by Pastor Cecil | Jun 25, 2020 | Psalm
Psalm 23:4
“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.”
I am sure you have heard the old expression that there are two things you can always be confident of encountering: Death and Taxes. We are constantly reminded of both. We pay taxes on everything we purchase, and taxes are withheld from our earnings. We also are reminded of the eminence of death as we say farewell to friends and family who slip into eternity.
We may be stuck with taxes all of our days on this earth, but we can certainly do something about the matter of death. When we open our heart’s door and invite the Lord Jesus Christ to be our Savior and Lord, we pass from death to life.
As I think about it, this is the greatest testimony we give to unbelievers. Every person on this earth walks in the shadow of death, but for the believer in Jesus we have passed from death to life and the grave has no power or dread for us. We have the wonderful assurance that eternal life begins at the foot of the cross.
If you have never made the choice to accept eternal life, I urge you to do so before you do another thing. It may be the last thing you ever do, but it will last for eternity!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jun 23, 2020 | Psalm
Psalm 51:10
“Create in me a clean heart, O God and renew a steadfast spirit within me.”
How clean are you? Do you possess a steadfast spirit? Are you open to the Lord doing the work that only He can do to mold you into the person He desires for you to be in serving Him?
How many unintentional spiritual failures have you experienced just because you became too busy with worldly pursuits? Let me ask yet another penetrating question. Have you ever made a commitment to someone, then after days, weeks, or even months, realize that you have failed to follow through? (It’s getting a little uncomfortable isn’t it!)
It is easy to see the faults of others while at the same time ignoring our own short comings. I think that the more easily we find fault in others, the easier it is to overlook the lack of trust in our own lives. There have been many times that people have disappointed me by saying one thing and then doing another. I want to strive to never allow that to be true of me.
I always want to take my hurts to the foot of the cross and leave them there with the One who is rejected by so many. My desire is to live more like Him every day. With the help of the Lord we can be more like Him by committing ourselves to learn more about Him from His Word.
Blessings dear hearts! May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jun 18, 2020 | Psalm
Psalm 42:5
“Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise Him again—my Savior.”
A sociologist spent time at a large resort which had a sizable dining room. He situated himself in such a manner, that he could see the food servers as they moved from the dining area where the guests were seated, to the kitchen area, where the chaos of food preparation was occurring. As he made his observations, he noticed that the serving staff changed dramatically as they passed through the doorway separating kitchen from dining area. In the dining area, they were kind, caring, considerate, and ever so polite. They wore smiles and were the epitome of charm and delight.
When they passed back into the world of food preparation, they underwent a similar dramatic change. They lost their smiles and cheery dispositions. They said things that were short, clipped and often surly. When their orders had not been prepared to their expectations, they barked at the chefs and made a scene.
Back into the dining area, they emerged as serene and composed, so much so that it seemed impossible it was the same people he had observed only seconds before. Were they being hypocritical and two-faced? Possibly it could be described in that manner, but it is a common characteristic of the way we operate.
In our zeal of sharing the Gospel, we are often in danger of getting in the way. We can allow the things that we are going through (good or bad), become more of the conversation than serving the “FOOD” that people are starving to receive. The treasure is on the inside, not the outside.
All too often, like the servers, we tend to show a different side depending on those who are around us. We need to spend more time allowing the beauty of the gospel shine through, as well as the beauty of Jesus.
Have you ever seen people who are not physically attractive, at least from the world’s perspective, and yet when we are with them for only a few minutes, we see and feel Jesus in them, and they are so beautiful. It is an inward beauty that is not dependent of clear skin, slim figure, or shiny hair. The treasure is on the inside, and it keeps showing through to entice people to want that treasure in their own life. THAT IS THE GOSPEL!
Blessings dear hearts. May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jun 12, 2020 | Psalm
Psalm 33:1-3
“Sing joyfully to the Lord, you righteous; it is fitting for the upright to praise Him. Praise the Lord with the harp; make music to Him on the ten-stringed lyre. Sing to Him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy.”
Fanny J. Crosby was a tiny woman. She stood under five feet and weighed less than 100 pounds. Because of being maltreated for an eye infection when she was only a few months old, she spent the remainder of her 95 years totally blind.
