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Contributing Writers: Mike Mills, Spring Hill Church | Doug Fincher | Pastor Randy and Sue Smith | Mike Belgard | Tim Perkins
Faith
January 31, 2022 - I have started writing my newspaper article on Saturday, and it sure is cold this morning! Our gauge said 24 degrees! But my faithful friends, Sam and Gunter, accompanied me to the park so I could walk my two miles. I try not to miss a day regardless of cold, rain, sleet, and snow—just like the postal workers—well, maybe not sleet. As I am writing, the sun is shining brightly through the window of my home office, but my hands are still frozen. I am hoping they will thaw out the more typing I do. Speaking of typing, I am so happy my dad made me take it in high school. I resisted, but as usual, he was right.
Tuesday will be the first day of a new month. Next Sunday Paxton Methodists celebrate Communion. In fine Methodist tradition, all are invited to the Lord’s table. During January we have been collecting cans of tuna for Community Christian Services. February will be soap and shampoo. Later in the week I will deliver tuna and a couple of checks to CCS. I was so saddened to hear of the death of Deryl Bishop. She was a wonderful lady, volunteering often at CCS. I know CCS will miss her, as will her church and community.
Sue came with me to Sunday School because our car is acting up—she didn’t want to get off to the far reaches of Paxton and not be able to get home. We certainly miss Joe and Carolyn in our little class. Carolyn is in Pennsylvania with her sister; Joe is at Focused Care, getting some therapy and building up his strength. Our lesson came from Revelation 19: 1-10: The scene is a little bit strange to us (it’s Revelation, after all), but it certainly says that God is worthy of our worship and trust. Our writer reminds us that we can see God’s radiance and glory through other people; hopefully, we can reflect that “spark of divinity” to others. Most of all, we must try not to let circumstances define who we are and what we believe.
Sunday was the 4th Sunday of the Epiphany. My sermon was once again about love—that is what God is—the Essence of Love. I am indeed a “one note preacher,” and my note is that God is Love. I started out using last week’s Epistle Lesson, where Paul compares the Jesus community of Corinth to a human body. Every person has a part in this analogy, as the body will not function correctly unless each is present. As the fictional Detective Bosch says, “Everyone matters or no one does.”
The actual Epistle Lesson for the 4th Sunday of the Epiphany is 1 Corinthians 13: 1-12. This is one of the most famous and beloved scriptures in the New Testament. In the beautiful hymn, Paul says that faith, hope, and love are the three greatest things, with the greatest being love. As liturgist, Sue read today’s scripture. She read this scripture at my father’s funeral and years later, it was part of my mom’s funeral. It is truly a lovely poem. It often appears at weddings, but it’s really about compassionate love in a community. Our songs today echoed this topic: “Jesus Loves Me” and “O How I Love Jesus.”
The Gospel Lesson today was Luke 4: 21-30. How quickly can public opinion change! The home folks of Nazareth went from praising Jesus and marveling at his wisdom to wanting to throw him off a cliff—all in the space of a church service. Part of my sermon dealt with that quick change as well as the slower one of maturing, which is present in Paul’s 1 Corinthians. Mirroring this was Stephen Colbert’s quote in our bulletin: “Thankfully, dreams can change. If we’d all stuck with our first dream, the world would be overrun with cowboys and princesses.”
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.
“Sons are a heritage from the Lord -- children are a reward from Him...” Psalms 127:3
January 31, 2022 - When I was Pastor of The First Baptist Church of Mauriceville, Texas, I received a surprise visit from Dr. R. G. Commander, Chairman of the Board of Trustees at East Texas Baptist University In Marshall, Texas. He was soliciting my help as a ETBU alumni in the construction of a new Science building at the college. Dr. Commander’s two children and I received B.A. degrees there in 1958.
Several minutes after he drove away, he returned to our house. “I forgot to tell you something,” he began. “As you know, for many years, I’ve been pastor one of the largest Baptist churches in Texas and serve on the Board of Trustees in two Texas Universities. I’m proud of my work record, but if I had life to live over again, I’d spend less time pleasing people and would spend more time with my dear children. “Doug, I’ve watched your young children playing in the yard today. Be sure to spend plenty of time with them while they are young. You’ll regret it if you don’t. Your church members are important, but not more important than your dear children.”
