TRUE LOVE!

John 15:13 –  Devotional

John 15:13

“Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down his life for his friends.”

One of my all time favorite teachers and speakers is Dr. Howard Hendricks who taught at Dallas Theological Seminary. He shared that early in his life he spent much of time and effort trying to change his wife, his children, and his students. The harder he tried the less change he saw. (Isn’t that strange?!)

It suddenly dawned on him that he was going about it all wrong. He came to realize that he needed to change his wife’s husband, his children’s father, and his student’s professor. It reminds me of that old song, “It’s me, it’s me, it’s me, oh Lord, standing in the need of prayer.”

He began to pray for the Lord to make him a better husband, father and teacher. His wife changed, his children changed, and his students changed! What had happened? He had stopped preaching and had started living his faith.

It may be easy for us to intellectually agree with this concept, so why is it so hard to put it into practice? It is simply that we live by the flesh and not by the Spirit. We all too easily fall into the sinful habit of doing things ourselves rather than asking the Lord to direct our actions. We ask the Lord and allow Him to show us what to do—then how and when to do it.

Blessings dear heart! Walk with God today and be a blessing!

– – – Pastor Cecil

If you have watched The Sands of Eternity video above and prayed the prayer at the end, please go to https://PastorCecil.com/ and use the form on the webpage to let us know so we can send you follow up resources and/or send an email to pastorcecil@dailyevotional.com and let him know.

LET THERE BE PEACE!

John 16:33 –  Devotional

John 16:33

“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

World War I, sometimes called the “Great War,” was a huge waste of human life. It has been calculated that some fifteen million people lost their life in this terrible conflict that ended on this date, November 11, 1918. It was thought back then that peace would prevail and no more such wars would be fought — but it was barely 20 years before the even more devastating World War II broke out.

As the world searches for peace it is important to get a picture of what peace really means. It is the Hebrew word, “Shalowm” (shalom) and means completeness, soundness, welfare and tranquility. The word peace is found 429 times in Scripture and is a concept that is important to understand.

Over the centuries there have been many attempts to secure peace between individuals, families, communities or nations. These human attempts have always failed because it is only the Lord who gives peace.

The wonderful thing is that the Lord gives us peace in the midst of the storms of life. His peace comes from the inside out rather than from the outside in. His peace passes all human understanding. May He grant you His “shalom”!

Blessings dear heart! Walk with God today and be a blessing!

– – – Pastor Cecil

If you have watched The Sands of Eternity video above and prayed the prayer at the end, please go to https://PastorCecil.com/ and use the form on the webpage to let us know so we can send you follow up resources and/or send an email to pastorcecil@dailyevotional.com and let him know.