by Pastor Cecil | Dec 17, 2020 | Isaiah
Isaiah 55:6
“Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near.”
Many people think the phrase “Only one life, ‘twill soon be past; only what’s done for Christ will last” is in the Bible. It is not. It was part of a poem by missionary C.T. Studd who served the Lord in China, India, and Africa. He not only left us this poem, but his work for Christ will last throughout eternity.
The reality is that our life flies past at such a pace that we always need to be alert to the opportunities the Lord gives us to reach the lost world. It is tragic that so many people spend their time, talent, and energy on things that will pass away. These temporal things may seem so important at the time, but are they done for HIM?
We cannot make decisions for others, but we can live our lives in such a manner that our decisions will have a positive impact on others. We do that by constantly keeping the prayer line open with God. We must always seek His will.
I want to leave today’s message with a favorite verse that applies to this subject. It is Psalm 19:14: “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.” I pray that this will become your guide in the days the Lord gives you.
Blessings dear hearts. May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Dec 16, 2020 | Luke
Luke 1:30
“Then the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.’”
I am sure that all of us have experienced fear at some time in our life. One of the taunts that was used on the play grounds when I was a boy was; “Fraidy cat!” It often led to someone taking a dare that led to injury. It was almost as if injury was preferred over fear.
There is a reverential fear of the Lord that is righteous and worthy of honor. There is an awareness that when we are close to the power of God we need to feel the awesomeness of the almighty that dwarfs all human strength.
As a boy, one of the first verses I memorized was Isaiah 41:10. In the New King James it reads this way: “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”
I choose to live a life of confidence and like it says in Psalm 23:4 that even though I am forced to walk through death’s fearsome valley I choose to fear no evil for the Lord is always beside me. What a comfort that is!
Blessings dear hearts. May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Dec 15, 2020 | Luke
Luke 1:13
“But the angel said to him: ‘Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John.’”
If you are anything like me, you are impatient to receive answers to prayers. I once heard a speaker at a pastor’s conference share his personal frustration with his prayer petitions. It seemed that every time he prayed for someone to be healed they would die soon after.
One day a member of the pastor’s congregation called and asked him to come pray for the Lord to take her very ill father home. The elderly man was in a coma and the doctors had given up any hope for his recovery. The pastor was delighted at the request since most of those he had prayed to be healed had died — this was what he specialized in. After he prayed for the Lord to take the old saint home to heaven, the man made a miraculous recovery and lived for several more years.
Like the three Hebrew men who faced a blazing furnace, they were confident in a God who was able to protect them from the vicious flames. But even if He didn’t they would trust Him just the same. Our petitions may be postponed until later in our life, or even into eternity, but thank God for the assurance that He knows what He is doing and we can trust Him completely!
Blessings dear hearts. May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Dec 14, 2020 | Matthew
Matthew 24:33
“So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near—at the doors!”
“Are we there yet?” is one of the most common questions children ask their parents when the family is traveling to a particular destination. We could be in the middle of the desert with no signs of humanity anywhere when that question would pop up. I must confess that I have been tempted to stop the car in the middle of a barren area and announce: “We are here!” I wonder what they would have said.
As we travel through the desert places of this life we often are prone to ask ourselves the same question our children asked of us: “Are we there yet?” The answer for us may very well be the same as we gave our kids: “Look around you. Do you think we are close?”
The honest answer in our own life is that we are getting nearer and nearer each day. This is true in at least two ways: The first is that we never know when our heart will stop and we will be transported to the Paradise of God; the second is that the trump will sound and we will be raptured to be with the Lord forever.
In either case, we need to work with all of our ability to perform the tasks that the Lord has prepared for us to accomplish. Rather than being impatient for His return, we simply need to be faithful until He calls us to our forever home!
Blessings dear hearts. May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Dec 11, 2020 | Luke
Luke 2:2-10
“And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.’”
Several years ago our church had finished a wonderful Christmas Eve service. Earlier there had been candles placed inside white lunch bags that lined the driveway leading to the church.
Joyce and I had volunteered to extinguish the candles after everyone had left. It had snowed a few days earlier and there were still a few inches on the ground. The temperature was below freezing when we crunched through the snow to the far end of the driveway. It was so quiet and beautiful that we were moved in our spirit with the beauty of God’s creation and the carol Silent Night.
The words of this well loved carol were written in 1818 by Josef Mohr after he had seen a play about the birth of Jesus. He was in a reflective mood and walked to a hill overlooking his village in the Austrian Alps. The view of the snow covered village reminded him of a poem he had written a few years earlier. The poem was about the night the angel announced the birth of Jesus.
The next day he took the words of his poem to Franz Gruber, who had just composed a melody. He re-worked the melody to match the words to the poem Mohr written. Our beloved carol, “Silent Night was born.
“SILENT NIGHT”
Silent night, holy night
All is calm, all is bright
Round yon Virgin Mother and Child
Holy Infant so tender and mild
Sleep in heavenly peace
Sleep in heavenly peace
Silent night, holy night!
Shepherds quake at the sight
Glories stream from heaven afar
Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia!
Christ, the Savior is born
Christ, the Savior is born
Silent night, holy night
Son of God, love’s pure light
Radiant beams from Thy holy face
With the dawn of redeeming grace
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth
Enjoy this week’s free inspirational video, “Silent Night” from Gloryscapes.com by going to: https://gloryscapes.com/silentnight/
Blessings dear hearts. May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
