Shelby County Today

“We give thanks unto thee, O LORD, and sing praises unto thy name.” Psalms 18:49

November 22, 2021 - This coming Thursday our nation will pause to remember a special day set aside to give thanks to God for His bountiful blessings we all experience every day in our land. Yet, year by year, such a day of thanksgiving is all but lost to most Americans. In its place, we celebrate unworthy things such as Halloween and a secularized Christmas that is centered on greed, avarice, and idolatry of the worst kind.

The first Thanksgiving, was a time to remember God's sovereignty over life and His love expressed for them. Contrary to teachings these days, these Puritans or "Separatists" were not dangerous revolutionists or fanatics; rather they were plain honest citizens - farmers, merchants, and professional men.

The Mayflower Compact 1621 was one of the earliest plans for self-government by European Christians in America. But notice the basis of it. It stated that their purpose for government and their living in this new land was, "Having undertaken for the glory of God, and advancement of the Christian faith." How far we have strayed from this historic and Biblical truth! Today we are told lies and deceived by godless men who want to change the laws by which we live. The "politically correct" teaching today is that our government must be separated not only from religion, but from the God of that religion as well. Nothing is further from our American historic truth! This nation was indeed founded by Christians, for Christians and with the intent to have land free from the control of any "state church,” or any established religious sect, but not from the basic philosophy of the Christian world view for life and living.

George Washington in his "Inaugural Address" in 1789, at the foundation of this nation said,” The smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right which Heaven itself has ordained."

And at the turn of the century even our Supreme Court stated, "Our laws and our institutions must necessarily be based upon and embody the teachings of the Redeemer of mankind. It is impossible that it should be otherwise; and in this sense and to this extent our civilization and our institutions are emphatically Christian."

May this Thursday as we gather together with families to enjoy a full and overflowing meal - may we remember to bow our heads and hearts and thank God for His abundant blessings on our families and on our land.

We are what we are because of Him.

November 15, 2021 - When I decided to get a B.A. instead of a B.S. at ETBU, I knew I would have to take a course in some foreign language. And since Greek was the World language when Jesus was born and since our New Testament was originally written in Greek, I decide Greek would be my foreign language choice.

So on the first morning of Dr. Roark’s class, we were given some free advice. “Young men, “ he began, “If you plan to miss any of my classes, don’t bother coming back.” “A third of you will either flunk out or drop out of this class and it will probably be “διαιρώντας το μυαλόo” that caused it.” “Those Greek words are translated as “worry” in English but they mean literally “to divide the mind.” “And you can’t pass this course unless you come to every class with an “undivided mind.”

I immediately thought of my “divided mind´ through High School. As teachers like Mr. Wyatt was trying to explain Algebra, I day-dreamed about going down to perch fish or swim at Weaver’s pond as soon as school let out. Consequently, my “divided mind” made me barely pass Algebra even though I had great fun after school.

Because of my determination to learn Greek from Dr. Roark, I began challenging Tony Evans and Jimmy Millikan for first place in the class. On the second year, I asked Dr. Roark who did best on the last test. I had a 99 and Tony and Jimmy both had 96’s. I later learned that they both became Seminary Professors.

In 1947… at 14 years of age… I gave my life to Christ. It was unconditional surrender. And I will always be fine…

… as long as I serve Him with an “undivided mind.”

November 11, 2021 - Most of us have our bad days. On those days, our every act, our every thought, our every spoken sentence seems to have a “but”, a “can’t” a “don’t”, or such like. On those days, we are at our worst. We fret about our health and our circumstances and we pity ourselves to the very verge of tears.

But what do we get out of it? Well, we get misery and worry. By compounding every problem and considering every obstacle, we make matters worse than they are.

So, why do we beat ourselves up when we get “down in the dumps”? Because we momentarily lose our perspective. We magnify things out of proportion so that they overwhelm us and upset us. Yet, we can quickly get rid of negative thoughts. We must switch our will power to the positive current. Once we do, we will notice an improvement almost immediately.

One by one, count your blessings in health, wealth, home, family and other areas of life. Think about all the things that are right in your life instead of all those things that are wrong. It is just as easy to be constructive and positive as it is to be destructive and negative.

So the next time you are “down in the dumps” and having a bad day, do something about it! Take a walk, chat with a neighbor or undertake a worthwhile project. Before you know it, the weight of the world will be lifted from your shoulders.

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.

November 8, 2021 - Grace and peace from our friend and brother Jesus. This Thursday is Veterans Day, so on Sunday we celebrated veterans, saying special prayers for those who gave so much for the country you and I love. Our first hymn was “America,” AKA “My Country ‘Tis of Thee,” also commemorating these selfless heroes.

We have had some really cool mornings. I covered my citrus trees a couple of nights, still having lemons and limes that are not quite ripe. The (huge) lemons started out green and slowly have turned yellow. I will be busy in a week or so moving the trees into the greenhouse along with other potted plants. My dogs don’t seem to mind the cold at all and think I am kind of a nerd as I get all bundled up. My daughter gave me a Fitbit to keep up each day with the number of steps I take. Verdict: I have been averaging around 4 miles a day. Some of those steps are purposeful and others are just moving around and working in the yard and gardens.

Our Sunday School lesson from John was about Jesus feeding the 5,000 with a few loaves of bread and five fish. Our writer told us this is the only miracle story found in all four gospels. John, though, would not call it a miracle—but a sign as to who this Jesus was. Once again Jesus talks about helping the poor, making us feel guilty about the abundance of the kingdom. Unfortunately, religion sometimes does put a guilt trip on us. (My mother was pretty good at that too!) I guess we must struggle on and find our way, with the help of Jesus and our fellow travelers.

The Old Testament lesson came from the first chapter of Ruth. This is one of the most beloved books of the Bible and one of only two named for a woman. Parts of it are often used at weddings, even though the story isn’t about romantic love but about a steadfast love that comes from God. This week while I was working on my sermon, I knew I wanted to approach my sermon from different angles since I have preached this story many times. I also realized that I had too much to say and needed to make two sermons out of the material. So next week I will continue the wonderful words of love overcoming great sadness and grief. Naomi, full of sorrow and yes, bitterness, knew she had to find a way to keep on going. She forged on, showing Ruth how to live with strength.

Our first hymn was “America” in honor of the upcoming Veterans Day, a stirring choice at any time and particularly meaningful this week. Then we sang “Blessed Assurance,” a comforting and joyful hymn. Our song leader Joe says it’s one of his favorite hymn. We closed out our time of worship with “Have Thine Own Way, Lord.” For celebrating Holy Communion, I used a liturgy called “Let the Vineyards Be Fruitful.”

Wednesday I took macaroni and cheese and a couple of checks to Community Christian Services. It is always refreshing and rewarding to see so many friends hard at work helping others. “Thanks, thanks, and ever thanks,” as William Shakespeare would say. In November, we will collect rice and beans. Joaquin First Baptist folks are also gearing up for Children’s Christmas, their part of CCS. They are organizing individuals and groups to “adopt” children, buying each a shirt, pants, shoes, and gift; First Baptist adds socks and Bibles.

We finished up our district reports this week, and I will send our Church Conference Reports to the District Office. Sue has bought some Covid-safe snacks and bottles of water for the conference, which will be November 20th at 2:00. We look forward as always to meeting with our District Superintendent, Dr. White.

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 10:00. 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.