by Pastor Cecil | Dec 17, 2007 | Daily-E-Votionals
I Peter 2:1-3
“Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.”
It is fascinating that we can launch into the words of a particular passage without considering what has preceded it. Here is another illustration where chapter two begins with the word “therefore”. Always we need to ask ourselves the age old question; “What’s the [therefore] therefore?”
Looking back into chapter one, we discover that Peter has just been speaking about the temporary nature of life, and how quickly it passes away. It is like grass that fades and passes away. So our condition really is very delicate.
With a substantial subscriber list, each day I am sending the Daily-E-Votional to people around the world. Many are brothers and sisters I have never met, but with whom I will be spending eternity. Many of them—you included—may be going through situations which may be uncomfortable or even may be life threatening.
All of our conditions are individual, specific, unique, but always delicate. The common ground, is that we never know when our condition will change. We can be sailing along with no problems and suddenly we are brought low by the report of a visit with the family doctor.
On a light hearted note, let me share a humorous story. It seems that a man was called back to his doctor following his annual physical. The doctor was wearing a grim face and told the man that he was in terrible physical condition and could expect to live no longer than a few months.
The man sad to the doctor, “That is terrible! I want a second opinion.” Without hesitation the doctor said, “You are ugly too!”
One thing is certain—we need to constantly strive to grow in the Lord. Peter lists a number of things that prevent growth: malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, slander of every kind.
These may be likened to tumors in our body. The tumors are invasive and will prevent the natural growth and development. This is why surgery or chemical therapy must be undertaken. “The bad has to go before the good can grow!” This is true spiritually as well.
Peter likens the believer to a newborn baby. I am told that the Hebrew midwives used to have a bowl of crushed dates close at hand when a baby was born. They would plunge their finger into the date mixture and then massage the baby’s palate. This would stimulate sucking and the baby would be eager to nurse from its mother.
Those of us who encounter new Christians should have the same motivation to stimulate feasting on the Word of God. Telling them they need to is like telling your kids to eat their spinach, because it is good for them. That argument has never worked! Create desire! That’s our goal!
Many elderly people must be hand fed. Just because a person looks mature, does not assure that they are mature. Now here is a distinct difference. Brand new Christians can most often be nurtured to the point of being able to feed themselves. They may even and eventually mature spiritually and even feed others.
On the other hand, many old petrified believers frequently are only able to function from feeding to feeding. We can try to encourage individual initiative, but be prepared to feed them over and over again. Do they need it? Yes! Does it take time and effort? Yes! Does God call some of His servants to this ministry? Yes!
We are all delicate, specific and unique. Being a child of God that we are, we have a ministry which is just our cup of tea. It is our challenge to discover it and begin to use it.
Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing.
— Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Dec 14, 2007 | Daily-E-Votionals
Habakkuk 3:17-19
“Though the fig tree may not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines; though the labor of the olive may fail, and the fields yield no food; though the flock may be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls—yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The LORD God is my strength; He will make my feet like deer’s feet, and He will make me walk on my high hills.”
Several years ago there was a commercial on television, extolling the qualities of a particular brand of margarine. It supposedly was so much like butter that it could even fool “Mother Nature.” The announcer offered a woman (supposedly “Mother Nature”) a muffin spread with this margarine. She was so pleased with her pure butter. When he informed her that it was not butter, there was a flash of lightning, a clap of thunder and a scowl on the woman’s face. She snarled out, “It’s not nice to fool Mother Nature.”
That commercial always bugged me. Where in the world did we develop the concept of “Mother Nature”? It is certainly not from God’s Word. As we see in today’s Scripture, our Lord was the creative force of the heavens and earth, not some humanly contrived “Mother Nature.”
It seems that mankind has always tried to bargain with God, explain God away, ignore God or basically in one way or another rebel against God. It is amazing that the One who created all things—including us—loves us enough to put up with our nonsense as long as He does.
In 1944, the latter days of WWII, a young couple fell in love. He was an airman and knew that he may soon be leaving for an overseas assignment. They determined that they would be married and have as much time together as possible. Almost immediately, he was shipped out to Europe as a co-pilot on a B-24. On his very first mission, he was shot down over German territory and spent the next year in a Prisoner of War camp.
Back home, his new bride received word that he was missing in action. The grieving wife reported that she prayed and made a bargain with God. If He spared her husband, she would serve Him the rest of her life. She told a reporter that she had kept that vow and attended church each week as a result.
That may sound good, but it is bad reasoning. It is good for us to remember the three Hebrews (Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego) standing between an enraged king and a super-heated furnace. All they had to do was bow down and worship the image of King Nebuchadnezzar and they would go free. No way!
