by Pastor Cecil | Dec 31, 2020 | Isaiah
Isaiah 65:24
“It shall come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear.”
God is never late! In fact we are the ones who delay responding to His calls on our behalf. The truth of the matter is that God has already answered our prayers and set things in motion to have His will and way done.
The problem is that we are often not aware of what He has done and is doing. Our prayers are many times answered in ways that we have not expected and so we fail to recognize what He is doing.
We might, in a manner of speaking, say that our prayers have already been answered . . . but we just have to trust in Him and keep our eyes open to discover how He has answered and if He has something for us to do.
Spend more time in prayer and meditation on the Word of God. Seek to discover the ways of God and fit our lives into those ways. We can rest assured that we serve a God who knows our tomorrows before they ever arrive. HE ANSWERS PRAYER!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Dec 30, 2020 | Proverbs
Proverbs 18:8
“The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to the inmost parts.”
It was many years ago when I was a pastor of a church with an active prayer chain that I received a call from a woman I did not know. She asked to see me and we arranged a time to meet at a local café where I often met with people for counsel.
Since I had never met this woman I was in the dark about what she wanted to discuss. She began our conversation by stating that she was “the other woman.” I was still at a loss. Then she asked if our prayer chain had not identified her as the woman who was having an affair with a certain man in our congregation. She had heard rumors that we named her as the guilty party that needed prayer. I assured her that she was not on our prayer chain and that we would never allow such requests.
That encounter reminded me that it is possible to indulge in sanctified gossip. It disguises itself as legitimate concern, while having an underlying prurient interest. Anytime we hear a prayer request that is met with “Really?!” get rid of it and pray for the Lord to cleanse our hearts of SANCTIFIED GOSSIP.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Dec 29, 2020 | Romans
Romans 8:5
“For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.”
As a young man I was often faced with a choice: Go to the library and study OR go for a walk in the park with a beautiful girl I had fallen in love with. (I usually chose the walk!)
I am always amazed at how simple the things of God are … and yet they are so difficult that it seems impossible to ever attain them. Paul expresses his own frustration with trying to fulfill God’s requirements when he agonizes, “O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” (Romans 7:24). His answer was, and still is, Jesus.
What we set our minds to achieve are the things that become the magnet for giving direction to our life. We will find the direction from the Lord when we choose to follow after the Lord.
Paul sets before us two ways of behaving: God’s way OR the way of the flesh. When we are honest we know the ways of the flesh lead to death, here and for eternity. God’s way leads to eternal life. I choose God’s way!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Dec 28, 2020 | Psalm
Psalm 119:34
“Teach me, O Lord, the way of Your statutes, and I shall keep it to the end. Give me understanding, and I shall keep Your law; indeed, I shall observe it with my whole heart.”
Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the Bible. Each section is introduced by a letter of the Hebrew alphabet. I am told that Jewish youth had to memorize the entire chapter — with 176 verses, that was no easy task. The Psalmist pens this Psalm in the form of a prayer beseeching the Lord to be our teacher.
It is interesting to dig a little deeper into the meaning of the word OBSERVE. In the Hebrew it means to keep, guard, keep watch and ward, protect. That gives us a much clearer meaning of what the writer is seeking from the Lord.
When I was a boy, or even a grown man in graduate school, I was required to apply myself to gaining knowledge. I fear that I fell short many times, but as I entered each classroom I was exposing myself to the things my instructor would teach me.
As we read this Psalm of prayer it is well and good to make it our own prayer. Our part is to listen to the Lord as He teaches and then to keep, guard, keep watch and ward, protect with our whole heart.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Dec 25, 2020 | Psalm
Psalm 98:4
“Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth; break forth in song, rejoice, and sing praises.”
Throughout scripture we are called upon to make a joyful noise before the Lord. In Psalm 98, all of creation is called upon to make a joyful noise before God. All around us we see the hand of a loving God who cared enough about us to send His own dear Son into the world to provide us with salvation.
This beautiful hymn was written by Isaac Watts. As we read and listen to the words of this moving Christmas hymn, we need to stop and ask ourselves if we are making a joyful noise before the Lord or just noise.
“JOY TO THE WORLD!”
Joy to the world, the Lord is come!
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare Him room,
And Heaven and nature sing,
And Heaven and nature sing,
And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing.
Joy to the world, the Savior reigns!
Let men their songs employ;
While fields and floods, rocks, and plains
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat, repeat, the sounding joy.
No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
Far as the curse is found,
Far as the curse is found
Far as, far as, the curse is found
He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders, wonders, of His love.
Enjoy this week’s free inspirational video, “Joy To the World” from GloryScapes.com by going to: https://gloryscapes.com/joytotheworld/
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
