by Pastor Cecil | Jun 16, 2020 | Ecclesiastes
Ecclesiastes 9:12
“But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.”
I vividly recall sitting at the bedside of our daughter as she was dying. Joyce had gone home and it was just Brenda and I in that quiet room. In the past weeks I had remembered her as a little girl in a frilly pink dress. Now she was a mother of three beautiful children, just moments from ascending to be with the Lord.
This was no time for me to focus on the loss, but on the joys that awaited her in glory. As I focused upon the glory which awaited her, I almost felt a pang of homesickness for heaven. One of the Scriptures I quoted for Brenda was Psalm 23. Verse 4 was especially precious: “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me.” It was this promise that made her funeral a few days later a celebration of praise.
Some people experience sickness and incapacitation of one sort or another. In those times it is well to consider the way God’s people have suffered across the centuries of time. Some of the greatest songs or poems of praise were penned at times of suffering.
Fredrick Lehman penned the words of the old hymn, “The Love of God”. Actually, he wrote only the first two verses. The third verse was written nearly one thousand years ago by a Jewish songwriter. They were found penciled on the wall of a patient’s room in an insane asylum.
The general opinion was that this inmate had written the epic in moments of sanity. Listen to the words: “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 would the scroll contain the whole, though stretched from sky to sky.”
Each of us is given a choice in dealing with the pain and agony of this life. We can sigh and moan about how hard our situation is, or we can soar above the circumstances and praise the Lord from whom all blessings come! I, for one, choose to soar! Come and soar with me!
Blessings dear hearts. May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jun 15, 2020 | Ecclesiastes
Ecclesiastes 9:12
“No man knows when his hour will come: As fish are caught in a cruel net, or birds are taken in a snare, so men are trapped by evil times that fall unexpectedly upon them.”
Back in 1967 I was with the US Air Force, stationed at Whiteman AFB in Missouri. My wife Joyce and I were on our to the base and nearing the home of one of the members of the church we were attending. I noticed a friend of ours, Captain Terry Pullen, waving his hand frantically. He was having car trouble and had stopped there for assistance. I pulled in the driveway and got out of the car. (It was not a wise thing to do!)
Immediately as I closed my door a huge dog roared around to my side of the car with teeth bared and snarling. It was clear that he meant business! When the dog came after me, Terry jumped in the back seat on the passenger side. “The coward!” He even had the audacity to roll down the window and tell me to be careful because the dog was vicious. I was so glad that he told me. I never would have known!
I am not sure how I managed to get the door open and back inside the safety of the car without being eaten alive, but I finally made it!
That incident reminds me that we can easily fall into the trap of the enemy of our souls. Satan knows how to put various kinds of lures along our pathway to heaven. We may have the best of intentions, and one little detour shouldn’t hurt—but it does!
The Apostle Peter, knew what it was like to be ensnared by words and actions that resulted in his failing his Master, Jesus Christ. I love the words he writes in I Peter 5:8-9: “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.”
Peter describes an accurate picture of the devil prowling around looking for prey. Do you notice that he gives specific steps of action when being faced with the traps of the enemy? Let me list them for you:
- “Be self-controlled and alert.”
- “Resist him, standing firm in the faith.”
- “Know that others are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.”
There we have it! This is a very simple plan to steer clear of the devil’s traps. Can I share something with you? The plan is much easier than the implementation. Read number three again. We are not alone! I want you to know that I pray each day that I send these messages out that it will keep you from falling. I will be here for you.
Blessings dear hearts. May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | May 13, 2020 | Ecclesiastes
Ecclesiastes 3:11
“He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.”
Years ago I heard a minister tell of an incident in a hospital elevator where he had just come from visiting a very ill patient. A young man overheard him speak about eternity and, perhaps wanting to mock his view, asked the minister where eternity was. The minister told the boy to place his hand on his chest to feel the beat of his heart. Young man, eternity is one heartbeat away! That may answer where eternity is or at least how close we are to it, but just how long is eternity?
Our daughter was in the hospital near death. One afternoon as the two of us spoke quietly, she said she felt she was cheated out of half of her life. She went on to say that grandpa was 74 when he died and here she was just 35.
