LOOK ABOVE THIS WORLD​!

Colossians 3:2 – Devotional

Colossians 3:2

Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.

Well educated scientists seemingly have things all figured out. The question arises as to what is it they think they have all figured out, and why does what they have all figured out change on a regular basis?

The answer is that the wisdom of man is subject to the all-knowing mind of Christ who is the blessed creator and sustainer of all things. As long as mankind rejects the truth of God they walk in darkness.

I must confess that there are a vast number of things I do not know, but the things I do not know are insignificant in the realization that the most important thing I do know is that my name is written down in glory and my eternity is assured in the providence of God!

As I am regularly confronted with news concerning the failing health and welfare of friends and family, I have the sweet assurance that the Lord wants me to look above the things of this world and trust Him. When people ask us how to face a dismal future we can with sweet assurance tell them; “LOOK ABOVE THIS WORLD!”

Blessings dear hearts! Walk with God today and be a blessing.

– – – Pastor Cecil

Share a blessing by inviting your friends and family to subscribe to Pastor Cecil’s DailyEvotional emails by clicking on the Subscribe button above.

Share the Lord with someone by directing them to https://PastorCecil.com.

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.

NOW THANK WE ALL OUR GOD​​!

Colossians 3:17 – Devotional

Colossians 3:17

And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus,
giving thanks to God and the Father by him.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The following information on Martin Rinkart was gathered by Greg Scheer:

Martin Rinkart (1586-1649), the author of today’s hymn, was the Bishop of Eilenberg, Germany during the Thirty Years’ War. Since Eilenberg was a walled city it became a place of refuge for fugitives of the war, and also a place of famine and disease due to overcrowding. In 1637 at the height of their misery, Rinkart was the only clergyman left in the city who could perform the 40 or 50 necessary burial services daily — one of which was for his wife. As if that weren’t enough, the city was sacked three times by invaders, one of which imposed a large tribute payment upon the people. During this time, Rinkart managed to find the time to write 7 dramas and 66 hymns.

The hymn “Nun danket alle Gott” was originally titled “Tisch-Gebetlein,” or a “little prayer before the meal.” This humble prayer of thanksgiving is laid out simply and beautifully in the first verse, but it’s the next two verses that expand the hymn’s focus and have given it its lasting appeal. You can see the Thirty Years’ War pressing on his mind in verse two: “And keep us in His grace, And guide us when perplexed, And free us from all ills In this world and the next.”

After a verse of thanks, and a verse that asks for strength during the trials of life, he ends with a paraphrase of the doxology as if to say, “The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away, may the name of the Lord be praised.”

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

NOW THANK WE ALL OUR GOD

Now thank we all our God
with heart and hands and voices,
who wondrous things has done,
in whom his world rejoices;
who from our mothers’ arms
has blessed us on our way
with countless gifts of love,
and still is ours today.

O may this bounteous God
through all our life be near us,
with ever joyful hearts
and blessed peace to cheer us,
to keep us in his grace,
and guide us when perplexed,
and free us from all ills
of this world in the next.

All praise and thanks to God
the Father now be given,
the Son and Spirit blest,
who reign in highest heaven
the one eternal God,
whom heaven and earth adore;
for thus it was, is now,
and shall be evermore.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

You can enjoy this week’s inspirational video from GloryScapes by going to https://gloryscapes.com/nowthankweallourgod/

May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!

– – – Pastor Cecil

Share a blessing by inviting your friends and family to subscribe to Pastor Cecil’s DailyEvotional emails by clicking on the Subscribe button above.

Share the Lord with someone by directing them to https://PastorCecil.com.

OUR GLORIOUS APPEARANCE!

Colossians 3:4 – Devotional

Colossians 3:4

“Christ is our life and when He makes His glorious appearance, then those of us who have been born again will also appear with Him in glory.”

The husband of my oldest cousin was a source of joy and delight. As I think back of all of our encounters with Don, there was laughter and spontaneity. He seemed to write the book on what was to be expected. If you had plans to meet for breakfast at 7:00 a.m., he was just as likely to be by to meet you at 5:30 a.m. Ouch!

My wife, Joyce, and I always looked forward to the times when we were close enough to spend times with Don and Betty. We left their company feeling like we had experienced pure joy and delight.

The Scripture for today points to the day when Christ will make His glorious appearance. We are told that we will be with Him. In other words we will also make a glorious appearance. Not because of our own merits, but because of our Savior and the fact that we are His precious possession.

I rise each morning and open God’s Word to drink in the promises that He has given to make my life meaningful and complete. One day I will accompany our Lord and all His saints as we make our glorious appearance. What a day that will be!

Blessings dear hearts walk with God today and become a blessing!

– – – Pastor Cecil

Share a blessing by inviting your friends and family to subscribe to Pastor Cecil’s DailyEvotional emails by clicking on the Subscribe button above.

Share the Lord with someone by directing them to https://PastorCecil.com.

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.

GOD MADE IT ALL​!

Colossians 1:16 – Devotional

Colossians 1:16

“By Him all things were created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones, dominions, principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him, and for Him.”

Listen to today’s Message of the Week, “God Made It All!” by clicking above on the play button.

Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today and be a blessing!

– – – Pastor Cecil

Share a blessing by inviting your friends and family to subscribe to Pastor Cecil’s DailyEvotional emails by clicking on the Subscribe button above.

Share the Lord with someone by directing them to https://PastorCecil.com.

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.

POUR IT IN​​​​​​!

Colossians 3:16-17 – Devotional

Colossians 3:16-17

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”

In one of the churches I served I was helping to staff Bible classes. One teacher came with high credentials. After the first few weeks I was speaking with a man who attended that teacher’s class. He mentioned that when the Bible material was being taught it was like his head was opened and God’s Word was being poured in!

Wow! I thought that was the highest evaluation that could be given. I have so wanted to labor for the Lord in such a way that the hearts and minds of my hearers or readers would be opened and the pure Word of God poured in!

The first words of today’s Scripture seem to have this same concept: “Let the word of Christ dwell in you….” In order to have the Word of God dwell within us we must spend time in the Word.

How much time do we spend each day with the Bible? How much time do we spend each week? That gets pretty embarrassing doesn’t it? Some people go weeks or even months without reading their Bible.

May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!

– – – Pastor Cecil

Share a blessing by inviting your friends and family to subscribe to Pastor Cecil’s DailyEvotional emails by clicking on the Subscribe button above.

Share the Lord with someone by directing them to https://PastorCecil.com.

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.

DWELLING IN THE WORD!

Colossians 3:16 – Devotional

Colossians 3:16

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”

I have a question for each follower of Christ: How can the word of Christ dwell in us if we fail to spend quality time reading His word? I know that some have difficulty reading, but it takes only a few minutes to read several verses.

Stop for just a few minutes and reflect on how you spend your time. I think that perhaps a better question may be: How do we invest our time. When we make an investment we anticipate a good return. In the same manner we can anticipate a positive return for the time we spend feasting on God’s Word

Make a promise to the Lord that you will spend time each day reading your Bible. It may be a promise of five minutes or even more, but make it a priority that you will faithfully adhere to.

As God’s Word dwells more and more in our inmost being, we will increasingly be able to have a positive effect on those around us. Let us make a commitment to change our environment with promises from the Word of God instead of grumbling about how bad things are around us.

Blessings dear hearts walk with God today and become a blessing!

– – – Pastor Cecil

Share a blessing by inviting your friends and family to subscribe to Pastor Cecil’s DailyEvotional emails by clicking on the Subscribe button above.

Share the Lord with someone by directing them to https://PastorCecil.com.

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.