by Pastor Cecil | Jun 30, 2016 | Joshua
Joshua 24:15
“And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.“
I want to tell you right up front that I am 82. I know that some people think I still act like a kid, but I am a genuinely certified senior citizen, whatever that means. Many others often refer to the fact that I am retired.
Let me see: I pastor a small congregation, write the Daily-E-Votional five days a week, record audio versions of the Daily-E-Votional, as well as audio recordings that take us through the Bible in one year, have published seven books and am just finishing the eighth. Yep! Stop to think of it, I guess I am retired.
In my humble opinion, retirement is one of the saddest occupations a person can have. It will make you old! I do not want to get old, I want to occupy until Jesus comes or until He chooses to take me home. I want to die with my spiritual boots on!
Worldly fame and applause soon fades away. Money and the stuff of this world will soon tarnish and fade away. What we do for the Lord on this earth is the only lasting accomplishment that we will ever achieve.
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jun 29, 2016 | Psalm
Psalm 118:24
“This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.“
Today’s scripture is familiar to many people. It calls us to rejoice instead of gripe or complain. I know you never do anything of that sort, but there are people who do. Cough! Cough!
You may look around you and only see strife, contention, and failure. You may have a debilitating physical condition that prevents you from doing things that other people do with no difficulty. You may be the victim of any number of things that you feel prevent you from rejoicing.
So … do you have a reason to rejoice? Absolutely! First of all, we are to rejoice because God’s Word tells us to rejoice. But there is something that we may be prone to overlook. It is the reason to rejoice. It is found in the two verses that precede today’s scripture passage: “The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This was the Lord’s doing; It is marvelous in our eyes.”
That Chief Cornerstone is none other than our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ. We are always to rejoice because this world is not our home and we have a mansion that is being prepared for us in glory. Now that is something to rejoice about!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jun 28, 2016 | Philippians
Philippians 1:6
“Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.“
I want to tell you right up front that I am 82. I know that some people think I still act like a kid, but I am a genuinely certified senior citizen, whatever that means. Many others often refer to the fact that I am retired.
Let me see: I pastor a small congregation, write the Daily-E-Votional five days a week, record audio versions of the Daily-E-Votional, as well as audio recordings that take us through the Bible in one year, have published seven books and am just finishing the eighth. Yep! Stop to think of it, I guess I am retired.
In my humble opinion, retirement is one of the saddest occupations a person can have. It will make you old! I do not want to get old, I want to occupy until Jesus comes or until He chooses to take me home. I want to die with my spiritual boots on!
Worldly fame and applause soon fades away. Money and the stuff of this world will soon tarnish and fade away. What we do for the Lord on this earth is the only lasting accomplishment that we will ever achieve.
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jun 27, 2016 | Matthew
Matthew 22:37
“Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment.”
Mankind’s natural tendency seems inclined towards always trying to gain something by investing as little as possible. It is like that old story of the young man who was writing a love letter to his sweetheart vowing he would climb the highest mountain for her. He would swim the widest river for her. He would fight a ferocious tiger for her. He closed his letter to the love of his life by promising he would drop by her house on Saturday … “if it’s not raining.” Ooops!
Much too often we exhibit that same trait in our devotion to the Lord. We talk a good talk, but when it comes down to being sold out to the Lord, we don’t walk the talk. In today’s Scripture the Pharisees are trying to find fault in the teachings of Jesus. He was asked which was the greatest commandment? Matthew 22:37 gives His reply.
Let me ask you a very personal question (I am asking it of myself as well). How well are we doing in our response to this greatest commandment of them all? Can we truly say we love the Lord our God with ALL our heart, our soul, and our mind? It is time to look into the mirror of God’s Word and see what He sees.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jun 24, 2016 | Revelation
Revelation 3:20
“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.”
This beautiful hymn was composed by Will Thompson who lived from 1847 to 1909. The words seem to capture the heart of the listener and draw us to come to Jesus. You can almost picture Jesus Himself standing patiently urging us to come to Him.
He not only pleads for us to come, but he offers complete pardon to anyone and everyone who will come to Him. He offers He has paid the price and He has the authority to extend pardon to any who will come to Him.
The words of this hymn stress the urgent need of those who are lost. Some may feel like they have time before making that decision, but sadly for many they wait too long. Now is the hour of decision to receive Christ’s mercy and pardon!
Softly and Tenderly
Softly and tenderly, Jesus is calling,
calling for you and for me;
See, on the portals He’s waiting and watching,
watching for you and for me.
Refrain: Come home, come home.
You who are weary come home;
Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling,
calling, O sinner, come home.
Why should we tarry when Jesus is pleading;
pleading for you and for me?
Why should we linger and heed not His mercies;
mercies for you and for me?
Refrain: Come home, come home.
You who are weary come home;
Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling,
calling, O sinner, come home.
Time is now fleeting, the moments are passing,
passing from you and for me.
Shadows are gathering, deathbeds are coming,
coming for you and for me.
Refrain: Come home, come home.
You who are weary come home;
Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling,
calling, O sinner, come home.
O, for the wonderful love He has promised,
promised for you and for me!
Though we have sinned, He has mercy and pardon,
pardon for you and for me.
Refrain: Come home, come home.
You who are weary come home;
Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling,
calling, O sinner, come home.
To access this free inspirational video from GloryScapes.com, please go to: http://www.gloryscapes.com/softlyandtenderly/
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
—Pastor Cecil
