by Pastor Cecil | Nov 29, 2011 | 2 Corinthians
II Corinthians 5:1
“For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.”
I enjoy hearing people talk about their occupation. I recall listening to fighter pilots talk about the thrill of combat and how close they came to death. I was enthralled by the stories of the deep sea fishermen in Newfoundland. Police officers share with other officers interesting, sometimes dangerous, incidents.
The apostle Paul was a tent-maker by trade. I can almost visualize his calloused fingers and hands. They would almost certainly have been the marks from years of stretching and stitching the fabric to create or repair tents.
In II Corinthians 5:1-3, Paul uses his profession as a tent-maker to illustrate a spiritual truth: This human body of ours is not going to survive. Today there are those who try to reverse the aging process in various ways, but nothing is going to keep us from coming to the end of our life and entering eternity.
It is sad that most of us spend far too much time and effort on things that will pass away. By spending so much time on earthly things we neglect the things that really count—those things that have eternal value.
Spending time with God in prayer and reading His Word will prepare us for that heavenly home that will never pass away. What home are you spending your time and effort to build?
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
—Pastor Cecil
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
by Pastor Cecil | Jun 30, 2011 | 2 Corinthians
II Corinthians 11:13-14
“For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.”
Back in the late 1950’s I served as Juvenile Probation Officer in Idaho. It was such an enjoyable job that I delighted in going to work. One day I received word from the Sheriff’s department that one of my probationers had been reported as a runaway. The family was concerned, as was much of the small rural community where he lived.
He had been missing for about two weeks when someone spotted him moving around inside a locked grocery store late at night. The police were called and my boy arrested. As I interviewed him the next day I discovered that he hated school so bad that he decided to hide inside the store. He would come out after the store was locked and help himself to the bountiful supply of food.
After the interview I drove him to the school to get him back at the grind that he hated so much. The Principle was very upset about this truant and gave him a lecture that was boring to the boy as well as to me. He then wrote on a piece of paper the punishment. For each day he had missed school he would be suspended one day. I looked at my charge and saw a look of joy. Getting out of school for two more weeks was wonderful!
I excused the boy and leaned across the Principle’s desk. I said that he was contributing to the delinquency of this minor and if he did not have him back in class immediately I would have him arrested for contributing to the delinquency of a minor. I was bluffing, but he fell for it and immediately sent the boy to class.
Satan often throws his weight around with threats that are empty of authority. We are children of the King of kings and Lord of lords! We need not fight our own battles, in fact we have no business trying to do so. All we need to do is call for our Lord to come and take our place in the fight. Remember that Satan wins his battles by deception. The victory is ours in Jesus!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil (360) 570-0074
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 Please feel free to forward this E-Votional on to your family and friends.
by Pastor Cecil | Jun 2, 2011 | 2 Corinthians
2 Corinthians 1:3-4
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.”
A few days ago I received an encouraging word from our dear friend Mary Ellen Bouren who is working in Qatar. She has been a tremendous source of blessing to our troops and workers from other nations who are serving there. Her recent update was especially poignant for this season of remembering those who have served. Let me share a portion of her message:
Memorial Day is the day set aside when we take time to remember all of our Fallen Warriors, who made the ultimate sacrifice. I would like to dedicate the remaining portion of this update to my friend, Becky Mizener, her husband Jim, and their family. On January 7, 2004 the Mizener family received the devastating news that their young son, with a family, and a soldier in the US Army, had been killed in action outside Baghdad, Iraq. Through this dark period of time, God lifted Becky and gave her the strength to focus on a mission that would honor their son, Jesse. The family has taken this tragedy and poured their lives into the lives of hundreds of other soldiers. God has opened many doors for Becky to speak, visit the White House, spend time with President George W. Bush, participate in the Gold Star Moms, and many other adventures. Becky started an organization called “Packed With Pride.” She sends supplies, goodies, toys, etc., to the troops. Our son, Kevin, has been the recipient of some of her “care packages.” He even shared one with me after I arrived in Qatar :) This lady inspires me every time I think about her. Please take some time and visit her website to “feel” the heart of this amazing woman. You will be blessed! Thank you, Becky, and family for ALL you do and for such a BIG heart toward our troops!!!!!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
(360) 570-0074
P.S. – You can help! Please consider trying to get one other person to subscribe to the Daily-E-Votional. This worldwide ministry asks for no funds and is sent to glorify our precious Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
by Pastor Cecil | May 5, 2011 | 2 Corinthians
II Corinthians 2:15-16
“For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life. And who is sufficient for these things?”
