by Pastor Cecil | Mar 11, 2015 | Genesis
Genesis 3:12-13
“The man said, ‘The woman You put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.’ Then the Lord God said to the woman, ‘What is this you have done?’ The woman said, ‘The serpent deceived me, and I ate.’”
Many years ago there was a comedian by the name of Flip Wilson. In one of his popular comedy sketches he continually excused his misbehavior by saying, “The devil made me do it!” That may be all too true, but the excuse fails the scrutiny of the Lord.
Excuse-making started way back in the Garden of Eden. Both Adam and Eve went against the command of God not to eat of that tree. Instead of confessing their sin, they pointed the finger at someone else. Adam excused himself by blaming the woman and the God who made her. (How is that for soft-headed logic?!) The woman blamed the serpent instead of admitting that she had sinned.
I guess you know what is coming next. If making excuses for our sinful actions started in the Garden, have we perfected it? In our modern world sin has become so prevalent that those who live a righteous life are considered abnormal (I wonder where that lie came from.)
John gives us a clear pattern for dealing with sin without making an excuse. 1 John 1:9: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” Stop making excuses and confess!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Mar 10, 2015 | Genesis
Genesis 11:31
“Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, the wife of his son Abram, and together they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan. But when they came to Harran, they settled there.”
There is a small town in the State of Oregon named Halfway. As near as I have been able to discern, the name was given because it was halfway between two other small towns, Pine and Cornucopia.
It is one thing to speak of a place being halfway between two locations, but when a person’s goals are involved, it is another matter. Perhaps most of us know of people who have a goal to achieve something great for the Lord . . . but only make it halfway.
Abraham’s father was Terah. He set out to go to the land of Canaan, but when he came to a city called Haran he settled there. We are not told why Terah settled short of his goal, but he ended his life far from the land he had intended to reach.
I wonder how many of us have been called by God to accomplish a certain task. We have every intention of doing what God says, but we wake up one morning and realize that we have settled far from God’s objective for us. It is never too late to make a new commitment and seek God’s direction. Once we find His will, we need to press on until we reach our goal.
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Mar 9, 2015 | Luke
Luke 6:32
“If you love only those who love you, why should you get credit for that? Even sinners love those who love them!”
From time to time I hear stories of people who visit a church and are never greeted or made to feel welcome. In fact I have heard of visitors being asked to move as they were sitting in someone’s pew. (That’s right—I think it stinks!) Perhaps it would be safe to say that most of us would like to be considered loving people. It is very easy to love our friends and family. We laugh and visit while just a few steps away are those who are left out.
Years ago Joyce and I were at one end of a long hallway. At the far end was a side door that was seldom used. One of our friends was a greeter at the door to welcome people as they came in and give them a bulletin. Two older ladies had just entered and were walking our way. Bob waved at us in an exaggerated manner. My usually timid wife waved back in the same manner.
That was just the beginning. The two little ladies waved back at Joyce in the same way. They almost ran up to her and began to talk and share. They seemed to have found someone who cared about them. They went from being lonely and neglected senior citizens to individuals who someone cared about.
I have tried to make it a point from that day on to look for those lonely souls that seem to be on the periphery. They just need a little love and attention to make them feel that someone cares about them. I would like to challenge you to look around you and share your love with them.
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Mar 6, 2015 | Psalm
Psalm 103:1-5
“Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise His holy name. Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s”
I would dare to say that almost all of us experienced some sort of trial in our life. It could be the loss of health, a financial meltdown, death of a mate or child or any number of catastrophic events. It is not whether or not we will encounter these trials, but rather what we will do when they arise.
The phrase, “Praise to the Lord” occurs in at least 155 verses in the Bible. That indicates to me that we need to spend far more time praising the Lord than we do. It would be well to replace our complaints with words of praise to the Lord.
Over 300 years ago, Joachim Neander was a hymn writer for the German Reform church. He was going through a time of trial and testing in his life. He would take long walks and pour his heart out to the Lord. It was on one of these walks that he came to the realization that it was not his strength that would give him victory and peace, but rather the powerful God he served. It was in that state of mind that he composed this week’s featured hymn.
Praise to the Lord, the Almighty
Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation!
O my soul, praise Him, for He is thy health and salvation!
All ye who hear, Now to His temple draw near;
Join me in glad adoration!
Praise to the Lord, who o’er all things so wondrously reigneth,
Shelters thee under His wings, yea, so gently sustaineth!
Hast thou not seen how thy desires e’er have been
Granted in what He ordaineth?
Praise to the Lord, who with marvelous wisdom hath made thee!
Decked thee with health, and with loving hand guided and stayed thee;
How oft in grief hath not He bought thee relief,
Spreading His wings for to shade thee!
Praise to the Lord! O let all that is in me adore Him!
All that hath life and breath, come now with praises before Him!
Let the Amen sound from His people again;
Gladly for aye we adore Him.
To access Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, this week’s inspirational video from GloryScapes™ Inspirational Music Videos, please go to:http://www.gloryscapes.com/praisetothelordthealmighty/ 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 | Mar 5, 2015 | Genesis
Genesis 24:48-49
“And I bowed my head and worshiped the Lord, and blessed the Lord God of my master Abraham, who had led me in the way of truth to take the daughter of my master’s brother for his son. Now if you will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me. And if not, tell me, that I may turn to the right hand or to the left.”
I once was asked to officiate at a wedding in a large city. The venue where the wedding was to take place had been in use earlier that day, so we could not have a rehearsal. I had left in plenty of time (or so I thought) to locate the building. Unfortunately, the directions just happened to have omitted one left turn, which made them useless.
If you have ever been in a strange city trying to find your way to an unknown destination, you need help. Time after time I would stop and ask for directions only to be told that they had never heard of the place. I finally located the building and found that we were going to be starting late because others could not find their way either.
In today’s Scripture, Abraham’s servant had been sent on a special mission to go to the land of his master’s family to select a bride for Isaac, Abraham’s son. He had no idea how to find the right one, so he prayed for God’s direction. It would be the young woman who would offer him a drink and also to water his camels.
The test did not seem like very much, but it demonstrated a complete trust in God to lead him to the correct maiden. Rebecca was God’s choice and He led the servant to complete his mission. When we have decisions to make, it is always wise to pray for the Lord to guide us. He will never fail if we keep our eyes on Him.
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