They had faith that their Lord could save them even in such a “hot spot,” but even if He didn’t, yet they would still trust Him, and not bow down to the image.
That is the kind of love, trust and faith that God finds pleasing in His sight—unconditional love. A love of God with no strings attached. We are to serve Him without reservations or conditions.
As we read today’s Scripture, we see that the Lord is faithful—even when His people stray away from Him. It has been said that He is the God of the second chance. One thing is certain—the Lord will be [our] rock and strong defense when we place our complete trust in Him!
We may not know what lies ahead for us, but we know that the Lord will be with us at all times! We can relax and trust Him to care for all of our troubles, not “IF” He does what we desire Him to do, (that is dictating to God); but even though we cannot see what the outcome will be, “YET” we will place all of our confidence in Him. He will do right!
Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing.
— Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Dec 13, 2007 | Daily-E-Votionals
Psalm 28:6-8
“Blessed be the LORD, because He has heard the voice of my supplications! The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in Him, and I am helped; therefore my heart greatly rejoices, and with my song I will praise Him. The LORD is their strength, and He is the saving refuge of His anointed.”
The cry of God’s people for His mercy is to be done so with praise. It is not the cry of a spoiled child, but the victorious cry of total dependency upon His unlimited grace and love. It is from the heart, and with a melodious harmony of rejoicing. It starts with, “Jesus Loves Me This I Know,” and ends with the “Hallelujah Chorus!”
God delights in the praises of His people, and I think that this is especially true when we are so filled with praise, that we break out into joyful singing. I love the sentence in today’s Scripture which reads, “My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to Him in song.”
I think that we need to have more of those times when our hearts leap for joy. Perhaps the opposite of our hearts leaping for joy is having lead in our spirit. We either break forth in songs of adoration, or we clunk along the dusty road of dismay.
I want to share with you the words of a hymn that expresses our praise to God. It is, “All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name”. As you read the words, allow your own heart to lift in song to Him.
“All hail the power of Jesus’ name! Let Angels prostrate fall;
Bring forth the royal diadem, And crown Him Lord of all;
Bring forth the royal diadem, and crown Him, Lord of all!
Ye chosen seed of Israel’s race, Ye ransomed from the fall,
Hail Him who saves you by His grace, And crown Him Lord of all;
Hail Him who saves you by His grace, and crown Him Lord of all!
Let every kindred, every tribe, On this terrestrial ball,
To Him all majesty ascribe, And crown Him Lord of all;
To Him all majesty ascribe, and crown Him Lord of all!
O that with yonder sacred throng We at His feet may fall!
We’ll join the everlasting song, and crown Him Lord of all;
We’ll join the everlasting song, and crown Him Lord of all!”
In the midst of this world and all of its troubles, testing and strife, God gives us His song. It is a song that allows us to overcome. Even when unexpected situations arise, we can have a song in our heart. I remember driving along and listening to a depressing song. One of the lines in the song goes something like this: “There’s music all around, but there’s no song in my heart.” How sad. Even if we cannot carry a tune, we need to have a song in the heart!
Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing.
— Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Dec 12, 2007 | Daily-E-Votionals
II Timothy 2:11-15
“This is a faithful saying: For if we died with Him, we shall also live with Him. If we endure, we shall also reign with Him. If we deny Him, He also will deny us. If we are faithless, he remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself. Remind them of these things, charging them before the Lord not to strive about words to no profit, to the ruin of the hearers. Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
Pete Shubert was my grandfather on my mother’s side. He came from Germany as a teen. He had very little of this world’s goods, but he knew the Lord and served him. He weathered the storms of adversity during the dust bowl days in Oklahoma.
He farmed a wheat ranch, preached the gospel and left a huge shadow. He was loved and admired by family and friends. He was one of my greatest examples. His grit and determination never waivered. I can still recall one time when he visited us in Idaho. He had followed me to work while he was there and even got to meet the Govenor. As he prepared to leave to return to Oklahoma, he gave me one of his huge grandpa Shubert hugs and in his broken English, whispered in my ear; “I proud of you!” Wow!
What kind of worker are you? Oh, you may be a pretty good worker on the job where you work, but that type of work will only produce a pat on the back, a raise in pay, or you may possibly even merit a promotion. Those are very temporal things. What about your workmanship for the Lord?
Sometimes I feel that I mention this topic of temporal versus spiritual values so much that people will become tired of hearing it. I promise you that I will not let up on it! We must all stand before the God of the universe one of these days and give an account of everything that we have accomplished. Your job performance is going to be of no value then!
