by Pastor Cecil | Apr 15, 2008 | Daily-E-Votionals
John 6:32-33
“Jesus said to them, ‘I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.’ “
Every time I read passages like this, I realize how fickle and shallow we humans tend to be. Jesus had only recently healed an invalid, fed five thousand with five loaves and two fish, and now they asked for a sign so they could believe! It reinforces a strong belief of mine, that, regardless of the commonly held view, people are not convinced by signs, even miraculous ones. Trusting in Jesus Christ as Lord always requires an act of faith.
The word “bread” occurs over 300 times in the Bible. In this passage that I have given you from John 6, Jesus reveals that He is the, “Bread from heaven.” It is fascinating that He was born in Bethlehem and the meaning of Bethlehem is “house of bread.”
The crowds that listened to Jesus fell back on their traditions and the Torah accounts of how God sent manna to feed them during the period of the Exodus. The implication was that if Jesus was really the Messiah, He would be able to provide them with bread on a continuing basis. They mentioned nothing about how their forefathers complained and even rebelled at the same menu day after day. Now they wanted a sign – they had one – it was Jesus Himself!
A VERY IMPORTANT NOTE!!! IT IS CRITICAL THAT WE SLOW DOWN IN THE STUDY OF GOD’S WORD AND DETERMINE WHAT IT SAYS THAT APPLIES TO US!
In the last few days before his crucifixion, Jesus gathered with His disciples to celebrate the Feast of Passover. You will recall, that this Feast was instituted by God to commemorate the deliverance of His people from the bondage in Egypt. Jesus, when He took that thin sheet of unleavened bread, gave His disciples the understanding that the bread was the symbol of his body that was given to them.
Not only was it given to them, but to us as well. He desires that we be identified with Him. Paul writes in Galatians 2:20: “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
The Bread of Life becomes our source of strength and spiritual nourishment. It is tragic that so many are starving spiritually, when, at the same time, Jesus has become our Bread of Life. In what areas of your life are you suffering malnutrition? Remember, that when Jesus broke that bread, He spoke life and abundance to all who would receive Him. He is yours and is always there beside you.
Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today. Trust Him completely and be a blessing.
— Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Apr 14, 2008 | Daily-E-Votionals
Matthew 11:28-30
“Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
It seems that seldom a day passes that I do not hear the words from someone: “I’m just so tired that I can hardly function.” This is especially ironic in light of the fact that we live in an era of more laborsaving devices than ever before.
Think about it: In days gone by, a farmer had to till the ground in the spring, plant the corn, cultivate it during the growing season, harvest it in the fall, husk it, grind it and at last have a sack of beautiful yellow cornmeal. Seldom did he complain of being tired.
Today we get in our air conditioned (or heated) automobile, drive two blocks to a gigantic super market with shelves of yellow cornmeal, white cornmeal, blue cornmeal—and all of these in a variety of grinds. When we return home we are exhausted from all of the effort! Right!
One of the major causes of weariness are the burdens we carry around with us. Today I would like us to consider the subject of burden bearing. The burdens that come upon us are so many and varied that it would be impossible to know what you are experiencing right now.
Burdens can come in the form of physical difficulties, emotional conflicts, loss of loved ones, financial or business reversals, feelings of hopelessness, on and on we could go. Whatever the source, it is like a heavy weight on our shoulders that crushes us down. This is the overall outline of what we may think of as burdens. You alone know what your burden may be. What do we do about it?
It may be relatively easy to identify the particular burden or burdens in our life, but what then? We are often tempted to deal with the burdens ourselves. We can do this by trying to have a positive attitude, by seeking counsel from trained counselors, or perhaps group sessions. While these may have some value, they will always fall short of the mark if Christ is not the central source of strength.
The teachings of Jesus are always simple and direct. He shares His message in such basic terms that even children or the uneducated are able to know what is being taught. He says very simply, here in Matthew 11, for all who carry burdens to come to Him. Notice it was not just for some, but for all, to come to Him.
That is a fundamental truth with no exceptions. We just come to Him, and He promises that He will give us His rest. The rest that Jesus promises is not merely for tired bones, or for aching feet, it is for burdened hearts as well. But it does not imply that we come and flop down in front of Him and do nothing. There is more than inactivity involved.
Jesus says that we are to take His yoke upon us and learn from Him. Being yoked with Him means that we are with Him in all that He does. Where He goes, we go. Where He stops, we stop. It is a constant process of being with our Lord in everything. It means speaking with him in intimate prayer morning, noon and all through the night. It means asking him for direction in the daily ins and outs of living.
