by Pastor Cecil | Mar 31, 2009 | Proverbs
Proverbs 4:19-22
“The way of the wicked is like darkness; They do not know what makes them stumble. My son, give attention to My words; Incline your ear to My sayings. Do not let them depart from your eyes; Keep them in the midst of your heart; For they are life to those who find them, And health to all their flesh.”
We are rapidly approaching the celebration of the resurrection of our Lord. In our church we call it Resurrection Sunday. Unfortunately most people call it Easter. Why on earth would I make a statement like that? Let me tell you why.
The word “pascha” mistranslated “Easter” in Acts 12:4, AV, denotes the Passover (RV). The phrase “after the Passover” signifies after the whole festival was at an end. The term “Easter” is not of Christian origin. It is another form of Astarte, one of the titles of the Chaldean goddess, the queen of heaven.
The pagan festival of “Easter” was quite distinct and was introduced into the apostate Western religion, as part of the attempt to adapt pagan festivals to Christianity.
What is the significance of the Easter Bunny? Both the Easter egg and the Easter bunny symbolize fertility and new life. Celebrating fertility is very much a pagan tradition. It is obvious why the egg symbolizes fertility, and if you remember the expression “they breed like rabbits”, then you will also see why the bunny rabbit symbolizes fertility — rabbits breed prolifically.
How sad that we have followed a tradition with a name associated with a pagan goddess that led God’s people away from the true God and into idolatry. I urge you to join with me and others in two weeks, on April 12th as we celebrate RESURRECTION DAY! HE IS RISEN!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Mar 30, 2009 | Judges
Judges 16:19
“Having put him to sleep on her lap, she called a man to shave off the seven braids of his hair, and so began to subdue him. And his strength left him. Then she called, ‘Samson, the Philistines are upon you!’ He awoke from his sleep and thought, ‘I’ll go out as before and shake myself free.’ But he did not know that the LORD had left him.”
I am told that a group of researchers were experimenting on the reactions of frogs when exposed to hot water. They sat a shallow dish over heat and brought the temperature up to just under boiling.
As a frog would be placed in this hot water, it would immediately leap out of the dish onto the table. Time after time each frog tested in this manner jumped to safety and no harm was done.
They placed a frog in cool water and observed as it swam around with no concern. They very gradually raised the temperature of the water. The frog showed no concern and in fact remained in the water until it died in boiling water.
Here is where the lesson comes in. In today’s Scripture, God had given Samson a gift of power and might. There was a condition: He had to live as a Nazarite and never cut his hair. He must have known that Delilah was deceitful and was trying to discover the secret of his strength in order to tell her Philistine buddies, but he seemed to have lost touch with reality until it was too late.
We can sit in judgment over Samson and his foolishness, but before we do we need to stop and consider our own actions. In what way are we violating the things that God’s Word once convicted us about? How many times have we compromised God’s standards for our own desires? Something to think about isn’t it?
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Mar 27, 2009 | Psalm
Psalm 139:7-10
“Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me.”
“O Love That Will Not Let Me Go”, was written by blind hymn writer, George Matheson, on the evening of his sister’s marriage. His entire family had departed for the wedding and had left him alone. He vividly recalled of how years before, he had been engaged until his fiancé learned that he was going blind, and there was nothing the doctors could do, and she told him that she could not go through life with a blind man.
He went blind while studying for the ministry, and his sister had been the one who had taken care of him all these years, but now she is gone. His sister’s marriage brought fresh reminder of his own heartbreak, over his fiancé’s refusal to “go through life with a blind man.” It is the midst of this circumstance and intense sadness that the Lord gives him this hymn – written he says in 5 minutes!
O Love That Will Not Let Me Go
O Love that wilt not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in thee,
I give thee back the life I owe,
That in thine ocean depths its flow
May richer, fuller be.
O light that followest all my way,
I yield my flickering torch to thee,
My heart restores its borrowed ray,
That in thy sunshine’s blaze its day
May brighter, fairer be.
O Joy that seekest me through pain,
I cannot close my heart to thee,
I trace the rainbow through the rain,
And feel the promise is not vain,
That morn shall tearless be.
O Cross that liftest up my head,
I dare not ask to fly from thee,
I lay in dust life’s glory dead,
And from the ground there blossoms red
Life that shall endless be.