Back in 1967 I was stationed in the northern tip of Newfoundland, Canada. As often as possible some of us would take trips to various parts of the Island. Many of the people in the villages were fishermen who fished for arctic cod.
On one trip we visited a small fishing village where the fishermen had split the cod, salted them hung them on wooden frames and were letting it dry in the open air. There were several large oak barrels standing around as well.
I asked one of the fishermen what was in the barrels. He laughed and took my arm to lead me over to one. He carefully removed the lid and I saw the ghastly sight of cod livers that were leeching out their oil.
It made me think of the times as a boy when my mother forced me to take tablespoons of the awful smelling cod liver oil that was supposed to keep me from getting sick. As a matter of fact it made me sick to choke down the stuff.
Here was this old fisherman proudly showing me his barrel that was producing heaven only knows how many doses of the yukky stuff. He then told me how much he loved it and would even drink from a cup that he kept beside the barrel. What to me was “yuk” was to him “yum!” The question we need to ask ourselves is whether we are “yuk” or “yum” to those lost souls around us? I pray it is Yum!”
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil (360) 570-0074
P.S. – You can help! Please consider trying to get one other person to subscribe to the Daily-E-Votional. This worldwide ministry asks for no funds and is sent to glorify our precious Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
by Pastor Cecil | Apr 27, 2011 | 2 Corinthians
2 Corinthians 6:17
“Therefore come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you.”
It must be okay, everybody is doing it! We live in an age that measures morality (or the lack of it) by the behavior of others. Unfortunately many Christians have been caught up in this same pattern of reasoning.
There seems to be a fear among many believers that they will appear to be an odd ball or Jesus freak. Oh, that we might have more of these brave souls who are sold out to the Lord and willing to endure scorn for living a Christ-like life.
The first word in today’s Scripture is “Therefore.” As always we need to discover what the “therefore’ is there for. It means reading the verse that precedes it. Here is what verse 16 says: “And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: ‘I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be My people.’ ”
Wow! That is an awesome proclamation from the God of the universe. There is no wiggle room left for compromise with worldly behavior. It is time for each and everyone one of us to examine our lives. Are we living according to the standards of the world or the Word of God? Is the Lord pleased with the things we do, watch, listen to or condone? If not, stop immediately, confess your sin and turn back to the narrow way that leads to life eternal.
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 help! Please consider encouraging one other person to subscribe to our devotionals by going to the Daily-E-Votional.com website and clicking on the “Subscribe” button. This worldwide ministry asks for no funds and is sent to glorify our precious Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
by Pastor Cecil | Apr 5, 2011 | 2 Corinthians
II Corinthians 5:6-8
“So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. 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.”
Being away from home and family is a trial. When I was stationed at St. Anthony, Newfoundland, I knew it would be a year before I returned home. My contact with the family back home was by mail and the weekly phone call we were allowed.
The problem with the mail was that it came in by air and, at our location, it was often delayed for days or even weeks. It was then that someone wiser than I gave me some valuable advice. He said I should rent a post office box in town and have the family send my mail to this address. Canadian mail came in by truck from the southern part of the Island. It worked. When the other men did not have mail, I did!
I can recall driving to an isolated spot halfway up the hill to our radar site from town. It looked out over the Atlantic and was a peaceful and quiet time to read and soak in the words my precious wife had written. I was not home, but those cherished letters were a taste of home.
Those of us who have received Jesus Christ by personal invitation have been given a new home. It is in heaven with the Lord. God’s Word is like a letter to us that we can relish, because it is from our Heavenly Father. It expresses His love for us and His instructions about how we are to live. Park and relish His letter to you!
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.
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