WERE YOU THERE?!

Matthew 27:54​ – Devotional

Matthew 27:54

“Surely he was the Son of God!”

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CLICK HERE to hear Pastor Cecil’s audio devotional for today.

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Matthew 27:35-54 reads . . .

When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots. And sitting down, they kept watch over him there. Above his head they placed the written charge against him: this is Jesus, the king of the Jews.

Two rebels were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!” In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! He’s the king of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” In the same way the rebels who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him.

From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).

When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He’s calling Elijah.”

Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. The rest said, “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.”

And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.

At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people.

When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!”

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Enjoy this week’s free inspirational video, “Moonlight Sonata & Were You There?” by going to: https://gloryscapes.com/wereyouthere/

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

– – – Pastor Cecil

P.S. – We need your help. We recently lost a major donor to our ministry.  If you feel lead to help us get DailyEvotionals out, please click on “Donations” in the menu system to the left.

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O SACRED HEAD, NOW WOUNDED!

Matthew 27:42​ – Devotional

Matthew 27:42

“He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him.”

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Let’s contemplate the words of Scripture found in Psalm 22 that foretell with amazing detail the agony Jesus suffered on the cross for us.

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PSALM 22

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me,
so far from my cries of anguish?

My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
by night, but I find no rest.

Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;
you are the one Israel praises.
In you our ancestors put their trust;
they trusted and you delivered them.
To you they cried out and were saved;
in you they trusted and were not put to shame.

But I am a worm and not a man,
scorned by everyone, despised by the people.
All who see me mock me;
they hurl insults, shaking their heads.

“He trusts in the Lord,” they say,
“let the Lord rescue him.
Let him deliver him, since he delights in him.”

Yet you brought me out of the womb;
you made me trust in you, even at my mother’s breast.
From birth I was cast on you;
from my mother’s womb you have been my God.

Do not be far from me, for trouble is near
and there is no one to help.

Many bulls surround me;
strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.
Roaring lions that tear their prey
open their mouths wide against me.

I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart has turned to wax;
it has melted within me.

My mouth is dried up like a potsherd,
and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;
you lay me in the dust of death.

Dogs surround me, a pack of villains encircles me;
they pierce my hands and my feet.
All my bones are on display; people stare and gloat over me.

They divide my clothes among them
and cast lots for my garment.

But you, Lord, do not be far from me.
You are my strength; come quickly to help me.
Deliver me from the sword,
my precious life from the power of the dogs.

Rescue me from the mouth of the lions;
save me from the horns of the wild oxen.

I will declare your name to my people;
in the assembly I will praise you.

You who fear the Lord, praise him!
All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!
Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!
For he has not despised or scorned
the suffering of the afflicted one;
he has not hidden his face from him
but has listened to his cry for help.

From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly;
before those who fear you I will fulfill my vows.

The poor will eat and be satisfied;
those who seek the Lord will praise him—
may your hearts live forever!

All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord,
and all the families of the nations will bow down before him,
for dominion belongs to the Lord and he rules over the nations.

All the rich of the earth will feast and worship;
all who go down to the dust will kneel before him—
those who cannot keep themselves alive.

Posterity will serve him; future generations
will be told about the Lord.

They will proclaim his righteousness,
declaring to a people yet unborn:
He has done it!

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You can enjoy this week’s inspirational video, “O Sacred Head, Now Wounded” from GloryScapes.com. by going to: https://gloryscapes.com/osacredheadnowwounded/

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

– – – Pastor Cecil

P.S. – We need your help. We recently lost a major donor to our ministry.  If you feel lead to help us get DailyEvotionals out, please click on “Donations” in the menu system to the left.

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.

ALWAYS DO HIS WILL!

Matthew 12:50 – Devotional

Matthew 12:50

“For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.”

I once observed a battle being waged between a mother and her daughter who was about two years old. We used to call them the terrible twos! The little girl stubbornly sat down and refused to walk. The stand-off occurred in a public place which made it embarrassing for her mother.

The frustrated mother walked about fifteen feet away from her daughter and waited for her to come. The girl threw a fit, but she would only walk one or two steps before sitting down once more.

It was more than five or ten minutes before the little one finally gave in and came to her mother. By that time she was bawling her eyes out and both she and her mother were miserable.

As I have relived that scene, I could see the face of God watching us as we fought for our own will instead of yielding to His will. Just as that little girl could not care for herself, so we are not able to adequately know what lies ahead for us. By yielding our will to His will, we allow the Lord to care for us.

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

– – – Pastor Cecil

P.S. – We need your help. We recently lost a major donor to our ministry.  If you feel lead to help us get DailyEvotionals out, please click on “Donations” in the menu system to the left.

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.

SHINE BRIGHT IN THE DARKNESS OF SIN!

Matthew 5:16 – Devotional

Matthew 5:16

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”

Listen to today’s Message of the Week, “Shine Bright in the Darkness of Sin!” 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.

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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.

CONTROLLING CLUTTER!

Matthew 6:8 – Devotional

Matthew 6:8

Your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.

My wife Joyce was an amazing person. She was always neat and organized. It seemed to be one of her greatest delights in our home to insure that everything was in its proper place … and then there was me! I seem to specialize in clutter.

Over the 62 years of our marriage, Joyce tried everything to control my clutter. The number of boxes, baskets, and cubbies she bought to help keep my clutter out of sight, or at least manageable, was astounding.

During the last years of Joyce’s life, she was not as concerned about clutter. Since her death in 2015 I have been on my own to control the household clutter and have become aware of a new reality about it. Oftentimes I think I’ll need a particular article later, so I “store” it beside my chair, on my desk, on the floor … you get the picture. Before long I have a mess that needs attention. It’s then I discover that most of my clutter was totally unnecessary to hold on to.

There are areas of our lives that may have eternal value, but are they covered up by the clutter we allow to accumulate. When we make the Lord the focus of our life, He alone can bring order out of chaos. He knows what we need and when we will need it!

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.

FROM JUST GRASS TO JUST GORGEOUS!

Matthew 6:30 – Devotional

Matthew 6:30

Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

Sometimes we take things for granted. By that I mean that we fail to appreciate what blessings we possess. A trivial object may suddenly cease being trivial the moment we lose it. Far greater is the loss of our precious loved ones who slip into eternity.

I was born and raised in the verdant green of the Pacific Northwest, but I have since resided in areas of the country where there is more desert than green growth. I always recall arriving in Idaho and experiencing irrigation that transformed the desert landscape into lush green vistas.

We may often feel that we are insignificant in the broad scheme of things. If you feel that way right now I want to encourage you in the Lord. It is not what you consider yourself to be, but what God clothes you to become that matters.

You may simply be just grass in your own eyes, but remember that it is God who clothes the grass of the field. Allow the Lord to adorn you with His beauty and glorious presence – – FROM JUST GRASS TO JUST GORGEOUS!

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.

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.