GOD’S FULL ARMOR!

Ephesians 6:13 – Devotional

Ephesians 6:13

“Therefore take up the whole armor of God,
that you may be able to withstand in the evil day,
and having done all, to stand.”

I am sure that you have heard the expression: Well, that’s the last straw! We’ve probably all experienced a time when it felt like life’s pressures had become so great we could hardly go on when another discouraging issue suddenly arose. It was then that “the last straw” phrase was muttered.

There is certainly little doubt that we live in an evil day. Not only do we live in an evil day, but the evil seems to get worse with each passing day. Doing what is Godly and right is now seen as being wrong and evil.

Along with the reality of facing “the last straw,” we also come to the reality that it is time to stand for what is right. It is time for battle! Today’s Scripture passage indicates that we are to take on the full armor of God and stand firm in our defense of the Word of God.

In standing firm and sure for the Gospel, there may be casualties. I would much rather be wounded or even killed in defending the cause of Christ than going along with the masses who deny the faith. This is the last straw — what are we going to do about it? I, for one, am going to stand clad with God’s full armor. Join me?

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

– – – Pastor Cecil

P.S. – Thanks for your generosity and partnering with us to help spread the Good News–Please CLICK HERE or on the Donate Button below if you feel led to help us financially with Pastor Cecil’s ministry. As of Thursday, February 26, 2026, we have a $1,553 need for February 2026 (was $2,000). To read about how the money is used, please go to https://DailyEvotional.com/donations/

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

You can share the Lord with someone by directing them to https://PastorCecil.com.

Enjoy the Song of the Week below created by Russ Hansen

Please send him your feedback at inspiration@thegoodbookcompany.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.

LET HIM BE OUR AIM!

Ephesians 3:21 – Devotional

Ephesians 3:21

“To Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.“

I have two cousins who are expert marksmen. One of them once explained to me that each of us has a dominant eye that may or may not be the same as whether we are left or right handed. For example, both cousins are right handed, but shoot by sighting with their left eye.

The Bible repeatedly calls us to look to Jesus as the author and finisher of our faith. In today’s Scripture Paul admonishes his readers to focus their attention TO HIM. That means making the rational decision to focus our aim at the target of our faith, which is to obey His Word.

In a world that is increasingly cluttered with things that draw our attention away from the spiritual realm, it is vital that we stop and take careful aim at the things that will matter for eternity. We know that the things of this world grow strangely dim as we focus on His glory and grace.

What are you aiming at? If you have no target in mind, you will find yourself lost in the frustrating confusion of life. If you direct your attention TO HIM, you will find that He is worthy of all of your efforts. TO HIM!

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

– – – Pastor Cecil

P.S. – Thanks for your generosity and partnering with us to help spread the Good News–Please CLICK HERE or on the Donate Button below if you feel led to help us financially with Pastor Cecil’s ministry. As of Tuesday, January 13, 2026, we have a $1,880 need for January 2026 (was $2,000). To read about how the money is used, please go to https://DailyEvotional.com/donations/

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

You can share the Lord with someone by directing them to https://PastorCecil.com.

Enjoy the Song of the Week below created by Russ Hansen

Please send him your feedback at inspiration@thegoodbookcompany.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.

AMAZING LOVE!

Ephesians 2:4-5 – Devotional

Ephesians 2:4-5

“But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!)”

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This Friday we have a special treat for you. Russ Hansen has combined AI and Scripture to produce an original song entitled, “Amazing Love” inspired by Charles Wesley’s penned words in the popular hymn, And Can It Be?. Russ would appreciate your feedback at inspiration@thegoodbookcompany.com.

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Amazing Love (inspired by Charles Wesley)

Verse 1
How could it be that grace would choose
A heart like mine, so torn and bruised
You bore the cross, You took my blame
I caused the pain, You took the shame
The nails, the thorns, the victory
All of it done for someone like me

Chorus
Amazing love, how can it be
My God would die to set me free?
The Son of heaven bled for me
Amazing love, how can it be?

Verse 2
The Immortal stepped into the grave
Who could explain the life He gave
No angel mind could ever see
The depths of such a mystery
Mercy spoke where justice stood
Love outweighed what never could

Chorus
Amazing love, how can it be
My God would die to set me free?
The Son of heaven bled for me
Amazing love, how can it be?

Verse 3
He left the throne, laid glory down
Wore human flesh, wore sorrow’s crown
With empty hands but endless grace
He took our sin, He took our place
This mercy vast, this love so free
Somehow it still found out me

Pre-Chorus
Oh, it found me
Yes, it found me
Chorus
Amazing love, how can it be
My God would die to set me free?
The Son of heaven bled for me
Amazing love, how can it be?

Verse 4
I lived in chains, I lived in night
Bound by fear, out of sight
Then heaven’s light broke through the dark
Awoke my soul, ignited my heart
The chains fell off, my faith could see
I rose, I ran, You called me free

Bridge
No guilt remains, no fear, no shame
I stand alive in Jesus’ name
His righteousness now covers me
I walk in hope eternally

Final Chorus
Amazing love, how can it be
My God would die to set me free?
I stand redeemed, I finally see
Amazing love, how can it be?

