by Pastor Cecil | Jul 26, 2010 | Romans
Romans 15:4
“For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”
Many years ago, a pastor friend had a daily radio program. It was designed to be low keyed and friendly as he presented God’s Word to his listeners. He always started his program with the words, “Hello, may I come in?”
One day a man told him that he had a complaint against him. In fact he said the pastor had caused him to sprain an ankle. The complainant said that he and his wife were in bed for a time of marital fellowship when they heard the friendly words, “Hello, may I come in?” Thinking someone had entered their bedroom he jumped out of bed and sprained his ankle!
That amusing story came to mind when someone recently commented that it seemed as if I received a response to one of my illustrations: “At times it’s as if he is looking in our windows.”
Rest assured that I am not peeking in anyone’s windows, but the Lord is! He knows where you are hurting. He knows your loneliness, your hopelessness and your loss of direction. The words that I type are intended to be from the Lord to you. I can only pray that they will bless you and give you godly counsel.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
360-570-0074
PastorCecil@Daily-E-Votional.com
by Pastor Cecil | Apr 5, 2010 | Romans
Romans 8:26-28
“In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.”
The story is told of a very poor man who owned only one unbroken horse, while all of his neighbors had stables full of horses. He had only one son, while his neighbors had many sons. They mocked him for being poor and not having more, but he was very content that the Lord had given him all he needed. His neighbors even increased their mockery when his son broke his leg while trying to break the wild horse.
Contentment & Patience
As the story goes, a warlord passed through the area and conscripted all of the young men and took all of the available horses. The only young man left behind was the poor man’s son and the only horse was the poor man’s horse that soon was broken to ride by the son after his leg had mended.
There is no way we can determine what is best for us until the Lord is finished revealing what His plan and purpose is for us. Contentment and patience will allow the Lord to use even the most desperate circumstances to accomplish His perfect will in our life. All we have to do is follow Him and watch what happens.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
360-570-0074
PastorCecil@Daily-E-Votional.com
by Pastor Cecil | Mar 26, 2010 | Romans
Romans 8:28
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.”
God chooses and He uses! In the most humble situations His blessed Holy Spirit speaks and brings forth truth. Back in 1898 Grant Tuller was enjoying a snack at a pastor’s home. The jelly was almost gone and in a kind gesture, they passed the remainder to him. He responded, “So this is all for me?” He immediately went to the piano and composed a melody and sang, “All for me the Savior suffered, all for me He bled and died.”
The next day Mr. Tullar received a letter from Carrie Beck who wrote poetry. She included one of her poems and asked if he might be able to compose a tune for the poem. The poem fit perfectly with the tune he had composed the night before.
“Face To Face“
Face to face with Christ, my Savior,
Face to face, what will it be,
When with rapture I behold Him,
Jesus Christ Who died for me?
Refrain:
Face to face I shall behold Him,
Far beyond the starry sky;
Face to face in all His glory;
I shall see Him by and by!
Only faintly now I see Him,
With the darkened veil between,
But a bless’d day is coming,
When His glory shall be seen.
Refrain:
Face to face I shall behold Him,
Far beyond the starry sky;
Face to face in all His glory;
I shall see Him by and by!
What rejoicing in His presence,
When are banished grief and pain;
When the crooked ways are straightened
And the dark things shall be plain.
Refrain:
Face to face I shall behold Him,
Far beyond the starry sky;
Face to face in all His glory;
I shall see Him by and by!
Face to face, oh, blissful moment!
Face to face, to see and know;
Face to face with my Redeemer,
Jesus Christ Who loves me so.
Refrain:
Face to face I shall behold Him,
Far beyond the starry sky;
Face to face in all His glory;
I shall see Him by and by!
To access Face To Face, this week’s inspirational video from GloryScapes.com, please go to: http://www.gloryscapes.com/facetoface 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
360-570-0074
PastorCecil@Daily-E-Votional.com
by Pastor Cecil | Mar 8, 2010 | Romans
Romans 10:13
“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Saturday afternoon I was asked to visit the home of a lady who is dying of cancer. Of course we do not know for sure that this is God’s will for her, but the doctors do not hold out any sort of prolonged life for her.
At this stage of her life she was overjoyed to meet me and have some sort of hope for eternity. When I received the call from her husband asking me to come, I began to pray for divine wisdom in speaking to her. God graciously heard my prayer and I felt tremendous freedom as I shared with her.
Here is the prayer that we prayed for her to receive Jesus into her heart as Savior and Lord. It is from the little “Four Spiritual Laws” booklet: “Lord Jesus, I need You. Thank You for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life and receive You as my Savior and Lord. Thank You for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Take control of the throne of my life. Make me the kind of person You want me to be.”
