He Walks With Us...

Our current sermon series is on grief and loss. 

In the 23rd Psalm, David talks about "the valley of the shadow of death"....

I believe that grief and loss, (the "valleys" in our lives), don't have to be related to death, although they certainly are at times. 

There are times when our valleys might just be a bad day, a sad moment or a hard season.

Up until this point in the Psalm....David speaks ABOUT God......

"He Leads....He restores"

The sheep is describing The Shepherd.

and yet, when the sheep is in trouble.....and finds himself or herself in a "valley"

He changes from speaking about God- TO God 

Because the sheep knows, He is WITH him.

"I will fear no evil....for YOU are WITH me."

He is speaking directly TO The Shepherd.....

The Shepherd is no longer just someone he describes,

 this Shepherd is someone he knows.......

We too, know alot about The Shepherd, Jesus....

where He was born.....who He ran around with.....some of His teachings....the account of His crucifixion and resurrection. We know His earthly father was a carpenter named Joseph, and His mom was named Mary....We know He turned water in to good wine...

We know He cared for least of these....walked on water and loved children.

However, do we know The Shepherd described above, is yours?

Do we realize He is with us and not just others?

Do you realize God Himself, is with YOU.

Buckner Fanning asked in a sermon on the 23rd Psalm, "Is God a He or a You?"

A Christian will never walk through the valley of death, it will always be a shadow...

and will only be a shadow.

wherever you are right at this moment, look around you. 

Wherever you see a shadow....

look behind it.....there is a light.

There is never a shadow without a light. There is no substance to a shadow.

God tells us we are going to go THROUGH valleys....no matter how deep or dark, or shallow and just inconvenient.

He declares, "I am The Light of The world" - John 8:12

and because of that promise, You and I never have to walk alone, never, ever.

God, Thank You for walking with us.....

In His Dust, 
DCC

Honest Thomas...

Thomas listened as his friends and fellow disciples told the story...

The Other Disciples: We have seen the Lord!

Thomas: Until I see His hands, feel the wounds of the nails, and put my hand to His side, I won’t believe what you are saying.

Eight days later, they gathered again behind locked doors; and Jesus reappeared. This time Thomas was with them.

Jesus: May each one of you be at peace.

He drew close to Thomas.

Jesus: Reach out and touch Me. See the punctures in My hands; reach out your hand, and put it to My side; leave behind your faithlessness, and believe.

Thomas: You are the one True God and Lord of my life.

Jesus: Thomas, you have faith because you have seen Me. Blessed are all those who      never see Me and yet they still believe.

Basically, Thomas tells Jesus- This is where I am.

(Which shows us what kind of a relationship they had...which was honest & real.)

Jesus responds in kind....here you go.....it's really Me. Look, touch.

It was exactly what Thomas needed. His response was complete belief and absolute commitment. "My Master! My God!"

Thomas' questions didn't at all seem to faze Jesus. Which makes me so happy. Because that means His Response to my doubts and questions....as well as your's....should get the same response. 

So the next time you find yourself thinking negatively about Thomas, 
Remember the first time you heard about Jesus coming back from the dead.

Sure, as children we don't question it so much....but as adults, don't we all have  "Thomas moments?" 
We can rest assured, that in response to each and every one of those moments, both big and small....we are met by a loving God...who will sit down right next to us and give us exactly what we need. Exactly when and how we need it.

We follow A God that shows up...right where we are ....looks right at us....and says, "Come on, look and touch.” 

God, Thank you for meeting us right where we are...and responding in a way that gets us exactly where we need to be.

In His Dust,

DCC

Our Signs...

Political Signs......

They are everywhere...some make us cheer...some make us angry...

But,they ALL represent something about what we believe....what is important to us....

or at the very least, who we listen to. 

"The high priest then asked Jesus about His Disciples and His Doctrine" ~John 18:19

Ay Chihuahua.(My words, not His) 

Imagine the high priest asking Jesus about His Beliefs....and His response was,

 "Ask those who have been listening to Me. 

They know well what I have said."~John 18:21  

Flash forward to 2016...

Uh. Oh. that's us--

The ones who have been listening.

the ones who know well what He has said.

and here's my nutshell understanding of what I have heard Him Say....

Love God. Love Others. 

The end.

Our doctrine is one thing....Our words and the way we treat each other, is another.

(Including those we disagree with politically.)

What if the signs in our front yards told more about us than who we are voting for?

What if you drove through neighborhoods and saw....

"Forgiven"..."Sorry"..."Grateful"..."Happy"..."Funny"...

"Loves red wine"..."Can't deny a Madrid's Tostado Burger"...

"Skipped church yesterday"..."cranky this morning"...

"Trying to do better today"...

"I Love God and I Love Others."

Even though we don't have these signs out front...make no mistake...

we are walking around showing people something.

Our signs are... 

"New every morning.

 Great Is His Faithfulness"~Lamentations 3:23

So, here we are....today is a new day....there is "a blank sign in your yard."
What will your's say today?

