by Pastor Cecil | Jul 8, 2011 | Luke
Luke 18:35-38
“As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard the crowd going by, he asked what was happening. They told him, ‘Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.’ He called out, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!'”
Some time ago I was watching an episode of The First 48. The suspect in a homicide was a young woman with an extensive criminal history. As the detectives questioned her, she was defiant and bitter. She railed out at them because of her miserable life and denied any involvement in the murder.
It just so happened that her interrogation took place on Thanksgiving Day. There were many police officers on duty that day and so the department had brought in a complete buffet of tasty food.
After spending fruitless time interrogating the young woman, the detectives left her alone and went into the main office to get a plate of food. One of the detectives suddenly remembered the young woman and filled a plate for her as he and another returned to the interrogation room.
The detective placed the plate of food in front of the young woman and said, “Let’s thank the Lord for the food.” He took her hand and the other detective’s hand. He prayed for each of them at that table and thanked the Lord for the food. He observed a heart-stopping transformation.
The young woman began to weep and said, “I need to get right with the Lord. I want to tell you everything that I did and I want the Lord to forgive me.” Wow! In that moment, this miserable girl cried out to the Lord to not pass her by, and He didn?t. It reminds me of the old hymn, “Pass Me Not, O Gentle Savior.”
“Pass Me Not, O Gentle Savior“
Pass me not, O gentle Savior,
Hear my humble cry;
While on others Thou art calling,
Do not pass me by.
Refrain:
Savior, Savior, Hear my humble cry;
While on others Thou art calling, Do not pass me by.
Let me at Thy throne of mercy
Find a sweet relief,
Kneeling there in deep contrition;
Help my unbelief.
Refrain:
Savior, Savior, Hear my humble cry;
While on others Thou art calling, Do not pass me by.
Trusting only in Thy merit,
Would I seek Thy face;
Heal my wounded, broken spirit,
Save me by Thy grace.
Refrain:
Savior, Savior, Hear my humble cry;
While on others Thou art calling, Do not pass me by.
Thou the Spring of all my comfort,
More than life to me,
Whom have I on earth beside Thee?
Whom in Heav’n but Thee?
Refrain:
Savior, Savior, Hear my humble cry;
While on others Thou art calling, Do not pass me by.
To access Pass Me Not, this week’s inspirational video from GloryScapes.com, please go to: http://www.gloryscapes.com/passmenot 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
P.S. – Please feel free to forward this E-Votional on to your family and friends. They’ll appreciate the encouragement.
P.P.S. – You can find previous E-Votionals covering a variety of Scriptures and topics to help you in your walk with the Lord at www.Daily-E-Votional.com.
by Pastor Cecil | Jul 7, 2011 | Mark
Mark 1:17-18
“‘Come, follow me,’ Jesus said, ‘and I will send you out to fish for people.’ At once they left their nets and followed Him.”
While served as a pastor of a church in Burns, Oregon, one of the men in our congregation invited me to go fishing with him. He said he knew of a lake that had large trout and he had always had good luck when fishing there.
We arrived at the lake and noticed three men fishing close together. It was apparent that they were together and they were also catching very large fish. When I say they were catching them, I mean that on virtually every cast they would land a fish or at least get a good strike.
We could hardly wait to get our poles out and bait up so we could catch some of those large trout for ourselves. Try as we might we never got a nibble all the time we were there. Even when we fished at the same spot they were angling, we could not entice a bite. We discovered that the men were using steelhead eggs that they had prepared from an earlier steelhead fishing trip near the Oregon coast.
Without the proper bait no one around that lake caught a single fish. In the same way we need to have the bait to reach the lost. Jesus called fishermen to leave their pursuit of fish and go after the souls of men and women. To do that, they had to have the proper bait.
Reading the Gospels we discover that the disciples had no success until the Holy Spirit came and endued them with power. The Spirit guided and directed them to just the right place, at the right time, with the right message. The result was an ingathering of souls.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil (360) 570-0074
P.S. – You can find previous E-Votionals covering a variety of Scriptures and topics to help you in your walk with the Lord at www.Daily-E-Votional.com Please feel free to forward this E-Votional on to your family and friends.
by Pastor Cecil | Jul 6, 2011 | Proverbs
Proverbs 15:1-1
“A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. The tongue of the wise adorns knowledge, but the mouth of the fool gushes folly.”
