by Pastor Cecil | Dec 24, 2013 | Matthew
Matthew 25:1-4
At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps.
Christmas Eve, December 24th is often as much anticipated as Christmas Day itself. Think of the many times eager children (even adults) were in such anticipation that they could hardly go to sleep.
Many families have adopted the tradition of opening their gifts in the evening before Christmas. Some say they do this so they can sleep in on Christmas morning, but it may well be that it is because their excitement to give and receive gifts is so great they do not want to wait until morning.
In today’s Scripture Jesus relates the parable of the ten virgins. It is the eve of the coming of the bridegroom, but they are not sure just when it will come. They all should have been ready for his appearing, but only five were prepared and had jars of oil for their lamps. The cry was given that the bridegroom was coming, but only those who had prepared for his coming entered into the banquet with him.
The sad moral of this parable is that many have put off making preparation for the wonderful day of Christ’s return. We are all living in the eve of that great and glorious day. Now is the time, today is the day, be prepared to meet Him!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
—Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Dec 23, 2013 | Matthew
Matthew 6:33-34
But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
My wife, Joyce, once worked as a legislative assistant. One of the Legislators she was assigned to had very little experience in how to conduct business and almost drove Joyce up the wall with her misplaced priorities. Each project assignment was marked “Highest Priority!” Before long, Joyce’s desk was piled high with “Highest Priority” projects that begged the question . . . which one to deal with first?
I often think of our Christian walk being somewhat like that. We have many things that demand our attention—many of them are very important and, in fact, we probably label them priority items. But just like Joyce’s dilemma, the inevitable question arises as to which task outranks the others in importance. Sad to say, it can often lead to spiritual depression.
Jesus knows each and every heart. We might say that He is supreme in our life, but where do we place our priorities? Do we devote ourselves to the pursuit of things that will fade and pass away, or to the things of everlasting value?
In today’s Scripture we are clearly directed to “. . . seek FIRST His kingdom and His righteousness.” That’s right—we are to make seeking His kingdom and His righteousness the ultimate priority in our life. What is your ultimate priority?
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
—Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Dec 20, 2013 | Luke
Luke 2:2-10
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.’
Several years ago our church had finished a wonderful Christmas Eve service. Earlier there had been candles placed inside white lunch bags that lined the driveway leading to the church.
Joyce and I had volunteered to extinguish the candles after everyone had left. It had snowed a few days earlier and there were still a few inches on the ground. The temperature was about twenty degrees (F) when we crunched through the snow to the far end. It was so quiet and beautiful that we were moved in our spirit with the beauty of God’s creation and the carol Silent Night.
The words of this well loved carol were written in 1818 by Josef Mohr after he had seen a play about the birth of Jesus. He was in a reflective mood and walked to a hill overlooking his village in the Austrian Alps. The view of the snow covered village reminded him of a poem he had written a few years earlier. The poem was about the night the angel announced the birth of Jesus.
The next day he took the words of his poem to Franz Gruber, who had just composed a melody. He re-worked the melody to match the words to the poem Mohr written. Our beloved carol, Silent Night was born.
Silent Night
Silent night, holy night
All is calm, all is bright
Round yon Virgin Mother and Child
Holy Infant so tender and mild
Sleep in heavenly peace
Sleep in heavenly peace
Silent night, holy night!
Shepherds quake at the sight
Glories stream from heaven afar
Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia!
Christ, the Savior is born
Christ, the Savior is born
Silent night, holy night
Son of God, love’s pure light
Radiant beams from Thy holy face
With the dawn of redeeming grace
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth
To access Silent Night, this week’s inspirational video from GloryScapes™ Inspirational Music Videos, please go to: http://www.gloryscapes.com/silentnight/ 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
by Pastor Cecil | Dec 19, 2013 | Daily-E-Votionals
Psalm 34:17-20
The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them; He delivers them from all their troubles. The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. A righteous man may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all.
Have you ever lost a loved one? In the past I have shared with you about losing our daughter, but I feel led to do so again. “Dad, are you sitting down?” Those words came across the phone lines from our oldest daughter, Brenda, some twenty years ago. I told her that I was. She said, “I am in the hospital with heart failure.” The words struck with the force of a blow to my stomach. I told her that her mother and I would be there as soon as possible. It was over 500 miles from Shelton, Washington, to Boise, Idaho, and we made it in record time.
When we arrived, the prognosis was even worse than we had anticipated. Brenda was diagnosed with Primary Pulmonary Hypertension. The only way she could survive was to have both a heart and lung transplant. In the meantime she, like so many others, had to live with a broken heart.
There is another aspect of having a broken heart—it is the attitude of heart before our God. It may be described as the opposite of pride and arrogance. It was a chief characteristic of our Lord when He walked the dusty roads of Israel. He, who was the One who had created all things, was now in submission to His Father. He lived with a broken heart.
Our hearts need to be crushed and broken by the things we see in our lives that are contrary to the will of God. In these instances, we need to cry out to God and confess our sin in order for Him to forgive and cleanse. This very same attitude should also be evidenced as we observe the sins of our nation and of the world. I think it is time for us to stop and evaluate our lives in view of eternity. More than being brokenhearted because of the loss of a loved one, we need to have our hearts crushed before the Lord. As we examine our lives, may we pray with all sincerity: “Lord let me live before You with a broken heart!”
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
—Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Dec 18, 2013 | Psalm
Psalm 119:33-37
Teach me, O LORD, to follow Your decrees; then I will keep them to the end. Give me understanding, and I will keep Your law and obey it with all my heart. Direct me in the path of Your commands, for there I find delight. Turn my heart toward Your statutes and not toward selfish gain. Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to Your word.
“I do it myself!” Those are the words of one of our children in their early formative years. If you have children of your own, you probably heard the same declaration of independence. The problem is that actual learning seldom takes place in the presence of this “I want to do it myself” attitude.
I once heard the story of a snooty woman of some wealth who had a small son. She wanted only the best for him and always demanded the finest of everything. She hired a nanny for the boy and insisted that he learn to have everything his heart desired. The woman told the nanny that her son was going to go through life as a wealthy man, so he needed to be accustomed to getting what he wanted.
One day the nanny was outside with her young charge when he began to scream at the top of his lungs. His mother flew out into the yard in a rage. “Didn’t I tell you to give my son anything he wanted?” demanded the mother! “Yes madam,” replied the nanny. “I remembered well what you told me. He wanted to play with a bumblebee, so I let him.”
As I read today’s Scripture, I see an important truth. It is the secret to learning the truth from God’s Word. What is this amazing secret? It is being teachable. We cannot be taught until we are willing to be taught. This passage is not asking God to MAKE us do something; rather it shows our submissive attitude toward the process of learning. It is the picture of an eager student who begs the teacher to instruct them. NOT MY WILL, LORD, BUT YOURS BE DONE!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
—Pastor Cecil
