by Pastor Cecil | Dec 10, 2019 | 2 Corinthians
2 Corinthians 5:6
“So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord.”
Back in 1966 I was away from family and home as I served an unaccompanied tour with the US Air Force in St. Anthony, Newfoundland. Even though it wasn’t home, I did make many wonderful friends and had a comfortably warm and secure room.
One Sunday evening a few days before Christmas, I was invited to the home of the administrator of the mission hospital in St. Anthony. The other guests that night included doctors and nurses from all over the world. We spent the evening sharing testimonies and singing Christmas carols.
When we sang “Silent Night” someone suggested that those from other nations sing it in their own language. As they sang in their native tongue, tears would flow freely down their cheeks. There was joy in the room, but something vital was missing—we were all far from home.
People may have the most luxurious house, but that does not make a home. It is not the location of a house or even its luxury that brings joy—it is what is on the inside. The same can be said of the true believer. As the words of the old gospel song say, “This world is not my home, I’m just passing through. My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue. The angels beckon me from heavens open door and I can’t feel at home in this world anymore.”
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Oct 2, 2019 | 2 Corinthians
2 Corinthians 5:7-8
“For we walk by faith, not by sight. We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.”
I am a creationist. I believe God’s Word when it says that it was He who created the world in six days and rested on the seventh. How did He do it? By the power of His mighty Word! My faith is based on the infallible Word of God.
I made a choice long ago to make Jesus the Christ the Lord of my life. I accept His Word and if He opens new vistas of understanding, I am eager to receive them. Many things I do not understand, but I know that He is the blessed controller of all things!
Evolutionists have had a hard time of it. Through the years of my life I have heard them try over and over again to prove their unprovable theory. Belief in evolutionism requires more faith than I could ever muster.
Evolutionists are repeatedly forced to conceive or contrive new theories to substantiate their position. They try to convince us that man is nothing more than an accident of millions of years evolving from a rock to a human. I just do not have enough faith to believe that kind of religion. Hebrews 11:1 says it all for me: “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” That is where I take my stand!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jul 18, 2019 | 2 Corinthians
2 Corinthians 4:7
“But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.”
Not long ago there was a strong man competition to determine the strongest man in the world. I only watched it for a few minutes, but several of the contestants seemed to experience a snap in their back and they dropped like a rock.
As I think back on this competition I am reminded that we are all engaged in a mighty battle to show strength. I want to be the first to admit that my strength is limited, but I serve a God that is stronger than any opponent I will ever face!
One of the chief persecutors of the early church was a man named Saul. He seemed to take delight in the arrest, and even death, of believers. I can imagine that many of the believers prayed that God would strike him dead. God had a better plan — He confronted Saul on the road to Damascus and raised up a champion of the faith.
If God could transform a vengeful Saul into the mighty apostle Paul, He is more than able to take our feeble efforts and magnify them for His use. Do not let Satan defeat you by making you feel that he is winning. Remember he is a defeated foe and his fate has been determined. GOD IS OUR STRENGTH!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jun 20, 2019 | 2 Corinthians
2 Corinthians 12:10
“Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
Sometimes when we come to the end of a busy week, we collapse for a couple of days before returning to work on Monday morning. The activities we participate in during our days of rest are intended to refresh, restore, and prepare us for another week in the rat-race. But, do we really experience true rest?
Each day it is important to consider how much we need the Lord’s strength and love for us. God delights in showering His love on His children. God does things His way and in His timing. We may not understand how or why, we simply trust Him to do what we are never capable of doing ourselves.
Jesus taught the principle of allowing Him to be our strength. It is not our own power or ability that makes the difference, but our willingness to give ourselves fully to Him. Faith demands that we choose to believe without understanding.
When we read what Paul has to say about human weakness, it can be a paradox for us. How is it possible for us to become strong when we are weak? The less energy, stamina, health, muscle tone, endurance, and power we possess, the more God’s power comes into play if we are leaning into Him. Do we understand it? No! Do we need to understand it? No! How do we yield to Him and allow Him to be our power? Say YES!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jun 12, 2019 | 2 Corinthians
2 Corinthians 12:10
“Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
There was once a poor man who had only one son and one horse. As the son grew older, he used the horse to plow the fields, to haul produce to market, and ride from place to place on various errands. The townspeople pitied the poor man and often made disparaging remarks about his poverty.
One day went from bad to worse when his son was returning from the village on the horse and was thrown to the ground and his leg broken. His neighbors clucked their tongues and wondered what evil thing this poor man had done to have such bad fortune befall him. He would just smile and reply, “The Lord knows what I need. I will trust Him to give me what He wants me to have.”
Not long after the son’s accident, the king of the province dispatched messengers to each village and demanded that every able-bodied young man immediately report for battle. The only one in that age group who was not conscripted was the poor man’s injured son.
In short time the sad news was relayed to the village that the battle had gone very wrong and all of the young men had died in the fray. Now the man who had once been pitied for his poverty was considered to be the one who was blessed.
As a child of God we should desire to be under His control. He may delay the answer to our prayer, or He may deny it as He did with Paul. Whatever the Lord determines for our lives—to delay or deny—we can know that His grace is sufficient.
Blessings dear hearts! Walk with God today and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | May 23, 2019 | 2 Corinthians
2 Corinthians 5:6
“So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord.”
We never know how close we are to eternity! In 1953 I had completed basic training in California. Approximately fifty of us new Airmen were being flown to Amarillo, Texas, in an outdated military transport plane left over from World War II.
One of the flight crew notified us that we would be making a stop in New Mexico. Just as we landed, one of the two propellers stopped. We were stranded there for several hours while the necessary repairs were made. One of the mechanics happened to mention that it was fortunate we were near the airbase when the trouble hit. Yikes!
Thinking about it now, I realize that we could very easily have crashed and I would have been ushered into eternity! I have had other close calls that reveal to me that we are just a heartbeat from eternity!
I want to live in such a way that others will see Christ in me. Not only did Paul express his commitment to live only for Christ, he demonstrated it by the way he lived. If ever there was an example of a sold-out Christian life, it was the apostle Paul. Let me close for today with Paul’s statement in Philippians 1:21: “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”
Blessings dear hearts. May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
