by Pastor Cecil | Jun 9, 2008 | Daily-E-Votionals
1 Peter 4:12-14
“Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when His glory is revealed. If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.”
I have previously shared that I feel we are a whimpering, whining generation. It is sad to say that not too many Christians have a radiant aura of joy. More often we go around with a cloud over our head, with only occasional sun breaks of joy. That forecast is a terrible witness of the power of God in our life. Christians should never allow their joy to be snatched away by the ordeals of life. Perhaps this E-Votional is for you at this very moment.
It is easy for us to lose our joy. If our focus is on the ground, we see the mire and mud, rather than the blue sky and sunshine. Wow! I am amazed at how profound and deep I can be at times! Deep or not, the truth is that we lose our joy by choice. Things go bad, so we react with dismay, get discouraged and the sparkle slips out of our walk with the Lord.
In today’s Scripture Peter gives us the formula and attitude for joy that will last into eternity. He starts by giving us the proper expectation. Are you ready for this? He says we are to expect painful trials and suffering. STOP! This is one of those areas that we can read over and over, without grasping the full meaning. In one sense we may read that and immediately feel that there is no hope—life is just a drag. This is wrong. Peter advises to expect the painful ordeals with rejoicing. That’s right, he said rejoicing! Godly expectation is the spring board to joy.
I was watching one of the health channels not too long ago that showed a young family man who had been diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor. It was the day he was to have his brain surgery. He arrived with such joy and enthusiasm, that it took the hospital staff by surprise. He was optimistic, joyous, and confident. Without his saying it, I knew he was a brother in the Lord. Sure enough, before long he was sharing the source of his joy. He told all who were in the room with him, that Jesus Christ was his Lord, and it was the Lord who was in control.
The doctors smiled in their bemused manner, thinking they knew the truth of the situation—the chances of his survival were very slim to none. They based this upon their experiences in similar cases. He did survive, and with far more brilliant success than anyone might have anticipated.
The doctors were amazed and said it was his faith that made the difference. Was this a testimony of the power of God in the midst of pain and trial? You bet it was! His joy had not been taken away because of the trial that he faced. His eyes were not focused on the diagnosis— instead they were looking into the face of the Savior, who was with him all the way.
There were three young Hebrew men, far away from home in Babylon. Their God had delivered them before, but now they were confronted with a life or death situation. They either had to bow down to king Nebuchadnezzar, or be thrown into a fiery furnace. There was no indecision on their part. Their joy was in the Lord. They told the king that their Lord was able to deliver them, but even if He did not choose to deliver them, they would serve Him to the end. That really ticked the king off, and he ordered the furnace stoked up so hot, that the two guards, who threw them in, were killed by the heat.
The three young men did not let joy be taken away. They had a face to face encounter with the Son of God who made one of His Old Testament appearances, and comforted the three with His cool presence, so that they were not touched by the heat, their garments were not singed, and the smell of smoke was not on them. Wow! That was enough to make anybody happy! It also was a witness to the king, who immediately promoted them, and gave honor to their God.
I could go on even further, but it really is so very evident that the way we hold on to our joy, is to be consistently in God’s Word, speak frequently with Him in prayer, and always trust Him to bring about the good in every situation. Only God knows the end from the beginning. The joy we have is in him and the new life that flows through these flawed bodies of ours. HE IS OUR JOY!
Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today. Trust Him completely and be a blessing.
— Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jun 6, 2008 | Daily-E-Votionals
Genesis 39:9-10
“No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?’ And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her.”
How do we deal with temptations in our life? When an appealing, enticing and seductive sin presents itself (or themselves), how do we say “no” and be able to continually reject the desire to yield to the temptation? Do I have your attention? This is pretty close to where we live.
As a Christian Counselor for more years than I have been faced with this issue by those who have confessed their deep hidden secrets. It is not easy—in fact it is impossible to give a magic formula that will make temptation go away.
Rather than being frustrated and having a feeling of hopelessness, it is essential to turn to God’s Word for the solution in dealing with tempting situations. Immediately I am drawn to the book of Genesis and the example of Joseph.
As you may recall, Joseph was young, good-looking and a slave in the household of a prominent official. The Lord had blessed him and made everything he did to prosper. He became the target of the amorous advances of Mrs. Potipher. It may have seemed easy for Joseph to yield to this seduction since he had been betrayed by his brothers and alienated from his family.
The manner in which Joseph dealt with his temptation should be a pattern for each of us who encounter our own. The following are some methods I see that Joseph used:
JOSEPH SAID NO:
Not only did Joseph refuse the advances of Mrs. Potipher, but he gave reasons for saying no:
1. He had been trusted by his master with a position of authority.
2. She was the only thing that had not been entrusted to him.
3. The most important of all—for him to yield to such a wicked act would mean that he would be sinning against God!
JOSEPH AVOIDED CONTACT WITH THE SOURCE OF THE TEMPTATION:
Joseph used every means to avoid contact with the source of the temptation—Mrs. Potipher. We know that God allowed Joseph to be falsely accused in order for him to be positioned to save the brothers who had sold him into slavery. In the mean time, Joseph remained innocent by not yielding to the sin that has plagued so many.
