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Contributing Writers: David Mathis | Tim Perkins
Past Contributing Writers: Mike Mills, Spring Hill Church | Doug Fincher | Pastor Randy and Sue Smith | Mike Belgard
Faith
October 31, 2016 - A little boy wanted to meet God. He knew it was a long trip to where God lived, so he packed his suitcase with a bag of potato chips and a pack of root beer, and started his journey.
When he had gone about three blocks, he met an old man. He was sitting in the park, just staring at some pigeons. The boy sat down next to him and opened his suitcase. He was about to take a drink from his root beer when he noticed that the old man looked hungry, so he offered him some chips. He gratefully accepted It and smiled at him.
His smile was so pretty that the boy wanted to see it again, so he offered him a root beer. Again, he smiled at him. The boy was delighted! They sat there all afternoon eating and smiling, but they never said a word...
As twilight approached, the boy realized how tired he was and he got up to leave; But before he had gone more than a few steps, he turned around, ran back to the old man, and gave him a hug. He gave him his biggest smile ever...
When the boy opened the door to his own house a short time later, his mother was surprised by the look of joy on his face. She asked him, “What did you do today that made you so happy?”
He replied, "I had lunch with God." But before his mother could respond, he added, "You know what? He's got the most beautiful smile I've ever seen!"
Meanwhile, the old man, also radiant with joy, returned to his home. His son was stunned by the look of peace on his face and he asked, "dad, what did you do today that made you so happy?"
He replied "I ate potato chips in the park with God." However, before his son responded, he added, "You know, he's much younger than I expected."
Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around. People come into our lives for a reason, a season, or a lifetime! Embrace all equally!* Have lunch with God.....bring chips.
Let's continue to pray for one another.
October 31, 2016 - Have you ever heard someone say, "If I did that I could never forgive myself." You may have this feeling because of something that you have done. No matter what happens in your life from that point on you tend to always go back to that mistake as defining point in your life. It not only affects what you think about yourself but what you think of others.
Have you ever gotten half way through with something, stepped back, and wished you could just start over? A lot of people feel that way about life. We wish we could cancel out all the mistakes, harsh words, and bad choices we have made. Some people have a real hard time letting go of the past. When I was kid growing up in Louisiana, we would go hunting in the marshes where the water was only a few inches deep but the mud was two feet. The water wasn't hard to walk through but you could easily get stuck in the mud underneath. Some people allow their past to be a lot like that marsh. Its not the things that they're dealing with on the surface that holds them back, but the things under the surface that have them stuck and keeping them from moving forward like they should.
Jesus knows the things we have done wrong, but when we ask for forgiveness He doesn't hold it against us. John 3:17 says He didn't come into the world to condemn us but to save us. As a matter of fact, in Jeremiah 31:34 God tells the Israelite's that He "will remember their sins no more." Do you understand how great this is? The God of everything, who created us and everything we know, says he is going to forget our sins and mistakes! They are gone in His eyes. They do not exist. What mercy God shows us when we seek Him! He has actually chosen to forget our past mistakes. So why do we get bogged down in the events, and people in our past? The only One who matters says He forgets it. He is offering you a new beginning. A clean slate.
So knowing that, what's holding you back from that new life and the joy that comes with it? Probably your having trouble forgiving yourself. The devil will try to keep you stuck in the " mud" of your past by telling you that you will always be the person you were before. Don't you believe it. It is a lie. God tell us that we are made new when we trust Him. God has plans for you. He loves you and has great new things ahead for you. A new life. Your past is forgotten and your future is secure. Trust Him, let go of the past, and start being the new you that God wants you to be.
October 28, 2016 - Winterfest hosted by First Pentecostal Church of Joaquin will be held November 12, 2016 from 10am until 5pm.
Local vendors will showcase homemade blankets and quilts, custom t-shirts and glassware, tupperware, homemade soap and lotion, healthcare tips, food, craft items, bake sale and homemade canned goods, LuLaRoe clothing, and all kinds of treasures. Door prizes will be given away as well. No adminission fee. If you would like to be a vendor, call Tonhia at 936-572-8233 or 936-368-2517.
October 25, 2016 - Center New Life Church is hosting a Scare Tactics Event. The Departed will start Sunday, October 30 at 6:00pm and will run till Thursday, November 3rd. Monday through Thursday, The Departed will start nightly at 7:00pm.
