BE A DOER OF GOD’S WORD​​!

James 1:22 – Devotional

James 1:22

“Be doers of God’s Word, and not simply hearers, deceiving yourselves.”

It is easy to be caught up in the emotion of the moment after reading a moving passage of Scripture or listening to a powerful sermon. The fact of the matter is that it is not what we feel that matters, but what actions we take!

In my dim and distant past I seem to recall reading the phrase; “I would rather see a good sermon rather than simply hear one!” I am sure that I have not remembered the statement exactly, but it is something like that.

The gist of what James is saying in today’s verse, is that God calls us to go far beyond simply hearing or reading the Word of God, we are to take action as a result of what it says and DO IT!

That brings us to a provoking question. In what way are we consistently being a doer of the Word of God? Ask God to allow His Word to come alive and spur you become a doer of the Word and not just a hearer.

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

– – – Pastor Cecil

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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.

HEARERS AND DOERS!

James 1:22 – Devotional

James 1:22

“Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, thus deceiving yourselves.”

Are you more than just a hearer of the Word of God? As I write this I am prone to wonder about those who are so far removed from a commitment to the Lord that they seldom even read even a small portion each day?

There is no way we can do God’s will if we fail to read what His will is for our life. We are easily deceived when we rely upon what someone else says the Bible says without seeking to discover it for ourselves.

As teens we used to intentionally misquote the Bible to make a point. We would say: “The following is directly from the Bible: ‘Judas went out and hung himself! Go thou and do likewise! Whatsoever you do, do quickly!’”

Of course that was an absurd misuse and abuse of Scripture, but it is sad that some will also flagrantly tailor the Word of God to suit their own purposes. I would rather allow the Word of God change me rather than my changing the inspired WORD OF GOD!

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 Daily E-Votional 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.

GIVING GOD OUR BEST​​!

James 1:12 – Devotional

James 1:12

“Blessed are the ones who endure temptation; for when their actions have been found in favor with God, they will receive the crown of life the Lord has promised to those who love and follow Him.”

In my teen years our family lived a few blocks from a Christian College. It was normal for me to spend much of my free time in and around the campus. The track team would spend several hours each day in preparation for competition with other colleges.

One of the students who was faithful in preparing for each meet seemed to be the most unlikely to succeed. He did not have the special work-out clothes of the others. He wore only his well-worn pants and shirt. I often saw other competitors snicker at the sight of him.

They didn’t know what I knew. He may not have looked like or acted like the more polished athletes, but it was who finished the race and in what order that counted. Quite often Jess was in the lead or near the front.

Remember it is not how we look that matters, but how we finish the race that the Lord has set before us. I want to be one who trusts in the Lord and finishes the race knowing I gave it my best!

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 Daily E-Votional 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.

APPROVED BY GOD!​!

James 1:12 – Devotional

James 1:12

“Blessed are the ones who endure temptation; for when they have been approved, they will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to give to those who love Him.”

I never thought I would see the day when sin would be so blatantly approved of and to live a godly lifestyle would be considered harsh and judgmental. Many people even accept sinful conduct as being open minded and good!

Sorry, that just does not fit in with God’s inspired Word. While it is true that we are called upon to love sinners, we are never to love and accept their sin. We are to warn and rebuke as necessary, but with the awareness that we can easily become guilty of a bitter spirit.

In order to be approved by God we must spend time in His Word and be prepared to open our hearts and listen when He speaks to us. It is easy to become calloused to the sinful conditions around us and lose sight of the path God wants us to take.

There is no way we can live without temptation! That is a fact of life that each of us must face. But rather than being discouraged we must be dependent on the God who loves us enough to come into the world and die for us that we might live for Him!

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 Daily E-Votional 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.

OUR GENEROUS GOD!

James 1:5 – Devotional

James 1:5

“If any of you has a lack of wisdom, just ask God to give it to you and He will give it. He gives generously and does not criticize you for asking.”

I am so glad we have a God who is generous rather than stingy. There are many man-made religions that demand that their followers do something in order to appease their so-called God.

We should be very careful that we do not fall into a trap of creating our own conditions for finding favor with God. Our God is a God of mercy and grace that reaches us in our fallen condition.

God does not demand that we become “good enough” to deserve His favor. He knows our each and every sin and loves enough to offer us freedom from the price our sin demands.

We can never be good enough to merit God’s forgiveness. The harder we try to be good enough, the more we will realize just how far we fall short of God’s righteous demands. Thank God we serve a God who loves us enough to pay the price for our salvation!

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 Daily E-Votional 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.

SHARE THE JOY!​!

James 1:2-3 – Devotional

James 1:2-3

“My brothers and sisters, consider it pure joy when you experience different kinds of trials because you should know your faith grows through testing.”

Babies lack the strength of toddlers and toddlers lack the strength of youth. If we continue along this line of reasoning we come to those of us nearing our 90’s and realize we had better leave the heavy lifting to younger folks.

While we may have seen our better days physically, we should have become stronger in our knowledge of the Lord and the way He works in our life. In fact we should make sure that we share these precious experiences with those near us.

It is far too easy to become rocky out rocks instead of coves of hope and safety from the storms of life. We do that by sharing the truth and joy of God’s Word with those around us.

We have just celebrated the resurrection of our Blessed Savior. Let the pure joy of resurrection life fill you so completely that it will seem to bubble up from within your very being. We can either allow the trials of our life to make us bitter or better. I for one choose to make my life better each day!

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 Daily E-Votional 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.