While attending college I worked nights as a police officer. One of the requirements was to be proficient in firing the pistol. The most difficult task in the process of firing the weapon is in keeping it steady. It is amazing how much your arm shakes when you try to aim a pistol.
Most of us did not have the time nor could we afford the expense of actually being on the range to practice. What to do? The solution was quite easy. We would practice with an empty weapon. Very carefully we would empty all of the shells, take aim at some object and pull the trigger on an empty chamber. During the boring night shift was a good time to practice shot after shot.
One night another Patrol Officer, Phil and I were practicing in the empty Police Station. Phil was leaving to go out on patrol and reloaded his weapon. Casually he remarked that we needed to practice shooting from a quick draw. He drew his pistol and – – – – you are right, he forgot it was loaded. There was a bullet hole in the wall, through the wall, just missing an expensive camera on the other side before lodging in the third wall. Ooops! We found putty and paint and as good as possible patched up the scars of the quick draw mishap.
According to today’s Scripture we have the capacity to use our words as a means to heal or to create havoc. We need to remember that we do not always click away on an empty chamber. All too often the gun is loaded and damage ensues. We need to spend more time in prayer and waiting before the Lord.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil (360) 570-0074
P.S. – You can find previous E-Votionals covering a variety of Scriptures and topics to help you in your walk with the Lord at www.Daily-E-Votional.com Please feel free to forward this E-Votional on to your family and friends.
by Pastor Cecil | Jul 5, 2011 | Job
Job 38:1-3
“Then the LORD spoke to Job out of the storm. He said: ‘Who is this that obscures My plans with words without knowledge? Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer Me.’ ”
As a Pastor and Counselor for over (let’s just say a very long time), I have heard many wild statements. One of the most flagrant is, “When I see God, I am sure going to ask Him to explain why He did such and such.” My response is always the same. “No you won’t.”
Stop and think about it for a minute. Job was called by God Himself as the most righteous man in the world. This man Job that God proclaimed as righteous made such statements about how he would ask God to justify all of the suffering that he was encountering, was suddenly confronted by God.
What was his response? Did he ask God to defend himself? Did he in any way challenge God and the things that he had to endure? Not on your life! He was on his face before the Lord when he became aware of God’s utter holiness and his own utter sinfulness. Here is how he responded; “My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes” (Job 40:5-6).
God knows all about us and He does all things well. When we encounter the deep dark valleys of life, we can find comfort in knowing that He is near. We may not see Him, but He is there in the shadows of our life. We are never alone!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil (360) 570-0074
P.S. – You can find previous E-Votionals covering a variety of Scriptures and topics to help you in your walk with the Lord at www.Daily-E-Votional.com Please feel free to forward this E-Votional on to your family and friends.
by Pastor Cecil | Jul 4, 2011 | 2 Peter
2 Peter 2:19
“While they promise them liberty, they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by whom a person is overcome, by him also he is brought into bondage.”
As a Juvenile Probation Officer, I heard my probationers speak of looking forward to the day when they could get away from their parents’ influence and do what they wanted to do. As a Commissioned Officer working as Personnel Officer on a Basic Training Base, I heard young airmen saying that they could hardly wait to get finished with their training so they could do whatever they wanted to do.
Do you see the thread here? Freedom is identified in the minds of many (if not most) as the right to do whatever they want. It is this very attitude that has led to problems of every description. Homes have been broken and lives shattered because people felt that their chief aim was to have the freedom to do whatever they wanted to do.
Before we jump to conclusions about such irrational thinking, we must stop and ask ourselves if we are guilty of the same thing. Do we feel that things will be better if we can just get out from under our present circumstance? Do we feel that we are limited in what we can do because of some negative situation?
God’s faithful servants across the ages have endured trials and tribulations of every shape and size. God could have delivered them at anytime, but His desire is that we serve Him right where we are.
One of the most meaningful things I recall from attending a seminar taught by Bill Gothard. Bill was used of God to design the Institute In Basic Life Principles. His statement during one of the sessions was that we use whatever situation we are in to serve the Lord. Rather than seeking freedom by escaping from a difficult situation, we should seek to discover how to serve the Lord right where He has placed us. Try it!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil (360) 570-0074
P.S. – You can find previous E-Votionals covering a variety of Scriptures and topics to help you in your walk with the Lord at www.Daily-E-Votional.com Please feel free to forward this E-Votional on to your family and friends.
