O SACRED HEAD, NOW WOUNDED​!

Matthew 27:42​ – Devotional

Matthew 27:42

“He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him.”

With Easter on the horizon, today let’s contemplate the words of Scripture found in Psalm 22 that foretell exactly what happened when Jesus Christ died His atoning death for you and me on the cross.

O SACRED HEAD, NOW WOUNDED

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me,
so far from my cries of anguish?

My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
by night, but I find no rest.

Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;
you are the one Israel praises.
In you our ancestors put their trust;
they trusted and you delivered them.
To you they cried out and were saved;
in you they trusted and were not put to shame.

But I am a worm and not a man,
scorned by everyone, despised by the people.
All who see me mock me;
they hurl insults, shaking their heads.

“He trusts in the Lord,” they say,
“let the Lord rescue him.
Let him deliver him, since he delights in him.”

Yet you brought me out of the womb;
you made me trust in you, even at my mother’s breast.
From birth I was cast on you;
from my mother’s womb you have been my God.

Do not be far from me, for trouble is near
and there is no one to help.

Many bulls surround me;
strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.
Roaring lions that tear their prey
open their mouths wide against me.

I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart has turned to wax;
it has melted within me.

My mouth is dried up like a potsherd,
and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;
you lay me in the dust of death.

Dogs surround me, a pack of villains encircles me;
they pierce my hands and my feet.
All my bones are on display; people stare and gloat over me.

They divide my clothes among them
and cast lots for my garment.

But you, Lord, do not be far from me.
You are my strength; come quickly to help me.
Deliver me from the sword,
my precious life from the power of the dogs.

Rescue me from the mouth of the lions;
save me from the horns of the wild oxen.

I will declare your name to my people;
in the assembly I will praise you.

You who fear the Lord, praise him!
All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!
Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!
For he has not despised or scorned
the suffering of the afflicted one;
he has not hidden his face from him
but has listened to his cry for help.

From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly;
before those who fear you I will fulfill my vows.

The poor will eat and be satisfied;
those who seek the Lord will praise him—
may your hearts live forever!

All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord,
and all the families of the nations will bow down before him,
for dominion belongs to the Lord and he rules over the nations.

All the rich of the earth will feast and worship;
all who go down to the dust will kneel before him—
those who cannot keep themselves alive.

Posterity will serve him; future generations
will be told about the Lord.

They will proclaim his righteousness,
declaring to a people yet unborn:
He has done it!

Enjoy this week’s free inspirational video, “O Sacred Head, Now Wounded” from GloryScapes.com. by going to: https://gloryscapes.com/osacredheadnowwounded/

Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today and be a blessing!

– – – Pastor Cecil

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If you have watched The Sands of Eternity video above and prayed the prayer at the end, please go to https://PastorCecil.com/ and use the form on the webpage to let us know so we can send you follow up resources and/or send an email to pastorcecil@dailyevotional.com and let him know.

A REASON TO REJOICE!​​

Matthew 5:12 – Devotional

Matthew 5:12

“Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven!”

When I attended high school we were not large enough to field an eleven-man football team, we competed in an eight-man football league. The rules were the same, but with fewer players.

In my senior year we had won all of our games. The final game of the season was played under the lights at the home field of our toughest competitor. They played hard, but our team won the game and the championship. As the final gun sounded, wild cheering surrounded and rose up all around us. We were rejoicing because we had been declared the winner.

In His “Sermon on the Mount,” Jesus presented an unusual reason for rejoicing. I did not include the verse that precedes today’s topic Scripture because I wanted to stress the difference Jesus gave. Here is what He said in verse 11: “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.”

Wow! What a difference. Jesus calls us to rejoice even when we experience severe opposition. Usually we whimper and whine? Jesus calls His believers to be different by exhibiting radiant joy even when things are tough. Do we?

May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!

– – – Pastor Cecil

Share a blessing by inviting your friends and family to subscribe to Pastor Cecil’s Daily E-Votional by clicking on the Subscribe button above.

Share the Lord with someone by directing them to https://PastorCecil.com.

If you have watched The Sands of Eternity video above and prayed the prayer at the end, please go to https://PastorCecil.com/ and use the form on the webpage to let us know so we can send you follow up resources and/or send an email to pastorcecil@dailyevotional.com and let him know.

