by Pastor Cecil | May 7, 2015 | John
John 17:14-17
“I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.”
Have you ever heard someone praying for you? They spoke your name but it was directed to the throne of grace in your behalf. I wish everyone could experience the awesome power of such a prayer.
Jesus prayed for His disciples and that includes you and me. If you want to hear His prayer for you, please turn to John 17 and, beginning with verse 6, read through the remainder of the chapter; realize as you read the words of this precious prayer that it includes you. What a difference it should make in your life.
God does not call us to have a persecution complex. There are some people who do questionable things and when others react adversely to that behavior, they will cry out that they are being persecuted. That is ridiculous! Questionable behavior can never be justified as being persecuted for Jesus. Such erroneous thinking detracts from those who are truly experiencing persecution for the sake of Christ.
As we pray for those saints of God that are truly experiencing persecution, it needs to be prayer for their faith to remain strong and true. My own personal prayer is that if I am ever to experience persecution that my eyes will be fixed on Jesus. Should He deliver me, praise the Lord! If He calls me home to glory, PRAISE THE LORD! I just want to faithful either way.
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Apr 2, 2015 | John
John 3:16-19
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.”
A few days ago I met with the fiancé of a man in his early forties. I asked her about his spiritual condition and then her own relationship with Christ. What she shared with me grieved my heart.
She said that her grandfather was a minister of the gospel and had talked with her about becoming a believer. This seemed to be an on-going conversation over several years. She finally told him that she agreed in some deity out there somewhere.
What she said next sent chills up and down my spine. This minister/grandfather supposedly said, “Well that is good enough!” I quickly informed her that it is not enough to be sincere, but you had to read what God says in His Word. That is that we must have a new birth, a spiritual birth.
She nodded, but it was evident that her heart was not prepared to make the step of faith and confess her sin and need of a Savior who would forgive her sins and write her name in the Lamb’s Book of Life. We are not okay just because we are sincere. Share this truth with others!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Mar 4, 2015 | John
John 7:37-38
“On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, ‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’”
If you have never encountered a situation where you feel helpless, believe me when I say you will. God did not place us in a garden of roses and assure us that we will never encounter troubles and trials.
1 Peter 4:12-13 describes for the believer what we face in this life: “Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy.”
Under those circumstances, someone might be tempted to question the value of being a born-again believer. It is true that we will face the fiery trials of this life, but the confidence we have is that the Lord is with us in the midst of our trials.
With all of this in mind, how are we Christians to live our lives? Again I refer to God’s Holy Word. Proverbs 3:5-6: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” In each and every circumstance we are to turn to God. He is the One who is already in our tomorrows.
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Mar 3, 2015 | John
John 4:13-14
“Jesus answered, ‘Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.’”
The author of this week’s hymn is William Cowper. He was born in England in the year 1731. He suffered many personal losses during his early years that caused him much mental anguish. Loss after loss of those that were close brought him to the brink of despair.
Through all of his ordeals the Lord kept drawing him. He finally received Jesus as his personal Savior and began writing hymns and poetry. It is fascinating that he lived in a small house just behind the home of his pastor, John Newton, who wrote the wonderful hymn,Amazing Grace.
As we draw near to the Passion Week of our Lord, it is well and good for us to pause and be thankful for the fountain of redeeming blood that cleanses us from all of our sin.
There Is A Fountain
There is a fountain filled with blood
drawn from Immanuel’s veins
And sinners plunged beneath that flood
Lose all their guilty stains
The dying thief rejoiced to see
That fountain in his day;
And there may I, though vile as he
Wash all my sins away
Dear dying Lamb, thy precious blood
Shall never lose its power
Till all the ransomed church of God
Are saved, to sin no more
For since by faith I saw the stream
Thy flowing wounds supply
Redeeming love has been my theme
and shall be till I die
When this poor lisping,
stammering tongue
Lies silent in the grave
Then in a nobler, sweeter song
I’ll sing thy power to save
To access There is a Fountain, this week’s inspirational video fromGloryScapes.com, please go to:http://www.gloryscapes.com/thereisafountain/ 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 | Feb 4, 2015 | John
John 1:10-12
“He was in the world, and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him. He came to that which was His own, but His own did not receive Him. Yet to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God.”
Do you ever feel weary of well doing? Does it seem that those around you have no intention of leaving their lives of sin and turning to God? Are your earnest attempts to rescue the perishing having little or no effect?
A friend recently shared how depressing it is to work tirelessly with someone ravaged by alcohol and drugs only to have long hours of counseling and assisting wiped out when the individual reverts back to his/her old habits. The tragedy for society is that these individuals often resort to criminal activity to support their addictions.
I wish there was a way to ensure that our efforts would always produce positive results, but that is not the case. My experience in both fields of law enforcement and ministry (Law and Grace!) has taught me that rejection is far more the norm than acceptance.
Is that a reason for discouragement? I think not. If most of the lost sinners in Jesus’ day refused to believe Him, then I know most will still reject the wonderful message of the gospel. Rather than being discouraged by rejection, we need to keep our eyes on Jesus and continue being His faithful witnesses.
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jan 26, 2015 | John
John 9:4-5
“As long as it is day, we must do the works of Him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
As a boy I recall going with my mother to pick up my dad from work at a lumber mill. Through a little boy’s eyes, it was exciting for me to watch the huge machines hauling, dumping, sawing, and sorting the giant Douglas fir logs. It was not long after that time when Dad bought a café near the mill. Today both the café and the mill are closed.
Over the years I have seen towns where mills once hummed with activity and production, but now sit silent as they slowly decay. The workers who once thought their futures were secure began cutting corners and doing substandard work.
As the shoddy work practices continued, orders for the products decreased. Suddenly the workers were searching for other jobs and even moving to other towns. In many cases, nothing was left but a dead mill town.
I only wish that this illustration was restricted to mills and towns. The sad reality is that it often applies to individuals, churches, and denominations. In many cases people once felt the fire of God burn bright in their hearts. Little by little they allowed humanistic thinking to replace the true Word of God. The terrible result is a closing of their spiritual mills. Is there life or death in your relationship with Christ? Jesus promises to turn on the light in our lives when we turn to Him.
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
