by Pastor Cecil | Apr 3, 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!
1. 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!
2. 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!
3. 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 | Apr 2, 2020 | Psalm
Psalm 18:32
“It is God who arms me with strength, and makes my way perfect.”
I can still recall the voices of our children when they were small — “I do it myself, Daddy!” More often than not Daddy had to step in and not only do the original task but correct the damage done by tiny hands. Their intentions were good, but their ability was not sufficient for the task.
There are battles to be fought in our life and if we think we can handle them without God’s help, we are sadly mistaken. Our strength is never sufficient for the battles we face, but we serve the Lord God who created all things.
We need to stop from time to time and remind ourselves of the awesome power of the God we serve. It may appear that things are out of control, but He is able to do abundantly above all that we can even imagine.
If it is the Lord who arms us for battle (and it is), we need to draw freely from his arsenal of spiritual weapons. Two of these weapons are study of His word and bowing before Him in prayer. When was the last time you took advantage of God’s arsenal and armed yourself for battle?
Blessings dear hearts. May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Mar 30, 2020 | Psalm
Psalm 143:8
“Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in You.”
Sometimes, when we are so caught up in the storms of life, it seems as if all our reference points are lost and we cannot see a clear-cut direction for our life. As I consider that particular loss of direction, I can see that our modern culture is so polluted with sin and an erasure of moral absolutes that we are left with mis-direction or no direction.
So how do we find a reliable source of navigation in our life? Again, we fall back upon the Word of God. Today’s Scripture speaks of morning. I think it is essential that we call upon the Lord as early in the day as possible. We need the Great Navigator of all creation to have control of our life. The longer we wait, the more off course we become.
It also speaks of God bringing us His Word. I am sure that almost everyone has heard that old cliché: “A day without God’s Word makes one weak!” We need Him not just daily but each moment throughout the day to give direction and meaning to our life.
Blessings dear hearts. May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Mar 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.”
It is interesting that the Psalmist does not say he walks through the valley of death; but the valley of the shadow of death. While the word death appears in both expressions, one is the reality of death while the other is only a shadow of death. I want to express a truth I have shared many times: SHADOWS ARE ALWAYS LARGER THAN THE ACTUAL OBJECT!
At my age, I have gone through both the valley of death and the valley of the shadow of death. I have walked the dark and dismal path through the shadow of death and I want you to know that it is a daunting experience. As I think about it I am sure that I shed more tears through the valley of the shadow of death.
As I try to make sense of this I am reminded that in the dark and foreboding shadows that intrude on our pathway, the Lord has promised that He will be with us and that He will bring us comfort.
If you are facing a valley right now, look up to the Lord and know that He is there beside you and will give you the comfort that you need to keep on going!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Mar 12, 2020 | Psalm
Psalm 37:5-6
“Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass. He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday.”
My years spent in counseling couples with troubled marriages revealed a very interesting detail. Commitment was not the issue. It was what a person was committed to that was the issue. Too often it was the lack of commitment to the Lord and to their mate that was the problem needing correction.
It seems that we are observing more and more an attitude of indifference and non-involvement. Many become committed only if it in some way benefits them; but even then there is a lack of being totally committed.
The Psalmist calls us to not only commit our way to the Lord, but also to trust in Him. There is an old hymn we used to sing on a regular basis. Some of the words went like this: “Trust and obey, for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey.”
If we are committed to the Lord it will mean that we will trust Him to have complete control of our life. Have you committed all that you are to all that the Lord calls you to commit? If not, do it now!
Draw near to God today, commit your way to Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Mar 11, 2020 | Psalm
Psalm 37:4
“Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.”
What does it mean to take delight in some thing or someone? It means to immerse yourself in the joy of knowing that you are the Lord’s and that He loves you now and for all of eternity IF you have received Him as your personal Savior.
I have said it over and over across the years that many believers look like they have been baptized in vinegar. That sour demeanor is offensive to God and a terrible testimony to unsaved souls around them.
When we make the Lord our happiness we are set free to allow His love and grace to shine through us and out to a dark and lost world. We are to be the light that shines bright no matter how dark the sin of the world may be.
Sometimes Christians seek after the desires of their heart rather than making their aim to delight in the Lord. It is only as we find our pure joy in being in communion with the Lord that we discover that the desires of our heart make a complete reversal and we now want the things that will last for eternity. Have you discovered that 180 degree turn in your life? DELIGHT IN THE LORD!
Draw near to God today, delight yourself in Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
