by Pastor Cecil | Oct 24, 2007 | Daily-E-Votionals
II Peter 2:19-20
“They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity—for a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him. If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning.”
I just finished reading an article from MSNBC.com, that was forwarded from a dear brother in the Lord. The title of it was: “Soap up! The 12 germiest places in your life.” I want to tell you that it was not the most pleasant article I have ever read. It made you want to say “yuk.”
I was surprised by some of the places listed in this article. Let me list them for you: Your kitchen sink; Airplane bathrooms; A load of wet laundry; Public drinking fountains; Shopping cart handles; ATM buttons; Your handbag; Playgrounds; Mats and machines at health clubs; Your bathtub; Your office phone; Hotel-room remote control.
I would have to disagree with the article on one point—the title. While the article lists twelve places as teeming with germs, they missed one. The list of twelve cannot hold a candle to what I feel is the germiest place in our life—SIN!
Like the places listed in the article, sin is able to lurk in the nooks and crannies of our life that we least expect. Sin also has the ability to grow and reproduce itself into a virtual epidemic. Let me give you a passage of Scripture to prove my point. Exodus 20:5 “You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate Me.”
Sin is not harmless or cute. It contaminates and destroys. There is no way we can play around with or tolerate sin without dire consequences. This applies both to believers and unbelievers.
So how do we deal with the filthiness of sin in our life? In a way I found the answer in the MSNBC article. Repeatedly they stressed that it was necessary to apply disinfectant to the areas where the germs are to be found–even to the extent of carrying disinfectant sheets with you and using them often.
In like manner, we need to apply the pure disinfectant of God’s Word to any trace of sin in our life. Sin is deceitful and as such, it will hide itself from our view. The Holy Spirit will shine the intense light of God’s holiness into those areas that contain hidden sin. When He shows it to us, we need to clean it up by examining our heart and applying God’s purity for our sin.
Remember this! We must continually be on guard to detect sin in our lives. When we spot the first signs we go to the Lord and apply His cleansing blood. Let me close with I John 1:9: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing.
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Oct 23, 2007 | Daily-E-Votionals
Psalm 81:8-10
“Hear, O My people, and I will warn you— if you would but listen to Me, O Israel! You shall have no foreign god among you; you shall not bow down to an alien god. I am the LORD your God, who brought you up out of Egypt. Open wide your mouth and I will fill it.”
Why is it that we frequently have little difficulty thinking of things to say about virtually every subject under the sun? We can talk about the weather, sports–even politics, but when it comes to speaking about spiritual matters, we suddenly are struck dumb.
There are forms of greeting which are alternatives to saying hello. One of these is: “How are you?” It is not said by way of a request for the person to give you a physical disclosure, but it is merely a form of greeting. Have you noticed that there are some people you do not want to greet in this way? Let me explain.
I recall one senior adult pastor making a comment that you wanted to be careful when you visited with those in nursing homes in using this greeting. I thought he was making a small joke until I happened to be making a call a short time later to a nursing home. I greeted one of the residents by saying, “How are you, Martha?” I was immediately subjected to a complete physical description of her various ailments.
Since we can speak easily about things that are of importance to us, does this imply that when we are not able to talk about spiritual things that they are unimportant to us? I pray that is not so.
It seems as if the problem may be that we have a fear that we may say the wrong thing or be asked questions that we will not be able to answer. There is no doubt that Satan is the originator of these doubts and fears.
Today’s passage of Scripture from Psalm 81 gives us a tremendous amount of assurance. It is not what we know that counts (although that is very important), but it is our willingness to allow the Lord to fill our mouth. It takes courage to take this step of faith, but the promise is clear that the Lord will give us the words to speak.
A young man was being discipled by a mature believer. They had been studying on the best way to conduct personal follow-up and sharing the gospel. The young man was very shy by nature and told his discipler that he would be glad to go along on the visits, but that he would never be able to present the gospel himself.
His mentor was understanding and prayed that the Lord would work with this young man. After being present as the gospel was shared and when several prayed to receive the Lord and their personal Savior, he suddenly asked if he might take the lead.
He told his mentor that he had a friend at a college nearby, and he was concerned about his soul. They went to the dorm and after a short conversation, the young disciple started sharing about the Lord. He made many errors, misquoted several of the Scriptures, and did not follow the outline that his discipler had taught him.
