by Pastor Cecil | Jun 9, 2020 | Isaiah
Isaiah 26:3
“You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.”
We once owned a hamster whose cage had a hamster wheel. The hamster would get on the wheel and run like crazy … but got nowhere. Many times I fear that we Christians are very much like a hamster spinning on a hamster wheel.
Things are making us uncomfortable so we panic and try to fix them in our own strength. We’ve gotta worry! We’ve gotta work! We’ve gotta do something!
The problem is that we are doing things our way rather than doing things God’s way. He never desires us to run ourselves ragged in order to please Him or to merit salvation. In today’s Scripture we see that what God wants us to do is to place our trust in Him.
The Lord calls us to have purpose in our service for Him. If we are not involved in serving Him, we are to relax and enjoy the blessing of just being with Him. When opens the door of service for Him we need to respond eagerly. Until He calls us to do His bidding we need to wait expectantly for Him—it is worth the wait!
Blessings dear hearts! Walk with God today and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | May 12, 2020 | Isaiah
Isaiah 41:10
“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.”
As we go through life we often encounter trials and tribulations. All too often we spend our time begging God to get us out of these situations, rather than asking Him to use the situations for our good and His glory.
One of my first memories as a child was being terrified of trains. I would hear the whistle of a steam locomotive and immediately scream with fear. I can vaguely recall my mom holding me close to her and trying to calm my panic.
Today’s Scripture is a verse that I memorized a few years later as a young boy. It has been a comfort to me across the years. I notice that we only need to do two things. Actually we are to refrain from doing two things. We are not to fear and we are not to be dismayed.
The assurance that God gives us is fivefold: 1. He is with us. 2. He is our God. 3. He will strengthen us. 4. He will help us. 5. He will uphold us with His righteous right hand. That is good enough for me. I will just do my part.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | May 1, 2020 | Isaiah
Isaiah 26:2-3
“Open the gates, that the righteous nation which keeps the truth may enter in. You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.”
Years ago I recall listening to a sermon tape by Donald Grey Barnhouse, a prominent pastor and teacher. Years earlier he had just completed an evangelistic meeting several hundred miles from his home in Philadelphia, when he was given a telegram. It informed him that his son had been in a serious accident and was near death.
His only way back to Philadelphia was by rail. As Dr. Barnhouse entered his sleeper, his spirit was greatly disturbed. He knew that it would be hours before his train arrived back home and that there was nothing he could do but leave his son in God’s hands.
As he prayed, he recalled a phrase from Isaiah 65:25, “- – – but dust will be the serpent’s food.” Using that passage he asked the Lord to feed the serpent dust, but to please grant him a good night’s rest. He fell fast asleep and the next thing he knew the porter was touching his shoulder to tell him that they were nearing Philadelphia.
The Lord had answered his prayer. His son lived and during his time of recuperation he committed his life to full time Christian service. If you have been having trouble getting to sleep at night, ask the Lord to give you His blessed rest and feed the serpent dust.
To You Before the Close of Day
To you before the close of day,
Creator of the world we pray!
Your grace and peace to us allow,
And be our guard and keeper now.
From evil dreams defend our sight,
From all the terrors of the night.
From all deluding thoughts that creep,
On heedless minds disarmed by sleep.
O Father, this we ask be done,
Through Jesus Christ, Your only Son.
Who with the Holy Spirit and with You,
Shall live and reign all ages through. Amen.
To access this free inspirational video from GloryScapes.com, please go to: https://gloryscapes.com/toyoubeforethecloseofday/
Blessings dear hearts!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
—Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Apr 27, 2020 | Isaiah
Isaiah 26:20-21
“Come, my people, enter your chambers and shut your doors behind you; hide yourself, as it were, for a little moment, until the indignation is past. For behold, the Lord comes out of His place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity; the earth will also disclose her blood, and will no more cover her slain.”
My dear friend Mike Keller shared today’s Scripture with me. We discussed the way God uses these “time outs” to show the peoples of the world just how little control we have over our lives.
There is one thing I am more and more mindful about — we are all destined to die (unless the Lord takes us to be with Him in the rapture). Reading the obituary columns from any newspaper across the world will reveal that young or old, rich or poor, famous or unknown —we are all destined to die.
During His earthly ministry the Lord raised Lazarus from the dead. But there did come a time (we are not told where or when) that Lazarus did die. Hebrews 9:27 reminds us: “It is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.”
This current time of quarantine and restriction will end, but there is day coming when we will be called to meet the Lord. Are you ready?!
Blessings dear hearts. May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Apr 16, 2020 | Isaiah
Isaiah 41:10
“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.”
Did you know that fear paralyzes? Perhaps most of us have heard the expression, “He froze like a deer in the headlights.” Think of the most frightful experiences of your life and you may be able to relate to that poor animal. Satan uses fear to keep believers from doing the things that the Lord has called us and empowered us to accomplish. Satan causes us to imagine that we will be laughed at or tormented if we obey the Lord, so we tend to stare into His headlights and do nothing.
In the midst of our fear we are given this powerful verse in Isaiah 41:10. It was one of the first verses I memorized over 60 years ago. There are two things that we are instructed to do: Don’t fear and don’t be dismayed.
The Lord promises what He will do for us if we do not fear or become depressed: He will strengthen us and help us and uphold us with His righteous right hand. The right hand is the symbol of ultimate divine power.
I challenge you to let the Lord fight your battles with the enemy. Trust Him completely and know that He never leaves you or forsakes you but will always be with you.
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Apr 1, 2020 | Isaiah
Isaiah 41:10
“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.”
Today’s Scripture was one of the first verses I ever memorized when I was a small boy in Camas, Washington. In times of trial we need courage to face what might be. It is interesting that we often fear more of what might be than what actually is.
God has given His promise to us that He is always there beside us. In the Old Testament, He was the hope of all who would trust Him. He gave His word of promise through His prophets and those who trusted in Him, those who looked down the ages of time, and through the eyes of faith, saw the promised Messiah, Jesus Christ our Lord.
The present reality is that God is with us in the power of His Spirit, and it is His desire that we get busy while there is still time. The Kingdom of Heaven became a reality when Jesus came to earth to establish His power and control over Satan. It was on the cross that Jesus gained complete control and Satan was defeated.
Satan is the master of deceit and we are all too easily deceived. Rather than claiming the victory over a defeated Satan through the blood-bought victory of Jesus, we have played the part of fool, taken Satan’s poison fruit and believed the lie. BE COURAGEOUS!
Blessings dear hearts. May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