I remember Dr. Commander’s advice as if it was yesterday. My children are grown now and have their own families. Two live in New York, and three live in Texas. I hardly ever see them and miss them so much… day in and day out… every day. I cherish the memories of them as they were growing up… talking about what happened at school every day… fishing and swimming with them… helping them dress for church… laughing with them around the table. The memories are overwhelming. Sometimes they make me laugh… sometimes they make me cry.
I’m an old feller now and would love to put my arms around all of them today. Sitting with them again…hearing them laugh… (and argue)… would be a dream come true. Maybe we’ll get together this year.
It would be a great entry to my list of good memories.
January 31, 2022 - Good Morning! It’s Monday, January 31.
I’m David Mathis, Minister of Worship and Education at First Baptist Church of Center, Texas. In March of 2020, as our church, like most every church, shut down for the pandemic, I began sending a devotional email, Monday through Saturday, to the volunteers that I work with.
I wanted to stay connected during the 2 or 3 weeks that it would take for Covid to end! Well, 2 or 3 weeks turned into 2 or 3 months before our church opened back up. And even then, it wasn’t like before. It was a “new” normal. So, the daily devotions continued and the first small group grew to several hundred faithful readers.
And this morning, these Daily Devotions begin to be a part of our local news website Shelby County Today. Thank you to J.J. Ford for the invitation and welcome to a whole new group of readers.
On some days we'll focus on a verse of scripture. On others we'll connect with a moment in history or tell a story behind a worship song. Some devotions will make you laugh, and some may bring a tear to your eye. But, on every day, we'll try to find a word of encouragement, a word of inspiration, a word of truth.
Meet you back here tomorrow,
Bro. David
January 27, 2022 - I remember the days before televisions had remote control (I was my daddy's remote control) and you had a dial that had twelve numbers on it that changed the channels. Often, during a live program, as they went to commercial the announcer would say, "don't touch that dial, we'll be right back." That was their way of teasing you to stay tuned to their program. The choice was entirely ours, however, it is impossible to watch two programs at once on the same television.
Our lives are like that. Every day brings an unending procession of choices that come our way. Things that demand a decision. We face temptations. Storms come into our lives. The kind of person we are and the kind of person we become depends on the way we deal with those storms and temptations.
A choice for God, a choice for living His kind of life today makes it easier for as to live for him tomorrow. It was Joshua of old who said, "Choose you this day whom ye will serve. . . . but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord" (Joshua 24:15). We must make the decision that we will serve the Lord, that we will live the way God wants us to live. Then, once we have made that choice, "don't touch that dial!"
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.
January 27, 2022 - The House of Refuge Apostolic Ministries invites everyone to there 20th Annual Church Anniversary on Sunday, February 6 at 3:30pm. Guest speaker is Bishop Stanley Lawson from Kilgore, Texas.
House of Refuge Apostolic Ministries is lead by Apostle W.E. Nash, Jr., Pastor, and is located at 215 Church Street, Center, Texas.
January 24, 2022 - This week certainly had some cold temperatures. The TV news said that Friday night was the coldest since the big freeze last year. I have, however, remained faithful to my two-mile walks at the park each morning. Sam and Gunter don’t seem to mind the cold one bit, but I had to get tough with myself to stay with it. Friday and Saturday mornings and afternoons were full of sunshine but remained pretty cold each day. Sunday morning was in the low twenties once again. It is Sunday evening now, and what a beautiful day it was! One good thing about Texas—it gets cold, but it doesn’t stay that way.
The scripture for our Sunday School lesson was Exodus 34: 29-35, about Moses coming down from Mount Sinai with the “10 words” that we call the 10 commandments. As seemed always true with the Hebrews, including those lost for 40 years in the desert, things did not go as planned or expected. But I guess that is true of life. The theme of God forgiving and God renewing the broken covenant is played out in this scripture as it is throughout the Old Testament.