Now this might seem like adding another weight to your already heavy load, but wait! There is a big difference here. When we are yoked together with Christ, He is the one who is bearing the load. We are only walking along beside Him as He packs the burden on His shoulders that were lashed by the soldiers before He bore our burden of sin to the cross, and paid with His life that we might be free of that burden through His resurrection life. If He could do that for our burden of sin, He can and wants to do that for every burden that we are carrying right now.
He also says that in doing this, He is gentle and humble in heart. He does not preach at us or lay a guilt trip on us for getting into the jam we are in. He quietly takes the burden away and gives us his warm, sweet presence in return. What a great exchange that is! We trade our heavy burdens for his sweet presence. That is an offer we need to take advantage of immediately. Do it now! Pray in your spirit to ask Him to be your Burden Bearer and your Strong Deliverer. Then just walk along beside Him as you bask in the light of His nearness.
Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today. Trust Him completely and be a blessing.
— Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Apr 11, 2008 | Daily-E-Votionals
1 Kings 17:22-24
“The LORD heard Elijah’s cry, and the boy’s life returned to him, and he lived. Elijah picked up the child and carried him down from the room into the house. He gave him to his mother and said, ‘Look, your son is alive!’ Then the woman said to Elijah, ‘Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the LORD from your mouth is the truth.’ “
The truth of God’s Word is our supreme guide and authority. Everything we set our purpose to accomplish must be measured according to God’s truth. The ideas of men are temporary and soon change or disappear entirely. The passage of Scripture for today’s Daily-E-Votional is the basis for total commitment. God is not pleased with halfhearted devotion and we will find ourselves feeling miserable as well.
This passage gives a clear picture of the benefit of obedience. To illustrate this process, I will attempt to share this in my own words, using the Word as the source for the story.
There was a famine in Israel. The cause for the famine was the wicked acts of a king named Ahab, who had married a wicked woman named Jezebel. A Prophet of God named Elijah had pronounced God’s judgment of the famine, and told Ahab that there would be no rain in the land for the next few years, except at his word.
Now when words of this nature are spoken, the speaker becomes rather unpopular to say the least. It was necessary for him to lay low until God directed him to take the next step of action. Elijah spent time by a brook where he was fed by ravens that God had sent to bring him food. There was water in a brook, but after a time, that dried up.
Let me interrupt the story for an interjection. There are times in our life when the “brook” dries up. It may have been a “brook” that God had provided, but if and when it dries up, it means that it is time to get ready to move to the next place that God has provided for us.
The Lord came to Elijah and told him to go to Zarephath. God also told Elijah that He had commanded a woman in that town to provide him with food. It is never revealed when and how the Lord had spoken to her. Whatever the manner God used—we are not told.
When Elijah entered Zarephath, he saw a widow gathering sticks. He asked her to bring him a little water in a jar so he could have a drink. She started off for the water and he called after her to also bring him a piece of bread. Now, this was going beyond what she thought she should be obliged to do.
Sometimes the Lord uses the inconvenient requests of others to lead us to a place that He has prepared for us. It might be a place of service, or it may be a place where He is going to provide for us. Think about what this little widow was being asked. She had nothing, so to speak, and now God was asking her to give of her last little bit to His prophet. It just didn’t seem fair. It may not have seemed fair, but she was about to receive a blessing from the Lord.
The widow carefully explained to Elijah that she had no bread, and only a handful of flour in a jar, and a little oil in a jug. She explained that she was gathering the sticks to return home, make a meal for her and her son and then they would die from the famine.
Elijah encouraged her not to worry, but to go on her way and do as she had planned, but with one big exception. She was first to bring him a small cake of bread, before she and her son ate. He then gave her the wonderful and miraculous news. If she did as he asked, the Lord had promised that the jar of flour would not be used up and the jug of oil would not run dry until the day the Lord sent rain on the earth.
This little widow had to act on faith. What if this prophet was not telling the truth? Why did it require her acting, rather than her seeing the jar and jug fill up first? Why couldn’t she and her son eat first and then give him what was left? The answer is simple. The Lord had commanded her to be committed.
It is exciting to read that the widow did exactly as Elijah had instructed her. We read that there was food every day for Elijah, the woman and her son. The jug and jar were never used up during the famine in the land—A source of inexhaustible supply. But the story is not finished. In spite of her obedience, her son became ill, grew worse and worse and finally stopped breathing.
The little mother lit into Elijah and asked him if he had come to remind her of her sin (where did that came from?), and to kill her son. Elijah carried the lifeless body to an upstairs room and poured out his heart to the Lord. He reminded God of the faith and commitment of the widow and now this tragedy had fallen upon her. The Lord heard his prayer and the boy lived. He took the child to the grieving mother.
