by Pastor Cecil | Nov 28, 2013 | Psalm
Psalm 103:1-5
Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits. Who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases. Who redeems your life from destruction, who crowns you with loving kindness and tender mercies. Who satisfies your mouth with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
Here in the United States, today is the day we celebrate Thanksgiving Day in the year 2013. One reader playfully suggested: “We should have 364 days of Thanksgiving and One Day for Grumbling!” I agree, but I would like to eliminate that day of grumbling as well!
Thanksgiving celebrations are usually characterized by consuming mounds of food to express thanks and acknowledge the bounty God has given us. It is tragic that we focus so much attention on the food He has blessed us with and so little focus on the Lord who has blessed us.
I love the words of today’s Scripture that speak of satisfaction. From the world’s point of view, there is never enough of anything. Life is filled with struggles and fights to get more and more. I find this depressing in my spirit and want to avoid this attitude.
The encouraging thing that I discover is that the Lord promises to renew our youth so we can soar with the eagles. Spiritually I want to soar with the Lord. Someone much wiser than me once commented that they would rather soar with the eagles than gobble with the turkeys. Where are you spending your time?
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
—Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Nov 27, 2013 | Psalm
Psalm 103:1-4
Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits. Who forgives all your iniquities, Who redeems your life from destruction, who crowns you with loving kindness and tender mercies.
Today we add yet another verse to our consideration of the spirit of thanksgiving to the Lord. How truly blessed we are to be able to lift our hearts of praise to Him. He is our blessed redeemer from certain destruction.
As a small boy I was swimming with a church group at a popular swimming area in a local river. I somehow became separated from the group and found myself being swept along by the current and unable to stop. Suddenly I felt a tree root that ran along the stream bed that had formed a loop. My foot slipped in it and held me until help arrived. Jesus is our root to hold us from certain destruction. He is our redemption!
Not only is He our redeemer, but He crowns us with His loving kindness and tender mercies. Kindness and mercy are rare commodities that are especially welcome when we are not deserving of them. When we deserve punishment and penalty, our Lord offers His love and compassion.
Are you beginning to comprehend all of the things we need to be thanking the Lord for each and every day of the year? Thanksgiving should not be restricted to a single day, but should be a vital part of our daily worship to the Lord.
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
—Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Nov 26, 2013 | Psalm
Psalm 103:1-3
Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits. Who forgives all your iniquities,who heals all your diseases.
Yesterday we started a review of Psalm 103 that will lead up to the celebration of Thanksgiving Day this Thursday. (Some countries use other dates to celebrate it). Regardless of a particular day, we need to be thankful to the Lord for all He has done for us. Today we focus on His forgiveness of our iniquities and His special healing touch.
How do you describe a person? Tall? Short? Slender? Blonde? Ruddy? Dark? There are many adjectives we may use to describe someone. However, there is one that fits us all: Sinner! Psalm 51:5 reminds us that each of us is born as a sinner; it is not something that we have to learn . . . it is ours by inheritance. (I would rather not inherit this please, but I have no choice!)
Thank the Lord we have an answer to the sin problem: Jesus came into the world to save us sinners and give us eternal salvation. It is not that we deserve it, but we certainly do need it! It is not what we do for Him that determines our salvation, but what He has done for us. By His blood we are offered redemption from sin’s curse.
We are also promised healing. This healing takes many forms, but we know that even when age begins to ravage our anatomy, His healing touch makes us fit for our eternal body that will last forever. Now that is a full-body make over!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
—Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Nov 25, 2013 | Psalm
Psalm 103:1-2
Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits.
This is Thanksgiving week and a time to pause in all of our busyness and reflect on all of the things we have for which to express our gratitude. Years ago I read a book by Maurice Berquist called, The Miracle and Power of Blessing. He has gone to be with the Lord, but his ministry still lives on through this powerful book.
God desires us to be a blessing people. To bless means to allow the spirit part of our being to entrust to the Lord those around us. Rather than being distraught and angry, we need to call a blessing upon them. This is especially the case when they will be able to hear the words of our blessing.
Stop for one moment and think of the blessings we enjoy. God has favored us with life and eternal salvation through our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. There is no way we will be able to express our gratitude in this life. It will take eternity to adequately praise His name.
During this week I intend to focus attention on praise and gratitude. My prayer is that we will take the time to bless as many people as possible. See what a difference it will make when you call a blessing on someone.
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
—Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Nov 14, 2013 | Psalm
Psalm 139:23-24
Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
In all of my years of schooling, I think I dreaded the tests more than anything else. I wish I had been a better student and devoted myself more to the material, but if the truth were to be known, I failed to discipline myself.
I once heard a minister tell about how he had procrastinated in preparing a paper for a class. Late on the night before it was due he had run out of time and now it was do or die for him. He quickly sat down and scribbled out, “‘I’m all petered out!’ That expression comes from the actions of the Apostle Peter. He made wild boasts about what he would do, but he began to sink in the water; he missed cutting off the head of a servant as Jesus was being arrested; and he denied even knowing Jesus. This was all because he was all petered out.” The teacher gave him a passing grade and remarked that she had always wondered where that expression came from!
In today’s Scripture the Psalmist is praying a vulnerable prayer. He is asking the Lord to search his inmost heart and thoughts to reveal anything offensive. He then asks for the leadership of the Lord to guide him to everlasting life. That is my prayer as well.
Blessings, Dear Hearts, draw near to God today, trust Him completely, and be a blessing!
—Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Nov 6, 2013 | Psalm
Psalm 96:11-12
Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let the sea resound, and all that is in it. Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them; let all the trees of the forest sing for joy.
The Psalmist is caught up in the ecstasy of praise. The Holy Spirit fills him with the realization that all of creation was created to bring praise to the Lord. It is by divine inspiration that the Psalmist informs his readers that everything is created to rejoice.
Watch a mighty storm approach and see the lightening flash across the heavens. It is followed by a roar of thunder that can even shake the ground. It may frighten some, but to my ear it is the voice of praise.
Sit beside a lovely mountain stream and you can almost hear the waters as they praise the Lord. Walk through a majestic forest and pause long enough to hear the breeze as it passes through the boughs. If you listen carefully you might be able to hear a symphony of praise to the God of the universe.
If all of creation is created for praise and adoration, where are you in that equation? I fear that it is easier for us to gripe and complain instead of praise and rejoice. I would like to challenge you to step out of your pity party and rejoice for all of the wonders of God’s great creation.
Blessings, Dear Hearts, draw near to God today, trust Him completely, and be a blessing!
—Pastor Cecil
