by Pastor Cecil | Aug 24, 2009 | Revelation
Revelation 3:5
“He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before My Father and His angels.”
“Why should I let you into My heaven?” All too often we hear anecdotes or jokes using this statement or one like it. The fact of the matter is that it is so far from Scripture that it sends a wrong message.
Back in my Air Force days I served on a combat missile crew. Access to our launch capsule was extremely restricted and without the proper code you were not going to be permitted entry.
As a crew we may recognize the voice of the person wanting access—No entry! The person may have a sterling reputation—No entry! We may have tremendous respect for that person—No entry! It may be that the person requesting access may be of much higher rank—No entry!
There was only one way to be cleared for entry into our restricted capsule—The code! Without the proper recognition code there would be no way we would allow the door to be opened and the visitor admitted.
There is only one way that we will have access to heaven—THE CODE! That is to say that we must have our name entered in the Lamb’s Book of Life. All of our recognition, reputation, respect or rank will avail us nothing unless our name has been recorded.
How do we record our name in this most important book of all time? By repenting of our sins and being born again by inviting Jesus Christ into our heart and life. That is the Code that will allow us entry into God’s heaven.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Aug 10, 2009 | Revelation
Revelation 22:12-13
“Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with Me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”
Many years ago I attended a speed reading class. The instructor could read an entire book in less than an hour and then pass an examination covering the material. The one thing he taught us that sticks in my mind is to start at the back of the book.
It seemed to be the most ridiculous thing I had ever heard. He went on to explain that when you desire to get the most out of a book you are not looking for surprises, rather you need to discover what the writer’s objective is so you will be able to better grasp how he comes to his conclusion.
I have a habit of watching a sporting program on TV, or a DVD over and over again. I find that by knowing what is going to happen I am able to appreciate the action much better.
I once heard a highly educated biblical scholar share an incident when he was teaching on the Book of Revelation. He made a statement that it was very difficult to understand Revelation. A man with very little formal education raised his hand and said; “Doctor, I can explain the entire book in two words—Jesus Wins!
In all of the turmoil and uncertainties of life we need to remind ourselves of this simple fact. It does not matter how drastic the circumstances of life may seem to be, we can comfort ourselves with the final outcome—Jesus Wins!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Jul 16, 2009 | Revelation
Revelation 21:4
“He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
Back in the early sixties I was attending the United States Air Force Officer’s Training School in San Antonio, Texas. Many of those of us who were married had our families staying near us in a facility called Billy Mitchell Village.
Late one evening I had an emergency call that our oldest daughter, Brenda, who was eight at the time, had an extremely high temperature of 104-105. I rushed to the hospital to be with her. After trying other methods to lower her temperature, they took her into the emergency room where there was a large stainless steel tub filled with water and buckets of ice.
It broke my heart to stand beside her shivering little body as she cried and pleaded with me to make the pain go away. Oh, how I wished I could trade places with her and free her of the agony she was enduring. I couldn’t! She had to endure the agony in order to get well!
Everyday my inbox is filled with people who are hurting and feel stuck in intolerable situations. As I pray and respond as best I know how, I am struck with how many times across the years I have had people pour out their hearts to me and beg for relief from their pain.
I am not sure when it started, but the Lord gave me a ministry of Christian counseling. I have served both professionally, but most often voluntarily, as a counselor. Either way I have found that most of the time (actually, all of the time) I do not have the answers.
So what can I do? How can I give hope to those of you who are passing through the valley of the shadow of death? There are those who glibly dispense spiritual candy, but it eventually turns bitter when results are not seen.
Over the years and after much prayer, I offer the following verses to any who are in that blind alley of life that seems to have no exit. Psalm 139:1-4: “O LORD, You have searched me and You know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; You perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; You are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue You know it completely, O LORD.” I don’t know what it says to you, but it tells me that God knows what I am going through so it is not necessary to give Him a status report on my condition. I just need to ask that He will show me how I can live a victorious life in the midst of the storm.
The second passage is in James 1:2-8: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.”
There you are! I challenge you to apply these two passages to the impossible situations you are experiencing now or will experience in the future. Not only is God able to meet your need, He wants to supply all of your needs
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Mar 16, 2009 | Revelation
Revelation 21:3-4
“And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Now the dwelling of God is with men, and He will live with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.'”
