by Pastor Cecil | Oct 31, 2012 | Galatians
Galatians 6:7-9
Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.
Sunday afternoon, Joyce and I had the rich blessing of spending time with one of our five great-grandchildren, the only one who lives anywhere close to us. The other four live thousands of miles away. Sob! As I was saying, Ruby is just over one year old, has started to walk, and is learning new words. Three of these words are hair, hat, and hot. She pronounces all three virtually the same way.
She had been talking about her hair and a hat that her grandparents had bought for her. I started to brew a pot of coffee and her dad, Seth, picked her up and walked toward the stove. When he was close, he said the word, hot. Ruby repeated, ha! During their visit, her pronunciation for, hat, hair, and, hot all sounded the same, but what a difference in meaning and consequence.
I have been thinking about her words and how cute they sounded. At the same time I became aware that there was a vast difference in all three. Ruby would place her little hand on her head and say, “Ha,” when asked where her hair was or where her hat was. She would also say, “Ha,” when near the stove. Seth mentioned that Ruby had never felt the heat of something hot, but they had been teaching her to stay away from hot stoves. She was learning her lesson well.
The Lord tells us to stay clear of objects in our life that would cause us harm. It is not to deprive us of pleasure, but to prevent us from suffering the consequences. You may have suffered consequences in your own life because you refused to obey God. Let me just give you this word of admonition: STAY AWAY FROM THE HEAT! THERE ARE CONSEQUENCES INVOLVED!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing to others!
—Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Oct 23, 2012 | Galatians
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.
A visiting minister had just preached a dynamic message on being totally committed to God and empty of self. Following the message, as people came by to speak with him, a woman approached and said, “Reverend _____, please pray that God will make me nothing.” Being a courageous and faithful servant, he looked her straight in the eye and replied, “Madam, take it by faith, you are nothing!” Her reaction revealed that she did not take well to his suggestion!
I can understand what he was saying. It was not to put her down, but rather to show that without Christ we are indeed nothing. Does that end the matter? Absolutely not! As a matter of fact it is just the start. When our pride and self-sufficiency get out of the way, Christ is able to do His work in and through us.
I once heard Major Ian Thomas relate his own experience in this area. He was a young man who had received Jesus as his personal Savior. He wanted to please the Lord, so he worked and worked, doing everything he could for the Lord.
One Sunday evening he had finished assisting in a week-long series of meetings. Following the last service, he had packed up books, Bibles and other materials until late into the night.
When Thomas returned to his hotel room he was exhausted. He threw himself across the bed and almost wept. He cried out, “Lord, I am through! I can’t keep this up any longer. I am tired to my very core. I will still love and honor you, but from now on someone else will have to carry the load.”
Major Thomas expected the Lord to be disappointed in him for quitting—but just the opposite happened. It was as though the Lord had breathed into his ear, “Finally! You have been doing things for Me that I never asked you to do. Now I can work through you to do My work.”
Major Thomas went on to be a worthy servant of the Lord Jesus Christ around the world. He never again felt that heavy load he had turned over to the Lord when he was a young man. He simply listened to the Lord and obeyed. He has gone to be with the Lord now and I can imagine the welcome he received, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
Are you wearing yourself out trying to please the Lord? I implore you to give up trying to earn your salvation. Listen to Him—then do what He asks you to do. God’s work—done God’s way—will have God’s power!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing to others!
—Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Apr 30, 2012 | Galatians
Galatians 2:20
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
I was just thinking of the number of times in my life when I heard someone try to justify their faults by using these three words: YOU DO TOO! Wow! Now that is quite a brilliant defense! That argument is no argument at all. Just because someone else does something wrong does not give us the right to do it as well.
Increasingly we are bombarded by temptations to sin. Things that were not even hinted at a few years ago have now been so much a part of our daily life that they are common place. A trip to the grocery store can be an embarrassing encounter when we go to the check-out stand.
We all too often justify our actions by what other people do than what God’s Word says about our conduct. Sexual sins have been justified so much that those of us who hold to the standards of God’s Word are seen as the perverts. I think they call us narrow-minded bigots.
