by Pastor Cecil | May 9, 2014 | Psalm
Psalm 46:1-3
God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.
As you read the book of Psalms, David mentions repeatedly the storms of life. He was attacked on all sides by his enemies who desired to take his life. Do you feel that way sometimes?
His predecessor, King Saul, was a demented king who imagined that David was attempting to take the kingdom from him. (Actually it was the Lord who had rejected Saul because of his wickedness and failing to keep the Lord in control of his life.)
In many of his Psalms, David cried out to the Lord for help and immediately praised Him for giving him a safe place of refuge. That is the same with us today. We may be tossed and torn by the storms of life, but the Lord always gives us a haven of rest. That is the hymn for this week.
The Haven of Rest
My soul in sad exile was out on life(s) sea,
So burdened with sin and distressed,
Till I heard a sweet voice, saying, (Make Me your choice)
And I entered the Haven of Rest!
Refrain: I have anchored my soul in the Haven of Rest; I will sail the wide seas no more; The tempest may sweep over wild, stormy, deep, In Jesus I am safe evermore.
I yielded myself to His tender embrace,
In faith taking hold of the Word,
My fetters fell off, and I anchored my soul;
The Haven of Rest is my Lord.
Refrain: I have anchored my soul in the Haven of Rest; I will sail the wide seas no more; The tempest may sweep over wild, stormy, deep, In Jesus I am safe evermore.
The song of my soul, since the Lord made me whole,
Has been the old story so blest,
Of Jesus, who will save whosoever will have
A home in the Haven of Rest.
Refrain: I have anchored my soul in the Haven of Rest; I will sail the wide seas no more; The tempest may sweep over wild, stormy, deep, In Jesus I am safe evermore.
How precious the thought that we all may recline,
Like John, the beloved so blest,
On Jesus strong arm, where no tempest can harm,
Secure in the Haven of Rest.
Refrain: I have anchored my soul in the Haven of Rest; I will sail the wide seas no more; The tempest may sweep over wild, stormy, deep, In Jesus I am safe evermore.
O come to the Savior, He patiently waits
To save by His power divine;
Come, anchor your soul in the Haven of Rest,
And say, ‘My Beloved is mine.’
Refrain: I have anchored my soul in the Haven of Rest; I will sail the wide seas no more; The tempest may sweep over wild, stormy, deep, In Jesus I am safe evermore.
To access The Haven of Rest, this week’s inspirational video fromGloryScapes.com, please go to:http://www.gloryscapes.com/thehavenofrest/ 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 | May 8, 2014 | Luke
Luke 12:6-7
Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
If you have been keeping track, the sparrow is the third of God’s creatures that I have taken the time to highlight this week. We considered the frog, then the eagle, and now we will look at the sparrow.
There are a vast number of sparrows in the world, flitting among the bushes or hopping along the ground. It is almost impossible for us humans to distinguish one bird from another. We may be able to identify a species, but not individuals. God knows not only those who are alive at this moment of time, but also those that have ever lived.
There is just a little additional information we are given in today’s Scripture. It has to do with the hairs on our head. God has them all numbered. My number used to be much greater than it is now! Regardless of the number of hairs on our head, God knows us so intimately that we are able to place our trust in Him.
The tiny sparrow can teach us a valuable lesson. GOD KNOWS US INSIDE AND OUT! WE ARE HIS DESIGN AND HE FEEDS US BY HIS WORD! Always remember 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.”
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | May 7, 2014 | Deuteronomy
Deuteronomy 32:11
As an eagle stirs up its nest, hovers over its young, spreading out its wings, taking them up, carrying them on its wings, so the LORD alone led him, and there was no foreign god with him.
A few years ago I was watching a web camera focused on an eagle’s nest in Sydney, B.C., Canada. There were three eaglets in the nest. I was enthralled as I sat here at my computer and observed the drama in the nest.
Once as I watched, a marauder (another eagle), swept down on the nest. In the blink of an eye, he made off with the remains of a seagull that the mother eagle had been shredding and feeding to her hungry brood.
A video replay of the attack demonstrated how quickly it happened. The mother seemed to be aware that the intruder was near, but was more concerned for the safety of her chicks than for the scraps of seagull. It was a matter of priorities. Prior to the attack she had laboriously herded her brood under the safety of her wings. The largest eaglet was especially difficult to control. He kept trying to get out from under her wings and do his own thing, unaware of the danger to his life.
How very much we are like that willful chick. We want to do our own thing with little or no thought of the consequences of our actions. The Lord desires to cover us with His protective wings, but we fight with all of our might to escape. Then when we fall into the clutches of our enemy we wonder why God was not there to protect us.
We need to come under the protective wings of the Lord before the marauder strikes. The Lord loves us and wants to cover us with His protective wings. Whatever is happening in your life at the present time, realize that His wings are there to cover and protect you.
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | May 6, 2014 | Judges
Judges 16:20
Having put him to sleep on her lap, she called a man to shave off the seven braids of his hair, and so began to subdue him. And his strength left him. Then she called, ‘Samson, the Philistines are upon you!’ He awoke from his sleep and thought, ‘I’ll go out as before and shake myself free.’ But he did not know that the LORD had left him.
I am told that a group of researchers were experimenting on the reactions of frogs when exposed to hot water. They sat a shallow dish over heat and brought the temperature up to just under boiling.
As a frog would be placed in this hot water, it would immediately leap out of the dish onto the table. Time after time each frog tested in this manner jumped to safety and no harm was done.
They placed a frog in cool water and observed as it swam around with no concern. They very gradually raised the temperature of the water. The frog showed no concern and in fact remained in the water until it died in boiling water.
Here is where the lesson comes in. In today’s Scripture, God had given Samson a gift of power and might. There was a condition: He had to live as a Nazarite and never cut his hair. He must have known that Delilah was deceitful and was trying to discover the secret of his strength in order to tell her Philistine buddies, but he seemed to have lost touch with reality until it was too late.
We can sit in judgment over Samson and his foolishness, but before we do we need to stop and consider our own actions. In what way are we violating the things that God’s Word once convicted us about? How many times have we compromised God’s standards for our own desires? Something to think about isn’t it?
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | May 5, 2014 | John
John 17:15-19
My prayer is not that You take them out of the world but that You protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth. As You sent Me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify Myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.
It literally sends chills up and down my spine to understand that Jesus actually prayed for each and every believer! As we read the words of this beautiful prayer of our Lord, it is awesome to remember that He has each of us written in the palm of His hand. Accept this mighty prayer in your behalf.
Jesus could have easily taken all of His disciples with Him when He ascended into heaven. He didn’t! Jesus had a plan and purpose for the disciples of His day as well as the believers of all ages.
Read today’s Scripture once more and where I have underlined the words they or them, place your name instead. You see, Jesus had a plan and purpose for each believer. Some have been called to endure suffering and sacrifice, and others to a life of plenty in which to give to the work of ministry.
Things change rapidly, and we never know from moment to moment whether we will live or die for the Lord. But there is one thing we can know for certain — He has prayed this prayer for you knowing every moment of your life. What are you doing for Him?
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
