by Pastor Cecil | Apr 11, 2019 | Matthew
Matthew 7:12
“Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.”
The following was an encouraging response to my Daily-E-Votional concerning responding to those needing a helping hand. Thanks, Nancy!
Thank you for the message. Enjoyed reading it. Have met a young man who is in a wheel chair and has several physical disabilities. Not many people take up time with him, but several of the people who run the coffee house watch and take care of him when he comes in.
I use to watch 4 classes of mentally handicapped students in our high school until they were sent to a school just for them. Several of these students had to wear helmets or braces on their legs. Some of the parents really took care of them while others did not. The lead instructor told me that these children never get much improvement that at the age of puberty they regress. They become nearly like a 4 year old child. They do not like change and many of them of course die at a younger age.
I have also seen babies who had water heads. They had to be kept in a nursery setting and were taken care of 24/7. They used to have housing for children with disabilities who could not be taken care of otherwise. They don’t have those types of facilities any more.
I have seen parents who had children with Spina Bifida who were taken care of and those who were not taken care of. There was nothing wrong with these children mentally…only physically.
I have seen a couple (the gentleman became a pastor of a church) who both had cerebral palsy. There are many people in this world that just need a loving hug or a kind word. They need others (like ourselves) to show them that God cares for them too. These people have more of God in them than some who CALL themselves Christian possess.
It is sad to see so many people with so much hatred and animosity toward others. There are people who choose sin over what God wants us to be, but we can still show them God’s Love and Pray for them.
Take care and stay safe… may God continue to shower you with His Blessings… in Jesus Name.
Thanks again Nancy. Blessings dear hearts! Walk with God today and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Apr 8, 2019 | Matthew
Matthew 22:39b
“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
From time to time I have the opportunity to assist someone who is having some type of limitation. I once read of a woman who noticed a blind woman with her “seeing eye dog” enter a commuter train in a large city. There were no seats available and the woman was having difficulty keeping her balance as the train began to move. Sadly no able bodied person responded to the need.
The woman who was relating this incident became incensed that no one was responding to this obvious need. The Lord seemed to tap her on the shoulder and reminded her that she was the one who saw the need, so do the right thing!
Even though she was seven months pregnant she immediately rose and directed the blind woman to her seat. This seemed to trigger a young man as to his responsibility, so he rose and allowed the pregnant woman his seat.
Just remember that we are surrounded by OTHERS and God wants us to be ready and willing to reach out and show the love of Jesus by our response. Ask the Lord to give you a greater awareness to the needs of others and show the love of Jesus in thought, word and above all by your deeds.
Blessings dear hearts! Walk with God today and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Feb 7, 2019 | Matthew
Matthew 8:34
“Then the whole town went out to meet Jesus. And when they saw Him, they pleaded with Him to leave their region.”
Rejection is one of the hardest things in life to deal with. In one way or another, it is an uninvited guest that will appear at the door of our life one time or another. You alone know what rejection or rejections you have encountered or are encountering at this moment.
Jesus and His disciples had just crossed the Sea of Galilee and met two demon possessed men who lived in the tombs. The demons cried out in recognition of Him and begged Him to be allowed to go into a herd of swine. Jesus allowed them to possess the beasts. The result of this action was that the swine rushed into the water and were drowned. It is interesting that two men, even though they were driven mad, tolerated the demons, but the pigs perished.
The town people had two choices. They could rejoice over the two demoniacs who had been set free, or they get ticked off about the pigs that were now floating on the water. They preferred the pigs! It does not make sense, but sin never does. They asked Jesus to leave their region. This is the Son of God! This is the Messiah who could heal and deliver and restore, but they had lost their pigs, and that was what was important to them.
Jesus left their region, but from that time on the people must have been reminded that they had chosen pigs over the Savior. What is your choice?
Blessings dear hearts! Walk with God today and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Feb 4, 2019 | Matthew
Matthew 14:29
“So He said, ‘Come.’ And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus.”
Before we get too critical of Peter, remember that he is the only one that actually walked on the water at all. Yes, he got his eyes off of the Lord and began to sink, but he actually walked on the water for a few steps.
The fourth watch of the night is the darkest, but also the watch that is just before dawn. For those of us who have worked the “graveyard shift,” it is the most boring, but also the most delightful, when you see the first streaks of dawn, the rim of gold on the eastern horizon, and the burst of light when the sun begins to rise.
Many of you have written to share with me the fears and uncertainties you have been facing. Others of you may be going through these same dark hours of the night watch of your life, but have not felt led to write to me about them. Today’s Daily-E-Votional is for all who are now — have been — or will be going through the darkest watch of the night in your life!
When you are laboring in the darkest watch of your personal night, you may feel stark terror. You may see things in the dark that terrify you. But here is the exciting reality of it all: It is Jesus who is there in the darkness, ready to keep you from sinking. Your only problem, I repeat, your only problem, is looking at the water instead of the Master who is walking on the water. When we focus our attention on Him, He will keep us from falling!
Blessings dear hearts! Walk with God today and be a blessing!
– – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Dec 19, 2018 | Matthew
Matthew 5:16
“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”
When I was a boy there was a man in our church who attracted all of us kids to him. As I recall, his name was Vanoy Croswell. He was a happy and radiant Christian who loved people and especially kids. But that was not what appealed to us. HE WAS THE SEN-SEN MAN! He shared his Sen-Sen and Jesus.
Sen-Sen was (and still is) a breath freshener — tiny squares of hard licorice in a little cardboard box with a small hole from which the tiny Sen-Sen squares drop when the box is shaken. That is what I remember about Mister Croswell. I can still hear the rattle of the small box as he would shake out a tiny square and then proceed to tell us about Jesus.
It really did not take very much to attract the kids to him, and it gave him an opportunity to tell us about Jesus. We discovered that his generous spirit went far beyond the tiny pieces of sweets that he doled out to us. That was just his way of giving himself an opportunity to share.
In today’s Scripture, Jesus says that we are to let our light shine in such a way that as others see the good that we do they will be drawn to glorify our Father in heaven. In what way are you drawing people to you in order to tell them about Jesus?
Blessings dear hearts! May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Nov 21, 2018 | Matthew
Matthew 3:8
“Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance.”
I was saved when I was nine or ten years old ― so long ago that I can’t remember my exact age. It is not essential to know my age; I just knew that I was not a Christian and the only way to become one was to confess my sins and invite Jesus into my heart.
There were about ten or fifteen other kids kneeling at the altar that night. The Pastor instructed us to stand when we knew that Jesus had become our Savior and Lord. After pouring out words of repentance to the Lord and praying for Him to come in, I knew that something had happened. I had been born again! When I stood and saw that all of the other kids were also on their feet, I felt confused. But I knew what had just happened within me was real. I was now a born-again Christian!
Did that mean that I could live any way I wanted? NO! Did it mean that I had to start the process of spiritual growth? Absolutely! Spiritual growth can never precede spiritual birth. Just as I had a lot of physical maturing ahead of me, so too I had a lot of spiritual maturing to do.
We cannot be justified by our good deeds or righteous actions. Spiritual birth must precede spiritual growth. It is only then that we understand and practice what it means to be a faithful born-again Believer in Jesus our Savior.
Blessings dear hearts! May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions! – – – Pastor Cecil