Some church governing bodies have taken it upon themselves to justify lifestyles that are clearly defined as sin. Listen carefully: If God’s Word says it is a sin, there is no modern group that can alter what God has spoken!
The result of our permissiveness is a weak church that quickly folds under the pressure of the world. Rather than changing our world for Christ, we are allowing the world to mold us. We need to dig in and live and even die for Christ!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
—Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jan 19, 2012 | Galatians
Galatians 3:28-29
“There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”
Here in the U.S. we have just celebrated the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. As I have been reflecting on the evils of prejudice, I recall an early-childhood incident that perhaps changed all my life. I was about ten or eleven and Mom and I were waiting in the car for my dad to finish his shift as a regional bus driver.
While we were waiting we noticed an African American boy about my age lovingly cradle a large platter. My mom persuaded me to go and talk with him and find out about the platter. It was the first time I had ever spoken to someone of another color.
I felt no animosity toward any others, but I guess in my mind he was THEM and I was US. Within a few minutes the two of us were happily engaged in conversation as he bubbled over with excitement about how he had won the plate at an amusement park and was going to give it to his mama. As I returned to our car he was no longer one of THEM—he had just expanded my world.
Take a few minutes and think of others that in your mind you have classified as THEM. After you have done this, pray and ask the Lord to show you how you can make them a brother or sister in the Lord. No longer THEM, but US!
Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing.
—Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Dec 5, 2011 | Galatians
Galatians 6:16-17
“Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule—to the Israel of God. From now on, let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.”
As I look down on my bare chest I can see scars of previous surgeries. The latest and greatest runs from my breast bone downward for about nine inches. This is from my triple heart by-pass surgery that was done in February.
Since that day in February, I have had many changes in my life. An aggressive exercise program, new low fat menus and thankfulness that the Lord has spared me to continue and even expand my ministry.
We often experience incidents in our lives that leave scars. All too often we look at these scars as being detrimental. The fact of the matter is that God can use our scars to bring healing to others. It does not happen automatically, but rather our yielding even our scars to be used by the Lord.
What are the scars in your life that you have been trying to hide and keep from public view? It is time for us to be what we are and tell people how the Lord has graciously been with us during the times of testing.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
—Pastor Cecil
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 1, 2010 | Galatians
Galatians 5:22-23
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”
Years ago, Joyce and I were traveling in northern Idaho. We had just pulled onto the highway when Joyce asked, “What is that hissing sound?” Those words always make me shiver when I am driving. Sure enough, we had a broken hose.
We made it to a lake, but there were a number of problems. (1) The turn-out was in loose gravel. (2) We had had no container to get water. (3) It was 15 or so feet down a bank to the lake. (4) The radiator was sizzling hot. (5) I was not in the best physical condition in the world. (6) We did not know if we could make it out of the gravel if we did get the car cooled enough to drive. I am sure there may have been other problems, but these come to mind.
I finally located an empty soda can and made my first of many, many, many, trips down to the lake and back. After more than an hour we had the radiator filled and were ready for our dash into town.
I have never heard such a sick sound as that engine made when I started it up. I am sure that it was firing on only a few cylinders, but it was the best we could do. I dropped into gear but nothing happened. My sweet wife, Joyce, prayed one of the most honest prayers I ever heard her pray: “Lord, kick this thing in the afterburner!” Immediately the engine came alive and gravel went flying everywhere. We made it safely into town and pulled into the first garage we could find and went next door to cool off.
As we sat in a booth drinking glass after glass of cool fresh water, we reflected on the incident. We quoted together today’s scripture, the fruit of the Spirit. We could honestly feel that the Spirit was with us in that loose gravel that threatened to mire us down. Another blessing was that it was a very small hose and the cost to repair it was almost nothing. Ain’t God good!
Sometimes we get mired down in the gravel pits of life and feel that there is no way out. If you are there, I encourage you to pray Joyce’s prayer — “Lord, kick this thing in the afterburner and get me out of this mess.”
I especially pray that you will be aware of the blessed fruit of the Spirit to minister to you and give you peace in your storm. Amen.
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
