by Pastor Cecil | Aug 26, 2008 | 2 Corinthians
2 Corinthians 4:16-17
“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.”
Many years ago I had the opportunity to be on a committee with author and speaker, J. Allan Peterson. One of his books that stands out in my mind is: Your Reactions Are Showing.
I am not sure if it was in that book or in one of his messages that he told the fable of a poor farmer in a country ruled by a cruel warlord. This man had one son and only one young unbroken horse.
One day his son was trying to tame the young horse when he was bucked off and broke a leg. The farmer’s neighbors gathered to console him on this tragedy. The farmer refused to be depressed. “This may be a good thing or a bad thing. I will just wait and see.”
Shortly after the son’s accident the warlord came through the village and took every young man to go with him into battle—that is with the exception of the son with the broken leg.
Not long after, word was received that the battle had gone terribly wrong and the warlord, with all of his army had been slain. Only one young man was left in the village—the son with the broken leg. Was the accident a good or bad thing?
We are told in Scripture that we live in a world filled with trials and pain. If you do not believe it, talk with some of us that are old enough that clerks no longer ask to see our ID to prove we qualify for a senior discount! Believe me—getting older is not for sissies.
Paul in writing to the church at Corinth wants to remind them that even though the process of aging may take away our physical ability, we believers are being, “Renewed day by day.” Are you in the process of being renewed day by day?
How does this daily renewal take place? Where is the spiritual outlet that will allow us to “Plug in” and charge up our spiritual batteries? Paul provides the secret in the very next verse; “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
There is the secret of daily renewal. It is not what we do, so much as it is Who we fix our eyes upon. The writer of Hebrews sums it up this way in Hebrews 12:2-3: “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”
WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT?
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing to others!
— Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Aug 11, 2008 | 2 Corinthians
2 Corinthians 6:15-17
“What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: ‘I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.’ ‘Therefore come out from them and be separate,’ says the Lord. ‘Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.’ “
The eyes of much of the world are being focused on Beijing, China and the 29th Summer Olympic games. At the opening ceremony, the president of the International Olympic Committee spoke of the theme for the games: “The theme of these Games ‘One World, One Dream.’ ”
With athletes from 204 nations packing the huge floor of the arena it was easy to be caught up in the euphoria of the moment. With such harmony and happiness— surely this could be the start of peace on earth. BEEEEP! Wrong answer!
UNITY WILL NEVER INSURE WORLD PEACE! It is sad that even those who are followers of the Lord Jesus Christ have compromised the infallible Word of God by choosing unity rather than obedience.
Just because we observe others acting or re-acting in a certain way does not mean that it is true. I once was teaching a college class and wanted to demonstrate the danger of relying on the response of others.
I had washed a perfume bottle completely and purged it of any odor. Remember—I had told the class that it was dangerous to rely on the responses of others. I was now about to catch them off guard.
Before class I had enlisted several students to assist me in the test. I asked them to sit in the front row and raise their hand after twenty to thirty seconds.
I told the class I wanted them to raise their hand at the moment they could smell the perfume. I would lecture in the ordinary manner and I wanted to see how keen their sense of smell was. (See how devious I can be?)
After twenty seconds the students I had enlisted to help me, began to raise their hands. Soon everyone on the front row had their hands up and then second row and several in the third row.
I stopped the lecture and asked them what fragrance they thought it was? They finally agreed that it was floral and probably lilac. They were stunned as I passed the bottle of pure water around and they discovered that there was no perfume and they had responded because others had responded. Some even said they were sure they could smell an aroma of perfume.
There are many religious leaders who are leading the faithful away from the pure Word by their charismatic personalities and the hoopla surrounding a polished production. We must never let this happen!
There must never be a compromise with anything or anybody who deviates from the pure Word! “JESUS LOVES ME, THIS I KNOW—FOR THE BIBLE TELLS ME SO—THAT IS ALL I NEED TO KNOW!”
Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today and be a blessings to others!
— Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Aug 5, 2008 | 2 Corinthians
2 Corinthians 12:8-10
“Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. (His thorn in the flesh). But He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
Did you think I made an error in spelling in the title of today’s E-Votional? I can just hear someone saying. “It should be “week-end!” Pastor Cecil really missed on that one!” Sorry, Charlie! I intended to spell it—WEAK-END.
