by Pastor Cecil | Jun 22, 2012 | Isaiah
Isaiah 55:1
Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.
I know it may be hard to believe, but I used to be a Boy Scout. I learned how to start a fire without matches, how to tie knots, how to render first-aid and many other practical skills. We were taught that if you are thirsty you can quench your thirst by placing a clean round stone in your mouth.
We were camping in the mountains of Idaho and our Scoutmaster was taking us on a long hike up a mountain. As boys might do, we drank freely from our water canteens early in the hike and they were soon empty with many miles to go. It was then that our Scoutmaster suggested the stone in the mouth trick. Believe me—it sounds better in the Boy Scout Manuel than in practice. We soon spit out the stones. It makes me thirsty just to think of it!
There is also a spiritual thirst that the sincere believer experiences. We come to those places in our life that demand a renewal to quench our parched souls. Back in 1884, Lucy J. Meyer felt that spiritual thirst. It led her to write this week’s hymn.
Ho! Everyone Who Is Thirsty
Ho! Everyone that is thirsty in spirit,
Ho! Everyone that is weary and sad;
Come to the fountain, there’s fullness in Jesus,
All that you’re longing for; come and be glad!
Refrain: I will pour water on him that is thirsty,
I will pour floods upon the dry ground;
Open your hearts for the gifts I am bringing;
While you are seeking Me, I will be found.
Child of the world, are you tired of your bondage?
Weary of earth’s joys, so false, so untrue?
Thirsting for God and His fullness of blessing?
List’ to the promise, a message for you!
Refrain: I will pour water on him that is thirsty,
I will pour floods upon the dry ground;
Open your hearts for the gifts I am bringing;
While you are seeking Me, I will be found.
Child of the kingdom, be filled with the Spirit!
Nothing but “fullness” thy longing can meet;
‘Tis the enduement for life and for service;
Thine is the promise, so certain, so sweet.
Refrain: I will pour water on him that is thirsty,
I will pour floods upon the dry ground;
Open your hearts for the gifts I am bringing;
While you are seeking Me, I will be found.
To access Ho! Everyone Who Is Thirsty, this week’s inspirational video from GloryScapes™ Christian Music Hymns & Songs, please go to: http://www.gloryscapes.com/hoeveryonewhoisthirsty/ 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
360-570-0074
PastorCecil@Daily-E-Votional.com
by Pastor Cecil | Jun 21, 2012 | Isaiah
Isaiah 55:9
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.
There are so many things that I do not understand that it almost makes me want to crawl in a hole. There are times when I wish I had the answers to the problems of life, and especially to be able to answer those who come to me for counsel. Sometimes they want to know the mind of God by reasoning with the mind of man. Impossible!
If I want to blow a mental fuse, I try to imagine the concept of eternity. God always was and always will be. Everyone and everything on this earth and in the heavens has had a beginning. Not only that, we experience an end. It is not that way with God. He always was and always will be.
Carl Sagan, a renowned scientist who appeared on television for many years, frequently expressed his theory of evolution on the idea of billions and billions of years. First of all, he was not there at the beginning . . . but God was. Carl Sagan did not have the answers as to how biological life could have appeared from mineral sources . . . but God knows. He created the earth and the heavens.
From our human perspective time is based on past, present, and future. However, according to Hebrews 15:8, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. With God there is no restriction of time. We do not understand it now, but when Jesus comes, our eyes will be opened and we will understand it better by and by.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
—Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jun 11, 2012 | 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.
Ages ago I memorized Isaiah 41:10. It was so long ago that I do not recall just how old I was, but it was while I was still a boy. Regardless of when it was, this verse has been a constant source of encouragement in my life. In the darkest hours of pain and fear I have found that God is faithful to His Word.
I once heard someone relate a cynically humorous line: Someone told me to cheer up, that things could be worse. So I cheered up and sure enough, things did get worse!
In my many years of experience in counseling people who are discouraged, I have found that the most useless advice is to tell them to cheer up. But even being aware of this I have often found myself giving this advice. They are not satisfied being this way, but they need an answer that will lead them out of fear and despondency.
The Scripture for today gives real hope for the person who is captivated by fear or who find themself despondent. Our word of assurance from the Lord is that He is with us and He is our God. That means we are under His mighty hand of protection. There is no need for us to fight the battle ourselves, He promises here that He will strengthen us, help us, and uphold us with His righteous right hand. That is the hand of strength.
You may be facing the giant of a medical diagnosis that seems terminal. You may have just been notified that your employment is terminated. You may have had your heart broken by infidelity. You may be sitting at the bedside of a loved one who has lost their grip on life. I could go on and on, but the good news is that we have a Savior in heaven who knows what we are going through and is standing right there beside us. Trust Him!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
—Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | May 2, 2012 | Isaiah
Isaiah 26:3-4
You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in You. Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD, the LORD, is the Rock eternal.
Last Sunday one of our men related a great incident: A co-worker had shared that he had not been getting any sleep at night. He would toss and turn for hour after hour and would rise in the morning feeling washed out.
Our member told him that he had the solution. He suggested that when the man could not sleep he should take the Bible and start reading, and surely Satan would bring slumber to stop the reading. The next day the man arrived at work refreshed and full of energy. He reported that it was the best night of sleep he’d had in ages.
Today’s Scripture is a wonderful passage for any of us to read and meditate upon before drifting off to sleep. It is a promise that the Lord has given to those who will keep our minds stayed on the Lord.
Here is a challenge for anyone who has been having trouble sleeping at night. Search out passages that deal with praise and promise. Read these passages several times before you slip into bed. You may even want to write them on a 3×5 card and keep it near your bed. Be ready to read the passages over again if your sleep is interrupted. May God grant you sweet sleep!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing to others!
—Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Apr 19, 2012 | Isaiah
Isaiah 41:10
So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.
Over the years my mind goes 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 much more optimistic than pessimistic. It is not because of my own efforts, it was the Lord that made 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? We are not to fear nor are we to be dismayed. That means we are not to be known for our gloomy outlook on life. God’s assurance is that He will strengthen us and uphold us. He is with us and He is our God.
How much do we believe in God and His precious promises? With God in control we are free to serve Him with love and confidence that His work is far more important than our comfort. As we fix our eyes on Jesus the things of this world will become dim and we will eagerly look forward to the day we will be with Him for eternity. What a day that will be!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
—Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Apr 11, 2012 | Isaiah
Isaiah 41:10
Fear not [there is nothing to fear], for I am with you; do not look around you in terror and be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen and harden you to difficulties, yes, I will help you; yes, I will hold you up and retain you with My [victorious] right hand of rightness and justice. (The Amplified Bible)
There is a lot of fear going around these days. Fear of the failing economy, fear of medical difficulties, fear of what people will think, fear of failing, fear of tomorrow, fear of the unknown—you name it—and we can and do develop a fearful attitude.
I especially like the way The Amplified Bible uses numerous nuances of the original Hebrew text in order to clarify the meaning. We should read that first phrase over and over again: Fear not [there is nothing to fear], for I am with you.
We may want to argue with others that our situation is different and that we really have something to fear, but God says we don’t. The reason that we need not fear is that He is with us.
If we go back into the Old Testament and read of the way God delivers His people, we find that He is able to protect and lead. It was only when people rejected His leadership and control of their lives that they faced defeat.
Just think of the way God led His people out of Egypt. He provided a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. God’s presence in the clouds both gave the direction to travel and also stood between His people and the enemy.
Trust Him to lead and protect you and you will never need to fear!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
—Pastor Cecil
