by Pastor Cecil | Jan 12, 2017 | Psalm
Psalm 94:22
“But the Lord has been my defense, and my God the rock of my refuge.”
It was 50 years ago when a violent wind storm struck the 921st ACW Radar Site near St. Anthony, Newfoundland, Canada. The site was located on a hill above the small village of St. Anthony. It was beautiful to look out over the Atlantic Ocean and view small inlets and bays below us. But the location made us vulnerable to winds.
The storm began to build in the early morning hours. I was roused from sleep by something striking the windows of my quarters. As I opened the blinds I discovered that it was roofing material being blown off.
Our buildings had been constructed over granite rock formations. The builders had drilled deep holes into the rocks and inserted steel rods. These were securely attached to the buildings and hallways to keep us from being blown away. They worked and I am alive to attest to the fact.
We need to have the Rock of our salvation as a secure anchor in the storms of life. The winds of adversity may shriek and howl around us, but when we have sunk our “spiritual rods” into Christ Jesus, we do not need to fear the storms. We must insure that we are anchored on the Rock!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jan 4, 2017 | Psalm
Psalm 119:103
“How sweet are Your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!”
Many years ago my wife Joyce’s aunt Grace was in our home for a visit. I fixed pancakes for breakfast and noticed that she failed to use syrup. When we asked her about it she related that their family was quite poor growing up. Her parents would allow the children to use syrup or honey only on the last pancake.
As Grace became a grown woman she had become so used to the practice that she only used syrup on the last pancake. That might be a good practice for some of us who could use a little (or a lot) less sweet in our diet.
The Psalmist points us in the proper direction to find a sweet taste that is not fattening and is ours for the taking. It is the precious Word of God. He says it is even sweeter than honey.
I want to fall more and more in love with this precious sweet gift that God has granted to us. As we open the pages of our Bible we will find that it is not only sweet, but it is alive and applies to what we are experiencing in the here and now. How sweet it is!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jan 3, 2017 | Psalm
Psalm 19:14
“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.”
There are many prayers that I lift up to the Lord each day. Most of them are not memorized but are simply open conversation with the Lord about what is happening in my life at the moment. One of the exceptions is Psalm 19:14.
It is easy for me to utter words that I wish I had never spoken. For some reason I seem to be able to deliver glib comments or retorts that may be humorous, but not edifying to the Lord.
Each time I recite the words of Psalm 19:14, I remind myself of my desire to have the words that I speak and the things that I think be pleasing to the Lord. I always seem to visualize the Lord high and lifted up when I humble myself and seek to think and say things that are pleasing to Him.
At the beginning of 2017 I want to make Psalm 19:14 my personal verse. It will be my heart’s desire to please God by what is in my mind and by what proceeds out of my mouth. I will try to recite this verse at least once a day and live it out every day.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Dec 5, 2016 | Psalm
Psalm 71:5
“For You have been my hope, Sovereign LORD, my confidence since my youth.”
Many times we are instructed to have confidence in ourselves. To a degree that may have some merit, but the fact of the matter is that we, more often than not, have more problems with pride than lack of confidence.
The word “confidence” comes from the Hebrew word mibtach. There are three aspects in the definition that grab my attention and resonate in my mind: TRUST – REFUGE – SECURITY.
To hear or read the word trust makes me think of Proverbs 3:5-6: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.”
In the wicked and perverse generation in which we find ourselves, it is vital that our confidence be invested in the right place. That place is the Sovereign Lord who is in all and over all. Humans may fail us and disappoint us, but our God is an awesome God who is worthy of our Trust, Refuge, and Security!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Dec 2, 2016 | Psalm
Psalm 98:4
“Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth; break forth in song, rejoice, and sing praises.”
Throughout Scripture we are called upon to make a joyful noise before the Lord. In Psalm 98, all of creation is called upon to make a joyful noise before God. All around us we see the hand of a loving God who cared enough about us to send His own dear Son into the world to provide us with salvation.
This beautiful hymn was written by Isaac Watts. As we read and listen to the words of this moving Christmas hymn, we need to stop and ask ourselves if we are making a joyful noise before the Lord or just noise.
Joy to the World
Joy to the world! The Lord is come.
Let earth receive her King
Let every heart Prepare Him room,
And heaven and nature sing;
And heaven and nature sing
And heaven and heaven and angels sing
Joy to the world, the Savior reigns;
Let men their songs employ
While fields and floods; rocks, hills and plains,
Repeat the sounding joy;
Repeat the sounding joy
Repeat, Repeat, the sounding joy
No more will sins and sorrows grow;
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow;
Far as the curse is found,
Far as the curse is found,
Far as, far as the curse is found.
He rules the world with truth and grace;
And makes the nations prove,
The glories of His righteousness,
And wonders of His love;
And wonders of His love;
And wonders, wonders of His love.
Enjoy this week’s free inspirational video, “Joy To the World” from GloryScapes.com by going to: http://www.gloryscapes.com/joytotheworld/
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
—Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Nov 29, 2016 | Psalm
Psalm 50:12
“If I were hungry, I would not tell you; for the world is Mine, and all its fullness.”
Last week I was having coffee with two friends when one told the story of a young boy who was on his way to Sunday School. His mother had given him a quarter to put in the offering and a quarter to buy candy. As boys will do, he began to play with the quarters when one slipped out of his hand and fell down a drain. He looked up and asked God to forgive him for losing God’s quarter.
Oh, wow! Is that revealing or not? It seems that we tend to separate what we consider our own apart from what belongs to God. In many cases God gets far less than we keep for our own satisfaction.
What truly belongs to God? Is ten percent His and the ninety percent ours? If we were to increase our giving to the Lord to fifty percent and keep fifty percent for our own, would that be enough giving.
When we come to the place in our life where we acknowledge that God owns all that we have or ever will have, blessing awaits us. Rather than telling God what we are going to give Him we need to ask Him what we are to do with what He has entrusted to us. That is when His bountiful spiritual blessings will flow.
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
