by Pastor Cecil | Apr 16, 2008 | Daily-E-Votionals
Philippians 3:20-21
“But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables Him to bring everything under His control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like His glorious body.”
It should come as no great surprise that many people have a preoccupation with the way they look. Health clubs seem to spring up overnight to provide body shaping and toning. The commercial breaks on television seem to be dominated with this or that program to easily drop those unwanted pounds.
Not content with diet and exercise programs, we are bombarded with appeals to have cosmetic surgery done in order to make you look years younger. Jumping right on the bandwagon are the clothing designers who can provide a new wardrobe (for a huge expense) that will give you that youthful appearance.
Perhaps I tend to be a little cynical in my views since I am years over the age where I could benefit from anything to make me look younger. I am also many pounds over the recommended weight for my height. Let me see—as I figure it, my height/weight ratio would be excellent if I were nine feet tall! Forget it!
Here is a news flash! As I have mentioned before, these bodies are destined to decay and die. It makes no difference how young we may look—we are on a one-way street from the cradle to the grave! That is why it is so sad that people use physical appearance as the criteria for choosing a marriage partner. When inner beauty and Christian character are the determining factors, measuring rod, growing older with your sweetheart gets better and better.
The Apostle Paul is writing to the church at Phillipi in today’s Scripture. He wants them, as well as us, to realize that we have a bright hope in store for us. These old bodies are going to be renewed. Crippled limbs will be made whole. Clouded minds will have perfect knowledge. Blinded eyes will be open. Voices that cannot carry a tune will be able to sing like the angels.
Perhaps the thing I want to impart today is this: We have a new body waiting for us! It will be one that has been designed by the Lord and it will be absolutely flawless. They will be patterned after the Lord’s own glorious body. It will be a grand and glorious day when we stand in His presence with that new glorified body, clothed in His righteousness. Oh how wonderful it will be to praise Him without any defect! I can hardly wait!
Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today. Trust Him completely and be a blessing.
— Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Apr 15, 2008 | Daily-E-Votionals
John 6:32-33
“Jesus said to them, ‘I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.’ “
Every time I read passages like this, I realize how fickle and shallow we humans tend to be. Jesus had only recently healed an invalid, fed five thousand with five loaves and two fish, and now they asked for a sign so they could believe! It reinforces a strong belief of mine, that, regardless of the commonly held view, people are not convinced by signs, even miraculous ones. Trusting in Jesus Christ as Lord always requires an act of faith.
The word “bread” occurs over 300 times in the Bible. In this passage that I have given you from John 6, Jesus reveals that He is the, “Bread from heaven.” It is fascinating that He was born in Bethlehem and the meaning of Bethlehem is “house of bread.”
The crowds that listened to Jesus fell back on their traditions and the Torah accounts of how God sent manna to feed them during the period of the Exodus. The implication was that if Jesus was really the Messiah, He would be able to provide them with bread on a continuing basis. They mentioned nothing about how their forefathers complained and even rebelled at the same menu day after day. Now they wanted a sign – they had one – it was Jesus Himself!
A VERY IMPORTANT NOTE!!! IT IS CRITICAL THAT WE SLOW DOWN IN THE STUDY OF GOD’S WORD AND DETERMINE WHAT IT SAYS THAT APPLIES TO US!
In the last few days before his crucifixion, Jesus gathered with His disciples to celebrate the Feast of Passover. You will recall, that this Feast was instituted by God to commemorate the deliverance of His people from the bondage in Egypt. Jesus, when He took that thin sheet of unleavened bread, gave His disciples the understanding that the bread was the symbol of his body that was given to them.
Not only was it given to them, but to us as well. He desires that we be identified with Him. Paul writes in Galatians 2:20: “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
The Bread of Life becomes our source of strength and spiritual nourishment. It is tragic that so many are starving spiritually, when, at the same time, Jesus has become our Bread of Life. In what areas of your life are you suffering malnutrition? Remember, that when Jesus broke that bread, He spoke life and abundance to all who would receive Him. He is yours and is always there beside you.
Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today. Trust Him completely and be a blessing.
— Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Apr 14, 2008 | Daily-E-Votionals
Matthew 11:28-30
“Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
It seems that seldom a day passes that I do not hear the words from someone: “I’m just so tired that I can hardly function.” This is especially ironic in light of the fact that we live in an era of more laborsaving devices than ever before.
Think about it: In days gone by, a farmer had to till the ground in the spring, plant the corn, cultivate it during the growing season, harvest it in the fall, husk it, grind it and at last have a sack of beautiful yellow cornmeal. Seldom did he complain of being tired.
