by Pastor Cecil | Mar 18, 2019 | Jeremiah
Jeremiah 29:11
“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.”
Many people have an erroneous view of the Lord. They see Him as a God that is vindictive and anxious to find a fault in our lives for which to punish us. They fail to see the love of God and the provision of God. Like Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, they hide from God rather than running to Him for salvation and comfort.
It is important to pause and reflect on the many times when God has stepped in and revealed Himself in a way that resolved our problems. Sadly we frequently within a very short time try to handle problems in our own strength instead of allowing Him to meet our need.
Only the Lord knows what lies ahead for us. Not only that, He will never leave us nor forsake us. In the most disastrous times of our life He is always there beside us to give us a future and a hope, regardless of how hopeless the situation may seem.
What is the greatest ordeal you are facing? Are you trying to deal with it in your own strength? God promises us that He is the One who gives us strength for each and every day. He loves us and has a wonderful plan for our life. Are you actively seeking to discover that plan and purpose that He has designed just for you?
Blessings dear hearts! Walk with God today and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jan 11, 2019 | Jeremiah
Jeremiah 29:11-13
“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.”
I would dare to say that almost all of us experienced some sort of trial in our life. It could be the loss of health, a financial meltdown, death of a mate or child or any number of catastrophic events. It is not whether or not we will encounter these trials, but rather what we will do when they arise.
The phrase, “Praise to the Lord” occurs in at least 155 verses in the Bible. That indicates to me that we need to spend far more time praising the Lord than we do. It would be well to replace our complaints with words of praise to the Lord.
Over 300 years ago, Joachim Neander was a hymn writer for the German Reform church. He was going through a time of trial and testing in his life. He would take long walks and pour his heart out to the Lord. It was on one of these walks that he came to the realization that it was not his strength that would give him victory and peace, but rather the powerful God he served. It was in that state of mind that he composed this week’s featured hymn.
Praise to the Lord, the Almighty
Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation!
O my soul, praise Him, for He is thy health and salvation!
All ye who hear, Now to His temple draw near;
Join me in glad adoration!
Praise to the Lord, who o’er all things so wondrously reigneth,
Shelters thee under His wings, yea, so gently sustaineth!
Hast thou not seen how thy desires e’er have been
Granted in what He ordaineth?
Praise to the Lord, who with marvelous wisdom hath made thee!
Decked thee with health, and with loving hand guided and stayed thee;
How oft in grief hath not He bought thee relief,
Spreading His wings for to shade thee!
Praise to the Lord! O let all that is in me adore Him!
All that hath life and breath, come now with praises before Him!
Let the Amen sound from His people again;
Gladly for aye we adore Him.
Enjoy this week’s free inspirational video from Gloryscapes.com. You may also access it by going to: http://www.gloryscapes.com/praisetothelordthealmighty/
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jun 14, 2018 | Jeremiah
Jeremiah 29:13
“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”
I have many fond memories of playing the childhood game of “hide and seek” with the other kids in our neighborhood. I may be getting old, but I can still recall some of the pleasures of childhood (without the spankings, of course)!
We can never accuse God of hiding from us. It is the other way around. From the earliest days in the Garden of Eden, mankind has hidden from God — He is the One who comes seeking us.
As you honestly evaluate your life at this moment, are you seeking to find God with all your heart … or do you find yourself hiding from Him? Remember, He is the One who loved you enough to come into the world to seek and find those who were lost.
Now is not the time for kid’s games. We are dealing with eternity here. We need to insure that we have accepted Him into our heart as our personal Savior and are preparing ourselves to spend eternity with Him in glory. Don’t play hide and seek with God!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jun 13, 2018 | Jeremiah
Jeremiah 29:11
“‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’”
I hope you are as thrilled as I am at the realization that God has “special plans” for each one of us, and at the same time a “promise” that is available to all who call upon His name. The efforts we exert to achieve our goals always involve “doing it ourselves,” rather than “resting in God and allowing Him to do His work in us.”
All of our human attempts at self-improvement leave us with an empty feeling as we begin a new search for the next thing to make us feel completed. This only leads to further frustration and walking out of His will.
We were created with a “God-shaped” emptiness inside of us. Those who have received Jesus Christ as their personal Savior know that only Hecan fill that particular void. Old things have passed away and all things have become new. Eternity is in our hearts and we have passed from death into life. Ah! The sweet peace it brings!
By resting in the Lord, we are able to simply be led by His Spirit to accomplish His purposes. That is so much better than getting caught up in the flurry of doing “in the flesh” what God desires to accomplish in us through His Spirit. It takes PRIOR PLANNING!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | May 8, 2018 | Jeremiah
Jeremiah 29:11
“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.“
Are you as thrilled as I am at the realization that God has “special plans” for each one of us, and at the same time a “promise” that is available to all who call upon His name?
I think it is important for us to go back to the beginning to really grasp the concept of trusting God. In the book of Genesis we see Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden. The description is one of perfection personified. But God had created our first parents with the ability to choose. Ahhh! There’s the rub! They chose to believe the lie of Satan rather than rest in God’s promises. You see, Satan has plans for us, not for peace, but for evil. His plans are a dead end street!
Throughout the pages of Scripture, and into our modern life, this same rejection of the plans and purposes of God has existed. We have the tendency to think we know better than God what is best for us, or at other times we want to be like God in making our own choices rather than seeking His divine will. WRONG CHOICE!
God is imminently qualified to do abundantly above all that we can ask or think. Why in the world do we think it is necessary to tell Him what to do? It is so much better to rest in Him and let Him make known the perfect and complete plans He has for us.
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Apr 20, 2018 | Jeremiah
Jeremiah 29:11-13
“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.”
I would dare to say that almost all of us experienced some sort of trial in our life. It could be the loss of health, a financial meltdown, death of a mate or child or any number of catastrophic events. It is not whether or not we will encounter these trials, but rather what we will do when they arise.
The phrase, “Praise to the Lord” occurs in at least 155 verses in the Bible. That indicates to me that we need to spend far more time praising the Lord than we do. It would be well to replace our complaints with words of praise to the Lord.
Over 300 years ago, Joachim Neander was a hymn writer for the German Reform church. He was going through a time of trial and testing in his life. He would take long walks and pour his heart out to the Lord. It was on one of these walks that he came to the realization that it was not his strength that would give him victory and peace, but rather the powerful God he served. It was in that state of mind that he composed this week’s featured hymn.
Praise to the Lord, the Almighty
Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation!
O my soul, praise Him, for He is thy health and salvation!
All ye who hear, Now to His temple draw near;
Join me in glad adoration!
Praise to the Lord, who o’er all things so wondrously reigneth,
Shelters thee under His wings, yea, so gently sustaineth!
Hast thou not seen how thy desires e’er have been
Granted in what He ordaineth?
Praise to the Lord, who with marvelous wisdom hath made thee!
Decked thee with health, and with loving hand guided and stayed thee;
How oft in grief hath not He bought thee relief,
Spreading His wings for to shade thee!
Praise to the Lord! O let all that is in me adore Him!
All that hath life and breath, come now with praises before Him!
Let the Amen sound from His people again;
Gladly for aye we adore Him.
Enjoy this week’s free inspirational video from Gloryscapes.com. You may also access it by going to: http://www.gloryscapes.com/praisetothelordthealmighty/
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
