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Contributing Writers: Mike Mills, Spring Hill Church | Doug Fincher | Pastor Randy and Sue Smith | Mike Belgard | Tim Perkins
Faith
March 31, 2022 - Jesus didn’t quit assembling with the disciples because Judas was a hypocrite, or because Peter was always “buttin in”. Nor did he quit because James and John “flew off the handle” occasionally. His interest in these men was not lessened because they were envious and jealous of each other at times. He did not quit teaching the high standard of life because some of his close associates failed miserably to live as they should. He did not refuse to teach others because they were unkind and unbelieving.
Jesus did not quit as a leader because some could not see “eye to eye” with him and criticized him to his back. He did not cease to teach good morals, just because he associated with an adulterous woman, an unscrupulous business man or demon worshippers. When he didn’t get everything his way he didn’t stop praying nor did he give up the fight because all his disciples fled from him when there was danger.
Instead, he chose a course of right and was sure it was right, and let nothing stop his development and accomplishments for God. He drank the bitter cup of betrayal, crucifixion, death and burial. But he didn’t quit there. He came from the grave to be the ruler of the universe.
If you ever feel like quitting or taking off, just remember Christ and Him crucified. I believe that will keep you at your post of duty.
It’s something to think about. . . tbp
“Confess your sins…” James 5:16
March 29, 2022 - There was a story in today’s news about a man paralyzed by a gun shot wound who wanted to “buy out the gun manufacturers and melt down all their guns.” This is an all too-familiar American story… just another case of blaming inanimate objects for human sins and errors.
Americans are notorious about blaming others for their bad habits. We blame tobacco companies for our smoking habits in the same way that some overweight people blame fast food chains for their obesity. It’s sad to see such a departure of human reasoning.
The Bible teaches us that we (and no one else) are responsible for what we eat and smoke, but many had rather blame it on someone else.
The Blame Game is as old as the Garden of Eden and is still a favorite. But it’s a game that no one should play…
… because no one wins.
March 28, 2022 - Good Morning! It’s Monday, March 28.
Happy Anniversary to our Daily Devotions! Two years ago today, we began sharing these little thoughts. My church had just shut down for the pandemic and I wanted to stay connected with our volunteers - during the COUPLE OF WEEKS until Covid was over! Well, here we are two years later, still living in the “new normal”. Who knew?
Our Daily Devotion family grew from just a handful of teammates to several hundred friends. And then, a few months ago, Shelby County Today graciously invited us to join their team. God is good. I pray that this ministry has ministered to your heart as much as it has ministered to mine - because we’re in this together! And together, as we share encouragement, as we share The Word, as we share our hearts, we can move forward in His wisdom and through His grace.
Romans 8:28 - And we know that God works all things for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.
Meet you back here tomorrow as we begin year #3!
Bro. David
dmathis@fbccenter.org
March 24, 2022 - Jesus said, in Matthew 16:24, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me.” Phillips translation puts it this way, “If anyone wants to follow in my footsteps he must give up all right to himself.” The denial of self, the giving up rights to self is one of humanity’s most difficult problems. It is hard for us to come to the realization that “it’s not about me.” To be sure, it is one of the hardest lessons there is for us to learn.
When we observe children, we are aware that one of their biggest problems is selfishness. They have to be taught to be unselfish. When you get right down to it, children can be little barbarians.
The tragedy is that selfishness is not exclusively the problem of children. It is something that goes with us as long as we live. In fact, I often wonder if it doesn’t become more dangerous as we grow older. You see, we adults learn various nefarious ways to cover up and hide our selfishness.
Selfishness never makes friends and selfishness never brings happiness. Jesus came into this world unselfishly to give himself for mankind. He was demonstrating that the best way is the selfless way of serving others. Lessons like “In honor prefer one another” and “Love on another” The words Jesus spoke in Matthew are still His demand. The question is are we willing to forsake self and follow Jesus and live His kind of life?