I thank the Lord that He is always there to hear our prayer. It is never too late to call on the Lord to be saved. Never give up on your loved ones. You may not be the one to lead them to the Lord, but somewhere there may be someone (such as me today) who will lead that special loved one to the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
360-570-0074
PastorCecil@Daily-E-Votional.com
by Pastor Cecil | Feb 12, 2010 | Romans
Romans 12:12
“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.”
William Walford did not allow the fact that he was blind limit his service for his Lord. He was frequently called upon to preach in a small country church. He composed the sermons in his head and quoted large portions of Scripture from memory. Some people thought he had memorized the entire Bible. He also composed verses in addition—he prayed.
In the mid 1800’s, Thomas Salmon was visiting in England and became acquainted with Pastor Walford. As they were visiting one day the blind pastor quoted a few pieces he had composed. Since he had no one to write them down he had kept them treasured in the storehouse of his mind.
One of the verses he related to Mr. Salmon was, “Sweet Hour of Prayer.” Mr. Salmon eagerly scribbled the words down on a scrap of paper. When he returned to New York he sent the verses to the Observer and asked if they thought them worth preserving. The Observer did think them worthy and published them on September 13, 1845. The music was added by William Bradbury in 1861.
“Sweet Hour of Prayer“
Sweet hour of prayer! Sweet hour of prayer!
That calls me from a world of care,
And bids me at my Father’s throne
Make all my wants and wishes known.
In seasons of distress and grief,
My soul has often found relief
And oft escaped the tempter’s snare
By thy return, sweet hour of prayer!
Sweet hour of prayer! Sweet hour of prayer!
The joys I feel, the bliss I share,
Of those whose anxious spirits burn
With strong desires for thy return!
With such I hasten to the place
Where God my Savior shows His face,
And gladly take my station there,
And wait for thee, sweet hour of prayer!
Sweet hour of prayer! Sweet hour of prayer!
Thy wings shall my petition bear
To Him whose truth and faithfulness
Engage the waiting soul to bless.
And since He bids me seek His face,
Believe His Word and trust His grace,
I’ll cast on Him my every care,
And wait for thee, sweet hour of prayer!
Sweet hour of prayer! Sweet hour of prayer!
May I thy consolation share,
Till, from Mount Pisgah’s lofty height,
I view my home and take my flight:
This robe of flesh I’ll drop and rise
To seize the everlasting prize;
And shout, while passing through the air,
?Farewell, farewell, sweet hour of prayer!?
To access Sweet Hour of Prayer please go to: http://www.gloryscapes.com/sweethourofprayer 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 | Jan 28, 2010 | Romans
Romans 5:8-9
“But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by His blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through Him!”
It was just a little after 6:00 a.m. this morning when the phone rang. Have you noticed that when the phone rings at an odd hour that it usually is news that you are not anxious to hear? This time it was my nephew, Jay, giving us the news that my brother, Harold, had gone to be with the Lord. We knew that it was coming, but had anticipated at least a few weeks rather than just a few hours.
I had called his hospital room yesterday afternoon to suggest that I fly over to Boise to see him, but Harold said to wait until he had been moved to the care center. I had no idea that when we said “good-bye” on the phone that those would be the last words I would share with my brother this side of heaven.
Many of you have sent words of encouragement since I mentioned Harold’s diagnosis in Monday’s E-Votional. I so appreciate your love and concern for our family. This is the time to demonstrate that God’s Word provides instruction about how we as Christians should react to the loss of those who have gone to be with the Lord. Harold knew and loved the Lord, so we are confident that he is with the Lord right now.
Back in 1966 I stepped onto a plane that took me to the Northern tip of Newfoundland. I was assigned to a remote radar site and knew that I would be separated from home and family for the next 12 months. I did not relish the separation, but I knew that there would be a great reunion when I came back home after the tour of duty had ended. That is exactly what happened! What a time of rejoicing we had when we all were together once more.
That is exactly what will happen when the Lord returns and all of the saints are reunited for eternity. Think about it ― no more sorrow, no more pain, no more separation, no more confusion ― no more anything that causes us to experience turmoil of any kind. To me that means we are to trust God’s Word rather than our feelings. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” Consider the apostle Paul’s confident instructions that are found in I Thessalonians 4:13: “Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope.”
How do we grasp this concept of hope and joy? The answer is in yesterday’s E-Votional. Proverbs 3:5 says; “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” Let’s do that!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
