by Pastor Cecil | Jan 15, 2016 | Psalm
Psalm 99:9
“Exalt the Lord our God, and worship at His holy hill; for the Lord our God is holy.”
Sometimes we never get the credit we think we deserve. I am so glad we don’t. If we did we would be prone to take pride in our accomplishments. Many of God’s most faithful servants labored in complete anonymity.
Such was the case with the composer of this week’s hymn. Reginald Heber was born at Malpas, Cheshire, England, April 21, 1783, to a heritage of wealth and culture. By the age of five, he had read the Bible so thoroughly that he could give chapter and verse for chance quotations.
He composed many hymns, but served his entire life without seeing them published. It was only after his death that as many as 57 of his hymns were recognized. It was to the Lord that he dedicated his works. Such is the case with this week’s hymn, Holy, Holy, Holy!
Holy, Holy, Holy!
Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
Early in the morning our song shall rise to Thee;
Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty!
God in three persons, blessed Trinity!
Holy, holy, holy! all the saints adore Thee,
Casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea;
Cherubim and seraphim falling down before Thee,
Who wert, and art, and evermore shalt be.
Holy, holy, holy! tho’ the darkness hide Thee
Tho’ the eye of sinful man Thy glory may not see;
Only Thou art holy; there is none beside Thee,
Perfect in pow’r, in love, and purity.
Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
All Thy works shall praise Thy name, in earth and sky, and sea;
Holy, holy, holy; merciful and mighty!
God in three persons, blessed Trinity!
To access Holy, Holy, Holy, this week’s inspirational video from GloryScapes.com, please go to: http://www.gloryscapes.com/holyholyholy/ in your browser or click on the image below.
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
—Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jan 8, 2016 | Psalm
Psalm 46:1-3
“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.”
As you read the book of Psalms, David mentions repeatedly the storms of life. He was attacked on all sides by his enemies who desired to take his life. Do you feel that way sometimes?
His predecessor, King Saul, was a demented king who imagined that David was attempting to take the kingdom from him. (Actually it was the Lord who had rejected Saul because of his wickedness and failing to keep the Lord in control of his life.)
In many of his Psalms, David cried out to the Lord for help and immediately praised Him for giving him a safe place of refuge. That is the same with us today. We may be tossed and torn by the storms of life, but the Lord always gives us a haven of rest. That is the hymn for this week.
The Haven of Rest
My soul in sad exile was out on life(s) sea,
So burdened with sin and distressed,
Till I heard a sweet voice, saying, (Make Me your choice)
And I entered the Haven of Rest!
Refrain: I have anchored my soul in the Haven of Rest; I will sail the wide seas no more; The tempest may sweep over wild, stormy, deep, In Jesus I am safe evermore.
I yielded myself to His tender embrace,
In faith taking hold of the Word,
My fetters fell off, and I anchored my soul;
The Haven of Rest is my Lord.
Refrain: I have anchored my soul in the Haven of Rest; I will sail the wide seas no more; The tempest may sweep over wild, stormy, deep, In Jesus I am safe evermore.
The song of my soul, since the Lord made me whole,
Has been the old story so blest,
Of Jesus, who will save whosoever will have
A home in the Haven of Rest.
Refrain: I have anchored my soul in the Haven of Rest; I will sail the wide seas no more; The tempest may sweep over wild, stormy, deep, In Jesus I am safe evermore.
How precious the thought that we all may recline,
Like John, the beloved so blest,
On Jesus strong arm, where no tempest can harm,
Secure in the Haven of Rest.
Refrain: I have anchored my soul in the Haven of Rest; I will sail the wide seas no more; The tempest may sweep over wild, stormy, deep, In Jesus I am safe evermore.
O come to the Savior, He patiently waits
To save by His power divine;
Come, anchor your soul in the Haven of Rest,
And say, ‘My Beloved is mine.’
Refrain: I have anchored my soul in the Haven of Rest; I will sail the wide seas no more; The tempest may sweep over wild, stormy, deep, In Jesus I am safe evermore.
