by Pastor Cecil | Feb 6, 2009 | Psalm
Psalm 139:1-4
“O LORD, You have searched me and You know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; You perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; You are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue You know it completely, O LORD.”
In the early 1900’s, a woman by the name of Lela Long heard a medical missionary on furlough from China share the story of his work. Whenever someone came to him for treatment he would always tell them the story of Jesus.
One morning, before the doors of the clinic were opened, there was a knock at the door. There stood an elderly woman, stooped with age. He could tell by the dust on her feet and clothing that she had come a long way.
He treated her and as always, told her about Jesus. As she heard the beautiful story of Jesus love, she opened her heart to receive Jesus as her personal Savior. Tears trickled down her cheeks as she accepted the gift of eternal life.
Quite some time had passed and there was a knock at the missionary’s door. When he opened the door, he found the same old woman that had come to him several weeks before.
She said, “Sir, He has saved me and I know He lives in my heart. He has made my life so happy! But sir, I have forgotten His name. Could you please tell me his name again?” The missionary repeated over and over again the name, “Jesus,” “Jesus,” “Jesus.” Each time the little old lady echoed that name, “Jesus.”
After hearing the story Lela Long wrote the following hymn:
JESUS IS THE SWEETEST NAME I KNOW
There have been names that I have loved to hear,
But never has there been a name so dear
To this heart of mine, as the Name divine,
The precious, precious Name of Jesus.
Refrain
Jesus is the sweetest name I know,
And He’s just the same as His lovely Name,
And that’s the reason why I love Him so;
Oh, Jesus is the sweetest name I know.
There is no name in earth or heav’n above,
That we should give such honor and such love
As the blessed Name, let us all acclaim,
That wondrous, glorious Name of Jesus.
Refrain
Jesus is the sweetest name I know,
And He’s just the same as His lovely Name,
And that’s the reason why I love Him so;
Oh, Jesus is the sweetest name I know.
And some day I shall see Him face to face
To thank and praise Him for His wondrous grace,
Which He gave to me, when He made me free,
The blessed Son of God called Jesus.
Refrain
Jesus is the sweetest name I know,
And He’s just the same as His lovely Name,
And that’s the reason why I love Him so;
Oh, Jesus is the sweetest name I know.
To access the inspirational music video, please go to: http://www.gloryscapes.com/jesusisthesweetestnameiknow 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 | Feb 4, 2009 | Psalm
Psalm 139:1-4
“O LORD, You have searched me and You know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; You perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; You are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue You know it completely, O LORD”
Did you ever do something stupid or thoughtless and suddenly realize that there was someone you knew who was involved? Years ago I was stopped at a stop sign waiting for cars to pass, when suddenly someone plowed into the back of my car.
When I opened the door to check, I realized that it was not the car behind me that was at fault, but another car had rammed into the back of her car and propelled it into mine. Got the picture?
As the driver behind me and I walked back to the offender who had started all of this, I was in for a big shock. It was a teenage girl from our church. When she saw that her inattention had damaged her pastor’s car she almost lost it!
Yesterday one of the men in our church fellowship shared an incident he had experienced last week. He was driving through one of those dreaded “round-a-bouts” that supposedly are intended to control traffic, but to my mind they confound more than control.
Well, back to my story. He thought he had enough room to make a turn, but realized that he cut off another vehicle in the process. That would have been bad enough, but as he looked in the rear view mirror, he thought the driver may be the daughter of one of his friends. It turned out that it wasn’t and he escaped without an embarrassing confrontation.
As I think about these situations I am reminded of today’s Scripture. It reveals that we face much more than the humiliation of doing something wrong in front of people who know us. All of our actions are known by God!
I certainly do not want to present a picture of God looking over the parapets of heaven and waiting for us to do something wrong. According to Psalm 139 He is way ahead of us. He knows what we are going to do before we do it—what we are going to think before we think it—what we are going to say before we say it.
I am humbled by the reality that in spite of all of the foolish and sinful things I may do, the Lord has shed His blood to cover those sins. Rather than being vindictive, He wants me to know that whenever I confess my sin, He is always faithful and just. He is eager to hear my confession so He can forgive me and cleanse me.
