by Pastor Cecil | Oct 16, 2015 | Psalm
Psalm 103:1-5
“Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise His holy name. Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s”
I would dare to say that almost all of us experienced some sort of trial in our life. It could be the loss of health, a financial meltdown, death of a mate or child or any number of catastrophic events. It is not whether or not we will encounter these trials, but rather what we will do when they arise.
The phrase, “Praise to the Lord” occurs in at least 155 verses in the Bible. That indicates to me that we need to spend far more time praising the Lord than we do. It would be well to replace our complaints with words of praise to the Lord.
Over 300 years ago, Joachim Neander was a hymn writer for the German Reform church. He was going through a time of trial and testing in his life. He would take long walks and pour his heart out to the Lord. It was on one of these walks that he came to the realization that it was not his strength that would give him victory and peace, but rather the powerful God he served. It was in that state of mind that he composed this week’s featured hymn.
Praise to the Lord, the Almighty
Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation!
O my soul, praise Him, for He is thy health and salvation!
All ye who hear, Now to His temple draw near;
Join me in glad adoration!
Praise to the Lord, who o’er all things so wondrously reigneth,
Shelters thee under His wings, yea, so gently sustaineth!
Hast thou not seen how thy desires e’er have been
Granted in what He ordaineth?
Praise to the Lord, who with marvelous wisdom hath made thee!
Decked thee with health, and with loving hand guided and stayed thee;
How oft in grief hath not He bought thee relief,
Spreading His wings for to shade thee!
Praise to the Lord! O let all that is in me adore Him!
All that hath life and breath, come now with praises before Him!
Let the Amen sound from His people again;
Gladly for aye we adore Him.
To access Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, this week’s inspirational video from GloryScapes™ Inspirational Music Videos, please go to: http://www.gloryscapes.com/praisetothelordthealmighty/ 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 | Oct 15, 2015 | 1 Thessalonians
1 Thessalonians 5:14-15
“Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all. See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all.”
I have sometimes been called an exhorter. A person with the gift of exhortation is motivated to boost the spirits of people around them. Sometimes in our excitement to help people achieve their full potential we may seem pushy. My own daughter has sometimes called me Pastor Push!
I recall attending a football practice at a local high school. The coach was very passionate and exhorted his players to do their best. He divided his team and was having a scrimmage. A ball carrier was running down the field and his teammate was supposed to block for him. Instead he just watched as a defensive player made a tackle. The coach yelled at the player who had missed the block; “Son, if you can’t block for him, at least you should cheer for him!”
We all need to be aware that there are scores of people around us who need someone to cheer for them. The world is a dismal place at times and without someone to lift spirits it can seem unbearable. We do not have to be a great orator to exhort people. People need to know there is someone who knows they are there and cares! Let Jesus shine through from you to those around you!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
—Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Oct 14, 2015 | Psalm
Psalm 119:9-11
“How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word. With my whole heart I have sought You; Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments! Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You.”
As I was praying about the subject for this issue of BLESSINGS FROM THE HEART, my thoughts were drawn to “Your Word.” When I checked a concordance I discovered that Psalm 119 has so many references to these two words that it was difficult to count them. Not only that, but there were a vast number of synonyms for God’s Word.
I have heard that Jewish boys were required to memorize all of Psalm 119. That may not sound like much until you check and discover that there are a total of 176 verses in this chapter. (When was the last time you memorized one or two verses?)
Most of us have several Bibles in our possession. In many cases they look like they have never been opened. I always try to be careful when I purchase a new Bible, but it seems like before long it becomes so worn and marked up that I need to go shopping for a new one. It is sheer bliss to pick one of my old Bibles and thumb through it and read a few of the notes I had made.
The important thing is that our Bibles are God breathed. The words are His words! I want those words to burn deep into my heart and keep me focused on Him at all times.
“A Bible that’s falling apart usually belongs to someone who isn’t.” – Charles H. Spurgeon
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Oct 13, 2015 | Numbers
Numbers 35:22-23
“But if without enmity someone suddenly pushes another or throws something at them unintentionally or, without seeing them, drops on them a stone heavy enough to kill them, and they die, then since that other person was not an enemy and no harm was intended…”
Accidents happen! Sometimes they are totally beyond our control, but at other times we take risks that lead to accidents. Recently during a major flooding event in South Carolina, drivers were warned about the dangers of driving through high water. I watched as television cameras recorded a pickup truck driving into deep water that was very clearly flowing from left to right. The truck was approximately halfway through the flooded area when suddenly it began to float and soon was swamped.
Rescuers in an inflatable boat had to come to the rescue of that driver. Was it an accident? Clearly the driver thought he was able to make it across the flooded roadway, but he took a risk that endangered his life and others. It was unintentional but could have been avoided.
There are times in life where we have the best intentions in the world, but for some reason or another, we fail to follow through. The results can be catastrophic or at least lead to difficult situations. Our actions may be unintentional but risky.
God calls us to walk circumspectly and obediently. We need to search the Word of God continually and pattern our life accordingly. Living a life of victory and meaning is the result of staying close to Jesus. Trust and obey — there is no other way!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Oct 12, 2015 | Jeremiah
Jeremiah 9:23-24
“Thus says the Lord: ‘Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, let not the mighty man glory in his might, nor let the rich man glory in his riches; but let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight,’ says the Lord.”
When my wife Joyce was still alive I always knew what would bring her delight. It was not flowers or candy. It was for me to straighten up my area. You see, it seems that my desk and around my chair become cluttered with books, mail, and above all, small scraps of paper that I have scribbled notes on. Each item has (or had) some value to me, but to Joyce it was just a big mess.
Quite often we focus only upon our interests or the things that are important to us. When those around us lack the same interests that we do, we are prone to spend less and less time with and around them. We only seem to be interested in those who are interested in the things that we are. I think you can see that this is very narrow minded and will block meaningful relationships.
Turning the spotlight of our attention on spiritual things reveals the same problem. We seem to think that we are the ones that determine whether God will be interested in what we do. We fail to ask what it is that He wants. This passage in Jeremiah makes very clear the thing that delights the Lord. Essentially it is that we will understand and know Him and His workings. Let’s delight the Lord by knowing Him better and better.
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
