by Pastor Cecil | Jan 13, 2016 | Ecclesiastes
Ecclesiastes 12:1
“Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth, before the difficult days come, and the years draw near when you say, ‘I have no pleasure in them.’”
Anniversaries are times to recall days gone by. The older we get, the more anniversaries we have to remember. Some anniversaries bring back wonderful, sweet, and precious memories, but others bring a pang to the heart. January 13th is one of the latter for me. It was one year ago on January 13th that my precious wife Joyce slipped away from this pain-racked world into the paradise of God.
We had celebrated 62 anniversaries of marriage and many other precious times that we always recalled with joy. But there were other anniversaries that brought tears to our eyes. The anniversary of the passing of our daughter Brenda was one of these. Joyce would always light a candle on the anniversary of Brenda’s passing.
Joyce and I were so blessed to have found each other at the tender age of fourteen. We knew from the start that we would walk life’s pathway together. We shared joys and tears along the way, but it was always together. The hardest part in the passing of your soul mate is that there is now an emptiness where once there was that one you knew was beside you. I can hardly wait to be with her and my other loved ones again! Until then I will double my efforts to serve Jesus with my whole heart!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jan 12, 2016 | Philippians
Philippians 3:20-21
“For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.”
Coming from a law enforcement background, I am familiar with certain procedures. One of them is to identify the individual you are investigating. One of the first things an officer requires when someone is questioned is their identification.
Identification reveals a person’s previous criminal activity, or the fact that there are no records indicating that this person may be a danger. Many times an individual may be questioned for a very minor traffic infraction, but when identification is checked that individual may be wanted for a far more serious offense.
Proper identification is not just a matter of concern for law enforcement. Often a person may give lip service to the Lord, but there is no evidence to substantiate they have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. We might say that they give phony identification!
In Matthew 7:20 Jesus says: “Therefore by their fruits you will know them.” A wise man has said that God calls us to be fruit inspectors. That is the proper identification to let us know who we are in contact with. Do you have your ID?
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jan 11, 2016 | Luke
Luke 15:15-16
“Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything.”
Sometimes I feel as if I repeat things over and over. In a way that is good because it’s only fresh in my mind. In a way it’s bad because people think I’m just getting old and repeating myself.
Once again I look across the room at my birdcage and watch as my two parakeets work away at the seeds I have given them. Countless times as I have emptied the seed cup and replaced the seeds with new feed I think of a tragic incident. A friend had just purchased birds for the first time and in a few weeks they died. When he went back to the pet store they determined that the seeds were nothing more than husks. The birds had opened the seeds taken out the center portion which contained the nutrients. With nothing left to eat they died.
Spiritually many people are fed nothing but empty husks. Ministers who should be disseminating strong spiritual food are dishing out nothing more than empty husks. They do not even train their people how to find food in God’s word for themselves. How sad it is that there is a form of godliness but it is nothing but empty husks!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jan 8, 2016 | Psalm
Psalm 46:1-3
“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.”
As you read the book of Psalms, David mentions repeatedly the storms of life. He was attacked on all sides by his enemies who desired to take his life. Do you feel that way sometimes?
His predecessor, King Saul, was a demented king who imagined that David was attempting to take the kingdom from him. (Actually it was the Lord who had rejected Saul because of his wickedness and failing to keep the Lord in control of his life.)
In many of his Psalms, David cried out to the Lord for help and immediately praised Him for giving him a safe place of refuge. That is the same with us today. We may be tossed and torn by the storms of life, but the Lord always gives us a haven of rest. That is the hymn for this week.
The Haven of Rest
My soul in sad exile was out on life(s) sea,
So burdened with sin and distressed,
Till I heard a sweet voice, saying, (Make Me your choice)
And I entered the Haven of Rest!
Refrain: I have anchored my soul in the Haven of Rest; I will sail the wide seas no more; The tempest may sweep over wild, stormy, deep, In Jesus I am safe evermore.
I yielded myself to His tender embrace,
In faith taking hold of the Word,
My fetters fell off, and I anchored my soul;
The Haven of Rest is my Lord.
Refrain: I have anchored my soul in the Haven of Rest; I will sail the wide seas no more; The tempest may sweep over wild, stormy, deep, In Jesus I am safe evermore.
The song of my soul, since the Lord made me whole,
Has been the old story so blest,
Of Jesus, who will save whosoever will have
A home in the Haven of Rest.
Refrain: I have anchored my soul in the Haven of Rest; I will sail the wide seas no more; The tempest may sweep over wild, stormy, deep, In Jesus I am safe evermore.
How precious the thought that we all may recline,
Like John, the beloved so blest,
On Jesus strong arm, where no tempest can harm,
Secure in the Haven of Rest.
Refrain: I have anchored my soul in the Haven of Rest; I will sail the wide seas no more; The tempest may sweep over wild, stormy, deep, In Jesus I am safe evermore.
O come to the Savior, He patiently waits
To save by His power divine;
Come, anchor your soul in the Haven of Rest,
And say, ‘My Beloved is mine.’
Refrain: I have anchored my soul in the Haven of Rest; I will sail the wide seas no more; The tempest may sweep over wild, stormy, deep, In Jesus I am safe evermore.
To access The Haven of Rest, this week’s inspirational video fromGloryScapes.com, please go to:http://www.gloryscapes.com/thehavenofrest/ 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 | Jan 7, 2016 | Proverbs
Proverbs 25:13
“Like the cold of snow in time of harvest is a faithful messenger to those who send him, for he refreshes the soul of his masters.”
Not too long ago my granddaughter paid me an extremely high compliment. As I have thought about her comment, it has humbled me. At the same time, there’s a feeling of satisfaction that I’m doing what the Lord wants me to do.
She commented that each day about noon her cell phone always goes off. When her coworkers look in her direction she just smiles and says, “It’s my papa.” She then explains to them that I send out my Daily-E-Votional each day at approximately 12 noon Pacific Standard Time.
By the way, I always send it out one day in advance because many of our subscribers live in parts of the world where 12 o’clock my time is already the following day. I hear from them that they like to start their day by reading the Daily-E-Votional.
Being faithful does not require becoming a super human individual — I am a living example of that fact. All it requires is making a commitment to stay by the stuff until the job is accomplished and the Lord calls me home. Until then, I encourage all of us to remain faithful to the calling that God has given us.
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
