by Pastor Cecil | May 30, 2008 | Daily-E-Votionals
2 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.”
As a former Juvenile Probation Officer, I have heard many sob stories. By that I mean that I have seen and heard many juvenile offenders cry about being caught and brought before the court. The truth is that they were sorry they were caught—not for their offense. Just the same, there were consequences for their actions.
The modern mindset seems to deny that there are consequences for sinful actions. Such thinking is totally untrue. Our sinful actions always bear bitter fruit. Read what Paul writes in Galatians 6:7-8 “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.”
I fear that this old sin sick world is reaping a terrible harvest. Joyce Blume has written the following poem and has given me permission to share it with you:
“America In The Twilight” by Joyce L. Blume
America may be in the twilight of it’s glory,
One, can feel the apprehension everywhere.
You can see it in the eyes of everyone,
Yes, even when they speak , it’s there.
Our beautiful world is getting beaten down,
With, so much violence in the streets and in the air.
Our children seem to be in such distress,
And the concern for this, is getting rare.
The turbulent weather is trying hard to clean things up,
It has hit on almost every earthly shore,
Great earthquakes, floods and stormy weather,
Seems to say, “Wake-up, for I’m trouble, knocking on your door.”
It seems that punishment is all that’s left,
For, God has blessed and you did not seem to heed,
His great Churches, He has built in every town,
So that everyone could come and spiritually feed.
But for His Written Word, His food, you have no taste,
You throw it out, and replace it with your likes.
You tear it all apart with your demands,
And have changed it and took away its rights.
Oh, beautiful America, wake up, and turn around,
For God is not blind, and watches you.
He has His watchful eye, both day and night,
And He sees and hears, everything you do.
It seems as though your time is almost spent,
Could it be the last hour of your day,
Has He sent the stormy weather and the sea,
To try and clean up your messy way!
America, could this be the twilight of your glory?
Could the end of your great blessings be near?
You have allowed false religions to take command,
And from your God, have let them turn away your fear.
For the fear of God, is the beginning of His wisdom,
So be wise and turn away from your sins.
Or, more stormy weather will come your way,
Yes, the twilight of America’s Glory, just begins.
Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today. Trust Him completely and be a blessing.
— Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | May 29, 2008 | Daily-E-Votionals
Matthew 6:7-10
“And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.’ “
Do we really know how to pray? You may know, but after 60+ years as a born-again Christian, I am still struggling. I hope you are not disappointed in me, but that is the honest truth. I hear people who pray beautiful prayers, but I still struggle. Perhaps it will help to talk about it today.
When Jesus gave His pattern for prayer, here in Matthew 6, and also in Luke 11, we notice that the prayer starts out with the words; “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name.” I think that it is far too easy for us to pray; “Our Father in heaven, give me what I want!”
What did I just write—give me what I want? How does that differ from the pure pattern that Jesus taught? As I see it, God’s way has the focus on the Lord and our way has the focus on ourselves. We are pretty self-centered little rascals (or big rascals).
In the verse before Jesus’ pattern for prayer, He teaches that the Father knows what our needs are before we ask Him. That reminds me of Psalm 139:1-4: “O LORD, You have searched me and You know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; You perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; You are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue You know it completely, O LORD.”
If that is the case (and it is), why do I spend so much of the time in prayer trying to inform the Lord about the details of my request? Perhaps it is for my benefit, not the Lord’s. Remember that when Jesus was here on earth He asked people with obvious infirmities what they wanted Him to do for them, even when it was obvious. Why? I think it was in order for them to realize that they had a problem that only He could heal. Chew on that for awhile.
One of the most striking things about the Lord’s Prayer is that it focuses our attention on praise. I think we usually spend more time asking than praising. When Jesus uses the words; “Hallowed be Your name” He is showing us a vital truth.
I looked up the meaning of the word “hallowed” in the Greek. It is the word, hagiazō. Here are a few of the nuances of what it means: “To venerate; to separate from profane things and dedicate to God. To purify internally by purifying the soul.”
As I read the depth of meaning in this one word, I realize that most of our prayer time must be dedicated to our own purification. We must examine ourselves to see if there is anything that separates us from our God. If there is, we must confess it to Him in order that He may recognize the sincere desire of our heart.
Let me close with 1 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.” Perhaps we can learn more about the discipline of prayer.
Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today. Trust Him completely and be a blessing.
— Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | May 28, 2008 | Daily-E-Votionals
Romans 5:6-8
“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Who would you be willing to die for? That is a penetrating question. Very seldom do people choose up sides and talk about death and dying, much less who you would be willing to sacrifice your life for.
This afternoon (Monday) I had a part in a Memorial Day Service at a local cemetery. One of those on the program was one of our United States Congressmen. He told a story about a young medic who was deployed to Iraq.
A roadside bomb exploded destroying a passenger vehicle. The Congressman explained that the terrorists many times use two explosive devices. When medics arrive to rescue the survivors the second is detonated to kill and maim them as well.
In this instance the medic disregarded his own welfare and rushed into the flaming vehicle to rescue a small Iraqi girl. She clung tight to his neck as they were air lifted out to an intensive care unit.
When he tried to put the small girl down, she screamed and clung to his neck. Permission was granted by his unit for him to remain with the girl. For three weeks, everyday he was by her side. With joy he accompanied her back home into the arms of her parents.
