by Pastor Cecil | Jan 3, 2013 | Psalm
Psalm 51:10-11
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.
Have you ever wondered who you count on to do what they have promised to do? Let me ask another, more penetrating question. Have you ever made a commitment to someone and after days, weeks, or even months, later realize that you have failed to follow through? You have betrayed your trust, my friend!
It is a serious thing to violate your promise to those around you, but what about promises to the Lord? What promises have you made to Him that you have failed to keep? This is a question that I try to apply to myself as often as possible. I must confess that there have been times I have had to hang my head in shame and ask the Lord to forgive my failure.
It is easy to see the faults of others while at the same time ignoring my own short comings. I think that the more easily we find fault in others, the easier it is to overlook the lack of trust in our own lives.
There have been many times that people have disappointed me by saying one thing and then doing another. It has hurt and made me feel betrayed. My battle ground is taking my hurt to the foot of the cross and understanding how those closest to Jesus betrayed their trust. But thank the Lord they renewed their commitment and, after the resurrection, were even able to give their lives rather than betray their trust once again. With the help of the Lord that is the kind of trust I seek for myself.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
—Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Dec 14, 2012 | Psalm
Psalm 98:4, 9-10
“Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth; Break forth in song, rejoice, and sing Let the rivers clap their hands; Let the hills be joyful together before the LORD.”
It has been told that Isaac Watts, 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 of today’s Scripture from 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.”
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 from GloryScapes™ 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 | Nov 27, 2012 | Psalm
Psalm 32:5
I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye.
As a boy I remember being able to look from our house and see the mighty Columbia River that separates the states of Oregon and Washington. We lived on the Washington side of the river, and our house was high enough to be able to watch the water traffic moving up and down the river.
Most stretches of the river were deep enough for the tugs and barges to navigate, but further up the river from our house the Columbia became treacherous. There were hidden sand bars and bends in the river that could spell disaster for a captain who had not plied those waters before.
An invaluable aid had been put in place to aid in navigation. From time to time you could see colored beacons along the bank. The captain would steer his boat toward the beacon, but at the same time be looking across the river for another beacon. When the two beacon lights intersected he would change direction and head for the new beacon. These beacons were illuminated at night to insure safe navigation through treacherous waters.
In our lives, God’s Word has given beacons to insure that we can steer clear of any obstacles that would sink us. We may be able to sail along for days, weeks, months, or even years without calamity, but inevitably we are destined to hit the rocks if we neglect God’s beacons. Are you watching?
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
—Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Nov 9, 2012 | Psalm
Psalm 107:29-30
He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed. They were glad when it grew calm, and He guided them to their desired haven.
It seems that each of us is called upon to face storms in our life. It may be physical infirmity, financial reversals or the loss of a loved one. It is not the storm that matters, but how we react to the storm.
Back in 1873, Horatio Spafford and his family were scheduled to sail on the French steamer ‘Ville de Havre’ from New York to England where he was to assist the great evangelist, D.L. Moody. Because of a last minute business crisis Mr. Spafford sent his family on ahead and he would follow on a later ship.
Unfortunately the ship his family was on collided with another ship and sank. There was a terrible loss of life. Spafford and his wife lost their four daughters. Nine days later Horatio Spafford received a cable from his wife that simply said, “Saved alone.” What poignant words.
Later, as he was sailing to meet his wife, he asked the captain to let him know when they were near where the accident had occurred. It was there that he penned the words of this week’s hymn, “It Is Well with My Soul.”
It Is Well With My Soul
When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul.
Refrain:
It is well (it is well),
with my soul (with my soul),
It is well, it is well with my soul.
My sin, oh the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to His cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
Refrain:
It is well (it is well),
with my soul (with my soul),
It is well, it is well with my soul.
And Lord haste the day, when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.
Refrain:
It is well (it is well),
with my soul (with my soul),
It is well, it is well with my soul.
To access It Is Well With My Soul, this week’s inspirational video from GloryScapes.com, please go to: http://www.gloryscapes.com/itiswellwithmysoul/ 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
360-570-0074
by Pastor Cecil | Nov 6, 2012 | Psalm
Psalm 37:3-8
Trust in the Lord, and do good; Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord,trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass.He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday. 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.
Years ago we lived in Nampa, Idaho, and attended a church pastored by Rev. Earl Lee. It was always a joy to listen to his sermons, especially when he translated phrases from the Murati Bible which he had used as a missionary in India.
In addition to his frequent translations, there was one sermon that has remained in my mind. It was based on this passage from Psalm 37. I hope you notice the words underlined in today’s Scripture: TRUST, DELIGHT, COMMIT, and REST. To use these words as a guide to spiritual discipline is fundamental.
In whom do we trust? The Lord! The moment we stop trusting in the Lord and begin to place our confidence in something or someone else, we are doomed to despair. As we faithfully trust in the Lord we begin to delight in the exciting life of faith.
This is possible only when we commit ourselves to the Lord and obey Him as we read His Word and obey what it says. The rest that is mentioned is not some ho-hum half asleep type of rest. It is giving up the control of our life to His leadership and placing our complete trust in Him. Are you Trusting, Delighting, Committing, and Resting? Try it! Your life will never be the same!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing to others!
—Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Oct 12, 2012 | 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
360-570-0074
PastorCecil@Daily-E-Votional.com
