by Pastor Cecil | May 7, 2009 | John
John 15:13-15
“Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.”
One of my all time favorite teachers and speakers is Dr. Howard Hendricks who taught at Dallas Theological Seminary. One of the personal experiences that he shared needs to be engraved in our minds.
Early on he spent much of his time and effort in trying to change his wife, his children and his students. The harder he tried, the less change he saw. (Isn’t that strange?!)
It suddenly dawned on him that he was going about it all wrong. He came to realize that he needed to change his wife’s husband, his children’s father, and his student’s professor. It reminds me of that old song, “It’s me, it’s me, it’s me, oh Lord, standing in the need of prayer.”
He began to pray for the Lord to make him a better husband, father and teacher. His wife changed, his children changed and his students changed! What had happened? He had stopped preaching and had started living his faith.
It may be easy for us to intellectually agree with this concept, so why is it so hard to put it into practice? It is simply that we live by the flesh and not by the Spirit. What!! I know that comes as a crushing blow to your delicate psyche, but like it or not, we all too easily fall into the sinful habit of doing things ourselves rather than asking the Lord to direct our actions. We must live in constant relationship with the Lord and allow Him to show us what to do—then how and when to do it.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Apr 3, 2009 | John
John 19:25-26
“Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, ‘Woman, behold your son!'”
It is not likely that you are familiar with the name, Elizabeth Clephane. She lived in a small town just south of Edinburgh, Scotland, and died in 1869 at the young age of 39.
As illness crept into her life, she expressed her love for the Lord in her writings. After her death, two of her poems were adapted into hymns. One was “The Ninety and Nine” and the other is our featured hymn for this week, “Beneath the Cross of Jesus.” As you read the words and listen to the music, picture a young woman who was nearing the end of her life, yet had a confidence in where she would spend eternity.
“Beneath the Cross of Jesus“
Beneath the cross of Jesus
I fain would take my stand,
The shadow of a mighty rock
within a weary land;
A home within the wilderness,
a rest upon the way,
From the burning of the noontide heat,
and the burden of the day.
O safe and happy shelter,
O refuge tried and sweet,
O trysting place where Heaven’s love
and Heaven’s justice meet!
As to the holy patriarch that
wondrous dream was given,
So seems my Savior’s cross to me,
a ladder up to heaven.
There lies beneath its shadow
but on the further side
The darkness of an awful grave
that gapes both deep and wide
And there between us stands the cross
two arms outstretched to save
A watchman set to guard the way
from that eternal grave.
Upon that cross of Jesus
mine eye at times can see
The very dying form of One
Who suffered there for me;
And from my stricken heart
with tears two wonders I confess;
The wonders of redeeming love
and my unworthiness.
I take, O cross, thy shadow
for my abiding place;
I ask no other sunshine than
the sunshine of His face;
Content to let the world go by
to know no gain or loss,
My sinful self my only shame,
my glory all the cross.
To access Beneath the Cross of Jesus, this week’s inspirational video from GloryScapes.com, please go to: http://www.gloryscapes.com/beneaththecrossofjesus 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 | Mar 19, 2009 | John
John 3:30-31
“He must become greater; I must become less. The One who comes from above is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks as one from the earth. The One who comes from heaven is above all.”
The human heart is filled with every type of wickedness. While all sin is repulsive, perhaps the most distasteful is the sin of pride. To see someone swagger and strut is not a pretty sight.
Even when a person does not strut his or her stuff, pride can slither in and create a horrible scene. Pride on the one hand and jealousy on the other can rear their ugly heads when someone new assumes leadership. Sadly, this is often found to be the case in our churches as well.
John the Baptist had been filled with the Holy Spirit and became a mighty man of God to bring a message of repentance to the people in Israel. People flocked out to hear him and respond to his message and be baptized.
You might think that John would be jealous of his territory and his reputation. His entire life had been devoted to serving the Lord in unwavering obedience. Now Jesus had appeared to begin His earthly ministry.
How would John react? Would he jealously hold tight to his ministry and reject the ministry of Jesus? The answer was “No!” The words that John spoke in today’s Scripture should be our attitude as well: “He must become greater; I must become less.”
Wow! That is so profound and unexpected. Later the disciples of Jesus would argue about who would be the greatest in the kingdom. But here is John turning his back on personal gain.
When John’s disciples reported that many of his followers were now following after Jesus, he did not express resentment or bitterness. He knew that it was essential for him to fade into the background and allow His Lord to increase and accomplish His task.
Are you willing to surrender your pride and self-centeredness? I pray you are!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Dec 23, 2008 | John
John 1:1-14
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.
There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through Him all men might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.
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 received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
What more can be said except, Thank you Lord? This is truly the message of Christmas!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
— Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Aug 25, 2008 | John
John 6:32-35
“Jesus said to them, ‘I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.’ ‘Sir,’ they said, ‘from now on give us this bread.’ Then Jesus declared, ‘I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me will never go hungry, and he who believes in Me will never be thirsty.’”
Have you ever wondered about the short sighted crowd of over 5,000, who had been fed on a small boy’s lunch and then wanted more? They followed Jesus across Galilee, not to worship Him, but to get free bread on a regular basis.
Before we become too critical of these seekers of a free lunch—what about our own selfish attitudes? Is it just possible that we serve the Lord for what it will benefit us?
Let me get up close and personal. Have you ever felt that you were deserving of God’s gifts and blessings because you were a good and faithful servant?
I recall hearing about a precious servant of God who travelled the globe to help and encourage missionaries. With a sad heart he discovered that there were many sincere hearts who were there, not because God had called them, but because they thought if they did something noble for the Lord they would be blessed.
Often we hear appeals to give, serve or go in order to receive physical and financial blessings. My study of the book of Job reveals that this most righteous man in all the earth lost it all: Sheep, oxen, camels, donkeys, servants and the greatest loss of all—his ten children.
How would you respond to that blast from the furnace of adversity? Here is how Job responded in 1:2; “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away. May the name of the LORD be praised.” There, my dear friend is a true hero of the faith!
Joseph experienced horrible treatment, even though he was innocent before the Lord. Why did he have to endure year after year in an Egyptian prison, even though he was innocent? God was going to use him to be the salvation of his family and that God’s people would be birthed.
Did Joseph see all of the results? Not really. He was reunited with his family, but it would be over 400 years before God’s people would come out as a people of God’s choosing.
Whatever we do, we must not think that God is obligated to fill our bank account or place us in a mansion (That is coming later) because we are faithful and obedient. His blessings are so far above the mere “stuff’ of this world that it is a waste of time to seek after things that will pass away.
I remember a sign that marked the entrance into Northwest Nazarene College many years ago. There was a Scripture verse above the sign that still burns into my mind. Matthew 6:33; “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.” I want to seek after His kingdom and His righteousness, then let Him give me what He wants me to have.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing to others!
— Pastor Cecil