Where are you hurting right now? It may be a physical, emotional, financial or even a spiritual pain, but I would hazard a guess that you have some sort of pain that is causing you distress. I only hope that you are not a pain!
I am not a baby when it comes to having a dentist work on my teeth. In fact I seldom have him use Novocain before drilling on a cavity. But there was an exception I can recall. While on a trip I developed a terrible pain in my jaw. I went to my dentist as soon as I returned home.
As I sat in the examining chair the dentist used his mirror as a diagnostic tool. He would tap on a tooth and ask if it hurt. Time after time I would say, “No” until he came to the infected tooth. When he tapped it I almost came out of the chair. He smiled in delight and said, “I think we found it!” I simply mumbled something—let’s just say—a little less enthusiastic.
The mirror of God’s Word is something like the dentist’s mirror. It can reveal hidden recesses of decay and infection. A small tap on the affected area may produce pain and reaction, but it is all for our good.
After a drilling procedure to reveal the root canal that is infected, the dentist is able to treat it and bring relief. In like manner it is necessary for the Lord to drill deep into the root of our condition in order to heal and restore.
What does that mean to us spiritually? I think it means that Romans 8:28 applies in our life at all times: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been (the) called according to His purpose.”
Do you belong to Him? Do you love Him? Do you fully believe that God has a plan and purpose for your life? (I pray that you answered “yes” to each of those questions.) If so, you need to trust in Him—even in the midst of your pain.
Instead of trying to squirm out of our painful situation—we need to praise Him for being with us during this time and bringing glory out of the gory!
Blessings dear hearts!
– – – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Dec 31, 2008 | Revelation
Revelation 3:1-3
“To the angel of the church in Sardis write: These are the words of Him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God. Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; obey it, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.”
In this passage God is speaking. He is speaking not merely to a first-century church, but also to the churches of our day. Keep in mind that the “church” is not the structure made with wood, brick, stone, or other building materials. A church is composed of the people of God who come together as a body, for worship, fellowship, service and edification.
I want to walk very carefully here, as I express the words that God is laying on my heart at this very moment. We often think of a dead church as being stuffy, stilted, formal, and boring. That is all too often the case, but it goes much deeper than that. A dead church may also be filled with noise, activity, and even spiritual sounding terminology. It is even possible for people to seek emotional feelings in place of tenderly seeking God and God alone.
So what determines if a church is alive or dead? Let’s focus in a little closer. What determines if “you” are spiritually alive or dead? One of our typical responses is to focus on, “them.” “They are dead! He or she is dead!—I, on the other hand, am practically perfect in every way!” Such an idea, filled with self-sufficient pride, should be a dead giveaway of our spiritual morbidity (death).
We are spiritually dead, or near death, when we no longer have a spiritual appetite. If there is not a hunger in our hearts for God’s pure Word, we must check our pulse immediately! Unfortunately there are church members, or should I say, church attendees, who are more interested in the hymn selections, how long the service lasts, color of the carpet, etc., than they are about meeting with God. They fail to cherish a time to shut out the world and listen to His Word read and proclaimed, lift their hearts in prayer, and join with others of His family weekly, for a spiritual family reunion.
We individually are in need of spiritual “911” care if we do not have it daily—YES! I SAID DAILY—times of intimate prayer with God. Not just praying a shopping list of our requests, but sharing our deep feelings of praise and petition. A sign of spiritual life is being silent before Him in order to hear His soft, still voice speaking words of comfort and purpose to us. We need to take the time to lovingly read His Word and then spend time meditating about the words and visualizing what is being said. It is life giving to use Scripture as a part of our prayer.
I hope you are beginning to see that death in our midst is not easily covered up with the stench of human programs, practice or pretense. God sees the real us and desires more than “Let’s pretend.” It is time for a complete spiritual examination. As the Lord dictated this letter to the church in Sardis, and said they were dead, what would He say about us? Do we need to be resuscitated? If so, He stands ready to raise us from our dead condition, and breathe His new life into us.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
— Pastor Cecil
