by Pastor Cecil | Dec 24, 2007 | Daily-E-Votionals
Luke 2:4-7
“So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a Son. She wrapped Him in cloths and placed Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.”
Here we are on the threshold of Christmas. On every hand us we are bombarded by the most bizarre symbols for the birth of the king of Kings and lord of Lords. Oh, and by the way—don’t call it Christmas—Happy holiday! At the same time people rush out to buy Christmas trees, not holiday trees. They purchase Christmas presents not holiday presents. I just had to let off a little steam there. I could have gone further.
Let’s consider our traditional Christian celebration of Christmas. If we were called upon to create a picture of the manger scene of the birth of Jesus, what would it include? I am sure that we would see baby Jesus in a manger with His earthly parents, Mary and Joseph beside the manger.
Perhaps in the background we would show shepherds and a few cattle bedded down close by. So far we are doing quite well and the gospel accounts of Jesus’ birth would confirm the accuracy of our work of art. If we stopped here, we would be safe. But we continue on and here is where we get off base.
Almost always we would paint a star above the stable and three Magi bringing their gifts of gold, franincense and myrrh. Beep! Where is that in Scripture? Reading Luke’s account, we never read about a star. The shepherds were told to seek a newborn child in a manger–not a star.
Now I am sure that in a small town like Bethlehem there would ony be one newborn who of necessity was forced to be placed in a manger following His birth. It may not be as dramatic as a star, but it is what the angel of the Lord told them to look for to find the long awaited Messiah.
The Lord has done this before. When Moses was at the burning bush and the Lord told him to return and lead his people out of bondage, He gave Moses a sign that it was God who sent Moses to deliver His people. It was not the miraculous plagues, the way the Egyptians gave the Israelites their valuables, the pilar of cloud that led them and protected them or the fantastic parting of the sea to save the Israelites, and closing in on the Egyptians to destroy their armed might.
Do you know what it was? Read what God says to Moses in Exodus 3:12: “And God said, ‘I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.’ ” So the sign; “This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger,” is in keeping with the way God works. Sometimes we look for a spectacular display rather than listening to God’s still quiet voice.
On tomorrow, Christmas Day, I will be continuing our search for the star. I urge you to read all of Luke 2 and also Matthew chapter 2. See what observations you can discover.
Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing.
— Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Dec 21, 2007 | Daily-E-Votionals
Matthew 25:10-13
“And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut. Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.”
Back in my days in the United States Air Force, we had an expression that I have not heard for a long time: “Short timer.” It was used to describe a person who was getting close to retirement or being transfered to another assignment. I bet you can guess that the attitude of such a person was not one of great motivation. On the contrary they were generally useless! It seemed as if their motto was: “Just do enough to stay out of trouble”.
Here we are on December 21st, 2007 and the shortest day of the year, at least for us in the northern hemisphere. If we were to view earth from space, we would immediately notice that while it is the shortest day in the northern hemisphere, it is the longest day of the year for those in the southern hemisphere. Australians sweat while we shiver!
Time is a crazy thing. If we are enjoying a fantastic vacation, the time seems to fly past. On the other hand, if we are going through a time of stress and uncertainty, time will seem to drag by at a snail’s pace. It is exactly the same amount of time, but our conception of time is vastly different. The days of our life are filled with a continual series of experiences. Some good—some bad, but most are simply, run-of-the-mill daily grind.
I can recall (believe me it is hard recalling that long ago) when Joyce and I were teenage kids out on a date, the time flew by! I know her dad must have thought I had a defective watch, because I was frequently getting his daughter home late. Hey! That was it – I must have had a bad watch! Well, that excuse would only have been good a few times—but he thought that there there were just too many such excuses!
In today’s Scripture we read a portion of Jesus’ parable of the ten virgins. There were five wise and five foolish. The five wise were not wiser in human intellect, but in recognizing that they had to be prepared. Jesus was illustrating in this parable that He would come back at a moments notice. Only those who had been born again would be called to the wedding feast. For those who neglected His great salvation—time would run out! How terribly sad.
In the midst of our daily experiences, we are called by the Lord to make eternal decisions. Some people readily accept the invitation to be born again, but others are reluctant. Some of these may be acquaintances, friends or family. We must be constantly alert to an opening in order to share the good news of the Gospel. The time is very short!
As we watch the days before the Christmas celebration speed past, let us take time to draw near to God in heart, mind and soul. The time is shorter than we think. Don’t be a “short timer!”
Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing.
— Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Dec 20, 2007 | Daily-E-Votionals
Genesis 3:1,4-5
“Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, ‘Has God indeed said, [You shall not eat of every tree of the garden]?’ Then the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.'”
We have not traveled very far from our roots of sin have we? Someone has noted that Satan has used the same foul methods to entice mankind to sin, throughout the ages of human history. Think about it, since his methods work so well there is no reason to change them.
What is there in the original temptation to sin, that has generated so much attraction across the millennia? I think it goes back to Satan’s own sin—that of wanting to be equal with God. One of our greatest danger zones is PRIDE! To be preoccupied with self to the exclusion of others or the worship of God.
Many times as I have reflected upon the goodness of God, I have often wondered what part answered prayer plays in my spiritual emotions. I wonder if I would be sitting here typing with the same resolve, if I was given some devastating news?
Would I accuse God of not protecting me from Satan’s attack? Satan loves it when we question God, accuse God, blame God or act as if we knew more than God. This is the front line of our spiritual warfare! Just because we win one battle with the enemy does not imply that we have won the war.
It is so revealing to listen to the conversations of those who are educated in man’s learning, but who have failed to grasp the true knowledge which comes down from above. They impart the air of confidence, even when they are speaking words based upon half-truths.