When he finished his appeal to his friend, he asked him, “Well do you want to accept Jesus or not?” A curt question that you would not generally think of using. To the surprise of the discipler, his friend replied, “I sure do! You made it so plain to me!”
What had happened? The young trainee had simply opened his mouth and the Lord had graciously filled it. It was with the words that a young student would accept and understand.
May we all be more willing than ever before to trust the Lord and allow Him to fill our mouths!
Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing.
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Oct 22, 2007 | Daily-E-Votionals
II Chronicles 7:13-14
“When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among My people, if My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
Perhaps you have heard the following humorous story:
“A concerned husband went to a doctor to talk about his wife. ‘Doctor, I think my wife is deaf because she never hears me the first time and always asks me to repeat things.’
‘Well,’ the doctor replied, ‘go home and tonight stand about 15 feet from her and say something to her. If she doesn’t reply move about 5 feet closer and say it again. Keep doing this so that we’ll get an idea about the severity of her deafness.’
Sure enough, the husband goes home and does exactly as instructed. He starts off about 15 feet from his wife in the kitchen as she is chopping some vegetables and says, ‘Honey, what’s for dinner?’ He hears no response. He moves about 5 feet closer and asks again. No reply. He moves 5 feet closer. Still no reply. He gets fed up and moves right behind her, about an inch away, and asks again, ‘Honey, what’s for dinner?’
She replies, ‘For the fourth time, vegetable stew!’ “
For those of you who need a little help understanding—the problem was not with her ability to hear—but his.
Why is it that we see things in others that we fail to see in ourselves? It always seems to be others who have the problem. When that happens, we fail to deal with the problem in our own life.
I am struck by the Scripture for today. It becomes apparent from verse 13, that God does indeed allow calamity to fall upon people as a result of their sin. It is not to make them suffer, but to bring them to the place where they will confess their sin and return to Him.
It is impossible for me to know what is happening in your life at this time, but God knows. Since I have no way of knowing what is going on in your life, I can not give you specific spiritual counsel on how to resolve the conflicts you are encountering, but God knows, and according to Philippians 4:19: “And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.”
I recall hearing a man at our men’s Bible study share very candidly about his frustration and the pent up anger that had been seething inside of him over the past week. He was driving along and switched from one radio station to the next. He happened to tune in to a Christian station and heard this comment from Pastor Chuck Swindoll. “Instead of allowing a situation to produce anger, let it produce character.”
My friend commented that only God could have known that he needed that word at that precise moment. Chuck may have recorded that message weeks, months or years earlier, but as it was aired at just the right time for this message to be delivered to his struggling heart.
I was sharing with my grandson this past week that I have become convinced that character can only be developed in times of trial. During the easy times it is easy for us to float along. But when the storm strikes, we are in a situation of either “sink or swim!” There are always situations in our life that challenge us to do something. The right thing to do in any and every situation, is to place our trust in God, confess our need and do His will.
It is interesting that in today’s Scripture, James gives instructions about the prayer when we need healing. The instruction is given that the sick person is to call for the elders to anoint with oil and pray for the healing, but there is one other element found in James 5:15 “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.”
When you or I approach the Lord about our need, we need to have our sins confessed before Him and the conflicts with others resolved as well. We need to have our spiritual hearing aids turned up so we can hear the voice of the Holy Spirit revealing those things that need confessing and cleansing.
I pray that God will be near to you this day as your develop that character which will be a radiant testimony of the power of God to do what we are not able to do.
Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing.
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Oct 19, 2007 | Daily-E-Votionals
II Corinthians 6:16-18
“For we are the temple of the Living God. As God has said; ‘I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be My people. Therefore come out from among them and be separate,’ says the Lord. ‘Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you. I will be a father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.’ “
I heard of an irate mother who called the police to report that her son had been robbed of his pager. She reported that it was not the first time this had happened to him. An officer investigated, and soon located the cell phone another boy had stolen. He returned it to the boy while his mother stood beaming.
The officer asked the mother what the pager number was? She couldn’t answer. He asked why she bought the pager for him? Her response? “All of the other kids have one, so I wanted him to have one also.” That my dear friends is a danger which is prevalent in our modern society. Such an attitude leads us far from holiness!
We are far from holiness in heart and life in our modern churches. What will it take to restore our people to the place God wants us to be. Let me be graphic. We have some Christian girls (and women) who dress like street walkers. Some have tattoos on their bodies which are sometimes referred to as “tramp stamps.”
