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Contributing Writers: Mike Mills, Spring Hill Church | Doug Fincher | Pastor Randy and Sue Smith | Mike Belgard | Tim Perkins
Faith
February 13, 2025 - I remember hearing Doris Day singing on an album a popular show tune entitled “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered.” I think those words often describe the way that we feel. Most of us have burdens and cares that others know nothing about. Because of these burdens, we often hide our pain and our hurt behind a facade of bravery and stoicism. There is a familiar but often neglected passage of scripture in I Peter 5:7. In that passage, Peter writes, “casting all your care upon him for he careth for you.”
In our world today so much is impersonal. This is the age of bigness and numbers. Yet, though we may have to give the bank the last “four of our social” along with our account number, God still knows us as an individual. God does not keep track of his own by computers. God knows us by name.
We all have various kinds of cares. Yet, every care that you and I are carrying is in this verse. Every burden that we are called to bear is in this verse and Jesus is also in this verse. Peter says we are to cast our cares upon him because he cares for us. No one understands like Jesus. When your heart is pained, when the burdens seem great, the one who cared enough to go to the cross and save us is concerned for all our cares.
It’s something to think about... tbp
Come join us for worship at Center Church of Christ or online at www.centerchurchofchrist.com.
February 10, 2025 - Good Morning! It’s Monday, February 10.
Today we focus on an Old Testament Bible character with a very strange name - Mephibosheth. He was the grandson of King Saul and the son of Jonathan. On a day when he was five years old, both his father and his grandfather were killed in battle. His nurse took the little boy and ran in terror from the camp. There was some kind of accident and the child was injured. Mephibosheth would never walk again.
David had a strange history with this family. At the same time that Saul was trying to have him killed, Jonathan was trying to save his life. That was a kindness that David never forgot, and in 2 Samuel 9 we witness David repaying that kindness. He was now the King, and possessed enormous power. One day he asked his court, “Is there anyone still alive in Saul’s family?”. The question caused great alarm, since, in that time, new kings would often have heirs of the old king put to death. David sent the command for Mephibosheth to come to the palace.
As Mephibosheth journeyed to Jerusalem, he must have felt like he was walking to the gallows. But King David, on seeing the son of his friend Jonathan, assured him that he had nothing to fear. David restored the lands and the wealth of Saul’s family to Mephibosheth, and offered him a place at the King’s table - a tremendous honor. The King gave Mephibosheth back his life. He didn’t have to do that. And, in doing this kindness, he risked appearing weak to his enemies.
But David chose the high road, chose to return Jonathan’s kindness. He chose to “pay it forward”, as the saying goes. In our world today, we witness the endless cycles of hate, the eternal cycles of revenge. David reminds us that we have the power to create new cycles - of forgiveness, of peace, of kindness.
Meet you back here tomorrow,
David
cindertex50@yahoo.com
February 6, 2025 - When Jesus walked the dusty roads of Palestine, he had the ability to see more than just the veneer that people offered for the rest of the world to see. He could look inside a person and see what was in their heart, he could see more than just what they were, he could also see their potential. Jesus looked into the hearts of the Scribes and Pharisees and had nothing good to say about them. In Matthew chapter 23 he said that they did not practice what they preached (verse 3) and then in verse 28 he said they appeared righteous unto men but within they were filled with hypocrisy and iniquity.
Yet, not only could Jesus see what was in the hearts of men, he could also see the potential that individuals had. When he first met Simon, he told him that he would be called Cephas, a stone. Not many people would have seen in Peter a future pillar of the church. Neither would most of us have thought the “Sons of Thunder” James and John would have been so instrumental in the church of the first century. But Jesus did. Would we have wanted a pessimist like Thomas to be part of our group. Probably not. However Jesus chose him also. We probably would not have chosen a tax gatherer like Matthew nor would we have gone to the home of someone with the tarnished reputation that Zacchaeus had. Yet, Jesus saw value in these men.
Jesus had the power and ability to see the hidden strength in every life and to waken the sleeping hero in the soul of every man and woman. What does Jesus see in us?
It’s something to think about... tbp
Come join us for Worship at Center Church of Christ or online at www.centerchurchofchrist.com
February 5, 2025 - Join us this Sunday, February 9, 2025 at 11am for our kids rally at First Pentecostal Church of Jesus Christ in Center, Texas. The address is 480 FM 2026, Center, Texas.
Bring your kids out for a fun filled Sunday with a kids church service, door prizes, ice cream bowls and hotdogs! Hope to see you there! For more information or if you need a ride, call 936-955-4314!
February 3, 2025 - St. John Baptist Church in the Africa Community, Center, Texas is hosting a Celebration of Black History on Sunday, February 16, 2025 at 2:30pm.
Special guest church is Shady Grove Missionary Baptist Church of Carthage, Texas and Pastor James Wall.
St. John Baptist Church
Winston Kibbles, Pastor
Jacklyn Moton-Cartwright, Event Coordinator
February 3, 2025 - Good Morning. It’s Monday, February 3.
