by Pastor Cecil | Dec 31, 2019 | Psalm
Psalm 23:4
“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me;Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.”
Back when I was in high school (in the dark ages), I read a poem that rattled my cage. I cut it out and carried it around for many years before losing it. I have wished many times that I still had it. I hope you enjoy what I recall. It went something like this:
When skies are blue and songbirds sing;
When flowers bloom, their fragrance bring;
When friends abound and funds abound;
When health and love are easily found;
It doesn’t take a lot of sand to shout and sing, to beat the band.
BUT – – –
When things go wrong—as they often do;
When skies suddenly lose their azure blue;
When well laid plans fall into a crumpled heap;
When weary eyes scream out for peaceful sleep;
THEN – – –
Is the time to take our stand, it’s the time to walk by faith and take God’s hand!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Dec 30, 2019 | Luke
Luke 12:35-36
“Let your waist be girded and your lamps burning; and you yourselves be like men who wait for their master, when he will return from the wedding, that when he comes and knocks they may open to him immediately.”
One of the major elements in defending against aggression is being on alert at all times. I can still recall the long night hours when I was on alert for any sign of threat to our nation. Thankfully, we were never attacked, but there were many simulated threats to insure our readiness to react.
When you are wide awake and expectant, it is much easier to react quickly and appropriately. When the night hours slip by and your eyes feel like they are filled with sand, it is necessary to react in a professional manner that comes from long hours of training.
In our spiritual walk we never know when the enemy will mount an attack. We can almost be certain that this attack will occur when we are weary and worn. If we have not spent the time in self examination, prayer, and Bible study, we leave ourselves vulnerable to the attack.
There is one thing we can be sure about: We will meet our Lord face to face. It may be at the moment our eyes close in death or it may be when the trumpet sounds and we are called up to meet the Lord in the air. Either way, we must be on the alert with our lamps burning bright. Are you on the alert?
May God richly bless you by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Dec 27, 2019 | Hebrews
Hebrews 12:1-2
“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
This week’s hymn was written over 300 years ago by Isaac Watts. It would be impossible to fully know the number of lives it has touched since he wrote it. One of those lives was the blind hymn writer, Fanny J. Crosby. In the autumn of 1850 revival meetings were being held in the Thirtieth Street Methodist Church in New York City.
Fanny and some of her friends attended each night and she craved for spiritual joy, but could not find it. On the evening of November 20, 1850, it seemed to her that the light must indeed come then or never. After a prayer was offered, they began to sing this hymn. When they sang “Here Lord, I give myself away,” her soul was flooded with a celestial light. She realized what her problem had been. She realized that she had been trying to hold the world in one hand and the Lord in the other.
At the Cross
1. Alas! and did my Savior bleed, And did my Sovereign die? Would He devote that sacred head, For sinners such as I?
Refrain: At the cross, at the cross where I first saw the light, And the burden of my heart rolled away, It was there by faith I received my sight,
And now I am happy all the day!
2. Was it for crimes that I had done, He groaned upon the tree? Amazing pity! grace unknown! And love beyond degree!
Refrain: At the cross, at the cross where I first saw the light, And the burden of my heart rolled away, It was there by faith I received my sight,
And now I am happy all the day!
3. Well might the sun in darkness hide, And shut his glories in, When Christ, the mighty Maker died, For man the creature’s sin.
Refrain: At the cross, at the cross where I first saw the light, And the burden of my heart rolled away, It was there by faith I received my sight,
And now I am happy all the day!
4. But drops of grief can ne’er repay, The debt of love I owe: Here, Lord, I give myself away, ’Tis all that I can do.
Refrain: At the cross, at the cross where I first saw the light, And the burden of my heart rolled away, It was there by faith I received my sight,
And now I am happy all the day!
Are you like Fanny Crosby—looking for joy to fill your soul? Her answer is our answer— Here, Lord, I give myself away, ’Tis all that I can do.
To access this week’s free inspirational video from GloryScapes.com. please go to: https://gloryscapes.com/atthecross/
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
—Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Dec 26, 2019 | Psalm
Psalm 143:10
“Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God; Your Spirit is good. Lead me in the land of uprightness.”
As hard as it may be to believe, I have taught many university classes. It reminds me of the old joke about an obviously unlearned man who said he has just been to a prominent university. When asked what he had studied he replied, “Oh, I didn’t study, they were studying me!”
One particular course I taught was a huge class of over 120 students. As I stood at the podium and looked out at the sea of faces, I realized that there were all sorts of thoughts going on in their brains and I had a very limited amount of time to get them focused on learning the principles I wanted them to grasp.
I frequently feel as if I am in need of getting back to the basic principles of being a disciple of our Lord Jesus Christ. I certainly do not feel that I have all of the answers. In fact I often find myself searching for the questions!
One thing I will strive for in the days the Lord chooses to bless me with is to be more and more committed to searching out some of the answers to the basics. I hope you will join with me as we devote our time to discover God’s answers to today’s problems.
May God richly bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Dec 25, 2019 | Matthew
Matthew 2:1-2
“Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, ‘Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.’”
God provided a wonderful sign, a star, to guide these wise men to search out the one whose coming had been foretold. When they arrived in Jerusalem they caused concern by asking where they could find the One born “King of the Jews?” The wise men sought Him with such diligence that they found Him! That is still true today. Those who seek to find the Savior will find Him!
But there is that other group that knew about Jesus, the chief priests and the teachers of the law. It is a sad commentary that even though they knew where Jesus was to be born and that the wise men had a sign to guide them they failed to go and look for Him themselves.
Knowing about Jesus is not the same as seeking Him. The wise men found Jesus and worshiped Him. We know they had spiritual leadership that directed them to return home another way and not tell Herod.
When we seek the Lord and find the Lord and worship the Lord, we can rest in the confident assurance that He will lead us in the path we are to follow. The important thing is for us to wait for His voice before we act.
May God richly bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
