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

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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.

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.

GOD’S GOOD GIFT!

James 1:17 –  Devotional

James 1:17

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”

Listen to today’s Message of the Week by Pastor Cecil 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 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.

NEAR TO THE HEART OF GOD!

James 4:8 – Devotional

James 4:8

“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”

My Dad was an encourager and was always there to insure that I was striving to be the man God wanted me to be. He stressed that after he was gone I would hold fast to the Gospel and point people in the direction of the cross. I yearn for the day when I will see my Dad once again, but even more so I yearn for the day when I will meet my Savior face to face.

Our current pandemic is not the first such disaster. In the early years of the 20th Century there was an outbreak of diphtheria in the U.S. that claimed many lives. In 1903 Cleland McAfee was chaplain and choir director at Park College in Parkville, Missouri. As the epidemic swept the area, two of his nieces died from the dreaded disease and the others in the household were quarantined. In Cleland’s hour of grief he wrote the hymn NEAR TO THE HEART OF GOD and brought the college choir to sing it outside the house.

If you are passing through the valley of the shadow of death right now – – I know that each of us will at some time in our life – – let the words of this hymn bring the quiet assurance we need.

NEAR TO THE HEART OF GOD

1. There is a place of quiet rest, Near to the heart of God.
A place where sin cannot molest, Near to the heart of God.

Refrain: O Jesus, blest redeemer, Sent from the heart of God,
Hold us who wait before Thee, Near to the heart of God.

2. There is a place of comfort sweet, Near to the heart of God.
A place where we our Savior meet, Near to the heart of God.

Refrain: O Jesus, blest redeemer, Sent from the heart of God,
Hold us who wait before Thee, Near to the heart of God.

3. There is a place of full release, Near to the heart of God.
A place where all is joy and peace, Near to the heart of God.

Refrain: O Jesus, blest redeemer, Sent from the heart of God,
Hold us who wait before Thee, Near to the heart of God.

Enjoy this week’s hymn from GloryScapes.com. To access a video of Near To The Heart of God, please go to: https://gloryscapes.com/neartotheheartofgod2/

Blessings dear hearts! God is with us today in order for us to be a blessing!

– – – 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.