by Pastor Cecil | Oct 2, 2012 | Jeremiah
Jeremiah 6:13-14
Because from the least of them even to the greatest of them, everyone is given to covetousness; and from the prophet even to the priest, everyone deals falsely. They have also healed the hurt of My people slightly, saying, ‘peace, peace!’ when there is no peace.
Last Saturday afternoon, Joyce and I sat down and watched the old movie Brigadoon, starring Gene Kelly and Cyd Charise. I have to confess that it has been one of my favorite movies of all times.
For those of you who have not seen it, the plot is that two hunters from New York are hunting in Scotland and stumble across a village, Brigadoon, that has just awakened from a one hundred year sleep. For this village, each night is 100 years long so they will not be contaminated with the evil world around them. As it turns out there is an evil from within that almost destroys them all.
There seems to be a human concept that given enough time, humans will become peaceful and free of strife. Beep! The answer is that this just never has happened and never will happen. Man is sinful by nature and it is not more time that we need, but we need more of Jesus.
Jesus never promised to remove His believers from the storms of life, but He did promise that His Spirit would be with them in the storms. As we look for the peace that passes all understanding, it is the peace in our heart that matters. The storms of life may rage around us, but Jesus has promised His sweet peace.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing to others!
—Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Aug 9, 2012 | Jeremiah
Jeremiah 33:3
Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.
It goes without saying that we live in an age of communication. In Bible times communication was made by sending a letter by a messenger who was going to the city where the recipient lived. It would often take days, weeks or even months for the letter to arrive. Modern postal services progressed rapidly from the days of the Pony Express to overnight delivery.
The very fact that I can type these few words five days a week and send them out to over five thousand people around the globe is one of the examples of communication in action. It is almost impossible to walk or drive anywhere without seeing people talking or texting on their cell phones. Even kids in lower grades feel slighted and deprived if they do not have a cell phone of their own.
In spite of all these modern advances in communication, there is a cry for more and better communication. I often hear people lament that they really do not have anyone who is close enough to keep in touch with them. It is like being alone in the midst of a huge crowd. Millions of people may surround us, but we feel terribly alone.
The Lord delights in hearing from us. His heart is always open to the cries of His dear children. He wants us to share the activities of our day and our anticipation for what lies before us. It is His desire that we draw near to Him in reading His precious Word and in bringing all of our emotions to Him. He beckons us to call Him. Hello Lord!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
—Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Oct 26, 2011 | Jeremiah
Jeremiah 15:16-17
When Your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart’s delight, for I bear Your name, O LORD God Almighty. I never sat in the company of revelers, never made merry with them; sat alone because Your hand was on me and You had filled me with indignation.
Being alone is not fun. As a matter of fact it is a dreadful experience. There have been a few times in my life when I was all alone. Usually it was because I chose to walk with God rather than go the way of the world.
The first experience that I will mention (there have been several) was when I was a teenager. For some reason the teen group was involved in questionable activities that I chose to not participate in. I slipped into the balcony of our church on a Wednesday evening for the prayer and praise service. I was the only person there in the area that was usually occupied with teens.
Part of the service was devoted to testimonies. After several people on the main floor had testified about what the Lord was doing in their lives, I stood to give my testimony. I cannot recall what I said but I do remember our pastor, Dr. John Riley, calling on me. By saying, “Yes Cecil, up there in the balcony all by yourself.”
The second time was when I was stationed in northern Newfoundland with the United States Air Force. I felt that I was the only one who was willing to stand up for my convictions. It was not long before others joined me in walking as Christ would have us walk. Standing alone was not pleasant, but it produced spiritual fruit.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
—Pastor Cecil
(360) 570-0074
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
by Pastor Cecil | Dec 6, 2010 | 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.’”
Winter weather is here (at least in the northern hemisphere). Weather reports show huge snow drifts in various localities. It reminds me of a snow incident I experienced many years ago. I was traveling to Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada, to speak at a week-end seminar.
As I was traveling across Montana, I encountered a heavy wet snow. It was beautiful but I had been driving for over an hour in the heavy snow when I began to encounter a problem steering—I couldn’t. The steering wheel refused to turn. That is a scary experience, believe me!
I was fortunate to be able to muscle the car into a pull-out. When I looked in the front wheel wells, they were packed solid with snow. I had a pry bar in the trunk and was able to clear away the snow and steer again. I had to do this two more times before I passed through the heavy snow.