Paul was writing this letter to Timothy, his son in the faith. He was urging him to devote himself to the teaching that has eternal value attached to it.
Notice that Paul tells Timothy to “keep on reminding them.” This implies a consistency in giving positive instruction. We should be equally committed to a consistently reminding people of those things which we find in God’s Word.
One of the areas that Paul instructs Timothy to teach was that the people were not to argue against words. In today’s language we might say that it is splitting hairs. There are foundational spiritual truths that need to be stressed, but much of so-called spiritual debate is meaningless. In fact, Paul goes so far as to say that it ruins the hearers. I guess the question we should always ask ourselves in this area is, “Would Jesus argue this point in the way I am arguing?” If not, stop!
Paul leaves the area of telling Timothy what to share with others and focuses on what he himself should aim to achieve. What is of prime importance for one who would be a worthy workman?
He says that Timothy is to do his best to present himself before God as one approved. What does it mean to be approved? Lots of answers might be given. But immediately it is sobering to realize that the One to whom we are to present ourselves is the God of the universe.
Just imagine as you stand before God and share everything you have done. The objective of this presentation is to receive His, (God’s) approval. Won’t it be great to hear the words from the Lord; “Well done, worthy workman!” We need to keep that picture in mind.
The work that Paul mentions to Timothy is correctly handling God’s Word. Read it, study it, know it so that you are able to use it properly. It is not restricted to age or anything else. I once read about a teenage girl who made a commitment to lead 30 people to the Lord in one year.
As a step of action to reach that goal she purchased 30 Bibles along with dozens of gospel tracts and pamphlets. They were in the trunk of her car when a terrible automobile accident took her life. At the funeral, eight of those Bibles were given to people who had responded to the invitation to trust Christ as Savior. She was a worthy workman even in death. I can imagine the Lord saying to her; “Well done, worthy workman!”
Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing.
— Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Dec 11, 2007 | Daily-E-Votionals
Luke 1:1-3
“Inasmuch as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those things which have been fulfilled among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you an orderly account, most excellent Theophilus, that you may know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed.”
I stand in absolute amazement of my dear wife, Joyce. She is one of those rare creatures who has the ability to bring order out of chaos. At times I feel like that little comic strip character with the dust cloud rising from him who seems to generate clutter everywhere he goes. (Don’t laugh too hard. I have seen some of your homes, and let’s not even talk about your cars).
Over the years, Joyce has tactfully brought me little baskets or boxes, each one becoming larger than the time before, to place all of my precious “stuff” in. Each time I want to laugh, but do not do so for fear for my life. (She really is not dangerous, but why tempt fate?).
After she delivers these devices designed to end all clutter, I’m given the task of finding storage places for my organizers. I think they call it, “Organizing the organizers.” Oh wretched man that I am, who will deliver me from this endless clutter! I think you get the picture, so I will move on to the intent of today’s message.
The word “order” is found over 60 times in the Bible. It carries the meaning of organization and completeness. It is the opposite of careless indifference. In Isaiah 38, Isaiah tells King Hezekiah that God has spoken, and he is to get his house in order for he is going to die. That means getting everything squared away that you are putting off doing.
When I look at the things that accumulate around my chair and around my desk, I ask myself, “Why am I keeping them?” The answer is that I seem to think that they have some value, but after a period of time, I can’t think for the life of me what value they ever had. I guess it is a matter of priorities. That is the essence of what I am sharing. What is the important thing in your life? If you knew that you had one day to live, what would you do and how would you act?
The fact of the matter is that the clutter in our life is not always things. Clutter is often habits, unconfessed sins, unfulfilled restitution, unsent words of appreciation, failing to share the gospel message with someone the Lord has laid upon our heart—it could go on and on, but you know what it is in your life.
I know one thing for certain—the material things of life have no value when we are face to face with eternity. We slave and strain and amass things galore that become clutter with no value in eternity. Our business activity, that is so frantic that it shuts out family and friends, is clutter in view of eternity. That goes for us preachers or religious workers as well. We often make our ministry an obsession to exclusion of the things that God would rather have in our life.
Serious house cleaning is in order for all of us. We need to make a careful inventory of our life in light of God’s Word. In Matthew 6:33 it says; “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” That is the spiritual bath we need to take. By continually making Christ our highest priority we are “seeking His kingdom and His righteousness.”
We should go to Him in prayer and humbly ask for guidance in bringing order out of the confusion we have created. He will delight in making Himself known to you and removing all the confusion, clutter and chaos from your life and giving you His peace. Wow! What a promise!
Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing.
— Pastor Cecil