To access The Haven of Rest, this week’s inspirational video fromGloryScapes.com, please go to:http://www.gloryscapes.com/thehavenofrest/ 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 | Dec 11, 2015 | Psalm
Psalm 98:4-6
“Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music; make music to the Lord with the harp, with the harp and the sound of singing, with trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn—shout for joy before the Lord, the King”
It has been told that Isaac Watt, who wrote the words of this beautiful Christmas hymn, had not intended it to be used only at Christmas. He wrote the words to paraphrase the words we find in today’s Scripture in Psalm 98.
To me it is a reminder that God will take our most feeble efforts and allow them to be used to accomplish His divine purpose. Once again Proverbs 3:5-6 is proven true: “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.” Please enjoy this hymn of praise.
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.
To access Joy to the World, this week’s inspirational video fromGloryScapes™ Inspirational Music Videos, please go to:http://www.gloryscapes.com/joytotheworld/ 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 | Dec 3, 2015 | Psalm
Psalm 139:1-4
“O Lord, You have searched me and known me. You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off. You comprehend my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word on my tongue, but behold, O Lord, You know it altogether.”
Back in the early 1970’s we had a most delightful little dog named Perky, a small white mixed breed between a cocker spaniel and miniature poodle . . . a cockapoo! One of our rules was that Perky could not be near the table while we were eating. We understood that, but Perky had a hard time getting it through his head.
Time after time, during our meals Perky would try his best to get near the table. We could see him walking very slowly toward us. He would turn his head away from the table as he approached. It seemed that he had the idea that if he couldn’t see us, we couldn’t see him!
I have thought many times that this is a picture of how many of us live. We turn our attention away from God and try to convince ourselves that He cannot see what is going on. That is not the case and I’m glad it is not the case.
We need to have a God who is so mighty that He knows our actions before, during, and after. With a God like that we must not turn our head away from Him and try to get close to the things that He has told us to stay away from. I want to learn from Perky!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Nov 23, 2015 | Psalm
Psalm 119:139-140
“My zeal has consumed me, because my enemies have forgotten Your words. Your word is very pure; therefore Your servant loves it.”
It is that time of year when the temperature drops below 32 degrees F. and it is the time to start using my wood stove. There is something about the heat emanating from that small stove that seems to wrap the entire house in comfort.
Over the years I have often been struck with the way wood is consumed by the fire. In lighting the stove it is necessary to use small kindling and progressively add larger and larger pieces of wood. I will place a heavy log on the coals and marvel at the way it is eaten up . . . Consumed!
Each time this occurs I am reminded that we have that same choice in our spiritual life. We can either be consumed in serving the Lord or remain in our original state. I like to think of it as either burning up or burning out.
I would rather live my life in such a way that I am consumed in serving God so that I leave nothing but a bit of ashes. The alternative is to burn out and remain a charred and ugly block of wood. We have enough ugly blocks already. What we need to see are more ashes left by people who have burned brightly for the Lord and slipped into eternity having been consumed with the zeal for the Lord.
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Nov 5, 2015 | Psalm
Psalm 64:5-6
“They encourage themselves in an evil matter; they talk of laying snares secretly; they say, ‘Who will see them?’ They devise iniquities: ‘We have perfected a shrewd scheme.” Both the inward thought and the heart of man are deep.”
Life is filled with choices. We can choose to get up when the alarm sounds or we can roll over and go back to sleep. We can smile or we can frown. We can work or we can play. We can add to that list on and on, but the reality is that we have choices that are set before us at all times.
When we carefully evaluate the activities of our day, I fear that most of the time we focus more upon the things that satisfy us than the things that serve others. In choosing today’s title, “Enjoy Or Encourage,” I wanted to highlight the choices we make of either serving ourselves or serving others.
The Psalmist uses the word “encourage” here, but in actuality it’s speaking more of focusing upon one’s own enjoyment or the things that are self-centered. Later on in this same chapter he gives us another aspect. Verse 10 says: “The righteous shall be glad in the Lord, and trust in Him. And all the upright in heart shall glory.” What will you choose today — to enjoy or to encourage?
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
