Jesus says, “I am the Good Shepherd” (John 10:11).

What’s so good about a shepherd anyway? I mean, a shepherd is not the most desirable vocation by a long shot even today.

As a matter of fact, a shepherd in the time of Jesus was considered to be the lowest of the low.

These people would spend weeks, and sometimes months out in the wilderness with their sheep, tending to their every need.

They were known to have quite a nasty scent about them, as a matter of fact, one could say they reeked to high heaven! I mean, how ripe would one be if they didn’t bathe or change clothes for weeks on end?

And then of course the shepherd was also known for his desire to be alone, away from the rest of society. Don’t bother me and I won’t bother you was the motto.

For certain, shepherds were known to interact with each other, as a matter of fact they at times combined flocks and moved from one field to another to feed and water the flocks. But for the most part, shepherds were considered outcasts, and low lifers; a label well earned.

So why does the Bible continually refer to shepherds as good? Why does Jesus say, "I am the Good Shepherd?”

A good shepherd? It means everything when it comes to the reason why God uses this very pertinent analogy. You see, when a shepherd calls, his sheep follow his voice; if another calls, they're not likely to respond.

Imagine a hillside where a few flocks of sheep are grazing together. The flocks intermingle and feed on the pastureland … a big woolly mix where they all look pretty much alike.

When the time comes to move on, the shepherds call out to the sheep. The flocks separate, and each sheep follows its own shepherd. That's the sort of imagery that the Lord is using here.

Jesus compares people to sheep. For one thing, you can't tell who they belong to just by looking at them. If you watch a camera panning a crowd at a football game, you cannot pick out who is a Christian and who is not.

Christians do not have some sort of visible mark on their foreheads or a glowing aura that declares their faith. They are not extra fit or extra healthy. They look pretty much like everybody else, no matter who they follow.

So, what's the difference? What sets our Lord's people apart from the rest of the sheep? Well, His sheep hear His voice; and because they hear His voice, they know Him and follow Him.

We hear the voice through the Word of God and through prayer. What an opportunity for us to outreach and communicate that very Word to the lost in our community and pray to our Heavenly Father for guidance.

A shepherd views his sheep almost like a parent views their children – with love. And that is where we are in Lake County. We need shepherds, folks! People who are willing to embrace the reality of a town that is truly in need of “Good Shepherds.”

If you feel called to help, please contact me at the church at 707-274-5572 and we will work together to revitalize Lake County.

Please join us at First Lutheran Church each Sunday for Bible study at 9:30 a.m., worship at 11 a.m. and a time of fellowship and food following the service.

Come as you are and join us as we seek to reach out, embrace and recover a community in need of help through the strength that Jesus gives us all.

Chris DelCol is pastor of First Lutheran Church in Lucerne, Calif. The church is located at 3863 Country Club Drive, telephone 707-274-5572.

A wise man once said that when God measures a person, he puts the tape around the heart, not the head.

In Scripture we read about Jesus talking to His Father with a troubled heart at Gethsemane.

It was a heart that yearned for compassion for Jesus knew what was to come and His heart was brought to a state of heaviness, a state of being troubled, a state of being afraid, very afraid.

For just as He is God, so too, he is human. And He was in need of a compassionate heart that very lonely night.

What is a compassionate heart anyway?

It is a heart that exhibits patience, kindness, forgiveness, hope, and all the Fruits of the Spirit.

The troubled heart of Jesus on His trip to the cross is the same heart that takes all our troubles and cures them for eternity.

His troubled heart becomes our clean heart, just as we see in the answered prayer from Psalm 51:10: “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.”

In need of a compassionate heart. Can you picture someone in your mind?

Just look around our community. I know you can see people here in need of a compassionate heart. The face of a homeless man, the anger of a troubled person with PTSD, a grieving military wife who has just lost her husband to a bullet from an enemy gun, a husband and wife who must face the reality that their child is going to die of cancer.

Do you see them? I see them, everywhere, and it breaks my heart.

And I know that through the efforts of this church and the people of this community, we can start addressing the challenge of reaching out to those who need someone to embrace them with a compassionate heart.

There is a lesson to be learned here and that lesson is no matter how challenged we are in our life, Jesus is there for us with His healing heart.

In need of a compassionate heart? Look to the cross. In need of a compassionate heart, look to the empty tomb. In need of a compassionate heart, look to the resurrection. In need of a compassionate heart? Look to Jesus.

It all points to the hope we receive from the love of the one who gave His all so we would be called the children of God.

Can you picture the face … see the need?

Join us at First Lutheran Church this Sunday as we continue in learning more about, “In need of a compassionate heart.”

Bible study is every Sunday morning at 9:30 a.m., worship at 11 a.m. and a hot lunch after worship.

This Sunday is Food Cupboard Sunday at 1 p.m. If you are in need of food, clothing, diapers or personal hygiene products, please join us.

Everyone is welcome, so please come as you are and spend a few hours with us.

Chris DelCol is pastor of First Lutheran Church in Lucerne, Calif. The church is located at 3863 Country Club Drive, telephone 707-274-5572.

