by Pastor Cecil | Oct 31, 2012 | Galatians
Galatians 6:7-9
Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.
Sunday afternoon, Joyce and I had the rich blessing of spending time with one of our five great-grandchildren, the only one who lives anywhere close to us. The other four live thousands of miles away. Sob! As I was saying, Ruby is just over one year old, has started to walk, and is learning new words. Three of these words are hair, hat, and hot. She pronounces all three virtually the same way.
She had been talking about her hair and a hat that her grandparents had bought for her. I started to brew a pot of coffee and her dad, Seth, picked her up and walked toward the stove. When he was close, he said the word, hot. Ruby repeated, ha! During their visit, her pronunciation for, hat, hair, and, hot all sounded the same, but what a difference in meaning and consequence.
I have been thinking about her words and how cute they sounded. At the same time I became aware that there was a vast difference in all three. Ruby would place her little hand on her head and say, “Ha,” when asked where her hair was or where her hat was. She would also say, “Ha,” when near the stove. Seth mentioned that Ruby had never felt the heat of something hot, but they had been teaching her to stay away from hot stoves. She was learning her lesson well.
The Lord tells us to stay clear of objects in our life that would cause us harm. It is not to deprive us of pleasure, but to prevent us from suffering the consequences. You may have suffered consequences in your own life because you refused to obey God. Let me just give you this word of admonition: STAY AWAY FROM THE HEAT! THERE ARE CONSEQUENCES INVOLVED!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing to others!
—Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Oct 30, 2012 | James
James 3:3-5
When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark.
A former astronaut had been hired by American Airlines to assist in reducing their costs of operation. This man began to analyze the effect of weight on the amount of fuel used by the planes. Reducing weight conserves fuel. It seems that instead of going to the heavier items he started with rather small things.
He interviewed the Flight attendants about how often the passengers seemed to read the company magazine that was placed in each seat pocket. They said the magazines were almost never read. The magazines averaged about 50 pounds per plane. It seemed like such a tiny amount that it would not make a difference. Not so! Removing the magazines from all of the planes in the American Airlines fleet saved about $1 million dollars annually. That is a significant figure!
Seemingly small but questionable things in our life can place a strain on our spiritual walk. We may exaggerate the truth to such a degree that it comes close to a lie. We take things that are not our own and try to justify it by claiming we do not know who the owner is. (The thing we do know is that it isn’t ours!)
There are positive things that also seem small. Think what a blessing we would reap if we covenant to spend just 10 minutes each day reading our Bible. It may be more, but at least 10 minutes. In one year we would have spent over 60 hours in God’s Word. That, my dear friend, is not a little thing. Will you covenant?
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing to others!
—Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Oct 29, 2012 | 1 Chronicles
1 Chronicles 29:9
Then the people rejoiced, for they had offered willingly, because with a loyal heart they had offered willingly to the Lord; and King David also rejoiced greatly.
A few days ago I was on the phone with a young woman who had a new job. Due to health problems she was not able to work for a considerable time. She was so excited to tell me that she had just received her first pay and was thrilled that she would be able to pay tithe this Sunday.
Now I have been in the pastoral ministry for yea these many years and there are far more grudging givers than gleeful givers. I only wish that more people had the same response toward honoring God with their giving as did this precious young woman.
There is no question about the fact that we are to give to the Lord. All through God’s Word we are instructed about bringing our tithes and offerings to the Lord. This began with Cain and Abel back in Genesis. It continues all through the New Testament where Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 9:6-7: “But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.”
That is a perfect description of gleeful giving. It is not a matter of giving because some preacher said to give, but it is a vital part of our worship to the Lord. I find it difficult to say that I am totally committed to Christ and then fail to honor Him with my giving. I give Him my life and I want Him to have control of all I possess. I choose to be a gleeful giver!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing to others!
—Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Oct 26, 2012 | Matthew
Matthew 5:11-12
Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Jesus did not mince His words when directed His disciples to rejoice and be exceedingly glad. It is sad that many modern Christians fail to follow His words and instead spend the majority of their time complaining and being exceedingly sad.
Over the years I have served in many churches where there were a few of our members who violated this principle of rejoicing and being exceedingly glad. They were always quick to share with any listening ear how heavy was the load they had to carry. It was evident that most folks liked to steer clear of them when possible.
There is an interesting aspect to this passage of Scripture in Matthew chapter 5. The admonition to rejoice and be exceedingly glad is not the result of receiving the things of this world. It is not based upon achieving health, wealth or prestige. Instead it is to be found when we are reviled, persecuted and abused verbally.
Those are times when it is most common to feel sorry for ourselves and whimper away in some corner. I want to assure you that whimpering and whining will never draw others to Christ. When we do that we are acting like the rest of the world. We are called to live differently. That means we are to rejoice and be exceedingly glad in the midst of the storms of life. Are you rejoicing today?
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing to others!
—Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Oct 25, 2012 | Luke
Luke 8:10
And He said, ‘To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’
Many of you have heard me mention a colorful old judge I worked for when I was a Juvenile Probation Officer. Ben Riordan had more stories and anecdotes than about anyone I ever met—before or since. He delighted in telling the tale of two deaf men who appeared before a deaf judge. The deaf plaintiff charged that the deaf defendant owed him $100. The defendant objected that he didn’t even own a dog, so how could it have bitten the plaintiff? The equally deaf judge peered over the bench and called both men close: “It looks like you two boys could get together and support your poor old mother. Case closed!”
Sometimes I think that we are very much like that story. We are so busy trying to justify ourselves that we fail to listen. First of all, we fail to listen to those around us, but much more important—we fail to listen to God. It is sad that we shut our ears to the very things that we should be listening to. God makes every effort to speak to us, but we fill our lives with such clutter and confusion that His voice goes unheard.
I cannot begin to count the marital counseling sessions I have had to deal with where one or both of the partners would not keep silent long enough to hear what the other was saying. I have resorted to requiring the offender to not say one single word or I will end the session. Sometimes, when they are made to be silent, they act totally shocked by what the other partner said. Some have even said, “Well, why didn’t you tell me before this?!” RIGHT!
Do you have ears to hear? You may be a born again child of God, but do you have the spiritual ears to hear as God speaks to you in that place of secret prayer. Matthew 6:6 says, “But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing to others!
—Pastor Cecil