Outro
The cross, the grave, the victory
Amazing love — You died for me

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

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

– – – Pastor Cecil

P.S. – Thanks for partnering with us to help spread the Good News–Please CLICK HERE or on the Donate Button below if you feel led to help us financially with Pastor Cecil’s ministry. As of Friday, January 2, 2026, we have a $2,000.00 need for January 2026. To read about how the money is used, please go to https://DailyEvotional.com/donations/

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

You can 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.

IF I WERE THE DEVIL​​​​​​!

Ephesians 6:10-11 – Devotional

Ephesians 6:10-11

“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.“

I always enjoyed listening to the late Paul Harvey on the radio. His comments were so penetrating and direct that it seemed as if he knew where we all lived.

It was about 60 years ago that he delivered the following message that seems somehow to be prophetic.

IF I WERE THE DEVIL by Paul Harvey (broadcast April 3, 1965)

“If I were the devil . . . if I were the Prince of Darkness, I’d want to engulf the whole world in darkness, and I would have a third of its real estate and a fourth of its population, but I wouldn’t be happy until I had seized the ripest apple on the tree . . . THEE!

“So I’d set about however necessary to take over the United States. I’d subvert the churches first. I’d begin a campaign of whispers. With the wisdom of a serpent I would whisper to you as I whispered to Eve: “Do as  you please.” To the young, I would whisper that the Bible is a myth. I would convince them that man created God instead of the other way around. I would confide that what is bad is good, and what is good is “square.”

“And the old I would teach to pray after me: “Our Father, which art in Washington.” And then I’d get organized.

“I’d educate authors in how to make lurid literature exciting so that anything else would appear dull and uninteresting. I’d threaten TV with dirtier movies and vice versa. I’d peddle narcotics to who I could. I’d sell alcohol to ladies and gentlemen of distinction. I’d tranquilize the rest with pills.

“If I were the devil, I’d soon have families at war with themselves, and churches at ware with themselves, and nations at war with themselves, until each in its turn was consumed. And with promises of higher ratings, I’d have mesmerizing media fanning the flames.

“If I were the devil, I would encourage schools to refine young intellects but neglect to discipline emotions–just let hose run wild, until before you knew it, you’d have to have drug sniffing dogs and metal detectors at every schoolhouse door. Within a decade, I’d have prisons overflowing. I’d have judges promoting pornography.

“Soon I could evict God from the courthouse, and then from the schoolhouse, and then from the houses of Congress. And in His own churches I would substitute psychology for religion and deify science.

“I would lure priests and pastors into misusing boys and girls and church money.

“If I were the devil, I’d make the symbol of Easter an egg and the symbol of Christmas a bottle. If I were the devil, I would take from those who have and I would give to those who wanted, until I had killed the incentive of the ambitious.

“And what will you bet I couldn’t get whole states to promote gambling as a way to get rich. I would caution against extremes in hard work, in patriotism, in moral conduct.

“I would convince the young that marriage is old-fashioned, that swinging is more fun, that what you see on TV is the way to be, and thus I could undress you in public, and I could lure you into bed with diseases for which there is no cure.

“In other words, if I were the devil, I’d just keep right on doing what he’s doing!”

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

– – – Pastor Cecil

P.S. – Please CLICK ON the Donate button below if you feel led to help us financially with Pastor Cecil’s ministry. As of today, Monday, June 9, 2025, we currently have a $1,574 need for June 2025 (was $2,000). To read about how the money is used, please go to https://DailyEvotional.com/donations/

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

You can 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.

JUST AS I AM​​​!

Ephesians 2:8-9 – Devotional

Ephesians 2:8-9

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.“

I suppose many of us have heard humorous stories about someone approaching the gates of heaven and being required to prove that their actions on earth merited entry into God’s heavenly kingdom. Beeeeep! Wrong answer!

A person may do amazingly good works here on earth and still miss heaven. It is not what we do for God that determines where we will spend eternity—it is what He has done for us. When we repent of our sins and accept Him as Savior and Lord then—and only then—is our name written down in glory.

The writer of this week’s hymn, Charlotte Elliot, was offended when someone asked her if she was a Christian. She told him to mind his own business. Later as she was contemplating his question, she began to wonder what it took to become a Christian. She called him and he explained to her the plan of salvation which she accepted. It was then that she wrote this hymn, “Just As I Am.”

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JUST AS I AM

Just as I am, without one plea,
But that Thy blood was shed for me,
And that Thou bidst me come to Thee,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, and waiting not
To rid my soul of one dark blot,
To Thee whose blood can cleanse each spot,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, though tossed about
With many a conflict, many a doubt,
Fightings and fears within, without,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, poor, wretched, blind;
Sight, riches, healing of the mind,
Yea, all I need in Thee to find,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, Thou wilt receive,
Wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve;
Because Thy promise I believe,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, Thy love unknown
Hath broken every barrier down;
Now, to be Thine, yea, Thine alone,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, of that free love
The breadth, length, depth, and height to prove,
Here for a season, then above,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come!

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

You can go to https://gloryscapes.com/justasiam/ to watch the Just As I Am video devotional.

Blessings dear hearts! 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.

BE KIND IN AN UNKIND WORLD!

Ephesians 4:31-32 – Devotional

Ephesians 4:31-32

“Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.”

Listen to today’s Message of the Week, “Be Kind In An Unkind World!” 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.