by Pastor Cecil | Jun 20, 2016 | Psalm
Psalm 51:12
“Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me by Your generous Spirit.”
As a boy, I recall a woman in our church who loved to testify. It seemed that every time she gave her testimony she looked and sounded like she had just been baptized in lemon juice!
It became a joke for the kids in the church. We kids who were eight or nine years of age would make faces and imitate this lady. I am sure her heart was pure and her devotion to the Lord was pure, but her face lacked the appearance of joy.
At times we Christians seem to have a short circuit when it comes to having the joy of our salvation. We talk of the joys of heaven and walking the streets of gold, but in the meantime we are certainly not a walking testimony of the joy of the Lord.
It is time to take stock of our own behavior concerning the joy of our salvation. Do people see the joy of the Lord in us? If we truly believe that we are born into the family of God, do we act happy about it? Do people want what we have? Think about it and make the changes necessary to enjoy your salvation.
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jun 10, 2016 | Psalm
Psalm 145:9-12
“The LORD is good to all; He has compassion on all He has made. All You have made will praise You, O LORD; Your saints will extol You. They will tell of the glory of Your kingdom and speak of Your might, so that all men may know of Your mighty acts and the glorious splendor of Your kingdom.”
The older I get (and I am getting up there), the more disturbed I am about senseless killing. This is true of attacks on other people, but also on killing animals just for the sport of it. In my hunting days I did shoot game, but it was for food not for sport. Now there are many that hunt for bragging rights, not for food. God meant for us to be keepers and protectors, not killers.
In 1225, when he was feeling ill and losing his sight, Francis of Assisi wrote about what was always on his heart: the praise of God. In All Creatures of Our God and King, Francis’ love for God and the world He made comes out very strongly.
Probably because he lived such a simple life, he “noticed” things that we, in our busy-ness, overlook. Francis believed that all earth’s creatures get their life from God and that we all depend on Him for our continual existence.
All Creatures of Our God and King
1. All creatures of our God and King
Lift up your voice and with us sing
O, praise Him, Alleluia!
Thou burning sun with golden beam
Thou silver moon with softer gleam
O praise Him, O praise Him, Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
2. Thou rushing wind that art so strong,
Ye clouds that sail in heav’n along,
O, praise Him! Alleluia!
Thou rising morn, in praise rejoice,
Ye lights of evening, find a voice!
O praise Him, O praise Him, Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
3. Let all things their creator bless
And worship Him in humbleness
O, praise Him! Alleluia!
Praise, the Father, praise the Son,
And praise the Spirit, Three in One!
O praise Him, O praise Him, Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
4. And all ye men of tender heart,
Forgiving others, take your part,
O, praise Him! Alleluia!
Ye who long pain and sorrow bear,
Praise God and on Him cast your care!
O praise Him, O praise Him, Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
To access All Creatures of Our God and King, this week’s inspirational video from GloryScapes™ Inspirational Music Videos, please go to: http://www.gloryscapes.com/allcreaturesofourgodandking/ 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 | May 26, 2016 | Psalm
Psalm 119:116-117
“Uphold me according to Your word, that I may live; and do not let me be ashamed of my hope. Hold me up, and I shall be safe, and I shall observe Your statutes continually.”
When I hear the word “safe” I often imagine a baseball game where the runner slides into home plate while the umpire stands ready to render the verdict as to whether the runner was tagged “out” or was called “safe.”
There are other thoughts that crowd into my mind about being safe. If you have ever been in a small boat on a rough body of water and finally enter a sheltered cove, you would know that you were now safe from the waves.
There are many more circumstances of life when we escape a dangerous episode to a safe place. I guess we could say that this life that we live is a series of dangerous events that threaten us. We need a safe haven, don’t we?
The Psalmist assures us that our safe haven is the Word of God. When we live our life in accordance with His word, we can know that special peace and safety that surpasses human understanding. Praise the Lord for that PEACE!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | May 23, 2016 | Psalm
Psalm 1:1-2
“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night.”
Godless meditation scares the wits out of me. Modern-day gurus say clear the mind of everything and find that inner peace. Yikes! That certainly gives unguarded entry to demonic forces of every sort. STAY AWAY FROM IT!
