by Pastor Cecil | Aug 15, 2008 | Luke
Luke 8:10
“And He said, ‘Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand.’ “
Many of you have heard me mention a colorful old judge I worked for when I was a Juvenile Probation Officer. Ben Riordan had more stories and anecdotes than about anyone I ever met—before or since.
He delighted in telling the tale of two deaf men who appeared before a deaf judge. The plaintiff charged that the defendant owed him $100. The defendant (not hearing) objected that he didn’t even own a dog so how could it have bitten the plaintiff. The equally deaf judge looked over the bench and called both men close. “It looks like you two boys could get together and support your poor old mother. Case closed!”
Sometimes I think that we are very much like that story. We are so busy trying to justify ourselves that we fail to listen. First of all, we fail to listen to those around us, but much more important—we fail to listen to God.
It is sad that we shut our ears to the very things that we should be listening to. God makes every effort to speak to us but we fill our life with such clutter and confusion that His voice goes unheard.
I cannot begin to count the marital counseling sessions I have had to deal with where one or both of the partners would not keep silent long enough to hear what the other was saying. I have resorted to requiring the offender to not say one single word or I will end the session. Sometimes, when they are made to be silent, they act totally shocked by what the other partner said. Some have even said, “Well why didn’t you tell me before this?!” RIGHT!
I recall a young professional man who signed up for one of our Bible classes. The class format was to pass out question sheets for each member to answer before the next class. This young man was in a class being taught by his manager. As he attempted to answer the questions, he could not find an answer to any of them. He was amused and could hardly wait for the class to start to see how his manager would react to this oversight.
To his shock, every question had been answered by other class members. He was confused as to why he, a college graduate, could not answer questions that the other members had answered?
I think it was about three weeks later that this young man went into his manager’s office and expressed an emptiness he felt. He said it was like something inside of him was missing. That very day Ed led him to the Lord and the void was filled.
Do you have ears to hear? You may be a born again child of God, but do you have the spiritual ears to hear as God speaks to you? How do we communicate with God? Read Matthew 6:6, “But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing to others!
— Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Aug 14, 2008 | James
James 1:22-25
“But prove yourselves doers of the Word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the Word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. But one who looks intently at the perfect law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effective doer, this man shall be blessed in what he does.”
I had a terrible shock not long ago. I looked in the mirror and saw this old man looking back at me. I wanted to report it to the authorities before I realized that it was me! Ah, where have the years gone?
In today’s Scripture, James uses an illustration of a mirror. As I read this passage for the umpteenth time, I suddenly saw something I had never seen before. It is only as we look into God’s mirror that we see ourselves as God sees us.
Imagine placing a dab of healing ointment on a sore spot on your face and then covering it with a Band-Aid—just until you leave the house. You meant to take it off before you left the house, but guess what? You forgot to remove it! People looked in a questioning way, but after wearing the Band-Aid for awhile it had become a part of you and you forgot it was there!
There is an old gospel song that quartets used to like to sing (some still do). It was about the valley of dry bones which the prophet Ezekiel saw. The groups used to make a big production over attaching one bone to the other, and finally they would have the skeleton attached and ready to come to life when God breathed life into them. Go back to the book of Ezekiel 37:1-10, and read all of the details of this prophecy that was given to Ezekiel.
That is the picture that came to me. If you go out into public, you may well encounter snickers and fingers being pointed your way. How much more tragic it is for those who have looked into God’s Holy Word, fully intending to act upon it, but never get around to doing it. Sad, sad, the bitter wail, almost, but lost.
I want to tell you that God is near and knows what we need. Even when we deny Him, or turn our back on him, He never forsakes us, but is always there to hear our cry for salvation.
I once received an e-mail from some friends which spoke of God’s nearness to us:
THAT’S GOD
“Have you ever been just sitting there and all of a sudden you feel like doing something nice for someone you care for…THAT’S GOD … He talks to you through the Holy Spirit.
Have you ever been down and out and nobody seems to be around for you to talk to…THAT’S GOD… He wants you to talk to him.
Have you ever been thinking about somebody that you haven’t seen in a long time and then next thing you know you see them or receive a phone call from them…THAT’S GOD…there is no such thing as ‘coincidence.’
Have you ever received something wonderful that you didn’t even ask for, like money in the mail, a debt that had mysteriously been cleared, or a coupon to a department store where you had just seen something you wanted, but couldn’t afford… THAT’S GOD…he knows the desires of your heart…
Have you ever been in a situation and you had no clue how it is going to get better, but now you look back on it…THAT’S GOD…he passes us through tribulation to see a brighter day…”
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing to others!
— Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Aug 13, 2008 | Psalm
Psalm 119:145-148
“I call with all my heart; answer me, O LORD, and I will obey Your decrees. I call out to You; save me and I will keep Your statutes. I rise before dawn and cry for help; I have put my hope in Your Word. My eyes stay open through the watches of the night, that I may meditate on Your promises.”
How many times have you complained about never having enough time for Bible study, prayer and meditation? I am not counting the hands, but I would guess that a vast number of you have your hands up.
Back in the 1970’s I was working in a high pressure job and was deeply concerned about this very issue. Try as I might I could not seem to find the time for study. My problem was that I was trying to come up with the solution on my own.
It suddenly dawned on me that I needed to pray and ask the Lord to show me where I could find the time I needed. Almost immediately He answered my prayer.
As I looked at my schedule, I asked the Lord to direct my mind to times I could spend with Him. Immediately I noticed time in the morning before the rest of the family were awake. I figured I could rise 20 minutes early and still get plenty of sleep.
