by Pastor Cecil | Jan 18, 2013 | Daily-E-Votionals
Psalm 31:2-3
Turn Your ear to me, come quickly to my rescue; be my rock of refuge, a strong fortress to save me. Since You are my rock and my fortress, for the sake of Your name lead and guide me.
My wife Joyce and I have had more than a few fiery trials in our life. We have been forced to our knees and cried out to Him to support us. When it seemed that we could not go on, the Lord has always been faithful and our Firm Foundation.
The hymn for this week was the favorite hymn of Rachel Jackson, wife of Andrew Jackson. He requested that it be played for him in the final hours of his life. It was also a favorite of General Robert E. Lee. It was sung at the funerals of American presidents Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson.
On Christmas Eve, 1898, an entire corps of the United States Army was camped on the hills near Havana, Cuba. Almost as a man they spontaneously took up this sacred tune and words. In times of trial and danger it is essential to have a firm foundation in the Lord upon which to stand.
HOW FIRM A FOUNDATION
How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in His excellent Word!
What more can He say than to you He hath said,
To You who for refuge to Jesus for refuge have fled?
Fear not, I am with thee, O be not dismayed,
For I am thy God and will still give thee aid;
I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand
Upheld by My righteous, omnipotent hand.
When through fiery trials thy pathways shall lie,
My grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply;
The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design
Thy dross to consume, and thy gold to refine.
The soul that on Jesus has leaned for repose,
I will not, I will not desert to its foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I’ll never, no never, no never forsake.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jan 17, 2013 | Exodus
Exodus 20:17
You shall not covet your neighbor(s) house; you shall not covet your neighbor(s) wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor(s).
You will notice that the tenth commandment is the one that deals with covetousness. It is a condition that afflicts many hearts. When I was a Juvenile Probation Officer I experienced a repetitive behavior. It did not matter if it was cash, computer, or car— the offender would see it, covet it, steal it and most often hide it.
It is no coincidence that we see the same pattern in Scripture. In Joshua 7 we read the tragic saga of a man named Achan, who kept plunder from Jericho in direct violation of what God had commanded. When the lot fell upon him he finally confessed that he had seen these wonderful items (a garment, silver, and gold) and had desired them, took them, then buried them. He and his family paid the ultimate price.
Years later we read how King David peered over the walls of his palatial home, saw Bathsheba bathing, lusted for her, took her into his bed, then tried to hide his sin by arranging for her husband, Uriah, to be killed in battle.
How are we to deal with this tendency to covet and thus violate the tenth commandment? Paul gives us the answer in Philippians 4:12-13, “I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” ALWAYS OBEY THE LORD!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
—Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jan 16, 2013 | 1 Peter
1 Peter 5:8-9
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.
I am signed up to receive a jigsaw puzzle each morning which seems to keep me visually aware of shapes and colors. It is always a challenge to meet or exceed the average length of time others have taken to complete the puzzle.
This morning the picture was of a turtle sitting on the head of a crocodile. They were about the same size, so it might not have been a problem. At the same time I can just imagine what would happen in a short period of time. The croc would increase in size and suddenly would see the turtle as a tasty meal. What had once been a resting place for the turtle now would become dangerous territory.
Over the years I have counseled many people who played around with tempting situations, believing that they could only go only so far and then stop just before things went too far. Unfortunately, they would cry their eyes out when the situation got out of hand and the consequences of sin demanded payment.
I pray that you who are reading this are not playing the part of the turtle. If you are, I beg you to immediately get away to a place of safety. That place is the arms of our Savior who died to rescue us from the jaws of the enemy. Confess your sin and turn back to Him. He is waiting to welcome you!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
—Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jan 15, 2013 | Luke
Luke 2:51-52
Then He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was subject to them, but His mother kept all these things in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.
Years ago I worked for an unforgettable character who served as the Juvenile Court Judge in our county. I was the one and only Juvenile Probation Officer and had close contact with Judge Ben Riordan.
The Judge once shared with me about the problem one of his sons had in coming under parental authority. When the son was a teenager he secured a job and began to earn his own money. More and more he resisted the established rules of the house and came close to being disrespectful.
To deal with the problem, Judge Ben explained to his rebellious son that since he was earning his own money he could now buy his own food. That meant that he would not be allowed to eat at home with the family until he changed his attitude and came under the authority of his parents. For about two weeks the boy ate away from home, but soon learned that much of his salary was going to pay for his meager meals. He made his apologies and was once again restored to the good graces of the family.
Sometimes we get away from God’s authority and feel that we are able to make it on our own. How foolish! It does not work that way and continued rebellion makes us miserable to ourselves and others. It is time to come home and make the Lord the leader of our life.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
—Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jan 14, 2013 | Isaiah
Isaiah 41:10
Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.
Over the years I have found my mind going back to today’s verse. It was one of the first verses I ever memorized. Come to think about it, it may very well be the reason that I am known as more optimistic than pessimistic. It is not me, but the Lord that makes the difference.
God gives us a tremendous promise in this verse. He promises to strengthen us, to help us and to uphold us. Do you realize what that promise should mean to each of us in our daily walk? It means that we can claim victory over every situation.
As I read this verse again, I see that our requirement is very minimal. We are not called upon to do great and mighty works. We do not even have to possess super human abilities.
So what is our part? To not fear and to not be dismayed.The reason our Scripture gives us for not fearing or not being dismayed is that God is with us and He is our own personal God. With such a powerful God in control we are free to praise Him and give Him the glory even before we see His completed work.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
—Pastor Cecil
