by Pastor Cecil | Apr 21, 2015 | Psalm
Psalm 23:4
“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.”
When I conduct funeral services I frequently use an illustration that I gained years ago when I read a book by Phillip Keller called A Shepherd Looks at the 23rd Psalm. He refers to a young sheep that has a tendency to wander away from the flock. Do you know some family members like that?
A good shepherd knows that if the wandering sheep continues this habit, he will end up as some wild animal’s supper. As a last and extreme resort, the shepherd takes his “rod” and breaks the sheep’s front leg. That may seem a cruel act to those who do not know the reason, but it’s actually done to save the lamb’s life.
After breaking the leg, the shepherd carefully places a splint on it and, during the healing process, carries the small animal everywhere it needs to go — the green pastures, the quiet waters, and the safe place to rest. Over that period of time the sheep falls in love with and bonds to the shepherd. Once the bone has healed and the splint has been removed, the sheep remains close by his shepherd and never wanders again.
I observed this scene in action many years ago. In a local garden shop a young sheep had its leg in a splint and followed close behind a clerk. I asked her about it and she said it had stepped into a hole and, in trying to free the leg, it had broken. Now the little sheep thought of the clerk as its momma and would not let her out of sight.
Sometimes the broken times of our life force us to re-evaluate our choices. Even though it hurts, we have the Great Shepherd who carries us in His arms through the pain, giving us the opportunity to fall in love with Him and never let Him out of our sight.
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Mar 31, 2015 | Psalm
Psalm 19:12-14
“But who can know their own mistakes? Forgive my hidden faults. Also keep me from the sins I want to commit. May they not be my master then I will be without blame. I will not be guilty of any great sin against Your law. Lord, may these words of my mouth please You and may these thoughts of my heart please You also. You are my Rock and my Redeemer.”
For many years we have had our daily devotions by reading through the Bible in one year. While Joyce was still alive we would have our breakfast and then at 8:00, we would call our daughter Lori. I would read the day’s passages that were designed to take us through the bible in one year. We actually repeat Psalms twice.
Following the reading I open my heart to the Lord and pray over my family. I allow the Holy Spirit to lay those things on my heart to pray for. Many times the words of Psalm 19:14 would come to mind. That is the second part of today’s Scripture.
It was just today that I grasped something that had escaped my attention. It was in the New International Readers Version. The key words that jumped out at me were “THESE WORDS” …which led me to consider what these words referred to.
The Psalmist is confessing his mistakes, hidden faults, and even sins he wants to commit. It is the honest prayer of one who desires to be led by the Lord in thought, word, and deed. I am sad to report that most of us commit sins and then ask the Lord to forgive us. That is well and good, but this goes a step beyond and asks the Lord to give strength to live above our sinful nature. That is my prayer!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Mar 30, 2015 | Psalm
Psalm 65:5-7
“You answer us with awesome and righteous deeds, God our Savior, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas, who formed the mountains by Your power, having armed Yourself with strength, who stilled the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, and the turmoil of the nations.”
Sometimes we are so caught up in the storms of life, that it seems as if all of our reference points are lost. Our modern culture has become so polluted with sin and lack of moral absolutes, that we are given mis-direction as well as no-direction.
So how do we find a reliable source to navigate through the storms of life? Again we fall back upon the Word of God. I think it is essential that we call upon the Lord as early as possible. We need the Great Navigator of all creation to have control of our life as well as the storms we will encounter. The longer we wait the more off course we become.
It also speaks of God bringing us His Word. I am sure that almost everyone has heard that old cliché; “A day without God’s Word, makes one weak!” We need Him not just daily, but each moment throughout the day to give direction and meaning to our life.
I once read about a man who was lined up to apply for a visa. A part of the process required him to show a picture of his mother. As he laid out the picture, the woman behind him yelled out, “That’s not your mother, that’s my mother!” Then in just a few minutes the two rejoiced they had found a sibling they did not know about. From a frustrating situation came rejoicing. GOD NAVIGATES WELL!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Mar 24, 2015 | Psalm
Psalm 55:16-18
“As for me, I will call upon God, and the Lord shall save me. Evening and morning and at noon I will pray, and cry aloud, and He shall hear my voice. He has redeemed my soul in peace from the battle that was against me, for there were many against me.”
