by Pastor Cecil | Apr 19, 2013 | John
“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” (John 14:27).
We have a liberal college in our community and from time to time we see bumper stickers from this group that read, World Peace. Some jokesters have made a play on this sticker by coming up with one of their own; Whirled Peas. I suppose the second sticker is much more easily achieved.
From the day that Adam and Eve sinned and were evicted from the garden there has been strife, conflicts and wars. For all of the rhetoric about attaining peace we are no closer to world peace, nor will we ever be until Jesus comes again to establish His Wonderful Peace over all the earth.
What a fantastic day it will be when there is eternal peace. The featured hymn this week from GloryScapes, is Wonderful Peace.
Wonderful Peace
Far away in the depths of my spirit tonight
Rolls a melody sweeter than psalm;
In celestial strains it unceasingly falls
O’er my soul like an infinite calm.
Refrain: Peace, peace, wonderful peace,
Coming down from the Father above!
Sweep over my spirit forever, I pray
In fathomless billows of love!
What a treasure I have in this wonderful peace,
Buried deep in the heart of my soul,
So secure that no power can mine it away,
While the years of eternity roll!
Refrain
I am resting tonight in this wonderful peace,
Resting sweetly in Jesus’ control;
For I’m kept from all danger by night and by day,
And His glory is flooding my soul!
Refrain
And I think when I rise to that city of peace,
Where the Anchor of peace I shall see,
That one strain of the song which the ransomed will sing
In that heavenly kingdom will be:
Refrain
Ah, soul! are you here without comfort and rest,
Marching down the rough pathway of time?
Make Jesus your Friend ere the shadows grow dark;
O accept of this peace so sublime!
Refrain
To access Wonderful Peace, this week’s inspirational video from GloryScapes™ Inspirational Music Videos, please go to: http://www.gloryscapes.com/wonderfulpeace/ 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 | Apr 18, 2013 | 2 Peter
2 Peter 1:19-21
And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.
Back in my high school years I worked part time at a local dairy. The dairy picked up milk from individual farms then processed it into heavy cream, whole milk, skim milk and cottage cheese.
Part of the time I worked driving a large truck that went to the farms to bring the 10 gallon cans into the plant. I can still recall those early morning hours as I was driving and seeing the sky begin to turn lighter and lighter until the sun would burst over the eastern horizon. A new day had begun!
In the darkness of this old sin-sick world, we can easily become discouraged over the lack of spirituality. Sin has always been with us, and it appears to be so prevalent that righteous living is now ridiculed as being abnormal . . . and abnormality is glorified.
I want all of us to take courage. In the darkest night we can look at the eastern horizon and see the first signs of a new day. God has never failed His people and has given us His prophetic word that the things we are now seeing are a solid indication that His coming is very near. A NEW DAY! Come quickly, Lord Jesus!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
—Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Apr 17, 2013 | John
John 20:29
Jesus said to him: Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.
Sunday evening Joyce and I watched a Christian movie that presented a problem that many people face: How to deal with disappointment and lack of faith when your prayers do not seem to be answered.
You may have heard of foxhole faith. It was coined when a soldier huddled deep in a foxhole during severe bombardment. Men were dying all around him and the soldier tells the Lord that if He gets him out of this battle alive, he will serve Him the rest of his life.
There are similar prayers, such as praying for divine healing, landing a job, getting a passing grade on a test, or any number of things. If these prayers do not seem to be answered, it is possible for a person to doubt God and develop a bitter spirit.
Jesus calls us to look beyond the requests of this life and see the eternity waiting for all who are born again and have an eternal reward waiting. What seems so important now will fade into insignificance when we truly see the face of Jesus.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
—Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Apr 16, 2013 | Mark
Mark 9:33-35
They came to Capernaum. When He was in the house, He asked them: What were you arguing about on the road? But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest. Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said: If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.
Did you ever wonder what the disciples of Jesus were like? Were they plaster saints without faults or failings? Did they fall short of being the men of God that they should have been? In this Scripture we have one glimpse into the behavior of the disciples that may often go unnoticed. They were proud and self-seeking! That is so hard to say that I hardly can believe I typed it.
Perhaps it is human nature to desire to be better than others. If so, it is our fallen nature. Pride is sin! I want to repeat that for effect: PRIDE IS SIN! The sin of many believers is going beyond pleasing the Lord—rather it is being in competition with other Christians. In God’s kingdom there is no place for being a Super Saint! He said that the first must be last and the servant of all!
I think the answer to being able to deal with pride and arrogance in our life is to stay close to Jesus. It is when we stray from His presence that we start thinking thoughts that are self-centered and willful. In Psalm 119:133, the Psalmist David directs this prayer to the Lord: Direct my footsteps according to Your word; let no sin rule over me.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
—Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Apr 15, 2013 | Psalm
Psalm 34:8
Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him!
Recently I was watching a program where a well known chef was working under horrible conditions to prepare a complete meal for riders on a train. The meal was to be prepared in a very short period of time.
The chef barked orders to his helpers who were preparing various dishes. He chose to prepare a banana sauce himself. He poured milk in a large pot and then peeled and chopped bananas and added them to the pot. After a few more additions he added a large amount of sugar.
It was several minutes later that he finally tasted the sauce to determine if he needed to add additional flavorings. As he dipped in his spoon he made a face screamed at himself. What he thought was sugar was actually salt. They looked the same, but since he had not tasted it before adding it to his sauce, he had to throw away the entire mix!
It made me think of the many spiritual charlatans that disguise themselves as true and godly, yet lack biblical truth. We can know them by testing to see if what they say matches with the Word of God. In Acts 17, Paul commends the believers in Berea in that they searched the Scriptures daily to assure that what Paul taught was in accordance with the Word. May there be more of such faithful believers!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
—Pastor Cecil
