by Pastor Cecil | Oct 7, 2015 | Jeremiah
Jeremiah 9:5
“Everyone will deceive his neighbor, and will not speak the truth; they have taught their tongue to speak lies; they weary themselves to commit iniquity.”
This morning I was waiting at a stoplight to turn left. The left-turn light turned green and I was about to start when a car ran the red light and careened past me, narrowly missing my left front fender. I recall many times cars coming into an intersection when the light had gone from amber to red, ignoring the danger and in fact, speeding up.
My experience as a police officer leads me to believe that, in almost all of such incidents, if the offender was pulled over they would deny their offense. Most often they would claim, “The light was yellow when I entered the intersection!”
From the days when Adam and Eve sinned in the garden, human nature has not wanted to admit its guilt. Even when substantial evidence is provided, denial is still maintained. I have seen police videos showing offenders committing crimes–but when shown these videos, the offender still denies their offense. Go figure!
God wants us to be open with Him and confess our sins. Denial of our offenses will always hurt ourselves more than others. 1 John 1:9 tells us that it is only when we confess our sins that the Lord is able to forgive and cleanse us. Our denial blocks the path of God’s forgiving grace. DON’T DENY IT!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Oct 6, 2015 | Philippians
Philippians 2:3-4
“Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.”
One of the most depressing, yet humorous stories I can recall is of a pastor who had been preaching a series of sermons on the topic of humility. As he was greeting people at the door several weeks into the series, a little lady came up to him and said, “Oh, Pastor, I have been so blessed by your messages. You know I do not have very many things to be proud of, but one thing I am proud of is my humility.”
The pastor felt like crying! She had missed the point of what true humility was. I think that may be all too true of most of us. We tend to focus on ourselves and what we are doing rather than making the Lord our focus.
When we have a solid awareness of our dependence on the Lord we are able to reflect His glory to those around us. It is not so much what we do for Christ as it is what we allow Him to do through us.
My desire is to be a conduit of His mercy and grace to others. People need to see us die to ourselves and live for others. That was the message Paul was trying to get across to the Philippians. Join me in giving ourselves away!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Oct 5, 2015 | Jeremiah
Jeremiah 17:8
“For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; but its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit.”
I frequently visit the Western Wall in Jerusalem. No, I do not take a plane ride but rather use the Internet to view the wall ( see http://english.thekotel.org/cameras.asp). The images are updated every few minutes, so it is very current. Sometimes the wall has many visitors who pray while touching the wall, while at other times only a few are present.
One of the most intriguing things that fascinates me are the plants which grow between the cracks on the wall. This is a very dry region and there is very little moisture. In spite of the lack of regular rain, the plants continue to grow out of the wall. They are able to survive because they have roots that travel deep into the crevasses that exist between the multi-ton stones that make up the wall. I am told that there are at least six distinct plants that grow out of the wall.
I am reminded that sometimes we may feel that we have been planted in the midst of a block wall where little spiritual nourishment is available. But wait! There is! It is to be found in the crevasses of the Word of God. He has given us the spiritual water that will sustain us in the dry and arid world in which we live. Praise God for the water of life that is able to cause us to grow!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Oct 1, 2015 | Philippians
Philippians 1:27
“Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel.”
Back when I was in grade school (that is way back) I had a teacher who consistently used a word that I have not heard for years — DECORUM. A quick peek at a dictionary and I find the definition: “correct or proper behavior that shows respect and good manners.”
Respect! What a fantastic word. It has the connotation of showing kindness and honor to another individual. That person does not necessarily have a higher position, but rather it shows a willingness on the one doing the honoring to acknowledge the worth of another. Don’t you wish there were more people showing respect to others?
Good manners! Wow! I think it is safe to say that we lack good manners many times. I hate to bring it up, but do we show good manners when we are behind the wheel of a car? How about when we are in a shopping center? How about with our own family? Ouch!
Paul urges us to have conduct that is worthy of the gospel of Jesus Christ. As you and I stop and take stock of our conduct, is it worthy of the gospel of Jesus Christ? If Jesus were to walk with us throughout the day, would He find our conduct worthy? The sobering reality is that the Holy Spirit is with each and every believer continually. When we do things that we think no one else knows about or can see, the Holy Spirit is present. My desire is to have worthy conduct in thought, word, and deed.
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Sep 30, 2015 | 1 Timothy
1 Timothy 5:13
“And besides they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house, and not only idle but also gossips and busybodies, saying things which they ought not.”
Many years ago I received a call from a woman who asked for an appointment. I had never met this woman and wondered what she wanted. I will never forget her first words: “I am the other woman.” I was confused since I had never met her before and, in fact, had never heard her name mentioned.
She asked if our Prayer Chain had not been praying about the wicked woman who was having an affair with one of the men in our church. I assured her that her name was not being mentioned in our prayer concerns. She said that several other churches had her name on their prayer lists.
It felt like I had been hit by a ton of bricks. This woman explained that both she and a certain man were members of the same scuba diving club. That was their only contact and nothing more. The man’s wife, nevertheless, became jealous and began to spread rumors about her husband’s supposed infidelity. From there it was picked up by various prayer groups. How sad!
I immediately called the captain of our prayer chain and asked her if she had heard about this situation. She said that a request had been made but there was nothing to substantiate the charges; therefore, it was never put out as a prayer request. Thank God! Be careful, dear heart. We can do great harm by using prayer as a sanctified gossip line!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
