by Pastor Cecil | Apr 7, 2008 | Daily-E-Votionals
1 John 1:8-10
“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.”
Why is it so hard to confess our sins? Where does sin originate? What do we do when we are aware of sin in our life? What determines which of our actions are sinful?
Without fully intending to do so, we often are influenced by traditions of men, even godly men, rather than the infallible Word of God. I want to share two illustrations that demonstrate how easy it is to be carried away by the traditions of men.
We were having a Bible study with several couples in our home. A young man in the group had just personally accepted Christ into his heart. His wife was the daughter of a pastor. She shared with the group her problem of being burdened by the judgments of men rather than God. She said it was so much easier for her husband Rick, because he just did what the Bible said, and that was it. She told of being a teen and her father had moved from one town to a new community where he was to pastor a new church.
The first Sunday evening in the assignment, he made an announcement that he and his family were going to a local cafe for pie and ice cream, and that they would like for others to join them. His announcement hit with a thud. An emergency meeting of the church board was called and he was severely chastised. They could not condone such a thing as going to a cafe on Sunday! Where did they come up with such silliness? It had been some former practice that became church law. Traditions of men.
I heard another fascinating story about the Church of the Holy Radiator. A young priest had assumed his first parish, filling the shoes of an older priest who had served for 30 years. He knocked himself out trying to meet the needs of his congregation, but there was obvious discontent. He spoke to the church custodian and asked what he was doing wrong? The man told the young priest it was the way he served communion. He was flabbergasted. He was doing it just as he had been taught in every detail! He pressed for more information and the custodian said that the problem was that he was not touching the radiator.
The young priest made a frantic call to the older priest he had replaced. The older man asked how things were going and the young priest said that it was not going well and he was almost in the midst of a mutiny. He asked the old priest if he touched the radiator before he passed the cup. “Why yes,” he said. “I always did that so I could discharge the static electricity in my hands and not produce a snap when the cup was passed.” There it was. Not a part of the ritual, but a part of the tradition that had become “sacred” in the minds of the people being served. We are like that so often.
The problem that many of us face, is sorting out the traditional from what is taught in the Word of God. The Latin term is “Solis Scripturus”—the Word Only. Now this does not mean that we are to neglect patterns of behavior that are wholesome and good, and beneficial, but care must be taken that tradition does not become of equal importance with Scripture.
Now, having that fixed in our minds, what do we do when the conviction of the Holy Spirit shows us that we have violated the Word of God? The answer in our Scripture for today is to confess it. Some may wish to argue and say that God knows all about it anyway, so why confess it. Others may say that their parents had them baptized as a baby, therefore that takes care of everything. BEEEEP!! Wrong!
God’s Word says that we all have sinned. Our passage says that if any say they are not sinners they make God a liar. That is strong stuff. It is not just that they are lying to themselves, but they are putting themselves above the written Word of God. They say in effect, that God’s Word is wrong. Dangerous business!
It is so much easier to just confess – say we are so very sorry – ask Him to come near and forgive us for the sins we have committed, the sins of not doing what God says we should do, the sins of ATTITUDES, the sins of prejudices, and on and on it goes. It does not matter how large or small the sin, we deal with them in the same manner – confess! You will notice in our Scripture that all we have to do or can do is to confess.
The rest is all God’s action. He forgives us all our sins and He purifies us from all our unrighteousness. It is not by doing good in order to deserve it. We can’t be that good. Our part begins and ends with digging deep and insuring that the confession is from the inner part of our being, and that all of our sins are confessed. Then we begin walking in newness of life!
Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today. Trust Him completely and be a blessing.
— Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Apr 4, 2008 | Daily-E-Votionals
Psalm 37:7
“Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for Him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.”
Several years ago Joyce and I were watching a Gaither Homecoming program. One of the members of the Gaither Trio at the time was Mark Lowry. He was the clown of the group. On this particular program, he was scheduled to play a piano duet with a fantastic pianist, Anthony Burger.
Anthony Burger, a gospel music pianist, had an album that was nominated for a 2006 Gospel Music Association Award. That gives you some idea of the God-given talent that he possessed. Mark, on the other hand, could hardly spell piano, much less play one.
They started their duet with Anthony burning up the key board on his piano while Mark smiled expectantly. Every time there was a pause in Anthony’s masterpiece, Mark would ask: “Now?” Anthony would shake his head. Finally Anthony nodded and said, “Now!” With that, Mark struck a single note with his index finger, then stood and bowed beside Anthony as the crowd cheered.
