by Pastor Cecil | Sep 16, 2009 | Isaiah
Isaiah 41:10
“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
Did you know that fear paralyzes? Perhaps most of us have heard the expression, “He froze like a deer in the headlights.” Think of the most frightful experiences of your life and you may be able to relate to that poor animal.
I believe that Satan uses fear to keep believers from doing the things that the Lord has called us and empowered us to accomplish. Satan causes us to imagine that we will be laughed at or tormented if we obey the Lord, so we tend to stare into his headlights and do nothing.
In the midst of our fear we are given this powerful verse in Isaiah 41:10. It was one of the first verses I memorized over 60 years ago. There are two things that we are instructed to do: don’t fear and don’t be dismayed.
That may seem simple, but when Satan’s boogyman jumps out, it is hard to control our fear and dismay. But thank the Lord He gives us two reasons why we need not give in to fear or dismay. He is with us and He is our God! Wow! That is powerful, but it does not end there.
The Lord promises what He will do for us if we do not fear or become depressed: He will strengthen us and help us and uphold us with His righteous right hand. The right hand is the symbol of ultimate divine power.
I challenge you to let the Lord fight your battles with the enemy. Trust Him completely and know that He never leaves you or forsakes you but will always be with you.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Sep 15, 2009 | John
John 12:24
“I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.”
I have the privilege of living in the Pacific Northwest where salmon go through their life cycle. For many species of salmon, they spend several years at sea before returning to spawn…after which they die.
Think of that! They go through extreme ordeals to return to the place they were hatched where the female lays hundreds of eggs. The male fertilizes the eggs and then both parents die. Through death there comes new life.
In today’s Scripture, Jesus is teaching a positive lesson about death to selfish ambitions. It is possible to hold tightly to one’s life rather than giving ourselves for others. He was about to lay down His own life in order that others may inherit eternal life. He died that others may live.
We have family and friends who are observing our actions as well as hearing our words. Sadly they often see us living more for ourselves than for others. What does it mean to spiritually die for others?
- Always put Christ first in your life.
- Live beyond your comfort zone.
- Be willing to give until it hurts.
- Repeat over and over: “Not my will, but Christ’s be done,” then do it!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Sep 14, 2009 | James
James 1:22 & 25
“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. The man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.”
In a few weeks we will be seeing mallard ducks flying low over the house. There is a whistle to their wings as they fly and they are extremely graceful in flight. On the ground is another matter. They waddle in an awkward manner. I think many of us have seen films of Penguins walking, versus the magnificent way they swim. The difference is that these creatures were created by God to be more at home in their natural element. Ducks in flight—penguins in water.
It is not difficult to determine what the pattern of this world is. Pick up a newspaper, turn on the television, listen to the radio, or talk with unregenerate people and we will immediately discover the pattern of this world. Simply stated, it is that which is not in complete harmony with God’s Word, God’s plan and/or God’s purposes. God has designed us to soar with Him in obedience.
In refusing to be conformed to this world, we need to recognize that we will be seen as “different.” I guess that is what it is all about, isn’t it? We are called to be children of the King and as such we are not to be conformed to the ways that define the ways of the world. Instead we are to be transformed by the renewing of our mind. It is like the waddling ducks lifting into the sky. We are meant to fly—not waddle. I hope you understand what I mean.
We are to approve what God’s will is. It is not enough to test the Word to discover God’s ways—we are also to approve God’s will. By approving God’s will, we are to get in step with His will. This means doing and approving what others are doing to fulfill the will of Him who has given us new life. Stop waddling and start soaring!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Sep 11, 2009 | Psalm
Psalm 103:1-5
“Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise His holy name. Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”
The phrase, “Praise to the Lord” occurs in at least 155 verses in the Bible. That indicates to me that we need to spend far more time praising the Lord than we do. It would be well to replace our complaints with words of praise to the Lord.
Over 300 years ago, in 1680, Joachim Neander was a hymn writer for the German Reform church. He was going through a time of trial and testing in his life. He would take long walks and pour his heart out to the Lord. One day near Dusseldorf, Germany, he wrote the hymn which is this week’s featured hymn.
“Praise to the Lord, the Almighty“
Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, t he King of creation!
O my soul, praise Him, for He is thy health and salvation!
All ye who hear, Now to His temple draw near;
Join me in glad adoration!
Praise to the Lord, who o’er all things so wondrously reigneth,
Shelters thee under His wings, yea, so gently sustaineth!
Hast thou not seen how thy desires e’er have been
Granted in what He ordaineth?
Praise to the Lord, who with marvelous wisdom hath made thee!
Decked thee with health, and with loving hand guided and stayed thee;
How oft in grief hath not He bought thee relief,
Spreading His wings for to shade thee!
Praise to the Lord! O let all that is in me adore Him!
All that hath life and breath, come now with praises before Him!
Let the Amen sound from His people again;
Gladly for aye we adore Him.
To access Praise the the Lord, the Almighty, this week’s inspirational video from GloryScapes.com, please go to: http://www.gloryscapes.com/praisetothelordthealmighty 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 | Sep 10, 2009 | Colossians
Colossians 1:9
“For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of His will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding.”
I am ashamed to admit that I have often promised to pray for someone—even had the best intentions to do so—but became busy and forgot my promise. Because of this I have made a separate file to visit and pray for requests.
That being said, what kind of prayers should we offer up? The book of Colossians was one of the four letters that Paul wrote from prison. The other three are Ephesians, Philippians and Philemon.
Paul had heard of the faith of the church in Colossae and this letter was sent to be an encouragement to their faith in the face of persecution. In today’s Scripture Paul says he is praying for “God to fill them with the knowledge of His will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding.”
In the next few verses Paul becomes very specific in what he anticipates as the result of his prayer. Let me list four of them for you:
- Bear fruit in every good work.
- Grow in the knowledge of God.
- Be strengthened with God’s power for endurance and patience.
- Joyfully give thanks to the Lord.
Do you observe these qualities in your own spiritual life? I fear that our walk with the Lord is very superficial. We want what will make us feel good or get us out of a difficult situation rather than what will be to bring honor and glory to the Lord.
The next question I direct to myself as well as to you: How do we pray for others? How do you think Paul would pray for the church in our day and age?
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
