by Pastor Cecil | May 10, 2018 | Philippians
Philippians 4:19
“And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.“
One of the endearing memories I have of my wife is her purse. Her purses always had to be large and super large. We teased her about the size of her purses, but you know what? When we needed a band-aid, aspirin, sewing kit, tweezers, scissors … I think you get the point. Her purse was the source of supply.
When I recall my many years of walking with the Lord, He has always been my source of supply. When I am weak, He is strong. When I have traveled through the valley of grief, He has carried me. When I have been attacked, He has been my defender.
It is interesting to read today’s Scripture and discover that God has promised to supply all of our need. That does not automatically mean He will supply all of our WANTS. Many times our wants are not what is best for us. In fact, our wants may be harmful to our spiritual or even physical well being.
The answer to discovering a strong spiritual balance is to stay close to the Lord and allow Him to supply everything we need to be effective servants. He goes before us and knows what we will need before we even ask Him. “In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” Proverbs 3:6
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Apr 30, 2018 | Philippians
Philippians 4:9
“The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.“
Picture with me a serene lake setting. On the far side of the lake is a high peak with patches of snow from the preceding winter. The water is so smooth that there is barely a ripple. As you gaze at the water you see a perfect reflection of the mountain scene—a mirror image. The more the water is disturbed, however, the less of the mountain you see.
God wants us to have a relationship with Him that reflects His glory. It is not about us … but about Him. The more we are preoccupied with ourselves the less of His image is reflected in us. The more we allow the things of this world to trouble the “waters of our soul,” the less of Jesus others will see.
In today’s Scripture we have the promise of God’s peace. What a wonderful assurance to read the last part of the verse: “And the God of peace will be with you.“ The way to finding that peace is in the control of our thought life! A computer term fits well here: GIGO (garbage in garbage out). We need to change that to: glory in glory out!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Mar 15, 2018 | Philippians
Philippians 4:8
“Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.”
Picture with me a serene lake setting. On the far side of the lake is a high mountain peak with patches of snow from the previous winter. The water is glassy smooth with barely a ripple. As you gaze at the water you can see a perfect reflection of the mountain scene — a mirror image. The more the water is disturbed, however, the less of the mountain you see.
God wants us to have a relationship with Him that reflects His glory. It is not us but Him that matters. The more we are preoccupied with ourselves the less of His image is reflected in us. The more we allow the things of this world to trouble the “waters of our soul,” the less of Jesus they will see.
In today’s Scripture we have the promise of God’s peace. The assurance that God gives us in this verse is that the things we meditate on determine how we view the world and all that is in it. The path to finding inner peace? Our thought life! A computer term fits well here: GIGO (garbage in, garbage out). We need to change that to Glory in, Glory out!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Mar 6, 2018 | Philippians
Philippians 3:12
“Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.”
When God’s Word says our sins are forgiven, does that mean we are free, or does He still hold them against us? We might say that we are set free, but do we actually walk away from our sinful past and have victory in our lives? The Lord wants us to be free from the sins of our past once they are confessed. Satan wants to continually dredge up the dregs of our past and accuse us. Trust God!
In the second chapter of Joshua we read that the two spies were saved by the action of a prostitute named Rahab. She was confident that God had given the land to Israel and the whole land was in fear of them. She asked that when they took the land that she and her family might be spared.
Rahab put her confidence in the men who her people considered enemies. The result of her confidence was the salvation of her entire family and the added blessing that she ended up in the human lineage of Jesus.
Sometimes we may feel that the obstacles of life are just too much for us. That may be true, but those same obstacles are nothing to God. He is only interested in our confident trust. We may not be finished with the life the Lord has given us to live, but there are exciting days ahead for us!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Feb 20, 2018 | Philippians
Philippians 4:8
“Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever thingsare lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.”
It seems that all too often we have replaced excellence with convenience. We tend to get by with the least amount of effort, time, or cost. As a result we fail to encounter excellence. We surely can think of examples in the human family, but why spend the time trying to think of illustrations from mankind when we can use the life of Jesus Christ as the epitome of excellence and also One who is praiseworthy.
It is possible to cut directly to the bottom line in this passage and see where Paul is pointing his attention. It is in the section set off by the hyphens. Two words stand out here that should grab our attention: VIRTUOUS and PRAISEWORTHY.
We need to see in Jesus the living example of One who was always worthy of a good report. He stood head and shoulders above everyone who has ever lived. He demonstrated virtue wherever He went. Everything He did was praiseworthy — His parables as well as His actions. He will always be worthy of our thought life as we meditate upon Him and the life He lived. What are you thinking?!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Oct 23, 2017 | Philippians
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.”
The Greek word for abound is perisseuō. In part, it means to exceed with more than what is expected — having far more than what was anticipated. The opposite of our English word abound is the word abased, which in the Greek is tapeinoō. It means to humiliate and bring down. In layman’s language it means to hit the bottom of the barrel.
As believers we far too often rate things in a physical manner. We equate abounding as having prosperity and ease of living. It is safe to say that many believers think that they should have a life of prosperity if they do the will of God. Paul would not agree. He had experienced both being down and being up!
As you evaluate your service to the Lord, I pray that you will consider that God wants us to abound in doing the work that He places in our hands to perform. Do everything with gusto and enthusiasm. Abound in His grace and mercy and allow Him to receive the glory.
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