I just heard an explanation of the spelling of the Hebrew word for truth. It begins with the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, then the middle of the alphabet and finally the last letter of the alphabet. God’s pure truth is the same yesterday, today and forever. Wow!
There it is! But half-truths is where Satan excels. There is just enough truth to make it seem to be accurate, but false enough to condemn us to an eternity without God.
Notice in today’s Scripture how Satan twists the truth. He begins by asking an incredulous question, “Did God really say, – – ?” You can almost feel the wicked intimation that God is not fair in His dealings with His created beings and cannot be trusted.
Now it is very true that we do not understand all of the things God does or why He does them, but one thing that we can be assured of is that the Merciful Judge of all the universe will do what is right. We can rest in Him and only need to act in obedience to Him. It will be for our good and His glory.
The other thing that Satan delights in doing is to reinterpret God’s Word and His reasons for our obedience. Consider his interpretation of God’s intentions toward Adam and Eve; “God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” As we saw after the fall, the eyes of Adam and Eve were opened. As a matter of fact they did know good and evil—but they were not like God!
It is very important that we examine ourselves. Are the things we believe in and act upon based totally on the Word of God—or are they formed by the traditions of men?
We are told to search God’s Word with diligence. Luke records in Luke 17:11, about the people of Berea. “Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.”
We have victory over the temptations of Satan by testing the words of men with the Word of God. When we do so, we will discover GOD’S TRUTH!
Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing.
— Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Dec 19, 2007 | Daily-E-Votionals
Psalm 150:1-6
“Praise the LORD! Praise God in His sanctuary; Praise Him in His mighty firmament! Praise Him for His mighty acts; Praise Him according to His excellent greatness! Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet; Praise Him with the lute and harp! Praise Him with the timbrel and dance; Praise Him with stringed instruments and flutes! Praise Him with loud cymbals; Praise Him with clashing cymbals! Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD”
It is amazing that David uses the word “praise” eleven times in this final chapter in the book of Psalms. I think we all are way behind in the matter of praise. We are to praise the Lord at all times and for all things. There may be times when we are not sure why we should praise, but since we are commanded to praise, that is precisely what we are to do!
As I look at the date on this Daily-E-Votional, I am reminded of a reason for our family to praise the Lord. It was six years ago on this date that our youngest daughter, Lori, received a kidney transplant. It was a gift of life and worthy of our praise. But that is only half of the story.
Our oldest daughter, Brenda, went to be with the Lord in 1991. When a search was made for someone to donate a kidney for Lori, It was Brenda’s daughter, Jenna, who became her donor. Praise the Lord that He designed our bodies with two kidneys so that a donor can give up a kidney and still live a normal life.
The doctor who removed Jenna’s kidney came out to tell us that it was the best kidney removal he had performed, and that it was a perfect kidney. Since that time Jenna and Lori have enjoyed a delightful exchange about where the kidney was most at home.
As my mind reflects back to those days of uncertainty, I am so glad that the Lord has given us a spirit of praise. There was a good result from the transplant that we could rejoice about, but what if things had gone wrong? In 1991 when our dear Brenda slipped into the arms of Jesus, we praised the Lord.
Praise is always a choice. The choice is not based upon the circumstances, but it is directed toward a loving God who loved us so much that He sent His own dear Son, Jesus to give us new live—eternal life! Jesus offers us the ultimate transplant—a new spiritual heart! Oh, how glad I am for that transplant! PRAISE THE LORD!
Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing.
— Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Dec 18, 2007 | Daily-E-Votionals
Matthew 11:28-30
“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
The story is told of a man who was a passenger on a ship that was crossing the Atlantic Ocean from America to England. It was back in the days before airline passenger service, when the only way to get from New York to England was by ship.
This man had packed a large lunch to provide food for his journey. He had been on a tour of the ship and when he returned to his cabin he was struck dumb. The porter who had cleaned his room had thrown away his lunch! For the remainder of that day and the next day as well, he ate nothing.
His predicament was made even more acute as he passed the dining area and smelled the glorious aroma of the food that had been prepared for the guests. Finally the man made his way to the purser of the ship and poured out his story. He begged the purser to allow him to do some type of work on the ship in order to be able to eat.
The purser was stunned! He asked the man when he had last eaten? When he was told the whole story of the lost lunch, the purser took his arm and immediately led him to the dining room. He sat the man down at a table and called one of the stewards to bring him some food.
The man protested that he did not have the money or resources to pay for such a bounteous feast. The purser placed his hand on the man’s shoulder and said, “My dear sir, you do not need to pay for the food on this ship—it was included as part of your ticket!”
Some people make the walk with the Lord so hard that it almost breaks them down. You can almost hear them grunt and groan as they strive to pay for something that the Lord has provided through the sacrifice of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ.
In today’s Scripture, Jesus gives us a wonderful picture of God’s grace. It is not what we do for Him, it’s what He has done for us. There is nothing that we can do to inherit eternal life apart from the blood of Jesus.
In Acts 4:11-12, Peter was bold in his declaration to the people in Jerusalem; “This is the ‘stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.’ Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
If Christ paid the price for our salvation, why do we find it so hard to walk a victorious Christian life? I think the answer is that we are trying to get by on the little lunch we packed (our good works). But remember what Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:8-10; “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”
Is it so hard for us as sincere believers, to be victorious in our walk with the Lord? I don’t think so. The important thing is that we are obedient to the Lord.
Let me close with this passage from Micah 6:8; “He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?” IT’S A SNAP!
Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing.
— Pastor Cecil
