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Contributing Writers: Mike Mills, Spring Hill Church | Doug Fincher | Pastor Randy and Sue Smith | Mike Belgard | Tim Perkins
Faith
January 26, 2017 - I once had a friend who had this habit of clearing their throat every time they heard someone else clear theirs. Needless to say that as teenagers when we realized this was a habit, so we would take turns during a conversation with this person clearing our throats so that instead of talking this poor friend would spend all of his time trying to keep up with all those who were doing the throat clearing in the group just to torment him. Kids can be cruel. Some people have the habit of making the same bad choices over and over. They never realize that you can't make the same choice and expect a different result.
Do you have any habits? Before you say no, carefully examine your whole life. Is there something that you seem to keep doing over and over. As hard as you seem to try, you keep coming back to the same place. Sometimes we make a habit of making the same bad choices that affect our friends, relationships and even our health. I was once counseling a person on smoking, when the person said, "You don't have to tell me how to quit. I am an expert at it. I've quit four times!" I had to explain to them that if they were truly an expert at it, it should have only taken once. It is human nature for us to believe that we can change anytime we want. But its usually harder than we think. Portia Nelson wrote a five step process for success, I think that if you read carefully it will help you see yourself and how you might make real change in your life.
1) I walk down the street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I fall in. I am lost. I am helpless. It isn't my fault. It takes forever to find my way out.
2) I walk down the street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I pretend I don't see it. I fall in. I can't believe that I am in the same place, but it isn't my fault. It still takes a long time to get out.
3) I walk down the street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I see it is there. I still fall in. It's a habit. My eyes are open. I know where I am. It is my fault. I get out immediately.
4) I walk down the street. there is a hole in the sidewalk. I walk around it.
5) I walk down a different street.
Sometimes to affect real change in our lives we have to first open our eyes to the real problem and if necessary take a completely different street.
The good news is that God has provided a way for us to make a new start and a counselor in the Holy Spirit to guide us on our journey for a new beginning. When we seek God, He will give us a new perspective. In Romans 12:2 Paul gives us a solution to change when he says, "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is good and acceptable and perfect." We don't have to keep falling in the same hole. Let Jesus guide your walk and you will find a new street to joy.
I'm Just Sayin,
Mike Belgard
January 25, 2017 - And Jesus answered her; "but, whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." (John 4:14)
As God made water flow from the rock in the wilderness when the Israelites had no water to drink, so to does the water of life flow today. For not only is one saved for eternity when he accepts Jesus as Lord, "drinks of the water that I will give him", but once saved that person wants to see others experience the same joy and peace that he has received. So the water of life flows forth from each.
"For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and of marrow and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart." (Hebrews 4:12)
To receive the water of life, one must first believe and receive the word of God. He must believe and accept God's Word as truth as he accepts Jesus Christ as his Lord and Master. No other way can one receive eternal life in heaven.
Peter tells us; "but the word of the Lord remains forever. And this word is the good news that was preached to you." (1 Peter 1:25)
The same "good news" preached by Jesus and His Apostles is still true and being preached today.
As Jesus said; "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink." "Whoever believes in me, as the scripture has said, "Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water." (John 7:37-38)
These rivers of living water that will flow from the hearts of the redeemed is the gospel of the Lord Jesus.
When one is truly born-again, that person is inclined to want to share the joy and good news that he has received with others. In this way the living water flows from each Christian into the world as it has from the original twelve disciples.
The reward for accepting Jesus as Lord; "Then the angel showed me the river of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city, also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. "
"And night will be no more. They will need no kind of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever." ( Revelation 22:1,2,5)
The scene in heaven as described by the Apostle John in the book of Revelation.
Is this not where you wish to spend your eternity, a place where you drink from the river of life and eat from the tree of life year-round.
The alternative is to be cast out into darkness, separated from the Lord forever, tormented day and night for eternity.
Jesus says; "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink." (John 7:37)
Answer His call, come to Him and drink from the living water and thirst no more.
May God's blessings fall upon you each day...
