CLEAN UP YOUR ACT!

Luke 19:45 – Devotional

Luke 19:45

“Then He went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in it.”

There have been a few times in my life when I was so dirty I looked like a dust ball. This was after spending hours on a mower or plow. It was a sheer delight to step into a shower and wash away the accumulated dirt and grime.

In the week of His crucifixion, Jesus exposed the sins of the leaders. The religious hierarchy had departed far from God’s demand for holiness. Jesus saw that they had violated the sanctity of the temple by allowing commercial enterprises to exist in a place they should have kept holy. They compromised in order to profit financially. They may have justified their actions by claiming that allowing peddlers in the temple was just to make it easy for the pilgrims to be able to sacrifice. Jesus was not deceived!

As I read today’s Scripture I am struck with the reality that anytime Jesus comes into our life, He wants to cleanse us. He will not tolerate our feeble excuses for allowing sin to contaminate us. He is the only One who can clean us completely.

How does Jesus go about cleansing the sin in our life? 1 John 1:9: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Is there sin in your life that needs to be cleansed? Read this verse and then obey it!

Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!

– – – 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 Thursday, April 23, 2026, we have a $1,525 need for April 2026 (was $2,000). To read about how the money is used, please go to https://DailyEvotional.com/donations/

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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.

JOY IS A CHOICE!

Luke 6:20-23 – Devotional

Luke 6:20-23

“Looking at His disciples, He said: ‘Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. Blessed are you when men hate you, when men exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their fathers treated the prophets.’ “

From time to time I meet and greet a friend. After the initial hello, I often ask, “How are you doing?” The response from some is, “Pretty good under the circumstances!” To which I am prone to reply, “What are you doing under there?”

I am sure that you have heard that old cliché many times. I have used it enough that it almost feels like my own, but it was used by someone long ago, by someone more clever than I.

The sad reality is that we are all too often controlled by our circumstances. When that is the case, we leave little room for the Lord to bring joy and delight into our life. You heard me right: I said that the Lord wants to bring joy and delight into our life.

We often behave as if we were judges at an Olympic contest. We hold a stack of cards from 0 to 10 on our lap. When something happens in our life, we watch, wonder, waiver, wait and finally hold up a score to judge if something is good or bad, and to what degree. If it is good we have joy; if it is bad we are sad.

Such actions on our parts have the effect of allowing the “things of life” to control our joy. It is very much like the old comedy line about being under the circumstances. We have the mistaken notion that joy is the result of good things coming into our lives. That is not what we find in this and many other scriptures. Yes, we do rejoice when the blessings of the Lord are poured out upon our life, but we can also have joy and rejoice even when things go wrong.

That is exactly what Jesus is teaching here in the Sermon on the Mount. We are to be joyful even when we are called upon to suffer for the sake of Christ. That is true even when it seems as if the whole world is against us. If we succumb to the urge to have a pity party, we will violate the commands of our Lord, and also will miss His blessing. The result will be bitterness and despair with no joy.

Unbelievers know when we are under fire for our spiritual convictions. They will not be impressed or drawn to faith in Christ by our laments about how much we are enduring. No! The thing that will impress them will be the shouts of victory and joy, that we have been counted worthy to go through times of suffering and abuse with victory!

To find this joy, I think it is important for each of us to set a regular time to study the biblical aspect of joy. Please go into the concordance in the back of your study Bible, and make a list of all of the references to the word “joy.” Knowing more about joy will not make us joyful. It is our obedience to the Lord that makes the joy a reality. Since Jesus says we are to find joy when we are being persecuted for righteousness, that becomes our reason for joy.

I want to leave you today with a challenge. Pray and ask the Lord to give you the strength to proclaim joy in the face of opposition, and see what happens. I can tell you right now, that you will feel peace and contentment, even in the midst of your storm. You will find your joy!

Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today, trust Him completely, and be a blessing.

– – – 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 Tuesday, April 14, 2026, we have a $1,639 need for April 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.

DOUBTERS!

Luke 24:9-11 – Devotional

Luke 24:9-11

“When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense.”

