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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
November 3, 2016 - The Pastor and Members of Saint Paul Missionary Baptist Church invites you to our 107th Church Anniversary. This event will be held on Sunday, November 6, 2016, at 10:00 a.m.
November 2, 2016 - The Abundant Love Ministries Men’s Ministry, Men’s Revival, scheduled for November 3-5, 2016, is cancelled, because of an unexpected illness of the guest evangelist.
We apologize for any scheduling inconveniences, and will reschedule this event as the earliest available date of Pastor John Russell. Abundant Love Ministries is located at 1426 Shelbyville Street, Center, TX.
November 1, 2016 - "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. " (1 Peter 5:8)
God's creations were pure, never having been corrupted until Satan entered the Garden of Eden, masquerading as a serpent.
His first act that we are aware of here on earth was to enter the garden and deceive Eve by telling half-truths and outright lies.
He first created doubt in her mind as to what God had actually said about the fruit of the garden. He appealed to her ego by telling her that she would be "like God" knowing good from evil if she would only eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
He uses the same doubts and denials today to deceive people and draw them away from God.
God allowed him to torment Job, even taking his family and all his possessions, but Job never gave in to his deceptions.
Jesus was tempted for 40 days in the wilderness, but He overcame every temptation by using God's Word; as He would quote scripture to rebuke Satan's lies.
Today we must be sober and vigilant for we are at war; not with the flesh, but with the spirit. Satan is called; the prince and power of the air and he does rule this world. Our fight is against this evilness in all forms.
As Christians our duty is to answer the call to arms against evil and fight against it wherever and whenever we encounter it.
Thankfully, we have the most powerful weapon on earth, God's Holy Word, as our offense and defense against this evil. We may be weak, but the Holy Spirit that resides within every Christian is stronger than any power of earth.
We know Satan goes about the earth seeking whom he may devour. The lost are already shackled to him so he turns his efforts upon those he does not have, the children of God.
Satan enters the church today, not to worship, but to accuse and discredit others.
How do we recognize his efforts; if anything causes the peace, tranquility and unity of the church to be broken or interrupted, it is from Satan. The person who is facilitating this distraction may have no idea that it being done through he or she, no matter, it has it's origins in Satan.
He would create even greater havoc if the Holy Spirit did not restrain him for he seeks to devour the life, testimony, witness, fellowship, love, joy, and peace of every believer.
Unlike Eve, we must learn to recognize and overcome the lies and deceptions of Satan and his Minions. We must do as Jesus instructs us; "Abide in Me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me." (John 15:4)
We must choose to live close to Jesus if we are to win this battle, it is His battle to fight for us, for we are too weak by ourselves.
May the Lord God bless and keep you this day.
November 1, 2016 - “A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly…” Proverbs 18:24
I met the late Fred Smith when I was a student at ETBU in Marshall, Texas. He was one of our best (and biggest) basketball players and his size earned him the name “Big Fred”. Our paths crossed again when I met him in his pickup on the hill at Geneva, Texas back in the seventies. “Hey, Fincher”, he hollered. “Hey, Fred,"…"Whatcha doing nowadays?”.... “Fox huntin’”, he laughed.
Fred and I often bragged about how poor we grew up and often sat on his “gallery” (a.k.a. “porch”) and compared our stories of poverty.
“Fred, were y'all rich enough to take ‘lightening bread’ in your school lunch?” “Not very often...but when we did, we didn’t hold it down low. We held it up high where everybody could see it!” “My school lunch was usually a hammer and two “hiccer nuts”, he laughed. “Hey, Fincher…. if you want to hunt doves in the back pasture, you’re as welcome as the flowers in May.”
When I asked Fred what he played in High School football, he laughed, “Mainly the bench. My coach never learned my name. He just called me ‘Boy’”. “When we played Center one year, they almost killed us. Finally the coach told me to go in. The next thing I remember I was being hauled off the field in a wheel barrow and they parked me on the sideline in a bunch of goat weeds”.
It’s no wonder that I so enjoyed visiting Fred “on his gallery.” He was a fun man to be around and never failed to lift my spirits with his wit and sense of humor.
When he crossed the Jordan years ago, he left me (and his world of friends) many wonderful memories. And he was what many men never are.
He was a good man.
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...
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