It seems like a lifetime ago (it almost is) when our kids were toddlers. They began to demonstrate their independent streak when they would interrupt what Joyce or I were doing with the words, “I do it myself!”
That same attitude continues into our adult life in one form or another. This is especially true in spiritual matters. We read in God’s Word that we are to follow Him in all that we do, but by our actions we seem to be saying to God that we want to do it our way and by ourselves.
It is crystal clear that salvation comes by grace through faith, yet millions of people seem to think that they can achieve salvation by their own works. God is not interested in our puny works. He is, however, interested in our obedience. In 1 Samuel 15:22b, Samuel relates to King Saul: “Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed is better than the fat of rams.”
That was true back then and it is still true today. When we read God’s commands in the Bible they are the same yesterday, today, and forever. We need to stop trying to do things our way and start doing things God’s way!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Mar 16, 2015 | Psalm
Psalm 118:7-9
“The Lord is with me; He is my helper. I look in triumph on my enemies. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in humans. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes.”
From time to time, someone asks me how we can know the Bible is the true Word of God? There are many hundreds of prophecies that were fulfilled that prove the truth. That being said, however, belief is a choice. It is a matter of faith. We can either choose to believe, or we can lean on the shallow thinking of unbelievers who say there is no God. One second after death there will be no unbelievers. But failure to accept Christ will cost them eternal suffering and loss. Sad will be their bitter wail!
Some time ago I received an e-mail that should cause doubters to reconsider the truth of the Bible. (This is just one of hundreds). It has to do with the middle of the Bible. The shortest chapter in the Bible is Psalm 117. The longest chapter is Psalm 119.
Now please guess the middle chapter in the Bible? Amazingly it is Psalm 118. That is just the beginning. There are 594 chapters before Psalm 118 and 594 chapters after Psalm 118 for a total of 1188 chapters in the Bible. Hold on to that number, 1188. The very middle verse in the Bible is Psalm 118:8! I have underlined it above: “It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in humans.”
In the storms of life and in the expectation of the eternity awaiting us, I find it the most comforting to place my trust in the Lord. Regardless of what others do around me, I choose to take my refuge in the Lord.
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Mar 6, 2015 | Psalm
Psalm 103:1-5
“Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise His holy name. Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s”
I would dare to say that almost all of us experienced some sort of trial in our life. It could be the loss of health, a financial meltdown, death of a mate or child or any number of catastrophic events. It is not whether or not we will encounter these trials, but rather what we will do when they arise.
The phrase, “Praise to the Lord” occurs in at least 155 verses in the Bible. That indicates to me that we need to spend far more time praising the Lord than we do. It would be well to replace our complaints with words of praise to the Lord.
Over 300 years ago, Joachim Neander was a hymn writer for the German Reform church. He was going through a time of trial and testing in his life. He would take long walks and pour his heart out to the Lord. It was on one of these walks that he came to the realization that it was not his strength that would give him victory and peace, but rather the powerful God he served. It was in that state of mind that he composed this week’s featured hymn.
Praise to the Lord, the Almighty
Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation!
O my soul, praise Him, for He is thy health and salvation!
All ye who hear, Now to His temple draw near;
Join me in glad adoration!
Praise to the Lord, who o’er all things so wondrously reigneth,
Shelters thee under His wings, yea, so gently sustaineth!
Hast thou not seen how thy desires e’er have been
Granted in what He ordaineth?
Praise to the Lord, who with marvelous wisdom hath made thee!
Decked thee with health, and with loving hand guided and stayed thee;
How oft in grief hath not He bought thee relief,
Spreading His wings for to shade thee!
Praise to the Lord! O let all that is in me adore Him!
All that hath life and breath, come now with praises before Him!
Let the Amen sound from His people again;
Gladly for aye we adore Him.
To access Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, this week’s inspirational video from GloryScapes™ Inspirational Music Videos, please go to:http://www.gloryscapes.com/praisetothelordthealmighty/ 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