October 25, 2016 - Get ready for food, fun, fellowship and games because October 31st is Hallelujah Night at Center Christian Fellowship. It is a community wide event. This year the night of excitement will begin at 6:00 p.m. and be over at 9:00 p.m. You will need to be there at 6:00 p.m. to enter the costume contest. It is a Christian alternative to what the world calls “Halloween”. It’s free, free, free! Everyone is invited to come and enjoy! Every child that comes will win lots of candy and prizes by playing the various games we have to offer.
This night of excitement will take place at Center Christian Fellowship located at 2471 U.S. Highway 96 North in Center, Texas. We would love for you to come. There will be games, bounce houses, an obstacle course, hayrides, face painting, cake walk, etc. There will be snow cones, fried Oreos, hot dogs, popcorn and more.
October 25, 2016 - Job sat in the land fill, the dump, and scratched his sores with bits of broken pottery from the pile. He was covered from head to toe with running sores, boils.
His 10 children had all been killed in a storm. His possessions had all been stolen by thieves. His wife told him to just; "curse God and die". While his friends had accused him of grave sins for which he was surely being punished by the Lord.
Through it all, Job a man without sin remained true and strong in his faith, never once turning from God, but turning to God in his time of trouble and strife.
We know from God's Word that God had given Job over to Satan as a test of both Job's rightness and Satan's lack of power.
God gave Job over to Satan, withholding only Job's life, Satan could do anything to him, except to take his life from him. What a test, what a trial this was. A man, setting in darkness, no knowledge of what or why, holding fast to his Redeemer through the storms of life he had been given.
Job knew that he had done nothing to incur God's wrath, but he had no idea why he was being so severely punished.
How, you ask, could he remain so strong and true to God when he had no idea why he was being punished?
Our scriptures help us to understand how he could have such faith. (Job 19:25-27)
"For I know that my Redeemer lives, and He shall stand, at last, on the earth; And after my skin is destroyed, this I know, that in my flesh, I shall see God, Whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. How my heart yearns within me."
You see, even though Jesus had not yet come to the earth, Job knew who He was and that He would indeed, one day come and stand on the earth.
All believers today have this same "blessed hope", knowing that one day Jesus will return for us and that eventually, He will again stand on the earth and will reign for 1000 years from His new temple in Jerusalem.
Believers today also know that even if we die a mortal death, when Jesus returns for His own, we will rise and in our own restored flesh, we will see our Redeemer, face to face.
The Bible tells us that we will be "like Him" and that we will "see Him as He is".
No longer will we have to look through the darkened glass of our own imaginations, we will finally, clearly, see the face of our Lord.
This blessed hope yearns within our hearts today just as it did with Job.
Let the trials and tribulations of Job be an example for each of us, to keep our eyes upon the heavens, knowing that our Redeemer does indeed live and that He is making ready a place for us and will, someday, return for us.
Glory to God, come Lord Jesus...
October 24, 2016 - Sunday was the 23rd Sunday after Pentecost. Last Sunday’s parable about the persistent widow is followed in the Luke Gospel by another short parable, which speaks of another “great reversal,” a common theme in both the Jewish and First Century Christian Testaments. In the story both a Pharisee and a tax collector go to the Temple . The Pharisee is sure that he is righteous and will be blessed by God. The tax collector is just as convinced that he is a sinner and deserves nothing from God. The Pharisee, who probably does try very hard to be a good person, allows pride and a judging attitude to overwhelm his efforts at a godly life. The tax collector has no illusions about how he has lived, but we all hope he can know God’s forgiveness as he tries to live a better life.
Fannie, as usual, prepared a very interesting Sunday school lesson. Our scripture came once again from Paul’s letter to the Hebrews, with Paul speaking about Melchizedek who was a king, priest, and prophet of the Most High God. This king befriends Abraham, and Paul sees some connection between Melchizedek and Jesus. For us Jesus is our high priest—holy, innocent, incorrupt, and raised high above the Heavens.
We had a really small crowd for Sunday school and worship, with several out of pocket. Since both Joe and Hilda were out, Gene selected songs from the Methodist Hymnal, and Sue played the CDs. We have the entire Methodist Hymnal on CD which sure doesn’t mean we can sing them all! But we did a pretty good job.
