Psalm 61:2“From the end of the earth I will cry to You, when my heart is overwhelmed, please lead me to the rock that is higher than I.”Listen to today’s Message of the Week by Pastor Cecil by clicking above on the play button.Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today and be a blessing!– – – Pastor Cecil
2 Corinthians 5:17“Therefore if anyone is in Christ, this person is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”Thoro Harris, a prolific hymn writer and organist, penned this great hymn of testimony.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .ALL THAT THRILLS MY SOUL!Who can cheer the heart like Jesus,By His presence all divine?True and tender, pure and precious,O how blest to call Him mine!All that thrills my soul is Jesus,He is more than life to me;And the fairest of ten thousandin my blessed Lord I see.Love of Christ so freely given,Grace of God beyond degree,Mercy higher than the heaven,Deeper than the deepest sea!All that thrills my soul is Jesus,He is more than life to me;And the fairest of ten thousandin my blessed Lord I see.What a wonderful redemption!Never can a mortal knowHow my sin, tho red like crimson,Can be whiter than the snow.All that thrills my soul is Jesus,He is more than life to me;And the fairest of ten thousandin my blessed Lord I see.Every need His hand supplying,Every good in Him I see;On His strength divine relying,He is all in all to me.All that thrills my soul is Jesus,He is more than life to me;And the fairest of ten thousandin my blessed Lord I see.By the crystal flowing river,With the ransomed I will sing,And forever and forever,Praise and glorify the King.All that thrills my soul is Jesus,He is more than life to me;And the fairest of ten thousandin my blessed Lord I see.. . . . . . . . . . . . .You can go to https://gloryscapes.com/allthatthrillsmysoul/ to watch the All That Thrills My Soul video devotional.May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!– – – Pastor Cecil
Psalm 111:7“The works of God’s hands are truth and justice: All His precepts are sure.”Sadly we live in a world where truth is held very lightly, if at all. To hear words spoken, such as; “Did we have that in writing?” reveal the lack of integrity that is a common commodity in our society.We know that Satan is a liar and the father of lies. We only have to read through the Book of Job to discover the diabolical nature of this fallen angel. It seems to be beyond belief that he could be so absorbed to become like God that he would give it all over and face an eternity of anguish!All around us we can observe people who give little or no thought about their eternal destiny. It is as if they are in a car headed for a high cliff with no signs to warn of the impending disaster if we do not caution them.God has given His Word and all of creation to bring people to the safety of His glorious kingdom. Those of us who have responded now have the task of tell as many as possible the good news of the gospel. WE CAN TRUST GOD!May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!– – – Pastor Cecil
Psalm 111:4“God’s wonderful works are to be remembered. He is gracious and full of compassion.”When I set my mind to remember something, I frequently forget what it was I had set my mind to remember! Before you laugh, think of the times you may have been guilty of the same thing. I find that I am like the man who said he certainly believed in the “hereafter” because everywhere he went he asked; “What am I here after?”In order to overcome this difficulty, I have taken to write notes to myself so I will not forget what I intended to recall. The problem with this strategy is that even my notes get misplaced or shuffled and so I still spend time, “searching for the lost!”The one thing I never want to forget is God’s Word. My memory bank seems to be better at forgetting than remembering, but that does not keep me from reading and re-reading God’s precious Word.God’s works are detailed in His Word and my delight is in discovering that in spite of my many failures, the Lord loves me with an eternal love. His love for each of us is not because we deserve it, but because we need it so desperately!May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!– – – Pastor Cecil
Psalm 111:3“God’s works are honorable and glorious and His righteousness endures forever.”When you make a purchase, you expect the item or items you buy to perform as promised and to last for the length of time expected. As we think of the promises Satan makes, that is never true. He is a liar and the father of lies, so his promises are always false and misleading.As believers, as we begin each day we are faced with a choice. We can either clothe ourselves with the glorious garments of God’s righteousness or the tattered rags of Satan’s costume.The garments of God’s righteousness come with an eternal guarantee to never spoil, fade or pass away. In fact we are promised that they will shine as bright as the sun throughout the years of eternity.In sad contrast, the tattered rags offered by the enemy of our souls will offer no protection from the flames of hell that await those who fail to be clothed in God’s righteousness. Make sure that you and those around you are properly clothed in God’s righteousness while there is still time!May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!– – – Pastor Cecil
