by Pastor Cecil | Sep 23, 2008 | Isaiah
Isaiah 26:3-4
“You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in You. Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD, the LORD, is the Rock eternal.”
I had been searching for a picture of a small bird huddled behind a rock, when I found a remarkable painting by Jack E. Dawson. I have just been viewing this intriguing painting which he titled, “Peace in the Midst of the Storm.” It not only pictures a bird in a storm—it has five small quail like birds hidden behind a crashing waterfall in the midst of a thunderstorm. Wow!
It is such a comfort to me to understand that the Lord is always there with us in the midst of any storm we may encounter. Please repeat that statement—“The Lord is always with me in the midst of the storm!”
The idea of perfect peace is especially appealing when you are in a storm. Back a number of years ago Joyce and I were invited to take a cruise though the San Juan Islands of Washington State.
A friend of ours was using his cousin’s 30 foot cabin cruiser for the trip. The first day was very smooth, but then came a hazardous crossing of open ocean water. It was soon evident that we were in trouble. Waves on every side tossed us to and fro at will.
It was during that time that we longed for a place of perfect peace. After several hours of battling the waves we could see hope out ahead. San Juan Island was ahead and was blocking the wind. We could see calm water in the distance, but we were still in the storm. It was a tremendous relief when we reached the calm.
In today’s Scripture Isaiah is giving us the remedy for dealing with the storms of life. “You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in You.”
Yes, there will be storms in the forecast for us. Storms are inevitable. But we also have the confident assurance that the Lord will shelter us in the storms.
He will not always use the same methods to protect us, but He will do so. At times He will allow the storms to pass by on each side while we are protected in the palm of His hand.
At other times He will permit us to go through some violent storm. I think He does this to show how true believers should react when our world is turned upside down.
Do you want peace in the midst of your storm? Place your trust in the Lord and do not allow the storm to shake your faith. Praise the Lord that He is greater than any storm we will encounter!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
— Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Sep 22, 2008 | 1 Thessalonians
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
“Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
When I was growing up, many of my experiences revolved around the church. It was twice on Sunday, Wednesday night plus special services thrown in for good measure. Most of the people were a great example, but then there was the woman on the other side of the church that looked like she had been baptized in vinegar!
I can almost hear some of you yell out that you had the same woman in your congregation. Sadly, there always seems to be at least one in every crowd. They frown and complain about everything.
Just about all of we kids imitated the way she carried on and the horrible faces she would make. There may have been joy in her soul, but she did a good job of hiding it from her face and with her words!
What should the true Christian look and act like? According to this passage in 1 Thessalonians, our face should express joy at all times. Wait a minute! Did I just say that? Well it wasn’t me, it was what Paul wrote to the Thessalonians.
“Be joyful always.” That does not say sometimes or when we feel like it, but we are to be joyful always. Even in when we have just received devastating news we should be joyful. Not because we are like spiritual robots, but because we have the Lord in our hearts to comfort and guide us.
If I stopped here it would be like leaving you in outer space. There is more we are also told, “Pray continually.” What are we going to do about working, sleeping and the other normal activities of life?
Praying continually means that we are to maintain a close relationship with the Lord. Let me give you a practical example. In our modern day world, texting has become an art form.
I struggle looking at the three letters on each button on the keypad. Young people are able to make the keys fly. They are able to text each other even when they are in the same room—much to the distress of their teachers.
What are they doing? They are communicating. That is the close relationship the Lord desires for us to have with Him. It is a constant sharing of our heart with His great heart, knowing He cares for us and delights in our conversation.
There is a third step in today’s Scripture—we are to, “Give thanks in all circumstances.” This is similar to the first directive for us to always be joyful. It is our acknowledgment that we agree with what God is doing with our life.
Think about Bible heroes whom God used in a mighty way after they had endured trials of many kinds: Joseph, Moses, Daniel, just to name three. God knew what He was doing even when it was hidden from them at the beginning.
I have no way of knowing what you are going through right now, but read over these three steps once more: “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances.” Do you know why? “For this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” That is good enough reason for me!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
— Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Sep 19, 2008 | Matthew
Matthew 13:8-9
“Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. He who has ears, let him hear.”
