by Pastor Cecil | Nov 23, 2012 | Isaiah
Isaiah 55:6-7
Seek ye the LORD while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.
It was the final service of our annual Camp Meeting. The old tabernacle was crowded on a warm summer evening. The evangelist had been delivered a message outlining clearly the plan of salvation and the penalty that faced anyone who failed t o accept the Lord Jesus as personal Savior.
I was sitting with my cousin and across the aisle from us was his dad. We knew that Uncle Harold had rejected the Lord, but were hopeful that this would be the time he would open his heart. The congregation was led in the old invitation hymn, Softly and Tenderly.
Wayne and I could see his dad weeping with conviction. We went over to him and pleaded with him to go forward and invite Jesus into his heart. Even though tears were flowing, he shook his head and refused to be moved. As far as we know he never made that choice. How sad that God’s free gift of eternal life was rejected. How about you? Have you honestly and sincerely invited Jes us Christ to be the Lord of your life? He is calling, O sinner, come home. All you have to do is open your heart and invite Him to come in.
Softly and Tenderly
Softly and tenderly, Jesus is calling,
calling for you and for me;
See, on the portals He’s waiting and watching,
watching for you and for me.
Refrain: Come home, come home.
You who are weary come home;
Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling,
calling, O sinner, come home.
Why should we tarry when Jesus is p leading;
pleading for you and for me?
Why should we linger and heed not His mercies;
mercies for you and for me?
Refrain: Come home, come home.
You who are weary come home;
Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling,
calling, O sinner, come home.
Time is now fleeting, the moments are passing,
passing from you and for me.
Shadows are gathering, deathbeds are coming,
coming for you and for me.
Refrain: Come home, come home.
You who are weary come home;
Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling,
calling, O sinner, come home.
O, for the wonderful love He has promised,
pro mised for you and for me!
Though we have sinned, He has mercy and pardon,
pardon for you and for me.
Refrain: Come home, come home.
You who are weary come home;
Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling,
calling, O sinner, come home.
To access Softly and Tenderly, this week’s inspirational video from GloryScapes™ Christian Music Hymns & Songs, please go to: http://www.gloryscapes.com/softlyandtenderly 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 | Nov 22, 2012 | 1 Thessalonians
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thinks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
Today is November 22nd — the date that we officially celebrate Thanksgiving Day here in the United States this year. Canada celebrated its Thanksgiving Day on October 8th. Many other nations also have designated days to give thanks.
It is easy to fall into the trap of being thankful only for the material things of life . . . food, clothing, house, job, bank account . . . you get the picture. We certainly should be thankful for these things, but there are other reasons to be eternally thankful. Being thankful is not, or at least it should not be, a once-a-year thing. As members of God’s family we are to be thankful at all times. It is not our prerogative to choose when we will be thankful and what we will be thankful for.
In today’s Scripture Paul admonishes the church at Thessalonica (as well as all of us) that we are to: Be joyful always. Do you frequently look as though you have been baptized in vinegar? That, my dear friend, is not being continually joyful.
Paul’s second admonition is that we are to: Pray continually. Here is another embarrassing question: How is your prayer life? Are you continually speaking to the Lord in prayer? It is a discipline that we need to pursue.
The last admonition is in line with today’s topic. Here is what the Lord expects of us: Give thanks in all circumstances. Chew on that while you are munching on your sumptuous dinner. What if you had little or nothing to eat? Would you still give thanks? That is exactly the Lord’s will in any and every circumstance. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving Day!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
—Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Nov 21, 2012 | Ezekiel
Ezekiel 22:18
Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross to Me; they are all bronze, tin, iron, and lead, in the midst of a furnace; they have become dross from silver.
I was talking to a friend today and mentioned the word clinkers. He was not sure what the word meant and I realized that in our modern world there are many who have never had to deal with clinkers. Please allow me to share with you what the word means. Those who have had (or who still may have) coal furnaces know that as the coal burns it forms a stone-like residue that needs to be removed on a regular basis.
My parents had one such furnace and I can still remember my daily chore of using long tongs that were designed for the specific task of grasping clinkers and moving them to a receptacle. It was hot and smelly work and you needed to get the job done quickly. After the clinkers had cooled they had to be taken outside for disposal. I seem to recall that we used some of them on the unpaved alley.
When I read the word dross in today’s Scripture, I picture those clinkers from the furnace. It is clear the Lord is not happy when His people allow sinful behavior to form clinkers. God wants us to become precious metal that becomes more valuable to Him as the clinkers or dross is removed.
Right now is a good time for us to evaluate the questionable things in our lives that stand in the way of us being the Christians the Lord wants us to be. As we are honest in our evaluation, we need to reach in with the tongs of the Holy Spirit and get rid of any and everything that keeps us from being the pure and precious metal that will shine for Christ.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
—Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Nov 20, 2012 | Isaiah
Isaiah 28:10
For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little.
I have been reading the book, In His Image, by Dr. Paul Brand and Philip Yancey. There was one observation that Dr. Brand mentioned that intrigued me. In exploring the function of the human brain, he commented that an accomplished pianist has practiced so intensely that it is not necessary to think about where the hands are placed on the keyboard. It becomes almost automatic and thus the musician is able to focus on the nuances of delivery, not the mechanics.
It reminded me of my days serving in the US Air Force in St. Anthony, Newfoundland, Canada. I made friends with a high school teacher and his wife, Melvin and Barbara Keys. I was at their house one day and watched with utter fascination as Barbara was knitting and reading a book at the same time. She was so accomplished that the click, click, click of the knitting needles almost sounded like a typewriter.
I commented on it and asked her how she was able to do the two things at the same time. She became flustered and I realized that I had broken her mental process. The many hours she had spent knitting became so engrained in her memory bank that she could do it without focusing her attention on the process.
How fantastic it would be if we developed the discipline of spending so much time in God’s Word and prayer that we would automatically speak with the Lord. We would not need to think about the process, but would fellowship with Him as we went about our other activities. I want that for my life!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
—Pastor Cecil
PastorCecil@Daily-E-Votional.com
by Pastor Cecil | Nov 19, 2012 | 2 Timothy
2 Timothy 1:8-9
Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began.
In the Scripture for today, Paul is sending this letter to his son in the faith, Timothy. If I were to send one of my last letters to my own son, Dan, I think I would like to share this thought with him as well. It speaks firmly of standing resolutely regardless of the trials that may arise. But it is much more than that. It is a reminder that it is not so much what our agenda may be, but what the Lord desires for us. It is His purpose that must strive to achieve.
When we stop to evaluate the meaning of the word, purpose, we quickly discover that it entails the reason for doing what we are doing. I like to think of it this way: Ten years from today will the things that I am devoting myself to be worth the effort? How about twenty years from now? How about in eternity?
There are ministers of the gospel who leave messages that have been printed or recorded that bless people years and years after they were first delivered. That is great, but what about a person who simply lives a godly life and is not a professional minister?
My grandpa Thompson was such a man. I was a small boy when he died, but his last words before he died have lived in my heart since my dad shared them with our family. I was only five at the time, but they still resonate across the years. Grandpa looked toward the door and said; “There’s Jesus now!” How will your purpose in life have an effect on future generations?
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
—Pastor Cecil