In my mind’s eye I picture the Lord as the faithful Father waiting for the prodigal child to come home. We never have to beg Him to receive us—He is waiting for that moment when we rush into His arms and ask Him to forgive our OOPS! What a homecoming!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jan 30, 2009 | Psalm
Psalm 23:4
“Even 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.”
This has been a week for hymns. As I recall I featured a hymn or spiritual song each day. As usual we close the week with a wonderful and free video from GloryScapes. I hope you enjoy the scenes and music as much as I do.
This week’s video features the song, “Just A Closer Walk With Thee.” This is a prayer that I want to bring to the Lord. It is my fervent desire to draw nearer and nearer to the Lord with each passing day.
In the words of today’s Scripture, David gives us assurance that even when we pass through the valley of the shadow of death we need not be paralyzed with fear because the Lord is near us. Enjoy this week’s video:
I am weak, but Thou art strong;
Jesus, keep me from all wrong;
I’ll be satisfied as long
As I walk, let me walk close to Thee.
Refrain: Just a closer walk with Thee,
Grant it, Jesus, is my plea,
Daily walking close to Thee,
Let it be, dear Lord, let it be.
Through this world of toil and snares,
If I falter, Lord, who cares?
Who with me my burden shares?
None but Thee, dear Lord, none but Thee.
Refrain
When my feeble life is o’er,
Time for me will be no more;
Guide me gently, safely o’er
To Thy kingdom shore, to Thy shore.
Refrain
To access the inspirational music video, please go to: http://www.gloryscapes.com/justacloserwalkwiththee 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 | Jan 28, 2009 | Psalm
Psalm 65:5-7
“You answer us with awesome deeds ofrighteousness, O God our Savior, the hope of all the ends of the earth and 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.”
So you want to get away from it all? The rat race, I mean. You long for peace and tranquility to settle your stress and frustration. The thought of simpler and more sedate times is often appealing. Public television recently aired a program called Alone In the Wilderness. It chronicles the year in the life of a man who left civilization and built a cabin in the Alaskan wilderness. The utter isolation was interrupted occasionally by a small bush plane which brought him supplies and mail—but other than that it was only Dick and the deer.
As idyllic as the scenes of the program might be, isolation is not the answer to the hustle and chaos of daily living. Man is by his very nature created to have interaction with others. There may be recluses that cut themselves off from other people, but by their actions they are revealing that there are problems which have not been resolved.
In Mark’s Gospel, chapter four, we find the story of Jesus who was surrounded by a huge crowd of people. The crowd was so large that He got into a boat and sat in it as He taught the people who were on the shore. At evening He told His disciples to take the boats to the other side of the lake. (According to Mark 4:36, there were several boats).
Jesus went to sleep on a cushion, but a furious squall came up and threatened the boats. Remember that many of these disciples were seasoned fishermen who had spent their lives out on this lake in all kinds of weather. Now came a storm threatening to swamp them.
In their fear and alarm they called out to Jesus. It seemed impossible that He could sleep through such a storm. The men woke Jesus and asked Him if He didn’t care if they were about to drown. It is then that we read the quiet words of power which He proclaimed in Mark 4:39: “He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, ‘Quiet! (peace) Be still!’ Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.”
I want to remind you once more that these men were not simple recreational boaters. They had spent their lives in all kinds of weather conditions and if they felt that the situation was desperate, it really was. They had almost come to the conclusion that all was hopeless and that they would never reach shore again. I think that when they called to Jesus, it was not so that He would quiet the wind and waves (that had never been done in their experience).
I feel that they woke Jesus to have Him prepare for the inevitable drowning. Jesus shocked them when He demonstrated that His power was great enough to control the forces of nature. It was not necessary to have seen Him do this before, it was enough that His word was powerful enough to resolve the problem.
We all face the challenges and turmoil of everyday living. You may be facing situations which are threatening to “swamp your boat!” Now is the time to call on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Remember that it is Jesus who has the power to calm and bring order out of chaos.
There is an old hymn that was composed by Elisha A. Hoffman. The title is I Must Tell Jesus. Consider the words of this great hymn:
“I must tell Jesus all of my trials, I cannot bear these burdens alone; In my distress He kindly will help me, He always loves and cares for His own.”
“I must tell Jesus all of my troubles, He is a kind compassionate friend; If I but ask Him, He will deliver, make of my troubles quickly an end.”