It’s been a long six months, but baseball season is finally back!

Whether you’re a fan of the Oakland A’s, the San Francisco Giants, or another team, excitement is in the air.

It’s fun to show support either from the stadium or your couch, but be careful! Fans sometimes run into trouble when buying tickets and gear.

In 2017, consumers nationwide filed nearly 3,900 complaints with BBB against ticket brokers and event ticket sales companies (up from 3,000 in 2016).

The leading cause for complaints was problems with refunds and exchanges. Common complaints involve being unable to obtain refunds, poor customer service, and hidden fees.

Buying jerseys, hats, and other gear can also lead to issues. According to the BBB Risk Index (www.bbb.org/riskindex ), online purchase scams were the riskiest scam to consumers in 2017.

Furthermore, clothing purchases were one of the most common online purchase scams. More than 4,600 online purchase scams were reported to BBB Scam Tracker in 2017, up from around 2,800 reports in 2016. The majority of online purchase scams occur when a payment is made online in exchange for a good or service, but nothing is delivered.

– Don’t strike out when buying tickets. Stick to trustworthy sources when buying tickets. The best way to buy is through the Major League Baseball (MLB) official website, mlb.com. If they’re sold out and you have to purchase from an online ticket exchange or broker, be cautious. Look up every business at bbb.org and check out their BBB Business Profile before making a purchase. For more tips on avoiding fraudulent tickets, visit bbb.org/tickets.

– Only buy authentic gear. Nearly 900 counterfeit product scams were reported to BBB Scam Tracker in 2017 - an increase of around 80% from 2016 - and the median loss was $150. Counterfeit goods mimic original merchandise, right down to the trademarked logo, but are typically of inferior quality. The safest way to be sure the hats and jerseys you’re buying are authentic is by shopping at the MLB’s official store, mlbshop.com. You can also buy MLB licensed gear from authorized resellers. Visit bbb.org to find trustworthy BBB Accredited Businesses and look up unfamiliar retailers.

– Be safe shopping online. Whenever you’re making a purchase online, use good judgement. Verify that the website is secure by looking for the “https:”, where the “s” stands for “secure”, and other trust marks. Make sure your computer is running up-to-date anti-virus, anti-spyware and anti-malware software. It’s best to use a credit card since they offer more protection than debit and prepaid cards. Never pay by wire transfer or gift cards – if a seller insists on an unusual form of payment, consider it a red flag! Make sure to read the terms and conditions of your purchase carefully. Understand the refund and guarantee policies before clicking the “checkout” button, and be on the lookout for hidden fees. You can check out more online shopping tips at bbb.org/shoppingonline.

You can always file a complaint with BBB at www.bbb.org/complain, and report scams to www.bbb.org/scamtracker.

Rebecca Harpster is communications supervisor for the Better Business Bureau, serving the San Francisco Bay Area and Northern Coastal California and based in Oakland.

Well, the journey of living grace continues for one more week.

When Christians departed their respective churches on Easter morning that day they did so saying, “Go in peace and serve the Lord, thanks be to God.”

The challenge we are left with then is to make everyday Easter and live in the grace that God has provided us through faith in Jesus Christ.

On Easter we reflected on the joyous celebration of the grace given to us through the empty tomb.

But in the church universal, the week after Easter morning we typically are faced with a doubting grace by the disciple who is forever labeled doubting Thomas.

Every Easter Sunday, pastors face the reality of a text the following Sunday that is specific to doubting Thomas and as the years go by it seems to become more and more difficult to talk about doubt, especially as it pertains to the one guy who was singled out as the “bad” guy who doubted Christ’s resurrection.

This, when every single one of them doubted. Remember that?

They were in the room the day Jesus came through the door. And they were there because they were all scared and they all doubted.

Not one of them would believe that Jesus was raised unless they saw Him, yet not one of them would be called doubting. Only Thomas would be labeled forever as the one who doubted.

And so here we are, saying to ourselves, what do we tell folks about doubt that hasn’t already been told? What more can be said that they haven’t already heard?

We’ve talked in past about needing proof for everything in order to not doubt. If you want me to believe in this grace thing, then I must be able to either see, touch, smell, hear or taste it. That’s it! It must be within the confines of my senses. So, we want proof.

If you want to see proof, look at creation, if you want to touch it, caress a newborn baby, if you want to smell proof, stand in a field of wildflowers in the springtime, if you want to hear it come to church on Sunday, you want to taste it come to the Lord’s table and embrace the reality of the means of grace in action – your sins forgiven. What else do we need to know?

It seems that we are all doubting Thomases at one time or another. We look around our community and we see doubt everywhere … I doubt we can ever recover our county, I doubt the homeless situation will ever be resolved, I doubt the people will ever start taking care of their properties, I doubt Lake County will ever be great again.

I disagree.

The scripture passages about doubting Thomas results in his renewal and I believe that we can make Lake County great again.

We are going to start with our little church in Lucerne and pray that will prompt others in the county to do the same. New paint, new roof, cleaning up the overgrown brush, cutting down old trees, planting flowers, maybe even getting the parking lot fixed up a bit. It starts with one effort and multiplies from there.

