by Pastor Cecil | May 19, 2011 | 2 Timothy
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.”
Several years ago I bought a new coffee maker. I was interested in one that would automatically stop brewing if I removed the carafe from the heating element. It has been a joy except for one small problem. Pouring the water into the reservoir is a real hassle since there is very little room to pour the water in while the lid is up. I have learned to live with the problem and just be careful how I pour.
Two days ago I was making a fresh pot when I noticed something. There was a lid over the reservoir. I lifted it and discovered that this is where you pour the water and do not have the difficulty I have encountered these past years. Duh! Why didn’t I just read the directions? I did read them, but felt that I didn’t need to know how to pour in the water, so I just by-passed that portion of the instructions.
Sometimes people think they know the Word of God because they have read a few pages here and there. There are some who may have even memorized a few verses sometime in their life. Just because we have read a verse here and there does not mean that we know the instructions the Lord gives us for living.
In James 1:22 we are told that it is possible to deceive ourselves if we merely listen to the Word. It has to go beyond reading the instructions, as critical as that is, we must do what it says. Are you reading the instructions and then following by obeying what God has to say? Read and follow the instructions, your eternal life depends upon it!
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 28, 2011 | 2 Timothy
II Timothy 4:2
“Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.”
I have to laugh at the sad tales of woe I hear from time to time about how over-worked people are. After serving a tour in the US Air Force, I returned to civilian life and enrolled in college (full-time 18 semester hours). I was a young father of two and was fortunate to secure a job on the local police department working (are you ready for this?) 48 hours a week. Back in the 50’s that was the normal work week. Oh, I just remembered that I also taught a teen Sunday School Class.
It was in the spring, just a few weeks before the summer break. I was sitting in an English Literature class taught by Marian Washburn and someone was reading a passage from Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. My chair was in the back of the room next to an open window and I was leaning back when the chair slipped and I was flat on my back with the entire class roaring with laughter. As I struggled to my feet I saluted and said something like: “Reporting for duty Ma’am!”
I wonder how many of us use every excuse in the book to keep from giving the Lord first place in our life. We may try to say we are too busy, too weary, too incapable or a host of other things. We fail to attend church services for any number of reasons. Often it is because we don’t want to be involved.
Here is the bottom line. One day we will be called before the Lord to answer for all that we did or did not do for Him. How do you think He will view your flimsy excuses for not reporting for duty?
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 | Mar 29, 2011 | 2 Timothy
II Timothy 3:13-14a
“But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them.”
I was born and spent my early years in the lush verdant landscape of the State of Washington. Just before my sixth grade our family moved to Nampa, Idaho. The climate was much, much different! It was hot and dry! How good is that?!
In the warm days of that first summer I relished running around with no shoes. It was then that I was introduced to a horrible and painful object called the goat head. The plant is also called the puncture plant. The goat head seeds are a little larger than a pea and dries as hard as a dry bean, but it has sharp spikes all around it.
No matter how hard I tried to keep my feet from encountering these confounded goat heads, I would feel the stabbing pain and know I would howl with the agony that was inflicted. As often as not there would be more than one, so it was an ordeal that still makes me cringe.
As I think back on the days of my life, I can honestly say that I have encountered a few people that may be considered “goat heads.” It seems as if they feel that their calling in life is to bring pain and make people feel miserable. I wish I could say that these people were outside of the church, but sad to say, they are to be found lurking in the pews. Self examination time—are you a “goat head?” If so it’s time to pray up and soften up!!!
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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by Pastor Cecil | Mar 10, 2011 | 2 Timothy
II Timothy 2:1-2
“You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.”
Bob Burling is one of our readers who lives in Australia. Here is what he shared with me to share with all of our readers this week:
“After reading your Evotional for today (GOOD NEWS THURSDAY, 3rd March, 2011), I was moved to let you know of a recent example that will warm your heart.
“I mentor and sponsor a young athlete (he is 9 years old). I have watched him grow in the Lord over the last few years but something that occurred last Sunday evening at our fellowship meal (we have this once a month where non-Christians can be invited and feel comfortable) that was exciting, to say the least. We have some light entertainment and some testimonies prior to the meal.
“Recently, this boy was successful in achieving the right to represent his region at a state level for an event. In front of everyone there, this young boy got up and, in his first ever testimony, told everyone of his success and stated quite clearly that it was only because God was helping him that he had managed to achieve what he had done. It was a totally moving experience to see one so young, so strong in his witness before such a crowd and speaking so clearly and boldly for His Lord.”
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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by Pastor Cecil | Dec 9, 2010 | 2 Timothy
II Timothy 2:1-2
“You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.”
Do you ever feel humbled? I mean, have you been stunned by something positive that someone has seen in you that you were unaware of and complimented you? But inwardly you feel that you should not be receiving such praise.
That happened to me once when I was a pastor in Burns, Oregon. One day I received a sermon tape from a pastor I knew in Boise, Idaho, and thought it strange that he would be sending me one of his tapes.
The title of the sermon was The Steps of A Godly Man. As I half listened to the message while doing something else, I unexpectedly heard my name! Immediately I rewound the tape to hear what I had missed. The pastor was relating that he had crossed the footsteps of a godly man during the week. He noted three or four people who mentioned that a certain person had been an inspiration to them. He then revealed that the man was Cecil Thompson. My teeth almost dropped out!
I certainly did not feel deserving of his comments, but I realized that we all are leaving footprints in the lives of those around us. We may never know what we have done to bless a person, and that is all right. We should be living a Christ-like lifestyle with no thought of accolades or compliments. But we all are leaving footprints in the lives of those around us.
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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by Pastor Cecil | Oct 14, 2010 | 2 Timothy
II Timothy 4:7-8
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.”
A mighty king was touring his kingdom one day and noticed a man building his house in the heat of the day. The king sent a servant over to inquire of the man why he was working so hard. The servant returned to the king and reported that this was the man’s own house. He wanted it to become a safe and secure place where he could retire and not have to worry about the future.
Sometime later a violent storm tore through the area where the man lived and destroyed the house and the work of the man’s hands. When the king heard the news of the man’s loss he called the one person he trusted most and sent him on a mission of mercy. His son was to carry a gift box and give it to the man who had lost his house and all of his possessions. Inside the box was the title deed to a new home. It was not like his old house that had been destroyed, but rather a magnificent mansion.
Sadly the king heard reports that the man had not taken possession of the mansion that he had given him. The man was struggling by his own efforts to build a new house, but was living in a dilapidated shanty. The king sent servants to insure that his gift had been delivered and that the man was aware of it. They returned to the king and reported that the gift was still in the box which had never been opened. How utterly sad!
In like manner the King of the universe has sent His precious Son, Jesus the Messiah, as the most wonderful gift we could ever imagine. His gift assures us of eternal life and a mansion so far beyond any mansion of this world that words cannot describe it. In spite of the great gift God has offered, the package often remains unopened. I pray that those who have not opened God’s great gift will do so before it is everlastingly too late.
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