Deuteronomy 7:9“Know that the LORD your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments.”Listen to today’s Message of the Week by Pastor Cecil by clicking above on the play button.Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today and be a blessing!– – – Pastor Cecil
Proverbs 3:5-6“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not trust in your own understanding. In all your ways place your trust in Him and He will direct your way.”Listen to today’s Message of the Week by Pastor Cecil by clicking above on the play button.Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today and be a blessing!– – – Pastor Cecil
1 Corinthians 13:12“For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.”Can you imagine what it will be like to see Jesus face to face? To embrace Him? And witness His glory first hand? He is our Mighty Savior, Almighty God, and Friend.Here are the lyrics to today’s featured hymn, Face to Face with Christ, My Savior by Carrie E. Breck.Face to face with Christ, my Savior,Face to face—what will it be,When with rapture I behold Him,Jesus Christ who died for me?Refrain:Face to face I shall behold Him,Far beyond the starry sky;Face to face in all His glory,I shall see Him by and by!Only faintly now I see Him,With the darkened veil between,But a blessed day is coming,When His glory shall be seen.RefrainWhat rejoicing in His presence,When are banished grief and pain;Death is swallowed up in vict’ry,And the dark things shall be plain.RefrainFace to face—oh, blissful moment!Face to face—to see and know;Face to face with my Redeemer,Jesus Christ who loves me so.. . . . . . . . . . . . .You can go to https://gloryscapes.com/facetoface/ to watch the Face to Face with Christ, My Savior video devotional.May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!– – – Pastor Cecil
1 Corinthians 13:13“And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”There is a page in my wife’s diary that she had written way back in January 2012. That was three years before she went to be with the Lord. Joyce was always better at expressing her feelings in her notes and letters than in speaking. She wrote the following note dated January 28, 2012. I want to share it with you.“My precious husband, how I love you! You captured my heart when I was just a teenager, and it has lasted for over 60 years. How good God has been to us, to be with the dearest love of your life that long. Please know how deeply you are loved — – now and forever.”As I read these poignant words I realize that words never end when a person dies. I only wish that more couples could experience the deep love that Joyce and I shared.If you have not done so before now, I urge you to take the time to write your own love letter to that special person in your life. You may be gone when they read it, but like me, it will be like a gentle kiss from one who is waiting in that land where we will never be parted again.May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!– – – Pastor Cecil
Matthew 5:12“Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven!”When I attended high school we were not large enough to field an eleven-man football team, we competed in an eight-man football league. The rules were the same, but with fewer players.In my senior year we had won all of our games. The final game of the season was played under the lights at the home field of our toughest competitor. They played hard, but our team won the game and the championship. As the final gun sounded, wild cheering surrounded and rose up all around us. We were rejoicing because we had been declared the winner.In His “Sermon on the Mount,” Jesus presented an unusual reason for rejoicing. I did not include the verse that precedes today’s topic Scripture because I wanted to stress the difference Jesus gave. Here is what He said in verse 11: “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.”Wow! What a difference. Jesus calls us to rejoice even when we experience severe opposition. Usually we whimper and whine? Jesus calls His believers to be different by exhibiting radiant joy even when things are tough. Do we?May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!– – – Pastor Cecil
Ecclesiastes 3:1“Everything has its own season, and an appropriate time for every purpose under heaven.”Schedules are extremely important. The world of public transportation relies on accurate schedules. I have mentioned many times in the past that I have an application on my computer that alerts me to the passes of the International Space Station (ISS), as it silently glides across the heavens over 200 miles above.Over the years I have viewed the (ISS) as it passes overhead hundreds of times. Some of these passes occur during the dark hours so it is possible to see the Space Station as a very bright star. In some instances the Station passes into the earth’s shadow and seems to disappear.Day after day, I know that the (ISS) makes its way around the earth. It may be cloudy or the sun may prevent our viewing it as it passes over head, but I always know that it is right on time.It may often seem that the Lord is late in answering our prayers. We focus on our own desires rather than waiting on the Lord to bring about His will. At all times we need to remind ourselves that the Lord is always RIGHT ON TIME!May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!– – – Pastor Cecil