Sometimes when we come to the end of the week, we collapse for a couple of days before returning to work on Monday morning. The activities on our days of rest are intended to refresh, restore, and prepare us for another week in the rat-race. Do we really experience rest?
Think of the number of times you could hardly wait for the week-end to end, so you could return to work and rest up. The yard work, house maintenance projects, strenuous sporting endeavors would leave you a quivering bowl of Jell-O.
Starting a new week is a wonderful time to consider the weak-end. It sounds crazy, but God delights in operating opposite to human reasoning. God does things His way and in His timing. We may never understand how or why, but simply trust Him to do what we are never capable of doing ourselves.
In Luke 6:38, Jesus taught the principle of giving to the Lord. “Give, and it shall be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap.” Do I understand that? Absolutely not! In fact it seems just the opposite of human reasoning. But God does not do things just so I will understand them. Faith demands that I choose to believe without understanding.
In my mind, the more you keep, the more you have. But we have seen and practiced across the years, that when we give to the Lord first, money seems to come from unexpected sources.
I remember back in the 60’s, I was leading a men’s Bible study breakfast. One of the men in our group was in dire financial need. The man was on the verge of bankruptcy. I suggested that we demonstrate our love by giving a significant offering. When we passed a Bible around to place money on, several hundred dollars was raised.
The man who had the need was stunned by the love these brothers in Christ had shown to him. He said it was not enough to hardly scratch the surface of his debt, but I urged him to start giving to God and allow the Lord to work a miracle. In less than one year the man was completely out of debt!
There was a side story that took place that morning. One of the men came up to me after the meeting and said that he had a $50 bill he wanted to give. He related that it was hidden in the freezer. I guess my mouth dropped open, as he quickly explained that he had saved here and there until he was able to have a $50 bill. He had planned to have a fancy hair style done later that week.
He took the money “off ice” and gave it to the needy brother. I suddenly thought to have him pay close attention to what would happen. He had given “as unto the Lord”, and if Luke 6:38 was true, he should see results. Within two weeks, something like $200 came in from unexpected sources. Wow!
So, when we read what Paul has to say about human weakness, it again is a paradox. It is when we are weak that we become strong. The less energy, stamina, health, muscle tone, endurance, power, drive – – – whatever, the more God’s power comes into play. Do we understand it? No! Do we need to understand it? No! We only need to yield to Him.
Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing.
— Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jul 30, 2008 | 2 Corinthians
2 Corinthians 6:16-17
“What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: ‘I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be My people.’ Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.”
Have you ever done something that was an embarrassment to you? Something like spilling a tray in a crowded cafeteria and having every eye in the place watch as you scooped the food off the floor and into the trash. (I have!)
But there was one incident that still comes to my mind from time to time. I was teaching a Bible class to a sharp group of professionals. We always had a lot of fun as we searched God’s Word for hidden meaning.
One Sunday morning I was in a hurry getting ready for church and my final task was to slip into my shoes as our family flew out of the door. The class session was in full swing when one of the young women raised her hand and asked, “Is there a lesson you want to demonstrate by wearing one brown shoe and one black shoe?”
I looked down, and sure enough, I had made an awkward blunder. The room erupted in goodhearted laughter at my expense. When they finally quieted down I remarked, “You are not going to believe this, but I have a pair of shoes at home just like this!”
Over the years I have thought about that day—and yes, there is a lesson to be learned. All too often we try to go through life with one foot in the world and the other foot in God’s kingdom.
Paul, in writing to the church at Corinth in today’s Scripture is making a strong point that we have no business mixing the two. We need to be God’s people at all times. God does not call us to be part-time disciples. He calls us to come away from those things of the world that once ensnared us and be His children.
Since that silly moment so long ago, I now always check my shoes before leaving the house. I examine my appearance to see if things match. In the same manner we need to take the time for a spiritual self-examination. Paul says that we are to come out from the world and be separate. Are we? Can we honestly say that our walk matches our talk? It must!
Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today. Trust Him completely and become a real blessing.
— Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jul 21, 2008 | 2 Corinthians
2 Corinthians 4:5-6
“For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.”
Saturday afternoon I stood at the graveside of a 61 year-old man. We had just come from the funeral service and this was the committal service. I had just read a passage of Scripture when I heard an intake of breath and several hushed comments.
