If you're interested in submitting a Letter to the Editor, click here. The Panola Watchman gladly accepts letters that are 300 words or less and pertain to Panola County. Letter writers must include their name, phone number, email and city of residence when submitting items (only names and city will be published).
The Lord, through many great and wondrous happenings, chose and made Israel to be his people. This election and revelation of God’s power and presence was based on Love. “Keep his statutes and his commandments” (Deuteronomy 4:32-40). We see God’s love in the trinity!
In his autobiographical movie Private Parts, celebrity interviewer Howard Stern comments that most actors and rock stars are “Satan-worshipping junkies.” It might be presumptuous to suggest DeNiro, DiCaprio and Madonna hang out praising the prince of darkness while doing drugs. Yet their lav…
Conspiracy always implies evil doing. That is, if the activity could result in harm to mankind.
Uncertain circumstances characterized Moses’ entire life. He was born in Egypt at a time when the growing Hebrew population was seen as a threat. The king enslaved the community and ordered that their male infants be killed (Ex. 1:22). To protect Moses, his family let others raise him as an …
God’s plan was giving humans their spirit, as revealed in Genesis 2:7. Then, in John 3:16, He send his Son, Jesus Christ, into the world to provide us with the gift of everlasting life, this gift of salvation. God loved us so much that he was willing allows his Son to die for our sins.
When I retired, a fellow-manager told me I was going to have trouble remembering “Which Saturday is it?” He had retired a couple of years before I did! I thought “Boy, what a great problem to have!” My wife and I have enjoyed asking each other that question. We enjoy all our “Saturdays” no m…
You may have read God’s promise to give you “the desires of your heart,” but a quick glance of Psalm 37:1-8 will lead only to frustration and disappointment. To understand the scope of the Lord’s awesome promise, it’s essential to explore the conditions He set in this passage.
Spring has sprung in Texas and the wildflowers are buzzing with honey bees not practicing social distancing. While the first wave of coronavirus infections and deaths seems to have peaked in New York City, Texans have had the good fortune of relatively low numbers, especially in the rural re…
Where was Jesus crucified? Was He crucified at Calvary or Golgotha? Matthew 27:33, reveals that Jesus was led “to a place called Golgotha (which means the place of the skull).” John 19:17, indicates that He was forced to walk carrying his cross “to the place of the skull (which in Aramaic is…
One of the best-concealed landmines in the life of a believer is covetousness (Ephesians 5:1-5). We tend to think the term describes merely a desire for an item belonging to another person, but it goes deeper than that. Covetousness is an intense yearning for something we do not have, couple…
We could say that Mother’s Day’s origin began with Adam and Eve. In the United States, we find Ann Reeves Jarvis in the 1850’s starting Mother’s Day in West Virginia to teach women proper childcare techniques and sanitation methods. Jarvis, in 1868, along with other women, organized the Moth…
After reading the guest column by Rob Tiller about Donald Trump’s problems in communicating with suburban women, I’m curious about the 15 years Mr. Tiller lived in Australia. Was it during the time President Obama was our chief executive or sometime before that?
People love encouragers, and the Lord intends for each of His children to be one. An encourager can stand beside someone else to give hope and the motivation to persevere through difficult times. We are not born with this ability fully developed, but we can follow these essential steps to be…
During the spring and summer months, our office fields’ questions daily from people asking, what is the best type of fertilizer to use on their yard. My usual reply is, when was the last time you had your soil tested?
People love encouragers, and the Lord intends for each of His children to be one. An encourager can stand beside someone else to give hope and the motivation to persevere through difficult times. We are not born with this ability fully developed, but we can follow these essential steps to be…
Since you mentioned Heritage House of Marshall in your Sunday edition of the Panola Watchman, I just wanted to send you a response from someone who has a loved one in their facility.
Social distancing may be necessary right now, but it’s taking a toll on small businesses.
In the early church, as revealed in Acts 2:42-47, the early believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship. The Christian believers held everything in common. These believers were devoted (v. 42) to the teaching of the apostles. To be devoted to the teaching of the apo…
This past week a AgriLife Extension Horticulturalist in Cherokee county identified a new insect that poses potential risk to area legume production.
Think about your most recent prayer to the Lord. Did you spend as much time praising Him as you did making requests?
God is with us, even in our darkest times. We will all face changes in our lives. No one will be exempt. From the day of our birth, our lives will not be immune to the changes we will face. Jesus Christ faced changes in his life time on earth, before he was resurrected and ascended into Heav…
Mark 13:24-37 reveals “From the fig tree learn its lesson: As soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near.” Warned about the approaching end, the disciples asked “When will this be?” (13:4) Darkened sun and falling stars suggest end times. The So…
Nineteen years. We must never forget. We will never forget.