Stay posted and tell your neighbors as we plan a community “paint party” and get the church looking like it should, then carry that drive on so that the whole community is looking like it should.

The end result of doubt when it is proven erroneous is hope, enthusiasm, renewal and a desire to make change happen.

Join us as we move forward with eliminating doubt and getting things done.

We will talk about this further on Sunday so please join us at First Lutheran Church.

On Sunday, Bible study starts at 9:30 a.m., worship at 11 a.m. and then lunch after the service.

All are welcome so come as you are and get to know us better.

Chris DelCol is pastor of First Lutheran Church in Lucerne, Calif. The church is located at 3863 Country Club Drive, telephone 707-274-5572.

Identity theft is the unauthorized use of another’s identity to commit crimes or for financial gain, like opening accounts, filing taxes, or making purchases. Unfortunately, it can happen to anyone.

In 2017, it was the second most reported complaint to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), with more than 370,000 reports from consumers nationwide (up from the #3 spot in 2016).

Thankfully, there are steps you can take to mitigate your risk. According to the FTC, it’s important to “shred receipts, credit offers, credit applications, insurance forms, physician statements, checks, bank statements, expired charge cards and similar documents when you don’t need them any longer.”

Worried that your identity has been compromised? Be on the lookout for these clues that someone has stolen your information, from the FTC: unexplained bank account withdrawals; missing bills or other mail; calls from debt collectors about debts that aren’t yours; unfamiliar accounts or charges on your credit report; medical bills for services you didn’t use; health plan inaccuracies; notices from the IRS that don’t apply to you; and notices that your information was compromised by a data breach.

If any of these warning signs apply to you, don’t panic. Visit http://identitytheft.gov , the U.S. federal government’s one-stop resource for identity theft victims. You just have to answer a few questions about your situation, and you’ll receive a personalized recovery plan. It includes streamlined checklists and sample letters to guide you through the recovery process.

To further protect yourself against identity theft, secure your information offline with these tips from your BBB:

– Limit what you carry. When out and about, only take what you need – leave your Social Security card behind. Lock up financial documents, records, and anything containing sensitive personal information in a safe in your home. Lock up your purse or wallet while at work as well.
– Keep an eye on your mail. Use a secure, locked mailbox if possible. If you don’t have a locked mailbox, take sensitive outgoing mail to the post office or to a post office box and pick up incoming mail as soon as possible. Only order new checks to your home if you have a secure mailbox.
– Don’t overshare. The FTC recommends that “before you share information at your workplace, a business, your child’s school, or a doctor’s office, ask why they need it, how they will safeguard it, and the consequences of not sharing.” This is especially true for your Social Security Number (SSN). Ask if you can use a different kind of identification, although sometimes you will have to share your SSN. Be careful sharing health plan information, and destroy the labels on prescriptions bottles before throwing them out.

Rebecca Harpster is communications supervisor for the Better Business Bureau, serving the San Francisco Bay Area and Northern Coastal California and based in Oakland.

Dear Lake County District 2 residents,

My name is Bruno Sabatier; I am seeking your vote for District 2 supervisor.

The city of Clearlake is moving forward, improvements are happening in the city and I have been central to that change.

The Clearlake economy growing beyond estimates, new businesses are opening, investors are knocking at our door and the future looks brighter than ever. I have been an active participant in this change and can help the unincorporated county with similar change.

When city economies grow while the unincorporated county falters, something is clearly not working. The current way of doing business is not working; a fresh set of eyes can find new ways to solve our problems.

Here are some of my ideas.

In order to turn Lake County around, we must improve educational offerings, build up our economy, and take real action to solve the problem of homelessness.

Local programs to prepare residents to assume vital county positions can be implemented at the two colleges. Assessors, planners and a wide spectrum of skilled workers can be developed right here, in our colleges.

Vocational training should also be offered to those in our jails. The incarcerated can become productive members of our local communities by being treated as valued members of society. Those in jail deserve a chance to land on their feet, not on their backs.

We can build a robust economy. We can be open for business. Consistent and increasing revenues are a necessity to provide the services a county should afford to its residents.

Marketing agritourism can boost our agricultural commodities including grapes, walnuts, pears, and more including and our new legal industry of cannabis.

The majestic scenery we enjoy and our agriculture present a valuable opportunity. Our potential for successful agritourism is near limitless, if only we exploit it.

The issue of homelessness cannot be ignored, hoping these unfortunates will simply leave without addressing the root causes will not resolve the situation. We can formulate solutions without a free hand out but a hand up.

Project Restoration in Lower Lake is a perfect example of how tackling the issue head-on creates financial benefits, rather than choosing to ignore it. We can expand this and similar programs. Doing so will create a pathway to transition into normalcy and reduce costs for all of us.

Increased educational access, executing a plan for a robust business economy, and embracing solutions for our homeless will create a strong foundation for us to succeed.

I am committed to fighting for these changes.

On June 5, vote for progress, vote for prosperity, vote for Bruno Sabatier.

Bruno Sabatier lives in Clearlake, Calif., where he serves as mayor.