by Pastor Cecil | Jun 21, 2013 | Psalm
Psalm 103:1-5
“Bless the LORD, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: Who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from destruction, who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, who satisfies your mouth with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”
I would dare to say that almost all of us experienced some sort of trial in our life. It could be the loss of health, a financial meltdown, death of a mate or child or any number of catastrophic events. It is not whether or not we will encounter these trials, but rather what we will do when they arise.
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, 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. It was on one of these walks that he came to the realization that it was not his strength that would give him victory and peace, but rather the powerful God he served. It was in that state of mind that he composed this week?s featured hymn.
Praise to the Lord, the Almighty
Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the 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 to the Lord, the Almighty, this week’s inspirational video from GloryScapes™ Inspirational Music Videos, 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
360-570-0074
PastorCecil@Daily-E-Votional.com
by Pastor Cecil | Jun 20, 2013 | 1 Corinthians
1 Corinthians 16:1-2
Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.
There has been so much greedy preaching about tithing and giving that I seldom write about it. I have witnessed religious hucksters who promote spiritual causes that often tend only to increase their own standard of living. I fail to understand how those ministers can justify owning million-dollar estates and still beg for money to assist the needy.
Leaving all of the shallow teaching and high living behind, what does the Word of God say about how we are to give? Some have noticed that the tithe (giving 10%) is only mentioned in the Old Testament. That is true; however, in the New Testament we are told to give as God has prospered us.
Jesus repeatedly taught that a true believer must recognize that everything belongs to the Lord. That being the case, we must always stop and ask the Lord what He would have us do with the money He has entrusted to us.
Receiving and giving in the name of the Lord is an exciting way to live. It frees us of the burden of the riches of this old world. It takes our eyes off things and shows us the value of our relationship with Him and investing in things of eternal value.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
—Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jun 19, 2013 | Philippians
Philippians 3:12-14
Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
As we consider our lifetime, we have two choices: We can allow the failures of the past to control us, or we can choose to use past failures as reminders of what to steer clear of in the future.
Rahab was a prostitute (Joshua 2:1). There was no way to erase that from her record. But as long as she remained in Jericho she would always be a prostitute, and when the Israelites attacked, she would be a dead prostitute along with everyone else in the city. But Rahab chose to leave her past and move toward the future.
By making the right choice, she changed her entire future. She saved her own life as well as her family and friends who stayed in her house when Israel attacked. In Matthew 1 she is named in the lineage of King David and Jesus. In Hebrews 11 she is remembered along with the faithful across the ages. Not bad for a former loser!
I frequently receive calls or e-mail messages from people who are encountering trials. You may be going through a time of doubt and defeat because of sins of your past. Any time Satan brings them to your mind and wants you to feel defeated for what you did, or were, or caused, just choose to praise the Lord. Give Him the glory and receive his grace that is sufficient to block out the sins that we have committed.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
—Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jun 18, 2013 | Matthew
Matthew 5:17-18
Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.
Increasingly I am reminded that I am no longer considered part of the youth generation. My tastes have more and more been termed DATED. I guess that is okay with me, since in the 79 years of my life I have accumulated experiences and memories that are of immense value; perhaps not to others . . . but certainly to me. I wear the title proudly!
There was a time when we kids never used to complain that we were bored. We were too busy playing games outside and felt we were abused when we had to come in the house for meals or for bed. I am sure I am dated.
It used to be proper to wait until you were married to live together. Now it seems to be a rare practice. Not only do couples move in with each other, but friends and family give approval for the practice. It is contrary to the Word of God and not acceptable in His sight! Those who are living in this sinful lifestyle must stop it immediately and ask the Lord to forgive them. I am sure that you will agree that I am dated.
Changes in design, color preferences and tastes might change with no repercussions. But when we begin to change our behavior pattern in conflict with the Word of God, we are in big trouble. WE MUST BE WILLING TO BE DATED!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
—Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jun 17, 2013 | James
James 3:3
When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal.
An expert assisted a major airline in reducing their cost of operation. He began to analyze the effect of weight on the amount of fuel used by the planes. Reducing weight conserves fuel. It seems that instead of going to the heavier items he started with rather small things.
He interviewed the flight attendants about how often the passengers seemed to read the company magazine that was placed in each seat pocket. They said the magazines were almost never read. The magazines averaged about 50 pounds per plane. It seemed like such a tiny amount that it would not make a difference. Not so! Removing the magazines from all of the planes in the American Airlines fleet saved about $1 million dollars annually. That is a significant figure!
Have you ever considered that a small stretching of the truth is actually a lie? We realize we are going to be late for work and call the office to say we have a flat tire and it is taking longer because the spare tire is also flat. (That is more than a little lie—it is a bold faced lie).
The small things in our life are not small in the sight of the Lord. It is vital for us to view things the way God views them. There are also positive things that also seem small. We may say that we have a terrible memory and are unable to memorize Scripture, but if we memorize only one verse each week we will have memorized 52 verses in a year. Isn’t that amazing! At the end of the year we bow before the Lord and use the verses we have hidden in our heart to glorify His name. What are the SMALL THINGS in your life?
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
—Pastor Cecil
