by Pastor Cecil | Jan 23, 2013 | Hebrews
Hebrews 13:5
Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you.
What is really important in your life? When all is said and done, what can you count as your most valuable possession? There are people who live in massive and opulent homes that cost millions of dollars. It would be easy to think that they have reached the pinnacle of satisfaction, but that is usually not the case. These people are most likely to be miserable.
On the other extreme are those who live in humble dwellings that are in low income neighborhoods. Some who reside there spend considerable time and effort day dreaming about living in the homes of the rich and powerful.
Lack of contentment can be expressed in numerous ways. Some people are never satisfied with their employment, their marriage partner, their appearance, their abilities, or any number of factors that are common to the human existence. Let’s face it—we covet the things or qualities that others possess. Even some pastors covet larger churches or larger ministries.
God calls us to find our true value in Him. He leads us and directs us in the path He has chosen for us. The path may be steep or rocky, but it is the wonderful way God has chosen to allow us to shine brightly in a world of sin. Rest in the contentment that God knows what He is doing, and by finding joy in your present situation, you may be a true minister of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
—Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jan 10, 2013 | Hebrews
Hebrews 11:25-26
Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward.
The pleasures of sin (if we might call them that) come with a huge price tag. Over the years I have counseled many people who yielded to the siren call of temptation and paid the price that was far more than they expected.
Satan has a deceitful way of making things seem so enticing and appealing that it leads the unwise to indulge. It started in the Garden of Eden when he tempted Adam and Eve to violate the command of God not to eat of the forbidden fruit.
We have no idea what kind of fruit it was, and it really makes no difference. The issue was not the type of fruit, but that God had said that they were not to taste of the fruit. In like manner, the Holy Spirit gives conviction about yielding to certain temptations. When we hear His voice and know it is wrong we need to run, not walk away from tempting fruit.
What is the temptation you are encountering? Get away from it as fast as your feet can carry you. If you have already yielded to the temptation, go to the Lord and confess your sin. Turn away from the thing that consumes you and fill your heart and mind with the living Word of God. God does not want to punish, He wants to forgive the sincere repentant.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
—Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Dec 3, 2012 | Hebrews
Hebrews 3:12-13
Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; but exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
I have determined that I have the spiritual gift of exhortation or encouraging. That means that it is natural for me to devote myself to being a cheerleader for those who around me are living for Christ.
When I was in high school I enjoyed playing football. One evening after our practice, several of our players went to the practice field of the large high school in our city. They were a powerhouse in their league, which was many levels higher than ours.
I vividly recall their coach, “Babe” Brown exhorting his team. One of the players had just failed in a blocking assignment and the ball carrier was tackled. Coach Brown ran along side of him and yelled at the top of his lungs; “Son if you can’t block for him, at least clap your hands and cheer him along!” IT WAS A REAL PUTDOWN.
Spiritually we may not be the person designated to carry the ball. We may have the assignment to clear the way for someone else. The best way to do that is to have a spirit of encouragement. You do not need the spiritual gift of encouragement to be an encourager. Make the way of faith easier for others by cheering them along.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
—Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Sep 4, 2012 | Hebrews
Hebrews 3:12-13
See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called ‘Today,’ so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.
Please notice the spelling of today’s Daily-E-Votional. It was an intentional use of the word weakly instead of weekly. The word weekly describes a period of seven days. The word weakly implies a lack of strength.
A sweet little lady once told her doctor that she was feeling pretty well other than the fact that her life was so daily. By that she wanted him to know that she felt like she was living a life that lacked meaning and purpose. Have you ever felt that way? Are you feeling that way right now?
I am always amazed to read the words of Solomon in the book of Ecclesiastes. He was the wisest man in the world. Not only did God bless him with wisdom and understanding, but He prospered him with riches beyond measure. If the things of this world would bring happiness then Solomon should have been the happiest man on the planet. Instead he saw only emptiness. Why?
The answer is that he took his eyes off of the Lord and began to take pride in the things he accomplished and his material possessions. Let me share a little secret with you. The very moment that we take our eyes off of the Lord is the moment that we will begin to lose real meaning and purpose in life.
To turn your life around and find real meaning in your existence, keep walking with the Lord, daily, weekly—continually. Your life will never again be described as weakly.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
—Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Aug 30, 2012 | Daily-E-Votionals, Hebrews
Hebrews 5:11-12
We have much to say about this, but it is hard to make it clear to you because you no longer try to understand. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food!
What determines if a person is an effective teacher? Is it one who stands in front of a class to expound the truth? Possibly that is the case. Is it someone who spends hours, days, and weeks in careful study before sharing what has been discovered? That, too, may be the case, but I want to offer that there are wonderful teachers who are just one lesson ahead of the people they are teaching.
Joyce and I are eagerly awaiting the birth of our fifth great-grandchild. We love babies and it is a special joy to watch them grow and develop. They start with milk and then are fed predigested food. As a grandpa and great-grandpa I cheat and slip them bites of mashed potatoes and gravy . . . until I am discovered and told to stop. It is hard to look innocent when you have been caught red handed.
There comes a time when babies move from being fed by others to begin feeding themselves. It is often a messy sight, but it is the price for personal development. (Some of us seem to have over developed this process of feeding ourselves.) Eventually, the time comes when they are old enough to feed their own babies. It is then that the cycle is complete: 1. Being fed by someone else; 2. Feeding ourselves; 3. Feeding others. The writer of Hebrews is confronting his readers by using this illustration.
There was a pastor in Missouri who shared with me that his greatest blessing was a meat-cutter who worked at a meat plant near his church. Every afternoon this older man would drop by the pastor’s study to share what he had discovered in God’s Word the previous evening. The pastor said it made him into the preacher he was. I never met that old meat-cutter, but I praise God he blessed me by his teaching this pastor.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
—Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Aug 6, 2012 | Hebrews
Hebrews 3:12-13
See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called ‘Today,’ so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.
I recall an old comic strip (it may still be around) called Popeye. One of the characters who appeared from time to time was an overweight free-loader called Whimpy. It seems that he never had money to purchase his favorite food which was hamburgers. He had a standard line: I will pay you tomorrow for a hamburger today.
All too often we have lived in the same mind set. We make promises to God that we will make a full and complete commitment—but just not yet! We make every excuse under the sun to delay doing what we committed to do.
Our heavenly Father is the God of today. It is His desire that we focus our attention on the immediate and walk obediently beside Him. Our tendency is to want to do things in our own time. That means living by our own desires and putting off obeying the Lord immediately.
Satan delights when we put off doing what the Lord tells us to do today. It seems that he is satisfied if we just delay. He convinces us that tomorrow is soon enough, and we are not really disobeying God, we are just waiting for a more convenient time. When we buy into that deception we delight Satan and grieve the Lord. Let us do what Jesus commands today!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
—Pastor Cecil
