by Pastor Cecil | Mar 25, 2010 | Galatians
Galatians 6:7
“Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.”
When I was a County Juvenile Probation Officer, I often accompanied one of the Deputy Sheriffs on patrol or when they had a particular assignment. One of these duties had a direct bearing on my area of responsibility since it involved a young man who had been committed to the State Juvenile Center and from there to the State Mental Hospital.
Both of these institutions were on the other side of the state which entailed a drive of about five hours each way. We were almost to the Mental Hospital when we were stopped by a road construction crew. The flagger seemed interested in talking to us since we were in a marked police vehicle.
We had been stopped for about five minutes when another car approached. The flagman waved his stop sign, but the car plowed into the back of our vehicle propelling us about twenty feet. Fortunately, the deputy had the vehicle in “neutral” rather than “park” or we may have suffered injuries.
The driver of the other car was extremely intoxicated and began to scream at the top of her lungs, “He didn’t stignal! He didn’t stignal!” (Yes, that is the way she said it). She repeated this over and over, even when the local Police agency came and arrested her for drunk driving.
There are many warnings in God’s Word that people ignore to their own peril. In today’s Scripture we are reminded once again of that truth. It is like the old railroad crossing signs that clearly alerted drivers to STOP! LOOK! and LISTEN! It certainly applies in our spiritual life!
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
by Pastor Cecil | Mar 6, 2009 | Galatians
Galatians 6:14
May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”
Fanny J. Crosby was a blind poetess who produced thousands of hymns. Many of her poems were set to music by William Doane. One day he had composed a score of music and asked her to set words to his music.
After listening to the music, she immediately felt the words flow from her very heart. She had no idea how many would be blessed by the words of the hymn that we know as “Near the Cross.”
Years after the hymn had been published and sang in church after church, there was a tragic accident in New York City. A young boy was struck by a rail car and rushed to an emergency hospital. He asked the nurses if he could sing. As his words grew fainter and fainter, the staff was moved to tears by his song:
Jesus, keep me near the cross;
there a precious fountain,
free to all, a healing stream,
flows from Calvary’s mountain.
Refrain
In the cross, in the cross,
be my glory ever,
till my raptured soul shall find
rest beyond the river.
2
Near the cross, a trembling soul,
love and mercy found me;
there the bright and morning star
sheds its beams around me.
3
Near the cross! O Lamb of God,
bring its scenes before me;
help me walk from day to day
with its shadow o’er me.
4
Near the cross I’ll watch and wait,
hoping, trusting ever,
till I reach the golden strand
just beyond the river.
To enjoy this week’s GloryScapes inspirational video Near the Cross please go to: http://www.gloryscapes.com/nearthecross in your browser or click on the image below.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Sep 4, 2008 | 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 him 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 he 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.”
He expected the Lord to be disappointed in him for quitting. 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 | Dec 7, 2007 | Galatians
Galatians 3:26-28
“For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”
On December 7, 1942, I was seven years old, living in Camas, Washington. It was a Sunday morning and church had just ended. Some of the teens were in a car listening to the radio when the news flash was given that Pearl Harbor in Hawaii had just been bombed by the Japanese.
As people walked out of the little church and heard the news, they were stunned and acted as if they had just received a physical blow. The next day, President Franklin D. Roosevelt addressed a special meeting of the Senate and House of Representatives.
“Yesterday, December 7, 1941 — a date which will live in infamy — the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.”
We were thrust into a world war that resulted in bloodshed never before imagined. Almost every neighborhood had a star in the window indicating that a member of the family was serving their country. The blue star indicated that the serviceman was still alive. When we saw a gold star, we knew that the family had been informed their loved one had been killed.
It was a time of hatred and prejudice. People of Japanese ancestry were no longer referred to as Japanese, but “Japs” or “Nips.” Innocent U.S. citizens of Japanese ancestry were rounded up and shipped to internment camps.
Following the war, a few Japanese students came to the United States to attend college. What a shock it was to discover that there were some Japanese who were Christians. Former enemies had been brothers in the Lord, even as they served in combat.
Unfortunately, prejudice has been—and always will be—contrary to God’s will. Prejudice in any form is in reality—“The Day of Infamy.” Read today’s Scripture again and see what Paul, by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, says about prejudice: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female.”
As a child I can remember we kids singing a song at the top of our lungs: “Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world. Red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in His sight, Jesus loves the little children of the world.”
May we break the bonds of infamy that have divided us and march forward in unity with other believers to serve with distinction in God’s mighty army.
Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing.
– – – Pastor Cecil
