by Pastor Cecil | Mar 20, 2017 | Daily-E-Votionals
Philippians 4:8
“Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.”
Our thought life is often far different than what people see. We can say one thing and be thinking an entirely different thing. There is so much ugliness in the world and it is safe to say that the majority of these ugly acts were birthed in the thought processes of the individual who committed them.
My Scripture for this year is Psalm 19:14; “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.” It is amazing to see the similarity between this passage of Scripture and today’s Scripture from Philippians 4:8.
What things should be going through our mind? Paul gives a list here in Philippians chapter 4. He lists the following things to fill our mind with; true, noble, just, pure, lovely, and good report.
What occupies your mind? Do you meditate on the Word of God as frequently as possible? Do make an effort to memorize Scripture so you discover the mind of God? I pray that your thoughts may be PURE THOUGHTS.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Mar 20, 2017 | Psalm
Psalm 119:34
“Teach me, O Lord, the way of Your statutes, and I shall keep it to the end. Give me understanding, and I shall keep Your law; indeed, I shall observe it with my whole heart.”
Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the Bible. Each section is introduced by a letter of the Hebrew alphabet. I am told that Jewish youth had to memorize the entire chapter — with 176 verses, that was no easy task. The Psalmist pens this Psalm in the form of a prayer beseeching the Lord to be our teacher.
It is interesting to dig a little deeper into the meaning of the word OBSERVE. In the Hebrew it means to keep, guard, keep watch and ward, protect. That gives us a much clearer meaning of what the writer is seeking from the Lord.
When I was a boy, or even a grown man in graduate school, I was required to apply myself to gaining knowledge. I fear that I fell short many times, but as I entered each classroom I was exposing myself to the things my instructor would teach me.
As we read this Psalm of prayer it is well and good to make it our own prayer. Our part is to listen to the Lord as He teaches and then to keep, guard, keep watch and ward, protect with our whole heart.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Mar 17, 2017 | 1 Corinthians
1 Corinthians 6:19-20
“Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit. “
In 1969 the U.S. Embassy in Iran was overpowered and the Americans inside were held hostage for 444 days. One of those was the son of the former pastor of our church in Nampa, Idaho. I can recall our fervent prayer for Gary Lee as well as all of the other hostages.
They were finally redeemed and allowed to go free. That incident has returned to my mind just recently as I read that these hostages have battled to receive compensation for the time that they were held hostage. It is difficult to know what would be fair compensation, but in this case they have been asking for something like $3 million each.
Forgetting that particular incident and thinking of our redemption from sin, what is the worth of the human soul? The Lord Jesus paid the price for our redemption, and I am so grateful that we have been set free from the penalty of sin!
The writer of this hymn, Fanny Crosby, was eagerly looking forward to that day when her Redeemer would appear and her blinded eyes would be opened and she would behold the most beautiful sight she could ever imagine—Jesus!
Redeemed
(1) Redeemed, how I love to proclaim it!
Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb;
Redeemed through His infinite mercy,
His child and forever I am.
REFRAIN: Redeemed, redeemed,
Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb;
Redeemed, redeemed,
His child and forever I am.
(2) Redeemed, and so happy in Jesus,
No language my rapture can tell;
I know that the light of His presence,
With me doth continually dwell.
REFRAIN: Redeemed, redeemed,
Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb;
Redeemed, redeemed,
His child and forever I am.
(3) I think of my blessed Redeemer,
I think of Him all the day long:
I sing, for I cannot be silent;
His love is the theme of my song.
REFRAIN: Redeemed, redeemed,
Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb;
Redeemed, redeemed,
His child and forever I am.
(4) I know I shall see in His beauty,
The King in whose law I delight;
Who lovingly guardeth my footsteps,
And giveth me songs in the night.
REFRAIN: Redeemed, redeemed,
Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb;
Redeemed, redeemed,
His child and forever I am.
(5) I know there’s a crown that is waiting,
In yonder bright mansion for me,
And soon, with the spirits made perfect,
At home with the Lord I shall be.
REFRAIN: Redeemed, redeemed,
Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb;
Redeemed, redeemed,
His child and forever I am.
Enjoy this free inspirational video from GloryScapes.com. To access Redeemed, please go to: http://www.gloryscapes.com/redeemed/
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
—Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Mar 15, 2017 | Philippians
Philippians 4:8
“Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.”
Our outward behavior is often far different from our inner thoughts. We can say one thing and be thinking an entirely different thing. There is so much ugliness in the world, and it is safe to say that the majority of these ugly acts were birthed in the thought processes of the individual who committed them.
My Scripture for this year is Psalm 19:14: “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.” It is amazing to see the similarity between this passage of Scripture and today’s Scripture from Philippians 4:8.
What manner of things should be going through our mind? Paul gives a list here in Philippians chapter 4. He says these types of things should fill our minds: true, noble, just, pure, lovely, and of a good report.
What occupies your mind? Do you meditate on the Word of God as frequently as possible? Do you make an effort to memorize Scripture so that you can discover the mind of God? I pray that your thoughts may be PURE THOUGHTS.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Mar 14, 2017 | Matthew
Matthew 5:16
“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”
Today, March 14, (3/14), is Pi day. Pi is defined as the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter— which is approximately 3.14159. You certainly cannot prove that by me. I always struggled with math and must rely on this definition.
The thing that I celebrate on 3/14 is my birthday. That’s right … I have arrived at another milestone in my life as I celebrate my 83rd birthday. Looking back over the years of my life I am so thankful that I received Christ as my personal Savior as a young boy, and I have loved Him through these many years.
There is a poem by missionary C.T. Studd that is so familiar many people think that it comes from the Bible. These words are repeated in each stanza of the poem: “Only one life,’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.”
The truth in that statement is deep and profound. When we weigh the fleeting pleasures of this life against the reality of eternity, we discover that all the things that people waste their efforts on will pass away. Only the things we do for Christ will echo down the ages of time when we are all gathered in God’s eternal kingdom!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
