by Pastor Cecil | Apr 22, 2011 | Romans
Romans 8:38-39
“For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
As we consider how much God loves us, we often find ourselves incapable of truly putting it into words–at least, that is the way I feel. We certainly do not deserve the wonderful love of God, but, oh how much we need it!
I cannot think of a better way to express the majesty of God’s love for us than the old hymn by L.M. Lehman, “The Love of God.” Here is what Mr. Lehman wrote about how he came to write the hymn: “One day, during short intervals of inattention to my work, I picked up a scrap of paper, a stub pencil, and seated upon an empty lemon box pushed against the wall, wrote the first two stanzas and chorus of the song.”
Sometime later the words that became the third stanza came from a Jewish poem that had been found penciled on the walls of a patient’s room in an insane asylum after the man had been carried to his grave. Prayerfully read his words in the third stanza.
The Love of God
The love of God is greater far,
Than tongue or pen can ever tell;
It goes beyond the highest star,
And reaches to the lowest hell;
The guilty pair, bowed down with care,
God gave His Son to win;
His erring child He reconciled,
And pardoned from his sin.
Refrain: O love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure,
The saints’ and angels’ song.
When years of time shall pass away,
And earthly thrones and kingdoms fall,
When men, who here refuse to pray,
On rocks and hills and mountains call,
God’s love so sure, shall still endure,
All measureless and strong;
Redeeming grace to Adam’s race—
The saints’ and angels’ song.
Refrain: O love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure,
The saints’ and angels’ song.
Could we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade,
To write the love of God above,
Would drain the ocean dry.
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
though stretched from sky to sky.
Refrain: O love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure,
The saints’ and angels’ song.
Click on the following link to access The Love of God, this week’s inspirational video from GloryScapes™ Inspirational Music Videos.
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
P.S. – You can help! Please consider encouraging one other person to subscribe to our devotionals by going to the Daily-E-Votional.com website and clicking on the “Subscribe” button. This worldwide ministry asks for no funds and is sent to glorify our precious Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
by Pastor Cecil | Apr 21, 2011 | Hebrews
Hebrews 5:12-14
“For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.”
Well, this week it started. Following my triple by-pass surgery on my heart, I was told that I would be scheduled for rehabilitation. They did not want to start earlier in order to give the incision (they split my chest open to get to the heart) time to heal and not be so vulnerable to injury by the wrong sort of movement.
In the initial interview, I was introduced to the format. I felt like a student ready for first grade. The friendliness of the staff was encouraging and the rehabilitation group that I am with includes a man who was a member of my former church.
Looking over the program I can see that it is designed to add more and more stress as we progress. It is like any other exercise program. At first there are sore muscles that you did not even know you had. Then as time progresses the muscle tone increases and strength is your reward. NO GAIN WITHOUT PAIN!
I fear that many of us never paid the price of spiritual discipline in order to become strong and mature warriors for the Lord Jesus Christ. Instead of being prepared to teach others, we need someone to feed us with predigested spiritual baby food. Let’s commit to spiritual rehabilitation that will make us worthy servants.
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
P.S. – You can help! Please consider encouraging one other person to subscribe to our devotionals by going to the Daily-E-Votional.com website and clicking on the “Subscribe” button. This worldwide ministry asks for no funds and is sent to glorify our precious Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
by Pastor Cecil | Apr 20, 2011 | Acts
Acts 17:10-11
“Then the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. When they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.”
For years we have heard the expression, “You know the old saying – – – .” Usually it is followed by a familiar folk wisdom such as, “A stitch in time saves nine.” I guess that was back when people mended their clothes to save buying new ones.
When I was a Juvenile Probation Officer, I had two boys from the same family who were on probation. I wondered about the mental stability of their mother. For one thing, she repeatedly used the expression, “You know the old saying – – – .” The problem was that she didn’t use an old saying but would just say something foolish like; “You know the old saying– ‘They will be home in two hours.’ ” How do you respond to something like that? No wonder the two sons were troubled.
I have known Christians who were like that. They lack knowledge of God’s Word, but speak as if they are experts. I have often heard words like; “Well I am sure it is in the Bible somewhere!”
Somewhere just does not cut it. We need to keep our mouth shut unless we know for certain what God’s inspired writers have written. That means we need to search the Scriptures repeatedly and conscientiously.
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
P.S. – You can help! Please consider encouraging one other person to subscribe to our devotionals by going to the Daily-E-Votional.com website and clicking on the “Subscribe” button. This worldwide ministry asks for no funds and is sent to glorify our precious Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
by Pastor Cecil | Apr 19, 2011 | Luke
Luke 12:11-12
“Now when they bring you to the synagogues and magistrates and authorities, do not worry about how or what you should answer, or what you should say. For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”
Do you ever feel that the wind has been taken out of your sails? There have been more than a few times when God has gone before us to prepare us for ministry. One time I recall that we travelled to a town about two hours north of us. A couple who had been under our ministry lived there and we wanted to greet them.
When we walked in they almost exploded. “How did you know that we wanted to talk with you?” Of course there was no way that we could have known since it had been many years since we last saw them. It was God who knew! There is no way to have pride in such situations. The Lord had simply put in our hearts to take a short trip to a picturesque town and at the same time say hello to our friends.
Today’s Scripture certainly does not teach that we should neglect study of God’s Word to be prepared to give be a worthy witness. In fact it should be considered just the opposite. If we have spent the time to study and memorize the Word, we will be ready for the Lord to bring back to memory those things He wants us to speak.
It is comforting to rest in the Lord and to permit Him to open doors that need to be opened and to close doors that need to be closed. Pride has no place in the life of the believer. It is not us, but the Lord who is in control. Lead on dear Lord!
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
P.S. – You can help! Please consider encouraging one other person to subscribe to our devotionals by going to the Daily-E-Votional.com website and clicking on the “Subscribe” button. This worldwide ministry asks for no funds and is sent to glorify our precious Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
by Pastor Cecil | Apr 18, 2011 | Habakkuk
Habakkuk 3:19
“The Lord God is my Strength, my personal bravery, and my invincible army; He makes my feet like hinds’ feet and will make me to walk [not to stand still in terror, but to walk] and make [spiritual] progress upon my high places [of trouble, suffering, or responsibility]!” (The Amplified Bible)
A number of years ago I was leaving Portland, Oregon on my way to our home in Olympia, Washington. I was on I-5 that stretches from Canada to Mexico along the Pacific coast. It is a very busy freeway!
About two blocks ahead of me was a wrecker towing a somewhat decrepit vehicle. The truck headed for an exit ramp, but the left rear tire on the old car decided it wanted to stay on the freeway. As it careened into the heavy traffic ahead of me, I saw vehicles swerving to miss it.
I was surrounded by traffic on both the left and right. I suddenly saw that the tire was in my lane of traffic and starting to tumble. There was nothing I could do but to brace for the impact. I prayed for the Lord to protect me in the crash that was due to happen in a few seconds. The tire suddenly flew into the air and I was stunned to see it fly over the top of my car, missing me by inches. Behind me the scene was chaos. I prayed for those who were in the crush.
I know that the Lord does not always lead us clear of trials, but praise the Lord for those times when we can feel His mighty hand protecting us. I want to walk close to the Lord and trust Him to be with me in the dangers that tumble our way.
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
P.S. – You can help! Please consider encouraging one other person to subscribe to our devotionals by going to the Daily-E-Votional.com website and clicking on the “Subscribe” button. This worldwide ministry asks for no funds and is sent to glorify our precious Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
