by Pastor Cecil | Sep 9, 2009 | Isaiah
Isaiah 6:8
“Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for Us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I. Send me!’ ”
Over the week-end, Joyce and I were doing a little reminiscing about our parents. My dad was especially adept at doing just about anything that needed to be done—all the way from carpentry to electronics.
My mom on the other hand was more the director of operations—dad’s operations that is. When one of the family members needed something done, mom would say, “Oh, dad would be glad to do it!” Dad would just smile and moan.
Christians all too often are like my mom. When God has a task to be accomplished they start thinking about others who could do the job. While the words may not be spoken, the message is this: “Here am I—send him (or her)!”
Matthew 9:37-38 indicates that we are to pray for the Lord to send out workers for the harvest. The fact of the matter is that we need to ask the Lord what part we can play in bringing in the harvest.
Some till the soil, some plant, some water and tend the tender plants as they grow, and there are those who reap. When you pray the Lord to send you, what part of the harvest of souls are you personally participating in?
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Sep 8, 2009 | Psalm
Psalm 31:23-24
“Love the LORD, all His saints! The LORD preserves the faithful, but the proud He pays back in full. Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the LORD.”
I “hope” he chooses me! I “hope” he chooses me! Those were the words that went through my mind as sides were being chosen for some game when I was a young boy. Suffice it to say that I was usually one of the last to be called. More like a booby-prize than a cherished prize.
That concept of the meaning of the word “hope” seems to be all too common. It is thought of as wishing for something that probably will not happen, but we know the likelihood is very slim.
Let me correct that idea for us once and for all. The Hebrew word for “hope” as used here is the word, yachal. It carries with it the meaning of expectation. Do you hear that? It is waiting for something the Lord has prepared especially for us!
Please read that last sentence over one more time. It is not what we desire for ourselves, but what God wants to do in and through us. I think the greatest joy in life is to be used of God.
Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.”
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Sep 7, 2009 | 2 Kings
2 Kings 2:11
“As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind.”
Memories have flooded my mind since I received word that Dr. Gerald Ford, a wonderful, godly former professor of mine had died. His class stands out since he told us on the first day of class that he was going to give us all of the questions that would be on the tests that he would give. There was only one detail—he gave us a list of 500 questions, and we never knew which ones would be asked! I think I studied more in that class than any other and enjoyed it.
This brilliant scientist had worked on the Manhattan Project during WWII yet had a humble Christian spirit that made him a true example of what a man of God should be.
As I read the tribute that was paid to Dr. Ford, I was struck by a quote that was attributed to him: “I always imagined that I would go out in a ‘blaze of glory’, but I suppose I will have to settle for going out in an ordinary way.” The tribute mentioned that it was not his death, but his life that was a “blaze of glory.”
In today’s Scripture, we read of the prophet Elijah being caught up to heaven in a chariot of fire. We might even say it was a “blaze of glory.” But the real blaze of glory in his life was his unswerving faithfulness to the Lord.
As Elijah left this earth he left his mantle to Elisha, who assumed his role as the faithful servant of the Lord. In a way, Elijah’s blaze of glory was his assistant, Elisha. The blaze of glory continued to burn for years to come.
May we all have those beside us who will inherit our BLAZE OF GLORY!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Sep 4, 2009 | Luke
Luke 24:29
“But they constrained Him, saying, Abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And He went in to tarry with them”
Henry F. Lyte was a man who greatly loved the Lord with his whole being. He came up with the saying, “It is better to wear out than to rust out,” and it perfectly described his life.
During the last 23 years of his life he pastored a poor church in England. He always suffered from poor health but during this time his health started to decline even more. When he finally preached his last sermon on September 4, 1847, it is reported that he practically had to crawl to the pulpit.
Shortly before preaching his last sermon he wrote the words and tune to the hymn, “Abide With Me.” He based his hymn on today’s Scripture that tells the story of Jesus walking with two disciples on the way to Emmaus and their statement, “Abide with us: for it is toward evening and the day is far spent.” He went to be with the Lord shortly after writing the hymn.
Later William Monk wrote a new tune for the hymn. During a time of personal sorrow, he was inspired by the beauty of a magnificent sunset.
“Abide With Me“
Abide with me—fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens—Lord, with me abide;
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me!
Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day;
Earth’s joys grow dim, its glories pass away;
Change and decay in all around I see;
O Thou who changest not, abide with me!
I need Thy presence every passing hour;
What but Thy grace can foil the tempter’s power?
Who like Thyself my guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, O abide with me.
Hold Thou Thy word before my closing eyes,
Shine thru the gloom and point me to the skies;
Heaven’s morning breaks and earth’s vain shadows flee
In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me!
To access Abide With Me, this week’s inspirational video from GloryScapes.com, please go to: http://www.gloryscapes.com/abidewithme 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 3, 2009 | Proverbs
Proverbs 16:1-3
“To man belong the plans of the heart, but from the LORD comes the reply of the tongue. All a man’s ways seem innocent to him, but motives are weighed by the LORD. Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.”
Look over the three verses that I have cited above. Note that the word LORD appears in all three verses. I do not feel that is a coincidence. We are not able to adequately plan our life if we do not have the Lord on the throne of our life. We can make all the plans we want, but they will be futile plans without the Lord.
There are two ways to look at planning: We can either plan to fail or fail to plan. The Lord must fit into our planning process, or we are planning to fail. On the other hand, if we do not prepare adequately for the future, we are failing to plan and that can spell disaster.
The Lord is always to be the central focus of our planning process. Each and every day must begin and end with Him. Sometime ago I received an e-mail in the form of a card with little Tweety Bird on it with this prayer: “I want to thank you Lord, for being close to me so far this day. With your help, I haven’t been impatient, lost my temper, been grumpy, judgmental or envious of anyone. But I will be getting out of bed in a minute, and I think I’ll really need your help then! Amen.”
Now that is what I am talking about. It is in giving ourselves to the Lord while we are still in bed each morning and then walking one step behind Him throughout the day. We will know we are getting into trouble if we are more than one step behind Him, or if we get ahead of Him.
Notice the promise that comes with the second reference to the word plans. It says that when we commit whatever we do to the Lord, He will cause our plans to succeed. STOP!!! That does not mean you are going to get what you want with no strings attached. It means that when we sincerely commit our ways the Him, we will have a new plan for our life, and it will be in accordance for what He desires for us.
This is another Proverb designed to bring glory to God and peace, joy, love and contentment to us. The longer I walk in the way, the more I realize I can rest in Him without question. Listen–I have a plan! Why don’t we meet in eternity and share our experiences of victory in Jesus? We have a date!!!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