Enjoy this week’s free inspirational video from Gloryscapes.com. To access: Oh Love That will not Let Me Go, this week’s free inspirational video from GloryScapes.com, please go to: http://www.gloryscapes.com/ohlovethatwillnotletmego.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Mar 26, 2009 | 1 Peter
1 Peter 2:11-12
“Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.”
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if Christians acted the way the people of God should act? If we were to die in the next twenty four hours and appear before God, would He be pleased with our actions? It is a sad commentary that Christians do not always have the best reputations.
Back in my earlier days, I was a juvenile probation officer for Canyon County, Idaho. One day I received a letter from the Superintendent of the Idaho Juvenile Correction Center informing me that one of the residents was being sent back to our county. This young man had been committed by the court before I went to work there, so I had never met him.
While at the Juvenile Correction Center, this young man had been such a disruptive force that he spent most of his time in confinement. The staff there had determined that he should be transferred to the State Mental Hospital. The State Mental Hospital staff tried to deal with him, but again, he spent most of the time being locked up in the solitary confinement unit. They finally became weary of trying to deal with him and shipped him back to the Juvenile Correction Center.
I hope you are with me, as I know the scenario is a little confusing. Here is where the letter comes in. The Superintendent had written me all of the above details and informed me that they had released the young man and that he was to report to me when he returned to the county. The Superintendent’s advice to me was to inform the law enforcement agencies in our area and, once the young man had re-offended, to just lock him up for the protection of society.
Sitting at my desk in a stunned state reading and re-reading the letter, I was wondering what to say to this young man when there was a knock on my office door. The young man standing there introduced himself, and I recognized that he was the one I had just been reading about.
As we began to talk, I prayed urgently for wisdom in what to say. I asked if he ever wondered what people thought when his name was mentioned. He said they would probably think that he was a pretty good guy. I then asked him if he would like to read what people really thought of him. He said he would, so I handed him the letter I had just received.
I will never forget the look of utter shock on that young man’s face. I told him that I would not be supervising him but would agree to be a friend that he could call and talk with if and when he decided to get his act together. He thanked me and walked out of my office. Over the next few weeks and months he called several times. He was able to get a job and his life took on stability with no further criminal violations.
At a conference about six months later, I was talking to the Superintendent who had written the letter. When he asked if the young man was in jail somewhere, I was happy to give a good report about what a change had come over him. Dumbfounded, the Superintendent asked how I had been able to accomplish it. I told him that I hadn’t, but that he was actually the one that had brought about the change. “How did I do that?,” he asked. “I let him read your letter!,” I replied. Then as I shared with him the story of the letter incident, we had a great laugh together.
Let’s get downright personal. What do you think goes through people’s minds when they hear your name? Would it be good or bad? Even more personal, do you think the Lord is pleased with you? If people were to search for an example of a true Christian, would you qualify? Are your actions and reactions reflective of the life the Lord wants us to live?
My prayer is that I will constantly live in a manner that emanates a sweet aroma of a Christ-like walk. I know that there are times when I slip and fall, even intentionally jump when I should stay put. In those times I try to make the necessary corrections and restore the joy of my salvation.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Mar 25, 2009 | Isaiah
Isaiah 41:10
“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.”
It is a miracle that many of the kids in the neighborhood survived to adulthood. The reason was that we tried many death-defying stunts at the instigation of the other kids who called us a “fraidy cat” if we didn’t do it.
Peer pressure is an extremely strong motivator. Unfortunately it is most often used in a negative way rather than encouraging spiritual excellence.
Today’s Scripture is one of the first verses I ever memorized. It has been with me throughout many ordeals in my life.
One thing that this verse has taught me is that I need not fear the things that lay in wait for me. Many situations that I have faced have been unpleasant and trying. I would have chosen to evade them, but there was no way around. I had to endure and persevere.
I want to testify to the faithfulness of my precious Lord and His infallible Word. Someone has written: “God said it—I believe it—that’s good enough for me!” I have found that to be true over and over again.
I encourage you to take to heart the promise in this verse. You need not fear since God has promised to be with you and never forsake you. Do not allow yourself to become depressed because He will give you His strength and hold you up with His powerful right hand. Man! That is good enough for me!!!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