I feel that is only a teeny, tiny fraction of the ridiculous way we try to take pride in what we do for Jesus. Listen! It is not what we do for Jesus that makes the difference, but what He has done for us.
BE STILL: These words still echo in my mind. As a boy I was always on the go and usually talking a mile a minute. After taking it for just so long, my mother, in utter frustration, would look me directly in the eye and say these same words: “Be still!” The only difference is that she usually added the punishment that I would receive if I did not do as she said.
It is only when we are still that we are able to hear the voice of the Lord. The prophet Elijah was hiding in a cave when the Lord called to him. It was not from the violent wind, crashing storm, quaking earth or fire that God spoke to Elijah. Consider I Kings 19:12: “And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.” God speaks in a still small voice and we must be still to hear Him.
WAIT PATIENTLY: I want you to know that I am not an impatient person—I just want things done right now! I am sure that none of you have that problem. Why does God delay so long in bringing deliverance? Most of the time, it is because it is for our own spiritual development.
God had promised Abraham that he would be the father of a great nation. Abraham could not wait for God to act so he had a child by Sarah’s handmaid, Hagar. That son, Ishmael, became the father of the Ishmaelites. God wanted Abraham to wait patiently for the child of promise, Isaac. A father at 100 with a 90 year old wife? This was so that there would be no doubt that a miracle-working God always keeps His promises. We just have to wait patiently before Him in absolute faith.
DO NOT FRET: Perhaps the hardest thing we will ever be called upon to do is to not fret. Can I rephrase this in a very earthy manner? Don’t sweat it! That does not mean that we are to have an indifferent attitude toward the things of God. In fact it is just the opposite. We are to place everything in His hands and leave them there.
Let me conclude this look at Psalm 37 with the words of the apostle Peter. In I Peter 5:6-7 we read: “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.”
Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today. Trust Him completely and be a blessing.
— Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Apr 3, 2008 | Daily-E-Votionals
Psalm 37:4-6
“Delight yourself in the LORD and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in Him and He will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.”
We are looking at nine admonitions given in Psalm 37:1-7. Yesterday we considered, FRET NOT; TRUST; and DWELL. That brings us to the middle three admonitions, DELIGHT; COMMIT; and REST. I think it is important to consider each of the admonitions separately rather than simply lumping them all together as we read this wonderful Psalm of hope and confidence.
DELIGHT! Have you heard the expression (I won’t ask if you have ever used it) “She’s such a nag?” It has a very negative connotation. When I check the Hebrew dictionary for the meaning of the word, “delight”, I find that it is the word “anag.”
Are you ready for the definition of the word? I am going to give it to you anyway! Here is what I found: [To be soft, be delicate, be dainty. a) (Pual) to be delicate. b) (Hithpael) 1) to be of dainty habit, be pampered. 2) to be happy about, take exquisite delight. 3) to make merry over, make sport of]. It is very interesting to read what is said about the word, delight, in Gesenius’s Lexicon. (To allure, to entice, used of the amorous gestures of women in their looks, walks, etc.)
Listen gals, that does not give you license to behave in a suggestive manner. Men need very little encouragement and in our permissive society there is little left to the imagination. Let me explain to you ladies what men are like. A man with a sensuality problem went to see a therapist. The therapist showed him an ink blot and asked him to say the first word that came to mind. Immediately the man said, “Sex.” The therapist showed him seven ink blots of random shape and each time the man responded the same way. At the end of the session the therapist announced: “Sir, your problem is that you are a sex addict!” The man was offended and replied: “How can you say that? You’re the one who showed me the dirty pictures!”
To delight in the Lord is to develop an allure for Him and His Word that is so enticing to us that it draws us to a closer walk with Him.
COMMIT! Do we really know the meaning of the word? Once again it is important to know the meaning of the word. In the Hebrew it means: to roll. I have this word picture. In my mind’s eye I see a man with a heavy load on his shoulder. The load is heavy and burdensome. To commit means to roll the load off our shoulder and onto the Lord.
In Psalm 55:22, we have a perfect description of what it means to commit: “Cast your cares on the LORD and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous fall.” The words, “Cast your cares” has the same meaning as committing. Are you carrying a load that only the Lord is capable of bearing? Commit it to Him!
REST! Now this in no way means lying down on the job. Going back to the original, we find that it has a much more significant meaning. In the Hebrew it means: 1) to be silent 2) to be still, die 3) to be struck dumb. The Psalmist says it best in Psalm 46:10: “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” That is what it means to come into complete rest. Rest in Him!
Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today. Trust Him completely and be a blessing.
— Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Apr 2, 2008 | Daily-E-Votionals
Psalm 37:1-7
“Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of those who do wrong; for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away. Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the LORD and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in Him and He will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for Him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.”
Let’s admit it—we often wish things were more in our favor. Someone buys a box of junk for $1.00 at a garage sale. Among other items in the box they discover a rather pretty piece of porcelain. A few months later they show the piece to an appraiser and discover that the piece is extremely rare and worth $100,000. We think to ourselves: “I was at that garage sale—why didn’t I purchase that old box? Nothing good ever happens to me!” Snivel! Snivel!
Psalm 37 is a wake-up call for us to see things in the proper perspective—eternity’s perspective. The things of this world are destined to pass away and we need to recognize that there is only one way to salvation—the blood of Jesus Christ.
There are many who are drawn to the new-age teachings of celebrities like Oprah, but that does not mean that these followers are prepared to meet the Lord. In Matthew 7:22-23 we are told: “Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ “
I heard an illustration years ago about a little boy. (It reminds me of the way I was as a little boy). My problem as a little boy was that I could not stop talking. My mom said I sometimes drove her crazy. (I find that hard to believe since I am so quiet now. RIGHT!!) Any way, back to the illustration. This young boy was running around and creating such havoc, that his mother made him stop and sit on a foot stool for five minutes. She pushed him down and he shot up. She pushed back down and he stood up again.
After about three times, she told him if he stood up again, she would paddle his backside so hard he wouldn’t be able to sit down. He finally got the message and sat down with his arms folded. He looked up at her and said, “I may be sitting down on the outside, but I am standing up on the inside!” Isn’t that a picture of our own rebellious nature?
In Psalm 37 we are given nine admonitions: DON’T FRET; TRUST; DWELL; DELIGHT; COMMIT; TRUST; BE STILL; WAIT PATIENTLY and once again, DON’T FRET. This is the pattern that we should set for ourselves in order to find real peace and contentment.
I want us to consider the first three for today: DON’T FRET! The first of the nine is: “Don’t fret!” It is at the beginning and the end of the list. Perhaps it is because it is so natural for us to fret. The essence of fret is to doubt the ability of God to take care of us. It can eat us alive and cause us to lose hope. The command is really quite simple—Stop fretting! If you find yourself fretting—stop!
TRUST! So how do we stop fretting?—“Trust!” We do not trust in ourselves, but in the Lord. He is the One who is able to deliver us and to direct our paths. Proverbs 3:5-6: “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” Are you trusting in the Lord? TRUST in the trustworthiness of the Lord, knowing that He is the one who is able to protect and lead us.
DWELL! God does not deliver His children to leave them in the wilderness. At the time of the Exodus, it was not God’s plan for the people to wander in the desert for 40 years. They were intended to DWELL in the land of promise. So why didn’t they? They placed their confidence in their own ability rather than in the Lord.
God wants us to dwell in His love, protection and guidance. He wants us to wake each day with the eager expectation of serving His kingdom. That means living constantly in Him and for Him. Are you ready to change your old address to the street of promise? He will help you move! Our joy comes from the Lord and so we spend time with Him and never have to feel alone. When others leave us, we have Him always beside us.
Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today. Trust Him completely and be a blessing.
— Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Apr 1, 2008 | Daily-E-Votionals
Matthew 25:37-40
“Then the righteous will answer Him, Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You something to drink? When did we see You a stranger and invite You in, or needing clothes and clothe You? When did we see You sick or in prison and go to visit You? Then the King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least one of these brothers of mine, you did for Me’ “
Saturday I conducted a funeral service for a 34-year-old developmentally disabled man named Erik. As I spoke with family and friends about what they remembered about Erick, a picture developed in my mind. He was a man who loved work. He enjoyed doing the best job possible and was always eager to do exactly as he was taught. In his childlike mind he trusted in the Lord with a simple faith.
It made me think of a little man I had known years ago. His name was Roscoe McPhee. I met Roscoe when I served as Pastor of Discipleship at First Church of the Nazarene in Nampa, Idaho. Roscoe found a welcoming home in our church and was always faithful in his attendance.
Roscoe was rather small, seldom spoke, but was able to communicate with signs and sounds. I felt drawn to spend time speaking in a friendly way to Roscoe. I soon discovered that he was starved for attention. There were several other developmentally disabled folks who attended our services, but Roscoe was one I felt drawn to work with. It was not a burdensome task, but a friendship I found very enjoyable.
