by Pastor Cecil | Jun 7, 2013 | Titus
Titus 3:4-5
“But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.”
One night, 1886, in group of Christians were singing in a down-and-out part of a large city. A distraught young woman questioned if it would be possible for a sinner like her to be saved. Listening to her heart-cry for salvation, she was taken back to the mission and left with the ladies in charge. The young, wayward woman was brought to Christ that night.
A situation was secured for her in a minister’s family. Sometime later she became ill and had to be taken to a hospital. She rapidly failed and it became evident that she would not be long on earth. One of the gentlemen whom she had met on that night on the street, was visiting her in the ward. After quoting a few suitable verses of Scripture, he repeated her favorite hymn, All to Christ I Owe. Two hours afterward she passed away.
Of course the greatest payment in our behalf is the gift of eternal life. It cost the horrible death of our precious Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He paid what we could not pay. He went to the cross voluntarily because He knew we would never be able to pay the cost.
Jesus Paid It All
I hear the Savior say,
“Thy strength indeed is small!
Child of weakness watch and pray,
Find in Me thine all in all.”
Refrain:
Jesus paid it all,
All to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain
He washed it white as snow.
For nothing good have I,
whereby Thy grace to claim
I will wash my garments white,
In the blood of Calv’ry’s Lamb.
Refrain:
Jesus paid it all,
All to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain
He washed it white as snow.
And when before the throne,
I stand in Him complete,
I’ll lay my trophies down,
All down at Jesus’ feet.
Refrain:
Jesus paid it all,
All to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain
He washed it white as snow.
To access Jesus Paid It All, this week’s inspirational video from GloryScapes.com, please go to: http://www.gloryscapes.com/jesuspaiditall/ 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 | Jun 6, 2013 | Psalm
Psalm 139:1-3
You have searched me, LORD, and You know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; You are familiar with all my ways.
Years ago I heard the story of a small village that was always quiet and serene. But one afternoon, the stillness was broken by someone running at breakneck speed shouting: They know! They know! As the story goes, many people rushed from their homes to hide anywhere they could find cover. Whether that story is true or just a legend, the fact is that many people feel they can sin and no one will ever know.
Recently someone sent me a page of remarkable quotations. One of them was by the most prolific of all authors . . . Anonymous. I am sure that you have read some of his writings from time to time. Here is his quote: YOU ARE WHAT YOU ARE WHEN YOU ARE ALONE!
I would change that just a little bit. I think it might be more accurate to say: YOU ARE WHAT YOU ARE WHEN YOU THINK NO ONE KNOWS WHAT YOU ARE DOING!
Countless individuals have caused damage to their reputation and the welfare of their families by their conduct when not around others who know them. It is well for us to remember the words of Psalm 139:1-3. We may be able to deceive others, but God knows not only our actions, but our every thought. We need to make sure the real person we are is pleasing to the Lord.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
—Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jun 5, 2013 | 1 John
1 John 4:10-11
This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
Love is more than a four-letter word. The concept of love has been so distorted and perverted in our modern world that we have difficulty understanding it. It seems that people seek to discover love that will make them tingle with delight and wrap them in a cloak of good feelings.
I must confess that I still feel that way about my wife of almost 61 years. When I first saw her I felt my heart melt and even at age 14, I felt that this was the girl the Lord had designed to be my best friend and sweetheart for as long as we both would live. It took four more years before we were joined in marriage, and we have felt His love through us in all of those years.
A vital part of love is sacrificing yourself for the one you love. As long as a person waits to be loved, there is no true understanding of what love is really all about. In Ephesians 5, Paul tells husbands to love their wives in the way Christ loved the church. That means loving enough to die for her. How many of you husbands die to yourselves in order to express your love for that wife of yours? Man, is it getting quiet in here or is it just my imagination? We all have work to do in order to come to a realization of the love Christ has for us. Then we are to pass it on.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
—Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jun 4, 2013 | Proverbs
Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the Lord with ALL your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in ALL your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.
Sunday morning, commenting on a portion of Scripture and how it applies to our lives, I quoted the passage chosen for today. It has become such a vital part of my life goal that I refresh my heart and mind several times a day with the profound truth found here in Proverbs.
Sadly, too often we rely upon our own abilities rather than allowing the Word of God and the power of the Holy Spirit to guide us. I am just as guilty of this as any other person, perhaps more so.
I seemed to have developed the persona of a Mr. Fix-it. People call me about all sorts of situations and ask me to give them advice on how to resolve the most complex problems of their lives. I try the best I can, but for the most part I know that I will never be the one who will have the answer they need. Only the Lord Jesus Christ and the Word of God will be their answer.
That brings me back to this passage in Proverbs 3. You will notice that I have taken the liberty of underlining and capitalizing the words ALL. To me that is a vital element. We are to make our trust and reliance on the Lord a total commitment. When we find ourselves blocking the movement of the Lord to guide and direct our lives, we need to immediately stop and allow the Lord to control.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
—Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jun 3, 2013 | John
John 11:25-26
I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?
One of the realities of getting older is saying farewell to loved ones and friends. Many times they are younger than we are. I have learned that none of us can be assured how long we will live; but what about the idea of separation?
If you are anything like me, you are heartsick when a loved one dies or even moves away from your area. In like, many I have been grieved to hear of homes that have been shattered by separation and divorce. I want things to remain!
Death is often thought of as the ultimate separation. For those who do not know the Lord Jesus as their personal Savior, death is just that! But what about those of us who have our name written in the Book of Life. There is an answer!
The answer is that we can see our loved ones again. The assurance the Bible gives us is that those who believe in Jesus will never die. That means when we as believers leave this world, we will be joined together for eternity. There will never be separation. I look forward to that day!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
—Pastor Cecil
