by Pastor Cecil | Jun 5, 2015 | Isaiah
Isaiah 51:1-2
“Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come buy and eat. Yes, come buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and let your soul delight itself in abundance.”
Water, water everywhere . . . and not a drop to drink! Those words have probably been uttered many times by anyone stranded in the middle of the ocean. Minutes turn into hours, hours into days, and no relief in sight to quench their awful thirst. The salt-laden sea seems to mock them — there is so much water all around them, but it would be poison to their system to drink it.
I am a Dust Bowl baby. Well, almost a Dust Bowl baby. My parents lived in the Oklahoma Panhandle during the Dust Bowl days. They moved to Camas, Washington, shortly before I was born. From dusty red dirt to lush evergreens. From no water to water everywhere.
Lucy Jane Rider Meyer wrote the words of today’s hymn. She was born on a Vermont farm in 1849. Lucy was a teacher and not only founded many high schools, but went on to teach chemistry at McKendree College, a school for freed blacks in North Carolina. She was one of the first female professors.
What a refreshing thought that a brilliant professor was able to use the Word of God to bring music to the human soul. Oh, that we had more brave educators who would be willing to put their reputations on the line for the things of God. I thirst for that!
Ho! Everyone Who Is Thirsty
Ho! Everyone that is thirsty in spirit,
Ho! Everyone that is weary and sad;
Come to the fountain, there’s fullness in Jesus,
All that you’re longing for; come and be glad!
Refrain: I will pour water on him that is thirsty,
I will pour floods upon the dry ground;
Open your hearts for the gifts I am bringing;
While you are seeking Me, I will be found.
Child of the world, are you tired of your bondage?
Weary of earth’s joys, so false, so untrue?
Thirsting for God and His fullness of blessing?
List’ to the promise, a message for you!
Refrain: I will pour water on him that is thirsty,
I will pour floods upon the dry ground;
Open your hearts for the gifts I am bringing;
While you are seeking Me, I will be found.
Child of the kingdom, be filled with the Spirit!
Nothing but “fullness” thy longing can meet;
‘Tis the enduement for life and for service;
Thine is the promise, so certain, so sweet.
Refrain: I will pour water on him that is thirsty,
I will pour floods upon the dry ground;
Open your hearts for the gifts I am bringing;
While you are seeking Me, I will be found.
To access Ho! Everyone Who Is Thirsty, this week’s inspirational video, please go to: http://www.gloryscapes.com/hoeveryonewhoisthirsty/
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
—Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jun 4, 2015 | Colossians
Colossians 2:2-3
“My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”
I have been told by my family that I am hard to buy gifts for. I hope that means that I am content with what I have. Perhaps when you reach your 70’s (or in my case, the early 80’s), what in the world can you get for somebody like me that I don’t already have?
The solution that many have decided upon is to give me gift cards. I have a confession to make — I tend to stash gift cards. Not intentionally, but I just never seem to have them with me at the right time or am not sure how to use them.
I recently discovered a stash of five gift cards for Amazon.com. It was ridiculous because I was sure they were given to me some time ago. When I called Amazon to see if the cards might still be valid, I learned they were from 2012. After considerable analysis, I also discovered that they were in my account — all I had to do was place an order and the gift card values would be applied to my purchase. What a pleasant discovery!
How many times do we find ourselves spiritually sitting on the treasures of God instead of applying them? We live like spiritual paupers instead of like the children of the King. I do not wish to imply that we should live extravagantly, but that we should draw upon the spiritual wealth that gives answers to all of life’s problems and situations. Someone has said, “For every sigh there is a Psalm.” That being the case, God has given us the answers to life’s issues. When we search His Word and apply it as His gift card, we will find that there is sufficient balance to cover the charge. Let’s redeem those gift cards in our life!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jun 3, 2015 | James
James 4:13-16
“Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit’; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.’ But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.”
I sometimes feel that trying to explain Scripture detracts from the essence of the very Word of God. That is the case with today’s Scripture. Life at its best is so fleeting that we can hardly even explain the brevity of life.
