by Pastor Cecil | Oct 20, 2010 | 1 Peter
I Peter 3:15
“Sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear.”
This story is not about tomatoes, and yet it is about tomatoes. One of the many things I love to eat is a juicy, ripe tomato, fresh from the vine at peak season. After enduring months of second rate hot-house attempts at producing the real thing, oh, how sweet to taste the real thing!
One summer Joyce and I were returning from a trip to Idaho to visit my mother. It was a little late in the tomato season, but I had hoped to buy some before returning to Olympia. We stopped at a service station on the high desert of Oregon where I asked the attendant if there were any fruit stands around so I could buy tomatoes.
“You go down to the end of this road, turn left and go until you see this big green house then keep your eyes peeled for some sheep grazing in a pasture. After that there will be a driveway that crosses a little creek. Go down that driveway until you come to the end, and they may have some stuff left.”
I must have been out of my mind to try to follow such directions, but I was desperate for those home grown tomatoes. (As a matter of fact, I found the place and we were rewarded with a basket full of round, red and sweet tomatoes).
As I recall that incident, I think about our spiritual obligation to give directions to people who want to find their way to heaven. We can make it simple or we can make it so complex that it takes a genius to figure it out. Jesus gave simple directions, as recorded in John 3:16, to a brilliant scholar named Nicodemus: “For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life.” These are the directions to heaven—have you followed them yet?
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 | Sep 23, 2010 | 1 Peter
I Peter 3:10-11
“He who would love life and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips from speaking deceit. Let him turn away from evil and do good; Let him seek peace and pursue it.”
A number of years ago I was shopping in a discount grocery store. Yep! That’s me — “Look-for-a-bargain Cecil.” As I progressed from aisle to aisle to aisle, I kept passing a mother with three children. The youngest was a girl of about eight years of age.
The mother must have been having a terrible day and appeared to be taking it out on this little girl. She snarled and barked in response to everything the girl did. Her older brothers seemed to shy away from their mother’s tongue.
As I prayed about how to respond, I felt the Spirit’s urge to simply give this little girl the gift of a smile. We were shopping in different directions and therefore we met on each aisle. Each time I would give her a smile. Her little face radiated.
You had to bag your own groceries and it just so happened that this family was next to me. I noticed it was the little girl who did the bagging while her brothers stood aside and did nothing. On a whim, I asked the girl, “Do you work here at the store?” She was surprised and responded with a grin, “No, I am just helping my mom.” I told her how proud her mother must be to have such a good helper.
When the girl finished bagging her family’s groceries, she darted over and began to help bag mine with a huge smile on her face. The mother growled at her that it was time to go and they headed for the door. The last thing I saw was a little eight-year-old girl waving goodbye to me with a huge smile. Without words we can touch those around us and make the way a little easier. Have you given a gift today? Try a smile!
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 | Aug 25, 2010 | 1 Peter
I Peter 3:15
“But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear.”
Last week I received a call from a young woman whose sister was attending church camp. She had lost directions to the camp in order to have someone pick up her sister at the designated time.
I went on line and was pleasantly surprised to discover detailed directions to the camp. I called the young woman back and told her I had found the directions. I started reading the directions to her and she had to stop me several times to be able to write them down. I kept suggesting that she simply go on line and follow the directions that were clearly given.
I am sure her sister was given a ride home since I never heard back from them. But it started me thinking about the incident. What spiritual applications could I make from what had just happened?
Are we adequately prepared to give people the directions to heaven when they ask? It seems like a simple question, but stop and think about it. If someone approached you and said they wanted directions in order to get to heaven, what would you do?
Sadly, many would be at a loss for words. Others would tell the inquirer to go talk to the pastor or some other spiritual leader. But the fact is that you may be their only hope. I urge you to make it a high priority to learn how to share your faith and be able to give such clear direction that they will accept the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Savior.
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 8, 2010 | 1 Peter
I Peter 3:15
“But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.”
I was born and spent my first eleven years in Camas, Washington. For those of you who are not acquainted with northwest geography, Camas is located on the Washington side of the mighty Columbia River near Portland, Oregon. Rain was a common occurrence and we became used to it (sort of!)
One Sunday night, when I was eight or nine, we were returning home after the evening service. Back in those days the cars all had standard transmissions, which meant that you could start them by being pushed while the car was in gear.
It was raining cats and dogs when we came upon a car stalled in the middle of the highway. My dad, always being a kind and helpful sort, eased up behind the car and started to push it to get it started. It was raining too hard to talk with the other driver first. Almost immediately the driver began to motion with his arm for dad to stop. He ran back and told dad that he didn’t need to be pushed as he was out of gas and was trying to coast back into town for some gas. Dad took him back and the good deed was accomplished.
It is very important that we can sometimes push when to do so will cause more harm than good. If the Holy Spirit has not prepared the heart of an individual to be receptive to the gospel, we need to prayerfully wait for the Spirit’s guidance. Above all, don’t push! We already have too many pushy Christians.
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 | Jun 16, 2010 | 1 Peter
1 Peter 5:5
“Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’ ”
About twenty years ago we had a Thompson family reunion. It was a very enjoyable and relaxing time and we cousins were having fun recalling how our dads would argue when they all got together. In the midst of this reminiscing, someone suggested we pose for a picture. As we all lined up along a fence line we smiled at our kids as they gazed at their parents. It seemed to strike each of us at the same time―we were now the old generation.
Where had the time gone? How could our youth have slipped away so quickly? I was just thinking that if our oldest daughter was still alive, she would be one year away from qualifying for a senior citizen discount. Wow!
I was speaking with a friend recently about sharing the faith with young inmates at a state correctional facility. He remarked that some of them reject what he has to say because he is just too old and things have changed. Oh, really? I don’t think so!
Sin is sin regardless of the time in which we live. One of the sad commentaries of our modern world is the disdain shown by young people toward those who have lived through the storms of life and want to keep the next generation from running aground.
I pray for two things: First that the older generation will devote themselves to dig into God’s Holy Word in order to discover spiritual wisdom, and second that the younger generation will have spiritual ears to hear and grow strong in the Lord.
Be blessed dear heart and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
360-570-0074
PastorCecil@Daily-E-Votional.com
by Pastor Cecil | Apr 21, 2010 | 1 Peter
1 Peter 5:10
“And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.”
On a scorching summer day back in 1969 I finished my tour of duty with the US Air Force and started a trip from Missouri to Idaho. I knew that the first part of the trip would be the most uncomfortable. I was going to cross the State of Kansas in a car with no air conditioning.
I started the trip with water to drink and wet washcloths with which to wipe my face and arms. When I made my first stop for fuel, the temperature was 107° in the shade. Later on it seemed to get even hotter.
In the afternoon I saw a cloud to the northwest and knew that the route I was on would take me that way. Sure enough I entered the cloud and felt a surge of cool air. The temperature kept getting lower and lower and I finally had to roll up the windows. I was pulling into a small town when I heard the radio station announce that the temperature was 90°.
Why did it feel so cool when it was that warm? It was the comparison to the extreme heat I had been experiencing.
I fear that we are in danger of being influenced by the temperature of the world around us to the degree that we fail to have a grasp on reality. There is one way to tell what the temperature really is ― God’s Holy Word! Use this infallible thermometer. It may surprise you what you have been lulled into thinking what is normal.
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
