by Pastor Cecil | Apr 13, 2021 | Deuteronomy
Deuteronomy 8:3
“So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord.”
We all have heard about what the world needs, and as we listen closer we discover that what is proposed is nothing but froth. By that I mean that there is a great deal of puffing and little substance. In the sales world it is an all too common practice.
I fear that in Christian circles it is also far too common a practice. Many individuals and organizations puff up the gospel as if it was not able to sustain itself without them adding something extra. That is tragic!
Moses is reminding his readers that God was the One who sustained them with food that came directly from the hand of God. I guess we might call it the original “angel food cakes.” It was God’s provision for man’s needs!
Today we receive spiritual food from the throne of God’s grace through the Bible. I pray that your own personal Bible is well worn with use. Not only did God feed His people during the exodus from Egypt, He feeds us spiritual food today!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Apr 12, 2021 | Daily-E-Votionals
Luke 9:23-24
“Then he said to them all: ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it.’”
What is the cost of discipleship? According to today’s passage from Luke 9 it means denying ourselves. That runs counter to the world view of getting all one can as quickly and completely as possible.
I am sure you have heard the stories of the very wealthy who ask how much money it would take to satisfy them. The response? – – “A little bit more.” What “a little bit more” means never has a satisfactory answer. There is never satisfaction in the concept of wanting a little bit more.
God desires for us to get our eyes off of the things of this world and view our eternal goal. This world is not our eternal home. It is either heaven or a devil’s hell. God wants us to seek salvation and devote ourselves as His disciples.
The cost of true discipleship is trivial compared to the value of having assurance of an eternity in the presence of our Savior and Lord. What a day of rejoicing that will be!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Apr 9, 2021 | Psalm
Psalm 46:1
“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.”
The Haven of Rest Quartet began singing in the year I was born, 1934. I can recall First Mate Bob introducing the program after a fog horn sounded. The quartet then would sing the words of this week’s hymn.
As we struggle through the storms of life it is a wonderful assurance that God provides a haven of rest where we can safely escape the wild waves of adversity. I thank God that many times in my life I have found God’s Haven of rest for my own soul. In the book of Psalms, David refers to the storms of life. He was attacked on all sides by his enemies who desired to take his life. Do you feel that way sometimes?
His predecessor, King Saul, was a demented king who imagined that David was attempting to take the kingdom from him. (Actually it was the Lord who had rejected Saul because of his wickedness and failing to keep the Lord in control of his life.)
In many of his Psalms, David cried out to the Lord for help and immediately praised Him for giving him a safe place of refuge. That is the same with us today. We may be tossed and torn by the storms of life, but the Lord always gives us a haven of rest. That is the hymn for this week.
THE HAVEN OF REST
My soul in sad exile was out on life’s sea, So burdened with sin and distressed, Till I heard a sweet voice, saying, ‘Make Me your choice’ And I entered the Haven of Rest!
Refrain: I have anchored my soul in the Haven of Rest; I will sail the wide seas no more; The tempest may sweep over wild, stormy, deep, In Jesus I am safe evermore.
I yielded myself to His tender embrace, In faith taking hold of the Word, My fetters fell off, and I anchored my soul; The Haven of Rest is my Lord.
Refrain: I have anchored my soul in the Haven of Rest; I will sail the wide seas no more; The tempest may sweep over wild, stormy, deep, In Jesus I am safe evermore.
The song of my soul, since the Lord made me whole, Has been the old story so blest, Of Jesus, who will save whosoever will have A home in the Haven of Rest.
Refrain: I have anchored my soul in the Haven of Rest; I will sail the wide seas no more; The tempest may sweep over wild, stormy, deep, In Jesus I am safe evermore.
How precious the thought that we all may recline, Like John, the beloved so blest, On Jesus strong arm, where no tempest can harm, Secure in the Haven of Rest.
Refrain: I have anchored my soul in the Haven of Rest; I will sail the wide seas no more; The tempest may sweep over wild, stormy, deep, In Jesus I am safe evermore.
O come to the Savior, He patiently waits, To save by His power divine; Come, anchor your soul in the Haven of Rest, And say, ‘My Beloved is mine.’
Refrain: I have anchored my soul in the Haven of Rest; I will sail the wide seas no more; The tempest may sweep over wild, stormy, deep, In Jesus I am safe evermore.
To access The Haven of Rest, free inspirational video, please go to: https://gloryscapes.com/thehavenofrest/
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Apr 8, 2021 | 1 John
1 John 1:6
“If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.”
Across the years I have had jobs that required working at night. One of the first things that I learned was that shadows magnified reality. The shadow of a small cat appeared to be the size of a tiger. It was a frightful encounter!
Satan uses the darkness of this world to carry out his evil deeds. This confronts us with a choice – – we can walk in the light of God’s Word, or cower in the dark and evil shadows of the enemy of our soul.
The next time you turn out the lights before you crawl into bed, consider whether you walk in the light of God or the inky darkness of the evil one. If you are not walking in the light that God promises His children, call upon Him to light the pathway ahead of you.
The next thing we are called to do is shed our light on those around us. Be a light in the dark world in which we live!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Apr 7, 2021 | Deuteronomy
Deuteronomy 29:29
“The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.”
I fondly recall days spent in Shreveport, LA when I was stationed there with the US Air Force. The military had assigned me there, but God had placed me there to sit under the spiritual guidance of two men: Jack Dedman and Dr. John Hall.
Many hours were spent together as we searched God’s Word and listened to sermon tapes (that was in the days of the reel to reel tapes). The technology may have been dated by today’s standards, but the messages were timeless.
God had used these two men of God to use books and tapes (as well as their own studies) to flesh out the truth of God’s word. My wife Joyce and I would relish the time spent in the homes of the Dedmans and Halls.
The reason we were moved by the instruction of these two men was that they followed the instruction of today’s passage. They studied the WORD and then revealed what they learned to others. May we do the same!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