God does want us to meditate, but there is a difference. In today’s Scripture the Psalmist begins the book of Psalms by introducing us to God’s type of meditation. It is not the mind clearing sort of stuff, but the God-indwelling type.
It begins with the way we are to behave. The psalmist says we are to stay away from the godless sinners around us. The first step to godly meditation is a true walk with God. If we are not walking with God, we cannot have communion with Him.
If we walk in harmony with the Lord, we are called to meditate on His Word day and night. There is the key — it is not a blank mind, but rather a mind that is full of the Word of God and applying it to our life. Are you meditating correctly?
Blessings dear hearts!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | May 12, 2016 | Psalm
Psalm 107:8-9
“Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men! For He satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness.”
Even God’s faithful servants can lack an attitude of gratitude. Joyce and I once felt led to assist a returned missionary family by paying for some necessary classes so the wife could work as a nurse. It was a sacrifice on our part, but we did it joyfully. I am sad to say that there was never an expression of gratitude shown by that family.
We felt let down, but at the same time it taught us a lesson about how we are to appreciate what the Lord does for us. How many times do we receive blessing after blessing from the Lord without expressing our…ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE?
After writing the last paragraph I spoke with a man I knew back in college over 50 years ago. He reminded me of something that I had done back then that hurt his reputation. I honestly could not recall what I had done, which makes it even worse. He said he forgave me, but I am struggling with the way I so completely blanked it out of my mind.
The thing that strikes me is that I had been writing about the lack of gratitude when I was guilty of forgetting something that has lived in the mind of this friend for these many years. More than ever I want to trust in the Lord!
Blessings dear hearts!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Apr 29, 2016 | Psalm
Psalm 33:1-3
“Sing joyfully to the Lord, you righteous; it is fitting for the upright to praise Him. Praise the Lord with the harp; make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre. Sing to Him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy.”
What a wonderful woman! She stood less than five feet tall and weighed less than 100 pounds. Because of being maltreated for an eye infection when she was only a few months old, she spent the remained of her 95 years totally blind.
Her name was Fanny J. Crosby. This tiny dynamo wrote over 8,000 poems and hymns during her lifetime. She composed her poems and hymns entirely in her mind and then dictated them to a stenographer. She was said to be able to work on as many as twelve hymns at once before dictating them all out.
Fanny felt that it was a special gift from God that she should be blind all of her life and she thanked Him for that gift. She felt that once she arrived in heaven the first face she desired to gladden her sight was he precious Savior. It was in 1896 that she wrote the hymn selected this week.
Praise Him! Praise Him!
1. Praise Him! Praise Him! Jesus, our blessed Redeemer!
Sing, O Earth, His wonderful love proclaim!
Hail Him! Hail Him! Highest archangels in glory;
strength and honor give to His holy name!
Like a shepherd Jesus will guard His children,
in His arms He carries them all day long:
Refrain: Praise Him! Praise Him! Tell of His excellent greatness; praise him! Praise him ever in joyful song!
2. Praise him! Praise him! Jesus, our blessed Redeemer!
For our sins he suffered, and bled and died;
He our Rock, our hope of eternal salvation,
Hail Him! Hail Him! Jesus the Crucified.
Sound His praises! Jesus who bore our sorrows,
love unbounded, wonderful deep and strong:
Refrain: Praise Him! Praise Him! Tell of His excellent greatness; praise Him! Praise Him ever in joyful song!
3. Praise Him! praise Him! Jesus, our blessed Redeemer!
Heavenly portals loud with hosannas ring!
Jesus, Savior, reigneth forever and ever;
crown Him! crown Him! Prophet and Priest and King!
Christ is coming! over the world victorious,
power and glory unto the Lord belong.
Refrain: Praise Him! Praise Him! Tell of His excellent greatness; praise Him! Praise Him ever in joyful song!
To access Praise Him, Praise Him, this week’s inspirational video from GloryScapes™ Inspirational Music Videos, please go to: http://www.gloryscapes.com/praisehimpraisehim 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
