by Pastor Cecil | Jan 27, 2009 | Romans
Romans 8:38-39
“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
As I was praying and meditating about what to write today, I began to think of the mighty love of God. There is nothing that we can ever do to merit His love. The only thing we can do is receive His offer of eternal salvation. After we have been born again we cannot merit His favor by what we do—our obedience to His commands is part of our new spiritual life.
I cannot think of any better way to express the majesty of God’s love for us than the old hymn by L. M. Lehman, The Love of God. Here is what Mr. Lehman wrote about how the hymn came about:
“One day, during short intervals of inattention to our work, we picked up a scrap of paper and, seated upon an empty lemon box pushed against the wall, with a stub pencil, added the (first) two stanzas and chorus of the song…Since the lines (3rd stanza from the Jewish poem) had been found penciled on the wall of a patient’s room in an insane asylum after he had been carried to his grave, the general opinion was that this inmate had written the epic in moments of sanity.”
Prayerfully read the words:
The love of God is greater far
Than tongue or pen can ever tell;
It goes beyond the highest star,
And reaches to the lowest hell;
The guilty pair, bowed down with care,
God gave His Son to win;
His erring child He reconciled,
And pardoned from his sin.
Refrain: O love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure,
The saints and angels’ song
When years of time shall pass away,
And earthly thrones and kingdoms fall,
When men, who here refuse to pray,
On rocks and hills and mountains call,
God’s love so sure, shall still endure,
All measureless and strong;
Redeeming grace to Adam’s race—
The saints’ and angels’ song.
Refrain
Could we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade,
To write the love of God above,
Would drain the ocean dry.
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky.
Refrain
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Dec 25, 2008 | Romans
Romans 15:13
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace
as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow withhope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
All around the world Christians will be celebrating Christmas in different ways. Many have eagerly looked forward to this day.
My prayer for each of you dear friends is that you will not worship the day, but that you will bow before the King of kings who came into the world as a tiny baby. He came in human form to give us the greatest gift possible—eternal salvation! MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
To view “Silent Night” go to http://www.gloryscapes.com/silentnight
Blessings dear hearts!
Pastor Cecil and Joyce
by Pastor Cecil | Dec 11, 2008 | Romans
Romans 8:35-39
“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: ‘For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.’ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Years ago—when we were newlyweds, a new pastor was called as the senior pastor of our church. On his first Sunday he spoke of his joy at becoming the new pastor and wanted to introduce his family to the congregation. As the family came to the platform, he started to introduce them beginning with his youngest son. As he reached out to place his hand on the boy’s head, the boy ducked and put his hand up as if he was about to be struck. It was quite some time before the laughter subsided enough for the rest of the family to be introduced.
Sadly we all too often react to God in that same manner, expecting to be struck at any moment. The love of God is so far beyond our human concept of love that we lack words to describe that love poured out in our behalf. I really feel pity for those believers who seem to go through life in a spiritual crouch, waiting for God to strike.
Many people dread the time when we are all destined to appear before the Lord God. That is why it is so very critical that our sins are covered by the shed blood of Jesus Christ. We are reminded of the symbol of this in the Passover which preceded the release of the children of Israel from their bondage in Egypt. They were commanded to take an unblemished lamb, kill it, and apply the blood to the doorposts of their houses. That was the only way of escaping the plague of the death of the firstborn.
Without the blood of Jesus applied to the doorposts of our hearts, there is no salvation. We can do countless good works but that will not save us or make us fit for heaven. It is only by confessing our sins and receiving Him into our hearts that His blood covers us and protects us.
While I cannot understand this, I fully accept it by faith since the Bible says it is so. With that in mind, we who have had our sins covered by the blood of Jesus do not have to fear the judgment of God. He looks down and sees only the blood of His dear Son, applied to our life.
One of the most precious hymns ever written was one by F. M. Lehman in 1917. It is called The Love of God. The third and final verse of this hymn was not written by Mr. Lehman. It is reported that the words were found scrawled on the walls of an insane asylum. They are perhaps the most sane words that mankind could ever write:
“Could we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade,
To write the love of God above,
Would drain the ocean dry,
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
though stretched from sky to sky.”
CHORUS:
“O LOVE OF GOD, HOW RICH AND PURE!
HOW MEASURELESS AND STRONG!
IT SHALL FOR EVERMORE ENDURE,
THE SAINTS’ AND ANGELS’ SONG.”
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
— Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Nov 10, 2008 | Romans
Romans 8:28
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to His purpose. For those God foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brothers.”
I have to brag a little bit about our granddaughter. She was sharing with me the other morning about how she had given a gift to a fellow worker. The response from the worker was pure joy and a hug.
Melinda said, “You know Papa, the money I spent on the gift was not what was important. It was her reaction and response of appreciation. I will not take the money I spent to the grave with me, but her friendship is what will last.”
