Shelby County Today

June 21, 2017 - House of Refuge First Lady Night honoring Lady Pearl Nash is Saturday, July 8, 2017 at 6pm. Guest speaker is Prophetess Ronda Coleman of Athens, Texas with special guest Praise Dancers and solo performers that you don't want to miss!

Everyone is invited. House of Refuge is located at 215 Church Street, Center, Texas with Apostle W.E. Nash, Jr, pastor.

June 21, 2017 -When I was a boy we lived about a quarter mile down a dirt drive on the edge of the swamp in Louisiana. Coming home late at night you could see all kinds of critters crossing the road. There were no stock laws then and cows and pigs even roamed free without fences.

One night after a Junior high football game, I rode home with a friends parents and they dropped me off at the end of the drive. It was about midnight and it was overcast so there were no stars or moon for light. It was very dark. I had walked down that drive many times without light so I was not afraid. As I walked in total darkness though, I began to feel uneasy. I could see the porch light in a distance so I tried to focus on it.

There were lots of cows on the road and I could see their shadows as they moved. The further I walked the more afraid and uneasy I felt. My mind began to play tricks on me as it worked overtime to remind me that every sound or movement could be bobcats and panthers coming out of the darkness to attack me. My walk turned into a trot. I had my eyes fixed on the porch light thinking,"if I could only make it to the light." Then it happened! Not watching my feet, I stepped on something. It was large. It got up and bellowed. When it bellowed, I screamed liked a two year old who had just been told they couldn't have any more ice cream. I'm still not sure to this day if it scared me or I scared it. It really don't matter we both got away!

I don't remember much about what happened after that, other than I either had a world record 150-yard leap to my front porch or I ran so fast I transcended time. Either was a feat beyond normal human capabilities. All I knew was I was safe in the light.

You know life is like that sometimes. We walk in the darkness sometimes for reasons beyond our control. It could be illness, a bad relationship, financial trouble, work problems all of these can leave us dropped off at the end of a long dark road in our lives that we have to walk down. We sometimes get lost in these times and have a hard time finding our way. Some even become accustomed to living in the darkness and become comfortable there. Other times, just like on that night, we are walking along unafraid until we step in the middle of something we weren't expecting and it scares us silly.

The trick to surviving these situations is not screaming or relying on our self perceived, "super human" abilities, but learning where the light is running toward it. Jesus said in John 8:12 " I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life."

I want you to know that you don't have to stay in the darkness. God has much more for you than that. 1 Peter 2:9 tells us just what God thinks of us. "But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of the darkness into His marvelous light." You see Jesus is the light and when you seek Him, he will bring you out of the dark place you are in. When things are brought into the light you realize they are not as scary as you thought. That animal I stepped on that I thought was a monster in the darkness in my mind, but when I looked back in the light, I realized it was only a cow that had been lying in the road.

Let the light of the Savior shine in your life. He is calling you out of that dark place and into His marvelous light. You don't have to be afraid of the dark any more.  Trust Him to light your path and you will never have to walk in darkness again.

                                            I'm  Just Sayin
                                             Mike Belgard

June 20, 2017 - House of Refuge Presents Youth Revival with guest speaker Pastor Vondrick Lawson June 28-30, 2017.

Starts 7:30pm nightly with the theme: Destiny - Step Into Your Purpose.

Jeremiah 29:11, Apostle W.E. Nash Jr.

For more information contact Sis. Tammy Johnson - 936-332-4830 or Sis. Tomeka Jones - 936-590-8221

June 19, 2017 - Sunday was the 2nd Sunday after Pentecost, denoting major religious and festival celebrations being over until fall. We had our usual crowd at Paxton this morning. Cynthia graciously came by and played the piano for us on the way to her own church. Joy and Gene brought produce from their garden, set up two long tables full of delicious looking vegetables, and even brought plastic bags to hold what we wanted. They also had their canned pickles and hot sauce. It was a real farmers’ market right there at church! I know everyone appreciated the veggies and the effort Joy and Gene made.

Our Sunday school lesson was from Judges, “Jephthah Answers the Call.” The twelve tribes came together only when they were under attack. In normal conditions they were unwilling to surrender power or authority to one or two powerful tribes or leaders. But the Ammonites were making life miserable for the twelve tribes, so they once again united, calling on Jephthah to raise an army to defeat the enemy. Jephthah appealed to the Lord for help and promised he would make a sacrifice to the Lord. He was victorious, but the sacrifice he promised would be far greater than he could imagine.

Our Gospel Lesson for Sunday was Matthew 9:35-42. Matthew’s Gospel was written for a Jewish audience. There are five major discourses in Matthew, just like there are five books in the Torah. In today’s lesson Jesus warns about empty words. There are two Greek words for “good” used in the earliest New Testaments. One means “to do good things,” and the other means “to be of good character.” We need to strive for both. I read a quote this week: “I would much prefer to see a good sermon lived than a good sermon spoken.” A helpful reminder for us all.

Sunday was Father’s Day, which has been a national holiday since 1924. Paxton Methodist wishes all good and loving fathers—including those men who are role models for others—a Happy Father’s Day. This week Sam Watson celebrates his 20th birthday, and Liz and Mike celebrate their anniversary. All during the month of June, Paxton Methodist is collecting paper towels and toilet paper for Community Christian Services. Tuesday we will head to Holiday Nursing Center for our monthly program, which begins at 2:00.

“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, Open Minds.” Sunday School starts at 9:30 and 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 me your email address to the Paxton email address and I will add you to the list. Godspeed.