January 23, 2017 - Bro. T.A. “Tracy” Lane of Pineland has recently been elected to serve as 2017 moderator of the Original Bethlehem Missionary Baptist Association. This association includes several churches throughout the Deep East Texas area. Bro. Lane serves as the bi-vocational pastor of Yellowpine-Macedonia Baptist Church in Yellowpine.
Original Bethlehem’s first meeting of 2017 will be held at 7:00 p.m. Friday, January 27, 2017, at Bishop Chapel Baptist Church, located on Highway 63, east of Jasper. Bishop Chapel’s pastor, Bro. Wes Wright, is serving the association as treasurer and his wife, Susan Wright, is the association’s clerk.
Bro. Lane and Bro. Wright jointly welcome everyone to this quarterly meeting on January 27. “We are excited to present special guests who will be sharing about an awesome work planned for Peru,” according to Bro. Lane.
At this meeting, the Sookraj family will sharing plans to establish and orphanage ministry for the abandoned children of Peru.
BMA of America approved and commissioned the Sookraj family in 2016 for this mission project. This has opened many doors for the family to visit churches to discuss the work and gain support.
Central Church of Southaven, Missisippi, is the sponoring church for this mission.
Friday’s meeting is open for anyone from the local churches as well as visitors to the Original Bethlehem Association. Interested persons may contact Bro. Wright or Bro. Lane, 409-382-8765, for more information.
January 23, 2017 - Last week Pam and I made our bi-monthly Sam’s Wal-Mart-Ralph & Kakoo’s trip to Lufkin. Since we’d be shopping in some large stores, I took my walking cane in the car just in case I needed it. Since I have neuropathy in my feet, the cane helps me keep my balance while walking. We parked at Sam’s and had taken few steps towards the store when an elderly lady came wheeling toward me in an electric shopping cart. “Here, Sir..Here” ”Let me help you”, she said. I told her I was fine and thanked her as she walked away.
The following Sunday, church member Brooksie Sanders walked in with a walking cane. Since we’d never seen her use it, we began talking about it and the experience I’d recently had at Sam’s. As we were all laughing together, Brooksie said a lady recently saw her with the cane for the first time and asked her, “Brooksie, are you alright?” “Have you been sick?” Brooksie replied, “No, but I am 90 years old, you know!” All of us here at Calvary Baptist Church are amazed at how she looks, thinks and maintains her special, sense of humor. Brooksie and I are two of around ten million Americans who have discovered what great friends canes can be.
When Pam and I got home that Sunday, she said, “In time everyone will get used to your cane. “I know”, I laughed.
“I probably will, too”.
January 23, 2017 - Last week we celebrated the baptism of Jesus. This Sunday, the 3rd Sunday after the Epiphany, Jesus calls Peter, Andrew, James, and John to become his first disciples. John the Baptizer is in prison; Jesus picks up the mantle, calling upon people to prepare for the coming Kingdom of Heaven. The radical call and the radical response by the four fishermen served as the Gospel for this Sunday. The response by the four was radical in that they immediately answered the call. They walked away from the way they made a living. They also walked away from their comfort zone—their families and their community. Few people are willing to make that kind of sacrifice to become disciples.
I read an article where the writer says he is not a “fan” of Jesus, which really grabbed my attention. The writer is astounded that 75% percent of Americans—some 223,000,000 people—say they are Christians. If this is indeed the case, then how can so many people go to bed hungry every night? Why are so many children ignored? The writer decides that most people who call themselves Christians are really just “fans of Jesus.” They like the story of Jesus. They certainly want their tickets punched for Heaven. But to be a disciple—that simply requires too much. I think between disciples and fans are the vast majority of Christians who try to be followers. We try to follow in the footsteps of the master, but we find such an adventure very difficult.
Our Sunday School was special in many ways. First, Pat Pate came this morning, and we were all so happy to see her. Pat taught with Sue and me for a long, long time and remains one of our best friends. Secondly, Ms. Fannie sang the beginning of Psalm 104. Joe sang the next part, and then the entire class sang the last of the Psalm that was printed in our lesson. It was a great way to rejoice at God’s goodness, although singing isn’t the greatest talent of so many of us.
