by Pastor Cecil | Mar 24, 2021 | Luke
Luke 5:32
“I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”
If you were to ask most people on the street if they thought you could be good enough to make it to heaven, most would respond that you could. BEEP! Sorry, but that is an eternally wrong answer!
The Scripture tells us that all of us are sinners and fall short of God’s holy standard of righteousness. We can never be good enough to earn our way to heaven. Contrary to what Hollywood portrays, there is no one waiting at heaven’s portals asking us to justify that our good deeds outweigh our bad deeds.
There is an explanation as to how we can be allowed into God’s eternal heaven. It is by the shed blood of our Savior, Jesus Christ. It is not what we do FOR Him, but what He did for us on the cross that makes heaven possible.
All it took for the repentant thief on the cross to gain entrance into the paradise of God was to ask in faith believing. It is the same for anyone who seeks entrance. There is only one way and it is by way of the shed blood of our Savior. If you are relying on any other source to gain entrance remember there is only one way!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Feb 5, 2021 | Luke
Luke 24:29
“But they constrained Him, saying, ‘Abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent.’ And He went in to tarry with them.”
If you knew that you were very near the end of your life, what would you write? The author of this week’s hymn, Henry F. Lyle, was preaching his final sermon to the small congregation he had served for over 20 years. He was so weak that he had to be helped to the pulpit.
He encouraged his parishioners to rely on the Savior who loved them enough to die for them. His prayer, reflected in this hymn, is a prayer that each of us can breathe when we approach the valley of death.
ABIDE WITH ME
Abide with me—fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens—Lord, with me abide;
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me!
Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day;
Earth’s joys grow dim, its glories pass away;
Change and decay in all around I see;
O Thou who changest not, abide with me!
I need Thy presence every passing hour.
What but Thy grace can foil the tempter’s power?
Who, like Thyself, my guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, Lord, abide with me.
Hold Thou Thy word before my closing eyes,
Shine thru the gloom and point me to the skies;
Heaven’s morning breaks and earth’s vain shadows flee
In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me!
Enjoy this week’s free inspirational video from Gloryscapes.com. To access Abide With Me, this free inspirational video from GloryScapes.com, please go to: https://gloryscapes.com/abidewithme/
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 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
by Pastor Cecil | Nov 20, 2020 | Luke
Luke 2:15
“When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.’”
The beloved Carol “O Come, All Ye Faithful” was originally written in Latin (Adeste Fideles). The words were written by an Englishman, John Wade who had originally intended it as a hymn.
The music to “O Come, All Ye Faithful” was composed by fellow Englishman John Reading in the early 1700s. In 1841, Rev. Frederick Oakley revised the lyrics of “Adeste Fideles”.
While it would be an appropriate hymn at any time of the year, it has become a cherished Christmas Carol. Let us all come and adore, Christ the Lord.
“O Come, All Ye Faithful”
O Come All Ye Faithful, joyful and triumphant,
O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem.
Come and behold Him, born the King of Angels;
O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord.
O Sing, choirs of angels, sing in exultation,
Sing all that hear in heaven God’s holy word.
Give to our Father glory in the Highest;
O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord.
All Hail! Lord, we greet Thee, born this happy morning,
O Jesus! for evermore be Thy name adored.
Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing;
O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord.
Enjoy this week’s free inspirational video, “O Come, All Ye Faithful” from Gloryscapes.com by going to: https://gloryscapes.com/ocomeallyefaithful/
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
