by Pastor Cecil | Mar 24, 2011 | 1 Thessalonians
I Thessalonians 5:23-24
“Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.”
I still am shaking my head about a fantastic thing that has happened in the past 24 hours. Last night I noticed an envelope stuck alongside a paper holder and could not believe my eyes when I saw it was from Roy and Jean Becker—friends I knew over 40 years ago while I was stationed in St. Anthony, Newfoundland. I thought their letter, written in 1974, had been lost.
As I read the letter I was humbled by one paragraph: “We have so many happy memories of you, Cecil. A few months ago, I wrote out in detail, all of the events that led to ‘How God Found Me.’ I listed your friendship as a contributing fact toward motivating me to live a Christ-like life.’”
Through a quick white page search I discovered Roy and Jean are now living in Colorado. I called this morning and what a joyous reunion we had on the phone.
But that was nothing compared to the joyous times we will experience when we are all gathered in glory. And that, my precious friends, is good news here and good news awaiting us when we all get to heaven!
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
P.S. – You can find previous E-Votionals covering a variety of Scriptures and topics to help you in your walk with the Lord at www.Daily-E-Votional.com.
P.P.S. – I have completed my first book, 100 of Pastor Cecil’s Select Illustrations. The cost is $12.95 plus shipping. You can now order it online by going to https://dailyevotional.com/prior2020/book-by-pastor-cecil . . . You may want to consider this book as a thoughtful gift idea for those who do not have Internet access or as helpful sermon illustrations for your Pastor.
.
.
.
by Pastor Cecil | Mar 16, 2011 | 1 Thessalonians
1 Thessalonians 5:19-22
“Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies. Test all things; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.”
My wife Joyce and I enjoy watching the Antiques Road Show, be it US, Great Britain or Canada. A few days ago we were watching the Canadian version of the show when a middle aged woman brought a ceramic tile to be appraised. It was about 4” X 4” and seemed rather trivial.
The appraiser asked her how she came to have the tile in her possession. She related that she had attended an estate sale and bought a box of glassware for $2.00. During the sale a man came by and was asking frantically if anyone had seen a ceramic tile. They all reported that they had not seen it.
When the woman got home, she unpacked the box and there on the bottom, under all of the glasses was the missing tile. The appraiser asked her if she tried to contact the man to return the tile. She boldly declared that she hadn’t.
In my mind I was stunned by her lack of conscience. It reminded me of an adult acting out the childhood chant: “Finders keepers¯losers weepers!” I sensed that the appraiser had the same opinion. By the way, he appraised the tile for $1,000.00.
As believers I feel that we must always live by the “Golden Rule.” That means we must treat others in the same way we would want them to treat us. It would be a good test to see if we are doing that. How about your driving courtesy?!
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
P.S. – You can find previous E-Votionals covering a variety of Scriptures and topics to help you in your walk with the Lord at www.Daily-E-Votional.com.
P.P.S. – I have completed my first book, 100 of Pastor Cecil’s Select Illustrations. The cost is $12.95 plus shipping. You can now order it online by going to https://dailyevotional.com/prior2020/book-by-pastor-cecil . . . You may want to consider this book as a thoughtful gift idea for those who do not have Internet access or as helpful sermon illustrations for your Pastor.
.
.
.
by Pastor Cecil | Dec 13, 2010 | 1 Thessalonians
I Thessalonians 1:2-3
“We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers, remembering without ceasing your work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of our God and Father.”
It seems as if I am confronted daily with people who have lost their jobs and find themselves in financial chaos. I have faced this same problem a few times in my life. I have felt led to present a practical guide to help those of you out of work.
First and foremost is to go to the Lord in prayer. Ask Him to show you the path He is opening for you. Keep Proverbs 3:5-6 constantly in your mind. Recite it to yourself several times each day: “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.”
After talking with the Lord about your need, get serious! You cannot afford the luxury of waiting for a job to come to you—you have to go at it with a vengeance. Until you are employed, your full-time job is seeking employment. Spend as much time looking for work as you would if you were working.
