by Pastor Cecil | Apr 9, 2010 | Psalm
Psalm 107:29-30
“He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed. They were glad when it grew calm, and He guided them to their desired haven.”
It seems that each of us is called upon to face storms in our life. It may be physical infirmity, financial reversals or the loss of a loved one. It is not the storm that matters, but how we react to the storm.
Back in 1873, Horatio Spafford and his family were scheduled to sail on the French steamer ‘Ville de Havre’ from New York to England where he was to assist the great evangelist, D.L. Moody. Because of a last minute business crisis Mr. Spafford sent his family on ahead and he would follow on a later ship.
Unfortunately the ship his family was on collided with another ship and sank. There was a terrible loss of life. Spafford and his wife lost their four daughters. Nine days later Horatio Spafford received a cable from his wife that simply said, “Saved alone.” What poignant words.
Later, as he was sailing to meet his wife, he asked the captain to let him know when they were near where the accident had occurred. It was there that he penned the words of this week’s hymn, “It Is Well with My Soul.”
“It Is Well With My Soul“
When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul.
Refrain:
It is well (it is well),
with my soul (with my soul),
It is well, it is well with my soul.
My sin, oh the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to His cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
Refrain:
It is well (it is well),
with my soul (with my soul),
It is well, it is well with my soul.
And Lord haste the day, when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.
Refrain:
It is well (it is well),
with my soul (with my soul),
It is well, it is well with my soul.
To access It Is Well With My Soul, this week’s inspirational video from GloryScapes.com, please go to: http://www.gloryscapes.com/itiswellwithmysoul 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
360-570-0074
PastorCecil@Daily-E-Votional.com
by Pastor Cecil | Apr 8, 2010 | 1 Peter
1 Peter 3:15b
“Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.”
There has to be a beginning for everything. That is also true for preachers who have to deliver their first sermon. For me it was while I was still in the Air Force and stationed at Rapid City, South Dakota. The pastor asked me to bring the message in the Sunday evening service. I spent many hours in preparation and wrote my notes on a small sheet of paper. I was ready ― or so I thought!
The song service ended and I walked nervously to the pulpit and gave the congregation a big smile as I opened the Bible to my notes. I could not believe my eyes. “Bread-milk-eggs-lettuce.” I have no idea how it had happened, but my sermon notes got mixed up with the grocery list Joyce had given me.
Now if that would happen at this stage of my life, I could preach a sermon on the bread of life, desiring the milk of the Word, the hatching egg of spiritual maturity — though I’m not sure how I would cover the last one except to say, “Lettuce pray!”
It has taught me that we need to be prepared at all times to share the precious Word of God. We never know when the opportunity will arise, and we may be all that stands between some poor soul and eternity. I want to be ready! How about you?
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
360-570-0074
PastorCecil@Daily-E-Votional.com
by Pastor Cecil | Apr 7, 2010 | 1 Peter
1 Peter 3:15b
“Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.”
There has to be a beginning for everything. That is also true for preachers who have to deliver their first sermon. For me it was while I was still in the Air Force and stationed at Rapid City, South Dakota. The pastor asked me to bring the message in the Sunday evening service. I spent many hours in preparation and wrote my notes on a small sheet of paper. I was ready ― or so I thought!
The song service ended and I walked nervously to the pulpit and gave the congregation a big smile as I opened the Bible to my notes. I could not believe my eyes. “Bread-milk-eggs-lettuce.” I have no idea how it had happened, but my sermon notes got mixed up with the grocery list Joyce had given me.
Now if that would happen at this stage of my life, I could preach a sermon on the bread of life, desiring the milk of the Word, the hatching egg of spiritual maturity — though I’m not sure how I would cover the last one except to say, “Lettuce pray!”
It has taught me that we need to be prepared at all times to share the precious Word of God. We never know when the opportunity will arise, and we may be all that stands between some poor soul and eternity. I want to be ready! How about you?
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
360-570-0074
PastorCecil@Daily-E-Votional.com
by Pastor Cecil | Apr 7, 2010 | Luke
Luke 6:37
“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.”
I once heard a very sad story. It seems that a man was unfaithful to his wife. She took him back but made his life miserable. She constantly brought up his sin and made sure that he suffered for the pain he had inflicted upon her.
As the story goes, this wife became very ill. In fact it was a number of years before she recovered. During this time her husband waited on her hand and foot. The doctor even commented that if it was not for his attentive care of his wife she would have died.
One day after the woman’s health returned, she told her husband that she appreciated how wonderful he had been to her, and she was now ready to forgive him. Here is the sad part of the story. The husband looked his wife in the eye and said, “My dear, I needed your forgiveness when I did not deserve it. I have earned your appreciation, but your forgiveness has come too late. I am leaving you.”
I hope against hope that this was only an illustration. But the truth is that true forgiveness comes when the offender does not deserve to be forgiven. When Christ forgave us, it was not that we deserved it, but that we needed it. Paul reminds us in Romans 5:8: “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Is there someone who needs your forgiveness right now?
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
360-570-0074
PastorCecil@Daily-E-Votional.com
by Pastor Cecil | Apr 6, 2010 | Job
Job 29:18-19
“I thought, ‘I will die in my own house, my days as numerous as the grains of sand. My roots will reach to the water, and the dew will lie all night on my branches.’ ”
How old do you have to be to think about your own death? With me it was a warm summer day when I was seven or eight. A church group was on a swimming trip to the Washougal River in Washington. I had been enjoying the cool water when I realized that the current was pulling me into deeper and deeper water.
There was a terrifying moment when I felt that I was going to drown. I asked the Lord to help me. It was then that I felt a tree root on the bottom of the stream. It was not just a root, but it had formed in such a way that my foot could slip under it and hold me from slipping.
I tried to call for help, but my head was barely out of the water. It seemed like an eternity before one of the adults came to my rescue. I was chastised for getting so far into the stream, but I didn’t mind. I was saved and I just knew that it was the Lord who had prepared that root just for me!
Sometimes in our everyday life we feel ourselves start to slip. Things overwhelm us and our firm footing begins to give way. Please take it from me ― one who has been there ― Jesus is our Root and He will save us when we call out to Him!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
360-570-0074
PastorCecil@Daily-E-Votional.com
