by Pastor Cecil | Oct 2, 2014 | 2 Peter
2 Peter 1:5-7
But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.
Pride takes many forms. One of these is self-confidence. We often believe we know what is right without spending time with God seeking His will and purpose for our actions. Since the Garden of Eden we humans have listened to Satan’s whispers telling us we are able to make our own decisions without listening to God. The human mind is remarkable, but when it comes to knowing the right choices, we are at a loss.
We agree that salvation is obtained by grace through faith. We then follow that step by trying to live a virtuous life. Peter, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, says following that we are to seek knowledge. That is what Solomon asked for when he became king of Israel upon the death of his father, David.
All through his reign, as well as the reigns of the other leaders before and after, when they asked God for wisdom, God answered. When they acted upon their own instincts, they failed.
The great question confronting each of us is whether we will accept God’s knowledge as revealed in the Bible, or rely on our own abilities. I choose to trust in the Lord and find godly knowledge.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jul 17, 2014 | 2 Peter
2 Peter 1:2-4
But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.
Pride takes many forms. One of these is self-confidence. We often seem to know what is right without taking the time to spend time with God to seek His will and purpose for our actions.
From the Garden of Eden, humans have listen to the whispers of Satan that they were able to make their own decisions without listening to God. The human mind is remarkable, but when it comes to knowing the right choices, we are at a loss.
We might agree that salvation is obtained by grace through faith. We follow that step by trying to live a virtuous life. Peter writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit says that following that we are to seek knowledge. That is what Solomon asked for when he became king of Israel following the death of his father, David.
All through his reign, as well as the reign of the other leaders, before and after, when they asked God for wisdom, God answered. When they acted in their own instincts, they failed.
The great question confronting each of us is whether we will accept God’s knowledge as revealed in the Bible, or rely on our own abilities. I choose to trust in the Lord and find godly knowledge.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Feb 26, 2014 | 2 Peter
2 Peter 3:17-18
Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure position. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and forever! Amen.
Most of us can relate to the apostle Peter–a man that was totally focused on the Lord, yet he slipped. This was a man of courage. But, too often, we focus on the the three times Peter denied knowing the Lord in the courtyard where Jesus was shamefully and unjustly tried.
The courage of Peter was seen hours before the kangaroo trial. He was the one who used a sword on the servant of the high priest. Such action could be considered suicide. But Peter was willing to die for his Master.
A few short hours after demonstrating this act of courage, Peter failed his Lord three times just as Jesus had prophesied. When he denied Jesus the third time and the cock crowed, Jesus turned and looked at Peter. I am sure that it was a look of love and forgiveness. Peter went away and wept bitter tears.
I have tried to get my mind around the courage of Peter on the one hand and the failure on the other. The only difference I can see is that he was separated from his Lord. The way to have victory is to grow in the Lord.
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Oct 10, 2013 | 2 Peter
2 Peter 3:17-18
Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure position. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and forever! Amen.
As a former city police officer and Air Force Combat Missile Commander, I know what it is to be on guard. I have spent many wakeful nights to insure others are safe in their beds. The threat of enemies is deterred by those who are constantly on guard.
It is an awesome responsibility to be placed in a position of trust. As a police officer I was able to break-up family disputes and save a business owner from losing a delivery truck that was about to be stolen. In the Air Force I stood ready to defend our nation in the event an enemy launched missiles toward our shores.
Spiritually I feel the need to defend the inerrant Word of God against the relentless attacks of liberal theologians that feel a committee is able to set aside the absolutes of Scripture. This is a responsibility each of us should assume.
The best way to be on guard at all times is to follow what this passage in Second Peter advises; “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” The more we study God’s Word and commune with Him in prayer the more we will be able to stand guard.
Blessings, Dear Hearts, draw near to God today, trust Him completely, and be a blessing!
—Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jul 15, 2013 | 2 Peter
2 Peter 2:5-8
But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
In March I planted six tomato seeds from a plant I had grown last year. The plant was a gift and we had no idea what variety it was. The plants immediately sprouted and just kept growing larger and larger. I was informed that many of the plants have been genetically engineered in such a way that the seeds will not produce. Since I had already transplanted them in the garden I wanted to observe what would happen.
The plants grew incredibly fast and produced a crescendo of blossoms. (That means a lot!) I was confident since there were so many blossoms that tomatoes would form. I was wrong. I have strong and healthy looking plants with beautiful blossoms, but one by one the blossoms dry up and die.
There have been many Christians that are very much like my tomato plants. They look good and appear spiritually ready to produce fruit for the Lord. But then they start to wither and draw inwardly. They do not produce a crop of blessing for the Lord, but just soak up more and more information.
Do you find yourself in this picture? Do you devote yourself to classes, seminars, sermons, books, and the like, but you are not being a blessing. It is time to cry out to the Lord to pollinate you with His Spirit and power to do His work His way.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
—Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Apr 18, 2013 | 2 Peter
2 Peter 1:19-21
And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.
Back in my high school years I worked part time at a local dairy. The dairy picked up milk from individual farms then processed it into heavy cream, whole milk, skim milk and cottage cheese.
Part of the time I worked driving a large truck that went to the farms to bring the 10 gallon cans into the plant. I can still recall those early morning hours as I was driving and seeing the sky begin to turn lighter and lighter until the sun would burst over the eastern horizon. A new day had begun!
In the darkness of this old sin-sick world, we can easily become discouraged over the lack of spirituality. Sin has always been with us, and it appears to be so prevalent that righteous living is now ridiculed as being abnormal . . . and abnormality is glorified.
I want all of us to take courage. In the darkest night we can look at the eastern horizon and see the first signs of a new day. God has never failed His people and has given us His prophetic word that the things we are now seeing are a solid indication that His coming is very near. A NEW DAY! Come quickly, Lord Jesus!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
—Pastor Cecil