Wow! What a story! Here was a young American who was serving in a far away land and yet was willing to risk his own life to save a small child he had never seen before.
Back in the 60’s I served with a Senior Master Sergeant who was transferred to Saigon. He had only been there a few days when the movie theater he was in was attacked by a terrorist. The man threw a small explosive device into the center aisle. A young US Marine immediately lept from his seat and threw himself over the bomb.
His act of courage cost him his own life, but saved countless lives who would otherwise have received much more of the blast. When Sgt. Ruben Luna called me upon returning home, he could not restrain himself from weeping about a young Marine he had never seen, who gave his life in such an act of courage.
Those are two examples of humans who placed their lives on the line for others. Jesus, the second Person of the Godhead not only gave His life for us—He became sin for us and paid the penalty (death) that we might have eternal life.
At the beginning of this E-Votional, I asked who you would be willing to die for. Now comes an even greater question: Have you received the sacrifice that Jesus gave for your sins. Have you repented (made an about face from your sinful ways) and have chosen to live for the Lord? Jesus died that we might be saved from death. Praise the Lord!
Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today. Trust Him completely and be a blessing.
— Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | May 27, 2008 | Daily-E-Votionals
John 5:21-23
“For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom He is pleased to give it. Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him.”
Words are terribly important! Aren’t you impressed by that profound statement? What I mean is that the meaning of words is critical for us to grasp the meaning of things. I was taught that by my major professor in graduate school, Dr. Joseph Maloof. He would never let me use a word without knowing what it meant. “What does it mean, young man? Never use it unless you know the meaning of it!”
It reminds me of the joke about a pompous man who thought more of himself than he should. He met a woman at the market who remarked; “Oh, Mr. Smith, you are so mature!” He rushed home and grabbed his dictionary to look up the deeper meaning of the word “mature” so he could savor it. To his dismay it said: “Mature: Ripe and getting rotten.”
Let me explain why I am taking this slant in today’s E-Votional. I have been distressed by the lack of respect that we observe in our modern society. It is a dog-eat-dog world and there is little kindness and gentleness shown to those around us.
When I went to the concordance to do a search on the word “respect” I was shocked to discover that it had more negative connotation than positive. It was more like the man who was looking to discover the meaning of “mature”—showing favoritism to gain favor (at best).
As it turns out, the word I was looking for was Honor. Jesus uses it in Matthew 15:3-4, as He references it as one of the Ten Commandments: “Jesus replied, ‘And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’ ”
Wow! That carries a wallop! It is certainly the first Commandment with promise: (“- – – that you may live long in the land the Lord is giving you.”) Here is the Bible dictionary meaning for honor:
1) to estimate, fix the value for the value of something belonging to one’s self.
2) to honor, to have in honor, to revere, venerate.
Honor is not a choice—it is a command! Honor is our choice to see value and worth in others, and then act in a manner that is consistent with showing worth. We have all too often chosen to honor the wrong things: money, promotion, possessions, education, houses, cars, clothes, status, etc., basically things that will pass away.
There is a need to show honor to our parents and grandparents, to the elderly, even to those who are prone to, slip through the cracks, as it were. Last week I met a family who had a developmentally disabled daughter in her twenties. She had just been secured in the back seat of their car before they drove off. I smiled at her and received no response. I then said, “Give me five” and held my palm up for her to strike it with hers. The smile appeared. Her mother was beaming as I turned around. “She likes to give fives!’
The honor I had chosen to give to this child of God was returned to me tenfold—by the smile from one who could only give a smile in return.
I want you to know that I honor and cherish each of you readers. I will never meet most of you in this world, but eagerly look forward to giving you a “high five” when we meet in that land where there will be no sorrow or pain.
Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today. Trust Him completely and be a blessing.
— Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | May 26, 2008 | Daily-E-Votionals
James 4:13-15
“Now listen, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.’ Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, ‘If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.’ ”
Last week I was at the computer keyboard early in the morning. Someone sent me a link to videos of some of the Gaither Homecoming gatherings. I knew that some of these musicians were going through serious problems in their own lives or the lives of their loved ones—yet they sang with confidence and hope, even with tears rolling down their cheeks.
One after another stood and sang and often there were scenes from earlier days. The young faces became lined with age and grey or white hair replaced the original color (only their hairdressers knew what that was).
It was incredible how many of those beloved Christian performers have since gone to be with the Lord. The last one that I think of was Dottie Rambo who was tragically killed in a bus accident on May 11, 2008.
It reminded me of going through our high school annual a short time ago and laughing at how young we looked back then. In fact, that is true with any photographs from ten, twenty or thirty or more years ago.
Try doing something for me. Look at some old pictures of your parents or grandparents when they were your age. Think of how old they seemed to you when you were young. Now go look in the mirror and prepare yourself for a shock—you cannot stop the aging process—regardless of what the cosmetic companies may tell you.
There is a familiar quote that gives each believer a proper perspective on the aging process: “Only one life, t’will soon be past. Only what’s done for Christ will last! And when I am dying, how happy I’ll be, if the lamp of my life burned out for Thee!”
Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today. Trust Him completely and be a blessing.
— Pastor Cecil