Some young men who are professing believers dress like gang members or at least in a worldly manner. I won’t even venture to mention the music and movies that are the common diet. Business practices that were once frowned upon as being “worldly” are now the norm for some Christians—even ministers and ministries.
Who is to blame for this compromise with the world in the way we look and the way we behave? I think it rests at the doorsteps of parents and spiritual leaders. We have sacrificed standards of decency for the sake of getting numbers into our churches or other Christian organizations.
In today’s Scripture, Paul gives us the Lord’s commands on the subject; We are to be different from those around us! Since the Daily-E-Votional goes out to several thousand readers each day, I realize that some of you are from holiness denominations that profess to be fundamental and holy. Please dear hearts, do not be smug! Virtually all of our churches have fallen far short of what God considers holy! It is a malady of just about every religious group – large or small.
The first step we need to take is to examine our hearts and pray for the Lord to show us how He sees us. We are not to judge ourselves from the world’s point of view, but from God’s. The blessed Holy Spirit is faithful and will speak tenderly and will show us what we need to see.
The second step is obedience. Paul gives us that instruction: ” – – come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.” This is also our answer. We are to be separated from the things and behavior patterns of the world. Our aim is not to be socially accepted and part of the “in crowd,” but rather a worthy child of God who delights in pleasing the Father. May that be our goal!
Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing.
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Oct 18, 2007 | Daily-E-Votionals
Job 42:1-6
“Then Job replied to the LORD : ‘I know that You can do all things; no plan of Yours can be thwarted. You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures My counsel without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer Me.’ My ears had heard of You but now my eyes have seen You. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.”
Across the years I have been blessed in knowing and loving people without physical sight. I hesitate to call them blind since they “see” far more than many with 20/20 vision. I recall teaching a Bible class with a young woman who was blind. As others would take notes, Denise would use a stylus and be punching out her notes. I asked her if I could “see” what she wrote?
She took my fingers and ran them over the page. I could only feel a series of bumps. I was the one who was blind to her notes. We laughed together at how she could “see” what she had written, but I was in a world of darkness, as it were, in trying to read her notes.
A few people who receive the Daily-E-Votional are blind. Several months ago I received a response from a lady who casually mentioned that she was blind. I responded and asked how she was able to read the messages. She said that she had a special program that did a conversion and allowed her to send and receive messages.
One of our blind readers, Cindy Handel, has graciously allowed me to share the following message with you:
Dear Pastor Cecil,
I’m very much enjoying your daily devotionals. The one for tomorrow, October 12, made me think of all the times I’ve prayed for God’s help, in some way and he answered my prayers. But, the one thing that really stands out in my mind took place a few years ago.
I’m a totally blind person. I use a cane to travel and consider myself a good cane user. On this particular day, I was on my way back to work from a doctor’s appointment. As I was walking toward the corner, where I needed to cross the street, there was a very loud sound of a tree trimmer. I guess they were trimming trees and then chopping the pieces in a hammermill.
Well, the sound wasn’t letting up at all and I couldn’t hear traffic, at all. So, as I approached the corner, I prayed and asked God to somehow help me cross the street, safely. I think I might have asked that the noise
stop. Well, it didn’t. But, after I reached the corner, I stood there for just a moment and then heard a gentleman who had just walked up next to me. He said he and his wife were walking and he thought I might need help crossing the street. I accepted the help, gratefully, and went across, safely. I immediately thanked The Lord for his answer to prayer and for this gentleman and his wife. They were gone as quickly and quietly as they had arrived at my side.
God answers my prayers all the time. But, this was such an obvious, immediate answer to prayer that it has stayed with me for these several years. Thank you, again, for your E-Votionals.
Cindy Handel
As I read the words that Cindy wrote, my mind goes back to the words of today’s Scripture. Job had been called to account before the Lord for questioning His motives in Job’s life. The questions which God asked of Job were beyond his ability to answer. But Job was stunned by God’s holiness. The one sentence that stands out in my mind is this: “My ears had heard of You but now my eyes have seen You.”
Perhaps you may have heard about God–even honored Him as God, but never had the spiritual eyes to “see” Him in all of His glory. I pray that you will open the windows of your heart right now and allow Him to bring light and life to your life.
Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing.
– – – Pastor Cecil
