by Pastor Cecil | Jun 9, 2015 | Galatians
Galatians 14:17-18
“For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.”
From time to time to time I have experienced computer problems. I’m sure that I am the only one who experiences this situation. I have to confess that after all these years of working with the computer there is more that I do not know about it than I do know about it.
I have discovered that people who can be trusted know far more than I do about my computer. Not only that there is a program (perhaps more than one), that allows a trusted technician to take remote control of my computer. One of the first questions that the program asks before transit burying control to a remote source is whether it is a trusted technician.
To suddenly see my cursor moving around and things being set to write is awesome. These talented technicians can do things and call upon resources that I will never be able to understand. But suddenly what seemed to be an insurmountable problem has been resolved and the control of the computer is returned to me.
It is difficult to turn our life over to someone else. But when that someone else is the Lord Jesus Christ He someone we can trust. Our part is to watch as he begins to do things in and through and with this that we would never be able to accomplish our self. Have you experienced that yet? If not I implore you to allow the Lord to do for you what He does best.
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jun 8, 2015 | Acts
Acts 14:21-22
“They preached the gospel in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. ‘We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,’ they said.”
One of the great joys of my boyhood was riding my bicycle. There was a hill south of town that was difficult to ascend. By the time you arrived there your muscles ached and you were panting for breath. But when you looked out over the valley in the Boise Mountains on the other side, it seemed as though it was worth it all. But the best was yet to come! It was the coast down to the bottom!
When my dear wife Joyce was still alive, we traveled to Maui on the Hawaiian Islands. It was the last vacation we ever took and that was about 15 years ago. One of the popular tourist attractions was the bike tours to the mountain of Haleakala.
For your information, Haleakala is just over 10,000 feet in elevation. Only the bravest riders attempt to bike up to the summit, but there is an alternative. Vans transport the bicycles and their riders to the top of the mountain—from there it’s a full coast all the way to the bottom. What a kick!
Sadly, there are many believers who want to be carried to the top of the spiritual mountain just so they can coast to the bottom with little or no effort. Sorry folks, it just does not work that way! God does not call us to coast. He calls us to commit. Read today’s Scripture once again and hear what Paul says to believers. NO COASTING ALLOWED!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jun 5, 2015 | Isaiah
Isaiah 51:1-2
“Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come buy and eat. Yes, come buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and let your soul delight itself in abundance.”
Water, water everywhere . . . and not a drop to drink! Those words have probably been uttered many times by anyone stranded in the middle of the ocean. Minutes turn into hours, hours into days, and no relief in sight to quench their awful thirst. The salt-laden sea seems to mock them — there is so much water all around them, but it would be poison to their system to drink it.
I am a Dust Bowl baby. Well, almost a Dust Bowl baby. My parents lived in the Oklahoma Panhandle during the Dust Bowl days. They moved to Camas, Washington, shortly before I was born. From dusty red dirt to lush evergreens. From no water to water everywhere.
Lucy Jane Rider Meyer wrote the words of today’s hymn. She was born on a Vermont farm in 1849. Lucy was a teacher and not only founded many high schools, but went on to teach chemistry at McKendree College, a school for freed blacks in North Carolina. She was one of the first female professors.
What a refreshing thought that a brilliant professor was able to use the Word of God to bring music to the human soul. Oh, that we had more brave educators who would be willing to put their reputations on the line for the things of God. I thirst for that!
Ho! Everyone Who Is Thirsty
Ho! Everyone that is thirsty in spirit,
Ho! Everyone that is weary and sad;
Come to the fountain, there’s fullness in Jesus,
All that you’re longing for; come and be glad!
Refrain: I will pour water on him that is thirsty,
I will pour floods upon the dry ground;
Open your hearts for the gifts I am bringing;
While you are seeking Me, I will be found.
Child of the world, are you tired of your bondage?
Weary of earth’s joys, so false, so untrue?
Thirsting for God and His fullness of blessing?
List’ to the promise, a message for you!
Refrain: I will pour water on him that is thirsty,
I will pour floods upon the dry ground;
Open your hearts for the gifts I am bringing;
While you are seeking Me, I will be found.
Child of the kingdom, be filled with the Spirit!
Nothing but “fullness” thy longing can meet;
‘Tis the enduement for life and for service;
Thine is the promise, so certain, so sweet.
Refrain: I will pour water on him that is thirsty,
I will pour floods upon the dry ground;
Open your hearts for the gifts I am bringing;
While you are seeking Me, I will be found.
To access Ho! Everyone Who Is Thirsty, this week’s inspirational video, please go to: http://www.gloryscapes.com/hoeveryonewhoisthirsty/
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
—Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jun 4, 2015 | Colossians
Colossians 2:2-3
“My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”
I have been told by my family that I am hard to buy gifts for. I hope that means that I am content with what I have. Perhaps when you reach your 70’s (or in my case, the early 80’s), what in the world can you get for somebody like me that I don’t already have?
The solution that many have decided upon is to give me gift cards. I have a confession to make — I tend to stash gift cards. Not intentionally, but I just never seem to have them with me at the right time or am not sure how to use them.
I recently discovered a stash of five gift cards for Amazon.com. It was ridiculous because I was sure they were given to me some time ago. When I called Amazon to see if the cards might still be valid, I learned they were from 2012. After considerable analysis, I also discovered that they were in my account — all I had to do was place an order and the gift card values would be applied to my purchase. What a pleasant discovery!
How many times do we find ourselves spiritually sitting on the treasures of God instead of applying them? We live like spiritual paupers instead of like the children of the King. I do not wish to imply that we should live extravagantly, but that we should draw upon the spiritual wealth that gives answers to all of life’s problems and situations. Someone has said, “For every sigh there is a Psalm.” That being the case, God has given us the answers to life’s issues. When we search His Word and apply it as His gift card, we will find that there is sufficient balance to cover the charge. Let’s redeem those gift cards in our life!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jun 3, 2015 | James
James 4:13-16
“Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit’; 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. Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.’ But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.”
I sometimes feel that trying to explain Scripture detracts from the essence of the very Word of God. That is the case with today’s Scripture. Life at its best is so fleeting that we can hardly even explain the brevity of life.
I have spent several hours today scanning through some pictures of our family. It was one of those tasks that I had put off and put off, but finally got around to, it was that a task of going through old pictures and clippings. Much of the time there were tears in my eyes. As a matter of fact there are tears in my eyes right now.
I’ve viewed pictures of my great-grandparents, my grandparents, my parents, my brother, my wife, our three children, seven grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren. I was stunned at how many are no longer with me. Many realize how fleeting life really is.
It would be easy to become depressed if it wasn’t the hope of salvation an eternity with our precious Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and the greatest reunion we can even imagine. This life is so brief that we need to make every effort to let the love of Jesus and the love of others shine through everything we do. I love you all!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
