by Pastor Cecil | Apr 9, 2014 | 2 Corinthians
2 Corinthians 5:1-3
For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked.
I enjoy hearing people talk about what they do. I recall listening to fighter pilots talk about the thrill of combat and how close they came to death. I have been enthralled by the stories of the deep sea fishermen in Newfoundland. Police officers share with other officers interesting, sometimes dangerous, incidents.
The apostle Paul was a tent-maker by trade. I can almost visualize his calloused fingers and hands. They would almost certainly have borne the marksfrom years of stretching and stitching the fabric to create or repair tents.
In today’s Scripture, Paul uses his profession as a tent-maker to illustrate a spiritual truth: This human body of ours is not going to survive. There are those who try to reverse the aging process in various ways, but nothing is going to keep us from coming to the end of our life and entering eternity.
It is sad that most of us spend far too much time and effort on things that will pass away. By spending so much time on earthly things, we neglect the things that really count—those things that have eternal value.
Spending time with God in prayer and reading His Word will prepare us for that heavenly home that will never pass away. Which home are you spending your time and effort to build?
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Apr 8, 2014 | Deuteronomy
Deuteronomy 30:15-18
See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. For I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess. But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them, I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess.
Aren’t you glad we do not live in the day when people worshiped idols? Back then they created man-made idols of gold, wood, or stone to worship. These “gods” became so important to the people that their entire lives revolved around worshipping gods they themselves had made. It makes you wonder how they could have been so foolish.
Before we get carried away with the condemnation of people in past ages, we need to take a long look at our own day and age. We live in such a hedonistic society that most people give themselves over to anything that will give pleasure. We have erected modern day gods of the “stuff” of life. We bow at the shrine of everything that is new and modern because it will make us FEEL GOOD.
I fear that Christians have many times fallen into this same kind of tragic worship. Moses confronted the Israelites with a loud call to love the Lord and walk in obedience to His written word. We need to make the choice to serve the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our soul and with all of our mind. MAKE THE RIGHT CHOICE!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Apr 7, 2014 | Romans
Romans 12:9-11
Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.
Several years ago I was watching a show on the Animal Channel. The show host was carefully holding a red frog in his cupped hands as he made a great case for the rarity of this small frog. Explaining that the red frog was close to being placed on the endangered species list, he stated that he always held a frog lightly since a frog breathes through the skin and can absorb certain chemicals from a human’s palms that may cause its death.
The host took great care to explain how this frog defends itself. He explained that if an animal took the frog into its mouth, the frog would inject a gooey, noxious substance into the throat and mouth of the attacker. This would cause such swelling and pain that the attacker would immediately release the frog.
Suddenly, the frog he was holding about eight inches from his face, made a leap into his mouth. He quickly spat and caught the frog in his hand. As he tried to control his emotions, the shaken show host placed the frog down onto the dank forest floor and quickly stammered through the rest of his narrative.
As I have thought about this incident, I wonder why these wildlife hosts feel it is necessary to hunt down such weird creatures and then hold them with seeming ecstasy before releasing them again. Many times they have been poisoned by the creatures, but they still continue this dangerous practice.
Here is where I make the spiritual application! That is exactly how many people — even Christians — deal with sinful things. We go after them and hold them in our hands even though we know how dangerous they are. All too often these practices strike and place us in grave danger.
Today’s Scripture says that we are to hate what is evil. If we are to walk in the ways of God, we should see the danger of getting too close to the things which are detestable to God. What God hates we have no business holding close to us. We should run from it and not hold it close.
The question we always must ask ourselves is: “Is there any sinful thing in my life that I am holding close enough that it can inject its poison into me?” We need to get rid of those things that pose a spiritual danger to us. Turn to Christ and ask Him to give us the strength and power to get rid of the “EVIL” in our life.
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Apr 4, 2014 | Ephesians
Ephesians 2:8-9
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.
I suppose many of us have heard humorous stories about someone approaching the gates of heaven and being required to prove that their actions on earth merited entry into God’s heavenly kingdom. Beep! Wrong answer!
A person may do amazingly good works here on earth and still miss heaven. It is not what we do for God that determines where we will spend eternity—it is what He has done for us. When we repent of our sins and accept Him as Savior and Lord then—and only then—is our name is written down in glory.
The writer of this week’s hymn, Charlotte Elliot, was offended when someone asked her if she were a Christian. She told him to mind his own business. Later as she was contemplating his question, she began to wonder what it took to become a Christian. She called him and he explained to her the plan of salvation which she accepted. It was then that she wrote this hymn, “Just As I Am.”
“Just As I Am“
Just as I am, without one plea,
But that Thy blood was shed for me,
And that Thou bidst me come to Thee,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
Just as I am, and waiting not
To rid my soul of one dark blot,
To Thee whose blood can cleanse each spot,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
Just as I am, though tossed about
With many a conflict, many a doubt,
Fightings and fears within, without,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
Just as I am, poor, wretched, blind;
Sight, riches, healing of the mind,
Yea, all I need in Thee to find,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
Just as I am, Thou wilt receive,
Wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve;
Because Thy promise I believe,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
Just as I am, Thy love unknown
Hath broken every barrier down;
Now, to be Thine, yea, Thine alone,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
Just as I am, of that free love
The breadth, length, depth, and height to prove,
Here for a season, then above,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come!
To access Just As I Am, this week’s inspirational video from GloryScapes.com, please go to: http://www.gloryscapes.com/justasiam 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 | Apr 3, 2014 | Psalm
Psalm 105:5-7
Remember the wonders He has done, His miracles, and the judgments He pronounced, you His servants, the descendants of Abraham, His chosen ones, the children of Jacob. He is the Lord our God; His judgments are in all the earth.
The older I get (which is pretty old), the more I realize how much better I am at forgetting than remembering. It is not that I do not write things down . . . I just forget where I wrote them. I am surrounded by mounds of paper that contain valuable information. The problem is trying to recall why I thought it was valuable in the first place.
In the human realm, remembering is important. Birthdays, anniversaries, and dates of all sorts crowd in for our attention. It is not long before we feel that our memory banks are on overload. What are we to do? As in all cases, we turn to the manual for life — God’s Holy Word.
When I was on a combat missile crew we had operational manuals. They were large notebooks with many plastic-coated pages. We could not perform any function without finding the correct page and following the precise steps. Each time we did, we marked it with a black marker. Failure to remember each step could lead to disaster.
We need to remember to remember. The way we do that is to study the Bible. If we are uncertain where to look, we will discover that there is a concordance in the back of most good Bibles that can direct us to where a particular word is used in the Scriptures. It is a memory aid to help us to remember!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