There seemed to be lingering doubts in her mind. How could she doubt God, when the daily supply of flour and oil was always replenished? But she did. It was only after receiving her son back that she believed. “Now I know!”
There are lessons to be learned here. God demands that we completely sacrifice ourselves to Him before He acts to supply our “jars” and “jugs” with an inexhaustible supply. We have witnessed the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and that gives us the encouragement to say as the widow said, “NOW I KNOW!”
Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today. Trust Him completely and be a blessing.
— Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Apr 10, 2008 | Daily-E-Votionals
Joshua 1:8
“Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.”
What does it take to be successful? Let me phrase it in a different way. How much money, or what promotion would make you feel that you had achieved success?
The story is told of an executive who was looking for someone to be his sales representative in a small fishing village. As he inquired around town, he was told that there was one man, Joseph, who was extremely persuasive and had all of the qualities the executive was looking for.
When he asked where he might find Joseph, he was directed to a small house just outside of town by the beach. He easily found the house and was soon in conversation with Joseph. It was immediately clear that Joseph was his man. The only problem was that Joseph was not interested in his offer.
“Why should I work for you?” Joseph asked. “Because you could earn more than you have ever been paid in all of your life!” replied the executive. He was not used to being refused and became frustrated. Joseph kept asking question after question to determine what would be the reward for all of his hard work. “Well,” the executive answered, “After many years of hard work you could retire and spend your time in your own home beside the sea.” Joseph just smiled and said, “Look around you; I already am there!”
That is a stupid illustration, but I hope you get the point. Back in 1966-67, I was stationed at a radar site in St. Anthony, Newfoundland, Canada. There were slot machines located in our officer’s lounge. There was a civilian employee who was addicted to gambling. He would spend hundreds of dollars to win twenty dollars. Winning was never sufficient to give him success. We finally were forced to place the machines off limits to him.
What about promotion to higher rank? Will that bring success? Not necessarily. There are many who experience a sense of emptiness after achieving a promotion they struggled for years to attain.
Even a wise man like Solomon, who seemed to have it all, was left empty by this world’s charms. In the last chapter of the book of Ecclesiastes, in verse 8, he bares his soul: “‘Meaningless! Meaningless!’ says the Teacher. ‘Everything is meaningless!'”
That is a depressing view of life isn’t it! But thankfully Solomon did not leave us in the dreary pond of depression. At the end of this last chapter of the book, verses 13-14: “Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.”
It is fascinating that the Lord spoke to Joshua almost 500 years earlier with the same reality. We find it in the words of today’s Scripture. It is the key to finding purpose and success in our life. It never has, nor will it ever be, the external things of this world that determine success. It is the things of the heart that represent success.
If you and I want to have success that extends into eternity, we have the answer right here: “Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.”
Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today. Trust Him completely and be a blessing.
— Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Apr 9, 2008 | Daily-E-Votionals
Philippians 3:12-14
“Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”
When God’s Word says our sins are forgiven, does that mean we are free, or does He still hold them against me? We might say that we are set free, but do we actually walk away from our sinful past and have victory in our life?
I want to use a Bible character as an example of this process. For the past several weeks I have been sharing with our church group the wonderful lessons that we find in the book of Joshua. Let’s consider the lesson we find in a lady of the night in Jericho. If we were to approach our study like a police officer, we might use this method: Name: Rahab. Address: Jericho. Occupation: Prostitute.
We know nothing of the background of this woman of ill repute. She is the first person that the Israelite spies encountered in the land of promise that God had led them to possess. Two spies had been sent out by Joshua to spy out the land, and especially Jericho.
It is interesting that 40 years earlier, right after being freed from the bondage of slavery, Moses had sent out twelve spies. Only two had returned with a positive report and urged them to go in immediately to possess the land God had given them. One of the spies was Joshua, the other was Caleb. Now, after 40 years when Joshua was in charge, he sends out only two spies. By the way, these two turned out to be faithful.
In the second chapter of Joshua, we read that the two spies were saved by the action of this prostitute named Rahab. She not only spared their life, but gave them some inside information. She said that she knew that God had given them the land, for the whole land was in fear of them. She asked that when they took the land, she and her family might be spared.
They told her that in return for her kindness and the risks she took, she and her family would be spared. The only condition was that she and her family had to remain inside the house, and a scarlet ribbon had to be tied in the window she had let them escape through.
