by Pastor Cecil | Jan 22, 2010 | Hebrews
Hebrews 10:22
“Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.”
One of the most beloved hymns of the faith is “Blessed Assurance.” It was written in 1873 by the blind hymn writer, Fanny J. Crosby. It often seems as if the Lord gave this blind hymn writer keener spiritual sight than those with 20/20 vision.
Ms. Crosby was visiting a friend, Phoebe Knapp, who was having a large pipe organ installed in her home. While the workmen labored to install the organ, Mrs. Knapp played a new melody called “Assurance” that she had just composed.
She asked Fanny what she felt the melody said. Immediately Fanny replied, “Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine.” She went on to write the words to the hymn that is this week’s featured hymn—enjoy!
“Blessed Assurance“
Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine;
O what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood
Refrain:
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long.
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long.
Perfect submission, perfect delight,
Visions of rapture now burst on my sight;
Angels descending bring from above,
Echoes of mercy, whispers of love.
Refrain:
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long.
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long.
Perfect submission, all is at rest,
I in my Savior am happy and blest;
Watching and waiting, looking above,
Filled with His goodness, lost in His love.
Refrain:
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long.
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long.
To access Blessed Assurance, this week’s inspirational video from GloryScapes.com, please go to: http://www.gloryscapes.com/blessedassurance2 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 | Jan 21, 2010 | Isaiah
Isaiah 41:10
“Fear thou not; for I [am] with thee: be not dismayed; for I [am] thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of My righteousness.”
Today, January 21st is my brother’s birthday. It seems to be an appropriate time to have a Daily-E-Votional devoted to cheering up. Isn’t it amazing that when we were kids we could hardly wait to be older ― and now? Well let’s just say that very few of us seniors are saying we are 75 and a half, or whatever!
Today’s Scripture was one I memorized when I was just a boy in Camas, Washington. Over the years I have feasted on the truth of the words and used them as a source of encouragement when we were facing trials of many kinds.
It is of little value to tell someone to cheer up when they are at the low point of their life. It is another thing to share the power of God’s Word as the answer. Any time we feel fear from the attack of the enemy, we can use today’s verse. The Lord assures us that He is with us. “I [am] with thee.”
Any time we tend to feel depressed we need to remind ourselves that we serve a mighty God who is more powerful than any force in the universe. Our God wants us to know that He is our God and that He will be our strength and shield. Praise the Lord for that assurance!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jan 20, 2010 | Psalm
Psalm 59:16-17
“But I will sing of Your strength, in the morning I will sing of Your love; for You are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble. O my Strength, I sing praise to You; You, O God, are my fortress, my loving God.”
It was just before 3:00 a.m. this morning when Joyce spoke words that sent a cold chill down my spine ― “Honey, the power is out!” In the blackness I rose and gingerly made my way into the living room and looked out the window. It was dark everywhere. The wind was howling and I only hoped for a quick return.
Huddled snug under the covers we eagerly anticipated the return of power that would restore warmth and lights. The sun rose to a very cool house, but the power still had not returned. In fact we experienced over 12 hours before it returned.
In the twelve hours we spent with no power, we were limited in what we could do. Before sun-up we stumbled around in the dark, we experienced the lack of heat, I had an extremely hard time preparing and sending Tuesday’s Daily-E-Votional, and those were only a few of the difficulties.
As I contemplate about our relative short stint with no power, I can relate it to the lack of spiritual power. So many times we stumble around in the dark areas of our spiritual life and wonder why we lack spiritual energy. Instead of leading the lost to the light, we thrash around seeking the light ourselves. May the Holy Spirit prompt us to find His strength and power to touch a lost and dying world.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jan 19, 2010 | Psalm
Psalm 112:1-3
“Praise the LORD. Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who finds great delight in His commands. His children will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed. Wealth and riches are in His house, and His righteousness endures forever.”
When I was a young boy my father worked for a time as a bus driver. From time to time my mother and I would drive the ten miles to the bus depot in Vancouver, Washinton, and pick dad up after his shift was over.
One of these trips changed my life in a remarkable way. As my mom and I were sitting in the parking lot waiting for dad’s bus to arrive, we saw a young black boy about my age standing waiting for the city bus. He was holding a large ceramic platter, which he was clutching with great care.
My mom kept prompting me to go and talk with him and ask him about the plate he held so lovingly. This white boy (me) had never met and talked with a black boy before, and I had no idea how he would respond to me. I finally gave in to mom’s urging and hesitantly went over and introduced myself. In just a few minutes the color of our skin faded into insignificance—we were just two young boys who were enjoying each other’s company.
He told me that he had won the platter at a local amusement park. He could hardly wait to get home so he could give it to his mother. He spoke of his deep love for his mother. I was drawn into his world and felt his eager anticipation to present this trophy of love to his dear mother.
Our reverential love for the Lord is so much more than any earthly love that words can never fully express it. We may express our love and awesome respect for the Lord here on earth, but our humanity can never truly express the honor and praise the Lord deserves. What joy it will be to lay our crowns at Jesus’ feet! I can hardly wait for that day.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jan 18, 2010 | Psalm
Psalm 111:10
“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise.”
There are moments in our life that we can never prepare for. Many of these situations are ultimately embarrassing. An example of this occurred when our new pastor was introducing his family to the congregation.
He named his wife and then each of his sons, ending with the youngest son who was standing next to him. As he mentioned the boy’s name, he reached out to place his hand on the boy’s shoulder. The boy threw up his arm as if defending himself from a blow. The place erupted with laughter! It was later learned that this kid was a prankster and thought it would be funny to embarrass his pastor father.
Unfortunately many Christians interpret the fear of the Lord with much the same response as this young son, but to us it is serious. We seem to have a picture of God looking over the parapets of heaven, just waiting to strike us with lightening.
So what exactly is “godly fear?” The Hebrew word for fear is the word, “yi’rah.” As it applies to our relation to God and it means; respect, reverence or piety. Wow! That is a lot different than cowering in terror before the God who loves us so much He sent His only Son, Jesus to die in our place that we might have eternal life. Yes, it is an awesome thing to enter the presence of the Lord, but it a blessed privilege!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
