by Pastor Cecil | Oct 22, 2012 | 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.
The other night I was watching a television program about a village that lived a subsistence type of lifestyle. Each member of the family was called upon to help provide food to insure survival. It was the time of the king salmon run and plans were being made to set up the devices to capture as many as possible to provide food during the coming winter months.
The daughter of this family determined to help provide. She took three friends with her and went out to hunt caribou. It was not a common thing for women to go out hunting without men being along. After some time the trio spotted a small herd and the daughter shot the first caribou of her life. With joy she took the precious meat back home.
As her father approached you could see her joy and delight to be able to share with him how she had taken this great step in providing for the family. Instead of showering her with praise he berated her for not shooting more and for shooting such a small animal. It was like a slap in her face and she slumped in despair.
I fear that many fathers react the same way to the actions of their children. Instead of bringing them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord they quickly find fault and demonstrate a bitter attitude. It may be the reason why so many young people turn their back on God when they are able to make their own choices.
Each of us should commit ourselves to be blessers and encouragers to not only our own children but those who come from homes where they lack praise.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing to others!
—Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jan 9, 2012 | Ephesians
Ephesians 5:19-20
Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
My wife, Joyce, was watching something on TV recently. The question was asked, “What do people do about 70 times a day?” The answer was, they complain. Isn’t that amazing? With all of the blessings we have surrounding us, we complain an average of seventy times a day.
Some people feel that they have an obligation to complain because that’s the only thing they are good at. If the only thing we are good at is complaining, we need to go back to the Word of God and find real purpose in life.
Our family has experienced a small degree of suffering and have always found the Lord to be near and dear during these. Others who have suffered even greater than we have and turned it over to the Lord have become sweeter and have a greater testimony as a result of the ordeal.
I think the answer may be where we focus our gaze. Are we looking at the situation or are we looking at the Savior? Are we focused on what we do not have rather than what we do have? Do we grumble or are we grateful? May others see Jesus in us as we walk day by day.
Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing.
—Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Oct 28, 2011 | Ephesians
Ephesians 6:18
Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.
There are times in our life when we are tempted to give up. It seems that it is just too hard to continue as we labor through stressful situations. I find this true as I do my daily exercises. Before I leave the house I can think of all kinds of reasons why I don’t need to go. Then as I start my exercise program, it seems that my 77-year-old body does not want to continue.
Spiritually I have had the sad experience of witnessing folks who started a walk with the Lord, but then were drawn away. The lure of the things from the world became a siren song that caused them to slip back into their old sinful life.
There is no way I want to give the impression that walking with the Lord is easy. It requires commitment and determination. It starts out with a step of faith on the part of the believer, but growth is not a one-time thing. It requires time spent in God’s precious Word and in prayer. It is not always glint and glitter and, in fact, may require trials and suffering.
If you are feeling depressed with your spiritual walk, I want to encourage you to hang in there. Never give up. The things we endure during our days on earth will seem as nothing when we look back from eternity. That is why I say, DON’T GIVE UP!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
—Pastor Cecil
(360) 570-0074
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
My book, 100 of Pastor Cecil’s Select Illustrations, is now available on Kindle books. Just go the Kindle store and type in Pastor Cecil’s Select Illustrations, or Pastor Cecil Thompson.
by Pastor Cecil | Jul 11, 2011 | Ephesians
Ephesians 5:1-2
“Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”
As I look at the date on today’s Daily-E-Votional, memories flood my mind. There are actually two dates that are almost blended together as one. Yesterday, July 10th, marked the 59th wedding anniversary for Joyce and I. Where have the years gone?
Today’s date, July 11th is the twentieth anniversary of the death of our oldest daughter, Brenda Joy. In all actuality it was not the date of her death, but the date of her perfect and complete healing and the day she ascended to be with the Lord, waiting for us to join her in the land where we will never grow old.
It would be easy to say that one memory is sweet and the other bitter, but that is not the case. Both of these memories have a beauty that can never fade away. Joyce and I were talking just the other day about how much more we love each other more today than ever before. My task is to love Joyce in the same way that Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her. Her task is to honor and respect me as her husband.
The beauty of our relationship has spread to our children. They are well aware of just how deep is our commitment to have a marriage that is a reflection of God’s plan and pattern. That does not mean that we are perfect, but it means that we strive to attain the goal Christ has set for us.
One of these days our memories will be replaced with the reality of the greatest reunion we can imagine. We will know and love everyone who has ever lived as much as our closest ones here on earth. What a great day that will be! See you there!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil (360) 570-0074
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. Please feel free to forward this E-Votional on to your family and friends.
by Pastor Cecil | Apr 26, 2011 | Ephesians
Ephesians 5:21-24
“Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which He is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.”
With a background in the criminal justice field, I have been exposed to offenders of all ages. One of the things that I often heard from them was that they were not given respect, so they were justified in demanding it–even committing a criminal offense in the process.
Yesterday I wrote about the role of the husband in the marriage relationship. Today I want to focus on the role of the wife. The word that many wives hate to hear is the word “submit.” They look at it as a demeaning term and demand their rights.
As we read today’s Scripture we notice that all of us are to submit to one another. I guess that is a lesson we need to learn over and over. Our failure to submit to Christ is followed by our failure to submit to others around us.
A wife is specifically told to submit to her husband. This submission is clarified in that she is to show respect and honor to him. She shows him respect by honoring him with her words and in doing special acts of love for him. In turn, he is to love his wife as Christ loves his church. As the husband loves with all his heart and the wife responds with honor and respect the marriage will remain strong and secure.
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 | Apr 25, 2011 | Ephesians
Ephesians 5:25-28
“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself.”
In my years as a Christian Counselor, many husbands seem to be self-centered to the extreme. Their attitude toward their wife seems to be; “What are you doing for me?” “Don’t expect me to do things around here, that’s a wife’s job!”
I despair when a husband digs his heels in and refuses to assume the role of a husband as presented in the Word of God. They are more influenced by what other men have to say than what God has to say.
So what does God say about the role of a husband? Just read today’s Scripture and you will clearly see a precise job description. To sum it up, he is to love his wife as Christ loved the church and died for her. Here is a quick question husband: Are you dying for your wife? Do you love her as much as you love your own body?
Think about the church of Jesus Christ for a moment. Is the church perfect? No! Is the church always loveable? No! Does the church always deserved to be sacrificed for? No! Does the church need Christ’s sacrifice to purify her? Yes!
Listen Husbands, Christ’s life is your guideline. He is your example. Not what you want or how you feel, but what Christ has done for us is what we need to do for our wives. Are you going to obey the Lord, or what the other guys are saying?
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.
