by Pastor Cecil | Aug 6, 2007 | Daily-E-Votionals
II Corinthians 5:6-9
“Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. We live by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it.”
Last week I presented a depiction of the entrance into Paradise by a woman named Dee. If, for some reason you did not receive that Daily-E-Votional with the title, “HOMECOMING”, please let me know. That message, along with today’s called “HOMEGOING”, are intended to open our eyes to the reality of life and death of the believer.
Del was sitting in his living room trying to dissect Job1:20-21, for his Bible study next week. “At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship and he said: ‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised.’ ”
He closed his eyes to meditate on what a blow it was when he and Dee had received word that their son had been killed in Iraq. It was a time of deep soul searching to find the meaning of God’s dealing with His children. He was glad that his precious wife that he had married forty years ago was there to help them through the loss.
The doorbell interrupted his reflection. He thought it was strange that Dee would ring the door instead of using her own key. He answered the door and saw a police chaplain standing there with a serious look. When he asked to come in and speak with him, he knew what he was going to say. He was as gentle as possible, but when he informed him that his precious wife had died, Del felt the strength go out of his legs.
The chaplain remained with Del and made calls for him to the other three children. Within thirty minutes Del was surrounded by his children. The pastor also had been notified and came in to pray with the family. Soon the house was filled with friends from the church who shared their love and concern with Del.
It was after midnight before Del was able to slip into his bedroom. As he knelt beside his bed, the tears rolled down his cheeks. He was on his knees for a considerable amount of time. It was then that the Holy Spirit began to use the words of that passage in Job 1, to minister to him. He had poured out his grief, and now it was time to worship the Lord, just as Job had done when he heard that all ten of his children had been killed.
Del knew that there had to be a deeper meaning to all that had just happened. He had seen other people who had lost loved ones and had been so devastated that they could hardly function. In the midst of his pain with the realization that his precious Dee was gone, he turned to God.
“Lord, I want to be Your man. My heart is breaking right now, but I want to be Your living testimony in the face of this terrible loss. I want to be able to be a radiant example of how Your grace is sufficient. Let my words and actions to my family and friends be consistent with Your Word.” Del fell asleep on his knees. It was the sleep of a child who is cradled in the arms of a loving father In fact it was his Heavenly Father!
In those few seconds when he first roused, he thought of the fact that Dee had gone home. It was the home of all of those who have been born again. The pain of his loss was still as great, but he began to visualize her set free from every struggle of this old sin sick world. The thought of it made him homesick for heaven.
While still on his knees he recalled that old hymn written by Luther Bridgers many years ago. Bridgers wife and sons were killed in a house fire while he was away from home preaching in an evangelistic service. In his agony he penned these words;
“There’s within my heart a melody
Jesus whispers sweet and low,
‘Fear not I am with thee,
Peace, be still In all of life’s ebb and flow.’
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Sweetest name I know
Fills my every longing,
Keeps me singing as I go.”
When he rose from his knees he knew what he had to do. He had to keep singing and proclaiming the praises of the Lord. He had to become the cheerleader for all who would listen, that from earth’s point of view she was gone, but from heaven’s point of view, she was finally and eternally home!
Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today, trust Him completely, and be a blessing.
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Aug 3, 2007 | Daily-E-Votionals
II Corinthians 5:6-9
“Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”
Dee was excited to return home from the Ladies Bible Study and share with her husband, Del. The times when Del and Dee were apart from each other were difficult. Even being away from each other for a few hours was hard. They truly were a living example of Genesis 2:24, “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.”
Del and Dee were the parents of four children. They had instilled the Word of God into their lives and each had prayed at one time or another to receive Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. Two were married to wonderful Christian mates, one was divorced and struggling to find meaning and the fourth child had been killed in Iraq six months earlier.
As Dee stopped for a traffic light, she felt a strange sensation down the left side of her body. The light changed, but Dee did not notice. It was only after the traffic light had gone through several cycles that another motorist got out to see if she was alright. He could see that she was slumped over the steering column. By the time the paramedics had arrived, Dee had left this world.
She remembered the traffic light, but now she was bathed in light. It was strange, but she felt like she was home, in fact more at home than she had ever been in her entire life. Every ache and pain was gone. She heard the most fantastic music she had ever heard. Without thinking, she was singing the way she had always dreamed of singing. She could not believe that the voice she was hearing was actually her own voice singing praises to the Lord along with the choir of others who were finally home.
