by Pastor Cecil | Feb 22, 2012 | Proverbs
Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.
We don’t what? We don’t trust in God. In the past few days I have heard reports about the words “IN GOD WE TRUST” being removed from our currency. In fact, I heard that a survey of citizens across the United States found that a vast majority favored keeping the words on our coins and currency.
As I think about the results of this survey I am struck by the fact that, unfortunately, we really do not trust in God. We have turned our back on the Lord so frequently and so completely that God is most often used as profanity—but not honored as an important part of our life.
It seems that each day we become more and more pagan in our actions. Little or no attention is paid to Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord. Money and status have become the God of far too many people. We have removed God from our classrooms and public places.
Our nation was founded on faith in God and dependence on Him to guide us through the ups and downs of life. How sad that in spite of the way He has blessed us, we have chosen to ignore Him. The early pilgrims wanted freedom from a politically imposed religion. Politicians have reversed the view to prevent faith in God from having any place in the political arena. How far we have fallen! May God forgive us!
Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
—Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Feb 21, 2012 | Mark
Mark 4:18-19
Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.
You may recognize today’s Scripture as being part of the parable Jesus told of the farmer who cast out seed. The problem was that some of the seed fell into areas that prevented growth. In these two verses Jesus relates how seed thrown among thorns prevents it from producing a crop.
It reminds me of the second trip Joyce and I took to Hawaii. A Christian businessman had built a beautiful retreat on the Island of Maui for Pastors and wives to spend two weeks virtually free. That was a price we could afford!
Our first trip was fantastic with no problems. The second trip resulted in somewhat of a challenge. If you do not know what a gecko is, it is a small nocturnal lizard that makes itself at home outside or inside the house. They have the remarkable ability to climb walls or walk across the ceiling with no problem.
The gecko’s ability to grip onto a smooth surface at ease might have been fascinating to me, but it did not interest Joyce one little bit. She had the heebie-jeebies all the time we were there, thanks to the resident gecko population.
You know there are geckos in our spiritual life as well. We should be enjoying a paradise of walking with the Lord in victory and joy. Unfortunately there are things (like geckos) that interfere with our walk—worrying about this life, being deceived by the glitter of wealth or wanting what we do not have. Are there geckos in your life?
Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
—Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Feb 20, 2012 | John
John 17:15-17
My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth.
In 1966 and 1967 I was on an unaccompanied assignment to the northern tip of the Canadian Province of Newfoundland. By unaccompanied I mean that my precious wife, Joyce and our three beautiful kids could not go with me. I can truly empathize with our men and women of today’s military who are separated from their families. It is hard!
My assignment was to a radar site and I am sorry to say that morality was very low. I often prayed that the Lord would remove me from this place of sin. The Lord did not answer my prayer, but He did change the focus of my attention from how miserable I was to how I could be used by Him. He answered my prayer!
I was recently looking through my Air Force file. I found a certificate that was typically given at the end of an officer’s tour. It was almost always humorous and exaggerated. Mine was no exception except for the last sentence. “He will be long remembered by all for his lay-preaching, Sunday School teaching, Bible Class leadership and community relations.”
God did not remove me from my assignment with the US Air Force, but He did give me a ministry that I cherish. It has taught me that whenever situations arise in our life that distress me, instead of trying to get out it I ask the Lord how He wants to use me in that very situation. He has promised to be with us in the world. Thank you Lord!
Blessings dear hearts. Give obediently to the Lord, be willing to make the Lord’s deliveries when asked and above all, be a blessing!
—Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Feb 17, 2012 | Genesis
Genesis 9:16
“Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.”
Years ago my wife Joyce and I were once driving along the beautiful Columbia River gorge in Oregon. A rain shower had recently swept across the area, and now bright sunlight flooded the area. As we drove, a rainbow kept pace beside the car. I know it was just a refraction of the sunlight, but what an awe inspiring sight.
There are two requirements to produce a rainbow, rain and sun. Without rain there could be no rainbow. Without sun there would be no rainbow. In the rainy times of our life, God’s tender care for us brings His rainbow of blessing. God’s covenant of love did not say that we would be free of rain, but He is always with us in the storms of life.
Back in 1879 Rev. J. K. Alwood was equally moved as he observed a rainbow in the western sky late one evening as he was traveling home. When he arrived at his home, he immediately composed the hymn for this week; The Unclouded Day.
The Unclouded Day
O they tell me of a home far beyond the skies,
O they tell me of a home far away;
O they tell me of a home where no storm clouds rise,
O they tell me of an unclouded day.
Chorus: O the land of cloudless day,
O the land of an unclouded sky;
O they tell me of a home, Where no storm clouds rise,
O they tell me of an unclouded day.
O they tell me of a home where my friends have gone,
O they tell me of that land far away;
Where the tree of life in eternal bloom
Sheds its fragrance thru the unclouded day.
Chorus: O the land of cloudless day,
O the land of an unclouded sky;
O they tell me of a home, Where no storm clouds rise,
O they tell me of an unclouded day.
O they tell me of the King in His beauty there,
And they tell me that mine eyes shall behold,
Where He sits on the throne that is whiter than snow,
In the city that is made of gold.
Chorus: O the land of cloudless day,
O the land of an unclouded sky;
O they tell me of a home, Where no storm clouds rise,
O they tell me of an unclouded day.
O they tell me that he smiles on His children there,
And his smile drives their sorrows all away;
And they tell me that no tears ever come again,
In that lovely land of unclouded day.
Chorus: O the land of cloudless day,
O the land of an unclouded sky;
O they tell me of a home, Where no storm clouds rise,
O they tell me of an unclouded day.
Enjoy this week’s free inspirational video The Unclouded Day, from GloryScapes™ Christian Hymns.
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 | Feb 16, 2012 | Genesis
Genesis 39:1-2
Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. Potiphar, an Egyptian who was one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him there. The LORD was with Joseph so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master.
What does it mean to prosper? Over the ages people have been obsessed with obtaining prosperity. The problem is that prosperity is an ill-defined objective. It seems to be that “just a little bit more” will make them feel prosperous. Then they see someone with more than they have. Suddenly their prosperity disappears and they now must strive to get more and thus make them feel prosperous. No matter how often this is repeated they are not satisfied.
I once had unrestricted access into the Idaho State Penitentiary in Boise. I started a weekly Bible Study with some of the inmates. The group included men who had been sentenced for all sorts of offenses, including murder. The thing that set these men apart from other prisoners is that they had found Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and were now prospering within the walls of this prison. More than once I heard some of them rejoice that they felt more free inside the walls with Christ than outside without knowing Him as the Lord of their life.
In today’s Scripture, Joseph had been betrayed by his own brothers. They sold him into slavery and thought that he was out of their lives for good. In Egypt, Joseph was sold to the Captain of the Guard . . . a man named Potiphar. It would have been easy for Joseph to have a pity party. Instead, he prospered in Potiphar’s house as a slave.
Joseph prospered in every situation because he kept his eyes on the Lord. It was not what he had that made him prosperous, but who had him. The Lord made him prosper. How about you? Are you prospering because you belong to the Lord?
Blessings dear hearts. Trust the Lord completely, prosper where you are and be a blessing!
—Pastor Cecil