Today we get in our air conditioned (or heated) automobile, drive two blocks to a gigantic super market with shelves of yellow cornmeal, white cornmeal, blue cornmeal—and all of these in a variety of grinds. When we return home we are exhausted from all of the effort! Right!
One of the major causes of weariness are the burdens we carry around with us. Today I would like us to consider the subject of burden bearing. The burdens that come upon us are so many and varied that it would be impossible to know what you are experiencing right now.
Burdens can come in the form of physical difficulties, emotional conflicts, loss of loved ones, financial or business reversals, feelings of hopelessness, on and on we could go. Whatever the source, it is like a heavy weight on our shoulders that crushes us down. This is the overall outline of what we may think of as burdens. You alone know what your burden may be. What do we do about it?
It may be relatively easy to identify the particular burden or burdens in our life, but what then? We are often tempted to deal with the burdens ourselves. We can do this by trying to have a positive attitude, by seeking counsel from trained counselors, or perhaps group sessions. While these may have some value, they will always fall short of the mark if Christ is not the central source of strength.
The teachings of Jesus are always simple and direct. He shares His message in such basic terms that even children or the uneducated are able to know what is being taught. He says very simply, here in Matthew 11, for all who carry burdens to come to Him. Notice it was not just for some, but for all, to come to Him.
That is a fundamental truth with no exceptions. We just come to Him, and He promises that He will give us His rest. The rest that Jesus promises is not merely for tired bones, or for aching feet, it is for burdened hearts as well. But it does not imply that we come and flop down in front of Him and do nothing. There is more than inactivity involved.
Jesus says that we are to take His yoke upon us and learn from Him. Being yoked with Him means that we are with Him in all that He does. Where He goes, we go. Where He stops, we stop. It is a constant process of being with our Lord in everything. It means speaking with him in intimate prayer morning, noon and all through the night. It means asking him for direction in the daily ins and outs of living.
Now this might seem like adding another weight to your already heavy load, but wait! There is a big difference here. When we are yoked together with Christ, He is the one who is bearing the load. We are only walking along beside Him as He packs the burden on His shoulders that were lashed by the soldiers before He bore our burden of sin to the cross, and paid with His life that we might be free of that burden through His resurrection life. If He could do that for our burden of sin, He can and wants to do that for every burden that we are carrying right now.
He also says that in doing this, He is gentle and humble in heart. He does not preach at us or lay a guilt trip on us for getting into the jam we are in. He quietly takes the burden away and gives us his warm, sweet presence in return. What a great exchange that is! We trade our heavy burdens for his sweet presence. That is an offer we need to take advantage of immediately. Do it now! Pray in your spirit to ask Him to be your Burden Bearer and your Strong Deliverer. Then just walk along beside Him as you bask in the light of His nearness.
Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today. Trust Him completely and be a blessing.
— Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Apr 11, 2008 | Daily-E-Votionals
1 Kings 17:22-24
“The LORD heard Elijah’s cry, and the boy’s life returned to him, and he lived. Elijah picked up the child and carried him down from the room into the house. He gave him to his mother and said, ‘Look, your son is alive!’ Then the woman said to Elijah, ‘Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the LORD from your mouth is the truth.’ “
The truth of God’s Word is our supreme guide and authority. Everything we set our purpose to accomplish must be measured according to God’s truth. The ideas of men are temporary and soon change or disappear entirely. The passage of Scripture for today’s Daily-E-Votional is the basis for total commitment. God is not pleased with halfhearted devotion and we will find ourselves feeling miserable as well.
This passage gives a clear picture of the benefit of obedience. To illustrate this process, I will attempt to share this in my own words, using the Word as the source for the story.
There was a famine in Israel. The cause for the famine was the wicked acts of a king named Ahab, who had married a wicked woman named Jezebel. A Prophet of God named Elijah had pronounced God’s judgment of the famine, and told Ahab that there would be no rain in the land for the next few years, except at his word.
Now when words of this nature are spoken, the speaker becomes rather unpopular to say the least. It was necessary for him to lay low until God directed him to take the next step of action. Elijah spent time by a brook where he was fed by ravens that God had sent to bring him food. There was water in a brook, but after a time, that dried up.
Let me interrupt the story for an interjection. There are times in our life when the “brook” dries up. It may have been a “brook” that God had provided, but if and when it dries up, it means that it is time to get ready to move to the next place that God has provided for us.
The Lord came to Elijah and told him to go to Zarephath. God also told Elijah that He had commanded a woman in that town to provide him with food. It is never revealed when and how the Lord had spoken to her. Whatever the manner God used—we are not told.
When Elijah entered Zarephath, he saw a widow gathering sticks. He asked her to bring him a little water in a jar so he could have a drink. She started off for the water and he called after her to also bring him a piece of bread. Now, this was going beyond what she thought she should be obliged to do.