I have spent several hours today scanning through some pictures of our family. It was one of those tasks that I had put off and put off, but finally got around to, it was that a task of going through old pictures and clippings. Much of the time there were tears in my eyes. As a matter of fact there are tears in my eyes right now.
I’ve viewed pictures of my great-grandparents, my grandparents, my parents, my brother, my wife, our three children, seven grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren. I was stunned at how many are no longer with me. Many realize how fleeting life really is.
It would be easy to become depressed if it wasn’t the hope of salvation an eternity with our precious Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and the greatest reunion we can even imagine. This life is so brief that we need to make every effort to let the love of Jesus and the love of others shine through everything we do. I love you all!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jun 2, 2015 | Psalm
Psalm 107:29-3
“He calms the storm, so that its waves are still. Then they are glad because they are quiet; so He guides them to their desired haven. Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!”
Well, guess what? The storms of life are upon us! June 1st marked the opening of the Atlantic hurricane season. Hurrah! Sorry to be so facetious, but it seems like every day, or at least every other day, there are storms that are beyond description.
The weather prognosticators (those who guess at the weather) predict that this year’s hurricane season will be somewhat calmer than usual. They say that there will be fewer hurricanes in the Atlantic, and those that do develop should be smaller than normal. Those who know me know that I am a weather nut. I feel like I am a charter member of the Weather Channel. These devoted meteorologists have all the latest scientific input to track and forecast weather systems. But even they are confounded many times by the severity and unpredictable nature of weather.
There are many types of storms. Hurricanes can certainly be huge and violent, but there are also typhoons, tornadoes, violent winds, flash flooding, dust fronts, and on and on it goes. In the last few weeks there has been violent flooding in the South. Over and over officials warn people not to drive into standing water. They say, “Turn around! Don’t drown!” In spite of this warning, people still perish.
There are also spiritual storms in life. The enemy of our souls will do anything and everything to cause conflict and chaos across the world. His aim is to deceive and destroy! It is Jesus who came to seek and to save. He is our lifeline in the time of storm. If you are going through a storm in your own life at this moment, cry out to Jesus. He hears! He cares! He will lift us up! PRAISE THE LORD FOR DELIVERANCE!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jun 1, 2015 | Psalm
Psalm 49:13
“Sing, O heavens! Be joyful, O earth! And break out in singing, O mountains! For the Lord has comforted His people, and will have mercy on His afflicted.”
Some of the funniest things . . . I should say in the most embarrassing things, have occurred when I was conducting either weddings or funerals. It was a cold blustery winter day and I was officiating at a graveside service. The wind was blowing so hard that the sides of the canopy had been lowered. Things were progressing without incident. Most of the family was seated on the front row, except the son-in-law was standing about 5 feet from me on the left.
I was quoting the 23rd Psalm. I think I had just uttered the words; “He maketh me lie down in green pastures.” I heard the intake of breath and as I glanced to the left I noticed that the son-in-law’s trousers had slipped down and were now around his ankles. Rather than being angry the family dissolved in laughter. When I finished the service the son-in-law sheepishly approached me and said, “I think you’ve never seen that happen before?” I agreed with him that it was the very first time that I had ever encountered that.
I was conducting a wedding in a resort setting. There were perhaps 250 to 300 people in attendance. The wedding party had come into pre-recorded music and we were waiting for the bride’s March to be played which would announce the entrance of the bride. There was only silence. Both mothers stood and the audience stood, still no music. I looked over at the sound technician who had not been present at the rehearsal. He shrugged his shoulders and acted lost. I asked people to be seated and walked over to him and ask what the problem was? He wanted to know what he was to play and I told him the bride’s March. He did not know what it was! I don’t think the bride was too happy with the sound man!
There humorous situations that we will encounter in our life. If we have no music these situations can become intolerable. I am so glad that Jesus brings music into the heart of those of us who cannot even carry a tune. It’s His music! That’s the music I desire!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
