by Pastor Cecil | Dec 10, 2007 | Daily-E-Votionals
Malachi 3:2-4
“But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner’s fire and like launderers’ soap. He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer to the LORD an offering in righteousness. Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasant to the LORD, as in the days of old, as in former years.”
Images are often awesome symbols. They can provide wordless messages of hope and life. It is of interest that we are told the reason for so many stained glass windows in the great cathedrals of Europe, was because most people could not read. The colorful stained glass scenes told their wordless stories.
Yesterday Joyce and I watched a documentary on Public Television of a glass blower who created a solid glass ball that weighed over 100 pounds. He was commissioned by the Corning Glass Company to created the piece in recognition of their 1,000th glass paperweight.
The massive undertaking to prepare for the creation of such a monumental piece was mind boggling. Special ovens and equipment had to be designed. Trained glass blowers were recruited to assist with the project and dry runs were performed before the drawing out of the molten glass from the oven.
The intricate process called for gathering layer upon layer of molten glass at the end of a long tube, then building the glass up to the desired weight. The sphere is about 13 inches in diameter and contains more than 60 different colors of glass. Each color of glass has a different rate of cooling and many of the spheres had small cracks in one or more of these layers.
Once the weight and shape were reached, the glass was fired, coming out of the oven at 1,000 degrees before cooling down at room temperature. The cooling process was 10 weeks long. It took fourteen months and twelve attempts before success was attained.
Here is a personal question for you: How long does it take for God to shape and mold you? Does it feel like the heat is too high or does the Lord leave you too long in the fiery furnace?
A group of women were having a Bible Study on the book of Malachi. As they were studying chapter three, they came across verse three, which says: “He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver.” This verse puzzled the women and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God. One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study.
That week she made an appointment with a silversmith to watch him at work. She didn’t mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver.
As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities.
The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot then she thought again about the verse, that “He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver.”
She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the entire time the silver was being refined. The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.
The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, how do you know when the silver is fully refined? He smiled at her and answered, “Oh, that’s easy – when I see my image in it.”
If today you are feeling the heat of the fire, remember that God has His eye on you and will keep watching you until He sees His image in you.
Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing.
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Dec 7, 2007 | Daily-E-Votionals
Galatians 3:26-28
“For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”
On December 7, 1942, I was seven years old, living in Camas, Washington. It was a Sunday morning and church had just ended. Some of the teens were in a car listening to the radio when the news flash was given that Pearl Harbor in Hawaii had just been bombed by the Japanese.
As people walked out of the little church and heard the news, they were stunned and acted as if they had just received a physical blow. The next day, President Franklin D. Roosevelt addressed a special meeting of the Senate and House of Representatives.
“Yesterday, December 7, 1941 — a date which will live in infamy — the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.”
We were thrust into a world war that resulted in bloodshed never before imagined. Almost every neighborhood had a star in the window indicating that a member of the family was serving their country. The blue star indicated that the serviceman was still alive. When we saw a gold star, we knew that the family had been informed their loved one had been killed.
It was a time of hatred and prejudice. People of Japanese ancestry were no longer referred to as Japanese, but “Japs” or “Nips.” Innocent U.S. citizens of Japanese ancestry were rounded up and shipped to internment camps.
Following the war, a few Japanese students came to the United States to attend college. What a shock it was to discover that there were some Japanese who were Christians. Former enemies had been brothers in the Lord, even as they served in combat.
Unfortunately, prejudice has been—and always will be—contrary to God’s will. Prejudice in any form is in reality—“The Day of Infamy.” Read today’s Scripture again and see what Paul, by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, says about prejudice: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female.”
As a child I can remember we kids singing a song at the top of our lungs: “Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world. Red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in His sight, Jesus loves the little children of the world.”
May we break the bonds of infamy that have divided us and march forward in unity with other believers to serve with distinction in God’s mighty army.
Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing.
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Dec 7, 2007 | Galatians
Galatians 3:26-28
“For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”
On December 7, 1942, I was seven years old, living in Camas, Washington. It was a Sunday morning and church had just ended. Some of the teens were in a car listening to the radio when the news flash was given that Pearl Harbor in Hawaii had just been bombed by the Japanese.
As people walked out of the little church and heard the news, they were stunned and acted as if they had just received a physical blow. The next day, President Franklin D. Roosevelt addressed a special meeting of the Senate and House of Representatives.
“Yesterday, December 7, 1941 — a date which will live in infamy — the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.”
We were thrust into a world war that resulted in bloodshed never before imagined. Almost every neighborhood had a star in the window indicating that a member of the family was serving their country. The blue star indicated that the serviceman was still alive. When we saw a gold star, we knew that the family had been informed their loved one had been killed.
It was a time of hatred and prejudice. People of Japanese ancestry were no longer referred to as Japanese, but “Japs” or “Nips.” Innocent U.S. citizens of Japanese ancestry were rounded up and shipped to internment camps.
Following the war, a few Japanese students came to the United States to attend college. What a shock it was to discover that there were some Japanese who were Christians. Former enemies had been brothers in the Lord, even as they served in combat.
Unfortunately, prejudice has been—and always will be—contrary to God’s will. Prejudice in any form is in reality—“The Day of Infamy.” Read today’s Scripture again and see what Paul, by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, says about prejudice: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female.”
As a child I can remember we kids singing a song at the top of our lungs: “Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world. Red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in His sight, Jesus loves the little children of the world.”
May we break the bonds of infamy that have divided us and march forward in unity with other believers to serve with distinction in God’s mighty army.
Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing.
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Dec 6, 2007 | Daily-E-Votionals
Psalm 141:3-4
“Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips. Do not incline my heart to any evil thing, to practice wicked works with men who work iniquity; and do not let me eat of their delicacies.”