Isaiah 41:10“Fear thou not for I am with you. Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yea I will help you, yea I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”One summer when I was a young boy, we were challenged to memorize key verses in Scripture. One of those verses was Isaiah 41:10. I cannot begin to tell you how many times across the years this verse has been with me.In today’s world of GPS (Global Positioning System) technology, there is a voice that gives instructions of where to turn and how far to go before giving the next instruction of where to turn and how far to go. I have known drivers that turn their GPS off just to silence that voice.I come from a day and age where we learned to read maps. When I worked as a milk man it was necessary to use a code to tell how many intersections to cross, when to turn left or right and which house was to receive the home delivery (I am a very old man!).God gives us assurance that His voice will always strengthen, help, and uphold us as we obediently follow His word and His way. Do not silence His voice . . . JUST FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS!May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!– – – Pastor Cecil
Psalm 48:1“Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised, in the city of our God, in His holy mountain.”Listen to today’s Message of the Week by Pastor Cecil by clicking above on the play button.Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today and be a blessing!– – – Pastor Cecil
Matthew 5:16“Let your light so shine before everyone, that they may observe your godly walk and glorify your Heavenly Father.”Listen to today’s Message of the Week by Pastor Cecil by clicking above on the play button.Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today and be a blessing!– – – Pastor Cecil
Luke 10:33“A certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was. And when he saw the injured man, he had compassion.”All too often we are like the priest and Levite in the parable Jesus related to His hearers. They would most certainly be Jews who had distaste and even hatred for the half-breed and despised Samaritans.It is very possible that many of those who listened to this parable that we know as the, “Parable of the Good Samaritan,” had at one time or another shown scorn and hatred toward the Samaritans. Before we become too high and righteous in our judgment of them, who do we reject in like manner?We find ourselves surrounded by those who have been rejected and despised by society. While it is true that we cannot respond to all of those who beg for help, we can prayerfully ask God to show us those who cross our path that He has sent in order for us to show forth His love for them!I find myself needing to spend more time in prayer and then paying attention when the Lord sends someone with a need across our path. Let’s be prepared to be like Jesus and show godly compassion!May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!– – – Pastor Cecil
Romans 12:10“Be kindly affectionate to each other with brotherly love. In honor showing preference to one another.”As a pastor, I have frequently confronted adults who still carried the trauma of their early years. My precious wife carried some of those scars. She often recalled a boy who treated her very cruelly. Ironically, when I became a pastor in Burns, Oregon, that boy, now a man, was a member of our church.Joyce had a difficult time overcoming the memories of the things he had said and the way he had mistreated her. One of the things that perplexed her was that he did not recall his harmful actions and acted nonchalant about it.It is also true that sometimes people do not actually say the hurtful words, but laugh when belittling words are spoken. Their laugh has the effect of bringing that person into the area of guilt. We might say guilt by association.God calls each of us to show a spirit of blessing and praise. We do that by our actions as well as by our words. Look for God-given opportunities to show forth the love of Jesus to those hurting hearts we encounter.May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!– – – Pastor Cecil
Judges 13:20“As the flame went up toward heaven from the altar—the Angel of the Lord ascended in the flame of the altar!”From time to time we hear songs from a by-gone era when music lifted the spirits rather than enflamed emotions. Some of these songs go as far back as the roaring 20’s. It is nostalgic to listen to the songs from the big band era, and yes, even the craziness of Spike Jones or the Hoosier Hotshots.I recall listening to an old song performed by a group called the “Ink Spots.” They began to sing “A Flame in Your Heart.” The lyrics suddenly electrified me. It was like the Lord was reminding me that His love was designed to express His words of love to anyone who would hear.I am not sure I can recall the words exactly, but I hope you get the idea: “I don’t want to set the world on fire; I just want to start a flame in your heart. In My heart there is but one desire, and that one is you! No other will do!”My mind races when I think of the magnificent ways of God. We often talk and promote burning bright for the Lord, but do we truly burn bright? I fear that the concept we have in our minds-eye is a large crowd loving and serving God. I think that is wrong! We are individually called to burn bright for the Lord!May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!– – – Pastor Cecil