One of my greatest delights is to stand in the middle of a large tomato patch with luscious ripe tomatoes all around me just begging to be eaten. I never let them down!For the past two days I have used the titles: “Seed Sowing” and “Weed Pulling.” Today it is “Harvest Reaping.” Fantastic! I love the concept of harvesting. It is such a joyous time of celebrating.I must confess I usually feel guilty participating in the harvest without doing any of the work to bring it about. I sometimes imagine the cultivating, planting, hoeing and watering that result in a bountiful harvest.Over the years I have had the blessing of leading individuals to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Frequently they are more than ready to pray the sinners prayer and give their hearts to the Lord.As we visit following their decision, I often hear about how others have witnessed to them and prayed for them across the years. It may be a parent, grandparent or friend, but there had been a seed planted. I just had the joy of harvesting.If you have read these Daily-E-Votionals for any time at all, you will know that I strike hard at the sin of pride. Spiritual pride is especially obnoxious. It is one of those weeds that we talked about yesterday.It is almost as if some Christians delight in counting how many people they have led to the Lord. To me that is tragic! The Lord has called all of us to work in His fields. We may plow, sow, water or reap—but it is what the Lord calls us to do— not what we choose to do ourselves that counts.It is my prayer that when I get to heaven, some joyous soul will greet me with a great smile and say, “You never knew it, but something you said (or did) made me realize I needed the Lord in my life. Years later I accepted Jesus. Thank you!”God needs workers in His fields. Will you accept His call and make yourself available to Him?Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!— Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Sep 18, 2008 | Matthew
Matthew 13:24-26
“Jesus told them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.’”
Yesterday I wrote about “Seed Sowing,” and tomorrow it will be “Harvest Reaping.” In between these two is the distressing subject of “Weed Pulling.” It is a subject that I wish did not exist—but it does.Yesterday I confessed that my skills at growing things are extremely lacking. Weeds, on the other hand, seem to occur without effort. In fact they flourish without any preparation or care.We once owned a home with over two acres of lawn. As I sat on the riding lawnmower looking down at the grass, I noticed something. The dandelions grew much easier than the grass. They would turn from a pretty yellow flower into an ugly white ball of fluff. The wind would catch these balls and little “parachute like” seedlings would drift along and start new plants. (Why couldn’t my garden plants grow so easily?!)How can we relate this to a spiritual application? Jesus did just that in today’s Scripture. He did so by sharing a parable—a story with spiritual meaning. In this parable, Jesus spoke about weeds that had intentionally been sown in with good seeds of grain. The weeds had been sown by an enemy.I wish that the weeds in our lives were always sown by our enemies. The fact of the matter is that all too often our friends or family members sow weeds in our lives. They do this by encouraging us to compromise with the Word of God.It is quite common for people to ignore the pure seed of the Word of God. They impose their own desires on modes of living and try to justify it. Not only are they guilty of some sin, but they are sowing weeds in the minds of others who justify their own actions by what they see the other person doing.How are we to deal with the weeds that we find all around us? I think the answer is given by Jesus later on in this parable. Here is what He said in Matthew 13:30: “Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: ‘First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into My barn.'”It is possible that when we try to pull weeds that we may also destroy the good crop. We need to warn people who are living in sin that there is a day of reckoning coming, but then we need to leave the matter in God’s hands.Please understand that we are not to excuse sin and violation of God’s Word, but sometimes we can get so violent in the way we deal with sin, that we may be guilty of our own attitudes and actions. In Ephesians 4:26 Paul says this; “In your anger do not sin.”Let me sum up yesterday and today’s teaching: We are to sow good seed and become God’s good seed by dying to ourselves. We are to tell the Lord about the weeds we see others sowing, warn those who sow them about what lies ahead for them and then leave it to the Lord to bring judgment.Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!— Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Sep 17, 2008 | Matthew
Matthew 13:31-32
“He told them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches.'”
For the next three days I will be using these three titles: “Seed Sowing,” “Weed Pulling,” and “Harvest Reaping.” I would have liked to use a rhyming title for the third day, but my creative juices ran dry!It has always amazed me how some people are able to prepare soil and plant seeds that seem to explode out of the ground and bear a crop of amazing proportions.A former neighbor of ours used to raise huge Hubbard squash plants. From a few round planters we could watch as the seeds grew into sprouts and soon filled the planters with green leaves. By harvest time he reaped several hundred pounds of squash. My experience with growing things has not produced the same results.As I meditate on the subject of sowing seeds, I am aware that in order to grow, there must be a death. Seeds by themselves will never reproduce and bear a crop. They will remain just a single seed.I once read that archaeologists discovered seeds of wheat that had been placed in jars and left in tombs deep inside pyramids. The seeds of wheat remained just as they had several thousand years earlier when placed there.One of the archaeologists took some of the seeds and planted them in the ground and watered them. After a short time shoots began to appear and, after a normal growing period, a head of grain appeared that produced many seeds.Jesus taught this truth in John 12:24: “I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.”There are two aspects of sowing seed for believers. We need to be busy sowing seeds. That means sharing the gospel. One of the ministries we support is a Juvenile Correctional Center. The faithful servant who devotes his time to sow seeds in that field called me today. He shared that several young men have accepted Jesus Christ into their hearts and have been baptized. Praise the Lord!A second aspect in sowing seed is to recognize that we are seeds. That being the case, we need to die to self in order to produce the harvest that Christ desires—as we give ourselves totally to Him instead of demanding our own way. Increasingly we need to pray, “Not my will, Lord, but Thy will be done!”Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!— Pastor Cecil