Her eyes were flooded with sights that were beyond description. Now she knew why there was so little written in the Bible about paradise. It was simply impossible to describe. Her senses were filled to the full. It suddenly dawned on her that she was standing without her walker. Not only could she walk, but she started to run through a field of the most beautiful flowers she had ever seen.
As she was singing along with the beautiful choir, she gazed in amazement at the other singers. There was her saintly grandmother and grandfather, standing beside her parents. They had gone to be with the Lord years ago. She rushed into their arms in a greeting that she knew would last for eternity.
It was then that she received another blessed experience. Her youngest son stood strong and glowing. The last time she had seen him was when he had left for Iraq a year ago. When he had loaded onto the bus along with the other members of his company, her mother’s heart ached. That was nothing compared to the pain she experienced when they were notified of his death. She and Del had been uncertain about his commitment to the Lord. Now she knew that he had received Jesus Christ as his Savior.
Her heart soared again and again as she met and praised with those who had gone to be with the Lord over the years. She saw a great crowd of people rejoicing around someone. As she drew near, she realized that it was Jesus. She knew that it would be impossible for her to get near, but she began to pour out her praise to Him. Suddenly it was as if the crowd had parted and she was on her knees thanking Him for shedding His blood to give her this eternal salvation.
Jesus took her hand and lifted her to her feet. His smile was the most radiant smile she had ever seen. She experienced His love and concern in a way that words could not express. She knew that there would never be a way she could tell Him of her love, but at the same time she knew that she would spend eternity trying.
WHILE THIS WONDERFUL SCENE WAS UNFOLDING IN GOD’S BEAUTIFUL PARADISE, THERE WAS ANOTHER SCENE TRANSPIRING BACK ON EARTH. I WILL TRY TO DESCRIBE IT IN MONDAY’S DAILY-E-VOTIONAL.
Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today, trust Him completely, and be a blessing.
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Aug 2, 2007 | Daily-E-Votionals
I John 2:1-2
“My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense–Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.”
It is funny how things come back to your remembrance. When I was a small boy of perhaps four or five, I can remember being in a church service, sitting next to my mother. I leaned over on her soft warm winter coat, and soon fell fast asleep. Now being a preacher I don’t want to give you any ideas, but I fell asleep while the pastor was preaching his sermon.
I am sure it was a good sermon–well, I’m sure it was–but to tell you the truth I really don’t recall–I was asleep at the time! I woke up as our pastor was making a point. He was explaining something of the breadth of God’s love. In illustration, he spread his arms as wide as he could and said, “As far as the east is from the west, is God’s love for us!”
I have no idea what was in my little pea brain, but I was on my feet in a flash with my little arms spread as far as I could spread them and yelled out; “As far as the east is from the west!”
I was preparing to go on mimicking his gestures, but I felt a hand on the back of my shirt, I was pulled out into the aisle. People all over the church were laughing about what was going to happen to this pint sized preacher. I was marched downstairs to the furnace room, where my mom started a fire on my bottom with a piece of kindling. Just think–they call them the, “good old days!” I was neither good nor old!
In today’s Scripture, John is writing this letter to his children of all generations. He wants us to understand the depth of what Jesus has done for each one who receives Him as Savior and Lord. It was His atoning sacrifice which paid the price for our sin. It was not just for the sins of His disciples, nor just for the Jews. His atoning sacrifice was for the whole world–the good, the bad and the ugly! We only have to claim it by faith.
Our attention at this time is riveted on Afghanistan where a group of Korean Christians have been kidnapped and are facing death. It is heart-rending to think that a trip which started to bring the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ, may end in the shedding of their blood.
As tragic as this situation is, we need to recall the words of Jesus in John 12:24, “I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.” Nations all around the globe are fighting to kill their enemies. Christ died for them all, that by His blood, they may all be His dear children–regardless of nationality.
For years Jews on one side and Palestinians on the other side of the line, fight to end the other’s lives. Jesus died that all may come to the Father through Him. Right now in Israel and Palestine, there are believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. They have come to the Prince of Peace who has done what their political leaders cannot do. He has set peace in their heart and life to allow them to worship and share together with their former foes.
What a stupendous revelation that Jesus is in heaven to make former enemies brothers in Christ. It is much more than signing a peace treaty between warring factions. When Christ is invited into the heart of a repentant sinner, there comes a love from God that stretches–As far as the east is from the west! Hey! That’s worthy of an AMEN! Thank you precious Lord!
Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today, trust Him completely, and be a blessing.
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Aug 1, 2007 | Daily-E-Votionals
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