Sunday was the 3rd Sunday of the Epiphany. The Old Testament Lesson was from Isaiah, who says that we are “the crown of beauty in the hand of God.” Actually he is talking about Israel and Judah, but I think we 21st Century Christians can see how God means all humanity. The Psalter Lesson from Psalm 36 reminds us how great God’s love for us is. The poet says it extends to the heavens and the clouds. The psalmist says that all people can take refuge in the shadow of God’s wings.
The Gospel Lesson was John 2: 1–11, about the wedding in Cana. This famous story of Jesus changing water into wine is, however, only found in the John Gospel. In the first chapter, John so beautifully explains that Jesus is the word and the light of the world. The Gospel Lesson today is how John begins the narrative of Jesus’ ministry; it may seem a little strange that he chooses this story to showcase. And yet, this account of a reluctant Jesus turning six huge jars of water into the best wine ever is John’s prelude to the ministry of Jesus. Living in the South, I always heard that alcohol was one of the greatest evils imaginable, but here is Jesus in the wine-making business. If we can get past that, we see the theme illustrated here: the great abundance that is to be found in God’s Kingdom.
Much of the message today, including our Gathering Words, focused on light. Our bulletin quote was from Ben Sweetland, an American psychologist: “We cannot hold a torch to light another’s path without brightening our own.” Today we sang “I Love to Tell the Story,” a lively hymn. But our second song—that we listened to—was a real toe-tapper: Hank Williams’ version of “I Saw the Light.” Thanks to a Bluetooth speaker my daughter gave me—and minimal technological expertise on my part—I can call up a song on my phone and play it to the congregation. Who would’ve thought!
All during the month of January we are collecting cans of tuna for Community Christian Services. Next month we will donate soap and shampoo. In January our church celebrated two birthdays—a mother and daughter—Lillie and Liz. We certainly hope that they have had wonderful birthdays. Sue & Fred will celebrate their 71st anniversary this coming Saturday! When this was announced in church, Sue and Fred received a round of applause.
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.
January 20, 2022 - How long has it been since you just sat in a rocking chair, alone with your thoughts just quietly rocking. Not rocking a baby to sleep but just sitting there rocking? I am going to speculate that for most of us it has been too long.
In one corner of our family room, there is a rocking chair, one we have had since we got married, the rocking chair our boys were rocked in when they were little. Sometimes, I like to just sit in that wooden rocking chair (it has no cushions or upholstery) and rock. I rock and I think, and I reflect on the goodness of God, I reflect on the blessings he has given me and all he has done for me.
It reminds me of what the Psalmist wrote in Psalms 37:7, “Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him”. You see, most of our troubles are more than skin deep. The relaxation of the inner tensions of our spirit is brought about by resting in God, with perfect confidence and faith in God’s ability to keep what we commit to him. I have found that the old rocking chair is the perfect place to rest in the Lord and wait patiently for him.
We need to stop sitting on the edge of our chair willed with concern and apprehension over tomorrow and the current state of affairs. We need to lean back on the everlasting arms of God and rest in Him.
It’s something to think about…..TBP
January 17, 2022 - Today is The Baptism of Our Lord Sunday. Like most Protestants, we believe there are two sacraments, baptism and communion. However, baptism has been a point of contention between the various denominations. Methodists believe in only one baptism and accept baptisms from other churches and denominations; we also practice the different forms of baptism—sprinkling, pouring, or immersion.
I am still writing parts of my article on Monday, as I spent Sunday afternoon watching the Cowboys and then feeling sad when they lost. Once again we are feeling real winter temperatures. I don’t like the cold, but then again I don’t like the heat either. I guess I’m kind of a “Goldilocks Zone” person—it’s gotta be “just right.” It was plenty cold when Sam, Gunter, and I went for our morning constitutional, and the ground had a coating of frost.
Mrs. Fannie gave each family in church a book of daily devotionals for every day in 2022. I usually read the day’s devotional the night before as I am getting ready for bed. The devotional for today said that Dr. King may have gotten some inspiration for his “I Have a Dream” speech from a Thomas Paine quote: “We have the power to begin the world over again.” This was Jesus’ message as he talked about the Kingdom coming into our world.
Paxton Methodists are collecting cans of tuna for Community Christian Services in January. Folks bring cans of tuna and place them on the back bench until the end of the month. Then we gather them all up and put them in my truck, where they’re ready to be delivered to CCS.