This past week we headed to Holiday Nursing Center. Fannie, Nora, Jo, and Hilda are so faithful to visit and to share with the residents of various nursing centers. Sue had been sick all week but is finally starting to feel some better. I had cataract surgery on my second eye and can now see so well! People told me how pleased I would be, but I really didn’t process what they told me until I experienced it myself. I drove last night in the dark for the first time in a long time, and I could see very clearly! This month we have been collecting peanut butter and jelly for Community Christian Services. Next month we will collect rice and beans.
Saturday night I watched as the Cubs won and are headed from the World Series for the first time in 71 years. The Cubs have not won the World Series since 1908! My daughter and I are big Cub fans and just a few minutes after the Cubs turned the final double play, she was on the phone so we could enjoy the victory together. A week from Monday will be Halloween. I grew up in the suburbs of Dallas and remember that “trick or treat” was a community affair. It still is, but in a different way—with organizations and churches hosting celebrations.
The early Christian missionaries were quite clever in placing Christian holy days at the same time as pagan holidays. It is why we celebrate Christmas in December. It is also why the pagan fall festival became “All Hallowed Saints Eve” and that for centuries November 1 was All Saints Day. The Christians once again co-oped a pagan celebration and made it a Christian holy day. We Protestants certainly have a different understanding of sainthood than our Catholic brothers and sisters, but I imagine most Protestants would view Mother Theresa as saintly. In the Anglican Church (Church of England) those trouble makers John and Charles Wesley are now viewed as saints! So it goes.
“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!
October 24, 2016 - Triumph The Church & Kingdom of God In Christ, Center, Texas, announces their “Women Driven by God” event. Hosted by District Mother, Barbara Cloudy and the Triumph Center family the event will take place on Sunday, November 13, 2016 at 2:30 p.m. Triumph the Church & Kingdom of God in Christ is located at 908 Daniels Street, Center, Texas. We look forward to seeing you there.
October 24, 2016 - “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you...” James 4:8
The combination of sandy roads, spring branches and a plentiful food supply has made Center, Texas’ Sand Hill Community an ideal nesting place for exotic birds from Mexico and Central America. Located about six miles south of Center, Texas, it remains one of the most beautiful parts of Shelby County Texas. My Dad explored these sandy roads when he was a youngster and took all ten of us there many times as we were growing up. Instead of vacations to The Grand Canyon or Yellowstone, we made ours to The Sand Hills…to Big Ditch and Gunnel’s Cave… which were only a short drive from of our house in Center. After becoming adults, we all made frequent trips home to see Mother and to re-explore the Sand Hill roads with her.
Back in the 70’s I asked my sister Jeri in Texarkana to meet me at Mother’s and spend a day in the Sand Hills with her. We left her house early one August morning and after a drive through the Snow Hill, Short and Jericho communities, we wound up taking pictures and picking Sand Hill grapes along a sandy road near Gunnel’s Cave.
Suddenly, I spotted a handsome lizard basking in the sun about fifteen feet off the road. As I complained to Mother about the lizard being too far away to photograph, Sis quietly touched my shoulder and whispered, “Let me talk to the lizard.” I nervously looked all around to see if anyone was watching us. Then as we walked toward him, she began: “Don’t be afraid.” “We won’t hurt you.” “Hen Doug just wants to take your picture.” After telling the lizard how pretty he was, we got close enough to see his eyes twinkle and after getting several close-ups, we backed away leaving him undisturbed.
As we were discussing my sister’s “way with lizards” on the way home, Mother said, “You know, God lets us come close and talk to Him, too.” “I know, Mother,” I replied. “And not only do we talk to Him.” “Through prayer and His Word…..
“He talks to us, too”.
October 21, 2016 - Center First United Methodist Church will host a Blessing of the Animals Saturday, October 22 at 10:00 a.m. in the Pumpkin Patch on the church grounds located at 211 N. Porter Street.
All adults, children and families are invited to bring your pet and be a part of this event. Blessing of the Animals witnesses to God's and the Church's love, care and concern for creation and recognizes our mutual interdependence with God's creatures. Please join us with your pet for this special event. You may take photographs of your family and pets in the Pumpkin Patch following the Blessing of the Animals.
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