by Pastor Cecil | May 24, 2013 | Ecclesiastes
Ecclesiastes 3:11
He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.
Years ago I heard a minister tell of an incident in a hospital elevator where he had just come from visiting a very ill patient. A young man overheard him speak about eternity and, perhaps wanting to mock his view, asked the minister where eternity was. The minister told the boy to place his hand on his chest to feel the beat of his heart. Young man, eternity is one heartbeat away! That may answer where eternity is or at least how close we are to it, but just how long is eternity?
Our daughter was in the hospital near death. One afternoon as the two of us spoke quietly, she said she felt she was cheated out of half of her life. She went on to say that grandpa was 74 when he died and here she was just 35.
That evening as I drove into the garage I noticed that the car had been bringing in sand. I took out a sheet of typing paper and swept up some of the sand. I then sat at the kitchen table and counted out 74 grains. Some were larger than others, but all of them were quite small. I placed the 74 grains of sand in a tiny sample perfume bottle.
The next day as I entered her room I placed the bottle on her bed. When she asked what it was I told her it was grandpa. I asked her to imagine the earth being nothing but fine sand. Each grain represented one year of eternity. The 74 grains in the bottle represented grandpa’s life. Compared to the entire globe of sand it was nothing. Whether a person’s life lasted long or short, compared to eternity it was nothing.
It is what we do with the years we are given that matters. We can choose to confess our sins and accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior or we can continue our own willful way and suffer the dreadful consequences prepared for the lost.
I pray that the video that accompanies today’s Daily-E-Votional will assist you in making the right choice. Please feel free to share it with others while there is still time.
To view the video, The Sands of Eternity, go to www.PastorCecil.com
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
—Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | May 23, 2013 | Daily-E-Votionals
Matthew 5:14-16
You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lamp stand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
Somewhere I have heard the definition of dark as being the absence of light. That sounds reasonable to me and at the same time I realize that there are many types of darkness. When the sun goes down we say that it is dark, but is it really?
The closer we are to the lights of a city, the more difficult it is to view the light from the moon and stars. There have been times when I was far from the city lights and was astounded at the difference it made in viewing the heavens.
The darkest place I have ever been was in Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico. Our guide was explaining the various formations and informed us he was about to show us how dark it was with all of the lights extinguished. I am not sure how long it was, but it almost felt like you could feel the dark. He finally turned on a flickering light and it seemed to flood the entire cavern area.
We may be discouraged about the dark world in which we live, but there is a purpose in our being here. It is to allow the light of the glorious gospel of Christ to bring light to the evil blackness of the world. LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
—Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | May 22, 2013 | James
James 4:14
Whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.
By now I am sure that you are aware of the devastating tornados that have torn across the State of Oklahoma. Many lives were snuffed out in the violent winds that in many cases, reached around 200 miles per hour.
Buildings were splintered and vehicles were tossed and piled one on another as if they were toys. In a matter of seconds, lives were changed completely. The hopes and dreams that seemed to be certain are now completely altered.
I just saw a video on YouTube of a group that had escaped by taking refuge in an underground storm shelter. Homes all around the neighborhood had been reduced to piles of splinters. The man who was taking the pictures was heard to utter the words of Job 1:21, The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord.
While we cannot know what the next second will hold for us, we can certainly know that the Lord will be with us in every situation of life. When we give our lives over to the Lord and allow Him to direct us in the valleys of life as well as the mountains, we can experience a peace that passes all understanding. I pray that the people of God will shine brightly in the dark times of life.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
—Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | May 21, 2013 | Revelation
Revelation 22:21
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
Sunday morning, just before the service, one of our youngest members came up to me with her Bible open to the last verse in the Bible, Revelation 22:21. She was thrilled with the words of blessing that were given to the Apostle John to encourage believers of all ages.
I have been thinking about this passage since that time and reflecting on the meaning of the word grace. I have heard it defined as the favor of God at the expense of the shed blood of His precious Son, Jesus Christ.
Jesus came into the world for the purpose of giving us His grace. He loved the world to His very own death. Did we deserve it? No! Did we need it? Absolutely! You see, we can never be good enough to earn salvation. Salvation is never achieved by being good enough or doing enough good deeds. It is only by the grace of our Savior that we have salvation.
Let me be very candid at this point. If you think you have received salvation by holding membership in a particular group or by doing good deeds, you are mistaken. We are saved ONLY by confessing our sins and inviting Jesus to be the Lord of our life. If you have not done that before, please, I implore you to do it immediately.
As we read through the book of Revelation we discover the plan and purpose of God to be fulfilled in and through Jesus Christ. Years ago I heard a minister quote an older member of his congregation sum up the book of revelation in two words: JESUS WINS!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
—Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | May 20, 2013 | John
John 3:16-17
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
Sometimes when we are the most unlovable of all creatures . . . we need love the most. I guess it is just the sinful nature within us. We often do and say things that are so ungodly that we try to deny our conduct . . . even to ourselves.
We can and should confess our indiscretions to the Lord, and we are assured that He will forgive us when we confess. But that still leaves us with a feeling of emptiness and alienation from others. At the time we need them the most, we often act like a riled porcupine and keep people far from us.
I recall that I was leading a small group Bible study years ago. One of the men in the group was a prominent business man with a reputation of being cantankerous. I felt uneasy having him in the class for fear that he would drive others away.
One night I encouraged members to share their need of love and prayer from the group. He was the first one to respond and confessed that he needed us to pray that the Lord would cleanse him and give him a new nature. As we prayed for him there was a spirit of love that transformed him completely. The man received pure love from part of the body of Christ. He was changed and his subsequent behavior reflected that change. If you need that kind of love, God is ready to give it to you.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
—Pastor Cecil
