by Pastor Cecil | May 8, 2009 | 2 Kings
2 Kings 6:17
“And Elisha prayed, ‘O LORD, open his eyes so he may see.’ Then the LORD opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.”
This passage is one of my favorites. Elisha, by the power of the Holy Spirit, had been supplying the king of Israel up-to-date reports on any traps that the king of Aram had been setting for him. When the king of Aram discovered that it was Elisha who had been warning the king of Israel, he sent troops by night to arrest Elisha and bring him back to him.
In the morning the servant of Elisha saw the armed force of Aram surrounding them. In utter terror he reported to Elisha that they were surrounded and there was no hope of escape for them. It was then that Elisha prayed this prayer to allow his servant what he already was able to see. Oh, how I wish we could see the army of the Lord that He has placed around us.
Clara Fiske Scott lived from 1841 to 1897 when she died after being thrown from a buggy by a runaway horse. She was a prolific hymn writer, but only this week’s featured hymn is still in circulation. Think of her hymn as a prayer such as Elisha had prayed so long ago.
“Open My Eyes“
Open my eyes, that I may see,
Glimpses of truth Thou hast for me;
Place in my hands the wonderful key,
That shall unclasp and set me free.
Refrain: Silently now I wait for Thee,
Ready my God, Thy will to see,
Open my eyes, illumine me, Spirit divine!
Open my ears, that I may hear,
Voices of truth Thou sendest clear;
And while the wave notes fall on my ear,
Everything false will disappear.
Refrain:
Open my mouth, and let me bear,
Gladly the warm truth everywhere;
Open my heart and let me prepare,
Love with Thy children thus to share.
Refrain
To access Open My Eyes, this week’s inspirational video from GloryScapes.com, please go to: http://www.gloryscapes.com/openmyeyes in your browser or click on the image below.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | May 7, 2009 | John
John 15:13-15
“Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.”
One of my all time favorite teachers and speakers is Dr. Howard Hendricks who taught at Dallas Theological Seminary. One of the personal experiences that he shared needs to be engraved in our minds.
Early on he spent much of his time and effort in trying to change his wife, his children and his students. The harder he tried, the less change he saw. (Isn’t that strange?!)
It suddenly dawned on him that he was going about it all wrong. He came to realize that he needed to change his wife’s husband, his children’s father, and his student’s professor. It reminds me of that old song, “It’s me, it’s me, it’s me, oh Lord, standing in the need of prayer.”
He began to pray for the Lord to make him a better husband, father and teacher. His wife changed, his children changed and his students changed! What had happened? He had stopped preaching and had started living his faith.
It may be easy for us to intellectually agree with this concept, so why is it so hard to put it into practice? It is simply that we live by the flesh and not by the Spirit. What!! I know that comes as a crushing blow to your delicate psyche, but like it or not, we all too easily fall into the sinful habit of doing things ourselves rather than asking the Lord to direct our actions. We must live in constant relationship with the Lord and allow Him to show us what to do—then how and when to do it.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | May 6, 2009 | Psalm
Psalm 14:1-2
“The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good. The LORD looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God.”
Last week I was sitting with my granddaughter in a coffee shop. We were near a table where three men were cynically discussing religion. I think their comments were intended for my ears since I had witnessed to them about the Lord.
Professing to be wise, they were systematically tearing down churches, Christians, the Bible, repentance and justification by faith. These so-called wise men rested their eternal destiny on their good deeds or imagined intellect.
I have thought long and hard since hearing their conversation and have come to a few conclusions: What if they are right? What if the Bible is wrong and the necessity of repentance is wrong?
Here are my observations: I have never known a cynical person who is a happy or contented person. As a matter of fact they are the most miserable people I have ever met. They search for something to satisfy their inner longing but never are able to find it.
As I consider my own life and the life of other Christians, I see a vivid contrast. There is joy and contentment that the cynics can never experience. Even if there is no heaven to gain we have a joy that the world can never know. When faced with tragedy or pain we have the comfort that only God can give.
But what if these cynics are wrong? (I am convinced they are!) The tragic reality is that there is much more than the temporal feelings of this world at stake. There is eternity stretching out before us. The cynics will come face to face with the Judge of the universe who will pass eternal judgment against their failure to accept His wonderful offer of salvation.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | May 5, 2009 | Luke
Luke 12:54-56
“He said to the crowd: ‘When you see a cloud rising in the west, immediately you say, ‘It’s going to rain,” and it does. And when the south wind blows, you say, ‘It’s going to be hot,’ and it is. Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky. How is it that you don’t know how to interpret this present time?'”
I really enjoy watching the weather channel. It is amazing to see the eye of a hurricane or typhoon from outer space. Modern technology is able to predict the path of storms long before they actually arrive.
Starting next Sunday there will be an expert team of weather trackers scattered across the middle of America in an attempt to study and report on tornadoes. Many of the pictures will be sent back to the Weather Channel and shown live.
Jesus seems to have something of this in mind when He spoke about people knowing how to predict weather patterns, but fail to understand what is happening in fulfillment of the prophecy given in God’s Word.
In Matthew 24, Jesus gives us over twenty signs that mark His second coming. If you go there and read that chapter you will see a description of what is happening in our world at the present time. If you are feeling overwhelmed in your walk with the Lord, there is hope and comfort in knowing that the time is near.
So what does this mean to us? It means that there is a lost and dying world around us facing an eternity in hell unless they repent and accept Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. We have work to do while we remain, so let us be faithful and rescue the perishing.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | May 4, 2009 | Proverbs
Proverbs 1:1-4
“The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel: To know wisdom and instruction, To perceive the words of understanding, To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, judgment, and equity; To give prudence to the simple, To the young man knowledge and discretion.”
Imagine that you are sitting in a magnificent concert hall. Suddenly a performer enters and sits at a grand piano. After a few minutes the piano seems to come alive with music that fills the entire hall and applause greets the end of the concert. You happen to be the last one in the hall and hesitantly approach the piano. As you sit facing the keyboard, you begin to play. The sound is utterly discordant. What is the difference?
Let’s try to picture a scene from the Winter Olympics. A skater performs leaps and spins that bring the spectators to their feet with a mighty roar. Later you decide to seek out an ice arena and after renting a pair of skates venture onto the ice. Your upright position soon is changed into an embarrassing flop. You know the reason.
The reason for failure to be accomplished in a particular field is the lack of discipline. A person must begin with the simple—rudimentary tasks before progressing to the next. After hours, days, weeks and years of disciplined devotion to the task, competence is reached.
What is true for a musician or athlete is true in our spiritual life. We are not born spiritually with knowledge and maturity, it is essential that we spend considerable time in Bible study, prayer and practical ministry in order to reach spiritual maturity.
Professional musicians and athletes understand that even though they perform on a regular basis, they need to regularly go back to the basics in order to be at their best at all times. How about you? Are you disciplined to be the best disciple that the Lord wants you to be?
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