THE LORD’S HOUSE!

Matthew 21:13 – Devotional

Matthew 21:13

“And He said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.”

I recall an incident that occurred many years ago. Following the evening service I was standing in the center aisle of the church speaking with the pastor and a friend.

Suddenly my friend’s young son came toward us doing somersaults. My friend was shocked and began to apologize to the pastor. I will never forget as the pastor responded; “Let him alone. It’s time we see some life in this church!”

He was just kidding (I think), but sometimes I feel like many of our churches are congregations of the frozen chosen. I am not advocating undisciplined displays, but there needs to be a sense of life and vitality in our worship.

If Jesus came into our services today, would He be pleased or would we be find Him calling us to remember that we are in His presence and thus we need to be holy for He is holy! May the words of our mouth and meditation of our heart always be acceptable to Him!

Blessings dear hearts walk with God today and become a blessing!

– – – Pastor Cecil

Share a blessing by inviting your friends and family to subscribe to Pastor Cecil’s Daily E-Votional by clicking on the Subscribe button above.

Share the Lord with someone by directing them to https://PastorCecil.com.

If you have watched The Sands of Eternity video above and prayed the prayer at the end, please go to https://PastorCecil.com/ and use the form on the webpage to let us know so we can send you follow up resources and/or send an email to pastorcecil@dailyevotional.com and let him know.

SHINE BRIGHT!

Matthew 5:16 –  Devotional

Matthew 5:16

“Let your light shine before the world, so that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”

Listen to today’s Message of the Week by Pastor Cecil by clicking above on the play button.

Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today and be a blessing!

– – – Pastor Cecil

Share a blessing by inviting your friends and family to subscribe to Pastor Cecil’s Daily E-Votional by clicking on the Subscribe button above.

Share the Lord with someone by directing them to https://PastorCecil.com.

If you have watched The Sands of Eternity video above and prayed the prayer at the end, please go to https://PastorCecil.com/ and use the form on the webpage to let us know so we can send you follow up resources and/or send an email to pastorcecil@dailyevotional.com and let him know.

LET GOD BE GOD!​​

Matthew 6:10 – Devotional

Matthew 6:10

“Your kingdom come, Your will be done, here on earth as it is in heaven!”

I once found myself being convicted of words which I had spoken to a family in our congregation. They were considering a move across the country to be near their daughter and grandchildren. (Not to mention, it would also be much warmer.) I discouraged them!

To even think of them leaving our congregation was extremely hard for me. They and their family had been members of my congregation for many years. The wife’s parents were also members of my congregation and I officiated at each of their funerals.

The problem was that I had been allowing my wishes to take precedence in the matter. These dear friends have laughingly forgiven me for my desire to keep them here, but I have learned a lesson (or at least I am trying to learn) — LET GOD DO THE LEADING!

I am sure that there are many areas of my life where I have stepped out ahead of the Lord’s leadership instead of waiting on Him. I want to become increasingly committed to seek the guidance and leadership of the Holy Spirit. Rather than looking out for our own interests, we need to encourage each other to pray fervently and then let God be God!

May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!

– – – Pastor Cecil

Share a blessing by inviting your friends and family to subscribe to Pastor Cecil’s Daily E-Votional by clicking on the Subscribe button above.

Share the Lord with someone by directing them to https://PastorCecil.com.

If you have watched The Sands of Eternity video above and prayed the prayer at the end, please go to https://PastorCecil.com/ and use the form on the webpage to let us know so we can send you follow up resources and/or send an email to pastorcecil@dailyevotional.com and let him know.

ASK-SEEK-KNOCK!

Matthew 7:7 –  Devotional

Matthew 7:7

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”

Listen to today’s Message of the Week by Pastor Cecil by clicking above on the play button.

Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today and be a blessing!

– – – Pastor Cecil

Share a blessing by inviting your friends and family to subscribe to Pastor Cecil’s Daily E-Votional by clicking on the Subscribe button above.

Share the Lord with someone by directing them to https://PastorCecil.com.

If you have watched The Sands of Eternity video above and prayed the prayer at the end, please go to https://PastorCecil.com/ and use the form on the webpage to let us know so we can send you follow up resources and/or send an email to pastorcecil@dailyevotional.com and let him know.