Please allow me to interject a very important bit of advice here. If there is any hint of attraction to someone who is not your husband/wife, deal with it immediately! Do not rely on your emotions in this area. It is far too easy to imagine that your life would be perfect with that other person. My experience in marital counseling tells me that this is a lie of Satan.
Love is a choice! Just as we choose to love the Lord Jesus Christ or to reject Him, so we choose to love the one we married. There are no mistakes, other than trying to convince ourselves that we have the right to bend the Word of God to allow us to break a covenant. Stop it!
In addition to sharing that bit of rebuke, I urge you to give more freely to the one whom you have agreed to love, honor and cherish until death do you part.
Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today. Trust Him completely and be a blessing.
— Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jun 5, 2008 | Daily-E-Votionals
Mark 10:13-16
“People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.’ And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them.”
Let me start today’s E-Votional by describing our group of believers that gather on Sunday mornings. It is a small group of people that seldom attended church, or for some reason were not comfortable in traditional churches.
We use the pattern of worship for the early believers as described in Acts 2:42. There is the teaching of God’s Word, prayer, breaking of bread and fellowship. It is a very family oriented and relaxed as we search God’s Word and apply the teachings to our life.
Two weeks ago we were in an interesting discussion of what a passage meant when I noticed a small 18 month old girl with a pacifier in her mouth, standing directly in front of me and looking up. She raised her hands up to me, so being my grandfatherly sort, I picked her up. She immediately laid her face against my cheek and totally relaxed as we continued discussing the meaning of passages and how they apply to us.
Since then I have thought about how Jesus had responded to the small children who broke into His teaching ministry. He was not upset at the parents or children who crowded around Him, but at His disciples who tried to push them away. “When Jesus saw this, he was indignant.” That means that our Lord was very displeased with the disciples.
I absolutely adore kids and delight in teaching them about Jesus. According to our Scripture for today, that is what Jesus wants us to do. It may be a bit here or a bit there—or even holding a wee girl in the middle of my message—but we all should care for the children.
One of our mothers called last week to express her concern about how to protect children from being harmed. She told me of a program that equips parents, grandparents or other caregivers to keep children safe.
There are children of all ages around us. Some may be young in years while others may be young spiritually. We call them “baby Christians.” The sad thing is that baby Christians may have received a spiritual birth years and years ago, but just never grew up. Part of that may be our fault because we never took the time to stop and share Jesus with them.
My prayer is that we will open our eyes and see that we have a world of children around us who are holding up their hands. They may have a pacifier in their mouth, begging us to hold them close and tell them about Jesus. Will you respond to them?
Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today. Trust Him completely and be a blessing.
— Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jun 4, 2008 | Daily-E-Votionals
Genesis 3:22-24
“Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib He had taken out of the man, and He brought her to the man. The man said, ‘This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called woman, for she was taken out of a man.’ For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.”
You no doubt have heard the joke about the man who was speaking to an acquaintance on the street. He told his friend, “My wife and I have had 30 happy years of marriage. Out of 43, that is not too bad!” Unfortunately, that is too often the case. It should not be. God has established the marriage relationship to be a uniting of two people into one flesh.
I am continuing on with the consideration of God’s view of marriage. I just want to refresh our memory that we are in the process of contrasting the emotional desires of man and the absolute mandates of God. It is a dangerous area, since the safe thing humanly speaking is to say words, and give counsel, that will make people feel good and justify what they are doing. I would much rather be accused of being true to the Word of God, than to espouse a false doctrine that may be described as a “feel good about it” doctrine.
We hear terms bantered around to describe marriage: Getting hitched, tying the knot, walking the aisle, etc., none of which give the proper concept of the two becoming one. God never intended that two people merely live in the same home and try their very best to get along — most of the time. God’s design was for the two to become one flesh.
There are two adjectives used in the Scripture in Genesis to describe this act of becoming one flesh: LEAVE and UNITED. It was important then and it is important now, that the two leave their former home, parents – even children of previous marriages, and be united to each other. I hear screams of protest. It is okay to scream, but after your tantrum is over, read what God says and then start thinking in a logical manner.
Couples that fail to leave the nest, become dependent on parents to do for them what they are told to do for themselves. It is a part of maturing. Going through the trials of too many expenses and too little resources, will teach lessons that bind the two hearts together. Children of previous marriages are capable of causing such havoc, that conflicts seem to never cease.
