by Pastor Cecil | Jul 9, 2010 | James
James 4:8
“Come near to God and He will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”
Joyce and I passed through a very difficult time in our life as our oldest daughter came closer and closer to passing into the arms of Jesus. We knew that her heart was right with the Lord and that the moment she took her last breath here on earth, her next would be in glory, but it still was a time we needed the Lord nearby.
Fanny J. Crosby lived from 1820 to 1915. This remarkable lady never let problems keep her away from the Lord. Her blindness as an infant meant that she spent her entire life without physical sight, but was blessed with a keen spiritual sight.
When she was only eight she wrote the following poem: “Oh, what a happy child I am, although I cannot see! I am resolved that in this world contented I will be! How many blessings I enjoy that other people don’t! So weep or sigh because I am blind, I cannot—nor I won’t.” The hymn, “Draw Me Nearer” seems to express her desire toward her blessed Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
“Draw Me Nearer“
I am Thine, O Lord, I have heard Thy voice,
And it told Thy love to me;
But I long to rise in the arms of faith
And be closer drawn to Thee.
Refrain:
Draw me nearer, nearer blessed Lord,
To the cross where Thou hast died;
Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer blessed Lord,
To Thy precious, bleeding side.
Consecrate me now to Thy service, Lord,
By the pow’r of grace divine;
Let my soul look up with a steadfast hope,
And my will be lost in Thine.
Refrain:
Draw me nearer, nearer blessed Lord,
To the cross where Thou hast died;
Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer blessed Lord,
To Thy precious, bleeding side.
Oh, the pure delight of a single hour
That before Thy throne I spend,
When I kneel in prayer, and with Thee, my God
I commune as friend with friend!
Refrain:
Draw me nearer, nearer blessed Lord,
To the cross where Thou hast died;
Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer blessed Lord,
To Thy precious, bleeding side.
There are depths of love that I cannot know
Till I cross the narrow sea;
There are heights of joy that I may not reach
Till I rest in peace with Thee.
Refrain:
Draw me nearer, nearer blessed Lord,
To the cross where Thou hast died;
Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer blessed Lord,
To Thy precious, bleeding side.
To access Draw Me Nearer, this week’s inspirational video from GloryScapes™ Christian Music Hymns & Songs, please go to: http://www.gloryscapes.com/drawmenearer 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 | Jul 8, 2010 | 1 Peter
I Peter 3:15
“But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.”
I was born and spent my first eleven years in Camas, Washington. For those of you who are not acquainted with northwest geography, Camas is located on the Washington side of the mighty Columbia River near Portland, Oregon. Rain was a common occurrence and we became used to it (sort of!)
One Sunday night, when I was eight or nine, we were returning home after the evening service. Back in those days the cars all had standard transmissions, which meant that you could start them by being pushed while the car was in gear.
It was raining cats and dogs when we came upon a car stalled in the middle of the highway. My dad, always being a kind and helpful sort, eased up behind the car and started to push it to get it started. It was raining too hard to talk with the other driver first. Almost immediately the driver began to motion with his arm for dad to stop. He ran back and told dad that he didn’t need to be pushed as he was out of gas and was trying to coast back into town for some gas. Dad took him back and the good deed was accomplished.
It is very important that we can sometimes push when to do so will cause more harm than good. If the Holy Spirit has not prepared the heart of an individual to be receptive to the gospel, we need to prayerfully wait for the Spirit’s guidance. Above all, don’t push! We already have too many pushy Christians.
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 | Jul 7, 2010 | Colossians
Colossians 3:9-10
“Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.”
The sounds of loud fireworks are still ringing in my ears. Long into the night last night people were igniting fireworks of every description — the louder the better, or so they thought.
It reminded me of an incident when I was a police officer in Nampa, Idaho. I was attending college during the day and working at the department at night. I usually worked on the front desk as dispatcher.
Earlier in the evening the officers had been called to a park because someone had fired off a loud aerial firework. It was the kind that had a base charge that sent a very loud salute high into the air where it would explode. Three of the salutes had not gone off.
About 3:00 a.m. the shift sergeant who was in command came into the station. We talked about the salutes and how loud they must have sounded. One thing led to another and we convinced ourselves (in great hilarity) that it was our duty as law enforcement officers to neutralize that terrible device.
Laughing like a couple of school boys, we took it out in front of the City Hall and lit the fuse. We almost fell on the steps as we were laughing so hard. I have never heard anything so loud in all my life as those three explosions. Fireworks my eye, they sounded like dynamite.
Immediately the switch-board lit up as concerned citizens wanted to know if they were in danger. One of the calls was from the Chief of Police. Now here is where I did one of my song and dance acts that was intended to tell the truth and not tell the truth at the same time.
I asked the Chief, “What direction did the explosions sound like they were coming from?” He responded, “From downtown.” I innocently said, “That’s what all of the others are saying as well. We are checking it out, Sir.” Beep, Cecil! A lie is a lie!
Someone squealed and I was called into the Chief’s Office the next day where he read the riot act to me. I was sure I was going to be fired when he started to laugh and told about one of his silly pranks when he was a young officer.
I want to make the point that we can lie even if the facts may be true, but we are leading people to a wrong conclusion. The Chief may have let me off with a warning, but the Lord convicted me of my sin and I had no peace until I repented.
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 | Jul 6, 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 have just responded to a reader who is passing through a deep valley. I guess we have all passed through those valleys, haven’t we? As Mark Lowry of the Gaither Vocal Band would say, “We have gone through the valley, we are in the valley or we will be going through the valley.”
Your trial will be different than mine and mine from others, but we can be certain that we will be faced with trials at one time or another in our life. Here is the thing we need to remember God knows what we are experiencing and He desires to make us more mature and strong by what we endure.
Modern thinking tries to convince us that we need to rely on ourselves and increase our self-esteem. Can I let you in on a little secret? —reliance on self usually means that we leave God out of the equation.
I am committed to being totally dependent upon God. He alone knows what is around the next corner and what will be for my good and His glory. He is never surprised what happens to me. I will trust in Him and allow Him to lead.
Be blessed dear heart and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
360-570-0074
PastorCecil@Daily-E-Votional.com
by Pastor Cecil | Jul 5, 2010 | 1 Corinthians
I Corinthians 1:26-27
“Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.”
I once had a friend. I know it is hard to believe, but it is true! His name was Roscoe. He was developmentally disabled and had several physical problems. But there was one thing that made up for any problems he had—it was his smile!
I am not sure how it happened, but one Sunday following the service, Roscoe took out a tiny black book and proudly opened it up. He was not able to speak well enough to tell me what it was, but I sensed that it was his bowling scores.
I took great delight in showing enthusiasm over how well he did. The next week he ran across the foyer after service to show me how well he had done that week. It was not long before I looked forward to our meetings.
One Sunday I happened to be speaking with an acquaintance named John. When Roscoe rushed up with his book he handed it to John who had no idea what it was. John placed it in his packet and started to walk off with Roscoe calling out pitifully after him.
When we retrieved the little book, John was filled with regret. He thought it was a small portion of scripture verses. From then on, Roscoe was very careful to not hand his book to others. You know, as I think about it, we have been given the Word of God as a precious thing. We can use it for the glory of God and His purposes or we can prayerfully allow the Lord to bring it into the hands of those who will find eternal life in its pages. Even more important is to allow His Word to live through us.
Be blessed dear heart and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
360-570-0074
PastorCecil@Daily-E-Votional.com
