by Pastor Cecil | Jul 19, 2013 | 1 Peter
1 Peter 5:6-7
“Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.“
There have been times in my life when I felt isolated and alone. It seemed that I was alone and could not sense the nearness of God in my life. When I experienced these times of spiritual drought, I was prone to wonder if Jesus really cared, even though I am usually happy and optimistic. It has been in these times that I have felt the enemy of my soul attack. I rush to God?s Word for comfort.
Frank E. Graeff was known as the “sunshine minister.” He had a cheery disposition, a winsome personality, spiritual optimist, and was a great friend of children. He was known to have a child-like faith. That being said, he did pass through times of deep trials. It was then that he turned to the Scriptures as his guide in the darkness.
As I read the words of this hymn that he wrote, I can see the change from gloom and despair to hope and victory. That is what I want in my life.
Does Jesus Care?
Does Jesus care when my heart is pained
Too deeply for mirth or song,
As the burdens press, and the cares distress
And the way grows weary and long?
Refrain: Oh yes, He cares, I know He cares,
His heart is touched with my grief;
When the days are weary, the long nights dreary,
I know my Savior cares.
Does Jesus care when my way is dark
With a nameless dread and fear?
As the daylight fades into deep night shades,
Does He care enough to be near?
Refrain: Oh yes, He cares, I know He cares,
His heart is touched with my grief;
When the days are weary, the long nights dreary,
I know my Savior cares.
Does Jesus care when I’ve tried and failed
To resist some temptation strong;
When for my deep grief there is no relief,
Though my tears flow all the night long?
Refrain: Oh yes, He cares, I know He cares,
His heart is touched with my grief;
When the days are weary, the long nights dreary,
I know my Savior cares.
Does Jesus care when I’ve said “goodbye”
To the dearest on earth to me,
And my sad heart aches till it nearly breaks,
Is it aught to Him? Does He see?
Refrain: Oh yes, He cares, I know He cares,
His heart is touched with my grief;
When the days are weary, the long nights dreary,
I know my Savior cares.
To view the GloryScapes inspirational video Does Jesus Care? please go to: http://www.gloryscapes.com/doesjesuscare/ 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
360-570-0074
PastorCecil@Daily-E-Votional.com
by Pastor Cecil | Jul 18, 2013 | Matthew
Matthew 6:33
But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
As you read the title for this Daily-E-Votional, you may be thinking that I made a typo and intended to say gold instead of good. That was not the case, as I fully knew what I had typed and wanted to explore the subject of seeking the good.
From everything I have been told, mining for gold is not an easy undertaking. I recall seeing pictures of thousands of men struggling through snow and horrible conditions, trying to reach the Klondike gold fields. The relative few that made it discovered that the claims had already been staked by those who had arrived before them. Modern day miners still find the task daunting.
It would appear that the aim of gold miners is to discover a way to achieve wealth quickly. Most have their hopes and dreams shattered. Even those who discover gold or other precious items lack satisfaction.
Jesus wants us to understand that the things of this world will never satisfy. Even if we discovered a vein of pure gold, it would not satisfy. Remember that in heaven gold is used for pavement. The real value is in knowing the Lord intimately and striving to serve Him. That is what I call MINING FOR GOOD. As we discover His good and precious gifts, we will find the peace that passes understanding. This world is not our home, we are just passing through!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
—Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jul 17, 2013 | Matthew
Matthew 16:2-3
He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red. And in the morning, It will be foul weather today: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?
Joyce and I have been accused of being overly-ardent viewers of the Weather Channel. It is true that we enjoy checking out the weather conditions across the nation, as well as around the globe. To us it is especially interesting to see what the weather will be in areas where our family or friends live.
Even with the technological advances in detection and monitoring, it is difficult to precisely predict what the weather will do. Hurricane hunters fly into the very eye of oncoming storms to determine when they strengthen from tropical depressions to the various categories of hurricanes, 1 to 5. Even the lower category storms are capable of causing horrendous damage.
We live in tumultuous times, and the forecast is that conditions will continue to deteriorate as the days pass. Across the world we have seen a turn away from the foundations of biblical teachings to humanistic pleasure seeking.
As the world around us darkens with the deceitfulness of sin, our light of hope in Jesus must shine brightly. We must never allow our fervency to dim. We need to hold firm to the Word of God as the source of light and truth. BE A BEACON TO THE LOST!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
—Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jul 16, 2013 | Matthew
Matthew 7:13-14
Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
Sunday morning Joyce and I had arrived for our church service. I happened to glance out the window and saw a city police car traveling at high speed with emergency lights and sirens. I wondered what the emergency was and assumed that it was an accident of some kind.
As people arrived for the service, they reported that there were many police cars surrounding a gas station. Officers were seen with rifles at the ready all around the building. We guessed it was some type of hostage situation, but that was just a guess.
After service we received word that a man was in the station with his ex-girl friend and was holding her against her will. Our route home would take us past the station. As we neared the area, we encountered a roadblock. Our access was blocked! It took us much longer than usual to find an alternate way home.
In life there are many roadblocks to a fruitful spiritual life: The desires of life, pursuits for personal achievement, or pre-occupation with hobbies and interests, to name a few. These may be good in and of themselves, but if they block our access we must evaluate the best route to take that is pleasing to the Lord.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
—Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jul 15, 2013 | 2 Peter
2 Peter 2:5-8
But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
In March I planted six tomato seeds from a plant I had grown last year. The plant was a gift and we had no idea what variety it was. The plants immediately sprouted and just kept growing larger and larger. I was informed that many of the plants have been genetically engineered in such a way that the seeds will not produce. Since I had already transplanted them in the garden I wanted to observe what would happen.
The plants grew incredibly fast and produced a crescendo of blossoms. (That means a lot!) I was confident since there were so many blossoms that tomatoes would form. I was wrong. I have strong and healthy looking plants with beautiful blossoms, but one by one the blossoms dry up and die.
There have been many Christians that are very much like my tomato plants. They look good and appear spiritually ready to produce fruit for the Lord. But then they start to wither and draw inwardly. They do not produce a crop of blessing for the Lord, but just soak up more and more information.
Do you find yourself in this picture? Do you devote yourself to classes, seminars, sermons, books, and the like, but you are not being a blessing. It is time to cry out to the Lord to pollinate you with His Spirit and power to do His work His way.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
—Pastor Cecil
