by Pastor Cecil | Nov 19, 2014 | 2 Corinthians
2 Corinthians 5:16-17
So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come. The old has gone, the new is here!
I think it was back in 1960 that I was a County Juvenile Probation Officer. Three teenage girls had repeatedly been arrested by local authorities — they had fled from the officers so many times they were known as the gazelles. As a last effort to deal with their delinquency, the judge ordered them to be confined in the Youth Training Center several hundred miles away.
The Judge had me transport them, so along with my wife Joyce, we began the trip. The deputies had placed leg restraints on the girls to keep them from escaping. A few miles out of town, however, I stopped and asked the three if we could make the trip as a family rather than treating them as prisoners. They readily agreed and we had no problem. By the time we arrived at the facility, we all felt like family.
A few days ago I saw an obituary for a man whose name sounded familiar. As I looked down the list of survivors I saw he had a sister who had the same name as one of those girls. I was able to find her phone number and called. Amazingly she said it was her and vividly recalled the trip. Her life was turned around and she was a changed woman. Did I say woman? On the trip she was about 15, she now is approaching 70. How time flies!
We all have opportunities to impact others we come in contact with. Never neglect to spend time with young people. Let them know you are there for them. Perhaps you will be the only family they will ever have.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Nov 18, 2014 | Colossians
Colossians 1:19-20
For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.
As a pastor and Christian Counselor, I have been faced with heartbroken parents who had lost a child. In my attempt to bring comfort, I would empathize with them. Unfortunately, when I said that I knew what they were going through, they reacted in a distant manner.
In actuality I could not know what they were experiencing since I had not lost a child. But that all changed on July 11, 1991, when our oldest daughter, Brenda, slipped into eternity. Joyce and I had witnessed others say farewell to a loved one, but now we would know the reality first hand.
The Godhead (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) had been One throughout all of eternity. Then Jesus, the Son, was sent to this earth to fulfill God’s prophetic purpose—to bring the offer of salvation to all who would receive it. Jesus shed His precious blood to pay the price for our sins. He became sin for us!
So where did Jesus assure our victory over sin and death? On the cross! The very moment His life faded and the last drop of His precious blood was shed, Satan was a defeated foe. That is why the very last words of Jesus on the cross, as recorded in John 19:30, were: “It is finished!”
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Nov 17, 2014 | Matthew
Matthew 6:19-21
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Recently I saw an ad on TV in which a woman was walking toward the camera. She boasted that she was in her 50’s and had many more years left to live. That may sound good to the company she was representing, but it just isn’t always so.
Take time to peruse the obituary column in your local newspaper. You will be amazed at the significant number of deaths of young people. We lost our oldest daughter at age 34, so we are well aware that life is fleeting.
As we read today’s Scripture, we find that the things of this world are not certain. In other words, they pass away. In Luke 16, Jesus tells the parable of the rich man and a beggar named Lazarus. Here on earth the rich man seemed to scorn the lowly beggar who survived on the scraps from his table. But things changed when they both died. Lazarus was now experiencing eternal bliss while the former rich man suffered excruciating agony. (And it would never end.)
We never know when the Lord will call us home. We may have many years to live or we may die this week. The important thing is that we make every effort to store up our treasures in heaven. Where is your heart?
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Nov 14, 2014 | John
John 14:27
Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
One of my most vivid memories growing up was time spent at Payette Lakes located in McCall, Idaho. The days may be in the eighties, but you needed a warm blanket or sleeping bag to keep warm at night. I am an early riser and even then I enjoyed waking early and walking down to the lake side and looking across to the opposite shore. Many times the water was so serene and calm that it clearly reflected the scene from the far shore—a double blessing.
In these moments of reverie I could recall the hectic activities of the previous day. There were boats, water skiers, swimmers and even a sudden storm that churned the waters and cleared off the boaters.
Life is very much like that. There are times of frantic activity that will be fun and enjoyable, but nonetheless chaotic. There are also times when gales blow in and create stormy waters. We long for peace! Is it possible in the midst of the storm? Remember that Jesus was with His disciples in a small boat on a tempestuous sea. Even these men who were professional fishermen thought they were doomed. It was when they called out to Jesus that they found perfect peace.
In today’s Scripture, Jesus promises peace for all of us. His peace is not the kind of peace the world knows. It is a peace that gives us serenity even when the world is blowing like a hurricane around us. He promises that when we come to Him, our hearts will not be troubled and we need not be afraid. That is sweet peace!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Nov 13, 2014 | Acts
Acts 26:20
“Made known openly first of all to those at Damascus, then at Jerusalem and throughout the whole land of Judea, and also among the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works and live lives consistent with and worthy of their repentance.” (Amplified Bible)
I was saved when I was nine or ten years old. It’s been so long ago that I cannot remember my exact age. It is not essential to know my age, I just knew that I was not a Christian and the only way to become one was to confess my sins and invite Jesus into my heart.
There were about ten or fifteen other kids kneeling at that altar at the same time. The Pastor had told us to stand when we knew that Jesus had become our Savior and Lord. When I poured out my sins to the Lord and prayed for Him to come in, I knew that something had happened. I had been born again! When I stood I saw that all of the other kids were on their feet, I felt confused. But I knew what had just happened was real. I was now a born again Christian!
Did that mean that I could live any way I wanted? NO! Did it mean that I had to start the process of spiritual growth? Absolutely! Spiritual growth can never precede spiritual birth. Just as I had a lot of physical maturing ahead of me, so I had a lot of spiritual maturing to do.
There are some who have the sequence wrong. They hold to the view that we must do things to merit salvation. Not according to my Bible. Isaiah 64:6 says: “For we have all become like one who is unclean [ceremonially, like a leper], and all our righteousness (our best deeds of rightness and justice) is like filthy rags or a polluted garment; we all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away [far from God’s favor, hurrying us toward destruction].” (The Amplified Bible)
That does not sound like we can do anything to be justified by our good deeds or righteous actions. Spiritual birth must precede spiritual growth. It is only then that we learn and practice what it means to be a faithful born-again believer. The right sequence!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
