by Pastor Cecil | Sep 9, 2015 | Luke
Luke 12:19-20
“And I will say to my soul, ‘Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’”
From time to time I see an advertisement for a product to boost your health. (We all need that, don’t we?). In the ad a woman is walking toward the camera and says; “I’m in my 60’s and I have many good years left to live.”
That may sound well in an advertisement, but it is not necessarily true. We have no idea how many years, months, weeks, days, or even hours we have left to live. Isn’t that a sobering thought!
There is a poem written by C.T. Studd, Only One Life, that has one line that many of us have heard so many times we are sure it is from the Bible; “Only one life, ’twill soon be past, only what’s done for Christ will last.” The rest of that verse goes like this; “And when I am dying, how happy I’ll be, if the lamp of my life has been burned out for Thee.”
We may not know the length of our days, but I praise God we can know that there is an eternity with Jesus waiting for us. What a joy it will be when we will join the believers of all ages—for eternity!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Sep 8, 2015 | 2 Corinthians
2 Corinthians 1:3-4
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”
A few days ago I received a get well card. When I saw the name on the return address, my mind flew back many years ago. I was teaching a Sunday school class of young professional men and women. We had been spending a considerable amount of time on thanking God for every circumstance in our life when this young woman raised her hand to ask a question that has rattled my cage ever since: “Have you ever experienced the beauty of pain?”
She explained that she had fallen while riding her bike on the way to work. The pain was intense and, as she looked down at her knee, blood was flowing freely. She was almost ready to cry when she thought of what I had been teaching in that class. Immediately she thanked God for the circumstance even though she had no idea why she would pray something like this.
Immediately after her prayer an amazing thing took place. It was as if all the members of her body were speaking to each other. They were calling out to be very careful since one of the members was injured. The other leg took most of the strain, but the arms and the torso also tried to ease the injured member of her body.
After all these years I feel that this young woman accomplished far more by her illustration than my weeks of teaching had accomplished. The thought occurs to me that there are many injured members in our body. Rather than ignore them, we need to make every effort to ease their load.
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Sep 7, 2015 | John
John 9:4
“I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work.”
Today, September 7, 2015, is Labor Day here in the US and Labour Day in Canada. Isn’t it interesting that it is called Labor/Labour Day, when usually no work is done on this holiday? One of the great mysteries of life! Go figure!
There are so many times in our life when the opportunity is lost to witness to someone because we are afraid — afraid to appear outdated, use the wrong Scriptures, or to be misunderstood in some other way.
I once heard of a young man who was being trained in soul-winning evangelism. He told his trainer that he would go along on the calls they made, but he would never be able to do the witnessing himself. There came a day, however, when the young man wanted to witness to his college roommate. As they talked, the young man seemed to have forgotten everything in which he had been instructed. He used the “wrong” scriptures and was very blunt in his approach. He finally asked his roommate, “Well, are you going to accept Jesus as your Savior or not?” The roommate replied, “Of course I will. You made it so plain to me.” They knelt and the roommate received Jesus!
If someone was approaching a bridge that had been washed away and you were stopped ahead of them, I’m sure you would immediately wave your hands to warn them of the dangerous precipice that lie ahead. Believe me, there is one! Let’s labor every day!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Sep 4, 2015 | Psalm
Psalm 107:29-30
“He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed. They were glad when it grew calm, and He guided them to their desired haven.”
It seems that each of us is called upon to face storms in our life. It may be physical infirmity, financial reversals or the loss of a loved one. It is not the storm that matters, but how we react to the storm.
Back in 1873, Horatio Spafford and his family were scheduled to sail on the French steamer ‘Ville de Havre’ from New York to England where he was to assist the great evangelist, D.L. Moody. Because of a last minute business crisis Mr. Spafford sent his family on ahead and he would follow on a later ship.
Unfortunately the ship his family was on collided with another ship and sank. There was a terrible loss of life. Spafford and his wife lost their four daughters. Nine days later Horatio Spafford received a cable from his wife that simply said, “Saved alone.” What poignant words.
Later, as he was sailing to meet his wife, he asked the captain to let him know when they were near where the accident had occurred. It was there that he penned the words of this week’s hymn, “It Is Well with My Soul.”
It Is Well With My Soul
When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul.
Refrain:
It is well (it is well),
with my soul (with my soul),
It is well, it is well with my soul.
My sin, oh the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to His cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
Refrain:
It is well (it is well),
with my soul (with my soul),
It is well, it is well with my soul.
And Lord haste the day, when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.
Refrain:
It is well (it is well),
with my soul (with my soul),
It is well, it is well with my soul.
To access Liebestraum & It Is Well With My Soul, this week’s inspirational video from GloryScapes.com, please go to: http://www.gloryscapes.com/liebestraum/ in your browser or click on the image below.
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
—Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Sep 3, 2015 | Isaiah
Isaiah 40:31
“But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.”
You know the longer I live the more I realize I know so very little. But then it’s really not essential that I know everything. I feel like the old pastor who slowly walked to the pulpit. The congregation eagerly awaited the words that this precious saint of God would deliver. You may recall the story that he simply said; “Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so.”
My sojourn in the hospital gave me an opportunity to read more than I have been able to for some time. I’m so appreciative of having a Kindle device so I can read book after book without carrying an entire armload. I spent a great deal of time reading a book by Jerry Bridges called; Trusting God; Even When Life Hurts.
It gave me a new appreciation of the sovereignty of God. It really is not what makes me comfortable or painless. In fact it is not about me at all. It is so easy to focus all of our attention upon making ourselves better or at ease, but what God wants to do with us and through us. If it is pain so be it! If it is suffering so be it! If it is complete healing so be it!
During my stay God was able to use me to bring a little bit of healing to the nurses and staff who treated me. That was my ministry for this particular situation and I thank God for it. I rejoice being home, but I want to be available for God to be sovereign in my life.
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
