by Pastor Cecil | Apr 20, 2012 | 1 Peter
1 Peter 4:12-13
“Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.”
Fanny J. Crosby was a remarkable woman. There are so many accomplishments in her life that it is hard to comprehend them all. She lost her eyesight because of the treatment of a careless doctor. In spite of her loss she memorized huge portions of Scripture just by listening to her grandmother read them to her. She is credited with writing over 10,000 hymns during her life.
Fanny began writing poetry at an early age, but another amazing fact is that she did not accept Jesus as her personal Savior until she was 31. She was attending a service on November 20, 1850. The congregation was singing a hymn by Isaac Watts; “At the cross, at the cross, where I first saw the light.” She knew she needed the Lord and that very night He became her Savior and Lord.
Her desire was to always stay close to Jesus who had paid the ultimate price for her salvation. Her desire was to remain near her Lord. She immediately wrote the words to this week’s hymn, “Near the Cross.”
Near the Cross
Jesus, keep me near the cross;
there a precious fountain,
free to all, a healing stream,
flows from Calvary’s mountain.
Refrain: In the cross, in the cross, be my glory ever,
till my raptured soul shall find rest beyond the river.
Near the cross, a trembling soul,
love and mercy found me;
there the bright and morning star
sheds its beams around me.
Refrain: In the cross, in the cross, be my glory ever,
till my raptured soul shall find rest beyond the river.
Near the cross! O Lamb of God,
bring its scenes before me;
help me walk from day to day
with its shadow o’er me.
Refrain: In the cross, in the cross, be my glory ever,
till my raptured soul shall find rest beyond the river.
Near the cross I’ll watch and wait,
hoping, trusting ever,
till I reach the golden strand
just beyond the river.
Refrain: In the cross, in the cross, be my glory ever,
till my raptured soul shall find rest beyond the river.
To access Near the Cross, this week’s inspirational video from GloryScapes.com, please go to: http://www.gloryscapes.com/nearthecross/ 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 | Apr 19, 2012 | Isaiah
Isaiah 41:10
So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.
Over the years my mind goes back to today’s verse. It was one of the first verses I ever memorized. Come to think about it, it may very well be the reason that I am much more optimistic than pessimistic. It is not because of my own efforts, it was the Lord that made the difference.
God gives us a tremendous promise in this verse. He promises to strengthen us, to help us and to uphold us. Do you realize what that promise should mean to each of us in our daily walk? It means that we can claim victory over every situation.
As I read this verse again, I see that our requirement is very minimal. We are not called upon to do great and mighty works. We do not even have to possess super human abilities.
So what is our part? We are not to fear nor are we to be dismayed. That means we are not to be known for our gloomy outlook on life. God’s assurance is that He will strengthen us and uphold us. He is with us and He is our God.
How much do we believe in God and His precious promises? With God in control we are free to serve Him with love and confidence that His work is far more important than our comfort. As we fix our eyes on Jesus the things of this world will become dim and we will eagerly look forward to the day we will be with Him for eternity. What a day that will be!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
—Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Apr 18, 2012 | Ruth
Ruth 1:20-21
“‘Don’t call me Naomi,’ she told them. ‘Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter. I went away full, but the LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The LORD has afflicted me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me.’”
I have been a Christian counselor for so many years I have stopped counting. One of the many things that continue to confound me is how and why some people seem to enjoy wallowing in misfortunes rather than thanking God for His blessings.
This was the case with Naomi, the mother-in-law of Ruth. In no way do I wish to downplay the losses she had experienced: She, her husband and two sons had experienced such famine that they left their home and went to live in Moab, a country that was not known for treating the people of Israel with compassion. When Naomi determined to return to her home in Bethlehem, her daughter-in-law Ruth insisted to remain with her to care for her.
When she arrived back in Israel she told the women of Bethlehem that they were no longer to call her “Naomi”, which means “pleasant”, but to call her “Mara”, which means “bitter”. Naomi was so fixated on her loss that she failed to appreciate Ruth as a daughter-in-law who was devoted to her. It was Ruth who suggested that she be allowed to go into the barley fields and glean food for the two of them. When Naomi agreed to her request, it was the first spark of hope—a close family member, Boaz, who could become their kinsman redeemer.
What a joy it is to read the last few verses of the Book of Ruth and see that Naomi holds Ruth’s boy, Obed, on her lap and cares for him. She becomes his granny! Praise the Lord! Oh, and by the way, this tiny bundle of joy becomes the grandfather of David, the second king of Israel and also a part of the lineage of our own Kinsman-Redeemer, Jesus!
It would be well to examine our own circumstances. Are we allowing the things in our life to make us bitter or better? My prayer is that we will stop looking only at the present and allow God to bring His work to fruition in His own good time.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
—Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Apr 17, 2012 | John
John 12:24
“I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.”
In order to produce a crop there must be a death. That sounds pretty profound, but it is the fundamental truth that the wheat farmer knows very well. He takes perfectly good seed and scatters it on the ground. To be precise, he uses equipment to plant the seeds at just the right depth and spacing to produce his crop.
After the seed is in the ground it must die to itself. Never again will that single grain of wheat be what it was before. As the soil surrounds it and the moisture seeps down to the level of the seed, it swells and breaks open. A blade of grass appears and works its way to the surface. It is still nothing but grass, but there is a harvest day coming!
After weeks and even months of growth, a head forms on the blade and not just one grain is found, but many grains fill the head. Through the hot days of ripening, the grain is ready to harvest and that one grain that went into the ground and died has produced a bountiful increase.
In the human realm we all too often hold tightly to life in order to serve one’s own interests. It is a constant preoccupation with self. True giving to the Lord requires dying to ourselves. As long as we do, we will not produce the way the Lord wants us to. The secret to prosperity in the spiritual realm is by dying to self. My prayer is that I will let go of the trinkets of this world and produce the spiritual bread of life.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
—Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Apr 16, 2012 | Mark
Mark 10:21
“Jesus looked at him and loved him. ‘One thing you lack,’ He said. ‘Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.’”
Many preachers and teachers of the Word of God have been approached by their listeners about how much to give to the work of the Lord. I would hazard a guess that in most cases the teaching is that we are to give 10 percent. That sounds good, but I do not agree with that view. At least I feel strongly that in the area of giving to the Lord we have tried to get by as cheaply as possible.
Let me use a personal illustration to explain my thinking. I have known my precious wife for almost 65 years. We will be celebrating our 60th wedding anniversary this July. She is my dearest friend as well as my loving wife. If I gave only 10 percent of myself to her it would be hard for her to truly feel that she was my precious one. It is my intention to give her every part of me. I would gladly give my life for her.
With that in mind, imagine what she would feel if I had a small notebook to keep track of all that I possess—time, talent and treasure. In one column I place the name Joyce. Each morning I check to see how much of me that I will give to her that day. Would she feel loved? I don’t think so! She wants all of me just as I want all of her. That is what makes marriage solid—each partner giving their all.
The Lord is eagerly waiting for us to give Him everything. When we say that we love Him, we need to show it by the time we spend with Him and seeking His face to inspire everything we do. More about this tomorrow.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
—Pastor Cecil
