by Pastor Cecil | Jan 14, 2014 | Matthew
Matthew 25:28-31
What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’ ‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go. Which of the two did what his father wanted?
The word later usually has a negative connotation. It is used to delay doing the task that is at hand. Can you just hear the echoes of a child responding to a request by their mother; “Later Mom.” That later often becomes never as the frustrated mother gives in and does the job herself. We of course have never done that. Right!
The parable that Jesus relates in today’s Scripture has several facets. One of those is that it is never too late to change a LATER into a NOW. It does not matter how long we have delayed in doing the right thing, our actions speak louder than words.
I am so glad that the Lord is patient with us. We may fall short of the commitments we have made, or we may have refused to even make commitments, either way, He is always waiting for us to trust Him and follow when He leads us. Trust and obey for there is no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.
Procrastination always leads to disappointment. This is true for the ones who have asked us to do something, but also for ourselves. I think it is time for us to take a moment and search our memory banks for promises that we have not acted upon.
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jan 13, 2014 | James
James 5:16
Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
Do you ever wonder where certain expressions get started? Not too long ago, the expression “my bad” began to be used when someone desired to acknowledge responsibility for a mistake. I guess that replaced the old standby, “Ooops!”
It does not matter which of these expressions are used, the understanding is that we have made a mistake. Not only that, we expect others to laugh it off and excuse it as one of the many frailties of human nature.
The story does not end there, however. What is our reaction when others do something unplanned or unexpected that adversely affects us? All too often we hit the ceiling, so to speak, and make a spectacle out of an accidental incident.
I am sure that we have all heard of the “Golden Rule.” In Luke 6:31 we read: “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” Think how different our life (and the lives of others) would be if we made this a vital part of our behavior pattern. I want to commit myself to have such a servant spirit. Lord, help me to laugh more and be able to look past the “my bads” of those around me.
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
—Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jan 10, 2014 | Luke
Luke 24:29
But they constrained Him, saying, ‘Abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent.’ And He went in to tarry with them.
Henry F. Lyte was a man who greatly loved the Lord with his whole being. He came up with the saying, “It is better to wear out than to rust out,” and it perfectly described his life.
During the last 23 years of his life he pastored a poor church in England. He always suffered from poor health but during this time his health started to decline even more. When he finally preached his last sermon on September 4, 1847, it is reported that he practically had to crawl to the pulpit.
Shortly before preaching his last sermon he wrote the words and tune to the hymn, Abide With Me. He based his hymn on today’s Scripture that tells the story of Jesus walking with two disciples on the way to Emmaus and their statement, “Abide with us: for it is toward evening and the day is far spent.” He went to be with the Lord shortly after writing the hymn.
Later William Monk wrote a new tune for the hymn. During a time of personal sorrow, he was inspired by the beauty of a magnificent sunset.
Abide With Me
Abide with me—fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens—Lord, with me abide;
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me!
Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day;
Earth’s joys grow dim, its glories pass away;
Change and decay in all around I see;
O Thou who changest not, abide with me!
I need Thy presence every passing hour;
What but Thy grace can foil the tempter’s power?
Who like Thyself my guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, O abide with me.
Hold Thou Thy word before my closing eyes,
Shine thru the gloom and point me to the skies;
Heaven’s morning breaks and earth’s vain shadows flee
In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me!
To access Abide With Me, this week’s inspirational hymn video from GloryScapes.com, please go to: http://www.gloryscapes.com/abidewithme/ 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 | Jan 9, 2014 | Isaiah
Isaiah 55:6
Seek the LORD while He may be found; call on Him while He is near.
Over my many years of ministry I have urged individuals, couples and congregations to call on the name of the Lord at the earliest sign of difficulty. In fact I have gone so far as to beg them to keep in such close contact with the Lord that they talk with Him all through the day.
I wish I could report that my recommended counsel has been followed. That is just not the case. Many times I have had people come and weep bitter tears because they had met with chaos in their life and things were falling apart.
What do you do when your life has come unraveled and hopes have been crushed? The answer is always the same. Call on the name of the Lord. There is no way I have the power to restore and put the broken pieces of their life back together, but I know that when a life is totally surrendered to God, He gives hope for the hopeless.
You may be at a critical juncture of your life at this very moment. Your marriage or your job or your health or your children or your . . . do I need to go on? You get the idea. Regardless of what you face right now, I urge you to memorize Isaiah 55:6 and then do what it says!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
—Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jan 8, 2014 | Proverbs
Proverbs 22:5-6
In the paths of the wicked lie thorns and snares, but he who guards his soul stays far from them. Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.
If you have ever attended a graveside service, you may recall that there are always a limited number of chairs reserved for the immediate family members of the deceased. It is so distressing, and revealing, when young children rush to be seated while relatives with obvious physical limitations are left standing. Meanwhile, the parents of the inconsiderate children stand by with smiles on their faces.
I have no idea why parents have lost control of their children, especially in our current culture, but they have. If we look into God’s Word, we learn that it is not the responsibility of the children, but the parents to establish discipline and direction. (Sometimes, the children seem to act more adult than their parents.)
Is the situation hopeless? I don’t think so, but it certainly requires that we face the issue directly. We need to start sharing the powerful Word of God concerning the subject. The answer is not some idea conceived by a behavioral scientist, but by what God ordains that the relationship with the younger generation should be. “Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.”
We cannot suddenly transform an entire generation and cause it to show proper respect, but we can start by being an example ourselves and encouraging others to do the same. When was the last time you went out of your way to show respect to a clerk in a checkout line? When was the last time you picked up your phone to call someone who had impacted your life to tell them how much you appreciated them? Respect is taught by God’s Word, but it is patterned by our actions. What actions have you been patterning?
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
—Pastor Cecil