God, Please forgive me for judging those I disagree with....may others see Love on our signs.

In His Dust,
DCC

Who Cares...

Last week, an irate lady came to see us at the church.

She marched in as mad as a hornet....

apparently, the city was moving a bus bench in front of our church.

She told us this was going to cause a "huge inconvenience for her and her dog to walk around."

She then proceeded to draw us a "map" of how things used to look and how she needs them to look.

My face showed great concern for her "problem." 

My mind? Not so much concern. 

I thought, "WHO CARES?"

Which is when I heard God say- "I DO."

Yes, Sir.

I was immediately corrected and humbled upon realizing she brought her concern to God's House. And who was I, to decide what needed to matter to her???

Scripture says that God is interested in every little detail of our lives

"God cares, cares right down to the last detail." ~James 5:11

God cares about when we sit down and when we stand up....

God cares about the number of hairs on our head...

God says, according to Job, that He even "counts our steps."

Yes, a tad more reliable than your Fitbit?

God says, according to Isaiah, "The Lord will guide you continually"

Bottom line is, God cares about what you care about....

because He cares about YOU.

This includes cheerleading competitions...football game outcomes...which baseball team you get on...the argument you had with your spouse this morning...your worry about having enough hours in the day to get things done...your anxiety about a relationship and yes,

 even your concern about a bus bench.

 He cares about these things in the midst of world hunger, war, cancer, orphans and all the "big" stuff that we think He might be more concerned with. 

Don't assume He is not big enough--to handle all of it. 

Don't you let anyone tell you otherwise.

 If you question it, Ask Him.

God, Thank You for Your Steadfast Love & concern for each and every moment of our lives.

In His Dust,

DCC

On A Dime...

Well, well, well....it is 2016. 

You should know, I had great intentions of blogging all about Christmas and New Year's....

But life got in the middle of my plans...and many of your's.
January seemed to be filled with so many people who were just longing for a simple and "Silent Night."

We watched closely, as so many lives turned on a dime. 

It wasn't until this morning that I realized, 
the dime that turns so quickly, has a very clear message on it.
"IN GOD WE TRUST."

"When I am afraid, I put my trust in you" ~Psalm 56:3

What we saw very clearly in January was a lot of HIM. 

We saw Him, still on The Throne.
We saw Him, bring Comfort...and Healing.
We saw that He was indeed close to the broken hearted.
We saw His Healing. Not always with our eyes.
We saw Him, in brave big brothers...and broken parents...and households whose faith did not waver.

I believe with everything in me- that David is safe and sound and so is Reid. 
And Burton is healed.

I believe that The Molaks and The Kelleys and The Barnes will see them again...
and when they do, there will be no more goodbyes.

I believe this, because I know that was not just a baby in the manger.

I believe it was Very God, in The Flesh.

I believe that He came to earth in order to live among us....

Including the days where everything turns on a dime.

"Have I not commanded you?

Be strong and courageous

Do not be afraid, do not be discouraged. 

For The Lord, your God will be with you wherever you go."~Joshua 1:9

God, Thank You for coming here and never leaving us.

In His Dust,
DCC

"The way we love each other when we leave the manger says a lot about who we found when we got there." ~Bob Goff

It's Your Move...

From a manger in Bethlehem, 

God leaned over the whole world and said...

"It's your move." 

-Bob Goff

So what's your move?

Love Him...

Love others...

Walk humbly....

Laugh more...

Be kind....

Be gentle....

God.

Came.

Here.

To be with you.

To be with me.

To show us, exactly who He is.

So, what's your move? Make no mistake He is listening.

"Thanks be to God for His Unspeakable Gift." ~2 Corinthians 9:15

God, Thank You for coming to us...just because you love us that much.

In His Dust,

DCC

His Light In Your Darkness....

DO NOT BE AFRAID

'Tis the season of...

Do. 

Not.

 Be.

 Afraid.

His Light is shining in your darkness...

I have seen it.

You have seen it too.

In new born puppies....(Congratulations to Sadie.)

Around kitchen counters, where sugar covered kids decorate cookies....

In teary-eyed grown men...

In children dressed as shepherds and cows...

On the shoulders of saddle-carrying friends,at unexpected funerals...

Call it strength...call it hope....call it advent....

whatever you call it...make no mistake about it...

what you are seeing and feeling is 

The Light of The World Himself---JESUS.

"The Life-Light blazed out of the darkness;

    the darkness couldn’t put it out."~ John 1:5 

 

Those of you who find yourself struggling this holiday-you are not alone....

The Light of the world has come. 

He is with us.

His Light has come to interrupt our darkness.

His Light will not go out. 

He will not leave you.

"For even if the mountains walk away

    and the hills fall to pieces,

My love won’t walk away from you,

    my covenant commitment of peace won’t fall apart.”

    The God who has compassion on you says so." Isaiah 54:10

God, Thank You for your constant reminders that You are STILL God WITH us.

In His Dust,

DCC