by Pastor Cecil | Jun 9, 2011 | Acts
Acts 4:11-12
“This is the ‘stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.’ Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
A dear friend shared a conversation with a homeless man at our local Union Gospel Mission. It was soon after Osama Bin Laden had been killed. My friend asked the man, “Where do you think Osama Bin Laden is right now?” He immediately answered, “In hell!”
He went on to describe how evil he thought Osama had been and how many deaths he had caused in his life. Sensing an opportunity to witness, my friend asked why he felt that he was in hell. He supposed it was because of his evil life.
This was the moment of opportunity. “Do you know for sure where you will spend eternity?” The man answered that he was not sure. “Then if you are not sure, you may end up being roommates with Osama Bin Laden!”
The man has made a new commitment to make the Lord Jesus Christ the Lord of his life. Please pray that he will continue to grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. At the same time pray for those precious souls that God has lifted up to reach out to those who have lost their way.
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 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. Have them go to https://dailyevotional.com/prior2020/subscribe and enter their email address.
by Pastor Cecil | Apr 20, 2011 | Acts
Acts 17:10-11
“Then the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. When they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.”
For years we have heard the expression, “You know the old saying – – – .” Usually it is followed by a familiar folk wisdom such as, “A stitch in time saves nine.” I guess that was back when people mended their clothes to save buying new ones.
When I was a Juvenile Probation Officer, I had two boys from the same family who were on probation. I wondered about the mental stability of their mother. For one thing, she repeatedly used the expression, “You know the old saying – – – .” The problem was that she didn’t use an old saying but would just say something foolish like; “You know the old saying– ‘They will be home in two hours.’ ” How do you respond to something like that? No wonder the two sons were troubled.
I have known Christians who were like that. They lack knowledge of God’s Word, but speak as if they are experts. I have often heard words like; “Well I am sure it is in the Bible somewhere!”
Somewhere just does not cut it. We need to keep our mouth shut unless we know for certain what God’s inspired writers have written. That means we need to search the Scriptures repeatedly and conscientiously.
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 25, 2011 | Acts
Acts 17:31
“Because He has fixed a day when He will judge the world righteously (justly) by a Man Whom He has destined and appointed for that task, and He has made this credible and given conviction and assurance and evidence to everyone by raising Him from the dead.” (Amplified Bible)
Fanny Crosby wrote over 8,000 hymns. She said about her blindness, “The first face ever to gladden my sight will be when I get to heaven and behold the face of the One who died for me . . . I verily believe that God intended that I should live my days in physical darkness so that I might be better prepared to sing His praise and lead others from spiritual darkness into eternal light. With sight I would have been too distracted to have written thousands of hymns.”
Fanny tells this one story about the hymn, “Blessed Assurance.” Mrs. Phoebe Fairchild Knapp, wife of the organizer of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, went to visit Fanny and get an opinion of a tune Mrs. Knapp had written. “What does it say to you, Fanny?” she asked. Fanny’s answer was “Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine.” And then a few minutes later she handed to Mrs. Knapp the completed lyrics of the hymn. Our hymn for this week is that wonderful hymn; “Blessed Assurance.”
Blessed Assurance
Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God.
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.
Refrain: This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long.
Perfect submission, perfect delight,
Visions of rapture now burst on my sight;
Angles descending, bring from above
Echoes of mercy, whispers of love.
Refrain: This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long.
Perfect submission, all is at rest,
I in my Savior am happy and blest;
Watching and waiting, looking above,
Filled with His goodness, lost in His love.
Refrain: This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long.
Fanny Crosby lived her life without physical eyes, but her spiritual eyes shone so bright that they still illuminate the lives of all who love her hymns.
To access Blessed Assurance, this week’s inspirational video from GloryScapes™ Hymn Music Videos, please go to: http://www.gloryscapes.com/blessedassurance2 in your browser or click on the image below.
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 | Feb 17, 2011 | Acts
Acts 8:34-35
“So the eunuch answered Philip and said, ‘I ask you, of whom does the prophet say this, of himself or of some other man?’ Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him.”
