JESUS THE VERY THOUGHT OF THEE!

Philippians 1:21 – Devotional

Philippians 1:21

“For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain.”

During a time that history calls the “Dark Ages” the church was in confusion. Christianity had become degenerate and corrupt. Moral standards of the people were a disgrace and shame. But God always has for Himself a remnant of true believers. One of those was Bernard of Clairvaux

God used this man to pen the words to some devotional poems that have become some of our finest hymns, and today’s hymn “Jesus, the Very Thought of Thee.”

“JESUS THE VERY THOUGHT OF THEE”

1. Jesus, the very thought of Thee
with sweetness fills the breast;
but sweeter far Thy face to see,
and in Thy presence rest.

2. O hope of every contrite heart,
O joy of all the meek,
to those who fall, how kind Thou art!
How good to those who seek!

3. But what to those who find? Ah, this
nor tongue nor pen can show;
the love of Jesus, what it is,
none but His loved ones know.

4. Jesus, our only joy be Thou,
as Thou our prize wilt be;
Jesus, be Thou our glory now,
and through eternity.

Enjoy this week’s free inspirational video from Gloryscapes.com. To access “Jesus, the Very Thought of Thee,” please go to: https://gloryscapes.com/jesustheverythoughtofthee/

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.

REJOICE IN THE LORD!

Philippians 4:4 – Devotional

Philippians 4:4

“Always rejoice in the Lord. I repeat, rejoice in the Lord continually!”

We have far too many church members who look like they have just lost their last friend. They not only have sour expressions on their faces, they have sour personalities to match.

Paul repeatedly urges his readers to rejoice. The word he uses for rejoice is the Greek word chaírō. It is pronounced khah’-ee-ro, and it means to be joyous and happy. That means looking like you are happy. If you have the joy of Jesus in your heart, you need to let your face know about it and show it!

For those who have never placed their trust in Jesus Christ as the Lord of their life, there is little or nothing to be happy about. The things of this earth grow dimmer and dimmer as life slips away.

As true believers who have passed from death to eternal life by confessing we are sinners and accepting the blood of Jesus to pay the price for our sin, we are able to rejoice. The things of this world will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.

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.

LIVING FOR CHRIST!

Philippians 1:21 – Devotional

Philippians 1:21

“As for me, I choose to live for Christ, and to die is to be with Him.”

I have heard and even preached sermons on living for Christ. Sadly I have seen many people make a miserable mess of their life by failing to follow through on this commitment. The lure of the world is like the siren’s call that inevitably leads to the rocks of destruction.

That leads me to ask the question: Whose call are you listening to? There are many temptations that surround us and in this era of modern media we seem to be swamped by the tempter’s call.

As a pastor I have listened to far too many broken hearted cries from good people who made tragic choices and found their lives ruined by the choices they had made.

The good news is that Christ did not die for good and noble people. He died for sinners and the Word tells us we are all sinners. We constantly need Him to cover our sinful self with His blood. It is only the shed blood of our Savior that rescues us from power of sin and death! Not what we do, but what He has done for us! To live for Christ is to receive eternal life!

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.

VALUE OTHERS!

Philippians 2:3 – Devotional

Philippians 2:3

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves.”

I recall hearing a seminary professor tell how easy it is to downplay the things that are meaningful or important to another person. If they have achieved some major goal in their life it is easy for us to ignore it or act as if it were insignificant.

This professor related how he would go out of his way to get excited about some accomplishment that someone shared with him. Someone had told him about some verse they had memorized and he exploded with joy and congratulations. It was just the response that person needed. It seems that others near him had always made him feel inferior and worthless. He went on to become a dynamic spiritual leader in his area.

It does not have to be spiritual accomplishments that we give praise to. We had a small man with a severe learning disorder in a church that I served as an associate pastor. The man could barely talk, but he loved to bowl. Somehow I discovered he carried a small book with his bowling scores written down. Each week I made a point of looking at his book and getting excited about his scores. They were sometimes 25 or 30, but I tried to make him feel special. It not only made Roscoe feel special, it made me feel that I had met an angel unaware.

Who do you know that needs to be lifted by your approval? What words can you speak or actions shown that will make that person feel special? Try it!

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.

DO UNTO OTHERS!

Philippians 2:3 – Devotional

Philippians 2:3

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves.”

It is far too easy to downplay the things that are meaningful to another person. They may have achieved some major goal in their life yet it is easy for us to ignore it or act as if it were insignificant.

We need to go out of our way to become excited about some accomplishment that someone shared with us. If someone shares a passage or verse they had memorized we need to explode with joy and congratulations. It was just the response that person needs. Our positive response may lead that person to do even more.

It does not have to be spiritual accomplishments that we praise. I once served as an associate pastor in a large church. Roscoe was a man with a severe learning disorder and could barely talk. He loved to bowl. Somehow I discovered he carried a small book with his weekly bowling scores. Each week I made a point of looking at his book and getting excited about his scores. They were sometimes 25 or 30, but I tried to make him feel special. It not only made Roscoe feel special, it made me feel blessed to spend time with him.

Who do you know that needs to be lifted by your approval? What words can you speak or actions shown that will make that person feel special? Try it!

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.

DEPENDENCE OR INDEPENDENCE?

Philippians 2:3 – Devotional

Philippians 2:3

“Let each of you value others above yourselves.”

If your kids are anything like our kids, they went through a stage of independence. They wanted to do things themselves, even when they were not able to accomplish the task they were attempting. Kids are not alone in acting independently.

I once went golfing with my father-in-law and two of his regular golfing mates. I had never been on the links before, but since I was far younger than the others, I felt that I could hold my own. I stood at the first tee and gave a mighty swing! I missed the ball completely! On the next mighty swing I struck the ball, only to have it dribble a few feet from the tee. It was a very long and humiliating day. The others enjoyed the day as I was providing them with great entertainment.

On this day, July 4th, we celebrate Independence Day. While we may rejoice in the freedoms that our forefathers fought to assure us, it is vital that we remember that we never are to live independently. WE NEED EACH OTHER!

Not only do we need each other, we must have the Lord in control of our lives. In Acts 17:28 we are reminded; “In Him we live and move and have our being.” Our independent attitude ends with our total dependence on Him. HAPPY DEPENDENCE 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.