According to modern day dramas or musicals, the disciples were ecstatic over the news the women brought back from the empty tomb. They reported that they had seen angels and one had even seen Jesus Himself.

However, the reaction to these reports from these women was doubt. How utterly sorrowful that after all Jesus had told them about what He was going to endure and conquer, they still doubted.

Oh yes, Peter and John left to go to the tomb, but the fact that the others failed to go proves their doubt.

The apostle Thomas was not the only one who expressed doubts. There were other doubters in the crowd.

It reminds me that it is easier to doubt than to rest in the arms of faith.

Jesus repeatedly appeared to the disciples and as many as 500 at one time following His resurrection.

Why did the disciples doubt the initial reports?

I think the basic reason was they did not listen to their Lord as He spoke in person.

Why are we prone to doubt today?

I think it is the same reason. We fail to listen to what He says in His Word, the Bible!

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

– – – 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 Monday, April 6, 2026, we have a $1,896 need for April 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.

TRUE VALUE​​!

Luke 12:6-7 – Devotional

Luke 12:6-7

“Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God? But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows.”

Whenever I read today’s Scripture, I have to ask if the hairs of our head are numbered before or after we lose most of them? That is meant to be humorous, but I know that the words are intended to show just how intimately the Lord knows us.

I love birds and enjoy a varied collection of birds that visit the feeders I have for them outside my window. Some of these precious creatures have become accustomed to me and stay close when I fill their feeding stations.

It always bothers me when I hear Christians speak as if the Lord was not aware of the details of their lives. Perhaps our problem is that we lack a proper understanding of God’s Word. From Genesis to Revelation we read of God’s intimate knowledge of us and our surroundings. In Psalm 139 we read: “You are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue You know it completely, O LORD.”

The next time you are tempted to feel alone and abandoned by the Lord, start looking around for the nearest sparrow (or any other bird). The Lord knows that bird by name and cares for it. If He does that, be assured that He will also take care of you.

Blessings dear hearts. 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, March 5, 2026, we have a $1,948 need for March 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.

DO NOT WORRY!

Luke 12:25 – Devotional

Luke 12:25

“Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his (or her) stature?”

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

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 Saturday, January 17, 2026, we have a $1,869 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.

SILENT NIGHT​!​​

Luke 2:2-10 – Devotional

Luke 2:2-10

“And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.’“

Several years ago our church had finished a wonderful Christmas Eve service. Earlier there had been candles placed inside white lunch bags that lined the driveway leading to the church.

Joyce and I had volunteered to extinguish the candles after everyone had left. It had snowed a few days earlier and there were still a few inches on the ground. The temperature was below freezing when we crunched through the snow to the far end of the driveway. It was so quiet and beautiful that we were moved in our spirit with the beauty of God’s creation and the carol Silent Night.

The words of this well loved carol were written in 1818 by Josef Mohr after he had seen a play about the birth of Jesus. He was in a reflective mood and walked to a hill overlooking his village in the Austrian Alps. The view of the snow covering the village reminded him of a poem he had written a few years earlier. The poem was about the night the angel announced the birth of Jesus.

The next day he took the words of his poem to Franz Gruber, who had just composed a melody. He re-worked the melody to match the words to the poem Mohr had written and our beloved carol, “Silent Night” was born.

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

SILENT NIGHT

Silent night, holy night
All is calm, all is bright
Round yon Virgin Mother and Child
Holy Infant so tender and mild
Sleep in heavenly peace
Sleep in heavenly peace

Silent night, holy night!
Shepherds quake at the sight
Glories stream from heaven afar
Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia!
Christ, the Savior is born
Christ, the Savior is born

Silent night, holy night
Son of God, love’s pure light
Radiant beams from Thy holy face
With the dawn of redeeming grace
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth

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

You can enjoy this week’s inspirational video, “Silent Night” by going to: https://gloryscapes.com/silentnight/

Blessings dear hearts. May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!

And Merry Christmas!

– – – 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 Wednesday, December 24, 2025, we have a $1,809.00 need for December 2025 (was $2,000.00). 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.