KNOW CHRIST FULLY​!

Philippians 3:10 – Devotional

Philippians 3:10

“That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death.”

I have always enjoyed the song, “Because He Lives” written and performed by Bill and Gloria Gaither. As I recall it starts out like this: “God sent His son, they called Him, Jesus; He came to love, heal and forgive. He lived and died to buy my pardon, an empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives!”

Thank God we serve a Savior who is alive. 1. He always was alive! 2. He is alive right now making intercession for us. 3. He will always be alive as we spend eternity praising Him for His wonderful love!

Since Jesus has provided us with resurrection life, how should we then live? Paul gives us the answer in Romans 12:21: “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

We are not saved by doing good, but the fruit of resurrection life is seeing the good and doing it. It means doing good to the very ones who have hurt us in some way. The Christ filled life is seeing life as Jesus sees it. Ask yourself, “What would Jesus do?” Then do it!

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

– – – Pastor Cecil

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FORGET IT!

Philippians 3:13-14 – Devotional

Philippians 3:13-14

“Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

Listen to today’s Message of the Week, “Forget It!” 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.

ANXIETY​​​​​​!

Philippians 4:4-7 – Devotional

Philippians 4:4-7

“Rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

When I think of being nervous my mind goes to the character that Don Knotts played on the old Andy Griffith show. He was the ever nervous and always anxious deputy, Barney Fife. It was humorous watching as Barney’s anxiety over insignificant situations caused even more problems.

I always wanted to put a hand on his should and help him calm down and assure him that everything would be okay (but he was just playing a part).

What about our own lives? What are the things that cause us to tremble, shake, and lose sleep? Do you think the Lord is pleased with us when we allow our anxious thoughts to control our lives?

There are several thoughts I see in today’s Scripture that must be a part of our thinking in order to counteract anxiety:

1. Always rejoice
2. Gentleness that is evident to all
3. Remember that the Lord is near
4. Get rid of anxious thoughts, and
5. Always pray with thanksgiving

The Lord is in control — relax and enjoy Him!

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.

SWEET HOUR OF PRAYER!

Philippians 4:4-6 – Devotional

Philippians 4:4-6

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.“

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

William Walford did not allow the fact that he was blind limit his service for his Lord. He was frequently called upon to preach in a small country church. He composed the sermons in his head and also was able to quote large portions of Scripture from memory. Some people thought he had memorized the entire Bible. He also composed verses as the Lord laid the words upon his heart. Above all—he was a man of prayer.

In the mid 1800(s), Thomas Salmon was visiting in England and became acquainted with Pastor Walford. As they were visiting one day the blind pastor quoted a few pieces he had composed. Since he had no one to write them down he had kept them treasured in the storehouse of his mind.

One of the verses he related to Mr. Salmon was, Sweet Hour of Prayer. Mr. Salmon eagerly scribbled the words down on a scrap of paper. When he returned to New York he sent the verses to the Observer and asked if they thought them worth preserving. The Observer did think them worthy and published them on September 13, 1845. The music was added by William Bradbury in 1861.

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

SWEET HOUR OF PRAYER

1. Sweet hour of prayer! Sweet hour of prayer! That calls me from a world of care,
And bids me at my Father’s throne, make all my wants and wishes known.
In seasons of distress and grief, my soul has often found relief;
and oft escaped the tempter’s snare by thy return, sweet hour of prayer!

2. Sweet hour of prayer! Sweet hour of prayer! The joys I feel, the bliss I share,
of those whose anxious spirits burn, with strong desires for thy return!
With such I hasten to the place, where God my Savior shows His face,
and gladly take my station there, and wait for thee, sweet hour of prayer!

3. Sweet hour of prayer! Sweet hour of prayer! Thy wings shall my petition bear
to Him whose truth and faithfulness, engage the waiting soul to bless.
And since He bids me seek His face, believe His Word and trust His grace,
I’ll cast on Him my every care, and wait for thee, sweet hour of prayer!

4. Sweet hour of prayer! Sweet hour of prayer! May I thy consolation share,
till, from Mount Pisgah’s lofty height, I view my home and take my flight:
This robe of flesh I’ll drop and rise, to seize the everlasting prize;
and shout, while passing through the air, Farewell, farewell, sweet hour of prayer!

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

You can access the GloryScapes version of Sweet Hour of Prayer by going to https://gloryscapes.com/sweethourofprayer/

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

– – – Pastor Cecil

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THE REAL YOU​​​​​​!

Philippians 2:3-4 – Devotional

Philippians 2:3-4

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.”

If you were asked to describe yourself, what would you say? Without using titles, educational degrees or financial standing, what are the qualities that would best describe you? What makes you the person you are?

Some people feel if they attain a particular goal they have set for themselves, they have arrived! It usually is only a short period of time before they realize that “arriving” is not what they had expected. They may have met their objective, but it only left them feeling empty. They do things for other people expecting them to return the favor. If the response is less than expected, they are crushed.

I love the way Paul explains it in today’s Scripture. He boldly suggests that some people do good works for selfish motives. Their objective is to accomplish things so people will think highly of them. If they are not appreciated they feel that they are failures.

Now is the time for self examination. Are you doing acts of righteousness only to please the Lord or in order to gratify yourself? Let the real you do for others who will never be able to return the favor.

Blessings dear hearts walk with God today and become a blessing!

– – – 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.

GOD’S SUPPLY​​​​​​!

Philippians 4:19 – Devotional

Philippians 4:19

“But my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”

During my teen years I worked for a milk processing plant. Since I was always the lowest man on the list, it was not uncommon to be sent to the supply depot and deliver whatever was needed to meet the needs of whichever department needed it.

If that makes you question what it was that I did, you are not alone. I often asked myself the same question. The easiest answer is that I simply tried to do what I was asked to do in the best and fastest way I knew how.

You know, as I think about it there has not been much change. I have come to understand that the best way for me to serve the Lord is to keep my ears open for His instructions for me to follow.

The times in my spiritual life that I encountered problems were the times I failed to do the Lord’s will, or that I hesitated (drug my feet) before reluctantly obeying. Oh, how much easier it is when we respond without delay! Lead on Lord Jesus!

Blessings dear hearts walk with God today and become 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.