“Tempted and tried, I need a great Savior. One who can help my burdens to bear; I must tell Jesus, I must tell Jesus, He all my cares and sorrows will share.”
“O how the world of evil allures me! O how my heart is tempted to sin! I must tell Jesus and He will help me over the world the victory to win.”
Chorus: “I must tell Jesus! I must tell Jesus! I cannot bear my burdens alone; I must tell Jesus! I must tell Jesus! Jesus can help me, Jesus alone.”
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jan 15, 2009 | Psalm
Psalm 24:1-4
“The earth is the LORD’s and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; for He founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters. Who may ascend the hill of the LORD? Who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false.”
The Scripture in Psalm 24 is very clear, so why would I ask the question, which is today’s title? If this is God’s world and He is in control over everything in it, what is there to question? Well, let me give you another Scripture. It is found in 2 Corinthians 4:4: “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”
We could go into deep theological discussion on a variety of issues surrounding this, but let me attempt to simplify it so we can get a perspective of things. First of all, we know that God created all things. (Please do not fall for one of the tricks of Satan by believing that all of this is random chance through the theory of evolution.)
God made this world and placed the first man and woman in the Garden of Eden. The choice to believe Satan in the Garden led to the fall of all men into a sin nature. This means that all are born in sin and must be redeemed in order to have eternal life.
Satan was given authority in the world, but even this is under God’s control. We have a vivid example of this in the book of Job. Satan operates under the control of God’s divine will. Jesus also expressed this when he told Peter in Luke 22:31: “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat.” Satan is the accuser of the brethren and desires to discredit the work of God in our life.
The important thing we need to keep uppermost in our mind is that Satan functions with lies and deceptions. He is the one who brings negative thoughts of hopelessness and despair. He is the one who leads the world into conflicts of all types, fights between individuals, families and even nations.
That is why it is so important to have a proper understanding of God. Not only did God create all things, He also provided a way by which sinful man may be redeemed from the nature of sin. It cost Him His very own Son, but it proved that God is in control and those who seek Him will find victory and assurance.
The writer of the Hymn; “This Is My Father’s World”, Maltbie D. Babcock, sums up this thought in the third verse of that hymn: “This is my Father’s world, O let me ne’er forget that though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the ruler yet. This is my Father’s world: The battle is not done; Jesus who died shall be satisfied, and earth and heaven be one.”
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jan 14, 2009 | Psalm
Psalm 91:1-2
“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.’”
I cannot even count the times I have read Psalm 91, but this morning as I read it I gained a new insight that grabbed my attention. Actually there were two words that captured my interest: “dwell” and “rest.”
For the past few years there have been two television programs that follow a single individual as he is dropped into a remote area of the globe and must survive on his own resources for one week. He is not given food or water and must make his way on what he can glean from the land in which he has been thrust.
Water is the first essential to be obtained followed by starting a fire and preparing a place to protect him from the elements. It is surprising how ingenious these men are in erecting a shelter from the rain, cold or in some desert areas—the sun. While these make-shift covers may be a place to pause—they were not a place to dwell and rest.
It is tragic that many people go through this life erecting “shelters” that they hope will satisfy. Some of these may even cost millions of dollars. But like every other thing in this world—they are destined to pass away.
There is an old song, written by Ira Stamphill in 1949 that provides a reality we need to consider:
I’m satisfied with just a cottage below,
A little silver and a little gold;
But in that city where the ransomed will shine,
I want a gold one that’s silver-lined.
Chorus
I’ve got a mansion just over the hilltop,
In that bright land where we’ll never grow old;
And someday yonder we will never more wander,
But walk the streets that are purest gold.
Tho’ often tempted, tormented and tested
And, like the prophet, my pillow a stone,
And tho’ I find here no permanent dwelling,
I know He’ll give me a mansion my own.
Chorus
I’ve got a mansion just over the hilltop,
In that bright land where we’ll never grow old;
And someday yonder we will never more wander,
But walk the streets that are purest gold.
Don’t think me poor or deserted or lonely,
I’m not discouraged, I’m heaven bound;
I’m just a pilgrim in search of a city,
I want a mansion, a harp and a crown.
Chorus
I’ve got a mansion just over the hilltop,
In that bright land where we’ll never grow old;
And someday yonder we will never more wander,
But walk the streets that are purest gold.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
