by Pastor Cecil | Jan 21, 2015 | Luke
Luke 14:28-30
“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’”
My wife, Joyce, always enjoyed entertaining. Among the many guests we hosted over the years, there were church leaders, seminary professors, and returned missionaries. Today I was recalling the dinner we once had with a General Superintendent who had just returned from his mission assignment in a very politically explosive region. That evening he began to talk about what it meant to count the cost.
Church growth in his mission field had been slow and difficult; people just did not seem to be interested in giving themselves to Christ. He related how a communist regime took power and forced the missionaries out. Not only that, they made it a crime to become a Christian and join a church. It seemed that all of the labor for Christ was at an end. If the people would not join the church in the good times, what would happen in the times of trial?
It was several years before the communists were ousted and the missionaries returned. To their amazement the churches had more than doubled in size — not just in attendance, but in spiritual depth. When the new believers were questioned, they said that they saw believers willing to die for their faith and wanted to be a part of something that real. There was a cost, but it bore fruit. Are you willing to pay the cost in your own life?
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jan 20, 2015 | Matthew
Matthew 14:22-23
“Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone.”
When I was a teenager (believe me, that was a long time ago) most church services had a time that was devoted to testimonies. I have to confess that many of the testimonies were repeats service after service, but I still loved to hear the words of victory from the saints of God who had fought the battles of life.
One Wednesday evening I went to midweek service and decided to sit in the balcony. The teens usually sat up there, but on this night I was all alone. As the pastor called for testimonies, I recognized many of the voices coming from the main floor below even though I could not see their faces.
I felt that God had been working in my life and I wanted to share it. As I stood to my feet, Pastor John Riley pointed at me and said, “Cecil Thompson, way up there in the balcony all alone, what is God doing in your life?”
At this moment, with the recent passing of my precious wife, I feel much the same way as I did way back then. God is good and His mercies endure for all generations, but it seems strange to find myself alone. There are beloved family and friends supporting me, but part of me is missing. I yearn for heaven even more than I ever have before. Even so, come quickly Lord Jesus!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jan 19, 2015 | Psalm
Psalm 51:5-6
“Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me. Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, and in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom.”
I hold in my hand (did before I started typing) a small black and white photo. It is a little creased, wrinkled and faded (so am I). The photograph shows a very young boy dressed in shorts and casual shirt, standing on a wooden porch. It is a photograph of me at about age 4.
After some seventy six years I remember the porch. I recall a day when I had slipped a butcher knife out of the kitchen drawer and sat on the porch whittling away on a piece of wood. Mom saw me and yelled for me to get that knife back in the house. I said I would, but I didn’t. After the second warning I quietly took the knife back into the kitchen and then returned to the porch. I took a piece of shingle that was about the same size as the knife and acted like I was still carving.
Suddenly the cloud descended and a mother’s wrath poured down on me. I acted innocent and showed her that it was just a piece of shingle and I was doing nothing wrong. I was wrong and the seat of my pants felt the wrath of a mother who should have been obeyed.
Even as adults we may try to act innocent when we sin, but in our heart of hearts we know that we have sinned and need forgiveness. The heart of everyone is bent toward evil and in need of cleansing. Rather than whittling away at something that is just an imitation, we need to confess our sin and receive newness of life.
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jan 16, 2015 | Psalm
“I stand silently before the Lord, waiting for him to rescue me. For salvation comes from him alone” (Psalm 62:1, TLB).
May this video devotional speak to your heart today.
It Is Well With My Soul
When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul.
Refrain:
It is well (it is well),
with my soul (with my soul),
It is well, it is well with my soul.
My sin, oh the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to His cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
Refrain:
It is well (it is well),
with my soul (with my soul),
It is well, it is well with my soul.
And Lord haste the day, when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.
Refrain:
It is well (it is well),
with my soul (with my soul),
It is well, it is well with my soul.
To access Liebestraum & It Is Well With My Soul, this week’s inspirational video from GloryScapes.com, please go to:http://www.gloryscapes.com/liebestraum/ in your browser or click on the image below.
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
—Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jan 15, 2015 | 2 Timothy
2 Timothy 4:6-7
“For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.”
I sit here at the bedside of a vital part of my life for some 66 years. I truly have never known what it is like not having her as my best friend, soul mate and wife. Without question she has been flesh of my flesh and bone of my bone.
As I sit here watching her labored breathing, I am aware that it will only be a short time before her breathing stops and her life here on earth ends. At the same time I rejoice in the certainty that she enters into a wonderful eternal life without, pain, suffering or sorrow. The sights she will experience defy our earthly imagination.
–BUT—WHAT DO I DO NOW?
As I prayerfully face this new phase of my life I know that I will continue to do the things God has called me to do. I will be the best father possible to our son and his wife, our daughter, our grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
I will be faithful to the calling God has given me as a Pastor and writer. I will strive every way possible to be God’s servant. I refuse to feel sorry for myself. There are many needy hearts and I purpose to meet the needs as best I can.
Today, 1/13/15, Joyce has just ended her journey here on earth. She has shown us a godly pattern of caring and sharing. Now it is time for us to fill the gap she leaves.
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
