by Pastor Cecil | Feb 11, 2021 | Matthew
Matthew 19:13-14
“Then little children were brought to Him that He might put His hands on them and pray, but the disciples rebuked them. But Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.’”
February 19th became a very special date when my ninth great grandchild was born. It was one of my greatest of joys to hold a baby just a few hours old and pray God’s special blessings on her life.
Whenever I hear about the birth of a baby it brings to mind a young man who was in a Bible Study group I was leading. Different members of the group were recalling the events that led to them accepting Jesus as their personal Savior.
This young father related how he had rushed his wife to the hospital to deliver their first child. He knew she was in terrible pain, but was totally unprepared when the doctor came out of the delivery room and informed him that there was a problem and that he should be prepared to comfort his wife when she was told the baby died.
It was the middle of the night and he was the only one in the waiting area. As he paced back and forth it dawned on him that his baby would go to be with Jesus and as an unbeliever he would never see his son. It was then that he opened his heart and invited the Lord to come in. By the way – the baby survived!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jan 27, 2021 | Matthew
Matthew 14:25
“Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea.”
The fourth watch of the night is the darkest, but it is also the watch that observes the appearance of dawn. For those of us who have worked the “graveyard shift,” it is the most boring, but also the most delightful. It is when you see the first streaks of dawn, the rim of gold on the eastern horizon, and the burst of light when the sun rises to begin its journey for the day.
The disciples of Jesus knew what stormy weather on the water was like. They had perhaps even feared for their lives in previous storms. Now they experienced total shock — Jesus was walking on the water toward their boat!
Peter had fished those very waters and no doubt had been in storms like this before. But never had he experienced someone walking on the water. It was his Lord, and he no longer felt afraid. In fact, he wanted to go to Jesus on the water. Peter was the only man besides Jesus who walked on water. Taking his eyes off the Lord and fearing the water caused him to begin to sink, but when he took the Master’s hand he once again walked on the water to the boat.
When you are laboring in the darkest watch of your personal night, you may feel stark terror. Remember, you are not alone. Jesus is there in the darkness, ready to keep you from sinking. Our only problem is looking at the water instead of the Master who is walking on the water. When we focus our attention on Him, He will keep us from sinking!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jan 26, 2021 | Matthew
Matthew 19:14
“But Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.’”
I make no bones about loving babies and it absolutely crushes me to think of all the millions and millions of babies killed by abortion. I remember when our children were babies. (It has been a long time.) Joyce was always the perfect mother and insisted that they be fed only what the pediatrician said babies should have: milk, baby cereal, and canned baby food. Yuk!!
I was usually the one to push the envelope of what was acceptable. I, in my infinite wisdom, just naturally knew that God intended for babies to have mashed potatoes and gravy. Many times I was chastised for feeding these wonderful foods to the babies, but it was a secret between the babies and me . . . and they loved it! From that to more and more solid food until they became teens and ate us out of house and home.
Many people attend church weekly (some very seldom), and seem to feel that they are getting all of the spiritual nourishment they need. LISTEN! There is no way that I, or any other minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, can give you enough in one or two sermons to get you through the week. I have seen the saying many times: A week without church attendance makes one weak. We need that time in worship and hearing the Word proclaimed, but it will never be enough to bring us to spiritual maturity. We need a daily diet of spiritual food.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jan 7, 2021 | Matthew
Matthew 6:10
“Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
Recently I found myself being convicted of some words I had spoken to certain members of our congregation. You see, they are considering a move across the country to be near their daughter and grandchildren. Not to mention, it would also be much warmer.
To think of them leaving has been extremely hard for me. They and their family have 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 is that I have been allowing my wishes to take precedence in the matter. My dear friends have laughingly forgiven me for my desire to keep them here, but I have learned a lesson — 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. I want to become increasingly sensitive in encouraging people to seek the guidance and leadership of the Holy Spirit instead of the well meaning family and friends looking out for their own interests. We need to encourage each other to pray and let God be God!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – 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 7, 2020 | Matthew
Matthew 26:43
“And He came and found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy.”
It was on this date in 1941 that Japanese carrier-based planes bombed Pearl Harbor and catapulted the U.S. into World War II. Some have commented that the attitude of complacency that the U.S. demonstrated was like being asleep at the wheel!
Back when I was working as a city police officer, a patrolman that I worked with related an embarrassing moment. He was working the graveyard shift (11 p.m. – 7 a.m.) and he was exhausted. As he approached an intersection where the traffic light was red, he decided to put his car in park and close his heavy eyes for a few seconds. He was not sure how long those few seconds were, but he was rudely awakened by a paper boy who timidly said, “Sir, the light is green now!” Wow! We laughed ourselves silly thinking about it.
Spiritually we all too frequently find ourselves much like the disciples of Jesus. He left them to go pray, but they fell asleep. Before we become too critical of those dozing disciples, how often have we dozed instead of remaining faithfully awake in our service to the One who gave His everything for us? I for one want to renew my commitment to be more faithful.
Blessings dear hearts. May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
