by Pastor Cecil | Oct 17, 2012 | Genesis
Genesis 41:42-43
Then Pharaoh took his signet ring off his hand and put it on Joseph’s hand; and he clothed him in garments of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck. And he had him ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried out before him, “Bow the knee!” So he set him over all the land of Egypt.
I remember a day that came as a pleasant surprise to me. Joyce and I had known each other for about three years when I asked her to marry me. That may sound like we had taken it rather slow, but let me hasten to add that we were only 17 years old at the time. (I can still see the stunned look in her dad’s eyes when I asked him for permission to propose. He said yes!)
From that moment until we were married a year later, we had a deep joy and anticipation that we would be spending our lives together. That was over 60 years ago and we are more committed to one another than on that blissful day when we took our vows July 10, 1952. How time flies when you are truly in love!
Joseph was a man that has been my hero for as long as I can remember. He seemed to have every reason to hate his brothers for selling him into slavery. As a slave he could have felt sorry for himself and done only the least amount of work he could. But Joseph was a man who knew God and constantly lived his life to please the Lord. Even when he was falsely accused and sent to prison, he continued to honor God.
In one day things changed for Joseph. He was remembered by Pharaoh’s butler and was called to interpret the ruler’s strange dreams. Instead of taking credit himself for his interpretation, he credited the Lord in heaven. In that one day he went from prison to Prime Minister, second only to Pharaoh himself. Now that is a change! But Joseph did not let his position go to his head. All his life he recognized that it did not matter where he was, he was God’s man and he lived to please the Lord. That is the goal for my life as well.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing to others!
—Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Oct 16, 2012 | Romans
Romans 7:18-20
For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find.For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice.Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.
If you notice, I have used the same Scripture reference that I did in yesterday’s Daily-E-Votional. There is a reason for that. It has to do with the idea that there is a sin nature within our flesh. It is not something that has to be developed, it is there as part of the original equipment we were born with.
Several years ago I experienced sudden pain in my left leg. It became more and more painful and reached the point where I had lost the use of the leg. When I went to see our doctor I was shocked to be diagnosed with shingles. In my particular case the nerves in the leg had been attacked. Only a few surface sores ever became visible, but I had to use crutches for several weeks.
The thing that surprised me was a statement the doctor made. He said that if you ever had chicken pox, the shingles virus is already inside you and could manifest itself at any time.
Wow! That bit of information reminded me that it is the same with sin. It is like a horrible virus that is already inside us and can manifest itself at any time. That is why it is so essential to stay near the Lord by reading His holy Bible and communicating with Him in meaningful prayer. I know from personal experience that shingles paralyzes, and I also know that sin paralyzes. Stay close to the Lord!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing to others!
—Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Oct 15, 2012 | Romans
Romans 7:18-20
For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find.For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice.Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.
If there were ever two words to mark my earliest recollections it is the words of today’s Daily-E-Votional, You Behave! I really could never quite figure it out since I really never intended to misbehave, but it seemed as if I always did. I lived in the day of corporal punishment and it was years before I discovered that kindling wood was intended to start fires rather than tan my behind.
I am so glad that I had parents who loved me enough to give me the discipline that I needed (as often as they caught me doing wrong). They did not discipline me because they were abusing me, but because they were shaping me to be aware that the results of sin always carry consequences.
There are many people in our modern world who picture God as a tyrant who sits in the heavens and delights in lowering the boom on those who sin. I have come to see that our Lord is a loving God who loves us so much that He disciplines us in order that we might escape the consequences of our sinful actions.
Following the passage that I quoted above is the answer to our sinful disposition. Paul almost cries out about his sinful condition and how it depresses him, but then shouts with joy in verses 24 and 25; “O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!” There is our answer. When we confess our sin to Jesus we find His great love reaching out to welcome us back into His arms. Thank you Jesus!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing to others!
—Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Oct 12, 2012 | Psalm
Psalm 103:1-5
Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise His holy name. Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s
I would dare to say that almost all of us experienced some sort of trial in our life. It could be the loss of health, a financial meltdown, death of a mate or child or any number of catastrophic events. It is not whether or not we will encounter these trials, but rather what we will do when they arise.
The phrase, “Praise to the Lord” occurs in at least 155 verses in the Bible. That indicates to me that we need to spend far more time praising the Lord than we do. It would be well to replace our complaints with words of praise to the Lord.
Over 300 years ago, Joachim Neander was a hymn writer for the German Reform church. He was going through a time of trial and testing in his life. He would take long walks and pour his heart out to the Lord. It was on one of these walks that he came to the realization that it was not his strength that would give him victory and peace, but rather the powerful God he served. It was in that state of mind that he composed this week’s featured hymn.
Praise to the Lord, the Almighty
Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation!
O my soul, praise Him, for He is thy health and salvation!
All ye who hear, Now to His temple draw near;
Join me in glad adoration!
Praise to the Lord, who o’er all things so wondrously reigneth,
Shelters thee under His wings, yea, so gently sustaineth!
Hast thou not seen how thy desires e’er have been
Granted in what He ordaineth?
Praise to the Lord, who with marvelous wisdom hath made thee!
Decked thee with health, and with loving hand guided and stayed thee;
How oft in grief hath not He bought thee relief,
Spreading His wings for to shade thee!
Praise to the Lord! O let all that is in me adore Him!
All that hath life and breath, come now with praises before Him!
Let the Amen sound from His people again;
Gladly for aye we adore Him.
To access Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, this week’s inspirational video from GloryScapes™ Inspirational Music Videos, please go to: http://www.gloryscapes.com/praisetothelordthealmighty/ 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
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PastorCecil@Daily-E-Votional.com
by Pastor Cecil | Oct 11, 2012 | 1 Corinthians
1 Corinthians 12:26
And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.
Many years ago I was teaching a Sunday School class of young professionals. I had tried to emphasize the biblical pattern of thanking God for everything. One Sunday one of our class members, Carletta (Midby) Allen, shared an incident she had experienced.
She was riding her bike to work when she was forced off the road and fell. Her knee was gashed open in the fall and blood poured down her leg. She bound it up as best she could and continued on her way.
She laughed as she related that the only thing she could think of was that Cecil had said to thank God for everything, so she began to thank Him for her pain. She then asked us if we had ever experienced the beauty of pain. None of us had, so she went on to say that it was almost as if the parts of her body were speaking to each other and encouraging them to be careful since one of them had been injured. It was a beautiful experience as well as for those of us who listened that day.
Today’s Scripture is a culmination of Paul’s teaching on the church of Jesus Christ and relates it to the human body. The insight I gain from his analogy is that we are to suffer along with those brothers and sisters who suffer. That means taking the time to reach out and comfort them with actions as well as with words. When one of the members of the body of Christ is honored we are urged to share with them in their honor and rejoice along with them. It means getting our eyes off of ourselves and enjoying the fellowship of other believers!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing to others!
—Pastor Cecil
