by Pastor Cecil | Aug 30, 2013 | 1 Corinthians
1 Corinthians 3:10-11
“According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”
Back during my high school days, I worked weekends and summers for a concrete contractor. Believe me when I tell you that things were different back then. There was very little pre-mixed concrete that was delivered by large rotating carriers. We were the mixers! We had a pile of sand, another of gravel and sacks of concrete that we had to combine shovel by shovel and bag by bag, water was then added.
In order to get the sloppy concrete into the foundation, we had to deliver it by manual labor. We had large wheelbarrows that we filled then pushed to the point of delivery. In the building process a solid foundation was essential. A weakened foundation could lead to the building falling.
As we travel through this life we often see people that have not laid a foundation that will withstand the storms of life. Sadly when storms strike, their foundations fail. It is during the storms that we need the solid foundation of the Lord Jesus Christ to keep us safe. John Rippon published this hymn in 1787.
How Firm a Foundation
How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in His excellent Word!
What more can He say than to you He hath said,
To you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?
Fear not, I am with thee, O be not dismayed,
For I am thy God, I will still give thee aid;
I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,
Upheld by My gracious, omnipotent hand.
When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,
My grace all-sufficient shall be thy supply;
The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design
Thy dross to consume, and thy gold to refine.
The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose,
I will not, I will not desert to his foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I’ll never, no never, no never forsake!
To access How Firm a Foundation, this week’s inspirational video fromGloryScapes Hymn Music Videos, please go to:http://www.gloryscapes.com/howfirmafoundation/ 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 | Aug 29, 2013 | Psalm
Psalm 23:4
Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
There is one stanza from Tennyson’s Charge of the Light Brigade in which he borrowed heavily from Psalm 23:4: “Forward, the Light Brigade! Was there a man dismay’d? Not (though) the soldiers knew, Someone had blundered: Theirs not to make reply; Theirs not to reason why; Theirs but to do and die: Into the valley of Death Rode the six hundred.”
Why do true believers have to endure pain, sorrow, and loss in this old sin-sick world? Perhaps the answer is found at the beginning of the book of Job where Satan asserts that the only reason Job was so righteous was because God had protected and prospered him.
If that was true in Job’s day, it stands to reason that such accusations still ring out today not just in the courts of heaven, but in the heart of some cynical unbeliever who might accuse the believer in trusting God because it might insure an easy life.
That has not been the case in the past and it is not the case today. We may suffer pain and sorrow just as much as others. The difference we need to remember is that this world is not our home. Our ultimate home is in heaven, and the things we suffer here on earth will seem insignificant when we get home.
As Tennyson wrote, we can enter the Valley of Death with great confidence—we know what is waiting for us on the other side! Hold on dear child, joy comes in the morning!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
—Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Aug 28, 2013 | Jeremiah
Jeremiah 6:10
To whom can I speak and give warning? Who will listen to me? Their ears are closed so they cannot hear. The word of the Lord is offensive to them; they find no pleasure in it.
Over the years I have had heart-to-heart talks with individuals and couples. As I poured my heart out to them I was sure they had received the message. Often it would be only a short time to reveal that they had not been listening, or had possibly rejected my counsel.
Perhaps you have encountered similar situations. You may want to share your wise counsel to someone in the hopes that they would benefit by it. You may have hoped to prevent them from continuing actions that could be detrimental to them, their families, or others.
Working as a Juvenile Probation Officer, I sometimes gave my heart-to-heart talk with a delinquent who I felt was heading for disaster. I can still recall their look of feigned interest. A short time later they would be arrested for another offense, and I realized that my heart-to-heart was not received.
Hold on just a minute. Before we become discouraged about the responses of others, take hope. There have been many instances where the little open-hearted discussions I have had with people (that seemingly fell on deaf ears) have suddenly produced fruit. More than once I have had people express thanks for something I had said months or years before. God is in control!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
—Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Aug 27, 2013 | Revelation
Revelation 21:4
He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.
When I read passages like this, I really get homesick for heaven. The thought that everything that causes us pain here will be passed away is beyond our comprehension. All of us experience pain. Pain is of different types—physical, emotional, spiritual, to mention a few. Our tolerance to pain is interesting to observe. It is always more interesting to observe pain in others than it is in ourselves! In heaven all pain will end!
Many years ago I was volunteering to work on remodeling a church. There was a young man in his twenties who was also part of the work detail. Suddenly we heard this young man scream in obvious pain and rushed in to see if he may be fatally wounded. We discovered him holding his finger and dancing around in circles as he continued his loud screams. It was only a small sliver. We were not too sympathetic and gave an impromptu mimicry of his display. He was indignant and protested that there was even blood. We were not impressed!
In contrast I recall traveling with our high school football team the year after I graduated. I was standing on the sidelines when one of our players was tackled just a few feet from me. We were all cheering for him when I heard him softly mutter; “Rats, I just broke my arm!” It was so casual that we thought he might be teasing. We were wrong and he was right—it was broken!
What a difference in the manner in which people perceive the pain they experience. Pinprick-sized cuts can hurt and broken bones can hurt, and family conflicts can hurt, and being unappreciated can hurt, and being falsely accused can hurt, and being ill can hurt—we could go on for a long time. The bottom line is that pain is a reality of life.
Praise God, there is a light at the end of our tunnel of pain! Athletes, as well as others, are sometimes forced to work through their pain for the good of the desired objective. They know that the goal is worth the agony. We would do well to learn that lesson ourselves. But there is a time coming when pain will disappear!
I love the book of Revelation. It gives meaning and direction to everything else in Scripture. I heard of a noted Bible scholar who had been teaching an in-depth study of Revelation. An older man in the class came up to him following one of the last classes and said he could sum up the Book of Revelation in two words. The scholar scoffed until the old man said, “Jesus Wins!”
As long as we are alive we are almost certainly going to encounter pain. We have a choice of allowing the pain to become the focus of our attention, or to endure the pain in order to accomplish what Christ calls us to do for Him.
The hope and vision that propels us is that our pain will end. The Apostle Paul has already said it better than I could ever phrase it: 2 Corinthians 4:17-18 “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
—Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Aug 26, 2013 | Romans
Romans 8:28
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
Last Friday I received a call that delighted my heart. It was from a dear pastor friend. He explained that he had been having plumbing problems at his house. I am not sure just what exactly it was, but from the estimate he received it was going to cost him something over $400. Ouch!
In calling friends for recommendations about who to call to do the work, one name kept surfacing. Each time he was told that the man was very independent and may not even want to do the work. If he did, they said it would be very costly.
He finally made the call and the man was everything he was described as. He was almost insulting about spiritual things on the phone and it was a surprise when he said he would do the work. When he arrived it seemed he was more interested in finding the Lord than in fixing the plumbing problem. It was only a very short time before he prayed and received Jesus Christ as his personal Savior. WOW!
As my friend related the incident to me, he was so excited that it seemed he was glowing with spiritual energy. I could only feel that it was not so much a plumbing problem that needed to be fixed, but a heart problem. God had graciously used plumbing as a means to bring this man to salvation. Are there any situations in your life that God may be using to present the gospel? Remember that everything works together for good when God is in it! (By the way, the bill for the plumbing was $0).
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
—Pastor Cecil
