by Pastor Cecil | Aug 10, 2011 | Psalm
Psalm 37:7
“Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him: fret not thyself because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked devices to pass.”
TRUST-DELIGHT-COMMIT-REST! The last of this list may be the hardest. The Psalmist does not indicate that the task would be easy, but it is certainly worth pursuing these four qualities. So why is it so hard for us to enter into spiritual rest? I think the answer is to be found in our fallen human nature.
The story is told of a passenger on a trans-Atlantic voyage. The man had barely enough money to secure his passage. He took a substantial lunch to be able to eat on the way. Being as frugal as possible he ran out of food several days before reaching his destination.
He went to the Chief Steward of the ship and begged him for a job to earn enough for his meals. The Steward was shocked. “You mean to tell me that you have not eaten in the dining room during our trip?” The passenger told him about eating his meager supply of food until a day or so ago.
The Chief Steward took the man immediately to the dining room and filled the table in front of him with every sort of delectable food. He said kindly, “My dear sir, your ticket provided you with free meals. This food has been here for you all along. All you had to do was come to the dining room and feast.”
Resting in the Lord means that we need not depend on our own meager bag of beans or whatever. It means relaxing and waiting for the Lord to ring the bell to announce that it is time to dine. REST in 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 | Aug 9, 2011 | Psalm
Psalm 37:5-6
“Commit your way to the LORD; trust in Him and He will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.”
Last week I heard someone comment that it is very hard to find young men who are willing to commit. They said that you can find some young women who are committed, but to find a committed young man is like finding some type of hidden treasure. That is beyond sad—it is tragic!
Let’s get off the “young men” kick and face reality. The reality is that it is hard to find virtually anyone in this day and age who is truly committed. Their word is about as good as nothing. They say they will do something, but fail to follow through on their commitment. I can’t begin to tell you of the countless numbers of people who have assured me that they will be in church next Sunday, but never show up.
This word COMMIT in the Greek is gȁlal’. The essential meaning is to “roll off or to roll away.” I read it to mean that we are to roll control of our life into His almighty hands and allow Him to take over the control of our life.
The promise that is given here in Psalm 37, is that: “He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.” I love that! When I am in the driver’s seat, bad things are just around the next bend. When I COMMIT my way to the Lord, He knows what is around the bend or over the hill. I can always rely on Him!
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 | Aug 8, 2011 | Psalm
Psalm 37:4
“Delight yourself in the LORD and He will give you the desires of your heart.”
Last week we started looking at Psalm 37 and considered the first of four steps to have victory in your life. Here are the four: Trust, Delight, Commit and REST. The first step, TRUST, teaches us to place our trust in the trustworthiness of the Lord. He is the One who is always worthy of our trust.
I love the concept of delight. In this passage it means to find an exquisite enjoyment in the Lord. There are many worldly pleasures that fade quickly and leave us feeling empty and unfulfilled or satisfied.
In working with people and their problems for many years, I have come to realize that the things of this world never satisfy. We may strive for something that seems to be the most precious thing to us only to find that we are left flat. I have mentioned before that I have counseled women who felt that their life would be perfect if they could only find a husband. The next session would be with a wife who felt that her life would be perfect if she did not have a husband. Go figure!
The ultimate reality is that when we delight ourselves in the Lord, we cultivate a new love relationship that has eternal implications. The precious Savior, who loves us so much that He died for us, wants us to find delight in spending time with Him as we feast in His Word and in conversing with Him in prayer. Have you found that place of pure delight in your life? Try it. You will like 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.
by Pastor Cecil | Aug 5, 2011 | Genesis
Genesis 2:23-24
“The man said, ‘This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called [woman,] for she was taken out of man.’ For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.”
Saturday I will be officiating at the wedding of a beautiful young woman and her handsome groom. I have been a pastor to her and her family for many years and it is hard to believe that she has become a mature woman.
This morning as I was showering after my early morning workout, I picked up the bar of soap. Actually it had once been two bars. I am extremely frugal and it just seems a waste to throw away an old bar, so I place them together and before long they have been fused into a single bar.
The soap bar illustration seems to be a perfect description of what a true and healthy marriage should be—the two becoming one. Many marriages are two people who remain two people for year after year. The reason they never become one is that they have not fused.
In the King James the word “cleave” is used. It is the Hebrew word “dabaq” and means: “To cling, stick, stay close, cleave, keep close, stick to, stick with, follow closely, join to, overtake, catch.” Oh that more married couples would seek to find that wonderful unity, not only in their relationship with each other, but much more in their relationship with the Lord. That is my prayer for Jamie and David.
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 | Aug 4, 2011 | Psalm
Psalm 37:3
“Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.”
TRUST is only as good as the one you are trusting in! There have been many broken hearts because the one who should have been worthy of trust was found to be untrustworthy. That does not mean that we should become cynical and untrusting, but we should be aware that there is only one source of absolute truth and trust—the Lord Himself.
Many of us have placed our trust in those who professed to be friends to the end. Sad to say that our hearts may have been—are being—and will be broken by others. So what are we to do? TRUST!
That’s right, the Psalmist tells us to trust. We are to Trust in the Lord. Solomon echoes this admonition in Proverbs 3:5-6. He adds that we are to TRUST in the Lord with all of our heart and not lean on our own understanding. I think that hits many of us right between the eyeballs. We humans tend to work things out for ourselves without God’s help. That means we are placing our trust in ourselves instead of trusting wholly in God.
David says that we are to trust and do “good.” Solomon says that we are to acknowledge Him in all our ways. To me that means rolling every care and concern on the Lord and allowing Him to direct our steps. TRUST and obey for there’s no other way, to be happy in Jesus, but to TRUST and obey!
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.
