by Pastor Cecil | Apr 2, 2015 | John
John 3:16-19
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.”
A few days ago I met with the fiancé of a man in his early forties. I asked her about his spiritual condition and then her own relationship with Christ. What she shared with me grieved my heart.
She said that her grandfather was a minister of the gospel and had talked with her about becoming a believer. This seemed to be an on-going conversation over several years. She finally told him that she agreed in some deity out there somewhere.
What she said next sent chills up and down my spine. This minister/grandfather supposedly said, “Well that is good enough!” I quickly informed her that it is not enough to be sincere, but you had to read what God says in His Word. That is that we must have a new birth, a spiritual birth.
She nodded, but it was evident that her heart was not prepared to make the step of faith and confess her sin and need of a Savior who would forgive her sins and write her name in the Lamb’s Book of Life. We are not okay just because we are sincere. Share this truth with others!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Apr 1, 2015 | Romans
Romans 8:28-30
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.”
It is fantastic the way the Lord is able to work in ways that we cannot explain to touch a life that may not be open to traditional methods. Such was the case many years ago in Nampa, Idaho. At the time I was on the staff of a large church. The captain of our prayer chain was Blanche McBee. My wife, Joyce worked at an attorney firm in the city.
One of the young women who worked in the same office with Joyce was cynical to anything spiritual. There seemed to be no way of breaking through her barrier to the claims of the gospel. That is until God stepped in.
One morning this young woman returned from a trip to the post office. She had a thick notebook and started reading in it every chance she had. The next day she asked Joyce if she knew a woman named Blanche McBee, who attended our church. Joyce immediately said she did and that Blanche was the captain of our prayer chain. “That explains it!” she said. You see Blanche had listed the specific prayer requests and then documented when the prayer was answered.
It turned things around for the cynical young lady. She was now open to the things of God. On the other end, Blanche was ecstatic that her lost notebook had been found. Never feel that things are out of control. God is in control!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
