by Pastor Cecil | Jan 31, 2014 | Psalm
Psalm 90:1-2
Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations. Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
O God, Our Help in Ages Past is a hymn by Isaac Watts and paraphrases Psalm 90. It originally consisted of nine stanzas. In present usage, however, the hymn is usually limited to stanzas one, two, three, five and nine.
The hymn was originally part of The Psalms of David Imitated in the Language of the New Testament, published by Watts in 1719. It has often been sung for special occasions in England. It was sung in 1941, at a religious service on board HMS Prince of Wales attended by Winston Churchill and Franklin Delano Roosevelt as part of the conference creating the Atlantic Charter. It was also sung at the funeral of Winston Churchill in 1965.
Later composers subsequently incorporated the tune in their own works. For example, George Handel used the tune in an anthem entitled, O Praise the Lord.
Oh God, Our Help In Ages Past
Our God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Our shelter from the stormy blast,
And our eternal home.
Under the shadow of Thy throne
Thy saints have dwelt secure;
Sufficient is Thine arm alone,
And our defense is sure.
Before the hills in order stood,
Or earth received her frame,
From everlasting Thou art God,
To endless years the same.
A thousand ages in Thy sight
Are like an evening gone;
Short as the watch that ends the night
Before the rising sun.
The busy tribes of flesh and blood,
With all their lives and cares,
Are carried downwards by the flood,
And lost in following years.
O God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Be Thou our guide while troubles last,
And our eternal home.
To access Oh God, Our Help In Ages Past, this week’s inspirational video from GloryScapes.com, please go to:http://www.gloryscapes.com/ogodourhelpinagespast 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 | Jan 30, 2014 | Hebrews
Hebrews 3:12-11
See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called ‘Today,’ so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.
One of the most feared words in the English language is the word cancer. Many of us have lost loved ones to that dread disease, and even though tremendous improvements have been made in treatment, it still is our enemy.
One of the members of our church family is a team captain for the Relay for Life. Here is her report: “We have only had 10 members for the past two years, and in our first year we raised $4,670; and our second year we raised $7,387! That makes a total of $12,057 we have raised to help destroy the MONSTER I CALL CANCER.” The loss of her sister-in-law to cancer a year ago motivates Cheri to continue the fight.
Many of us know friends or family members who have been impacted with this foul malady. But there is an even greater disease that affects the entire human race . . . SIN! We were all born with it, and without treatment, it is always fatal!
The only treatment for sin is salvation, which is not received by being good, attending church services, or giving money in the offering. While those may be good things, they do not treat sin. Salvation is found ONLY by the blood of Jesus Christ. He paid the price for our redemption on the cross. If you have never done so before, please confess you are a sinner, and accept Him as your personal Savior. The treatment is 100% successful!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jan 29, 2014 | Ezekiel
Ezekiel 24:10-11
So heap on the wood and kindle the fire. Cook the meat well, mixing in the spices; and let the bones be charred. Then set the empty pot on the coals till it becomes hot and its copper glows, so that its impurities may be melted and its deposit burned away.
The heat from a woodstove is comfy and comforting. Early in the morning before most people are awake, it is a joy to kindle a fire and watch as the flames from the kindling start to ignite the larger chunks of wood.
Perhaps I am a little strange, but I enjoy praying as I gaze into the flames. This morning as I meditated in front of my small woodstove, I noticed something. In order for the larger pieces of wood to burn, it was necessary to have a red hot bed of coals to support new wood that is added. It is inevitable that the coals will die out, but if more fuel is added, they pass the fire along.
It struck me that the Christian life is very much like that. If you do not have a bed of on-fire believers, it is difficult to produce believers who are on fire for Jesus. Perhaps that is why we often refer to some people as lukewarm Christians.
As you truthfully examine your walk with the Lord, where do you see yourself in relation to the fire? I want to be consumed by the fire of God in my life in order to make those who follow after me blaze brightly. Consume me Lord!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jan 28, 2014 | Mark
Mark 9:50
Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with each other.
There is a wonderful illustration that goes something like this: “While it is true that you can lead a horse to water, you can’t make him drink . . . but you can salt his oats!” I cannot begin to tell you the number of times that illustration has come to my mind since I first heard it.
Some of us in Christian ministry wear ourselves out trying to force people to drink when they show no inclination and, in fact, refuse to drink. We heap on guilt or glitter, but there are still no slurping sounds. What is the answer? SALT THE OATS! Right! How do we do that? It is a good question and deserves careful consideration.
Salt is very valuable and has been used across the centuries for many purposes. It was used to preserve foods, season foods, and for its medicinal qualities. In Roman times, the soldiers were paid in salt. That is where the word salary came from. When you hear the expression, “He’s not worth his salt,” it refers to the payment in salt that was received.
With that bit of information in mind, in what way can we become salty Christians? I have two unrelated word pictures that may be of assistance. Have you ever been in a room full of people and pretended to be yawning? Do you know what happens? Others start yawning themselves. Perhaps you could say that you “salted” the yawn reflex.
The second word picture is encouraging reluctant youngsters to eat by eating with great relish ourselves. “Hmmmm! That is so good! I’m going to eat some more! Do you want to try some too?” I want to tell you it works better than saying, “Eat your veggies! There are starving children in the world who would love them!” Our kids used to reply, “Please send my veggies to them.”
In today’s Scripture, Jesus says that we are to have salt in us. I take that to mean that we are to be so full of Him that we are salt to those around us. In Colossians 4:6, Paul admonishes: “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”
There is no way we can live indifferent Christian lives and be salt and light to those around us. If we do that, we have lost our saltiness and no longer possess the appeal that will draw others to walk close to Christ.
Are you salting the oats of those you come in contact with? Are you creating such a desire that people must drink from God’s well that never will run dry? Spend time in God’s Word and see the thrill that will make you want more and more of Him.
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jan 27, 2014 | John
John 14:1-3
Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in Me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with Me that you also may be where I am.
What would you say if you knew it would be the last words you will ever speak this side of eternity? Not only what would you say, but who would you say it to? Would it be a family member or a business associate?
If you knew it would be the last time you ever had to share the gospel with a lost person, would you have the courage to do so? Many times the hesitance in sharing is more procrastination than anything else. But what if our hesitance cost that loved an eternity in heaven?
I had a high school classmate who became very successful. He was a bank manager of a small town bank. I was traveling on business to that town and we met for lunch. With tears in his eyes he shared how he had been intending to witness to the high school football coach. They met every week, but he had postponed sharing the gospel. A few days before we shared our lunch, the coach had a heart attack and died.
His sorrow was not in simply losing a friend, but due to his never giving the man an opportunity to receive Jesus before it was too late. Are there individuals in your life who need to hear the gospel or just to hear a word of encouragement? We never know how near eternity is. What will your last words be?
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
