by Pastor Cecil | Oct 10, 2008 | Matthew
Matthew 5:11-12
“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
On a regular basis I receive messages from readers who are encountering trials and tribulations. The things they are encountering seem so overwhelming that there is no answer. I always pray for the individuals involved and the Lord usually directs my mind to the Scripture for today or James 1:2-8.
Last week one of the members of our fellowship and a dear friend shared with me several of the people she works with were jealous of her and had been treating her with contempt. She just sent me an encouraging note that has lifted my spirits. I called her and asked if I could use it in today’s E-Votional? She agreed, so here we go!
“Cecil, Here is a personal story about loving the unloved:
Last week we had a consultant come to our office to teach us a new database system. The consultant was from India and spoke very broken English. Everyone in the office treated him poorly and nobody wanted to work with him. They quickly unloaded him on me and they took off to ‘meetings’ and other obligations.
They made themselves busy all week so they didn’t have any time to spend with him. I spent the week with him. At first I admit he was hard to understand and I didn’t want to put forth the extra effort to have meaningful communication any more than anyone else did but on the other hand I couldn’t stand the way he was being treated so I tried my hardest to have good communication.
It only took about a half day and then we could easily understand each other. The more I worked with him, the more I liked him. By the end of the week, he told me he knew my co-workers treated me badly (by making me work with him). He also pointed out many other ways they treated me badly.
He had been asking our information services person to provide me a new mouse for my computer all week because mine wasn’t working properly. I never did get a new mouse. He said he couldn’t believe they expected me to do days and days of data entry with a non-functioning mouse. Here is the part that blew me away: He said the next time he comes, he will bring me a new mouse!!
We were not only able to work with each other but we became friends!!!”
When we live our life as unto the Lord, He will open doors that we never dreamed possible. In the process we will find that His ways are pleasant and rewarding. Rather than whimpering and feeling sorry for ourselves, we need to rejoice that we are worthy to face the painful situations of life.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
— Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Oct 9, 2008 | Matthew
Matthew 25:37-40
“Then the righteous will answer Him, Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You something to drink? When did we see You a stranger and invite You in, or needing clothes and clothe You? When did we see You sick or in prison and go to visit You? Then the King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least one of these brothers of mine, you did for Me'”
In thinking about the Scripture above, we need to stop and consider what Matthew means by the term, “the least one of these brothers of mine.” It possibly could mean the prophets and ministers of God. But it just as likely applies to those who are confined to hospitals and nursing homes, in prisons, forgotten and alone at home—and any number of types of individuals.
In recent weeks in the U.S. we have come to know a remarkable woman who is running as for Vice-President. Sarah Palin and her husband have a son who is developmentally disabled.
The year was 1954 and I was stationed in the United States Air Force in Rapid City, South Dakota. While there, my wife, Joyce, and I assisted in starting a small church with just a handful of people. The pastor and his wife had three children, one of which was a developmentally disabled boy named Chuckie who could only speak with guttural tones and with great difficulty.
Chuckie needed lots of love. You could see the joy on his face when someone would give him a hug. He especially loved his dad. He was the happiest when he would slip past the one who was supposed to sit with him and go up on the platform and sit in a chair next to his dad.
I can still picture the scene of him sitting, or standing by his dad, with his song book upside down, pretending that he knew what the words meant, and making his singing sounds. His dad, Wes, would look down at him with a pleasant smile that seemed to say, “I love you and I am here for you.”
It must have been in the summer of 1956 that we had a family camp in the Black Hills of South Dakota, at Camp Bob Marshall. It was at the closing service that the speaker invited people to come forward and receive prayer for healing.
Pastor Wes and Mary took Chuckie and knelt there along with many others. Soon it seemed that the entire congregation had focused their prayers on Chuckie. There was such a deep assurance that the Lord had heard and that soon this little boy would be healed.
Soon after that family camp I was discharged from the Air Force and returned to complete my college. We kept in touch with our friends in Rapid City and were stunned by the news that Chuckie had died.
Chuckie’s parents shared that during their time of grief they received a telegram from the speaker who had prayed so expectantly for Chuckie to be healed. In it he expressed praise and delight. He told the grieving parents that when they had prayed so earnestly for little Chuckie, they had no idea that God would heal him so perfectly! Wow!
Joyce and I were reminded of those words of assurance in 1991, when our own daughter, Brenda, died at age 35. God had given her the best healing of all, by taking her to be with Him. We know she will be waiting for us!
There are many people who may be classified as the “least of these.” They need you and you need them! Accept them as God’s special gift to you.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
— Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Oct 8, 2008 | Philippians
Philippians 3:13-14
“Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”
Do you feel as if you go through life with a giant question mark over your head? Do you listen to the news of God’s people being taken hostage, and wonder why? Do you question why children are diagnosed with incurable diseases? Do you ask yourself why God allows the wicked to appear to prosper?