The second segment of pure gold was the lunch hour. Rather than going out to lunch I could bring my lunch and also bring Bible study materials so I would be ready to enjoy an hour with my Lord.
It worked! Not only did it work, but other Christians who worked for our agency were motivated to start their own time of study. At first I felt they were intruding when they dropped in to ask a question about a certain passage, but then I realized that steel sharpens steel. “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another” (Proverbs 27:17).
Not only did the Lord show me periods of time to spend with Him, I suddenly had more time than ever before. It was a wonderful testimony to His control over our activities.
There is one phrase in Today’s Scripture that I would like to mention; “- – – that I may meditate on Your promises.” What does that mean? I will tell you what it means—it means that we need to hide God’s Word in our heart so we can bring it back to our mind over and over.
How can we meditate on God’s promises if we have not hidden them in our heart? A favorite singing group of ours, Ponder, Harp and Jennings have a song with this phrase: “You can’t stand on God’s promises if you don’t know what they are!” Do you know some of them?
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing to others!
— Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Aug 12, 2008 | Mark
Mark 9:33-35
“They came to Capernaum. When He was in the house, He asked them, ‘What were you arguing about on the road?’ But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest. Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, ‘If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.’ “
Did you ever wonder what the disciples of Jesus were like? Were they plaster saints without faults or failings? Did they fall short of being the men of God that they should have been?
In today’s Scripture we have one glimpse into the behavior of the disciples that may often go unnoticed. They were proud and self-seeking! That is so hard to say, that I hardly can believe I typed it.
Perhaps it is human nature to desire to be better than others. If so, it is our fallen nature. Pride is sin! I want to repeat that for effect: PRIDE IS SIN! The sin of many believers is going beyond pleasing the Lord—rather it is being in competition with other Christians. In God’s kingdom there is no place for Super Saint!
Jesus stopped their arguing by telling them what they had been saying and going beyond to describe who is truly the “great one” in His kingdom: “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.”
That is so far removed from what we would ordinarily think that it is hard to fit it into our thought process. We tend to feel that it is essential to be recognized as being number one on someone’s list. That is not what the Lord desires.
The disciples must have been following at a distance from the Lord when they had this argument. It reminds me that there are things we may hide in our heart that we do not want the Lord to know about. We often deceive ourselves by thinking that God does not know what is going on in our mind. HE DOES!
I think the answer to being able to deal with pride and arrogance in our life is to stay close to Jesus. It is when we stray from His presence that we start thinking thoughts that are self-centered and willful.
In Psalm 119:133, the Psalmist David directs this prayer to the Lord; “Direct my footsteps according to Your word; let no sin rule over me.” Lelia N. Morris has written a hymn that reflects that prayer:
NEARER, STILL NEARER
Nearer, still nearer, close to Thy heart.
Draw me, my Savior, so precious Thou art;
fold me close to Thy breast,
shelter me safe in that “Haven of Rest,”
shelter me safe in that “Haven of Rest.”
Nearer, still nearer, nothing I bring.
Naught as an offering to Jesus my King:
Only my sinful now contrite heart,
grant me the cleansing Thy blood doth impart.
Grant me the cleansing Thy blood doth impart.
Nearer, still nearer, while life shall last,
‘til safe in glory my anchor is cast;
through endless ages, ever to be,
nearer, my Savior, still nearer to Thee.
Nearer, my Savior, still nearer to Thee.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing to others!
— Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Aug 11, 2008 | 2 Corinthians
2 Corinthians 6:15-17
“What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: ‘I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.’ ‘Therefore come out from them and be separate,’ says the Lord. ‘Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.’ “
The eyes of much of the world are being focused on Beijing, China and the 29th Summer Olympic games. At the opening ceremony, the president of the International Olympic Committee spoke of the theme for the games: “The theme of these Games ‘One World, One Dream.’ ”
With athletes from 204 nations packing the huge floor of the arena it was easy to be caught up in the euphoria of the moment. With such harmony and happiness— surely this could be the start of peace on earth. BEEEEP! Wrong answer!
UNITY WILL NEVER INSURE WORLD PEACE! It is sad that even those who are followers of the Lord Jesus Christ have compromised the infallible Word of God by choosing unity rather than obedience.
Just because we observe others acting or re-acting in a certain way does not mean that it is true. I once was teaching a college class and wanted to demonstrate the danger of relying on the response of others.
I had washed a perfume bottle completely and purged it of any odor. Remember—I had told the class that it was dangerous to rely on the responses of others. I was now about to catch them off guard.
Before class I had enlisted several students to assist me in the test. I asked them to sit in the front row and raise their hand after twenty to thirty seconds.
I told the class I wanted them to raise their hand at the moment they could smell the perfume. I would lecture in the ordinary manner and I wanted to see how keen their sense of smell was. (See how devious I can be?)
After twenty seconds the students I had enlisted to help me, began to raise their hands. Soon everyone on the front row had their hands up and then second row and several in the third row.
I stopped the lecture and asked them what fragrance they thought it was? They finally agreed that it was floral and probably lilac. They were stunned as I passed the bottle of pure water around and they discovered that there was no perfume and they had responded because others had responded. Some even said they were sure they could smell an aroma of perfume.
There are many religious leaders who are leading the faithful away from the pure Word by their charismatic personalities and the hoopla surrounding a polished production. We must never let this happen!
There must never be a compromise with anything or anybody who deviates from the pure Word! “JESUS LOVES ME, THIS I KNOW—FOR THE BIBLE TELLS ME SO—THAT IS ALL I NEED TO KNOW!”
Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today and be a blessings to others!
— Pastor Cecil
