by Pastor Cecil | Mar 16, 2015 | Psalm
Psalm 118:7-9
“The Lord is with me; He is my helper. I look in triumph on my enemies. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in humans. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes.”
From time to time, someone asks me how we can know the Bible is the true Word of God? There are many hundreds of prophecies that were fulfilled that prove the truth. That being said, however, belief is a choice. It is a matter of faith. We can either choose to believe, or we can lean on the shallow thinking of unbelievers who say there is no God. One second after death there will be no unbelievers. But failure to accept Christ will cost them eternal suffering and loss. Sad will be their bitter wail!
Some time ago I received an e-mail that should cause doubters to reconsider the truth of the Bible. (This is just one of hundreds). It has to do with the middle of the Bible. The shortest chapter in the Bible is Psalm 117. The longest chapter is Psalm 119.
Now please guess the middle chapter in the Bible? Amazingly it is Psalm 118. That is just the beginning. There are 594 chapters before Psalm 118 and 594 chapters after Psalm 118 for a total of 1188 chapters in the Bible. Hold on to that number, 1188. The very middle verse in the Bible is Psalm 118:8! I have underlined it above: “It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in humans.”
In the storms of life and in the expectation of the eternity awaiting us, I find it the most comforting to place my trust in the Lord. Regardless of what others do around me, I choose to take my refuge in the Lord.
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Mar 12, 2015 | 2 Timothy
2 Timothy 3:5,7
“Having a form of godliness but denying its power.” “Always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth.”
It grieves me that there are so many professed believers in the Lord Jesus Christ who tell more than show the way we are to live out our Christian faith. SORRY! I hate to upset their apple cart, but it should rather be first of all Show . . . then Tell.
We hear all too much and see so very little. There are those who claim to be godly, and try to appear godly, but the result is that they look like they have just been baptized in vinegar.
Sadly, many believe that spiritual depth is measured by educational achievement. Years ago someone said to me that there are so many doctors in the church today you would think God was sick. Some seem to be more concerned with earning titles than practicing their calling.
There is an old book that I read many years ago titled “In His Steps” by Charles Sheldon. The theme of the book is to live life with this question in the forefront of our mind: What Would Jesus Do?
It is a call for all of us to be GOD’S GODLY PEOPLE in the way we live and as we search His Word to find the way He wants us to live. In a day of shallow spirituality, we need more men and women to trust and obey!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Mar 11, 2015 | Genesis
Genesis 3:12-13
“The man said, ‘The woman You put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.’ Then the Lord God said to the woman, ‘What is this you have done?’ The woman said, ‘The serpent deceived me, and I ate.’”
Many years ago there was a comedian by the name of Flip Wilson. In one of his popular comedy sketches he continually excused his misbehavior by saying, “The devil made me do it!” That may be all too true, but the excuse fails the scrutiny of the Lord.
Excuse-making started way back in the Garden of Eden. Both Adam and Eve went against the command of God not to eat of that tree. Instead of confessing their sin, they pointed the finger at someone else. Adam excused himself by blaming the woman and the God who made her. (How is that for soft-headed logic?!) The woman blamed the serpent instead of admitting that she had sinned.
I guess you know what is coming next. If making excuses for our sinful actions started in the Garden, have we perfected it? In our modern world sin has become so prevalent that those who live a righteous life are considered abnormal (I wonder where that lie came from.)
John gives us a clear pattern for dealing with sin without making an excuse. 1 John 1:9: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” Stop making excuses and confess!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Mar 10, 2015 | Genesis
Genesis 11:31
“Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, the wife of his son Abram, and together they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan. But when they came to Harran, they settled there.”
There is a small town in the State of Oregon named Halfway. As near as I have been able to discern, the name was given because it was halfway between two other small towns, Pine and Cornucopia.
It is one thing to speak of a place being halfway between two locations, but when a person’s goals are involved, it is another matter. Perhaps most of us know of people who have a goal to achieve something great for the Lord . . . but only make it halfway.
Abraham’s father was Terah. He set out to go to the land of Canaan, but when he came to a city called Haran he settled there. We are not told why Terah settled short of his goal, but he ended his life far from the land he had intended to reach.
I wonder how many of us have been called by God to accomplish a certain task. We have every intention of doing what God says, but we wake up one morning and realize that we have settled far from God’s objective for us. It is never too late to make a new commitment and seek God’s direction. Once we find His will, we need to press on until we reach our goal.
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Mar 9, 2015 | Luke
Luke 6:32
“If you love only those who love you, why should you get credit for that? Even sinners love those who love them!”
From time to time I hear stories of people who visit a church and are never greeted or made to feel welcome. In fact I have heard of visitors being asked to move as they were sitting in someone’s pew. (That’s right—I think it stinks!) Perhaps it would be safe to say that most of us would like to be considered loving people. It is very easy to love our friends and family. We laugh and visit while just a few steps away are those who are left out.
Years ago Joyce and I were at one end of a long hallway. At the far end was a side door that was seldom used. One of our friends was a greeter at the door to welcome people as they came in and give them a bulletin. Two older ladies had just entered and were walking our way. Bob waved at us in an exaggerated manner. My usually timid wife waved back in the same manner.
That was just the beginning. The two little ladies waved back at Joyce in the same way. They almost ran up to her and began to talk and share. They seemed to have found someone who cared about them. They went from being lonely and neglected senior citizens to individuals who someone cared about.
I have tried to make it a point from that day on to look for those lonely souls that seem to be on the periphery. They just need a little love and attention to make them feel that someone cares about them. I would like to challenge you to look around you and share your love with them.
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