That evening as I drove into the garage I noticed that the car had been bringing in sand. I took out a sheet of typing paper and swept up some of the sand. I then sat at the kitchen table and counted out 74 grains. Some were larger than others, but all of them were quite small. I placed the 74 grains of sand in a tiny sample perfume bottle.
The next day as I entered her room I placed the bottle on her bed. When she asked what it was I told her it was grandpa. I asked her to imagine the earth being nothing but a ball of fine sand. Each grain represented one year of eternity. The 74 grains in the bottle represented grandpa’s life. Compared to the entire globe of sand it was nothing. Whether a person’s life lasted long or short – – compared to eternity it was nothing.
It is what we do with the years we are given that matters. We can choose to confess our sins and accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior or we can continue our own willful way and suffer the dreadful consequences prepared for the lost.
I pray that the video that accompanies today’s Daily-E-Votional will assist you in making the right choice. Please feel free to share it with others while there is still time.
To view the video The Sands of Eternity, go to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LM4xZmygeBI
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Feb 21, 2020 | Ecclesiastes
Ecclesiastes 3:11
“He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.”
Years ago I heard a minister tell of an incident in a hospital elevator where he had just come from visiting a very ill patient. A young man overheard him speak about eternity and, perhaps wanting to mock his view, asked the minister where eternity was. The minister told the boy to place his hand on his chest to feel the beat of his heart. Young man, eternity is one heartbeat away! That may answer where eternity is or at least how close we are to it, but just how long is eternity?
Our daughter was in the hospital near death. One afternoon as the two of us spoke quietly, she said she felt she was cheated out of half of her life. She went on to say that grandpa was 74 when he died and here she was just 35.
That evening as I drove into the garage I noticed that the car had been bringing in sand. I took out a sheet of typing paper and swept up some of the sand. I then sat at the kitchen table and counted out 74 grains. Some were larger than others, but all of them were quite small. I placed the 74 grains of sand in a tiny sample perfume bottle.
The next day as I entered her room I placed the bottle on her bed. When she asked what it was I told her it was grandpa. I asked her to imagine the earth being nothing but a ball of fine sand. Each grain represented one year of eternity. The 74 grains in the bottle represented grandpa’s life. Compared to the entire globe of sand it was nothing. Whether a person’s life lasted long or short – – compared to eternity it was nothing.
It is what we do with the years we are given that matters. We can choose to confess our sins and accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior or we can continue our own willful way and suffer the dreadful consequences prepared for the lost.
I pray that the video that accompanies today’s Daily-E-Votional will assist you in making the right choice. Please feel free to share it with others while there is still time.
To view the video The Sands of Eternity, go to: https://pastorcecil.com
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jan 2, 2020 | Ecclesiastes
Ecclesiastes 3:11
“He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.”
Years ago I heard a minister tell of an incident in a hospital elevator where he had just come from visiting a very ill patient. A young man overheard him speak about eternity and, perhaps wanting to mock his view, asked the minister where eternity was. The minister told the boy to place his hand on his chest to feel the beat of his heart. Young man, eternity is one heartbeat away! That may answer where eternity is or at least how close we are to it, but just how long is eternity?
Our daughter was in the hospital near death. One afternoon as the two of us spoke quietly, she said she felt she was cheated out of half of her life. She went on to say that grandpa was 74 when he died and here she was just 35.
That evening as I drove into the garage I noticed that the car had been bringing in sand. I took out a sheet of typing paper and swept up some of the sand. I then sat at the kitchen table and counted out 74 grains. Some were larger than others, but all of them were quite small. I placed the 74 grains of sand in a tiny sample perfume bottle.
The next day as I entered her room I placed the bottle on her bed. When she asked what it was I told her it was grandpa. I asked her to imagine the earth being nothing but a ball of fine sand. Each grain represented one year of eternity. The 74 grains in the bottle represented grandpa’s life. Compared to the entire globe of sand it was nothing. Whether a person’s life lasted long or short – – compared to eternity it was nothing.
It is what we do with the years we are given that matters. We can choose to confess our sins and accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior or we can continue our own willful way and suffer the dreadful consequences prepared for the lost.
I pray that the video that accompanies today’s Daily-E-Votional will assist you in making the right choice. Please feel free to share it with others while there is still time.
To view the video The Sands of Eternity, go to: https://pastorcecil.com
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
