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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
February 5, 2022 - It’s Saturday, February 5.
In 1922, the New York Herald newspaper published an article titled “What the World Will Look Like in One Hundred Years.” They chose novelist W. L. George to write it. Never heard of him? Few have. And even fewer have read one of his novels. But you have to admit, the man knew a thing or two about predicting the future.
In the article, about life in 2022, George predicts wireless phones, commercial air travel, working women, and nuclear power. To be fair, he also predicts glass domed cities and flying cars. But hey, nobody’s perfect. Telling the future is hard work.
Want to take a crack at predicting what life will be like a hundred years from now? No? Well, how about fifty years? Ten? Let’s make it easy. Tell me what’s going to happen... tomorrow.
The truth is we cannot know what the future holds. But, thank heaven, we can know who holds the future. The gospel songwriters Bill & Gloria Gaither put it like this -
Because He lives, I can face tomorrow
Because He lives, all fear is gone
Because I know He holds the future
My life is worth the living just because He lives!
Meet you back here on Monday, as we begin a series - leading to Valentine’s Day - on the subject of love.
Bro. David
dmathis@fbccenter.org
February 4, 2022 - Good Morning! It's Friday, February 4.
Our lives are filled with all kinds of prayers. There's the prayer we learn as children - "now I lay me down to sleep." And the prayer we learn as adults - "our Father, who art in heaven." There's nothing wrong with memorized prayers. They can be a comfort to us, a touchstone, just as memorized scriptures can be.
But when we consider the true definition of prayer - talking to God - we see the need to improvise, to express our feelings, to share our heart. Imagine what the relationship with your spouse or friend would be like, if your only communication was a series of memorized, rehearsed phrases! Sometimes our communication with God isn't as personal as it should be.
There's a kind of prayer that's been nicknamed "The 911 Prayer." That's the one we pray when we're in trouble, in crisis, at the end of our rope. Those prayers are always very personal. We definitely speak to God from our heart during challenging times. But what kind of relationship would we have with a friend or loved one, if we only spoke from the heart when we needed help?
God just wants to talk. For reasons beyond our comprehension, the Creator of the Universe is interested in hearing from you. And not just in times of crisis, but every day. That's the kind of prayer life that builds a relationship with God, a relationship that, when troubles come, will give a firm foundation and "a peace that passes understanding."
So, talk to God today. He's waiting. He's listening.
Meet you back here tomorrow,
Bro. David
dmathis@fbccenter.org
February 3, 2022 - It’s probably a good thing you cannot really see what’s “across the preacher’s desk”! There are a couple of coffee cups, various file folders, several stacks of books, yellow legal pads with sermons and Bible class lessons in various stages of completion (or incompletion, depending on your point of view) and then assorted papers, trinkets, numerous pens, well, you get the idea. The “preacher’s desk is messy and cluttered. Truth be told, I have always said that a clean desk is the sign of a sick mind in my attempt to justify my mess.
Occasionally, I have a spell where I clean my desk and put everything away and everything looks neat and orderly. However, it is never a permanent solution. Sometimes my desk reminds me of Kudzu the way the “mess” seems to grow, multiply and just take over.
The mess on my desk does remind me that I don’t have it all together and that if we are honest, we will admit that none of us has it all together. Our lives are not neatly ordered. Our lives get messy and cluttered. All of us carry baggage. Paul would write that “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” in Romans 3:23. When we realize our lives are messy, when we realize we have sinned, we can come to Jesus for forgiveness and he will clean up our lives. We must make Him Lord and Master of our lives and live life His way.
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.
February 2, 2022 - Hello! It's Wednesday, February 2.
Tell me if this has ever happened to you. I'm driving to work one day last week and I find myself behind two 18-wheelers who are driving side by side. That's right... the dreaded "rolling roadblock"! I was a few minutes late for work, so I was, of course, "mildly" concerned about this obstruction. I remember certain phrases coming to mind. Phrases like - "What the heck?", "C'mon slowpoke!", and "Get the lead out!" Well, finally the road parted, I made up time by driving over the speed limit, and I was only a little late for work.
At the end of that same work day I was driving home along that very same stretch of road. Since I didn't have to get to my house on time, and because I am a careful, conscientious, law-abiding person, I was driving under the speed limit. And then I noticed that another driver had pulled alongside me and was, like me, also carefully obeying the speed laws. I looked over at him and we shared a neighborly nod. Then suddenly I looked in my rear view and saw an 18-wheeler right on my back bumper! Certain phrases came to mind - "What the heck?", "C'mon speed demon!", and "Slow down!"
Later that evening I reflected on the fact that, within an 8 hour period, in two identical scenarios, I had played opposite parts. I had been both the "slowpoke" AND the "speed demon". It reminded me that we humans are changeable beings. We often adjust our behavior, and even our character and personality, according to the situation. We're different with strangers than we are with our family. We're different when we're calm than we are when we're stressed. We're different at church than we are in the community.
Perhaps that's why we humans are so attracted to God... who does... not... change.
Hebrews 13:8. Jesus Christ - the same yesterday, today, and forever.
Meet you back here tomorrow,
Bro. David
dmathis@fbccenter.org
February 1, 2022 - Wallace Chapel Baptist Church will honor Sis. Brenda Moore and Bro. Devonte Thompson on February 6, 2022 at the 11am hour with guest Pastor Charlston Johnson from Smyrna Baptist Church in Timpson. Family and friends are invited. Let everything that has breathe praise the Lord!!
Pastor Derrick Rhodes and the Wallace Chapel Church Family
February 1, 2022 - Good Morning! It's Tuesday, February 1.
February 1st fell on a Saturday in 2003. That morning, at about 8:00, people in the Dallas area looked up in the sky... and they saw the space shuttle Columbia breaking apart. A few minutes later debris began to fall in East Texas. It fell in our streets, in our fields, all around us. It was a day that many of you will never forget.
And in the months following that day, many of you were part of the search teams - the largest search effort in the history of the world. Or maybe you helped feed the searchers, or did their laundry, or a hundred other little things. Everyone just wanted to help, to do something, to do what they could do. Because, not only had this terrible tragedy happened - it had happened here, where we live.
We live in a community where neighbors help neighbors. It's no big thing, really. It's expected. It's part of our way of life. But, if you've lived in other places, you know that it's not like that everywhere. We are blessed. And in the winter of 2003, we had the opportunity to be a blessing to our nation, to NASA, and to the families of the seven brave astronauts.
So, the next time a neighbor helps you. Or, better yet, the next time you have the chance to help a neighbor. Whisper a prayer of thanksgiving. Because you are blessed.
Galatians 5:14 - The whole law of God is fulfilled in this one command - You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
Meet you back here tomorrow,
Bro. David
dmathis@fbccenter.org
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.
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