by Pastor Cecil | May 2, 2016 | Philippians
Philippians 3:13-14
“Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
If Paul were a coach of some modern-day athletic team, we might have heard him exclaim to his players: “Keep your eye on the ball!” Or he might have said: “Remember, Team, we are playing for the championship!”
The fact that Paul used athletic references in his letters does not diminish in any way the importance of what he is sharing. In a way, it was similar to Jesus using parables to teach spiritual truth.
As we go through life, it is easy to be distracted by things that might be interesting but are not important. At least they are not important when compared to eternal values. That is why it is so important to spend quality time reading God’s word. No matter how many times we may have read the Bible, it will always have new and fresh meaning for us.
Let us take time to evaluate our own actions. Are we focusing our attention on the high prize that Paul speaks about? If we were to stand before Jesus right now, would we be satisfied that we had done all for Him? SEEK THE PRIZE!
Blessings dear hearts!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Apr 29, 2016 | Psalm
Psalm 33:1-3
“Sing joyfully to the Lord, you righteous; it is fitting for the upright to praise Him. Praise the Lord with the harp; make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre. Sing to Him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy.”
What a wonderful woman! She stood less than five feet tall and weighed less than 100 pounds. Because of being maltreated for an eye infection when she was only a few months old, she spent the remained of her 95 years totally blind.
Her name was Fanny J. Crosby. This tiny dynamo wrote over 8,000 poems and hymns during her lifetime. She composed her poems and hymns entirely in her mind and then dictated them to a stenographer. She was said to be able to work on as many as twelve hymns at once before dictating them all out.
Fanny felt that it was a special gift from God that she should be blind all of her life and she thanked Him for that gift. She felt that once she arrived in heaven the first face she desired to gladden her sight was he precious Savior. It was in 1896 that she wrote the hymn selected this week.
Praise Him! Praise Him!
1. Praise Him! Praise Him! Jesus, our blessed Redeemer!
Sing, O Earth, His wonderful love proclaim!
Hail Him! Hail Him! Highest archangels in glory;
strength and honor give to His holy name!
Like a shepherd Jesus will guard His children,
in His arms He carries them all day long:
Refrain: Praise Him! Praise Him! Tell of His excellent greatness; praise him! Praise him ever in joyful song!
2. Praise him! Praise him! Jesus, our blessed Redeemer!
For our sins he suffered, and bled and died;
He our Rock, our hope of eternal salvation,
Hail Him! Hail Him! Jesus the Crucified.
Sound His praises! Jesus who bore our sorrows,
love unbounded, wonderful deep and strong:
Refrain: Praise Him! Praise Him! Tell of His excellent greatness; praise Him! Praise Him ever in joyful song!
3. Praise Him! praise Him! Jesus, our blessed Redeemer!
Heavenly portals loud with hosannas ring!
Jesus, Savior, reigneth forever and ever;
crown Him! crown Him! Prophet and Priest and King!
Christ is coming! over the world victorious,
power and glory unto the Lord belong.
Refrain: Praise Him! Praise Him! Tell of His excellent greatness; praise Him! Praise Him ever in joyful song!
To access Praise Him, Praise Him, this week’s inspirational video from GloryScapes™ Inspirational Music Videos, please go to: http://www.gloryscapes.com/praisehimpraisehim in your browser or click on the image below.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
—Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Apr 28, 2016 | Psalm
Psalm 126:5-6
“Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy. He who continually goes forth weeping, bearing seed for sowing, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.”
Some years ago I sent out a Daily-E-Votional highlighting the Daffodil Principle. Since then there have been requests to repeat it, which I will do today, but leaving out a great deal of the back story that led up to it.
One day a certain woman came upon a magnificent field of daffodils of every shape, size, and color. The beauty of it was breathtaking and almost too hard for her to take in. There was a small house nearby and next to the house was a poster that read:
Answers to the Questions I Know you are asking.
50,000 bulbs, one at a time, by one woman.
Two hands, two feet, and very little brain.
Began in 1958.
After the experience of witnessing such a sight, the woman wrote the following article:
There it was, The Daffodil Principle. For me, that moment was a life-changing experience. I thought of this woman whom I had never met, who, more than forty years before, had begun ‒ one bulb at a time ‒ to bring her vision of beauty and joy to an obscure mountain top.
Still, just planting one bulb at a time, year after year, had changed the world. This unknown woman had forever changed the world in which she lived. She had created something of ineffable (indescribable) magnificence, beauty, and inspiration.
The principle her daffodil garden taught is one of the greatest principles of celebration. That is, learning to move toward our goals and desires one step at a time ‒ often just one baby-step at a time ‒ and learning to love the doing, learning to use the accumulation of time.
When we multiply tiny pieces of time with small increments of daily effort, we too will find we can accomplish magnificent things. We can change the world.
It really does not take great intellect or strength ‒ it is just planting the bulbs that God gives us, and keep on planting them. If I remember correctly, the original Daffodil Principle was my 431st Daily E-votional. To date, that number has grown to over 4,000! That leaves me with a lot of planting ahead. I just need to focus on what the Lord leads me to share and plant it!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Apr 27, 2016 | Psalm
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.”
As I reflect back on my boyhood days, I feel blessed for the time I spent as a Boy Scout. The values and qualities that we were taught have played a vital part of the person I have become. As I was thinking about the Boy Scout Oath we took at the beginning of each meeting, I only wish that each Scout lived up to the oath.
“On my honor, I will do my best to do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law; to help others at all times; to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight.”
Truly honorable people recognize a duty to God. It is not that God owes us, but much more that we owe Him our best. If Jesus gave His life for us, we need to commit ourselves to serve Him with the best we have. We are also to serve others. One of the strongest messages that Jesus stressed was to give to others.
Skipping down to the last line of the oath, we are to be morally straight. How we behave when no one is looking reveals the true person we are. We may keep up appearances when others are looking, but how do we act when we are alone with ourselves? We need to be aware that the Lord knows the thoughts and intents of our heart — and He is always looking!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Apr 26, 2016 | Joshua
Joshua 24:15
“And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
Yesterday I had lunch with a good friend to celebrate his birthday. As I reviewed the menu, I was faced with many appealing choices. I knew that whatever I chose would be delicious, but would it be good for me? Ah! That’s a different story isn’t it?
From time to time we all are called upon to make choices. As a matter of fact, we are faced with choices each and every day. Some of these choices are relatively insignificant (such as what to order off a restaurant menu) while others could be life changing.
The Israelites had seen the powerful hand of the Lord lead them from their bondage in Egypt to possess the Promised Land. You would think that they would never want to turn their back on God, but they did! Why? Because Satan tempted them to do so.
I have no idea what temptation you are facing right now in your life, but I urge you to make the right choice and, like Joshua, choose to serve the Lord!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