It reminds me that spiritually we can plow through the heavy accumulation of this world and if we are not cautious we are in danger of losing the ability to steer. The “things” of this world may seem beautiful, but if we are not careful we can lose our ability to steer.
The “things” may even be good things or even spiritual things, but if they are not part of God’s plan for our life, they can lead to disaster. It is essential that we stop frequently and ask the Lord to pry lose all of the things He does not want for us.
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
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.
P.P.S. – I have completed my first book, 100 of Pastor Cecil’s Select Illustrations. The cost is $12.95 plus shipping. You can now order it online by going to https://dailyevotional.com/prior2020/book-by-pastor-cecil . . . You may want to consider this book as a thoughtful gift idea for those who do not have Internet access or as helpful sermon illustrations for your Pastor.
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by Pastor Cecil | Jun 24, 2010 | Jeremiah
Jeremiah 32:17
“Ah, Sovereign LORD, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for You.”
You may have heard the expression, “The hurrier I go, the behinder I get!” I feel that describes me at times. You may have noticed that I sent out Monday’s Daily-E-Votional twice instead of Tuesday’s. I was reminded of the oversight and sent the correct issue out later. SORRY!
I have come to realize that some of these blunders work out for God’s pleasure. It really is not up to me when and how someone may read an issue, and the Lord makes good using His timing instead of mine. In response to “Fiery Furnace Faith,” I received this response. I will quote only a portion of it.
“I made one of those ‘fiery furnace prayers’ back in 1981 when I was laying in a hospital bed paralyzed after back surgery. The difference was that this may sound weird but it is the honest truth, I made a phone call that night to a place called “Dial a Prayer.” It took years of being with the Lord before I realized what actually happened. When I called the number (I still remember it!) this soft gentle deep male voice started with “You’ve cried out many times, but this time is different. You need a personal relationship with me, the Lord Jesus Christ.” He went on to explain how to do that and then led me through a sinner’s prayer. I remember that voice to this day. After I prayed a peace came over me, a freedom swept through me, and for the first time in 30 years of life I had a purpose! I left a message on the answering machine saying who I was, where I was (room number and all) thanking this “pastor” for such a powerful message. Growing up in church I never heard of a “personal relationship” with Jesus. The next day the “pastor” was so curious he came in to see me. I have seen some scared people in my life but this guy was terrified! He literally plastered himself up against the wall with his hands at his sides holding on to the wall! I proceeded to tell him what I heard. He told me it wasn’t his message. I of course said, “Oh yes it is! Here, I’ll dial it again and you listen!” He said, “No you listen!” I did and what I heard was some ridiculous generic prayer babble. I told him “You changed it!” He said, “No I don’t do that until Wed. and today is Tuesday.” I proceeded to tell him what I heard which only made him turn more pale and plaster tighter to the wall. When I was finished he literally RAN out of the room, later he was arrested for running “Dial a Porn.” So when people ask who led me in the sinner’s prayer I say, “The Holy Spirit.” I know now that God intercepted that phone call and spoke directly to me.”
That was no accident my dear friend. The Lord has a way of doing abundantly above all that we ask or think. Thanks for permission to use this, Kathy.
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 | Jun 22, 2010 | Jeremiah
Jeremiah 33:3
“Call unto Me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.”
I love to cook! My dad loved to cook, and he passed the passion along to me. It does not matter where we are, I seem to gravitate to the kitchen and, before long, have run everyone else out so I can have free reign. Measurements? Not by cups or spoons, but “some” of this and “some” of that. You get my drift?
About seventeen years ago we had the joy of cruising through the lovely San Juan Islands of Washington State. There were three cabin cruisers in our group, and we had eight people in ours. I assumed the cooking duties. Yeah!
Early one morning we were anchored in a quiet and peaceful cove. I was the only one up and was preparing breakfast for our shipmates. I was sipping a cup of coffee when I glanced out a cabin window and saw the most thrilling sight. A huge white cruise liner glided past an opening to our cove. In a few seconds it was gone.
When my shipmates were called to breakfast I related about my wonderful sight. Their reaction was something less than excited. As a matter of fact they were not interested in hearing about it. It was for my eyes only!
Many of the blessings we receive from the Lord are not to be shared with others, but are for our eyes only. The more we try to share them, the more frustrated we become. It is much better to simply thank God for our special blessing. Beautiful!
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
