by Pastor Cecil | Mar 24, 2010 | 2 Peter
2 Peter 3:18
“But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and forever! Amen.”
Years ago I heard Dr. W.A. Criswell, pastor of Dallas First Baptist Church, tell the story of two men who were sitting at a bar arguing about which of them was the most spiritual. That presents an interesting picture doesn’t it?
$10 to Quote the Lord's Prayer
As both of them became more and more inebriated, their argument became more and more heated. Finally one of the men placed a bet that the other man did not even know the Lord’s Prayer. His opponent accepted the wager and started out. “Now I lay me down to sleep I pray the Lord my soul to keep and if I die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take.” As he finished, the first man gave him the $10.00 and said, “I had no idea you would know the Lord’s Prayer!”
How sad it is that so many people know so little about God’s Word. The reason is that they spend so little time in reading and studying God’s infallible Word. In order to grow in God’s grace we have to grow in the knowledge of God’s word to mankind.
Here is the bottom line: What are you and I doing to grow in the knowledge of God’s Word? How much time do we devote each day to reading our Bible? What Bible studies are we enrolled in to increase our knowledge? It’s very thought provoking isn’t it?
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
360-570-0074
PastorCecil@Daily-E-Votional.com
by Pastor Cecil | Mar 23, 2010 | 1 Peter
1 Peter 3:3-4
“Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.”
Joyce and I had just picked up a special speaker from England at the Boise Air Terminal. We had been assigned the privilege of transporting him to a conference site a few hours north of Boise. This distinguished minister with more ministerial degrees than I even knew existed suddenly shocked us to our roots.
“Do you know that the Bible teaches nudity?” How do you respond to a question like that? After allowing us to squirm for several minutes he opened his Bible and read the verses in today’s Scripture. We had a great laugh.
The real essence in these two verses is the concept of real beauty. There are many people who are deceived by the shallowness of physical beauty. I wonder how many young men would be shocked if they saw their “beauty queen” before she put on her make-up. Sad, sad the bitter wail. Who is this strange creature?
True beauty is an inner quality that has very little to do with physical appearance. It is, as the Apostle Peter says, “- – – the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit. I hope that is the quality we all seek to develop.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
360-570-0074
PastorCecil@Daily-E-Votional.com
by Pastor Cecil | Mar 22, 2010 | John
John 15:16
“Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘here am I, snd me!’ ”
Over the years I have volunteered for many things — some good and some not so good. I recall when I was in Air Force basic training back in the early 50’s. (For some of you that is the dark ages). As I was about to say, a captain who was our training officer asked for volunteers to assist in the command post. Few of us knew what that involved so only two of us raised our hands. What we did not know was that there was a five mile night march that we were excused from because of our special duty. The laughter of our fellow trainees turned to envy when they heard of our stroke of good fortune.
The Lord has always sought volunteers for His army. Let me be quick to remind us that His soldiers have often been called upon to serve under extreme conditions — even to the point of death. The blood of the martyrs marks the pathway God’s soldiers have been called upon to march. Are you up to it?
It seems that many ministers in our modern era try to paint a pretty picture of servanthood. “Volunteer for Jesus and you will be assured of a life of prosperity and blessing.” Tell that to Job who lost all of his wealth and all ten of his children. Tell that to Stephen who felt stones crash into his body until he entered the gates of glory. Tell that to the multitude of saints across the ages who were burned at the stake for volunteering in the Lord’s army. God’s cause is worth dying for! I volunteer! Will you join me?
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
360-570-0074
PastorCecil@Daily-E-Votional.com
by Pastor Cecil | Mar 19, 2010 | 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.”
Fanny J. Crosby was a remarkable woman. There are so many accomplishments in her life that it is hard to comprehend them all. She lost her eyesight because of the treatment of a careless doctor. In spite of her loss she memorized huge portions of Scripture just by listening to her grandmother read them to her. She is credited with writing over 10,000 hymns during her life.
Fanny began writing poetry at an early age, but another amazing fact is that she did not accept Jesus as her personal Savior until she was 31. She was attending a service on November 20, 1850. The congregation was singing a hymn by Isaac Watts; “At the cross, at the cross, where I first saw the light.” She knew she needed the Lord and that very night He became her Savior and Lord.
Her desire was to always stay close to Jesus who had paid the ultimate price for her salvation. Her desire was to remain near her Lord. She immediately wrote the words to this week’s hymn, “Near the Cross.”
“Near the Cross“
Jesus, keep me near the cross;
there a precious fountain,
free to all, a healing stream,
flows from Calvary’s mountain.
Refrain: In the cross, in the cross, be my glory ever,
till my raptured soul shall find rest beyond the river.
Near the cross, a trembling soul,
love and mercy found me;
there the bright and morning star
sheds its beams around me.
Refrain: In the cross, in the cross, be my glory ever,
till my raptured soul shall find rest beyond the river.
Near the cross! O Lamb of God,
bring its scenes before me;
help me walk from day to day
with its shadow o’er me.
Refrain: In the cross, in the cross, be my glory ever,
till my raptured soul shall find rest beyond the river.
Near the cross I’ll watch and wait,
hoping, trusting ever,
till I reach the golden strand
just beyond the river.
Refrain: In the cross, in the cross, be my glory ever,
till my raptured soul shall find rest beyond the river.
To view the GloryScapes inspirational music video Near the Cross please go to: http://www.gloryscapes.com/nearthecross in your browser or click on the image below.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
360-570-0074
PastorCecil@Daily-E-Votional.com
by Pastor Cecil | Mar 18, 2010 | John
John 15:16
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing.”
This is the third Daily-E-Votional dealing with an agricultural theme. First came God’s Orchard, then God’s Fields and today God’s Vineyard. Each one of these themes has a little different slant.
Remain in the Vine
We know that Jesus and His disciples spent much time walking through Israel. They ate fruit and grain as they walked along. It is very likely that they also plucked a few grapes from a vineyard here and there. Perhaps it was in or near one of these vineyards that Jesus spoke the words of today’s Scripture.
There is a simple, yet profound truth in what Jesus said. “You have to be attached to the vine to continue growing.” Once a branch is severed from the vine it begins to shrivel and die. It may not be apparent right away, but before long the signs of death will appear.
How about you? When you separate yourself from the Branch, which is Christ Jesus, you will begin to show signs of death. At first you may be able to display signs of life, but they will soon fade and you will be nothing but a dried-up stick ready for the fire. While there is still time, attach yourself to Christ and produce fruit!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
360-570-0074
PastorCecil@Daily-E-Votional.com