It’s something to think about... tbp
Join Us for Worship this coming Lord’s Day at Center Church of Christ or online at www.centerchurchofchrist.com.
March 23, 2022 - Abundant Love Ministries cordially invites you to our Annual Church Anniversary (Brother Mike Spark’s Day)on Sunday March 27, 2022 at 1:30 pm. Guest Church/Speaker Triumph the Church and Kingdom of God in Christ Bishop Howard Cloudy.
Come and Praise/Worship Jesus with us!
For more information, please contact Feleshia Thompson at (936) 590-1834
1426 Shelbyville Street Center, TX 75935
“Like a dog going back to the food which he has not been able to keep down, is the foolish man doing his foolish acts over again.”
March 22, 2022 - Years ago after working in the garden and piddling in my gun shop, I came in to check my email. As I was reading it, I noticed a fly had flown into my half-filled glass of water. He was one of the bad ones (the green ones)… the kind that hang around carcasses and filth.
My first thought was to let him drown and periodically checked to see if he had. He incessantly buzzed the glass’s periphery and was a real fighter. When he finally quit moving, I felt guilty for letting him die. As a penitent gesture, I lowered a ball point pen down to him and when the seemingly dead fly crawled up on it, I lifted him to safety. After testing his wet wings for a moment, he took flight again and began terrorizing me with erratic bump-and-fly tactics.
My son Mark called about that time and as I was telling him about the dive-bombing insect, he landed again in the same glass of water (!) and resumed his “gasping for breath” routine. I opened a window and poured the water and the fly outside to fend for itself.
That fly reminds me of people who promise God everything if He will just save them. Then when the danger is over and their wings dry, they fly right back in. They can’t blame God for being back in their predicament. Rescuing us from the water is God’s part…
… but staying out of it is ours.
March 21, 2022 - Grace and peace from our brother Jesus, Amen. The small group of Jesus followers known as Paxton Methodist met on Sunday as always. Sunday was not only the 3rd Sunday of Lent—it was also the official beginning of Spring. Yeah! The weather was beautiful this weekend: I visited the two plant nurseries here in Joaquin and plan to visit the others in Shelby County soon. We also got some much-needed rain, and the forecast is calling for a wet start to the week. I have a meeting in Nacogdoches this week with a yearly church committee that examines second-career ministers like me.
Gene read our Sunday School scripture from Mark 10: 35-45. Mark often portrays the disciples as clueless; John and James certainly lived up to this role in our lesson. They wanted to be on either side of Jesus when Jesus assumed his throne. Jesus calmly explained that in God’s perfect kingdom, things didn’t work that way. Those who lead do so, not by standing close to the king, but in serving others. I really can’t imagine Jesus doing much throne-sitting anyway—more like a lot of foot washing and caring for those who struggle.
Our little congregation reached double digits, a milestone since the pandemic! We were so happy to see Theresa and Larry, to hear about their new house and all their projects. Sure sounds as if they are staying busy, which seems to be the usual for retired folks. Fannie shared with the congregation that Ben and Joe came by to visit her on Saturday. They were heading to Shreveport to meet Ben’s wife and then fly to Virginia. Joe also stopped at King’s Nursery to visit with Margaret. We are happy that Joe is doing better, and I know he will enjoy time with his son and family.
Our church service began with the playing of the Ukrainian national anthem. Our hearts go out the people in Ukraine who are being uprooted and their homes bombed—ironically, in the name of peace. Let us all pray for real peace. Our bulletin cover featured a picture of the Ukrainian flag and a quote from poet Pavlo Chubynsky: “Ukraine has not yet died, nor her glory, nor her freedom. Upon us, fellow Ukrainians, fate shall smile once more.” A bulletin photo depicted Lent, that time of introspection and discerning the word of God, and another showed the joy of springtime. There was a special insert in the bulletin listing twenty-two questions John Wesley said everyday disciples should ask themselves. I plan to include those in the weekly newsletter.
