by Pastor Cecil | May 24, 2010 | 2 Corinthians
2 Corinthians 5:8-9
“We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So we make it our goal to please Him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it.”
Today is another special day for Joyce and I. It is the day we celebrate the birth of our oldest daughter, Brenda Joy. That makes the third of four birthdays in May and each is exactly one week apart ― my wife Joyce on the 10th, our son Dan on the 17th, our daughter Brenda (who went to be with the Lord in 1991) on the 24th, and our grandson, Jeremiah, on the 31st.
Back in 1991, Brenda was in the University of Washington Hospital in Seattle. I was alone with her one afternoon when she suddenly said, “Dad, I feel as if I have been cheated. Grandpa lived to be 74 and here I am near death at just 35. I feel like I am cheated out of half of my life!”
When I arrived home that evening, I took a piece of typing paper and from the garage floor swept up a little sand. Sitting at the kitchen table I carefully counted out 74 grains of sand. These I placed in a tiny sample perfume bottle. The sand hardly covered the bottom.
The next day at the hospital I placed the tiny bottle on Brenda’s bed. When she asked what it was, I told her it was Grandpa Thompson. I explained that we have the wrong idea about the length of this life. If one grain of sand is equal to one year in eternity, think of the earth, the stars all being sand. Seventy-four grains of sand is nothing and half of that is nothing. Eternity is what is important.
Have you made provision for where you will spend eternity?
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 | May 21, 2010 | Hebrews
Hebrews 11:1-2
“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for.”
There are so many spiritual songs that have been handed down through the African American culture, that it is hard to count them all. One of them is this week’s focus, “Were You There When They Crucified My Lord?”
In the field of criminal investigation, eye witnesses are extremely important. It is very hard to develop a case without having someone observe the event and giving testimony as to what they saw and heard.
In the spiritual realm we are instructed to live by faith. It is not necessary for us to physically be present at the time Jesus was on the cross and rose from the grave. We can observe these events through the eyes of faith. Were you there?
Enjoy this week’s inspiration video.
“Moonlight Sonata & Were You There?“
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Were you there when they nailed Him to the tree?
Were you there when they nailed Him to the tree?
Oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
Were you there when they nailed Him to the tree?
Were you there when they laid Him in the tomb?
Were you there when they laid Him in the tomb?
Oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
Were you there when they laid Him in the tomb?
Were you there when God raised Him from the tomb?
Were you there when God raised Him from the tomb?
Oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
Were you there when God raised Him from the tomb?
To access Moonlight Sonata & Were You There?, this week’s inspirational video from GloryScapes.com, please go to: http://www.gloryscapes.com/wereyouthere 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 | May 20, 2010 | Luke
Luke 21:33
“Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.”
I once was listening to a sermon tape on humility by Dr. Donald Barnhouse. He related how he was preaching about humility in an earlier meeting. After one of the services a man approached him and said, “Dr. Barnhouse, please pray that the Lord will make me nothing.”
Dr. Barnhouse was known for being forthright in his conversation. He looked directly at the man and said, “Take it by faith, Brother, you are nothing!”
I love it! It was not specifically directed at him, but applies to each and every one of us. It is not what we say or do that deserves credit, but what the Lord does in and through us.
When people will give us praise and adulation, it is very easy to feel that we really deserve it. I don’t think we do. Yes, we are God’s children, but He is the One, and He is the only One who deserves praise. When others see Jesus in us, it is Jesus in us that counts — not the way we present Him.
There is a hymn that we used to sing that really expresses what I pray for my own life and ministry: “Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in me; All His wonderful passion and purity; Oh, Thou Spirit divine, all my nature refine; Till the beauty of Jesus be seen in 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 | May 19, 2010 | Isaiah
Isaiah 6:8
“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. Send me!’ ”
My dear mother was a ready volunteer. She was always ready to respond to any request for help. There was just one catch ― she always sent someone else. It was my dad, my brother or me. That’s just the way things were, and at least one time it had a major impact on my life.
I had gone with my Mom to Vancouver, Washington, to pick up my dad, who was a bus driver and was scheduled to return. As we sat in the parking lot we noticed an African American boy about my age. He was holding a large ceramic platter which he would look at with admiration every few minutes.
Mom urged me to go over and talk with him to let him tell me about his platter. I was reluctant, but her “call” was insistent, so I went. I had no idea in what manner it would change my life. First of all, it was my first exposure to an African American.
Excitedly, the boy shared with me how he had won the platter at Jantzen Beach Amusement Park, and that he was going to give it to his mom when he got home. In a few minutes the two of us became friends, a trait I have found easy since that day.
From time to time God urges us to get out of our comfort zone and reach out to those around us. Please do not miss a blessing by staying aloof. Be willing to go out of your way to discover the story behind the “platters” in other people’s life.
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 | May 18, 2010 | Psalm
Psalm 81:10
“I am the LORD your God, who brought you up out of Egypt. Open wide your mouth and I will fill it.”
I am so glad that the Lord has brought me up out of the “Egypt” of sin. I was not a violent sinner — in fact, I was only a young boy when I turned my life totally over to the Lord and made Him the Lord of my life.
It has been a joy to walk life’s pathway with Him these seventy some years. I cannot help but reflect on the many times the Holy Spirit of God has guided and directed me in areas that are beyond my understanding.
I was discipling a young man and had set up a schedule to meet once each week for one hour of one-on-one sharing. Since I was working full time, we had agreed to meet during my lunch hour. The busier I became at work, the more often I neglected preparing for his visit. He would appear at my office door and I would be stunned to realize that this was the day of our meeting.
One day Jerry knocked on my door, and I realized that I had failed once again. I fired off an emergency prayer for divine guidance, but nothing of substance came to mind. I just asked Jerry, “How is your mother?” He mumbled some sort of unintelligible reply and soon left.
A few minutes later he was back. He asked if I knew what effect I was having on him. I started to apologize when he said that each week my comments hit the area of his life that he was struggling with. In fact, he had just had an angry argument with his mother that very morning . . . and I asked how his mother was.
It made me realize that while I certainly was responsible to prepare for his visit, it was the Holy Spirit that was most important. I had to be yielded to say what came into my mind regardless of how silly it may sound. I would even be willing to be a fool for Christ!
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
