by Pastor Cecil | Aug 27, 2019 | Ephesians
Ephesians 1:7
“In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.”
Sometimes I allow my mind to drift back across the years to the pleasant days when I was young and full of answers. Now I am old and full of questions. But that is another topic altogether.
Back in the days following WWII and into the 1980’s, it was common in many retail stores to receive S&H Green Stamps with every purchase. These stamps were carefully pasted inside the provided stamp collection booklet. When a sufficient number of books were full, you could take them to a Green Stamp Redemption Center and redeem a desired item from a large selection of goods (lamps, toasters, bikes, etc.). If you did not have enough books to redeem the item of choice, you could either pay extra in cash or wait until you had enough books to redeem your “prize.”
God has wonderfully provided us with a “Redemption Center” and the ultimate payment has already been made — the shed blood of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. While it is free to us, it cost Christ His precious blood and the Father the death of His dear Son.
The Redemption Center is the foot of the cross. It is essential that anyone who seeks redemption may receive it, but it comes only as we personally appear and invite the Lord to come into our heart. REDEEM YOUR ETERNAL LIFE – NOW!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jul 23, 2019 | Ephesians
Ephesians 6:13
“Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”
I often recall this old saying: If you are not standing on the promises, you will find yourself sitting on the premises. Standing is an active process of involvement; sitting is a passive pastime of taking up space but contributing very little. The gripers, moaners, and fault finders of the world are generally composed of those who are just sitting on God’s premises.
A long time ago I read about a man who was traveling across the Atlantic on a ship. He could just barely scrape up the money for his ticket and a few provisions to eat on during the trip. A few days after he ran out of food he knew he had to do something. He summoned up all of his courage and went to a steward and asked if he might be able to do some work so he could be able to eat a meal or two. The steward, startled by the destitute passenger’s request, explained to him that the ticket he had purchased included all the food he could eat during the voyage. It was his all along, but he was literally starving because of the lack of knowledge of what he possessed.
Many of us have that traveler’s problem. He didn’t read his ticket and we don’t read our Bible! It is just as simple as that. God has given us His very great and precious promises. They are given to us so that we might stand tall for the Lord.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | May 15, 2019 | Ephesians
Ephesians 6:4
“And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.”
A father once grieved his son terribly and forever fractured their relationship. The father had promised to take his son on a fishing trip. The boy lived in eager anticipation for the day when just he and his father would be alone on a fish-filled lake. (Such lakes are more in the area of dreams than reality)!
The day of the trip had arrived and the son was eagerly packing all of his gear into the car. It was just then that the phone rang. The father went back into the house to take the call. After a few minutes the son followed his dad just in time to hear him tell the caller that he had nothing important planned for the day and would be right there.
The long-awaited trip was off. Not only was there to be no fishing trip with his dad, but the dad had thought so little of it that he told the caller that he had nothing important planned for the day. The relationship between father and son was torn asunder that day and sadly was never restored.
How many promises have we broken that seemed small to us but significant to another person? But much more important, how have we grieved the heart of God by failing to keep our promises that we made to Him? LET US KEEP OUR PROMISES!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jan 28, 2019 | Ephesians
Ephesians 3:14-15
“For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named.”
Family is an interesting concept. Sometimes families live near each other and visit frequently. Sometimes they are separated by many miles and rarely see each other. Several years ago my wife’s cousin Millie and her husband David stopped by for a visit. Joyce and Millie talked up a storm as they reminisced through their family relationships.
While the two cousins were bonding, David and I were discovering that we too were related. Can you believe that?! What a discovery! Not only were we related, but we were brothers! No, we did not have the same mother and father, but were part of the much closer family of God!
After David and Millie left, Joyce made a profound observation. She said that even though she had never lived close to Millie, and even though it had been some thirty years since she had last seen her, as they talked they drew close because of the family they both shared.
The few hours we spent with Millie and David was such a time of warmth and joy that we hated to see them leave. It made me think of the joy we will experience in heaven when we see members of the family that we never knew existed.
Blessings dear hearts! Walk with God today and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Oct 9, 2018 | Ephesians
Ephesians 4:17-18
“This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind,having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart.”
It is sobering to observe the way our entire society has become desensitized to depraved and vile behavior. Things that only a short time ago would have shocked and astounded our society are now accepted as the norm. Often when investigators are confronted with murder scenes of abject violence and mayhem the offender often justifies his action by saying, “He did not show me respect so he deserved to die.”
Music that glorifies premarital sex is common and few will even raise an eyebrow. I am told that certain songs even encourage rape and violence. We have winked at perversions until those who engage in such relationships flaunt their sin with impunity and demand to have rights previously reserved for a husband and wife.
Unborn babies have been slaughtered because they would be an inconvenience to the mother. My prayer is that we will be increasingly sensitive to the sinful things around us. May we continually be asking ourselves: “What would Jesus do in this situation?” I pray that we will have the courage to live by God’s righteous standards.
Blessings dear hearts. May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | May 4, 2018 | Ephesians
Ephesians 2:8-9
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.”
I suppose many of us have heard humorous stories about someone approaching the gates of heaven and being required to prove that their actions on earth merited entry into God’s heavenly kingdom. Beep! Wrong answer!
A person may do amazingly good works here on earth and still miss heaven. It is not what we do for God that determines where we will spend eternity—it is what He has done for us. When we repent of our sins and accept Him as Savior and Lord then—and only then—is our name is written down in glory.
The writer of this week’s hymn, Charlotte Elliot, was offended when someone asked her if she was a Christian. She told him to mind his own business. Later as she was contemplating his question, she began to wonder what it took to become a Christian. She called him and he explained to her the plan of salvation which she accepted. It was then that she wrote this hymn, “Just As I Am.”
Just As I Am
Just as I am, without one plea,
But that Thy blood was shed for me,
And that Thou bidst me come to Thee,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
Just as I am, and waiting not
To rid my soul of one dark blot,
To Thee whose blood can cleanse each spot,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
Just as I am, though tossed about
With many a conflict, many a doubt,
Fightings and fears within, without,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
Just as I am, poor, wretched, blind;
Sight, riches, healing of the mind,
Yea, all I need in Thee to find,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
Just as I am, Thou wilt receive,
Wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve;
Because Thy promise I believe,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
Just as I am, Thy love unknown
Hath broken every barrier down;
Now, to be Thine, yea, Thine alone,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
Just as I am, of that free love
The breadth, length, depth, and height to prove,
Here for a season, then above,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come!
Enjoy this week’s free inspiration video, “Just As I Am” from Gloryscapes.com by going to: http://gloryscapes.com/justasiam/
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