Good news brightens the heart and lifts the spirit. On this “Good News Thursday,” I want to share a glimpse of good news from the Middle East. Kevin is a young U.S. Army officer that has served in several combat areas.
His present assignment has a very unique twist. Kevin’s mother applied for and was accepted to work at the same location. Mary Ellen is an accomplished pianist and has provided music for worship services for the men. Let me allow Kevin to share a special time he and his men experienced:
“So we’re standing in this circle of prayer, Alberto is thanking God for His goodness, and there was not a single dry eye. For me it had even more meaning. You see, I was holding Alberto’s hand in my left hand and I was holding the piano player’s hand in my right. The moment washed over me as I realized the unbelievable reality that I was standing in front of the piano and standing behind it was my mom. When Alberto finished praying, I looked up to see our guitar player, Steve, in tears. Mom was in tears. Alberto was in tears. I was in tears. I immediately said, “This is terrible. We’re all crying.”
Then came the laughter. Of course tears are not terrible. As a matter of fact, those tears spoke volumes. God is moving in powerful ways here, my friends. The laughter went to another level when I leaned in to give Alberto a one-armed hug and his head fit snugly under my armpit. But don’t be fooled, what he lacks in stature he certainly makes up for in heart.
I cannot even begin to convey the joy I have as I treasure every moment of worshipping alongside Mom. The entire Praise Team asked if they could call her “Mom.” I told them that she already raised 44 boys, so what’s six more? And she gets a “daughter” to boot! One of the other civilians here is a backup singer and is elated to have “Mom” on the team.”
Praise the Lord for good news!
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 | Nov 23, 2010 | Acts
Acts 11:25-26
“Then Barnabas departed for Tarsus to seek Saul. And when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. So it was that for a whole year they assembled with the church and taught a great many people. And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.”
On Saturday I conducted a funeral service in the small community of Oakville. I was fascinated by signs proudly supporting their teams—“Home of the Acorns!” (Oakville – Acorns – got it?) I had to chuckle as I thought of the name of the teams from the town in which I was born—Camas, Washington. It was a paper mill town and the name of our team was (are you ready for this?) “The Camas Papermakers.”
Today’s Scripture is one of those unique passages that may be easily passed by without stopping for a closer examination. It involves Barnabas and the year he spent teaching Saul (later known as Paul) and the church at Antioch for one whole year. We read that it was here that the disciples were first called Christians.
Why were these believers called “Christians?” The answer is that they had opened their heart to Him and were His true followers. They were identified by the One whom they trusted for their eternal salvation.
Has anyone called you a “Christian” lately? Do they see in you a walk that shows that you really are one who belongs to Jesus Christ? I do not want to be known as an “Acorn,” “Papermaker,” “Seahawk,” “Lion” or whatever else—I want to be known to the world as a sold out, genuine, 100% Christian! How about 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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by Pastor Cecil | Nov 9, 2010 | Acts
Acts 1:8
“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
What service do police officers perform when they are on patrol? The answer is that they observe anything that is contrary to the safety of the citizens of their jurisdiction. In the long and dark night hours this can become very monotonous.
When I was a police officer in Nampa, Idaho, we had a strong wind storm strike our area during the night. When day broke we were able to see some of the damage that the storm had caused.
I was patrolling a residential neighborhood when I saw that a huge cottonwood tree had blown over on a house, crushing a bedroom. Immediately I called for anyone in the house to answer. As a last resort I kicked in the back door to investigate the portion of the house that had been crushed. There was still creaking and settling and I knew that I was in some danger myself inside the weakened house.
I had just finished checking everything when a neighbor came in and informed me that the family was not at home at the time the tree blew over. It was a huge relief to know that they were all safe and sound.
All around us are families and individuals who are in danger of being crushed by the storms of life. I often wonder if I am as concerned about their rescue from eternal danger as I was about that family after the storm. It gives new meaning to giving my life for others. “Lord, let me live my life as Your faithful servant!”
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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