day to be the Samaritan spoken of in Luke 10:25
So this Saturday at 8AM, men, women and kids old enough to help are meeting at our Land O Lakes Campus at 22920 State Road 54, Lutz, Fl. To help tackle some of the devastation of our city.
Each of our 7 campuses are doing the same thing.
This isn’t about just serving our own members; it’s being there for those men and women and moms and dads who are just overwhelmed and don’t even know where to start to rebuild. Many of us were spared the onslaught of this once-in-a-century hurricane, but too many of us were caught in its fury. I’ve been praying for them since then.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, I am reminded of the call that our Lord placed on all our hearts — the call to “love our neighbor as ourselves”. It’s easy to speak these words, but how much harder it is when our neighbors are suffering from devastation, when their homes have been washed away, and their hope is hanging by a thread.
On Monday, I shared how my granddaughter in Plant City carried her 4 yrs old out of her home in the dark when the waters quickly rose and forced her out of her home. I want to share another story with you, one that might feel far away from our day-to-day lives, but is happening to more people and their children than we can imagine. We have seen the pictures of what is happening, right now.
The Story of Maria and Her Children
Just last week, Maria, a single mother of three, stood helpless as Hurricane Milton ripped through her neighborhood. Their home, a small and modest place, was one of the few things they had. As the floodwaters rose, she gathered her children, each clinging to her with fear in their eyes. Their home wasn’t strong enough to stand against the storm. The roof collapsed, and they were forced to wade through the water, seeking refuge in a nearby shelter. They survived the storm, but now they have nothing. No home. No belongings. No certainty about what tomorrow will bring.
Maria’s 8-year-old daughter asked her last night, “Mama, where will we sleep tonight?” Can you imagine a mother’s heart breaking as she looks into her child’s eyes and realizes she has no answer?
Church, I ask you, if that were you—if it were your child, your spouse, your family—wouldn’t you hope and pray that someone would reach out? That someone would care enough to lend a hand?
We are called to be that someone. I know many of us have other plans and just can’t…I get that.
This isn’t about shaming people to do something, it is about loving our neighbors as we might hope someone would love us by helping if this was happening to our children and family.
Today, I challenge each of us to lay down your comfort for just one day. This Saturday, gather those in your family who are able…maybe even your neighbors, or the small bible study you meet with. Let us give up one day of our lives to be the hands and feet of Christ for families like Maria’s. Our brothers and sisters are hurting. They are crying out, and we can make a difference. I am amazed at how many people who even attend our church have very few friends to lend a hand. We get so busy with surviving that we don’t have that circle of friends many of us enjoy.
Jesus told us the story of the Good Samaritan, who saw a stranger suffering and didn’t hesitate. He didn’t walk past. He didn’t say, “Someone else will help.” He stopped. He cared. He gave.
Now, it’s our turn.
One day is all we ask. One day to be the answer to someone’s prayer. To help rebuild, to offer hope, to show them that they are not forgotten. We may never meet Maria or her children, but our love can still reach them. Our presence can be felt in the hands that help our neighbors who are overwhelmed to clean us the debris, or in the warmth of a meal shared, and in the prayers we lift up for them.
Let’s be the Good Samaritan. Let’s step into the storm and bring with us the light of Christ.
For when we give, when we love sacrificially, we are not just changing lives — we are being changed ourselves. And in that, we are walking in the footsteps of Jesus.
Are you ready? Let’s go be the church. Let’s go be His hands and feet. Amen.
Bring what you have to help. Wear long pants, wear gloves, and come with the things you have that might help. Wheel barrels, water, chain saws if you can borrow one, a hammer, and plastic bags. We are trying to put together a list. But they need bodies more than anything else. Bring yourself and everyone you can muster. (Reach out to me if you have any questions) I know some of you are out of the area and some out of the country. Pray for our city and state. Pray for these families. They availeth much.
I read a blog by Dan Cruver after he lost his son and these were a few excerpts. “When God sent Moses to announce his promised deliverance, the people were too broken in spirit to listen (Exodus 6:9). Their harsh reality overshadowed their hope. What are we to do when we find ourselves in a similar place, where the promise of deliverance seems distant, and our hearts struggle to believe?
Confidence in the face of adversity begins with the unshakable assurance that Christ, who died and was raised, intercedes for us. In our darkest moments, when God’s comfort seems to vanish and suffering threatens to overwhelm us, we hear again the gospel’s good news: the God who justified us in Christ will not allow any accusation to stand. Even when God feels distant, our secure standing before him remains unchanged.
Our hope rests not on fluctuating emotions or our sense of his presence but on the unshakable truth that Christ is our righteousness — our “light and high beauty” — ensuring that nothing, neither internal fears nor external trials, can separate us from the Father’s love (Romans 8:35–39). He alone is the deepest rest for our souls”. (The above is a link, to his book.)
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Air I Breathe We Fall Down Brooke Ligertwood