Tuesday of last week was “Report Day” for Methodist ministers. Ministers prepare what are called end-of-year reports on all subjects related to our churches. Gene, our treasurer, is a great help in getting the financial questions answered. Today everything is done online, but in days past ministers physically brought the reports to the District Office: Auditors with adding machines checked to make sure everything was correct. When I was still teaching, I would have to take the day off school—after we’d just gotten back from the Christmas/New Year holiday—to drive my reports to Lufkin. I wonder what John Wesley would have thought about today’s technology. He was a very forward-thinking man, so if he were still around, I think he would embrace it.
The Sunday School lesson was from Mark and dealt with the transfiguration or transformation of Jesus. Gene read our lesson, which stressed how important listening is. Our writer also told us that Mark’s Gospel always moves at a quick pace, and the word “immediately” is used 40 times.
Our two CD song selections were “Shall We Gather at the River” and “On Jordan’s Stormy Banks.” Since John was baptizing people in the Jordan, it seemed right to have a couple of river songs. The bulletin had pictures of water and one of Jesus being baptized. The quote on the front of the bulletin came from Dr. King: “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is ‘What are you doing for others?’” A good question to ponder, as it certainly fits Jesus’ message to us.
All four canonical Gospels tell the story of Jesus’ baptism, although differing slightly from each other. This is the year of Luke, so the Gospel Lesson was Luke 3: 15-17, 21-23. The Old Testament Lesson was Isaiah 43: 1-7, and I tried to tie Isaiah’s words into the rest of the scriptures. In Isaiah 3, God says that he knows each of us and calls us by our names. God promises to be with us as we pass through the waters. God tells us to overcome our fear because he will always be with us. All these are comforting ideas.
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.
“If you won’t forgive men of their sins, the Father won’t forgive you…” Matt. 6:15
January 17, 2022 - Most of us would like to have a better memory. The art of remembering (called “mnemonics”) is taught in the Bible and was once taught in public schools. My Pastor often told me, “When someone introduces himself to you, don’t you dare walk off and forget his name!”
But there’s another art taught in God’s Word. It should be taught in our churches, schools, and homes. It’s the art of forgetting. Many church members become unfit for kingdom work because of an unforgiving spirit. I once knew a deacon who stayed out of church 27 years because of an argument over a bird dog.
God has forgotten our past sins and promised to remember them against us no more…forever. (Heb. 8:12) Forgetting hurtful words and deeds against us isn’t easy…but it’s the Christian way. Newspaper editor Webster Hays once told me of a lady who came forward during a revival and expressed a desire to patch things up with a fellow church member. “I’m willing to forgive and forget,” she wept. “But I still think I was right!”
The year of 2022 would be a good year to unclench our fists, bury the hatchets, and by the grace of God forgive and forget. A heavy load is lifted when we bury old grudges. How high we can leap when the burden is gone! And remember: if we don’t forgive those who sin against us…
… God won’t forgive us.
January 14, 2022 - In John chapter 21, Jesus has prepared breakfast by the Sea of Galilee for his disciples. After breakfast, Jesus and Peter had a conversation. The Lord asked Simon if he loved Him. The third time, Peter was grieved and said, “Lord Thou knowest all things; Thou knowest that I love Thee” (John 21:17).
Think about that statement, “Lord, Thou knowest all things”. You see, Jesus knows and Jesus Cares. He knows our every step. He knows our every desire and our every purpose. We have a Lord who knows and who understands.
Say that to yourself and say it often. The Lord knows. He knows our struggles and our hardships. He knows when we face adversity and sorrow. He knows when life deals harshly with us. He knows the burdens we bear and the deep waters we must sometimes pass through. Remember, Paul passed through many trials, and yet he came to the end of his life and said, “I know whom I have believed” (II Timothy 1:12) He further said in II Timothy 4:8 “there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness”. It was also Paul who wrote, “All things work together for good to them that love God” (Romans 8:28.)
So, whether we are young or old, whether we are in the valley or on the mountaintop, let us ever keep in mind the undeniable truth that God knows, He loves and He cares. Say it, say it often and believe it, “The Lord knows.”
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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