by Pastor Cecil | Mar 3, 2016 | Psalm
Psalm 19:14
“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in You sight, O, Lord my strength and my Redeemer.”
About five years ago I had triple by-pass heart surgery. In the recuperative period following the surgery, I had physical rehabilitation. Most of the exercises were good and acceptable. But one day an instructor came into our group that wanted us to close our eyes and clear our minds of every thought. OOPS! I immediately exited the session.
Any program that suggests clearing your mind of every thought leaves the door open for unclean spirits to enter. The enemy of our soul delights in having free access to the human mind. He is a master of deceit and any time there is an opportunity to mimic the work of the Lord, he does it.
Now I want to quickly point out that there is a true place for meditation in the mind of a true believer. It is not an emptying of all thoughts, but rather bathing ourselves in the Word of God and meditating about what it says.
Many years ago I was taught that any time we study the Bible we need to ask ourselves three questions: What does it say? What does it mean? And how does it apply to my life? That, dear hearts, is true spiritual meditation!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Feb 23, 2016 | Psalm
Psalm 37:7-8
“Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him; do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; do not fret—it only causes harm.”
In school we used to joke about being impatient. I can still recall a classmate saying; “I don’t have any trouble with being patient, it is the waiting that I have trouble with!”
That is where the rub comes isn’t it. Waiting is so hard that we feel we must be doing something wrong and so we barge ahead of God and take action. The problem is that it is our action rather than HIS action. It is almost as if we feel that we have to give God a little boost.
The Psalmist sets us straight in the matter of patience. In today’s Scripture we are told to REST IN THE LORD. That does not mean to work like crazy doing good things in order to impress the Lord. It means relaxing and trust that He will open the door He wants us to walk through when the time is right—not before!
If you are feeling weighed down and impatient waiting for the Lord to act upon your prayer request—STOP! Do not let yourself be burdened by seeing others prosper while you suffer. Rest in the Lord! He will call you when He is ready. That is patience!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Feb 15, 2016 | Psalm
Psalm 101:2
“I will behave wisely in a perfect way. Oh, when will You come to me? I will walk within my house with a perfect heart.”
It seems as though I can still hear my mother telling me to behave. The very fact that she was speaking in a stern tone was a sure indication that I had been misbehaving. I wish I could say that I immediately obeyed, but the truth of the matter is that most times I continued doing what I had been doing.
It is one thing to misbehave in such a way as to disappoint our earthly parents, or even ourselves. Far greater is the misbehavior that disappoints God. His Spirit is with His children and He knows exactly what we are doing at all times. When we hear the voice of God speaking, our response should always be to immediately behave!
The Psalmist gives us a beautiful picture of a sincere prayer. In this prayer he is telling the Lord that he will behave wisely in a perfect way! When we behave in the way we should, we want the Lord to be near us. That is why the Psalmist pleads with God to come to him.
Let us make a new commitment to the Lord to walk in such a perfect way that we can truly behave as we should spiritually. That means searching the Scripture to determine the way we should walk and then walk that path.
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Feb 1, 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.”
“Delight” is a delightful word. (I can’t believe I wrote that!) The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines it as: a strong feeling of happiness; great pleasure or satisfaction. That is the same definition David intended when he penned the words of this Psalm.
What brings delight into your life? What are the things that bring you pleasure? If we are honest with ourselves, I think most of us would have to confess that it’s the earthly things that bring us pleasure — things we can touch, taste, or feel.
If you will read today’s Scripture once again, you’ll see that David emphasizes that our delight is in the law (instruction) of the Lord. By that, he implies the Word of God; taking delight in it, a person meditates on it day and night.
I’ve mentioned earlier that “meditate” comes from the root word that implies a cow chewing its cud, swallowing, and then bringing it up to chew over again. Meditating on God’s Word follows the same process, bringing it into our mind again and again until it becomes a part of us. Where do you find your delight?!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jan 27, 2016 | Psalm
Sometimes the Word itself is so powerful that to add comment is to detract. Please read and re-read this powerful chapter from the Psalmist David.
Psalm 19:1-14
“The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.
In them He has set a tabernacle for the sun, which is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoices like a strong man to run its race. Its rising is from one end of heaven, and its circuit to the other end; and there is nothing hidden from its heat.
The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; the statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them Your servant is warned, and in keeping them there is great reward.
Who can understand his errors? Cleanse me from secret faults. Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins; Let them not have dominion over me. Then I shall be blameless, and I shall be innocent of great transgression.’
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.”
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jan 26, 2016 | Psalm
Psalm 37:23
“The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his way.”
Have you ever noticed that God’s timing is different than ours? There are times when we roar through life at a frantic pace and wonder why God is not keeping up with us. He promised to direct our steps, so where is He?
The better question would be: “Where are we?” God is the same, yesterday, today, and tomorrow. The same cannot be said about us. We are prone to vacillate back and forth, both in our physical life and in our spiritual life.
One of the problems, as I see it, is the reality that God places “stops” in our life just as frequently as He orders our steps. We seem to believe He will be pleased if we stay busy, but if God is not in it, He will not be pleased if we step when He wants us to stop.
My experience has shown me that those “stops” of the Lord provide the greatest times of spiritual growth as well as the times when He brings about the most fruitful ministry. The next time you feel God telling you to stop … STOP!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
