by Pastor Cecil | Apr 14, 2017 | Luke
Luke 24:2-6
“They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, ‘Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; He has risen!”
Alfred Ackley was a Baptist pastor who had two dramatic incidents in his life that led him to write our hymn for this week. He had been conducting an evangelistic service back in 1932 when a young Jewish man threw this question at him; “Why should I worship a dead Jew?”
Then early on Resurrection Sunday morning as he was preparing for the day he listened to the radio. A famous liberal preacher made this statement; “Good morning—it’s Easter! You know folks, it really doesn’t make any difference to me if Christ be risen or not. As far as I am concerned, His body could be dust in some Palestinian tomb. The main truth is His truth goes marching on!”
Alfred screamed out at the radio, “It’s a lie!” His wife was startled and wanted to know why he was so upset. Following the service that morning his wife prompted him to write a hymn and express his thoughts. He wrote this wonderful hymn.
HE LIVES!
I serve a risen Savior, He’s in the world today;
I know that He is living whatever men may say;
I see His hand of mercy, I hear His voice of cheer,
And just the time I need Him, He’s always near.
Refrain: He lives, He lives, Christ Jesus lives today! He walks with me and talks with me along life’s narrow way. He lives, He lives, Salvation to impart! You ask me how I know He lives? He lives within my heart.
In all the world around me I see His loving care,
And tho’ my heart grows weary I never will despair;
I know that He is leading thro’ all the stormy blast,
The day of His appearing will come at last.
Refrain: He lives, He lives, Christ Jesus lives today! He walks with me and talks with me along life’s narrow way. He lives, He lives, Salvation to impart! You ask me how I know He lives? He lives within my heart.
Rejoice, rejoice, O Christian, lift up your voice and sing
Eternal hallelujahs to Jesus Christ the King!
The hope of all who seek Him, the help of all who find,
None other is so loving, so good and kind.
Refrain: He lives, He lives, Christ Jesus lives today! He walks with me and talks with me along life’s narrow way. He lives, He lives, Salvation to impart! You ask me how I know He lives? He lives within my heart.
Aren’t you glad we serve a risen Savior? Our God is not dead, HE LIVES!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Apr 13, 2017 | Mark
Mark 15:3
“And the chief priests accused Him of many things, but He answered nothing.”
During the height of the “Cold War,” David Benson was standing in the center of Red Square with hundreds of Russian Bibles buried in his luggage and sewn into his garments. He was to deliver the Bibles to a Russian believer, but the authorities had unexpectedly relocated that man and David had no idea where he was or how to contact him.
It was at that terrifying place in his life that David Benson took his hands off the situation and said and did nothing in his own strength. As he totally depended on the Lord, he was miraculously taken to meet his contact in another part of Moscow where he had never been. What David was incapable of doing himself, God did for him when he simply trusted.
When it is appropriate, to do nothing IS to do something. Throughout His ministry here on earth our Savior did much and said much, but there were times when He did nothing and said nothing. In so doing, He accomplished His purpose.
Sometimes it seems as if we are compelled to say or do something when all the Lord wants us to do is to do nothing in our own strength — just wait and watch for Him to accomplish His work.
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Apr 12, 2017 | Psalm
Psalm 118:8
“It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in humans.”
From time to time I have been asked by people how can we know the Bible is the true Word of God? There are hundreds of prophecies that were fulfilled to prove the truth. That being said, 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!
In the storms of life and in the expectation of the eternity awaiting us, I find it a most comforting to place my trust in the Lord.
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Apr 11, 2017 | Proverbs
Proverbs 3:7
“Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil.”
Have you ever found yourself in the midst of a situation that seemed to have no solution? I am tempted to describe one or two, but if I do it may prevent you from relating to your own particular no-win situation. So, how do we cope?
In today’s Scripture we are told to avoid relying on our own wisdom, to fear God, and to shun evil. This concept is very hard for us to grasp since we want to control everything around us.
When we encounter evil or injustice, our natural inclination is to rise up with righteous indignation and attempt to correct the situation. James 1:19-20 makes it clear that our fervent anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.
If we are to avoid operating in our own strength and abilities, is there anything we can do when faced with the problems that confront us? The answer is very clear. It begins with trusting in the Lord with all of our heart. That means letting go and letting God have control.
Secondly, we must acknowledge God in all of our ways. The Hebrew word for acknowledge is the word yada’. It means in part to learn more and more about God and His ways. We do that as we rest in Him and study His Word to search out and discover more and more of His wonderful attributes.
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Apr 10, 2017 | 2 Corinthians
2 Corinthians 12:8-9
“Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”
A story is told of a very poor man who lived in ancient times. It was a time when powerful kings dominated all who lived in their kingdoms and who had the power of life and death. It was a time when many sons and many horses were a sign of wealth and prosperity.
This poor man had only one son and one horse. As he grew older, the son used the horse to plow the fields, to haul produce to market, and ride from place to place on various errands. People pitied the poor man and often made disparaging remarks about his poverty.
Things went from bad to worse when the son was returning from the village on the horse and was thrown to the ground, breaking his leg. The people clucked their tongues and wondered what evil thing this poor man had done to have such bad fortune befall him. He would just smile and reply, “The Lord knows what I need. I will trust Him to give me what He wants me to have.”
Not long after the son’s accident, the king sent messengers to each village and demanded that every able-bodied young man report for battle immediately. The only one in this age group who was not conscripted was the poor man’s son because of his broken leg.
In a short time the sad news was relayed to the village that the battle had gone very wrong and all of the men had died in the fray. Now the poor man who had once been pitied was considered to be the one who was blessed.
When we trust in God, it makes no difference what people think or say—Romans 8:28 is true in any and every circumstance: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.”
As a child of God we should place ourselves under His control daily. He may delay the answer to our prayer, or He may deny it as He did with Paul. Whatever the Lord determines for our lives—to delay or deny—we can know that His grace is sufficient.
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
