by Pastor Cecil | Dec 16, 2015 | Jeremiah
Jeremiah 29:11-12
“‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.’”
Back in the 1970’s I was employed by the Idaho Law Enforcement Planning Commission. I served as Corrections Specialist and Deputy Director. Our task was to fund programs that would upgrade all areas of the criminal justice system in the State of Idaho. WE WERE PLANNERS!
Sometimes as individuals we fail to plan ahead. It reminds me of a sign that I once read along the highway; “WE MAY BE LOST, BUT WE’RE SURE MAKING GOOD TIME!” That is all too true in many areas of our life. Without plans we may be traveling at high speed without having direction in our life.
Lacking direction in our spiritual life is even more threatening. We seem to have the attitude if we go at full speed we will please the Lord. The problem is it is our direction rather than His direction. It is our plans rather than His plan for us!
Our Scripture for today indicates that God has a specific plan for us. His plans are always far better than our plans. He wants to give us a future and a hope. The end result is that we will call on Him, draw near to Him, and pray to Him. It is then that we will find His plan for us and know that He listens to us. His plans are always the best plans!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Oct 19, 2015 | Jeremiah
Jeremiah 29:11-13
“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.”
Have you ever had someone make a promise to you and then not keep it? I’m sure that the majority of us have experienced that very thing. As a pastor I have had countless people promise that they would be in church the following week. When Sunday came they were not there nor have they ever appeared. I have often thought that if everyone who promised to be present would follow through on that promise the church could not hold them all. It is not that I am numbers conscious, but it breaks my heart when people make promises and then forget them.
Many years ago I had a young man in the church I pastored who had suffered brain damage years before. He was able to function in many areas and yet was greatly curtailed and others. One thing I admired about him was that he never failed to fulfill a promise. I knew that many times it took a great deal of effort but he always followed through. I can still remember him stacking wood that he had brought for our fireplace because he had made that promise.
God’s promises are always fulfilled. He has promised us peace and not evil and a future and a hope. He has promised to hear us when we pray and when we seek him with all our heart we will find Him. Oh how I love Jesus!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Oct 12, 2015 | Jeremiah
Jeremiah 9:23-24
“Thus says the Lord: ‘Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, let not the mighty man glory in his might, nor let the rich man glory in his riches; but let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight,’ says the Lord.”
When my wife Joyce was still alive I always knew what would bring her delight. It was not flowers or candy. It was for me to straighten up my area. You see, it seems that my desk and around my chair become cluttered with books, mail, and above all, small scraps of paper that I have scribbled notes on. Each item has (or had) some value to me, but to Joyce it was just a big mess.
Quite often we focus only upon our interests or the things that are important to us. When those around us lack the same interests that we do, we are prone to spend less and less time with and around them. We only seem to be interested in those who are interested in the things that we are. I think you can see that this is very narrow minded and will block meaningful relationships.
Turning the spotlight of our attention on spiritual things reveals the same problem. We seem to think that we are the ones that determine whether God will be interested in what we do. We fail to ask what it is that He wants. This passage in Jeremiah makes very clear the thing that delights the Lord. Essentially it is that we will understand and know Him and His workings. Let’s delight the Lord by knowing Him better and better.
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Oct 7, 2015 | Jeremiah
Jeremiah 9:5
“Everyone will deceive his neighbor, and will not speak the truth; they have taught their tongue to speak lies; they weary themselves to commit iniquity.”
This morning I was waiting at a stoplight to turn left. The left-turn light turned green and I was about to start when a car ran the red light and careened past me, narrowly missing my left front fender. I recall many times cars coming into an intersection when the light had gone from amber to red, ignoring the danger and in fact, speeding up.
My experience as a police officer leads me to believe that, in almost all of such incidents, if the offender was pulled over they would deny their offense. Most often they would claim, “The light was yellow when I entered the intersection!”
From the days when Adam and Eve sinned in the garden, human nature has not wanted to admit its guilt. Even when substantial evidence is provided, denial is still maintained. I have seen police videos showing offenders committing crimes–but when shown these videos, the offender still denies their offense. Go figure!
God wants us to be open with Him and confess our sins. Denial of our offenses will always hurt ourselves more than others. 1 John 1:9 tells us that it is only when we confess our sins that the Lord is able to forgive and cleanse us. Our denial blocks the path of God’s forgiving grace. DON’T DENY IT!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Oct 5, 2015 | Jeremiah
Jeremiah 17:8
“For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; but its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit.”
I frequently visit the Western Wall in Jerusalem. No, I do not take a plane ride but rather use the Internet to view the wall ( see http://english.thekotel.org/cameras.asp). The images are updated every few minutes, so it is very current. Sometimes the wall has many visitors who pray while touching the wall, while at other times only a few are present.
One of the most intriguing things that fascinates me are the plants which grow between the cracks on the wall. This is a very dry region and there is very little moisture. In spite of the lack of regular rain, the plants continue to grow out of the wall. They are able to survive because they have roots that travel deep into the crevasses that exist between the multi-ton stones that make up the wall. I am told that there are at least six distinct plants that grow out of the wall.
I am reminded that sometimes we may feel that we have been planted in the midst of a block wall where little spiritual nourishment is available. But wait! There is! It is to be found in the crevasses of the Word of God. He has given us the spiritual water that will sustain us in the dry and arid world in which we live. Praise God for the water of life that is able to cause us to grow!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Sep 1, 2015 | Jeremiah
Jeremiah 29:11
“‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’”
I want to send this short note to fill you in on my emergency stay in the hospital. Without going to a lot of morbid details, I was diagnosed with diverticuloses. It was an opportunity to observe God’s sovereignty in action.
I am feeling fine now and will get back to normal E-Votionals tomorrow. Thank all of you for your prayers and concern. GOD IS GOOD!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