We were in double digits this morning—always something to celebrate with such a small congregation as Paxton. Joe and Laura, our “newbies,” as my sister-in-law said upon meeting them, came to church this morning. Pat knew most of the folks at Paxton already and was introduced to those she didn’t know. We received a letter from First Baptist Joaquin thanking the Paxton church for our financial and personal support in providing Christmas gifts to young folks in the community.
Our Paxton ministry served Holiday Nursing Center last week. Hilda, Fannie, Sue, Nora, and the preacher visited friends, shared stories, and sang songs. The weather had been steady rain for several days, but Thursday afternoon the rains slowed and the sun came out. We are looking forward to our outreach at Lakeside Village this coming Thursday at 2:00. Many of our volunteers are Paxton members, but others just have that desire to bring cheer to our friends and neighbors.
In November there was a wreck out in front of our house. It was rainy weather and a car hydroplaned, leaving the road and taking out two large bushes, our street sign, the State’s “55mph sign,” hitting our culvert and flipping over. Luckily, all were safely buckled in, so no one was hurt. This past week I went to a sign shop in Center to order a new street sign. The gentleman who waited on me and I got into a long conversation about people we both know. Ms. Margie Dorner, who we all know from our visits to Lakeside, came in. Turns out she is his mother, and we had one of those “small world” visits.
“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. God’s Speed!
January 19, 2017 - Jackson's Annual Chili Cook-Off is Sunday, January 22nd and everyone is invited to attend.
The Chili Cook-Off will take place after the 10:50am Worship Service. Also, special music during the 10:50am Worship Service will be provided by the Stephens of Northport, Alabama. Everyone is invited to join us for an afternoon of Worship with the Stephens at 1:30pm on Sunday, January 22nd.
Jackson Baptist Church is located at 11120 State Hwy 7 East, Joaquin, TX 75954.
January 17, 2017 - Last week we celebrated the Epiphany, which put off to this Sunday the scriptures about the baptism of Jesus. All four of the canonical gospels have a baptism story, so we know how important this event is. Jesus comes to the Jordan, where John is urging people to be baptized and transformed. Jesus is baptized, which marks the beginning of his ministry.
Water is the most valuable resource—all living things need water to survive. Water is a source of life and has great importance in almost all world religions. The Hebrew Scriptures begin in Genesis speaking of water covering the face of the earth. Revelation in the Christian scriptures has a vision of water flowing from the throne of God.
Baptism joins us with God and a community of God. Stanley Hauerwas writes that we are called upon to be a community “capable of forming people with virtues sufficient to witness to God’s truth in the world.” Our baptism calls us into the Kingdom—a Kingdom of tolerance, love, and bravery. Our baptism is joined with Jesus’ and from that union living water must flow from our lives into the lives of all we meet.
The scripture for our Sunday school lesson continues to be the Psalms. Psalm 65 praises and blesses God for abundant grain and rain. The poet says that even the deserts drip with God’s goodness. All the little things that we often take for granted make life good. We often forget that.
We had a good crowd by Paxton standards. We have been in double digits every Sunday this year! Sam came with his grandmother, Mrs. Fannie: We at Paxton have enjoyed seeing Sam grow up, and now he is all grown up! He is getting ready for a new semester at Panola. Our End-of-Year Reports and other required paperwork were sent via the mail and the Internet. It is always nice to get this business completed so we can concentrate on the important things. I have a meeting with the District Superintendent next week in Lufkin.
This Tuesday we go to Holiday Nursing Home for our monthly program. A week from this Thursday, we head to Lakeside Village. Both programs begin 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. God’s Speed!
January 17, 2017 - Repelling is fun. The feeling of walking off a 50 ft. tower or large cliff with just a rope between you and the ground is exhilarating!
I will never forget the first time that I was challenged to do it. I have to say this right off, I have always had a "fear" of heights. So for me to do this, in my mind, was truly a feat. As I began to climb the tower and think that what I was about to do feeds one of my biggest fears, my chest began to tighten, hands sweating, breathing labored, and my knees got weak. That's right I was in full anxiety mode. My fear was so strong I didn't know if I could make it to the top of the tower, let alone jump off it with nothing more between me and the ground but a rope and one of my Army buddies holding the line at the bottom.