Sue led us in the responsive reading based on Psalm 63 and our affirmation of faith. Our songs this morning were “Stand Up! Stand Up for Jesus” and “My Hope Is Built,” both lively tunes. Our Gospel lesson came from Luke 13: 1-9, where some pilgrims from the Galilee questioned Jesus: Did the horrible deaths at the hands of Roman soldiers and a building collapse result from those people’s sins or the sins of their ancestors? Jesus assures them that the God of Love doesn’t single out certain sinners for death—and that we are all sinners, no better than anyone else.
Jesus shows the God of second chances in the parable of the fig tree that doesn’t produce fruit. I stressed that being spiritually healthy is important, like being physically and mentally strong. Our soul requires nourishment, so we approach our spirituality with curiosity, open-mindedness, and grace. We also must realize that there are no penalties for doubts or questions. Developing an understanding relationship with God becomes our decision and ours alone.
Whoever you are, in whatever faith you were born, whatever creed you profess; if you come to this house to find God you are welcome here. Paxton United Methodist Church is an inviting church that takes to heart the idea of “Open Doors, Open Hearts, and Open Minds.” Worship begins at 10am. Our email address is paxtonumc@yahoo.com. If you would like the weekly email newsletter about Paxton Methodist, you can send your email address to the Paxton email address, and I will add you to the list. God’s Speed.
March 21, 2022 - Good Morning! It’s Monday, March 21.
If you grew up in church, like I did, you’re probably familiar with “churchy” words. These are terms from the language Churchese that are typically not used in everyday life. One of these is the word “fellowship”. You would never say this to your office colleagues, “Let’s get together after work for fellowship!” But at church we have fellowship groups that have fellowships in Fellowship Halls.
This churchy word refers to a social gathering, a social connection. But the Bible uses this word in a very different way. In 1 John 1:3 we find these words -
If we say we have fellowship with God while we walk in darkness, we lie. But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, cleanses us from sin.
That’s not talking about a cookies and punch party! The Greek word that the apostle John uses, “koinonia”, suggests a deep connection that’s based on our common faith. It’s a connection not just about sharing food, but about sharing our lives, our hearts, our spirits.
Koinonia . . . that’s some serious fellowship.
Meet you back here tomorrow,
Bro. David
dmathis@fbccrnter.org
March 7, 2022 - The ordination service of Bro. Charles Paige as deacon will be March 20 at 1pm at the Wallace Chapel B.C. where Pastor Derrick Rhodes is pastor.
The church is located at 109 South Marcus Street in Timpson.
Speaker will be Pastor Carlos Johnson of Mt. Olive Baptist Church.
March 17, 2022 - My mother always was one who enjoyed doing “crafty” things. When we were cleaning out her house, we found numerous half-finished projects. Things like purses being made from lunch boxes, wooden trays to be painted, pictures she was going to decoupage and, well, you get the idea. If we are honest, all of us have a number of “unfinished projects” of our own. It seems we “run out of time.”
Perhaps one of the saddest of our “unfinished projects” are the things we were going to do in the service of the Lord. Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount said, “Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify the Father which is in heaven”. (Matthew 5:16) Sadly, for most of us, the passage should read “our good intentions” rather than our good works. We tend to be more like what Paul wrote in Romans 7:19, “For I do not do the good I want” (ESV).
In all of our lives, there are good things and deeds of kindness we intended to do that we have failed to do. Let’s realize that we seldom accomplish all the good things we plan to do. It’s not that we are bad people, it’s not that we don’t care, it’s just that somehow we run out of time and we leave things unfinished. So, we need to resolve to do better tomorrow than we did today and we need to be loving and understanding toward others who have failed in the same way we have.
It’s something to think about... tbp
Join Us for Worship this coming Lord’s Day at Center Church of Christ or online at www.centerchurchofchrist.com.
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