Paul described himself as the worst of sinners, and yet someone to whom the Lord had expressed His favor and love (1 Tim. 1:16). Because of divine grace, the apostle became spiritually alive and a member of God’s family.
President Trump seems to be from Mars when it comes to getting his MAGA message across to a certain swath of America’s mothers. According to polls, his likability rating with moderate suburban women needs some aroma therapy.
Two disciples, in Luke 24:13-45, on the road to Emmaus were joined by the risen Lord. At first they failed to recognize Jesus. Later they would recognize him in the breaking of bread. “Were not our hearts burning with us . . . while he was opening the scriptures to us? (v. 32). It is a seven…
Grace is the unmerited love that God shows to sinful people. He expressed this love through the sacrificial death of His Son. It becomes ours when we confess that we are sinners and receive Jesus Christ as our Savior. Because of grace, we’re forgiven by God and adopted into His family.
Peter’s sermon based on Acts 2:14, 22-32 is about the Pentecost. “This man. . . you crucified . . . But God raised him up” (vv.23-24). The miracle of Pentecost demonstrated the work of the Spirit of God on a humanly observable level. When the apostles spoke with other tongues, the crowd thou…
The round ball on top of the American flag pole at the Veterans Memorial needed to be repaired.
Ever notice how some people will ask a question but then rush out the door before you can respond? We can act the same way toward the Lord when we fail to wait on Him.
John’s Gospel, in John 20:1-18, records eyewitness accounts of the empty tomb and the risen Christ. Mary saw the stone “had been removed from the tomb” (v. 1). Peter and John went inside and noted the empty grave clothes, “and he saw and believed” (v. 8). The weeping Mary Magdalene looked in…
Jesus Christ entered Jerusalem amidst praises riding a donkey on a road carpeted by coats and palm leaves. “Hosanna to the Son of David! (v. 9). Matthew 21:1-11 carefully notes Zechariah’s prophecy. “Your king is coming to you” (v. 5). The entry into Jerusalem hails the beginning of Christ’s…
The stark realities of where we’re at today because of a worldwide pandemic are hard to ignore, but a little impossible to fully acknowledge.
Once we receive Jesus as Savior, His Spirit indwells us permanently. There is a difference between having salvation and walking with the Lord. Being saved involves the forgiveness of sin and the blessing of eternal security, whereas walking with God is a privilege that we live out day by day.
Jesse’s youngest son, David, the shepherd boy, was brought before the prophet Samuel. “Rise and anoint him,” in 1 Samuel 16:1-13. The sacrifice and the oil indicate the king was appointed by God. The name David (beloved) has never been forgotten in Israel, where people long for another like him.
I wish I were writing this from the perspective of a person who had just lived through a traumatic event. That way I would have more peace of mind. Unfortunately, I am writing at the beginning of such an event. It gives me peace, though, to look back at the history of our country, our community and our company.
We all want to live each day fully. To do that, we need to maintain a youthful attitude instead of letting ourselves grow old and useless. Here are some suggestions for staying young all our life (Psalm 103:1-5).
It’s Sunshine Week in America, and thanks to the leadership of key legislators, the sun shines brighter in Texas than it did a year ago.
President Donald Trump is not the doctor of the USA and certainly not of the world. He’s not the Savior of the world; we leave that with Jesus Christ! But President Trump is “just what the doctor ordered” for our country and for our future!
Paul, in Romans 5:1-11, is revealing the meaning of justification in our faith. Paul states that at a time when we were helpless, while we were still weak, at the right time, “Christ died for the ungodly” (v.6). Making the case for justification by faith, Paul speaks of God’s love “poured in…
The apostle Paul understood what it meant to be pushed to the limit (1 Corinthian 12:5-10). According to his letters, he knew a lot about hardships and suffering. But he was most knowledgeable about the ultimate importance of all of those painful experiences — namely, glorifying Jesus throug…
Some believed that God’s salvation and blessings could be merited and should be earned. Not so, says Paul, in Romans 4:1-5, 13-17. They are gifts. The promise rests on grace and is for all who “share the faith of Abraham” (v.16). Paul seeks to make the life of Abraham a paradigm to the early…
There comes a time when we must discuss the reality of mental health. Mental health is a medical problem no different from problems affecting any organ in the body, whether it is the heart, lungs, liver, kidneys or the pancreas. The brain, too, is an integral organ in our body and controls t…
Political grandstanding has no place in city politics, and therefore we must decry a recent push to outlaw abortion in Carthage.
“The earth is the LORD’S, and all its fullness, The world and those who dwell therein. For He has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters” (Psalm 24:1-2).
Only the most dedicated hermits are insulated from the political crossfire that occurs in an election year. Recently, some comments have been made in local political circles about the Panola County Groundwater Conservation District, and we believe you should know more about your local ground…