by Pastor Cecil | Jan 11, 2018 | Matthew
Matthew 6:10
“Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
Recently I found myself being convicted of some words I had spoken to certain members of our congregation. You see, they are considering a move across the country to be near their daughter and grandchildren. Not to mention, it would also be much warmer.
To think of them leaving has been extremely hard for me. They and their family have been members of my congregation for many years. The wife’s parents were also members of my congregation and I officiated at each of their funerals.
The problem is that I have been allowing my wishes to take precedence in the matter. My dear friends have laughingly forgiven me for my desire to keep them here, but I have learned a lesson — LET GOD DO THE LEADING!
I am sure that there are many areas of my life where I have stepped out ahead of the Lord’s leadership. I want to become increasingly sensitive in encouraging people to seek the guidance and leadership of the Holy Spirit instead of the well meaning family and friends looking out for their own interests. We need to encourage each other to pray and let God be God!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jan 4, 2018 | Matthew
Matthew 6:14
“For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”
Forgiveness is something that is much easier to talk about than to put into practice. Each of us is perfect, and it is so hard to forgive those who take advantage of our perfection. (RIGHT! Give me a break!) We are not perfect and much of the time we have done something that created the situation that caused the other person to hurt us … or take advantage of us … or not meet our needs — well, you get the idea.
Think about our own lives and the many ways we have failed the Lord, and yet He forgives us fully when we come to Him and confess our sins. 1 John 1:9 reads: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
It is interesting to compare Matthew 6:14 and 1 John 1:9. Jesus says that we are to forgive all who sin against us. All means all. It is not optional — it is a command that carries a dire penalty if we fail to forgive; we ourselves will not have our sins forgiven. It is a terrible thing to not be forgiven.
TRUE FORGIVENESS IS ONLY POSSIBLE WHEN THE PERSON BEING FORGIVEN DOES NOT DESERVE TO BE FORGIVEN!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Dec 18, 2017 | Matthew
Matthew 24:33
“So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near—at the doors!”
“Are we there yet?” is one of the most common questions children ask their parents when the family is traveling to a particular destination. We could be in the middle of the desert with no signs of humanity anywhere when that question would pop up. I must confess that I have been tempted to stop the car in the middle of a barren area and announce: “We are here!” I wonder what they would have said.
As we travel through the desert places of this life we often are prone to ask ourselves the same question our children asked of us: “Are we there yet?” The answer for us may very well be the same as we gave our kids: “Look around you. Do you think we are close?”
The honest answer in our own life is that we are getting nearer and nearer each day. This is true in at least two ways: The first is that we never know when our heart will stop and we will be transported to the Paradise of God; the second is that the trump will sound and we will be raptured to be with the Lord forever.
In either case, we need to work with all of our ability to perform the tasks that the Lord has prepared for us to accomplish. Rather than being impatient for His return, we simply need to be faithful until He calls us to our forever home!
Blessings dear hearts. May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Dec 7, 2017 | Matthew
Matthew 26:43
“And He came and found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy.”
It was on this date in 1941 that Japanese carrier-based planes bombed Pearl Harbor and catapulted the U.S. into World War II. Some have commented that the attitude of complacency that the U.S. demonstrated was like being asleep at the wheel!
Back when I was working as a city police officer, a patrolman that I worked with related an embarrassing moment. He was working the graveyard shift (11 p.m. – 7 a.m.) and he was exhausted. As he approached an intersection where the traffic light was red, he decided to put his car in park and close his heavy eyes for a few seconds. He was not sure how long those few seconds were, but he was rudely awakened by a paper boy who timidly said, “Sir, the light is green now!” Wow! We laughed ourselves silly thinking about it.
Spiritually we all too frequently find ourselves much like the disciples of Jesus. He left them to go pray, but they fell asleep. Before we become too critical of those dozing disciples, how often have we dozed instead of remaining faithfully awake in our service to the One who gave His everything for us? I for one want to renew my commitment to be more faithful.
Blessings dear hearts. May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Nov 8, 2017 | Matthew
Matthew 11:13
“He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”
It is sad when we shut our ears to the very things that we should be listening to. God makes every effort to speak to us, but we fill our lives with such clutter and confusion that His voice goes unrecognized and unheard.
I recall a young professional man who signed up for one of our Bible classes where the format was to pass out question sheets for each student to answer before the next class. This particular young man was in a class being taught by his manager. As he attempted to complete the question sheet, he could not find any of the answers. Amused, he could hardly wait for the class to start to see how his manager would react to this oversight.
To the young man’s shock, however, every question had been answered by the other class members. He was confused as to why he, a college graduate, could not answer questions that the other members had answered? About three weeks later this young man went into his manager’s office and expressed an emptiness he felt. Ultimately, he received Jesus into his heart.
Do you have ears to hear? You may be a born again child of God, but do you have the spiritual ears to hear as God speaks to you? Matthew 6:6: “But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing! – –
– Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Oct 17, 2017 | Matthew
Matthew 11:28-30
“Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
Across the years I have been blessed to counsel many people. One of the most common complaints I have heard is “I’m so tired.” In a way it has been humorous since they complain that they are so tired they need a vacation, and when they return from vacation they are exhausted from the vacation.
It rather reminds me of counseling people who are having marital problems. There will be boxes of tissues to dry the tears of those who wish they had never gotten married. Later, another person will cry their eyes out because they are not married and wish they were.
The human body is capable of performing amazing feats of stamina. The way athletes run long distances and accomplish their acts of endurance is by training. Little by little, day by day, they grow stronger and stronger until they can perform without the fatigue that once plagued them.
In today’s Scripture Jesus gives us the spiritual prescription for our weariness:
1. Come to Him. 2. Take His yoke upon us. 3. Learn from Him. Notice the rewards for following His direction—His deep and abiding rest.
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