Back in the 50’s when I was finishing up my college degree, I worked as a county Probation Officer. The Juvenile Court Judge was a sheer delight. He was a page out of history, what with his bow tie, white hair and a wit that always kept attorneys on their toes. His name was Ben Riordan, and he taught me so many practical things about life that I recall them even to this day. I counted it one of my greatest honors to be able to go into his chambers during the recess of court cases and hear his wisdom and understanding of the law and of human nature. His memory lives in my heart!
Judge Riordan was very much aware of the dangers and evils of the tongue. I am sure he didn’t invent the phrase (well, perhaps he did invent it); “You can remain silent and look stupid, or you can open your mouth and remove all doubt.” Another saying that he used frequently was: “That fellow is so stupid, that when he speaks, he subtracts from the sum total of human intelligence.” Trying to corral the tongue is a constant battle!
One of the classes I took in college was debate. We learned how to make cases, establish proofs and to refute the opposition in their arguments. It was not enough to take one side of a particular issue–you had to debate, both in support of the issue, or against it.
The culmination of our semester was a debate tournament. Our College Debate Squad was made up of four, two-person teams. There were two of us, myself and Orville Hailey, who were married and working full-time while also attending college classes, so we lacked the time to prepare as the other students. The teams were ranked by their coaches from one to four, with the best being number one and four being the lowest. Orville and I were ranked four–Get the picture? Each team had to argue one debate on the negative side and one on the positive side.
For our first debate Orville and I were pitted against the number four team from another school. Amazingly we won! But our second match was against their number one team who had the positive and we the negative. During the debate they were wiping us out! I whispered to Orville that we had to let them kill themselves.
We quietly belittled every argument they proposed and asked why they could not come forward with any valid argument. We offered very few of our own arguments, but discounted their much more elaborate presentation. Bingo! We won again!! We were the only team from our school that took both of their debates. The coach wanted to move us up to number one or two, but we decided to go into retirement and not let the others know just how bad we were.
The tongue is a terrible weapon. It is the revealer of the heart and those hidden motives that lurk out of the sight of others. In a previous chapter, Psalm 139:4, we read; “For there is not a word on my tongue, But behold, O LORD, You know it altogether.”
With that in mind, is it any wonder then why the Psalmist is here asking the Lord to set a watch over his tongue. We say things so quickly and after we try to take the words back, the damage has already been done.
It reminds me of a story I heard about a traveling evangelist who was holding a meeting in a church he had never visited before. He and the pastor were bantering back and forth prior to the start of the service. The evangelist noticed a very ugly woman in the third row. He leaned over to the pastor and asked; “Who is that ugly woman in the third row?” The pastor replied; “That is my wife.” Grasping for a way to get himself out of a predicament the evangelist said, “No not her, the one next to her.” The pastor looked back with a scowl and said, “That sir, is my daughter!”
Have you ever had days like that? What can you say after the words have done their damage? I have to feel that the Psalmist uttered his prayer for the Lord to set a guard on his mouth. It was a prayer of commitment on his part and it needs to be a commitment on our part. We need to pray for the Lord to purify our thought processes. We need to devote ourselves to speak words that will build up and encourage, rather than tear down and depress.
Eight or nine years after the debate I mentioned, I was working for the State of Idaho Law Enforcement Planning Commission. As deputy director I was interviewing an attorney to go to work for us. As I looked at his credentials, I saw that he had graduated from the college we had debated. In fact he was a member of the team we had defeated. He said they would have won if they had kept their mouths shut! We laughed, and became close friends after he came to work for us.
During a terrible, depressing time in his life when he shut out everyone for quite awhile, I was the only one he would talk with. I can still recall driving around with him slouched down as I tried to quietly encourage him. Very few words were spoken. It was a time presence rather than speaking. The words that I did speak were words the Lord had sifted, and they were words of healing. He recovered and was restored. I learned another lesson about words–use them with caution! We need to speak words of peace, joy, love and encouragement.
Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing.
— Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Dec 5, 2007 | Daily-E-Votionals
II Corinthians 4:5-7
“For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake. For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.”
Somewhere in my distant past I heard an illustration that has stuck with me. It seems that an elderly man lived in a small cabin near a beautiful pristine lake. There was no water in his small cabin, so it was a daily task for him to take two buckets and walk to the edge of the lake and fill them.
Now it so happened that a young man was spending time with the old man and volunteered to take on the task of getting the water. When he arrived back at the cabin on his first trip, he noticed that one of the buckets was almost empty. He mentioned it to his host, but the old man simply smiled and said, “It is no problem.”
Day after day this pattern repeated itself. After a few days the young man found a new bucket to replace the one that leaked. He mentioned nothing to the old man, but was quite proud of himself. After a week the old man said that he noticed that he was not carrying the leaky bucket. The young man proudly boasted that he had found a new one.
He had taken care to not let the old man know what he had done. He asked him how he knew about the new bucket. The old man said that he knew what he was doing because the flowers were dying. The young man was at a loss to know what his new bucket had to do with the flowers dying.
It was then that the old man revealed that he intentionally used the old leaky bucket because as he carried it along the path back to the cabin, water leaked out and watered the flowers that grew along the path. The old bucket was a tool used to bring life along the path.
Sometimes we have the idea that God uses only wonderful new buckets to do His work. LISTEN! It is not the bucket (us) that matters. It is the precious Lord which is in us that counts. Some of the ugliest and most unsightly buckets allow the beauty of Jesus to shine through.
That reminds me of an inspirational hymn:
“Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in me;
All His wonderful passion and purity.
Oh, Thou Spirit divine; All my nature refine.
Till the beauty of Jesus be seen in me.”
Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing.
— Pastor Cecil
