by Pastor Cecil | Dec 4, 2018 | Psalm
Psalm 51:10
“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.”
Have you ever wondered who you count on to do what they have promised to do? Let me ask another, more penetrating question. Have you ever made a commitment to someone and after days, weeks, or even months later realize that you have failed to follow through? You have betrayed your trust, my friend!
It is a serious thing to violate your promises to those around you. But what about promises to the Lord? What promises have you made to Him that you have failed to keep? This is a question that I try to apply to myself as often as possible. I must confess that there have been times I have had to hang my head in shame and ask the Lord to forgive my failure.
It is easy to see the faults of others while at the same time ignoring my own short comings. I think that the more easily we find fault in others, the easier it is to overlook the lack of trust in our own lives.
There have been many times that people have disappointed me by promising one thing and then doing another. It has hurt and made me to feel betrayed. At times they have renewed their commitment and once again demonstrated faithfulness. It is important that we live in such a manner that others can count on us!
Blessings dear hearts! May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Dec 3, 2018 | Luke
Luke 17:3
“Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.”
If you are like me, there are times an old familiar song pops into your head and replays itself over and over. In the past day or so I have relived that experience (again). The song this time is one that Bing Crosby sang many years ago as he reminisced;You Are Easy to Remember, But So Hard to Forget; about a sweetheart that was gone but not forgotten.
As I have thought about the lyrics to the song I have been reminded of how difficult it is for some people to forgive. We can remember the offense against us (that is the easy part) — forgetting the offense is the hard part.
Across the years I have been called upon to counsel many people who deal with the issue of forgiveness. They may say they have forgiven, but at the same time their behavior reveals that their thought life centers on the way they were mistreated by the other party.
I have come to realize that the only reasonable way of dealing with our inability to forget the transgressions of others is to focus on our own. Rather than digging our heels in and demanding recompense from the more guilty party, we must rememberour own sins. We need to be QUICK TO FORGIVE!
Blessings dear hearts! May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Nov 30, 2018 | Titus
Titus 3:4-5
“But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.”
One night, 1886, in group of Christians were singing in a down-and-out part of a large city. A distraught young woman questioned if it would be possible for a sinner like her to be saved. Listening to her heart-cry for salvation, she was taken back to the mission and left with the ladies in charge. The young, wayward woman was brought to Christ that night.
A situation was secured for her in a minister’s family. Sometime later she became ill and had to be taken to a hospital. She rapidly failed and it became evident that she would not be long on earth. One of the gentlemen, whom she had met on that night on the street, was visiting her in the ward. After quoting a few suitable verses of Scripture, he repeated her favorite hymn, “All to Christ I Owe.”Two hours afterward she passed away.
Of course the greatest payment in our behalf is the gift of eternal life. It cost the horrible death of our precious Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He paid what we could not pay. He went to the cross voluntarily because He knew we would never be able to pay the cost.
Jesus Paid It All
I hear the Savior say,
“Thy strength indeed is small!
Child of weakness watch and pray,
Find in Me thine all in all.”
Refrain:
Jesus paid it all,
All to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain
He washed it white as snow.
For nothing good have I,
whereby Thy grace to claim
I will wash my garments white,
In the blood of Calv’ry’s Lamb.
Refrain:
Jesus paid it all,
All to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain
He washed it white as snow.
And when before the throne,
I stand in Him complete,
I’ll lay my trophies down,
All down at Jesus’ feet.
Refrain:
Jesus paid it all,
All to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain
He washed it white as snow.
To access Jesus Paid It All, this inspirational video from GloryScapes.com, please go to: http://www.gloryscapes.com/jesuspaiditall/
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Nov 29, 2018 | Philippians
Philippians 2:4
“Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.”
I recall a seminary professor share how easy it is to downplay the things that are meaningful or important to another person. If someone has achieved some major goal in his or her life, it is easy for us to ignore it or act as if it were insignificant.
That professor explained how he would go out of his way to get excited about an accomplishment someone shared with him. For example, a certain person had told him about a verse he had memorized and the professor exploded with joy and congratulations. It was just the response that person needed because others had always made him feel inferior and worthless. Contrary to the opinions of those around him, that man went on to become a dynamic spiritual leader in his area.
It does not have to be just spiritual accomplishments that we praise. We had a small man with a severe learning disorder in a church where I served as an associate pastor. The man could barely talk, but he loved to bowl. Somehow I discovered he carried a small book with his bowling scores written down.
Each week I made a point of looking at his book and getting excited about his scores. They were sometimes 25 or 30, but I tried to make him feel special. It not only made Roscoe feel special, it made me feel that I had met an angel unaware.
Blessings dear hearts! May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Nov 28, 2018 | 1 Thessalonians
1 Thessalonians 5:15
“See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all.”
It is far too easy to be preoccupied with our own life and forget about those around us. Stop for a moment and think about a time in which you were treated unfairly or given an insult of some kind. The natural reaction to this treatment is retaliation.
The person who caused you pain may or may not even be aware that they have done so. Perhaps they may have been given a promotion that you felt you deserved. While they celebrated their promotion, you felt rejected. You may have even justified your actions in showing a bitter attitude toward them because you felt you deserved the promotion, not them!
This type of behavior is certainly not the way a Christian should behave. There will be times in our life when we will be treated “unfairly”. The way we react will say more about our spiritual maturity than hundreds of sermons.
My prayer is that you and I will start living the way the Lord desires. That means giving up our tender feelings to the Lord and refusing to show a contrary attitude, even when we are hurt to the core. SHOW A CHRISTIAN ATTITUDE!
Blessings dear hearts! May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