It was not long after I started spending time to show Roscoe kindness and attention that he would make a beeline for me after the service and stand in front of me with a crooked smile on his face. He seemed to be waiting for me to banter with him. It struck me that this man, in his early forties, desired to be treated with as much normalcy as possible. I would gently joke with him and he loved it.
During these times, I think Roscoe taught me more than I taught him. He taught me that everyone has value and needs to be treated with dignity. He taught me that giving of oneself without consideration of return is of great merit. It was a time for me to learn that you can share with your life, the teachings of Jesus without words of intellect. It was caring and paying attention that mattered to Roscoe. I wish I could let him know what he meant to me.
I left that assignment and assumed the position as pastor of a church in Burns, Oregon. Later, when I returned for a visit and attended the services at First Church, Roscoe made a beeline for me with his special grin.
There was a little ritual that Roscoe and I developed. He loved to bowl. Each week when he went bowling with others from his group home, he would record the scores of his games in a tiny little black book. Each Sunday he would give me his black book and I would make exaggerated gestures over his scores. He would literally beam with delight as I made over his accomplishments.
One of the men in the church was a very godly and mature Christian. One Sunday Roscoe handed him his little black book, but instead of looking at the scores, John put the book in his pocket and started to walk off. It was a moment of panic for Roscoe who chased after him, making sounds of concern. John was embarrassed and felt so bad at his over-sight. He came and told me of the incident and said he thought it was a small copy of one of the Gospels.
That incident is so characteristic of how we can overlook or misread those around us with great needs. By the way, John immediately became a source of encouragement for Roscoe, giving praise each Sunday for the scores carefully recorded in that little black book.
There are people around us who have needs. They may not have the same needs as Roscoe, but they need attention, concern, and a hand that reaches out for the “little black book” in their lives and praise them for what they have done that past week. Thanks, Roscoe!
Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today. Trust Him completely and be a blessing.
— Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Mar 31, 2008 | Daily-E-Votionals
John 12:23-26
“Jesus replied, ‘The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves Me must follow Me; and where I am, My servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves Me.’ “
A neighbor, who lives two houses down from us, has a most unique bush. We call it the “Dead Bush.” It is quite a large bush, standing about ten feet high and about seven feet across. We moved into our house three years ago in May. At that time we noticed that it looked pretty shaggy, but after a few weeks it was green and lush.
It is an unusual bush in that it does not drop its leaves as other deciduous trees do. The leaves just turn brown and dead looking. The following Spring, we wondered why the neighbors did not cut down that dead bush. I happened to pass by when the owner was talking and laughing with some others from the neighborhood.
She said that she has no idea what the bush is called, but it is always that last bush to turn green and usually not until late in May. Each year a few people, new to the area, stop by and complain about the dead bush and wonder why it has not been cut down.
Perhaps we can draw a parallel between Jesus and that dead bush. Our dear Lord did not come into the world to appear lovely, but to die for our sins. Isaiah 53 is a powerful prophecy about what the coming Messiah, Jesus, would be. In verses two and three we read this prophetic description of Him: “He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to Him, nothing in His appearance that we should desire Him. He was despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces He was despised, and we esteemed Him not.”
On Friday evening NBC Dateline chronicled the remarkable story of twisted identity. In May 2006, a van from Taylor University in Indiana, was carrying nine students back to the campus. A truck crossed the median and struck them, killing five of the students. One surviving girl was misidentified as another girl who had been killed.
Both girls had similar appearances. One family stayed by the bedside of the girl they were told was their daughter. The other grief-stricken family had a funeral and laid to rest the body of the one they were told was their daughter. Both families faced great turmoil in dealing with the tragedy.
Finally the truth was discovered and the role of each family was reversed. The family that had been grieving over the death of their daughter now had her restored to them as she struggled for her mental faculties to return. The family that had been at her bedside for these weeks now were struck with the reality that their own dear daughter had gone to be with the Lord at the time of the crash.
Toward the end of the program, Matt Laur, the TV reporter was interviewing the survivor, Whitney Cerak. He made comment about a plaque Whitney had on her wall. It was what she hoped to hear when she left this world and went to be with the Lord. “WELL DONE, GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANT!”
Matt asked her if she ever wondered why she had survived while the others died. Whitney smiled and quietly said, “It’s because my work here on earth is not done.” Well said, Whitney! I pray that each one of us will strive to achieve that same attitude. We may look like nothing but a dead bush, but the Lord gives us life at just the right time!
Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today. Trust Him completely and be a blessing.
— Pastor Cecil
