by Pastor Cecil | May 10, 2010 | Proverbs
Proverbs 6:4-5
“Allow no sleep to your eyes, no slumber to your eyelids. Free yourself, like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, like a bird from the snare of the fowler.”
I have the sweetest and most gentle wife a man could ever wish for. She has been my dearest friend for some sixty-two years and my wife for almost fifty-eight years. Her birthday is today, May 10th, one day after Mother’s Day.
If ever there was a Proverbs 31 woman, it is my precious Joyce. Her children rise up and call her blessed. She has an undying love for them and for others as well. That being said, she also has a frisky side.
Back in the 50’s I was in the U.S. Air Force, stationed in South Dakota. My work schedule required me to leave for the base at about 6:00 a.m. each morning. I rode to work with a sergeant named Anthony Urban. It was always a struggle for me to get around and ready before he would arrive in front of our small travel trailer.
My dearest wife would be alone all day in the small 24 foot trailer, eagerly waiting for my arrival so we could visit. I got in the habit of taking a nap after dinner. Picture my dear wife waiting all day for me to be home with her, and all I could do was take a nap.
One evening I was deep in slumber when Joyce shouted, “Cec! Hurry and get up, Urban is here!” I almost broke my neck getting into my uniform before I saw Joyce laughing hysterically. I looked at the clock and realized that it was still evening.
Those special memories live vividly in my mind of a woman of God who is able to bring fun and adventure into life. Happy birthday, darling! You are still the love of my life after all of these years.
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 7, 2010 | Titus
Titus 2:13
“We wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.”
This week’s hymn is another written by the blind hymn writer, Fanny J. Crosby. She was one of the most remarkable women, be it blind or sighted. Her love of her Lord was evident in the thousands of poems and hymns she wrote.
Imagine the anticipation of any blind saint of God to be able to see things in glory that have been hidden from their eyes in this life. Fanny commented that it would be wonderful to see her family and friends, but she longed to see her Jesus most of all.
“My Savior First of All!“
When my life work is ended,
and I cross the swelling tide,
When the bright and glorious morning I shall see
I shall know my Redeemer when I reach the other side,
And His smile will be the first to welcome me.
Refrain:
I shall know Him, I shall know Him,
And redeemed by His side, I shall stand
I shall know Him, I shall know Him,
By the print of the nails in His hand.
Oh, the soul thrilling rapture
when I view His blessed face
And the luster of His kindly beaming eye;
How my full heart will praise Him
for the mercy, love, and grace
That prepared for me a mansion in the sky.
Refrain:
I shall know Him, I shall know Him,
And redeemed by His side, I shall stand
I shall know Him, I shall know Him,
By the print of the nails in His hand.
Oh, the dear ones in glory,
how they beckon me to come,
And our parting at the river I recall;
To the sweet vales of Eden
they will sing my welcome home,
But I long to meet my Savior first of all.
Refrain:
I shall know Him, I shall know Him,
And redeemed by His side, I shall stand
I shall know Him, I shall know Him,
By the print of the nails in His hand.
Thro’ the gates of the city
in a robe of spotless white,
He will lead me where no tears will ever fall;
In the glad song of ages
I shall mingle with delight,
But I long to meet my Savior first of all.
Refrain:
I shall know Him, I shall know Him,
And redeemed by His side, I shall stand
I shall know Him, I shall know Him,
By the print of the nails in His hand.
To access My Savior First of All, this week’s inspirational video from GloryScapes.com, please go to: http://www.gloryscapes.com/mysaviorfirstofall 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 6, 2010 | Psalm
Psalm 37:7
“Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for Him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.”
Perhaps we are all tempted to worry from time to time, but there are some folks who seem to take it on as their task in life. They even go so far as to worry that they are not worrying enough. (Just kidding ― I think).
One of the greatest illustrations I think I ever heard about worry was given by one of my all- time favorite preachers, Donald Grey Barnhouse, who was pastor of Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, PA.
Dr. Barnhouse tells the story of his wife worrying about everything. She would be after him about the most trivial matter she was worrying about. He finally gave her a small notebook that he called her “worry book.” He asked her to write all of her worries in the book and each Saturday morning they would sit down and she could go over all of her worries, and only then would she mention them.
The first Saturday morning he asked her to open her worry book and tell him what she was worrying about. Every item she had written in the book had not been worth the worry, so she had scratched them off. He asked if there were not some legitimate issues and she said there were, but she did not have time to worry about them before they resolved themselves.
After a few weeks she agreed that all of her fruitless worry was only trying to do what God alone can do. He holds our future in His hand and knows what is best for us. What are you worrying about? Do you need a worry book?
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 5, 2010 | Proverbs
Proverbs 3:5-6
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.”
I loved Jim Graham. He was a man of faith and integrity. He drove a church bus with devotion and purpose ― it was his ministry and he was as faithful to his task as any minister who stepped into the pulpit. He has gone to be with the Lord, but his dear wife sent me an e-mail in response to one of last week’s E-Votionals. Here is a portion of Sally’s letter:
This is such a blessed story! I can’t hit the delete button. It just touched my heart. It kind of reminds me of back in the 1980’s. Olympia Nazarene Church bought that big Trailways bus. My husband drove it whenever he was available, but the church needed a driver more than Jim was able to do it.
One morning when we woke up, he said, ‘You are going to think I’m crazy.’ I replied, ‘So what else is new?’ He said, ‘I had a dream and God told me to quit my job and drive the bus full time.’ I said, ‘If you believe God told you to do this, then you had better do it. God doesn’t like it when we don’t listen to him.’ He said, ‘But it is a job that doesn’t pay anything. What do we do about living on your income only?’ I said, ‘If God told you to do it, He will provide for us.’
So Jim quit his job, we cut back on a few things, and I got a good promotion almost immediately. We tithed the same amount as we had when Jim was working and we never missed paying a bill and we never did without the necessities of life. God blessed us and took care of us. Jim quit his paid job June 30, 1985 and drove the bus until 1999.”
Wow! That really touches my heart and makes me want to do more than I ever have for the Lord. He will take care of His children when they fully trust Him!
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 4, 2010 | Acts
Acts 12:7
“Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. “Quick, get up!” he said, and the chains fell off Peter’s wrists.”
Prison yards can be fearful places. They can also be fruitful harvest fields just waiting for workers to reap what is ripe. The harvesters may be chaplains, visiting ministers or even other prisoners.
Over the years I have been uniquely used of God in very unusual ways. One of those ways was working for the Idaho Law Enforcement Planning Commission. We funded many criminal justice jurisdictions, one of which was the Idaho State Correction Center (The state Pen).
I can’t recall how it got started, but I began having a weekly Bible study for the inmates. We had 15 or 20 in our group. These men had been convicted of minor offenses all the way up to first degree murder. We were not concerned about the offense they had committed as much as the wonderful Savior that had given them a new life in Christ.
One summer evening we were having our study on a grassy area outside one of the cell blocks. Our study that evening centered on how we are set free from sin and death when we are born again. As we laughed about this wonderful freedom in Christ, one of the inmates looked up at an armed guard standing on the stone wall. He made a comment I will never forget: “With Christ in our heart, we are freer in here than that guard is up there if he doesn’t have Christ in his heart!” Wow!
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
