by Pastor Cecil | Nov 18, 2015 | James
James 4:3
“You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.”
Back in 1970 I was stationed at Whiteman AFB in Missouri. The Ice Capades show was touring across the country and they were going to be in Kansas City. Tickets were made available to military families at a huge discount. We bought the tickets and were anticipating a family adventure. Then came news of riots in the inner city and we did not go.
A few years later the Ice Capades again came to Kansas City. Joyce said she was going to write and ask for tickets since we were afraid to go the last time they were there. I tried to talk her out of it since they were not at fault, but she sent the letter. Shortly we received five tickets! That’s my wife! Our previous tickets were for seats far from the ice rink, so we were looking for our seats and could not find them. We asked an usher and were told that the seats were down front. When I say down front, they were right next to the ice. Our youngest daughter, Lori, was even chosen to ride in one of the featured rides.
If Joyce had not asked we would never have enjoyed that wonderful experience in our life. It was not what we expected, but far more. When we ask of the Lord we are told to never ask selfishly. Ask for His will and watch for His answers!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Aug 31, 2015 | James
James 5:16b
“. . . The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”
We got a call today from Pastor Cecil’s daughter that Cecil was in the hospital because of dizzyness, but in spite of this he wanted to be sure the Daily-E-Votional got out on schedule. So, here it is.
When he got to the hospital they determined he most likely has some internal bleeding. They gave him two units of blood and scheduled him for an endoscopy today.
When we called Cecil at the hospital he was waiting for the endoscopy so they could determine where the bleeding was coming from. So, please pray for Cecil at this time that the doctors and all involved will find the cause of the bleeding and that God would heal him directly or through their help.
Pastor Cecil has a great sense of humor and when I asked him what he wanted me to say in this E-Votiional, he said, “Tell them I’ve got mental dysfunction.”
Thanks for lifting Pastor Cecil up in prayer at this time.
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
—Russ Hansen for Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jun 3, 2015 | James
James 4:13-16
“Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit’; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.’ But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.”
I sometimes feel that trying to explain Scripture detracts from the essence of the very Word of God. That is the case with today’s Scripture. Life at its best is so fleeting that we can hardly even explain the brevity of life.
I have spent several hours today scanning through some pictures of our family. It was one of those tasks that I had put off and put off, but finally got around to, it was that a task of going through old pictures and clippings. Much of the time there were tears in my eyes. As a matter of fact there are tears in my eyes right now.
I’ve viewed pictures of my great-grandparents, my grandparents, my parents, my brother, my wife, our three children, seven grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren. I was stunned at how many are no longer with me. Many realize how fleeting life really is.
It would be easy to become depressed if it wasn’t the hope of salvation an eternity with our precious Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and the greatest reunion we can even imagine. This life is so brief that we need to make every effort to let the love of Jesus and the love of others shine through everything we do. I love you all!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Feb 24, 2015 | James
James 1:19-20
“So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.”
The word “ought” is a derivation of the word “naught.” In English it is meant to express a zero. Back in the 1970’s I served as Pastor of Discipleship and Evangelism at a large church. The camaraderie we had as a staff was wonderful. One day at staff meeting the most distinguished staff member remarked to the Senior Pastor that he always felt under condemnation when he called him. His number ended in 0202 and Vernon said he always thought of it as “ought to! ought to!”
Over the years I have recalled that staff meeting and in my experience as a Christian Counselor and Pastor, I have found that certain phrases are like hidden land mines that explode and cause damage to personal and/or marital relationships.
Many years ago I was recovering from major surgery. It seemed as if many of my friends felt I needed their visit and advice in order to recover. The truth of the matter is that I felt as if I had a relapse after their visit. One exception was a friend of mine who was a surgeon. During breaks he would come into my hospital room and just sit quietly. His silence was like a healing balm.
Rather than giving advice that was not asked for or placing the burden on another person to change, we need to just be available. It is far too easy to ask the question; “Why don’t you?” The better question to ask is, “How can I?”
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Dec 4, 2014 | James
James 5:7-8
“Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near.”
Have you noticed how impatient people are these days? Drivers become speed demons trying to get in front of other drivers. They accelerate at traffic lights to get through the amber light that has strangely turned red . . . “I’m sorry, Officer, it was green when I started into the intersection” . . . you get the point.
We are living in an instant-everything age. We have instant cash machines, instant check-out counters in grocery stores, instant income tax refunds, even instant foods and coffee. So many things in our modern world are designed to give instant results and yet we still do not have time for God.
The answer lies in the Word of God. Many Bible heroes such as Job, Joseph, David, just to mention a few, did not have instant answers. In many cases it was years before God’s plan was revealed.
We need to learn the discipline of patience. With our hectic, fast-paced schedule we are so busy making things happen that we leave no room for that all important “quiet time” of waiting to see what God wants to teach us or how He wants to use us. Patience is relaxing in the Lord and letting Him direct our paths! It is time to get rid of instant spirituality and operate on God’s timing. Try it!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Nov 20, 2014 | James
James 1:5-8
If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.
Years ago I received an e-mail requesting prayer for a “prayer worrier.” I am sure the writer meant “prayer warrior,” but as I have done so many times, they misspelled the word and thus changed the meaning.
Stop for a few minutes and consider the difference between the two. I went to the dictionary and found this definition for warrior: One who is engaged in or experienced in battle. One who is engaged aggressively or energetically in an activity, cause, or conflict. I am not sure about you, but that sounds like someone I would like to have on my side!
To get a clear difference we need to look at the definition for worrier: One who thinks about unfortunate things that may or may not happen. Whoops! That is certainly not the person I would feel confident to have in my corner as a prayer partner.
Let me leave you with this translation from the Amplified Bible: “[For being as he is] a man of two minds (hesitating, dubious, irresolute), [he is] unstable and unreliable and uncertain about everything [he thinks, feels, decides].”
In all honesty, are you a prayer WARRIOR or a feeble worrier?
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
