by Pastor Cecil | Mar 31, 2015 | Psalm
Psalm 19:12-14
“But who can know their own mistakes? Forgive my hidden faults. Also keep me from the sins I want to commit. May they not be my master then I will be without blame. I will not be guilty of any great sin against Your law. Lord, may these words of my mouth please You and may these thoughts of my heart please You also. You are my Rock and my Redeemer.”
For many years we have had our daily devotions by reading through the Bible in one year. While Joyce was still alive we would have our breakfast and then at 8:00, we would call our daughter Lori. I would read the day’s passages that were designed to take us through the bible in one year. We actually repeat Psalms twice.
Following the reading I open my heart to the Lord and pray over my family. I allow the Holy Spirit to lay those things on my heart to pray for. Many times the words of Psalm 19:14 would come to mind. That is the second part of today’s Scripture.
It was just today that I grasped something that had escaped my attention. It was in the New International Readers Version. The key words that jumped out at me were “THESE WORDS” …which led me to consider what these words referred to.
The Psalmist is confessing his mistakes, hidden faults, and even sins he wants to commit. It is the honest prayer of one who desires to be led by the Lord in thought, word, and deed. I am sad to report that most of us commit sins and then ask the Lord to forgive us. That is well and good, but this goes a step beyond and asks the Lord to give strength to live above our sinful nature. That is my prayer!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Mar 30, 2015 | Psalm
Psalm 65:5-7
“You answer us with awesome and righteous deeds, God our Savior, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas, who formed the mountains by Your power, having armed Yourself with strength, who stilled the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, and the turmoil of the nations.”
Sometimes we are so caught up in the storms of life, that it seems as if all of our reference points are lost. Our modern culture has become so polluted with sin and lack of moral absolutes, that we are given mis-direction as well as no-direction.
So how do we find a reliable source to navigate through the storms of life? Again we fall back upon the Word of God. I think it is essential that we call upon the Lord as early as possible. We need the Great Navigator of all creation to have control of our life as well as the storms we will encounter. The longer we wait the more off course we become.
It also speaks of God bringing us His Word. I am sure that almost everyone has heard that old cliché; “A day without God’s Word, makes one weak!” We need Him not just daily, but each moment throughout the day to give direction and meaning to our life.
I once read about a man who was lined up to apply for a visa. A part of the process required him to show a picture of his mother. As he laid out the picture, the woman behind him yelled out, “That’s not your mother, that’s my mother!” Then in just a few minutes the two rejoiced they had found a sibling they did not know about. From a frustrating situation came rejoicing. GOD NAVIGATES WELL!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Mar 26, 2015 | Luke
Luke 21:2-3
“For I also am a man placed under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
Throughout my life I have been in positions of authority. Watching actual police programs on TV we see offenders blaming the officers who arrest them instead of admitting they were in the wrong and submitting to authority. I once served as a police officer and met people who became agitated and belligerent when they were confronted. It was evident that they had just been guilty of some type of violation, but they refused to be responsible for their actions.
In each of the positions of authority I came under the authority of someone who was above me. Authority comes as a result of being assigned to a position of authority and not entirely based upon merit. Each authority figure has someone who is in authority above them. They in turn have someone they answered to and up the chain of command it progresses. Societies experience chaos and disintegration when people demand to do their own thing without regard to the consequences.
More and more, we observe people in this old sin-sick world that detest any form of authority. They rebel and protest in order to reject the rules of the society of which they are a part. The rejection of authority is anarchy. That is not good!
The final authority is God! Every human authority will one day stand facing the Judge of all the earth. Our failure to recognize and submit to His authority has eternal consequences. I for one do not want to have my own way when it comes to the will of God. I choose to allow Him to be my final authority.
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Mar 25, 2015 | Hebrews
Hebrews 11:1-3
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.”
It was in the early seventies and I had been studying the beautiful concept of faith. I was discussing the subject with a fellow believer and asked him how he would define faith. He smiled, recited Hebrews 11:1, and then sat back with a pleased grin on his face.
When I asked him to put that scripture into his own words, he struggled and just recited the scripture again. I suddenly realized that just mouthing the words of Scripture does not mean that we actually understand what God has for us in His Word.
Then I envisioned an ice cream cone on a hot summer day and suggested that my friend imagine we were on our way to the ice cream shop. I asked him what his favorite flavor was. He told me and as he did, I noticed he licked his lips. It was then I suggested that we enjoy the goodness of the ice cream before we were served.
In the same way, we have God’s promises in His Word that we can begin to enjoy here even before we get there. We can begin to enjoy the answers to prayer by trusting in the Lord and joyfully allowing Him to have control of our life. By faith we have victory here, and glory, too!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Mar 24, 2015 | Psalm
Psalm 55:16-18
“As for me, I will call upon God, and the Lord shall save me. Evening and morning and at noon I will pray, and cry aloud, and He shall hear my voice. He has redeemed my soul in peace from the battle that was against me, for there were many against me.”
It seems like a lifetime ago (it almost is) when our kids were toddlers. They began to demonstrate their independent streak when they would interrupt what Joyce or I were doing with the words, “I do it myself!”
That same attitude continues into our adult life in one form or another. This is especially true in spiritual matters. We read in God’s Word that we are to follow Him in all that we do, but by our actions we seem to be saying to God that we want to do it our way and by ourselves.
It is crystal clear that salvation comes by grace through faith, yet millions of people seem to think that they can achieve salvation by their own works. God is not interested in our puny works. He is, however, interested in our obedience. In 1 Samuel 15:22b, Samuel relates to King Saul: “Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed is better than the fat of rams.”
That was true back then and it is still true today. When we read God’s commands in the Bible they are the same yesterday, today, and forever. We need to stop trying to do things our way and start doing things God’s way!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