She followed their orders and the Israelites kept their promise to her. In the sixth chapter of the book of Joshua, we read that Joshua sent the same two spies and rescued Rahab and her family. The story does not end there my friends. She was saved, but God had not forgotten her faith. In Hebrews 11:31 she is mentioned along with the faithful of the ages. In James 2:25 and 26, she is mentioned as one who was considered righteous for what she did.
Now, that brings us to the practical aspects of the forgiveness of sins in our lives. When we confess our sins, we can begin to live as new creatures. It is certainly not God who brings your sins of the past to your mind and causes you turmoil. If it is not the Lord, it is coming from the other side, and that means Satan.
On a daily basis I receive calls or e-mail messages from people who are encountering trials. One young woman shared that it seemed like everything was going crazy. Surgery, schedule conflicts, not feeling well, and she was tempted to be downhearted. She suddenly began to sing along with an uplifting praise chorus on the radio. As an act of faith she spoke out loud, “Satan you are not going to win over this situation. I choose to praise, and not to pout.” She had victory.
In the same manner, you can have victory over the sins of your past. Any time Satan brings them to your mind and wants you to feel defeated for what you did, or were, or caused, just choose to praise the Lord. Give Him the glory and receive his grace that is sufficient to block out the sins that we have committed.
Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today. Trust Him completely and be a blessing.
— Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Apr 8, 2008 | Daily-E-Votionals
1 Samuel 2:30
“Therefore the LORD, the God of Israel, declares: ‘I promised that your house and your father’s house would minister before me forever.’ But now the LORD declares: ‘Far be it from me! Those who honor me I will honor, but those who despise me will be disdained.’ “
A few weeks ago, Joyce and I were having lunch following our Sunday morning service. Sitting just two tables away from us was a man who had shaped my character as a young man. It was Bob Manley, who had been my Troup Leader when I was in the Boy Scouts.
Bob lives about five hundred miles away from us, so it was a delightful surprise to run into him like that. I mentioned to him that I still recall the Troup Meetings and especially the hikes in the rugged mountains of Idaho.
I still recall the oath that each scout is required to memorize: “On my honor I will do my best to do my duty to God and my country, and to obey the Scout Law, to help others at all times; to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight.”
Wow! It was sixty years ago that I first memorized that oath. As a Boy Scout, I reached the rank of “Life,” which is one rank below “Eagle,” the highest rank in Scouting. I recall at the start of each Troop meeting, we used to recite this “Boy Scout Oath.” I must confess that I had to go into the Boy Scout website and confirm the wording. After all these years it is hard for me to remember too much of anything.
These words are positive and strong. They are words that Scout Master Bob Manley stressed with great meaning. They were words that were not to be taken lightly. Unfortunately, we all too often experience those in our society who fail to honor their oaths or solemn covenants.
It is disappointing to let people down, but oh, so much worse to fail to honor God. Today’s Scripture is a vivid reminder of two things: If we honor God, we will receive honor; if we fail to honor God, we will experience His disdain. To displease God is the most dangerous actions a person could ever take.
Many years I made a solemn covenant with God. I vowed that I would read the Bible at least 5 minutes, each and every day. There have been a few times in these intervening years that I could not keep the vow, such as being in a hospital ICU recovering from surgery.
In those times, I felt the presence of God so strong, it was almost as if I had the “Living Word” with me as I silently recited memory verses in my mind. Feeling His presence during these moments seemed especially sweet to me as I experienced Him with me.
Caution!!! It was only for those unique times when I felt released from my covenant. As soon as I was able I was back in the Book once again. While my vow was for just 5 minutes a day, I have seldom spent less than one or two hours each day. God will not be angry if we spend more time with Him than we vowed.
So the primary oath or covenant of honor is with the Lord. The next is with people around us. It may be parents, a husband, a wife, children, a neighbor, pastor, teacher or anyone that we have given our word to, and must be honored with our fulfilling the covenant. Anytime we promise to do something for a person we must keep that promise just as if it were a vow made to the Lord.
I recall the words of Jesus when He was challenged by a group of doubting, faultfinding priests and pharisees, to give the greatest commandment. Without pause He told them that it was to love of the Lord our God. He added the second without even being asked. He said it was to love your neighbor as yourself. I had the chance to do that yesterday.
Remember that phrase in the Boy Scout Oath? “To help other people at all times.” That is part of honoring our oath and our covenant. We might describe our honor in this order: GOD, FAMILY, COUNTRY, and OTHERS. Be a Covenant keeper, an Oath bearer, and be honorable before God and your fellow sojourners on the path of life.
Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today. Trust Him completely and be a blessing.
— Pastor Cecil