Later that day, Melinda experienced some bad news. In the midst of dealing with her disappointment she met a new friend who was also a Christian. This young woman is married to a soldier at a nearby Army facility. She was so excited to meet Melinda and have someone to call and talk with about the Lord.
Once again, disappointment had disappeared in the realization that truly the Word of God is true, all things do work together for good for those who love God and have eyes to see Him at work in their lives.
Have you ever heard this, or perhaps said it yourself after returning from a trip: “God was really with us—we didn’t have a bit of car trouble!” Hold on a minute Nelly! Do we mean that God is not with us when we have all kinds of car trouble? Absolutely not!
The problem with this type of loose thinking is that we limit the blessings of God to the good things of life and not the trials. Paul encountered more trouble per square inch than most of us can ever imagine.
In 2 Corinthians 11:23-28, Paul enumerates some of his ordeals: Hard work, prison, severe beatings, being stoned, shipwrecked three times and adrift in the open sea for 24 hours (just to mention a few). How did Paul react to all of this?
2 Corinthians 11:30-31: “If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, who is to be praised forever, knows that I am not lying.”
If we truly believe that God causes ALL things to work together for our good, isn’t it time for us to stop belly aching and start looking for God’s good thing? It is my intention to do just that!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
— Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jul 28, 2008 | Romans
Romans 1:18-20
“The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—His eternal power and divine nature—have been seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.”
I once heard the story of a young girl who came running into the house clutching her stomach. Her concerned parents rushed to her side and knelt down to comfort her. When the tears had subsided a bit, she was able to tell them that her brother, Johnny, had kicked her in the stomach.
With the look resembling that of an angel of vengeance the father descended on his son who was playing in the sand box with little concern. “Did you kick your sister in the stomach?” His father boomed.
“Yes, but it was her own fault.” replied his innocent appearing son. “How could it be her fault?” His father asked. Johnny’s reply? “SHE TURNED AROUND TOO QUICK!”
From the Garden of Eden, after Adam and Eve shifted the blame from each other, to the serpent, and even to God, we have been people who seem to have excuses for everything.
If you took the same excuses that people use for not obeying God and applied them to other important areas of life, you’d realize how inconsistent we can be in our logic. For example:
TEN REASONS NOT TO WASH:
1. I was forced to as a child.
2. People who make soap are only after your money.
3. I wash on special occasions like Christmas and Easter.
4. People who wash are hypocrites — they think they are cleaner than everyone else.
5. There are so many different kinds of soap I can’t decide which one I should use.
6. I used to wash, but it got boring so I stopped.
7. None of my friends wash.
8. The bathroom is never warm enough in the winter or cool enough in the summer.
9. I’ll start washing when I get older and dirtier.
10. I can’t spare the time.
It sounds so silly when we read these excuses, doesn’t it? How do you think some of our excuses sound to the Lord? My prayer is that I will examine myself—my intentions and motives before creating excuses. I am still working on it, so be patient with me.
Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today. Trust Him completely and become a real blessing.
— Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jul 25, 2008 | Romans
Romans 1:18-20
“The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—His eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.”
Yesterday I quoted from Isaiah chapter six where Isaiah heard the Lord’s call for someone to go for Him. It made me think of my own life and the way the Lord called me from a career in the criminal justice field to share the gospel as a minister of the gospel.
I have worked as a police officer, a juvenile probation officer, a criminal justice planner and college professor of criminal justice courses. I still like to watch those reality television programs that show real cases.
It is interesting that even though a person is charged with a crime as a result of eye witnesses, video surveillance and DNA evidence, there is a statement like this that appears on the scene: “_______, is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.”
Years ago (the 1950’s) I was a police officer. There was a Municipal Court Judge who had lost an arm when he was in his teens. It was the result of a collision with a man under the influence of alcohol. As a result he had very little sympathy for drunk drivers that appeared before him.
This judge would often come into our police department and ride around in a patrol car with one of our officers. From time to time the officer would follow a car that was weaving back and forth across the road. After the officer stopped the car and administered a field sobriety test, the Judge observed that the man could barely stand up to follow the instructions that were given to him.
When that person appeared in Police Court to answer the charges against him, he would often plead his innocence and say that he had been wrongfully arrested. The Judge would look down sternly and ask this question: “What would you say if I told you that I was riding in that police car and observed the whole thing?” The offender almost always changed his plea to guilty.
We have a mighty Judge of the entire universe who knows not only what we do wrong, but every thought. Consider Psalm 139:2-4; “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.”
There is no presumption of innocence with the Lord. He knows everything about us. If there is no way we can deceive the Lord, what is the solution? Throw ourselves on the mercy of the Court!
God has made provision for us. He has paid the price with His own blood! In 1st John 1:9 He shows us the way to release; “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today. Trust Him completely and be a blessing.
— Pastor Cecil