Once I got to the top I was "rigged up" and walked to the edge of the platform. The instructor could tell I was nervous, so he comforted me with the words, "Don't worry if you fall, we can slow your descent so you probably won't die, just break a couple bones." Then he laughed. I was given instructions on how to stop or slow myself on the way down and told to step over the edge. As I looked back over the edge and seen how far it was to the ground, all those fears rushed through my head, "What if the rope breaks?, What if I forget how to stop?, What if the guy on the ground is not paying attention as I plunge to the earth?" Then the instructor gave me some wise advice. He said, Just step over the edge and hold for a few seconds until you get used to being over the edge." Then he told me that the guy on the ground end of the rope could stop me if I started to free fall. You see the "anchor man" at the other end of the rope could actually be your salvation if you began to fall. With this realization, my fears were relieved and my anxiety began to subside. I made the repel without incident and couldn't wait to get back and try it again. I almost let fear and anxiety keep me from experiencing something that could give me enjoyment.
In life we let our fears lead us to anxiety and worry. When we allow these to take control of our lives it can paralyze us and keep us from moving forward. Did you know that about 90 percent of the things we worry about daily never materialize. So we spend a lot of our days being afraid to step out of our comfort zones to be all that God wants us to be. We can use fear and anxiety as justification for our inaction, but in reality it comes down to not trusting our "anchor man." Who we put our trust in if we start to "free fall."
Hebrews 6:19-20 says, "This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the presence behind the veil, where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus." When we are convinced that we can trust Jesus as the anchor of our soul we can live life head on, without fear. Paul tells us that if we, "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your request be known to God; and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding, will guard your heart and minds through Christ Jesus." (Phil. 4: 6-7)
So don't be afraid to step out of your comfort zone. Its time for you to stop letting fear and anxiety hold you back. Step out, and put your faith and trust in the "anchor" that never fails, Jesus Christ. When anxiety enters faith leaves, but when faith takes over anxiety disappears.
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”
― Theodore Roosevelt.
Trust God and stop worrying. You won't succeed if you never try.
I'm Just sayin,
Mike Belgard
January 17, 2017 - The St John Baptist Church of Tenaha, Texas would like to invite everyone to our Winter Musical featuring the Chariots of Fire from Shreveport, Louisiana on February 11, 2017 at 7:00 pm.
We would be delighted to see you there.
January 16, 2017 - "Arise and go down to the potters house, and there I will let you hear my words." So I went down to the potters house, and there he was working at his wheel. And the vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potters hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do. Then the word of the Lord came to me: "O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter has done?" Declares the Lord. "Behold, like the clay in the potter's hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel." (Jeremiah 18:2-6)
This story of the potter's wheel truly is the story of the relationship of mankind on earth with the Lord.
Just as with the clay of the potters wheel, all men are "spoiled" as we are all born into this world with the sin nature inherited from our forefather, Adam.
From birth we are molded by our parents, our siblings, our school and our church, yet we are still spoiled by our sin nature and for us to be complete and be useful vessels we too must be reworked into a useful vessel, a new creation.
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." (2 Corinthians 5:17)
"If anyone is in Christ", meaning, once we have accepted Christ as Lord and Master we are then a "new creation". Once saved you will be changed, the old things of this world will no longer control you as you learn the true joy of living in Christ. You will grow in faith to realize that nothing of this world matters, only God's Word and your relationship with God is important. It is your future, your place in eternity that matters.
"Arise and go down to the potters house, and there I will let you hear my words." Is God not the potter, is the potters house not the church? Isn't God telling us here that if we are to become useful vessels then we must go to where we can hear His words? "So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ." (Romans 10:17)
Absolutely, we see here from the scripture that to be saved; we must "hear the word" for "faith comes from hearing". God is telling us that we must be told as were the 1st century Christians, they did not know "the Word" until John the Baptist and Jesus Christ came preaching repentance of sins. Without this preaching, not one person would be saved today.
"Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." (Romans 10:9)
"For with heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved." (Romans 10:10)
There it is, we must be reworked by God's grace into new creations, useful vessels for the work He put us here to do.
If you don't know Him, find a church today be there tonight and begin the process of being reworked by God into a useful vessel.
May God's blessings be upon you...
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