by Pastor Cecil | Dec 16, 2016 | Isaiah
Isaiah 7:14
“Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.”
The name Immanuel (or Emmanuel) is interpreted “God with us.” There are many Old Testament prophecies of the coming Messiah. The encouragement that His coming entails is that God Himself will descend and make His appearance to save the people from their sins. Thank God He has come!
The “Day-Spring” referenced in the third stanza below is an encouragement for us as we travel through the long and dark times of our life. I am overjoyed that God has cared so much for us that He has sent salvation to us by grace through faith!
O COME, O COME EMMANUEL!
O come, O come, Emmanuel
And ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan’s tyranny
From depths of Hell Thy people save
And give them victory o’er the grave
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Thou Day-Spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night
And death’s dark shadows put to flight.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Thou Key of David, come,
And open wide our heavenly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, O come, Thou Lord of might,
Who to Thy tribes, on Sinai’s height,
In ancient times did’st give the Law,
In cloud, and majesty and awe.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
Enjoy this week’s free inspirational video, “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” from GloryScapes.com by going to http://www.gloryscapes.com/ocomeocomeemmanuel/
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
—Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Dec 15, 2016 | Deuteronomy
Deuteronomy 23:24
“When you come into your neighbor’s vineyard, you may eat your fill of grapes at your pleasure, but you shall not put any in your container.”
When my boyhood friend and I invaded our neighbor’s vineyard we had no idea we were acting according to Scripture. All we knew was that there were Concord grapes that were begging for us to eat them. The problem was that we often picked them before they were ripe and the green grapes made us sick.
Many times in our life we run ahead of God and try to pick the “grapes” before they are ripe. God’s timing is always so much better than ours. He knows the heart of the individual.
Last Sunday I spoke with a widow who was sobbing pitifully. She shared with me that someone had stolen flowers from her husband’s grave and had also taken the grave marker. All I could do was listen to her and pray for her.
God knows when the timing is right. We can watch carefully as the season progresses and the fruit is ripe. Then we need to be ready to glean in the Lord’s vineyard. He will bring the increase.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Dec 14, 2016 | Joel
Joel 2:20
“But I will remove far from you the northern army, and will drive him away into a barren and desolate land, with his face toward the eastern sea and his back toward the western sea; His stench will come up, and his foul odor will rise, because he has done monstrous things.”
When I was a boy my dad decided to dig a basement. Now when I say he was going to dig a basement, I mean that literally. He made a hole in the foundation and began digging in the dirt under the house. Before long he needed to find a better way to remove the dirt, so he installed a conveyor. What a man!
Things had gone very well until one night we heard a noise coming from the partially-dug basement. Dad carefully opened the door to see who or what it was. Unfortunately, it was a skunk that had found its way into the new hole under our house. By the time the culprit was removed the stench was eye-watering.
We find ourselves in the same sort of predicament in our modern world. There has been so much putrid sin that it raises a stench that reaches to the heaven. Even some churches have ignored the Word of God and allowed the “skunk” of perversity to enter. Listen — if God says it is sin, it is sin. Stay away from it!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Dec 13, 2016 | Revelation
Revelation 3:2
“ Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found your works perfect before God.”
Several years ago my wife Joyce and I were traveling down a busy street when we saw the young man who delivered our newspaper enter an intersection. He saw us and waved just as he was entering the intersection. Joyce and I both immediately shouted, “Watch Out!”
Naturally he could not hear us, but what we saw that he did not see because he was watching us was another vehicle just ahead of him. There was a crunch of metal as the two cars collided. Neither vehicle was traveling at a fast rate of speed so there were no injuries.
That particular mishap has always reminded me that it is vital to keep our attention on what is going on around us. In today’s Scripture we have the warning from the Lord to be watchful and to strengthen the spiritual things that will count for eternity.
As we read the letters the Lord gives to each of the seven churches (Revelation 2 & 3), it is interesting that He says He knows their works. That is just as true for us today as it was for the churches in that day. Here is our question: Are our works perfect before the Lord?
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Dec 12, 2016 | Romans
Romans 8:13
“For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.”
You may have heard the humorous anecdote about a young man in by-gone days who was writing a love note to his sweetheart: “My dearest darling, I would climb the highest mountain for you to show my love. I would swim the widest river to show just how much I love you! P.S. – I will see you this Saturday if it does not rain.”
In Matthew 21:28-31, Jesus tells the parable of the two sons: “But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go, work today in my vineyard.’ He answered and said, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he regretted it and went. Then he came to the second and said likewise. And he answered and said, ‘I go, sir,’ but he did not go.Which of the two did the will of his father?”
There are so many if’s in our world that I hardly know where to begin. We often are hesitant to commit ourselves and so we place a conditional if on our response. The Lord is anxious for us to obey His Word regardless. No IF about it!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
