by Pastor Cecil | Mar 4, 2015 | John
John 7:37-38
“On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, ‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’”
If you have never encountered a situation where you feel helpless, believe me when I say you will. God did not place us in a garden of roses and assure us that we will never encounter troubles and trials.
1 Peter 4:12-13 describes for the believer what we face in this life: “Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy.”
Under those circumstances, someone might be tempted to question the value of being a born-again believer. It is true that we will face the fiery trials of this life, but the confidence we have is that the Lord is with us in the midst of our trials.
With all of this in mind, how are we Christians to live our lives? Again I refer to God’s Holy Word. Proverbs 3:5-6: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” In each and every circumstance we are to turn to God. He is the One who is already in our tomorrows.
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Mar 3, 2015 | Philippians
Philippians 3:7-9
“But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.”
I guess we all have the tendency to accumulate more and more stuff. Back in 1953 I had been transferred to Rapid City, South Dakota. Joyce and I stuffed our belongings into a 1948 sedan and began the trip from Idaho. Everything we called our own was packed into that old black car. Can you relate to that?
It did not take long before we began to collect this, that, and the other — three years later we needed a trailer and our vehicle to move everything. We loved the Lord and always served Him with all our heart, but what was I willing to give up for Him?
Paul puts everything on the line in today’s Scripture. He is saying that everything he had gained he now counted as loss for the purpose of serving the Lord. He not only considered them as a loss, he considered them as garbage. Wow!
It challenges me to re-evaluate the things in my life. Having just lost my precious wife of 62 years, I am in a new position of considering what is really important. Without question, I have come to realize that being a servant of the Lord Jesus is all I want and all I need. As long as He gives me breath I will give Him my all!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Mar 3, 2015 | John
John 4:13-14
“Jesus answered, ‘Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.’”
The author of this week’s hymn is William Cowper. He was born in England in the year 1731. He suffered many personal losses during his early years that caused him much mental anguish. Loss after loss of those that were close brought him to the brink of despair.
Through all of his ordeals the Lord kept drawing him. He finally received Jesus as his personal Savior and began writing hymns and poetry. It is fascinating that he lived in a small house just behind the home of his pastor, John Newton, who wrote the wonderful hymn,Amazing Grace.
As we draw near to the Passion Week of our Lord, it is well and good for us to pause and be thankful for the fountain of redeeming blood that cleanses us from all of our sin.
There Is A Fountain
There is a fountain filled with blood
drawn from Immanuel’s veins
And sinners plunged beneath that flood
Lose all their guilty stains
The dying thief rejoiced to see
That fountain in his day;
And there may I, though vile as he
Wash all my sins away
Dear dying Lamb, thy precious blood
Shall never lose its power
Till all the ransomed church of God
Are saved, to sin no more
For since by faith I saw the stream
Thy flowing wounds supply
Redeeming love has been my theme
and shall be till I die
When this poor lisping,
stammering tongue
Lies silent in the grave
Then in a nobler, sweeter song
I’ll sing thy power to save
To access There is a Fountain, this week’s inspirational video fromGloryScapes.com, please go to:http://www.gloryscapes.com/thereisafountain/ 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 | Mar 2, 2015 | 1 Peter
1 Peter 4:12-13
“Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy.”
In the past I have written about how the Lord can use pain to reveal our total dependence upon Him as we go through the time of suffering. There are many different types of pain, but they all hurt! A few days ago one of our Daily-E-Votional members sent a penetrating look at pain. He has graciously allowed me to share it with you.
I deal with pain 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. How can that possibly be a blessing? I will gladly tell you. I now appreciate life more than ever. Pain has taught me that happiness is not based upon what we feel. It is based on our love for and trust of God. It’s based upon the positive, not the negative. When I was healthy and could do pretty much whatever I set my mind to do, I was all tied up in making as much money as possible. Now, my mind is set on God, my wife, our children, and grandchildren. I have a deeper love for our extended family members, and I can now better minister to people who really suffer from my first-hand experience.
While what causes me so much pain keeps me from doing some things I really love, it also has given me a new realization of what it is to love what I can do. Spiritually speaking, one of the benefits of pain is expressed by James: “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance” (James 1:2-3). According to James, when we endure painful trials, we can take joy in knowing that God is at work in us to produce endurance and Christ-like character. This applies to mental, emotional, and spiritual pain as well as physical pain.
Pain also provides us an opportunity to experience the grace of God. Consider what Paul said: “And He has said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.’ Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me” (2 Corinthians 12:9).
Paul was speaking of a “thorn in his flesh” that was troubling him. We don’t know what it was, but it seemed to have been painful for Paul. He recognized that God’s grace was being given to him so he could endure. Although pain is not pleasant, we should thank God for it. Pain causes us to reflect on the awful consequence of sin and be extremely thankful to God for making a way for us to be saved. When one is in pain, it is an excellent time to realize that Jesus endured excruciating emotional and physical pain on our behalf. There is no pain that could approach the horrific events of Jesus’ crucifixion, and He suffered that pain willingly to redeem us and glorify His Father.
Indeed pain grants us many blessings.
Thanks, Jerry.
by Pastor Cecil | Feb 27, 2015 | 2 Corinthians
2 Corinthians 5:1-3
“For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven, if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked.”
I enjoy hearing people talk about what they do. I recall listening to fighter pilots talk about the thrill of combat and how close they came to death. I have been enthralled by the stories of the deep sea fishermen in Newfoundland. Police officers share with other officers interesting, sometimes dangerous, incidents.
The apostle Paul was a tent-maker by trade. I can almost visualize his calloused fingers and hands. They would almost certainly have been the marks from years of stretching and stitching the fabric to create or repair tents.
In today’s Scripture, Paul uses his profession as a tent-maker to illustrate a spiritual truth: This human body of ours is not going to survive. There are those who try to reverse the aging process in various ways, but nothing is going to keep us from coming to the end of our life and entering eternity.
It is sad that most of us spend far too much time and effort on things that will pass away. By spending so much time on earthly things we neglect the things that really count—those things that have eternal value.
Spending time with God in prayer and reading His Word will prepare us for that heavenly home that will never pass away. What home are you spending your time and effort to build?
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
