by Pastor Cecil | Feb 6, 2015 | Daily-E-Votionals
Psalm 90:1-2
“Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations. Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.”
“O God, Our Help in Ages Past” is a hymn by Isaac Watts and paraphrases Psalm 90. It originally consisted of nine stanzas. In present usage, however, the hymn is usually limited to stanzas one, two, three, five and nine.
The hymn was originally part of The Psalms of David Imitated in the Language of the New Testament, published by Watts in 1719. It has often been sung for special occasions in England. It was sung in 1941, at a religious service on board HMS Prince of Wales attended by Winston Churchill and Franklin Delano Roosevelt as part of the conference creating the Atlantic Charter. It was also sung at the funeral of Winston Churchill in 1965.
Later composers subsequently incorporated the tune in their own works. For example, George Handel used the tune in an anthem entitled, O Praise the Lord.
Oh God, Our Help In Ages Past
Our God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Our shelter from the stormy blast,
And our eternal home.
Under the shadow of Thy throne
Thy saints have dwelt secure;
Sufficient is Thine arm alone,
And our defense is sure.
Before the hills in order stood,
Or earth received her frame,
From everlasting Thou art God,
To endless years the same.
A thousand ages in Thy sight
Are like an evening gone;
Short as the watch that ends the night
Before the rising sun.
The busy tribes of flesh and blood,
With all their lives and cares,
Are carried downwards by the flood,
And lost in following years.
O God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Be Thou our guide while troubles last,
And our eternal home.
To access Oh God, Our Help In Ages Past, this week’s inspirational video from GloryScapes.com, please go to: http://www.gloryscapes.com/ogodourhelpinagespast/ 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 | Dec 24, 2014 | Daily-E-Votionals
Luke 2:8-9
“And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.’”
Several years ago our church had finished an inspirational Christmas Eve service. Earlier there had been candles placed inside white lunch bags that lined the driveway leading to the church. Joyce and I volunteered to extinguish the candles after everyone had left.
It was about a block to the end of the driveway where the first of the candles had been placed. Snow had fallen earlier and there were several inches on the ground. The temperature was about 20°F. The snow crunched beneath our feet, but that was the only sound. We stopped to watch the silent stars and enjoy the sound of silence. We were moved in our spirit with the beauty of God’s creation and was reminded of the old Christmas Carol, Silent Night.
The words of this well loved carol were written in 1818 by Josef Mohr after he had seen a play about the birth of Jesus. He was in a reflective mood and walked to a hill overlooking his village in the Austrian Alps. The view of the snow covered village reminded him of a poem he had written a few years earlier. The poem was about the night the angel announced the birth of Jesus.
The next day he took the words of his poem to Franz Gruber, who had just composed a melody. Gruber re re-worked the melody to match the words to the poem Mohr written. Our beloved carol, Silent Night, was born.
Silent Night
Silent night, holy night
All is calm, all is bright
Round yon Virgin Mother and Child
Holy Infant so tender and mild
Sleep in heavenly peace
Sleep in heavenly peace
Silent night, holy night!
Shepherds quake at the sight
Glories stream from heaven afar
Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia!
Christ, the Savior is born
Christ, the Savior is born
Silent night, holy night
Son of God, love’s pure light
Radiant beams from Thy holy face
With the dawn of redeeming grace
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth
Enjoy this special free inspirational video, “Silent Night” from Gloryscapes.com by going to:http://www.gloryscapes.com/silentnight/ 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 | Oct 21, 2014 | 2 Peter, Daily-E-Votionals
2 Peter 1:3-4
His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness. Through these He has given us His very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
For years I have carried a small coin purse in my pocket. It is only 2 ¼ inches across and at most, 1 inch high. I try to carry 3 quarters, 2 dimes, 1 nickel, and 4 pennies. With this change I can escape having to use a dollar at the checkout stand.
I carry a few other things in my coin purse. There is a house key, a small knife, and a tiny foldout can opener. In fifty plus years of carrying that can opener I have used it once or twice, but the times I needed it, I really needed it!
As a boy I was taught to memorize Scripture verses. When I was young it was relatively easy to memorize. As I got older it became much more difficult. I have shared with many people the secret of writing portions of Scripture on 3X5 cards and carrying them around so that they could refer to them during a free moment. One college student who was failing his college classes began to use this method during the college summer break. In the fall he raised his grades to a B average.
How are you equipping yourself to be used by the Lord? Preparation entails a lot of perspiration (the stuff that flows through your pores when you work hard). I will continue to carry my coin purse in my pocket, but I will also carry His Word in my heart!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Sep 12, 2014 | Daily-E-Votionals
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 week’s inspirational video fromGloryScapes.com, please go to:http://www.gloryscapes.com/jesuspaiditall/ 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 | Aug 19, 2014 | 2 Timothy, Daily-E-Votionals
2 Timothy 2:1-2
You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.
When I first started using the computer, I did not discipline myself to consistently save the material I was working on — one of the most distressing things to encounter is to lose material you have worked on for days, weeks, months, or even years. I want to tell you from personal experience, it wrenches your insides. All that work and suddenly it was gone!
People with much more computer experience had cautioned me about the importance of using the save feature. Losing valuable work was the best teacher, but by then I had suffered loss. I have since taken steps to insure that my material is backed up off site so that I can rest assured of recovery.
Spiritually we face a much greater threat. Believers try to teach the necessity of being saved, but all too often our pleas go unheeded. In many cases I fear it is too late to be saved. Death is certain, but it is often sudden and without warning.
In order to spend eternity in heaven with God, we must be saved. It is more than knowing the Bible — it is surrendering our self-centered will to allow Jesus Christ to come into our heart and save us. If you have never personally applied the save feature that the blood of Jesus provides, I urge you to be saved today while there is still time.
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | May 14, 2014 | Daily-E-Votionals
John 14:27
Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
Storms are frightening things. We have lived in areas where storm clouds were a frequent occurrence, especially in the spring or early summer. In Northern Newfoundland, Canada, we experienced winds that exceeded 120 miles per hour. Now that is a storm!
Making our way in a small boat across the Straits of Juan de Fuca in Washington State one day, we encountered gale force winds and waves that towered above the boat — we could certainly relate to the disciples on the Sea of Galilee certain they were all going to drown. Only Jesus could still that storm! Peace, be still!
There are still other storms that can be even more terrifying: The doctor’s office calls and asks you to return as there is an abnormality in some of the tests. Further analysis confirms that it is a terminal illness.
Some storms can be spiritual: We are convinced that God has given a vision for a particular work, but without warning our vision crashes and is dead. We reel under the impact and question our next move.
Can I tell you the next move to make in any storm of life? Call upon Jesus! He is the One who can and will bring life out of death and purpose out of chaos. HE IS OUR PEACE IN THE STORM!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