There are a multitude of questions that seem constantly to be with us. In the back room of our mind we conjure up notions that if we had understanding on some of these issues, all would be well. Can I let you in on a little secret? IT ISN’T GOING TO HAPPEN! Not only is it not going to happen, it should not be our goal. Being used of God is simply doing what He says, whether we ever gain understanding.
More and more I see God accomplish things in my life that are not a result of my own resolve. It is just being available, and then going on about my normal business. Several years ago I received an e-mail that really illustrates this whole idea of God being and doing things we cannot understand. Do you think this story is true? It sure could be!
ALMIGHTY GOD
The pastor of a store front church called “The Almighty God Tabernacle” was working late on a Saturday night. He decided to call his wife before he left for home. It was about 10:00 PM, but his wife didn’t answer the phone. The pastor let it ring many times. He thought it was odd that she didn’t answer, but decided to wrap up a few things and try again in a few minutes.
When he tried again, she answered right away. He asked her why she hadn’t answered before, and she said that it hadn’t rung at their house. The following Monday the pastor received a call at the church office, which was the phone that he’d used that Saturday night. The man on the other end wanted to know why he’d called on Saturday night. The pastor was dumbfounded and couldn’t figure out what the guy was talking about. Then the caller said, “It rang and rang, but I didn’t answer.”
The pastor remembered the apparently misdirected call and apologized for disturbing the gentleman, explaining that he’d intended to call his wife.
The caller said, “That’s OK, let me tell you my story. You see, I was planning to commit suicide on Saturday night, but before I did, I prayed, “God, if You are there, and You don’t want me to do this, give me a sign right now.” At that point my phone started to ring. I looked at the caller ID, and it said, ‘ALMIGHTY GOD’. I was afraid to answer!”
The man who had intended to commit suicide is now meeting regularly for counseling with the pastor of a church called—The Almighty God Tabernacle.
Instead of wasting a lot of time trying to come up with answers that are beyond our capacity to understand, isn’t it better to just take God’s hand? Those things which God wants us to know will be revealed to us. The other things that we struggle to understand will just have to wait until God reveals them to us.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
— Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Oct 7, 2008 | 1 John
1 John 4:10
“This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”
I once heard about a couple who made an appointment with a marriage counselor. They had been married for forty years and the counselor wondered why they would want to talk to him.
The wife started out by saying that she didn’t think her husband loved her. He just never said he loved her. When the counselor asked the husband if this were true, he readily agreed. He said, “I told forty years ago I loved her and I have not withdrawn that statement—it’s still in effect!” (I think the counselor wanted to bang his head on the desk!)
It is seldom, if ever, that we choose up sides and talk about the meaning of the word, “love.’ Many of us think we have a grasp of its meaning, but do we really? Can we honestly claim that we have plumbed love’s true meaning?
Here is my candid observation—love is an emotion, that while being a command, begs for some type of positive response. We are prone to love only as long as the person loves us in return. Take that response away and we quickly lose the desire to continue loving.
Like it or not, we humans are self centered and preoccupied with ourselves. If you want an example of this just stop and listen to someone’s conversation. Note the way they focus on their own interests and welfare.
According to God’s precious Word we are to love with a love that is like the love Jesus has for us. That means we are to love even when the other person is not loveable.
When you stop to think about it, that is the way God loves us—when we are the most unlovable. It is while we were unlovable sinners that Christ loved us, and it is the unlovable people around us who need us to love them—with Christ’s transforming love.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
— Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Oct 6, 2008 | 1 Peter
1 Peter 4:12-13
“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.”
Last week I came into the office to work on the next day’s Daily-E-Votional. I tuned into Rejoice Radio on my computer. Focus on the Family was on and a guest made a remarkable statement. “You are either in the midst of a painful trial, getting over one or there is one in your future.”
Wow! That hit me like a ton of bricks. The reality of what this man said is so profound that it is staggering. Every person on the face of this earth has to face the reality of ordeal.
I do not want to sound morbid, but if we do not realize the fact that we will pass through times of trial, we may be stunned when they come. Troubles may be the loss of a loved one, financial reversal, a disturbing medical diagnosis or any number of other issues.
Peter says in today’s Scripture that we are not to be surprised when we encounter troubles. They are a natural part of life. We read almost the same thing in James 1:2; “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds.”
How is the believer to respond to the adversities of life? It is made very clear here in 1 Peter; “But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.”
James seems to go a step further. He says that we are to “consider it pure joy.” That is impossible to do in our own strength. Only with the help of the Lord are we able to look beyond the trials and see our eternal reward.
You may have heard the expression; “That person is so heavenly minded that they are no earthly use.” I certainly do not agree with the idea that we are of no earthly use, but we certainly should be heavenly minded.
We can be certain that the things of this world will all pass away. The trials and tribulations of our present life will pale and fade when we slip the bonds of this earth and are with the Lord. What a day that will be!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
— Pastor Cecil