This tiny dynamo wrote over 8,000 poems and hymns during her lifetime. She composed her poems and hymns entirely in her mind and then dictated them to a stenographer. She was said to be able to work on as many as twelve hymns at once before dictating them all out.
Fanny felt that it was a special gift from God that she should be blind all of her life, and she thanked Him for that gift. She felt that when she arrived in heaven, the first face she desired to gladden her sight would be her precious Savior. It was in 1896 that she wrote the hymn selected for this week.
PRAISE HIM! PRAISE HIM!
- Praise Him! Praise Him! Jesus, our blessed Redeemer! Sing O Earth, His wonderful love proclaim! Hail Him! Hail Him! Highest archangels in glory; strength and honor give to His holy name! Like a shepherd, Jesus will guard His children. In His arms He carries them all day long:
Refrain: Praise Him! Praise Him! Tell of His excellent greatness; praise Him! Praise Him, ever in joyful song!
- Praise Him! Praise Him! Jesus, our blessed Redeemer! For our sins He suffered and bled and died; He our Rock, our hope of eternal salvation; Hail Him! Hail Him! Jesus the Crucified. Sound His praises! Jesus who bore our sorrows, love unbounded, wonderful deep and strong:
Refrain: Praise Him! Praise Him! Tell of His excellent greatness; praise Him! Praise Him, ever in joyful song!
- Praise Him! Praise Him! Jesus our blessed Redeemer! Heavenly portals loud with hosannas ring! Jesus, Savior, reigneth forever and ever; Crown Him! Crown Him! Prophet and Priest and King! Christ is coming! Over the world victorious, power and glory unto the Lord belong.
Refrain: Praise Him! Praise Him! Tell of His excellent greatness; praise Him! Praise Him, ever in joyful song!
To access the free inspirational video for this weeks, as well as other videos, please go to: https://gloryscapes.com/praisehimpraisehim
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jun 3, 2020 | Psalm
Psalm 118:24
“This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.”
Are you happy in the Lord? Do you anticipate the great and mighty things God has prepared for you to accomplish today? If you say you are happy in your heart, has your heart told your face about it?
There is something about a new day which gives us a hope of a bright new future. The Psalmist in today’s passage looked forward to a day when Messiah, Jesus our Lord, would come and establish a bright new day. He was so much committed to the coming of the Messiah that he chose to rejoice just in the anticipation of what the Lord was going to do.
The word “day” appears 1,732 times in the Bible and it is interesting to read some of the passages. Let me just give you the first and last. Genesis 1:5 is the first: God called the light DAY. The last use of the word is in Revelation 21:25: On no day will its (the New Jerusalem) gates ever be shut, for there shall be no night there.
That is our reason for rejoicing! There is a day in which there will be no night! There is a day when all our tears and sorrows will be a thing of the past. It will be such a day that we will not even be able to recall any of our pain and longing! It will be a day that will be unlike any day before — a day which will never end!
Blessings dear hearts! May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jun 2, 2020 | Psalm
Psalm 46:10
“Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”
Do you need a quiet place, a place far away from the stress and turmoil of life? Such a quiet place is more of a spiritual state of mind than a physical location. We can experience quietness and peace even in the battles of life.
We can hear the Lord call to us from today’s passage of Scripture: “Be still, and know that I am God.” If we fail to take the time to be still in the presence of the Lord we will never experience the knowledge of His Lordship in our life. Failure to be still before Him will lead to our own efforts to work out our own solutions.
The quiet, healing, intimate presence of God is to be found only as we consciously make an effort to be alone with Him. Ask the Lord to show you a time that you may be able to devote time alone with Him: Early mornings before the rest of the family rises; at noon when you may be alone in your office; when the kids are down for a nap; after everyone has retired for the night; parked in your car beside a lake … I think you get the picture.
As you come to the quiet place, spend more time listening than speaking. You may read a verse or two, but then stop and meditate on what you have read. Wait in silence to hear the quiet voice of the Lord whispering peace and blessing within your inner being. Ahhhhh! How sweet the quiet!
Blessings dear hearts! May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