On February 3,1959, a plane crashed into a frozen field in Iowa. There were no survivors. A young musician was on that plane named Buddy Holly. He was from Lubbock, Texas, and was just 22 years old. But in his short life, he revolutionized popular music, and became an inspiration to others who would take music even further. John Lennon and Paul McCartney, as teenagers, heard Buddy Holly when he toured England. They would name their new group “The Beatles” because Holly’s band was called “The Crickets”. Robert Zimmerman, 16 years old, attended a Buddy Holly concert two nights before the plane went down. He would later change his name to Bob Dylan, and has often spoken about that experience as life changing. In 1971, Don McLean wrote a song called “American Pie”, and ever since then, February 3,1959 has been known as “the day the music died”. Gone too soon.
Last Wednesday, a plane crashed into an icy river in Washington D.C. There were no survivors. A number of young people were on that plane, teenaged figure skaters. Perhaps one day we would have watched them skate in the Olympics. The crew chief and the co-pilot of the Army helicopter were just 28 years old. Both of them had spent their entire young adult lives in service to our country. Gone too soon.
Most people have experienced moments of loss, times of tragedy. A close college friend of mine was brutally murdered. That was over 40 years ago, but there are days when I still think about it. A few tragedies make the national news, most do not. But each personal loss stays with us, in our minds, in our hearts. And in these moments we are reminded of the promise found in Psalm 34:18 - “The Lord is near to the broken hearted, and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”
Meet you back here tomorrow,
David
cindertex50@yahoo.com
January 31, 2025 - Good Morning! It’s Friday, January 31.
As this month is ending, I’m reminded of a beginning. By January of 2022, I had been sending out these little daily thoughts, by email, for a couple of years. They started when the world stopped - for the Covid pandemic. The devotions were a way to stay connected with family, friends, and the volunteers I worked with at my church. And then, on January 31, a new door opened.
Earlier that month I had given a presentation to an area leadership group. I decided to read a dozen of my favorite devotions and paired them with items from my collections. The crowd was very gracious, and in the crowd was J.J. Ford, publisher of the news website, Shelby County Today. She asked if I would like to include the Daily Devotions in her site. I had to think long and hard about it - for about half a second - and then answered “Yes!”.
Shelby County Today, and J.J.’s team, does a fantastic job of keeping us up to date on all the goings on in our area. It is one of the strongest “voices” of our community, and during this month of January it has been visited more than 750,000 times. It continues to be my honor, pleasure, and blessing to play a small part in it. Thank you Shelby County Today! And thank you to all who read David’s Daily Devotions. I echo the words of the Apostle Paul in Philippians 1:3 - “I thank my God, every time I think of you”.
Meet you back here on Monday,
David
cindertex50@yahoo.com
January 30, 2025 - There are two passages of scripture that tell us in plain language who we belong to and the price that was paid for us. In I Corinthians 6:19-20, Paul tells us that we are not our own but that we were bought with a price. Then, Peter declares in I Peter 1:18-20 that the price was the precious blood of Jesus Christ.
We belong to God. Not only did God create us, he redeemed us with the precious blood of his only begotten son. The essential fact of Christianity is that God thought that all men and women were worth the sacrifice of his son. God thought it was worth the life and death of Jesus to bring men and women home to him.
Not only has God redeemed us, he also has preserved us. Whoever we are and wherever we go, God has brought us through the changes and chances of life to the point where we are right now. God has preserved us in danger, upheld us in sorrow, healed us in sickness and cared for us. This life of ours does not belong to us. This life belongs to God. He created us, he preserves and cares for us and he redeemed us. That is why we should use it with reverence and care. You see, this life cost God so much, we dare not waste it. We should declare with every action of our life that we belong to God.
It’s something to think about... tbp
Come join us for worship at Center Church of Christ or online at www.centerchurchofchrist.com
January 30, 2025 – Good Morning! It’s Thursday, January 30.
We have a good library here in Center, Texas. And there’s a good one nearby in Nacogdoches, too. I hope you frequent the one near where you live. Libraries are a national treasure. Did you know our nation has one? It’s called the Library of Congress. It was started in 1800, but we almost lost it during the War of 1812, when the British burned it to the ground. On January 30, 1815, Thomas Jefferson made available 6000 books from his personal library to restore it. Today the Library of Congress boasts over 170 million books - housed in a structure called the Thomas Jefferson Building. You can visit it in Washington D.C., but unless you’re a high government official, you can’t check anything out. Maybe President Trump would let you use his library card.
Many Americans love books. And we love collecting books. I have about a thousand at my house (I’m no Thomas Jefferson!). I know that you, at the very least, have 66 in your home. The first one’s called “Genesis”, and the last one “Revelation”. The Library of Congress has a Gutenberg Bible and the Jefferson Bible. The British tried to destroy our national library, but it endures. And so does the Word of God.
Isaiah 40:8 - “The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the Word of the Lord endures forever”.
Meet you back here tomorrow,
David
cindertex50@yahoo.com
January 28, 2025 - Come enjoy a Chili, Gumbo & Soup Cook Off this Sunday, February 2nd at 4pm at First Methodist Church in Center.
There will be a Silent Auction and Dessert Auction. The event is open to the public. Taste and Vote is from 4pm to 5:30pm and People's Choice Awards will be announced at 6pm.
Admission is $5 for ages 13 and up and $3 for ages 3 to 12.
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