You need to prepare a good and solid updated résumé. Emphasize those character qualities that you possess (dependability, promptness, loyalty, honesty, integrity, ability to interact with people) but make sure you actually possess these qualities.
Be sure to give copies of your résumés to friends and family and ask them to pass them on to anyone who may be able to consider you for employment. Keep in mind that you belong to the Lord and He rewards those who put Him first.
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
P.S. – You can find previous E-Votionals covering a variety of Scriptures and topics to help you in your walk with the Lord at www.Daily-E-Votional.com.
P.P.S. – I have completed my first book, 100 of Pastor Cecil’s Select Illustrations. The cost is $12.95 plus shipping. You can now order it online by going to https://dailyevotional.com/prior2020/book-by-pastor-cecil . . . You may want to consider this book as a thoughtful gift idea for those who do not have Internet access or as helpful sermon illustrations for your Pastor.
.
.
.
by Pastor Cecil | Oct 26, 2010 | 1 Thessalonians
I Thessalonians 5:21-24
“He that blesseth his friend with a loud voice, rising early in the morning, it shall be counted a curse to him.”
Joyce and I were once invited to spend the night with some dear friends of ours. We had a wonderful meal and a long visit throughout the evening and were looking forward to a good night’s rest. WRONG!
We had just started to slip into slumber land when a clock chimed. It was followed by another and another and another, each separated by several seconds or several minutes. There was one clock that was about six minutes behind the others.
The next morning we mentioned it to our hosts, and they laughed and laughed. They were so used to the chiming that they never are aware of them. The next night they were graciously placed on silent, so we slept the night away.
I fear there are times when our voices can become just annoying irritations that are rejected by others. This is why it is so vital to be directed by the Holy Spirit before we attempt to do the work on our own.
Timing is so very critical. Our words may be appropriate, but we need to have the spiritual sensitivity about when the door is open. Not only that, we need to keep in mind that we are speaking with our actions as well as with words.
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 | Oct 18, 2010 | 1 Thessalonians
I Thessalonians 5:21-24
“Test all things; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil. Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.”
Every time I read this or any other Scripture that speaks of holding fast to something, I think of my mom. My mom was the opposite of “hoarder.” She was what may be termed a “flinger.” If she did not know what it was or if it was in the wrong place, out it went.
I can still recall digging through the trash looking for school assignments, dad’s contracts or other things that were very important. The rule became, “If you can’t find it, head for the nearest trash barrel.”
When we would ask mom about why she did it, she would just smile and say, “It didn’t look important to me.” I have heard of kids making excuses for not having papers to turn in because the dog ate it, but I always felt that I was unique in using my mom as my excuse.
That precious little mother of mine was just over five feet tall, but she was a giant in my eyes. Our home was always neat and orderly. It was a haven that we could always count on. Above all, she loved the Lord and taught my brother and me spiritual values. Thanks mom!
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 27, 2010 | 1 Thessalonians
1 Thessalonians 2:4
“On the contrary, we speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts.”
Dan came into my office to complain about his job at a local potato processing plant. He hated everything about it. He hated the hours he had to work, he hated his bosses, he hated the people he worked with ― on and on the complaints continued.
As Dan talked, I prayed. I knew he would be expecting me to give him some spiritual counsel, and to tell you the truth I was sadly lacking in ideas about how I would respond. Dan finally ran down and I knew ― ready or not, it was my turn.
I am sure it was the Holy Spirit who gave me the wisdom to ask the following question: “Dan, what is the worst job in the plant?” Without hesitation he responded, “That’s easy. It’s cleaning up the rotten potatoes at the end of the assembly line.”
I counseled Dan to ask to be placed permanently in that position and do so with joy. To make a long story short, he did just that. At the end of the week he could hardly wait to give me a report. The smelly position gave him a chance to sing and recite Scripture out loud. His cheery outlook so impressed his supervisors that they kept him working longer than any of the other seasonal workers, and told him that he would be the first to be hired the next season.
Dan captured the principle of serving God instead of serving men. Who are you serving?
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
