by Pastor Cecil | Jul 4, 2017 | John
John 3:17
“For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”
I have enjoyed the rare privilege of working in a wide range of positions in the criminal justice field. I have walked the streets as a “street cop,” and I have driven a patrol car. I served as a County Juvenile Probation Officer and was a Probation and Parole Specialist with the Idaho State Law Enforcement Planning Commission.
As you can see, my life experience goes beyond the pulpit. In contemplating John 3:17, I see that Satan delights in clouding our minds to think of God as an evil Master who delights in making people miserable. God does not condemn the world (that was a free choice that Satan enticed Adam and Eve to make).
I like to think of God as the Almighty Parole Officer. He freely offers guilty men and women freedom from the penalty of sin. The choice to accept His gift is left up to each of us who are the condemned offenders.
The arms of the Lord are open wide to receive any and all who come to Him by grace through faith. There is nothing we can ever do to earn or deserve His gift of eternal life. We either accept or decline. Oh, I hope each of you will accept!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jun 27, 2017 | John
John 14:1
“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.”
Yesterday I wrote about overcoming fear and depression God’s way. I want to continue that line of thinking for dealing with a “broken heart” — a condition we encounter when we lose something very precious to us.
I have had the mind-numbing experience of officiating at the funeral services of my daughter, my mother, my brother, and numerous friends. I have also felt the terrible loss of my precious wife who was part of my very existence.
Dealing with broken-heartedness is far more than having a positive mental attitude. It is receiving the help that only the Lord can provide. It entails re-directing the focus of our attention. No amount of wishful thinking will ever return our loved ones to us on this earth, but a proper acceptance of what God has welcomed them into can do that.
John assures us one result of our belief in God is that our thinking is different from those who have no hope. When we truly believe in the loving Savior who rose from the dead, we can realize that our precious loved ones who die in the Lord are in such heavenly bliss that it should make us homesick for heaven. Until that day we can have the beautiful assurance that we have loved ones waiting to welcome us to our eternal home!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | May 11, 2017 | John
John 14:27
“Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
We have all heard of people inheriting vast estates and huge amounts of money. When I was a boy there was a man in our church by the name of Jack. He always said that his dad left him a packet of seeds and a bag of fertilizer with the instructions to grow his inheritance himself. Hmm! Now that advice has a profound ring of wisdom to it!
Jesus has left each of His children with a similar inheritance. He has not chosen to take us out of the world — that would remove the testimony. Nor has He given us super human qualities. But, He has given us His Spirit of peace.
The time we need peace the most is during the storms of life. It is also when we go through those storms with His quality of peace that we show the world our greatest testimony. God does not give peace in a worldly sense. His peace transcends the idea of keeping us away from the storms of life; it gives peace in the middle of the storm.
Are you experiencing the peace that only Christ can provide? It is ours for the taking as we open our spiritual eyes and discover the promises that God has given to those who believe on Him. Claim your inheritance!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Mar 1, 2017 | John
John 9:4
“I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work.”
At times I have been employed for an organization that required me to punch in at a time clock. It was the means of insuring that I arrived on time and worked the full required time before I clocked out. At times there was a whistle sounded to alert workers that it was time to be on the job.
In today’s Scripture Jesus is teaching that He had work to do and a limited time to accomplish His assignment. If that was true of the Son of God, how much more should we be committed to do our work for Him.
It would be well for us to take stock of how we spend our time. Are we more committed to the pleasures of life than we are to the opportunities to do the work He has called us to perform?
It is time to listen to the whistle from the Holy Spirit that there is work to be done and we need to begin our service for the King of kings and Lord of lords.
Note from my editor: Listening for the whistle reminded me of Isaiah 5:26 and 7:18 when God whistles for the distant nation and the flies and bees. He really does whistle. My thought is that’s how He summoned the animals to the ark … just like we whistle for our pets.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jan 13, 2017 | John
John 14:27
“Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”
January 13th will always have a poignant meaning in my life. It was two years ago on this date that my precious wife left the trials and pain of this world to enter the place of eternal peace. It brought her wonderful peace, but I have been left to work my way through the remainder of my days without the one who had been part of my life since I was fourteen.
I have a wonderful peace in knowing that Joyce is experiencing a paradise that is beyond my wildest imagination. In bringing that picture to mind, I am given a peace that the world can never give and a peace that it cannot take away!
If you are facing a trial and tribulation of life, I urge you to seek the peace of God that is offered to all who call upon His name. Rather than focusing your attention on the storms of life, seek the precious haven that God gives that will assure you of His wonderful peace.
Wonderful Peace
Far away in the depths of my spirit tonight
Rolls a melody sweeter than psalm;
In celestial strains it unceasingly falls
O’er my soul like an infinite calm.
Refrain: Peace, peace, wonderful peace,
Coming down from the Father above!
Sweep over my spirit forever, I pray
In fathomless billows of love!
What a treasure I have in this wonderful peace,
Buried deep in the heart of my soul,
So secure that no power can mine it away,
While the years of eternity roll!
Refrain
I am resting tonight in this wonderful peace,
Resting sweetly in Jesus’ control;
For I’m kept from all danger by night and by day,
And His glory is flooding my soul!
Refrain
And I think when I rise to that city of peace,
Where the Anchor of peace I shall see,
That one strain of the song which the ransomed will sing
In that heavenly kingdom will be:
Refrain
Ah, soul! are you here without comfort and rest,
Marching down the rough pathway of time?
Make Jesus your Friend ere the shadows grow dark;
O accept of this peace so sublime!
Refrain
To access Wonderful Peace, this week’s inspirational video from GloryScapes™ Inspirational Music Videos, please go to: http://www.gloryscapes.com/wonderfulpeace/ 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 | Nov 21, 2016 | John
John 17:16-17
“They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.”
Recently I have been recalling some of the incidents that occurred when I was a Juvenile Probation Officer “a lifetime” ago. One incident that stands out was the arrest of a 14-year-old boy for a rather serious offense. The parents were easily manipulated by their son, which led to his being out of control.
At the court hearing the Judge asked the mother to explain what steps were being taken in the home to control their son. The mother had a speech impediment that became more pronounced when she was nervous. For several minutes she spoke but no one could understand what she was saying. Finally the judge stopped her and asked her husband to tell him what his wife had said. The husband proudly proclaimed, “What my wife said was the truth!” He then sat down. The Judge had to call for a recess to get his laughter under control.
As born-again Believers we are citizens of God’s heavenly kingdom. How do we know that God is real and that we can know what He says to us? It is only from His Word. We must never rely on dreams or visions; it is only the Word of God that will sanctify us and make us honorable vessels.
If you are seeking a closer walk with God and to know what is true, pick up your Bible and spend time alone with the Source of Truth. He will open your eyes of understanding as you open your heart to Him.
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