Sometimes the Lord uses the inconvenient requests of others to lead us to a place that He has prepared for us. It might be a place of service, or it may be a place where He is going to provide for us. Think about what this little widow was being asked. She had nothing, so to speak, and now God was asking her to give of her last little bit to His prophet. It just didn’t seem fair. It may not have seemed fair, but she was about to receive a blessing from the Lord.
The widow carefully explained to Elijah that she had no bread, and only a handful of flour in a jar, and a little oil in a jug. She explained that she was gathering the sticks to return home, make a meal for her and her son and then they would die from the famine.
Elijah encouraged her not to worry, but to go on her way and do as she had planned, but with one big exception. She was first to bring him a small cake of bread, before she and her son ate. He then gave her the wonderful and miraculous news. If she did as he asked, the Lord had promised that the jar of flour would not be used up and the jug of oil would not run dry until the day the Lord sent rain on the earth.
This little widow had to act on faith. What if this prophet was not telling the truth? Why did it require her acting, rather than her seeing the jar and jug fill up first? Why couldn’t she and her son eat first and then give him what was left? The answer is simple. The Lord had commanded her to be committed.
It is exciting to read that the widow did exactly as Elijah had instructed her. We read that there was food every day for Elijah, the woman and her son. The jug and jar were never used up during the famine in the land—A source of inexhaustible supply. But the story is not finished. In spite of her obedience, her son became ill, grew worse and worse and finally stopped breathing.
The little mother lit into Elijah and asked him if he had come to remind her of her sin (where did that came from?), and to kill her son. Elijah carried the lifeless body to an upstairs room and poured out his heart to the Lord. He reminded God of the faith and commitment of the widow and now this tragedy had fallen upon her. The Lord heard his prayer and the boy lived. He took the child to the grieving mother.
There seemed to be lingering doubts in her mind. How could she doubt God, when the daily supply of flour and oil was always replenished? But she did. It was only after receiving her son back that she believed. “Now I know!”
There are lessons to be learned here. God demands that we completely sacrifice ourselves to Him before He acts to supply our “jars” and “jugs” with an inexhaustible supply. We have witnessed the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and that gives us the encouragement to say as the widow said, “NOW I KNOW!”
Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today. Trust Him completely and be a blessing.
— Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Apr 10, 2008 | Daily-E-Votionals
Joshua 1:8
“Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.”
What does it take to be successful? Let me phrase it in a different way. How much money, or what promotion would make you feel that you had achieved success?
The story is told of an executive who was looking for someone to be his sales representative in a small fishing village. As he inquired around town, he was told that there was one man, Joseph, who was extremely persuasive and had all of the qualities the executive was looking for.
When he asked where he might find Joseph, he was directed to a small house just outside of town by the beach. He easily found the house and was soon in conversation with Joseph. It was immediately clear that Joseph was his man. The only problem was that Joseph was not interested in his offer.
“Why should I work for you?” Joseph asked. “Because you could earn more than you have ever been paid in all of your life!” replied the executive. He was not used to being refused and became frustrated. Joseph kept asking question after question to determine what would be the reward for all of his hard work. “Well,” the executive answered, “After many years of hard work you could retire and spend your time in your own home beside the sea.” Joseph just smiled and said, “Look around you; I already am there!”
That is a stupid illustration, but I hope you get the point. Back in 1966-67, I was stationed at a radar site in St. Anthony, Newfoundland, Canada. There were slot machines located in our officer’s lounge. There was a civilian employee who was addicted to gambling. He would spend hundreds of dollars to win twenty dollars. Winning was never sufficient to give him success. We finally were forced to place the machines off limits to him.
What about promotion to higher rank? Will that bring success? Not necessarily. There are many who experience a sense of emptiness after achieving a promotion they struggled for years to attain.
Even a wise man like Solomon, who seemed to have it all, was left empty by this world’s charms. In the last chapter of the book of Ecclesiastes, in verse 8, he bares his soul: “‘Meaningless! Meaningless!’ says the Teacher. ‘Everything is meaningless!'”
That is a depressing view of life isn’t it! But thankfully Solomon did not leave us in the dreary pond of depression. At the end of this last chapter of the book, verses 13-14: “Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.”
It is fascinating that the Lord spoke to Joshua almost 500 years earlier with the same reality. We find it in the words of today’s Scripture. It is the key to finding purpose and success in our life. It never has, nor will it ever be, the external things of this world that determine success. It is the things of the heart that represent success.
If you and I want to have success that extends into eternity, we have the answer right here: “Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.”
Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today. Trust Him completely and be a blessing.
— Pastor Cecil
