Shelby County Today

October 23, 2025 - When Moses sent the twelve spies on their reconnaissance mission to the Promised Land, 10 came back with a negative report. They said that they saw giants in the land and they were in their own sight as “grasshoppers.” They viewed their ability to take the land only in their own human strength. It was Joshua and Caleb who realized that taking the land depended not on their human strength but the power of God.

How often are we in life defeated before we even start because we have the “Grasshopper Complex” alive and well in our hearts? You see, often we only see the problems of life. While we cannot ignore our problems, the things that trouble us, our “grasshoppers,” we also do not want to over-emphasize them.

Do you remember what Jesus said in John 10:10? He said he came that we might have life and have it more abundantly. Jesus gave hope to people who had grasshoppers in their life. There was the woman at Jacob’s well, the widow with two mites, The sinful woman brought to him caught in adultery and Saul of Tarsus. Daniel was thrown in the Lion’s den and Abraham was asked to offer Isaac as a sacrifice.

Somehow, when you think about some of these people, our own grasshoppers don’t seem so big after all. Following Jesus, living his kind of life, being obedient to his will guarantees us an abundant life. Jesus will help us overcome the grasshopper complex.

It’s something to think about... tbp

Center Church of Christ
www.centerchurchofchrist.com

October 22, 2025 - New Life Church presents Scare Tactics 'Ready or Not' on Sunday, October 26th at 6pm and Monday-Thursday, October 27-30th at 7pm nightly.

What is Scare Tactics?

Scare Tactics is an annual production by New Life Church in its 13th year. This production includes; live action drama, video scenes, costumes, make-up, light, sound effects, interaction with the audience, and a short gospel message. Each year's production is totally new; new story lines, characters, scenes, etc. Although this is a difficult task it is essential in order to keep the experience new and fresh each year. This presentation is based on a TV show by the same name, in which participants wish to scare friends or family. In our version they are trying to scare others about the importance of our decisions concerning eternity, i.e; Heaven or Hell.

Is Scare Tactics like "Hell House"?

In a word NO! Scare Tactics is a drama with a complete story, a short gospel message and then ends with a scene depicting the wonders of Heaven for those who have become Christians. The presentation has been compared to Heaven's Gate & Hells Flames, a production that has garnered national attention.

Although some elements are similar, the total experience of every Scare Tactics presentation is unique because Pastor Steve writes a new story each year with the same heart for reaching people with the gospel message as he does for his sermons.

New Life Church is located at 822 Hurst Street, Center, Texas or call (936) 598-3286 for more information.

After years away, the Shelby County native steps back on stage to share a message of hope, grace, and a God who meets us right in the middle of life.

October 20, 2025 — It’s been years since he stood on stage and sang from his heart, and for Trey Wilson, walking away from music wasn’t a decision made overnight. It happened slowly — the weight of life growing heavier, responsibilities pulling him in different directions, and the stage that once felt like home becoming a distant memory.

But grace has a way of meeting us where we are.

Wilson grew up singing gospel music in Shelby County, Texas. Long before audiences stretched beyond county lines, it was Sunday mornings in small churches and community gatherings where he found his voice. “It was never about being seen,” Wilson has said. “It was about the songs, the message, and what God can do with both.”

After years of singing and traveling, Wilson retired from full-time music in 2013. Seven years ago, he stepped away completely. The lights dimmed. Life got heavy. But in that quiet space, something far deeper took root.

“It’s in the stillness that God often does His best work,” Wilson shared. “He doesn’t wait for us to have it all together. He meets us right where we are.”

Now, for the first time in years, Wilson is stepping back on stage—not to relive the past, but to give voice to the grace that carried him through it. He will sing at Living Grace Family Church in Center on Saturday, October 25 at 6:30pm. Admission is free, and doors open at 5:30pm.

This night won’t be about polished perfection or a big show. It will be honest, raw, and real. A man who walked through some heavy seasons, now standing in front of his community with a simple message: God still meets people right where they are.

Wilson says this isn’t a comeback. It’s a reminder — for himself and for anyone listening — that grace doesn’t need a spotlight. It just needs a willing heart.

“I’m not stepping on that stage to prove anything,” Wilson said. “I’m stepping on that stage because God wasn’t finished with the story.”

For anyone walking through a heavy season, this night is an invitation: come as you are.

October 20, 2025 - Good Morning! It’s Monday, October 20.

Last Saturday something happened at my house in Tenaha, Texas that hasn’t happened in a long time. It rained. We’ve been suffering from a drought, but on Saturday afternoon we enjoyed a long, slow, soaking rain. And then, right after dark, we had a gulley-washer! It was just what we needed, and it was a blessing.

My county, Shelby, gets an average of 53 inches of rain each year. That’s one of the highest levels in the state. The lowest is in the El Paso area where they only get about nine. That’s a wide range. The Holy Land has a similar wide range. Along the coast, cities like Tel Aviv can get over 40 inches of rain in a year. People in Northern Israel, near the Sea of Galilee, can expect 30. Jerusalem is drier, getting about 20, and Southern Israel, in the Negev Desert, is even drier than El Paso.

But wherever you live in Israel, there is a dry season - April to September - and a rainy season - October to March. Very, very little rain falls in the dry season. The season that is beginning right now has two parts, the autumn rains and the spring rains. The autumn moisture softens the ground for planting, and the spring showers prepare the crops for the harvest. The Bible usually refers to them as the early rains and the latter rains. 

God’s Word speaks of rain many times. That’s not surprising since its initial readers lived in a semi-arid environment and were people of the land and dependent on its bounty for their very lives. Scripture says much about the things of Nature, and often uses natural things - like rain - as symbols of spiritual things. The latter rain is a metaphor for the outpouring of God’s Spirit, an outpouring that refreshes our spirits, and is a blessing.

Psalm 68:9 - “O God, you cause abundant rain to fall on your people. When they are weary, you sustain them.”

Meet you back here tomorrow,
David
cindertex50@yahoo.com