Don't you love it when you see a sign that announces a "GRAND OPENING!"  It means that something new has come to town, and is ready to show off their wares.  It means a new choice is yours for the making.  Well this might be considered a "GRAND RE-OPENING" as this is my first blog entry for our new web-address, www.communitychurchofgod.net.  We've changed the style a little and are working to make this site as useful and as user-friendly as possible.

We've added a Calendar Page, and are trying to streamline the other pages, as well.  If you have any suggestions or ideas for the site, please email them to me at... PastorD@consolidated.net

While this site may be "New and Improved," the message we carry has remained the same since our inception.  Simply put...God loves you.  He created you, and He formed your every feature with His holy, loving hands.  He sent His Son to die for you, as well.  Because face it, we've all sinned and fallen short of God's glory.  But Jesus chose to die for us, rather then live in Heaven without us!  He renewed our broken relationship with God, and restored our position as children of God. 

No matter what new thing comes our way, let us NEVER forget the wonderful GRACE of God. 

PastorD

I try to tell my family and friends that its a new idea I had for community outreach, but I don't think their buying it.

I recently was given a set of golf clubs and soon discovered why people (who by all other accounts were perfectly well-adjusted) become passionately unhinged over a sport that was obviously created to frustrate even the most patient of souls.  It drives me crazy, but I can't stop wanting to try and hit that stupid ball as straight and as far as I can!  What is wrong with me?  Golf always seemed so pretentious, and it is!  Who, in their right frame of mind, would actually think they have the control and the skill to hit that dumb, dimpled ball anywhere close to where they hope it will end up?!  And yet I don't want to stop trying.  I tell myself I do it to "let off some steam," to relax, to expend some of my stored up stress-load, but honestly, this futile attempt at gaining mastery over a small plastic ball with a long metal club sometimes pushes me right over the edge!  I might as well have a rock strapped on to a stick and be swinging at the "gum-balls" that fall out of the neighbor's tree into my yard!  (I'd look just as silly, but my yard would be a little more kept...)

Anyway, I got to thinking as I was reflecting over this newly-found hobby.  So many times this is what my life has been like!  One moment I think I've finally mastered some area of my life that needed attention, and then BAM!!, I'm right back to the same old habit, or attitude, or negative way of looking at things.  I dive back into my old divets and wonder why the outcome only made it about 6 feet from the tee.  But just like golf, the answer usually lies in my own two hands, and in my head.  I'd like to blame the wind, the sun in my eyes, the arthritis in my knuckles, or my dog barking while I was trying to focus, but truth be told, it was probably the way I gripped the club too tightly, and the way I was over-thinking my swing. 

 Too often, I forget to let God have control; let Him make the changes in me, and I end up right back where I started.  I grip to tightly, instead of just relaxing, and letting God handle it.  I over-think the whole process even though God's Word tells me plainly, "Lean not on your own understanding..."  The lousy results seem to mock me, just like that stupid little ball that now lies only about 6 feet from where I whiffed it. 

I feel I'll never have the confidence to go to an actual golf-course, so I just stay right here in my own front yard, hoping beyond hope to be able to hit the ball over those trees into that open field across the road on a consistent basis.  (Trust me, the people driving by hope for this as well!)  It's these personal struggles that sometimes beat on us the hardest.  And yet the Bible shows me time and time again that God is full of mercy and grace.  Whether or not, I feel like I am "the man for the job" doesn't really matter.  What matters is that I am being obedient, and truly seeking God's spirit in whatever I do, say, think and feel.  It is then that He can use me to the furtherment of His kingdom, and it is then that I can truly begin to grow. 

God, help me to relax, to let your thoughts be my thoughts, and by the way, please don't let the ball hit my neighbor-lady across the street.  





 

Hurricane Ike was my first hurricane.  Having grown up in Kansas, where tornados are more prevalent, I had never really experienced anything quite like Ike.  You don’t have time to think about a tornado, let alone name it, and I was never really personally affected by one.  And usually tornados only affect a small swath of land, and property.

 But as I have now weathered my first hurricane, it got me to thinking.  For many of us, the hurricane started long before this past September 13th.  For many of us, our personal lives have been at category 5 status for a LOOONG time!  Whether it’s just the sheer busyness and stress of our lives, or the emotional conflict we seem to be up against in our relationships, or maybe its more of a spiritual battle, that sometimes feels like a burden!  Whatever the name of your hurricane, its rough, and it beats against the very core of your being.

 And then, of course, there is the actual hurricane itself.  Ever heard the phrase, “adding insult to injury”?  Add all this together and it’s a wonder we can even function at all.  Let me share some hope from Isaiah 32:2…

 “And a man shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.” – Isaiah 32:2 KJV

Three things I discover here…

Jesus Christ is…

I.                   An abundant foundation of peace and safety for those who are in fear and danger.
II.                Provision for the satisfaction, and full contentment, of the needy and thirsty soul.
III.      A place of quiet rest and sweet refreshment for him who is weary.

Thanks be to God for His provision through every storm we face!  Name your own personal hurricane, and God can give you the strength, the perserverance, and the shelter you need to weather the storm.