by Pastor Cecil | Jul 22, 2014 | Romans
Romans 5:1-4
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.
Several years ago I began to experience pain on my side that was so excruciating I could hardly bear it. It turned out to be shingles, but I did not have the external sores that are usually associated with shingles. Instead, it attacked the nerve in my left leg and, within a week, I could not move my leg. I was forced to use crutches for over a month.
There is not a day that passes without us being exposed to those who are suffering. At times we might even be the ones who feel the agonizing grip of pain. Since pain is so much a part of our human experience, we need to seek God’s answer for how to endure suffering.
It is strange that Paul writes that we are to glory in our sufferings. Remember that Paul himself had a thorn in the flesh that he prayed for God to remove. Three times he prayed, and three times God refused and reminded Paul that His grace was sufficient.
Paul learned to glory in his suffering. The reason was that through suffering he could allow God to produce perseverance, which prompted character, and finally hope. This type of hope is a confident expectation that God is in control. It is my desire to live in such a way that my suffering will lead me closer to my Lord!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jul 21, 2014 | 1 Chronicles
1 Chronicles 29:11
Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is Yours. Yours, Lord, is the kingdom; You are exalted as head over all.
Presidents, kings, prime ministers, or other officials can get the idea that they are something special. They may watch as their minions bow and scrape in their presence, but when their eyes close in death, they will discover who really is the Head over all!
We may be critical of those in leadership positions, but what about us who were not born into aristocracy or have never been elected to some prestigious office? What about those of us who have not attained a title after our name and been treated with respect because of it?
Here it comes! We can be just as guilty as the titled office holders. We may be king or queen of a particular area. Someone may feel in charge of the kitchen. Another person controls the family car. At work someone may dominate the scene like a little Caesar. I think you get the picture.
Back in the Old Testament book of 1 Chronicles, we discover that King David in his last days gave us a reality check on where we are to direct our praise. The God who created all things is deserving of our honor, glory, and adoration. He is to be exalted as the head over everything. How do you measure up?
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jul 18, 2014 | 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 fromGloryScapes™ 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 | Jul 17, 2014 | 2 Peter
2 Peter 1:2-4
But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.
Pride takes many forms. One of these is self-confidence. We often seem to know what is right without taking the time to spend time with God to seek His will and purpose for our actions.
From the Garden of Eden, humans have listen to the whispers of Satan that they were able to make their own decisions without listening to God. The human mind is remarkable, but when it comes to knowing the right choices, we are at a loss.
We might agree that salvation is obtained by grace through faith. We follow that step by trying to live a virtuous life. Peter writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit says that following that we are to seek knowledge. That is what Solomon asked for when he became king of Israel following the death of his father, David.
All through his reign, as well as the reign of the other leaders, before and after, when they asked God for wisdom, God answered. When they acted in their own instincts, they failed.
The great question confronting each of us is whether we will accept God’s knowledge as revealed in the Bible, or rely on our own abilities. I choose to trust in the Lord and find godly knowledge.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jul 16, 2014 | Psalm
Psalm 23:1-4
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. 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.
Shadows are scary and deceptive things. They are always larger than the object that casts the shadow. During my days as a police officer I had my wits scared out of me several times by shadows that appeared to be a serious threat . . . but upon investigation turned out to be a small cat or dog with a light behind them.
Death is a certainty for each of us. Someone has said that the death rate for humans is 100 per cent. That is true and across the ages of time there has been a fearful dread of our final farewell to life on this earth.
For those who have not experienced the new birth, and thus not having their name written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, there is reason to fear death. What about those of us who have received that new birth? Our eternal life with Christ has begun.
Satan has done an excellent job of causing believers to live in fear of death. There is a fantastic passage in Psalm 116:15 that we should memorize to assure ourselves and others with: “Precious in the sight of The Lord is the death of His saints.” For that reason we can face death with the assurance and confidence that one step into glory will erase all of the cares of this world!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
