by Pastor Cecil | May 13, 2014 | Psalm
Psalm 14:1-2
The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good. The LORD looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God.
A few years ago I had a meeting in a popular coffee shop. We were near a table where three men were cynically discussing religion. I think their comments were intended for my ears since I had witnessed to them about the Lord. Professing to be wise, they were systematically tearing down churches, Christians, the Bible, repentance and justification by faith. These so-called wise men rested their eternal destiny on their good deeds or imagined intellect.
What if they are right? What if the Bible is wrong and the necessity of repentance is wrong? I have never known a cynical person who is a happy or contented person. As a matter of fact they are the most miserable people I have ever met. They search for something to satisfy their inner longing but never are able to find it.
As I consider my own life and the life of other Christians, I see a vivid contrast. There is joy and contentment that the cynics can never experience. Even if there is no heaven to gain we have a joy that the world can never know. When faced with tragedy or pain we have the comfort that only God can give.
But what if these cynics are wrong? (I am convinced they are!) The tragic reality is that there is much more than the temporal feelings of this world at stake. There is eternity stretching out before us. The cynics will come face to face with the Judge of the universe who will pass eternal judgment against their failure to accept His wonderful offer of salvation.
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | May 12, 2014 | 2 Chronicles
2 Chronicles 7:13-14
When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, if My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
When I was a boy we would typically have a revival service in our church twice a year. A traveling evangelist would come and conduct the meetings every night for two weeks. Now in the day of labor saving devices we just do not seem to have the time and energy for extra meetings. Could it be our misplaced priorities?
Churches have encountered problems and families have been fractured because of the sin of pride. It often seems that there is a gigantic contest between churches to see which one is the best.
People hop from one congregation to another on a whim. Instead of searching the Scriptures to discover the will of God for their lives in Christ Jesus, they seek some new pew to park themselves while trying to feel satiated.
God’s plan for revival is for His people who are called by His name (myself included) to get on our faces and humbly confess our need for a refreshing encounter with the God who created everything. Lord we need You now more than ever before. Come and bring refreshing renewal!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | May 9, 2014 | Psalm
Psalm 46:1-3
God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.
As you read the book of Psalms, David mentions repeatedly the storms of life. He was attacked on all sides by his enemies who desired to take his life. Do you feel that way sometimes?
His predecessor, King Saul, was a demented king who imagined that David was attempting to take the kingdom from him. (Actually it was the Lord who had rejected Saul because of his wickedness and failing to keep the Lord in control of his life.)
In many of his Psalms, David cried out to the Lord for help and immediately praised Him for giving him a safe place of refuge. That is the same with us today. We may be tossed and torn by the storms of life, but the Lord always gives us a haven of rest. That is the hymn for this week.
The Haven of Rest
My soul in sad exile was out on life(s) sea,
So burdened with sin and distressed,
Till I heard a sweet voice, saying, (Make Me your choice)
And I entered the Haven of Rest!
Refrain: I have anchored my soul in the Haven of Rest; I will sail the wide seas no more; The tempest may sweep over wild, stormy, deep, In Jesus I am safe evermore.
I yielded myself to His tender embrace,
In faith taking hold of the Word,
My fetters fell off, and I anchored my soul;
The Haven of Rest is my Lord.
Refrain: I have anchored my soul in the Haven of Rest; I will sail the wide seas no more; The tempest may sweep over wild, stormy, deep, In Jesus I am safe evermore.
The song of my soul, since the Lord made me whole,
Has been the old story so blest,
Of Jesus, who will save whosoever will have
A home in the Haven of Rest.
Refrain: I have anchored my soul in the Haven of Rest; I will sail the wide seas no more; The tempest may sweep over wild, stormy, deep, In Jesus I am safe evermore.
How precious the thought that we all may recline,
Like John, the beloved so blest,
On Jesus strong arm, where no tempest can harm,
Secure in the Haven of Rest.
Refrain: I have anchored my soul in the Haven of Rest; I will sail the wide seas no more; The tempest may sweep over wild, stormy, deep, In Jesus I am safe evermore.
O come to the Savior, He patiently waits
To save by His power divine;
Come, anchor your soul in the Haven of Rest,
And say, ‘My Beloved is mine.’
Refrain: I have anchored my soul in the Haven of Rest; I will sail the wide seas no more; The tempest may sweep over wild, stormy, deep, In Jesus I am safe evermore.
To access The Haven of Rest, this week’s inspirational video fromGloryScapes.com, please go to:http://www.gloryscapes.com/thehavenofrest/ 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 | May 8, 2014 | Luke
Luke 12:6-7
Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
If you have been keeping track, the sparrow is the third of God’s creatures that I have taken the time to highlight this week. We considered the frog, then the eagle, and now we will look at the sparrow.
There are a vast number of sparrows in the world, flitting among the bushes or hopping along the ground. It is almost impossible for us humans to distinguish one bird from another. We may be able to identify a species, but not individuals. God knows not only those who are alive at this moment of time, but also those that have ever lived.
There is just a little additional information we are given in today’s Scripture. It has to do with the hairs on our head. God has them all numbered. My number used to be much greater than it is now! Regardless of the number of hairs on our head, God knows us so intimately that we are able to place our trust in Him.
The tiny sparrow can teach us a valuable lesson. GOD KNOWS US INSIDE AND OUT! WE ARE HIS DESIGN AND HE FEEDS US BY HIS WORD! Always remember Proverbs 3:5-6; “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.”
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | May 7, 2014 | Deuteronomy
Deuteronomy 32:11
As an eagle stirs up its nest, hovers over its young, spreading out its wings, taking them up, carrying them on its wings, so the LORD alone led him, and there was no foreign god with him.
A few years ago I was watching a web camera focused on an eagle’s nest in Sydney, B.C., Canada. There were three eaglets in the nest. I was enthralled as I sat here at my computer and observed the drama in the nest.
Once as I watched, a marauder (another eagle), swept down on the nest. In the blink of an eye, he made off with the remains of a seagull that the mother eagle had been shredding and feeding to her hungry brood.
A video replay of the attack demonstrated how quickly it happened. The mother seemed to be aware that the intruder was near, but was more concerned for the safety of her chicks than for the scraps of seagull. It was a matter of priorities. Prior to the attack she had laboriously herded her brood under the safety of her wings. The largest eaglet was especially difficult to control. He kept trying to get out from under her wings and do his own thing, unaware of the danger to his life.
How very much we are like that willful chick. We want to do our own thing with little or no thought of the consequences of our actions. The Lord desires to cover us with His protective wings, but we fight with all of our might to escape. Then when we fall into the clutches of our enemy we wonder why God was not there to protect us.
We need to come under the protective wings of the Lord before the marauder strikes. The Lord loves us and wants to cover us with His protective wings. Whatever is happening in your life at the present time, realize that His wings are there to cover and protect you.
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