Psalm 25:4-5“Show me Your ways, O Lord; teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; on You I wait all the day.”Much has changed in schools since I was a boy; and no, it was not before the flood when I attended school! Back in the olden days we used to have “show and tell.” Kids would bring some “treasure” and explain why it was a treasure and not simply junk.The Psalmist is praying to the Lord in today’s Scripture and asking for at least three things. In the passage I have underlined these three words: Show, teach, and lead. Let’s look at them.To show implies vision. It is seeing with our eyes or our senses. I enjoy being around blind people. They do not have optical vision, so they see with their sense of touch, hearing, or smell. Can they see? You better believe they do; often with greater acuity than sighted persons.As we read God’s Word we should ask Him to show us those things that He desires for us to see. This prayer is a willingness to receive the things that are shown. It may be described as an eagerness to receive what the Lord shows.The second word, teach, goes beyond merely being shown. We need to be taught whatever will be for our good and God’s glory. Many years ago I recall being in a Sunday School class that was taught by a gifted teacher. One of the members of that class was a small man who always wore a smile. One day, commenting to me in broken English, he said: “It like she open the top of my head and pour the learning inside!”We need to consider ourselves as students being taught by the Lord. Sitting in a class can be very tedious and hard. The results are what count — not simply to receive a passing grade, but that it has meaning and purpose from that day forward.There is another element that is important — the material. The Psalmist asks that he be taught the Lord’s paths. It is a request for direction, a map. I know that comes as a shock to you ladies who think that men never stop and ask for directions. In the spiritual realm we need to have instruction on the path of the Lord. Without knowing His paths we will certainly become lost.The last word, but of vital importance, is the word guide. It means that there is One who knows the way and will go before us to be our Guide. We might pray for insight to see our need, we might have head knowledge about God’s paths, but when we actually hit the trail, we need a guide to be there in the lead.All this seems so simple you may think I have reverted to those grade school days. If so, just humor me. This one was for me. I always need to be a child at heart and totally dependent upon my Lord. My prayer is that I, like David, want to be led by the Lord.Blessings dear hearts! Walk with God today and be a blessing!– – – Pastor Cecil
Mark 10:15“Without doubt, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter the kingdom of God.”Listen to today’s Message of the Week by Pastor Cecil by clicking above on the play button.Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today and be a blessing!– – – Pastor Cecil
1 John 4:10“This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”. . . . . . . . . . . . .When was the last time you contemplated the love God has for you? He loves each one of us so much He “sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”Philip P. Bliss does a good job of describing God’s love through Jesus for us in today’s hymn, Jesus Loves Even Me! Here are the lyrics:I am so glad that our Father in Heav’nTells of His love in the Book He has giv’n;Wonderful things in the Bible I see,This is the dearest, that Jesus loves me.Refrain:I am so glad that Jesus loves me,Jesus loves me, Jesus loves me;I am so glad that Jesus loves me,Jesus loves even me.If I forget Him and wander away,Still He doth love me wherever I stray;Back to His dear loving arms would I flee,When I remember that Jesus loves me.Oh, if there’s only one song I can sing,When in His beauty I see the great King,This shall my song through eternity be,“Oh, what a wonder that Jesus loves me!”Jesus loves me, and I know I love Him;Love brought Him down my poor soul to redeem;Yes, it was love made Him die on the tree;Oh, I am certain that Jesus loves me!If one should ask of me, how can I tell?Glory to Jesus, I know very well!God’s Holy Spirit with mine doth agree,Constantly witnessing Jesus loves me.In this assurance I find sweetest rest,Trusting in Jesus, I know I am blest;Satan, dismayed, from my soul now doth flee,When I just tell him that Jesus loves me.. . . . . . . . . . . . .You can go to https://gloryscapes.com/jesuslovesevenme/ to watch the Jesus Loves Even Me video devotional.May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!– – – Pastor Cecil