by Pastor Cecil | Feb 25, 2014 | Psalm
Psalm 39:4
Show me, Lord, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is.
In a few weeks I will be celebrating my 80th birthday. There is a saying that, at this age, you do not celebrate your birthdays, you just endure them. That sounds more than a little pessimistic, but I cannot disagree too much.
It seems such a very short time ago when Joyce and I were considered part of the youth group. There was no defined time when we stopped being “young people” and advanced on to the next age bracket–whatever that is.
So as time flies by, does age really count? Many of the most-productive minds had their finest years into their 80’s and 90’s. Yeah! There is hope for us yet!
Rather than sitting around and bemoaning the fact that we are getting older, we need to tighten our belts and ask the Lord what our next assignment is. Look for new opportunities to reach out and impact our world for Jesus Christ. We need to forget where our youth went and get busy spending our golden years!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Feb 24, 2014 | Ezekiel
Ezekiel 18:20
The one who sins is the one who will die. The child will not share the guilt of the parent, nor will the parent share the guilt of the child. The righteousness of the righteous will be credited to them, and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against them.
Perhaps all of us have loved ones who have rejected the Word of God and walk in rebellion to the things of eternal value. What are we to do and how are we to treat these individuals?
I think the best example we have on the situation is the family of Jesus. If ever there were siblings that should have eagerly followed the faith of their parents and older brother, it should have been His own family. The truth of the matter was that they did not come to faith until after His death and resurrection.
Jesus never saw His own brothers and sisters come to accept Him as their personal Savior. I am quick to add that, as the Son of God, He saw this, but not from a human perspective. So how did Jesus deal with unbelieving family members?
The answer is that Jesus lived His faith all the way to the cross and beyond. It is far too easy for us to drive our loved ones away from us by a continual barrage of sermonizing. We should rather love them into the Kingdom of God by our faithful walk with the Lord. Watch for opportunities to lead others to the Lord. You may be the answer to another’s prayer.
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Feb 21, 2014 | 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 | Feb 20, 2014 | Matthew
Matthew 16:25-26
For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?
Joyce and I were watching the Antiques Roadshow recently. A woman had brought in an item (I cannot recall what it was) that looked like a piece of trash. (I guess I never did have good taste). She had purchased this item for a few dollars at a yard sale. The appraised value was something like $30,000. WOW!
I have tried to imagine what a different ride it was going home than coming to the Roadshow. I am sure that the appraised item which would have been treated with little concern going there, would receive special care on the way home.
The things of this world have a strange way of being valued. We have heard that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. Look around your own dwelling and see what you consider the most precious items. In our home it is our family!
The things of this world are very fleeting. Objects and even loved ones can disappear in a moment of time. There is one eternal treasure that can never be taken away. That is our salvation. In Christ we have the assurance of a mansion that is prepared just for us. Our net worth here may be small but in eternity it will be priceless!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Feb 19, 2014 | John
John 15:13-15
Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.
One of my all time favorite teachers and speakers is Dr. Howard Hendricks who taught at Dallas Theological Seminary. One of the personal experiences that he shared needs to be engraved in our minds. Early in his life said he spent much of his time and effort in trying to change his wife, his children and his students. The harder he tried the less change he saw. (Isn’t that strange?!)
It suddenly dawned on him that he was going about it all wrong. He came to realize that he needed to change his wife’s husband, his children’s father, and his student’s professor. It reminds me of that old song, “It’s me, it’s me, it’s me, oh Lord, standing in the need of prayer.” He began to pray for the Lord to make him a better husband, father and teacher. His wife changed, his children changed and his students changed! What had happened? He had stopped preaching and had started living his faith.
It may be easy for us to intellectually agree with this concept, so why is it so hard to put it into practice? It is simply that we live by the flesh and not by the Spirit. I know that comes as a crushing blow to your delicate psyche, but like it or not, we all too easily fall into the sinful habit of doing things ourselves rather than asking the Lord to direct our actions. We must live in constant relationship with the Lord and allow Him to show us what to do–then how and when to do it.
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
