by Pastor Cecil | Sep 8, 2017 | Hebrews
Hebrews 10:22
“Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.”
Those of us who have said farewell to beloved family and friends experience the pangs of separation. The pain of separation is eased with the assurance that there is a bright tomorrow waiting for us when we will be united with those who have died in the Lord.
Fanny J. Crosby was visiting the home of a friend, Phoebe Knapp. Phoebe was playing a new melody she had just composed and mentioned to Fanny that she called it Assurance. Fanny responded, “Blessed Assurance.”
Fanny returned home and quickly penned the words to the hymn that has become such a favorite since it was published way back in 1873. It is just as much a blessed assurance today as it was back then.
Blessed Assurance
Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God.
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.
Refrain: This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long.
Perfect submission, perfect delight,
Visions of rapture now burst on my sight;
Angles descending, bring from above
Echoes of mercy, whispers of love.
Refrain: This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long.
Perfect submission, all is at rest,
I in my Savior am happy and blest;
Watching and waiting, looking above,
Filled with His goodness, lost in His love.
Refrain: This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long.
Enjoy this free inspirational video of, “Blessed Assurance” by going to: http://www.gloryscapes.com/blessedassurance/
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
—Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Sep 7, 2017 | Psalm
Psalm 123:4
“Our soul is exceedingly filled with the scorn of those who are at ease, with the contempt of the proud.”
It has always been easy for me to identify shapes of certain objects from far distances. For example, I can identify particular models of planes by their silhouettes. While hunting I have been able to identify ducks from geese and even varieties of each by their shapes or movements.
Today as I was driving along a country road I saw a shape in the distance that I could not identify. It was smaller than a person walking and seemed to be moving like a bicycle, but the shape was too low. As I drew closer I saw that it was a rider on a recumbent bike. What a strange silhouette!
Since then I have been thinking about how easy we often live our life for Christ. Rather than leaning forward like committed bicycle racers pressing toward their goal, we lean back, relaxed in recumbent comfort, and take the easiest way possible.
I want to do everything I possibly can to press forward with all of my energy to be counted worthy of the blood of Jesus Christ. Every amount of effort I can do in furthering the Kingdom’s business will be worth the effort.
Blessings dear hearts!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Sep 6, 2017 | Ecclesiastes
Ecclesiastes 9:17
“Words of the wise, spoken quietly, should be heard rather than the shout of a ruler of fools.”
It is 5:15 a.m. and there is a loud rumbling sound in the street outside my home. We have a new paper delivery man. His car is several years old and needs a new muffler that I am sure he is not able to afford. The noise distracts for a few minutes and then the early morning quiet returns.
It takes me back in memory to a bitterly cold winter night in 1954. My wife Joyce had been visiting her sister in Louisiana and was returning to Rapid City, South Dakota, where I was stationed with the Air Force. The starter in our old Chevy was broken and the muffler was shot, but it was all we had, so I was thankful.
A friend helped shove the car to get it started and I was letting it idle until time to leave for the bus station to pick up Joyce. Suddenly there was quiet! I ran out of the house to discover the neighbor lady had been disturbed by the noise and had taken it upon herself to open the car door and turn off the engine.
She had no sympathy for my situation and refused to help. Fortunately, I was able to find someone who came to my rescue and drove me to meet my precious wife when she arrived. Quietness may be a relative term. The quietness that we really need is the quietness of spirit before God.
Blessings dear hearts!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Sep 5, 2017 | Colossians
Colossians 3:2-3
“Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”
Do you sometimes have a hard time keeping things straight? The thing you want to do next is shoved aside because something else suddenly came up that seemed more important or demanding.
It seems that the more labor saving devices that are introduced to the more pressed we are for time. It would seem that most people are operating on over-load and it is close to power failure.
When it comes to my computer I feel far beyond my personal capability. I seem to be calling people on a regular basis to assist me when I encounter problems. I figure at age 83 ½, I can be excused in asking for help. Did you notice I added ½ to my age. At my age I may soon be adding extra days!
Before I interrupted myself I was talking about dealing with a balky computer. Many times my experts advise me to restart the computer. It is amazing how many problems are resolved by a restart. If you need a closer walk with the Lord try a restart of devotion and purpose to be closer to Him.
Blessings dear hearts!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Sep 4, 2017 | Matthew
Matthew 11:28-30
“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
Today is celebrated as Labor Day here in the U.S. and Labour Day in Canada. (They hold fast to the British spelling by adding u’s in the oddest places. When I am around my Canadian friends we like to tease each other — EH?)
As we plow through this life we often become weary and worn. This is just as true in spiritual labor as it is in secular work, if not more. We often find ourselves feeling like we are carrying the weight of the world on our shoulders.
In the midst of our weariness we turn to today’s Scripture and at the outset we feel encouraged. Jesus tells us to come to Him and He will give us rest. Then we read the next verse and are told to take His yoke upon us … Wait! That sounds like more work!
The reality is that when we willingly take His yoke upon us to learn from Him, we find that He becomes our burden bearer and our constant helper. It is when we refuse His yoke that we are left to bear our burden alone. That, dear friend, is LABOR!
Blessings dear hearts!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
