by Pastor Cecil | Jul 3, 2008 | Psalm
Psalm 89:5-7
“The heavens praise Your wonders, O LORD, Your faithfulness too, in the assembly of the holy ones. For who in the skies above can compare with the LORD? Who is like the LORD among the heavenly beings? In the Council of the holy ones God is greatly feared; He is more awesome than all who surround Him.”
From moment to moment, new experiences and opportunities arise which are ordered by the Lord. I can only stand amazed in His presence. More and more I am aware of the need of prayer in every action I take. I remember an old hymn of the church, “Great Is Thy Faithfulness”, that expresses just how much God loves us and provides for us.
In all of our busy activities and the heavy demands of life, we need to realize it is His faithfulness to us that counts. We tend to become preoccupied with our own actions and activities to such a degree that we focus on our faithfulness. The writer of this beloved hymn lets us know that it is God’s faithfulness that counts. What a comfort that is to us.
“Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father!
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not:
As Thou hast been Thou forever wilt be.
“Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon and stars in their courses above,
Join with all nature in manifold witness to
Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.
“Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide,
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow-
blessings all mine with ten thousand beside!
CHORUS:
Great is thy faithfulness, Great is Thy faithfulness,
morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed Thy grace has provided—
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!”
Think about how the Lord has directed your steps. He is always present in a mighty way to protect and comfort us. Sometimes the reason we are not more aware of His faithfulness is that we are too busy whining about our discomfort.
Instead of weeping and moaning, we need to be people of praise in the midst of the tests and trials of life. God’s Word is full of those who suffered loneliness, pain and even death with a shout of victory. What do you think they would say to us if they saw the way we behave? It is time to grow up and live differently than those who are unsaved.
We have had so many answers to our prayers that we can never stop praising Him. It makes us aware of His faithfulness to us when we turn all of our concerns and cares over to Him, and then leave them in His care.
My personal testimony is one of victory. The Lord just continues to shower His blessings upon my life and ministry. It is all to the praise of His glory! For those of you receiving these Daily-E-Votionals, I pray fervently for you and ask God to take my words and use them to touch areas in your life that He knows all about.
Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today. Trust Him completely and become a real blessing.
— Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jul 2, 2008 | Daily-E-Votionals
Luke 2:51-52
“Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.”
I remember a college student who was incredibly brilliant. He always had an arm load of books and at every opportunity he was reading and studying. It should come as no surprise that he was a straight-A student. There was just one problem—he was a complete social misfit.
It is an interesting project to use the Scripture in order to get a picture of what the teen-age years of Jesus must have been like. Actually we are told nothing of these years. There is something of a twenty-year gap from today’s Scripture and when He performed His first miracle in Cana and began His public ministry.
You may recall that today’s Scripture followed the incident when He remained at the Temple in Jerusalem after His parents had left for Nazareth. He had been asking questions of the spiritual leaders and amazed them with His answers.
After His parents confronted Him with their frustration that they had spent three days searching for Him, He willingly came under their authority. I am sure that He would have preferred to remain in His Father’s House—but He came under their authority and returned with them to Nazareth.
Have you ever known teens who grudgingly followed their parents, but demonstrated an attitude of rebellion? Jesus willingly went with His parents, and we are told something about his development.
1. Jesus grew: “in wisdom.” That indicates that the Son of God studied the written Word of God. I cannot understand that, but it is not necessary that I understand all things. But one thing I know—it tells me that we will never come to the place where we know it all. We should commit ourselves to be lifelong students of God’s precious Word.
2. Jesus grew: “in stature.” This is the physical area of life and we should be aware of the importance of using this body of ours for God’s purposes and not our own desires. Isaiah 58:11: “The LORD will guide you always; He will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.”
3. Jesus grew: “In favor with God.” We find favor with God by being obedient to Him. When we read in His Word that we are to do something or refrain from doing it, we need to obey. Just as obedient human children please their parents, so we please Him by obeying His commands.
4. Jesus grew: “In favor with men.” This is social growth. As Christians we must have a socially pleasing personality. Oddball kooks are not a good representative for Christ. They should see the Jesus in us and feel that we are approachable.
How do you stack up? Are you growing in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ? Are you producing spiritual fruit? Do you think the Lord is pleased with your growth?
Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today. Trust Him completely and become a real blessing.
— Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jul 1, 2008 | Daily-E-Votionals
John 17:20-21
“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in Me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as You are in Me and I am in You. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that You have sent Me.”
There was a time when athletes from a locality would compete with individuals or teams from other areas. Non-participants would gather to cheer their team and from time-to-time belittle the opponents.
That was in the “good old days” when things were more innocent. Such is not the case in the world of modern athletic endeavors. In our day “Our Team” may be composed of members from hundreds or thousands of miles away. “Our Team” has become a business venture and huge prices are paid for members of “Our Team” who act as if they are prima-donnas.
I have a hard time dealing with professional athletic teams, but universities have fallen into the quagmire of drawing players from far and wide by offering incentives that are too good to turn down. They may never have lived in our area, but they are “Our Team”. (Stop the ranting and raving, Cecil!)
One of my greatest delights is reading responses from around the globe. I was amazed when the first responses from out of state came in back in September 2000, then from out of the country a few days later. Now there is virtually no country on earth that has not been touched with this ministry.
Please! Please! Let me emphasize that you are not on my team, but that together we are members of God’s team. Not only that, God calls us to get into the game and contend for the faith.
When Jesus gave His Life for us, He purchased us by His precious blood. We receive the instructions about being effective members of the team in God’s Word. It is sad that many Christians spend very little time studying the Word.
Modern day professional players are paid huge salaries. The more they are paid the more they want. As members of God’s team we may never receive a large salary. In fact we may even experience suffering and death. But we will receive our greatest reward when we hear the Lord say to us: “Well done—God and faithful servant!”
Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today. Trust Him completely and be a blessing.
— Pastor Cecil