Briefly I wondered what I had said that had made such an impact. It was evident that something was taking place behind me that was capturing the attention of the few family and friends who gathered there.
After I had concluded with a prayer I turned to see what others had been seeing. There, not over 50 yards distance, were two lovely deer. They were peacefully munching away on floral arrangements people had placed over the headstones of their loved ones.
This beautiful incident has reminded me that I am never responsible for the reactions of people around me. The people at this service were far more impressed by what they were seeing than what I was saying.
God wants to be in absolute and complete control of the affairs of His people. We are not the ones to receive the glory—He is the One! Anytime we try to bring glory to ourselves we are entering the “minefield” of pride.
So what is our responsibility as the Lord’s servants? Paul makes it quite clear in today’s Scripture; “For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.” He also advised Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:15; “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the Word of truth.”
What are you doing with your life? Are you presenting yourself to Him in order that He can use you for His service, or are you working in order to be seen by others? I pray it is the former!
“For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.”
Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today. Trust Him completely and become a real blessing.
— Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jul 17, 2008 | 2 Corinthians
2 Corinthians 2:5-8
“If anyone has caused grief, he has not so much grieved me as he has grieved all of you, to some extent–not to put it too severely. The punishment inflicted on him by the majority is sufficient for him. Now instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. I urge you, therefore, to reaffirm your love for him.”
Are you ready for a little detective work? I hope we will not end up as “defective detectives.” In Scripture we are told to study to show ourselves approved of God. Part of that study is to dig into the hidden truths of God’s Word.
From the tone of the comments that Paul makes to the church at Corinth, a particular man had been the source of conflict in the body. It appears that it might have involved Paul, since in the first few verses of this chapter he refers to his first visit as being painful. It also appears that some type of discipline was administered by the church.
We can infer that the man has repented of his offense and has asked for forgiveness. It is thought that Paul wrote this letter from Ephesus which is across the Aegean Sea from Corinth. I don’t think there were any telephones or computers back then, so word of the man’s repentance must have been relayed by word of mouth by someone who had come from Corinth. How are we doing detectives? Stay close, we are about to dig deeper.
Paul indicates that the church in Corinth has exerted enough punishment and that the man was truly repentant. In effect he is saying to stop punishing and start restoring. Thinking like a detective brings us to conclude that the people in Corinth are now in danger of being guilty of sin of an unforgiving attitude—seeking vengeance rather than restoration.
From the reports he had received, Paul saw this and now begins to provide instruction. What is his advice? Forgive, comfort and love. I can almost hear a few cries from those who heard this letter. “What! Don’t forget what he did to us!” Our reactions today may also become vindictive rather than restorative. Are we guilty of possessing an unforgiving spirit?
In Matthew 18:15-20, Jesus taught His disciples the principle of forgiveness. Immediately Peter wanted to know how many times we should forgive the one who sins against us. He even ventures a number seven (7) that would demonstrate we have a wonderful spirit of forgiveness. I am quite sure that Peter felt that the Lord would be pleased that he would be willing to forgive a brother who sinned against him seven times. Before we get too critical of Peter, think how you would respond if someone did something terrible to you, asked forgiveness, received your warm forgiving response then did the same thing again. Be honest! I think most of us would feel that two was all he was going to get. Peter was being very magnanimous in saying seven times.
Jesus was not satisfied with seven times. Our Lord said we are to forgive an offender seventy times seven. If my grade school math is operational, that is a total of 490 times. Can you even imagine what it would be like to be victimized hundreds of times and each time have the same warm spirit of forgiveness as before? Only God can give us that type of spirit. No amount of sermons, self-help seminars or good intentions will accomplish this. It is only by the grace of God that we achieve this level of growth.
Jesus taught that we are always to forgive. If you are keeping track of the number of times you have forgiven someone you need to learn what it means to truly forgive. Paul teaches that forgiveness is more than words. It is action. FORGIVE – COMFORT – LOVE. To use the term forgive without the comfort and love is just making noise without demonstrating action.
We need to experience the brokenness of heart and spirit until we are truly crucified with Christ. It is only then that we will receive His strength to forgive. When it is not within us to forgive we need to pray. “Please Lord, make me more like You.”
Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today. Trust Him completely and become a real blessing.
— Pastor Cecil