I am sure you have heard the old cliché, “Your kids and my kids are beating up on our kids – what are you going to do about it?” It calls for unity and the two marriage partners being one flesh in dealing with the issues of life. Only the couple, husband and wife, are one flesh. The parents and children of the couple are outside of that intimate relationship. Together they must deal with the problems that arise.
Many years ago in Nampa, Idaho, the Senior Pastor Chuck Higgins and I did almost all of the marriage counseling for a very large church. We often laughed that it seemed like half of those we counseled cried their eyes out because they were not married, and the other half cried their eyes out because they were!
How do we reconcile the obvious difficulties, which exist, when two people, from different homes, backgrounds, traditions and temperaments—“become one flesh.” It is well to consider that in Biblical times, marriages were arranged. Their fathers mandated the two who were to become one flesh, in that relationship. In that context, Paul tells the husband to love his wife in the way Christ loved the church, and gave His life for her. That means a death of self in order to make his wife feel cherished and nurtured. The wife was to acknowledge her husband’s position as the head of the home by honoring and respecting him.
I have counseled scores of couples, and have heard all of the arguments, so please receive this observation. Where one or both parties rebel against God’s design, there is unhappiness, strife and often divorce. On the other hand, those who come under the authority of God’s design, more often, find contentment and fulfillment. Doing things God’s way always brings us the greatest happiness.
I want to leave this subject with a personal testimonial. Joyce and I have been sweethearts since we were fourteen. We were married at age eighteen, and that was almost 56 years ago. We followed God’s principles before marriage, and for you who wonder what that means, (no pre-marital intimacy). We are so much in love with each other that we can hardly stand to be apart for even short periods of time. We are very much a living example of being one flesh. It can be done!
I have great love for all of you. I would never hurt you by words or actions. I would be hurting you if I advocated any type of behavior, which was in conflict with God’s Word. You may disagree with me, but please, I beg of you, do not disagree with His Word.
Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today. Trust Him completely and be a blessing.
— Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jun 3, 2008 | Daily-E-Votionals
Genesis 3:22-24
“Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib He had taken out of the man, and He brought her to the man. The man said, ‘This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called woman, for she was taken out of a man.’ For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.”
Here we are in the month of June—the month that is usually associated with weddings. If there is any one subject that I receive questions about—it is that dealing with marriage. I will try to answer a few of the questions I have received and will try to provide counsel based upon the Word of God. Since there have been numerous questions, I will write this in a general manner, and not specifically directed to individuals. Are you ready? Here we go! Fasten your seat belts; we are expecting some turbulence! Just kidding.
First of all, let me point out that some people have made unwise choices, and are in a position they wish they were not in. I only wish that every couple could have as wonderful a marriage as Joyce and I. On July 10th we will be celebrating our 56th anniversary.
Some of you are in the contemplative stage of marriage, while some of you have made the decision and are now dealing with the consequences. I hope this Daily-E-Votional will be of assistance regardless of your marital status. There may be some of you who feel this is nothing that you are dealing with, so it does not apply to you. Please retain this information as there may be an opportunity to share it with someone who asks you for marital advice.
We live in a day where emotions seem to control our life. We are driven by the impulse to “feel good.” If we do not feel good, we throw out the things we think make us feel bad, and grab hold of something new that we think will make us feel good. Today’s topic is marriage, but allowing emotions to control us can apply to other areas as well.
In the traditional marriage, we are struck with the words: “FOR AS LONG AS WE BOTH SHALL LIVE.” It has been suggested that in many marriage relationships some have modified the vow to: “FOR AS LONG AS WE BOTH SHALL LOVE.” What makes the difference? The answer is the Word of God. It is unfortunate that even Christian couples can base their relationship on the shaky foundation of emotions, rather than upon the Word of God. They start out with great expectations, and end up in the junkyard of shattered promises.
Marriage is a covenant relationship. It is more than a contract that may be broken by one or both parties, through legal means. It is a covenant that binds the two parties into a lifetime union, not a sometime union.
Old Testament covenants were sealed in the presence of a blood sacrifice. The two who were entering into the covenant, would kill an animal and place a half on each side of the path. The two making the covenant would then join hands and walk between the two pieces. They would say in unison; “May it be to me, as to this animal, if ever I break this covenant.” Wow! That should teach us a vital lesson about the significance of a covenant relationship. It is not to be taken lightly, nor broken at the convenience or desires of either party.
I have hardly taken a breath, and I feel there is much more that needs to be shared on this topic. I will draw this to a close for today, but I plan to continue on with it tomorrow. If you have someone you feel would like to be added to our list, please have them send me an e-mail requesting to be added. Please feel free to share these Daily-E-Votionals with those in your address book.
Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today. Trust Him completely and be a blessing.
— Pastor Cecil
