by Pastor Cecil | Aug 26, 2013 | 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.
Last Friday I received a call that delighted my heart. It was from a dear pastor friend. He explained that he had been having plumbing problems at his house. I am not sure just what exactly it was, but from the estimate he received it was going to cost him something over $400. Ouch!
In calling friends for recommendations about who to call to do the work, one name kept surfacing. Each time he was told that the man was very independent and may not even want to do the work. If he did, they said it would be very costly.
He finally made the call and the man was everything he was described as. He was almost insulting about spiritual things on the phone and it was a surprise when he said he would do the work. When he arrived it seemed he was more interested in finding the Lord than in fixing the plumbing problem. It was only a very short time before he prayed and received Jesus Christ as his personal Savior. WOW!
As my friend related the incident to me, he was so excited that it seemed he was glowing with spiritual energy. I could only feel that it was not so much a plumbing problem that needed to be fixed, but a heart problem. God had graciously used plumbing as a means to bring this man to salvation. Are there any situations in your life that God may be using to present the gospel? Remember that everything works together for good when God is in it! (By the way, the bill for the plumbing was $0).
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
—Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Aug 23, 2013 | Romans
Romans 6:22-23
But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
I usually devote my Friday E-Votional to a selection of beautiful music from Gloryscapes.com. Very early this morning I was roused from slumber with the thought of responsibility and how it is related to the wages of sin. What kept nagging at me was how the wages of sin leads to responsibility.
It is such a new concept that I am stretched to wrap my mind around it. The more I meditate on the idea, the more I can see spiritual truth. Sin will always require a payment of some sort. It is never free. Some may feel that they can sin without any consequences, but that is not the case, either from Scripture or in practice. Not only is the responsibility to deal with sin a reality for the offender, but it has consequences for others as well.
Let me illustrate with a much milder example. In sending out my Daily-E-Votionals, the format is accepted by most subscribers, but there are some that will not receive quotation marks, apostrophes or other symbols. I have had to deal with the problem. It has become my responsibility. I could just go ahead and use these which means that some recipients would have garbled symbols where I have used these. The other option is to carefully word things in such a way, or by using other wording, to prevent it. It is a constant reminder that my action—may in fact result in others having a responsibility to deal with it.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
—Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Aug 22, 2013 | Romans
Romans 6:4
We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
I was just reading an account of a young boy that started school back in the early west. The School marm (as she was called then) noticed that he was left-handed. She was not going to allow that in her classroom, so she tied his left arm to his side and made him use only his right hand.
I am sure that she felt she was using the best wisdom of her day in forcing him to be like all of the right-handed people, but it was a tragic method. Thank the Lord we do not live in such an atmosphere today—or do we? How many times do we force others to conform to ourselves rather than being like Jesus?
When you read the title of this E-Votional, I hope you do not get the impression that I am suggesting for you to be like me. Each of us is born in sin and it is a constant battle to be more like Christ each day. My desire is to be like Christ, and it is a personal struggle to conform to His likeness. We must urge people to be Like Jesus, rather than imitating some human being.
Take time to evaluate your own life. In what ways are you attempting those around you to be like you rather than taking their eyes off of you and instead focusing on the Savior? Point them to Jesus!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
—Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Aug 20, 2013 | Romans
Romans 8:18-19
I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed.
Last week I called a classmate from our high school days. We had not talked for quite a long time, so it was enjoyable catching up on the things that had happened in our lives in the years since we graduated over 60 years ago. I still have a hard time believing it has been that long. In our conversation he asked if I heard that Jerry Williamson had died.
I was shocked by the news. You see, Jerry and I had been friends since we were both babies. Our families lived side by side in Camas, Washington, and then close together when we moved to Nampa, Idaho. We have had limited contact over the years and I had no idea that he had a medical problem.
Jerry had drifted away from the Lord in his adult years and this was always a concern for those of us who knew him. Each time we visited I tried to inspire him to turn back to the Lord, but he was not receptive. I think it was only about a year ago that Jerry indicated that he had made a new commitment to the Lord.
I just spoke with his wife, Joyce, this morning. She brought joy to my heart when she said that Jerry had a close relationship with the Lord in his last days. He knew where he was going to spend eternity and was praying for others to be ready to meet the Lord. I can hardly wait to see Jerry once again. This time it will be for eternity! Until then, Jerry!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
—Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Aug 13, 2013 | Romans
Romans 15:13
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
When I was in high school I worked part-time for my brother-in-law. He operated a small gas station. Back then there was no such thing as self-service. It was always full service, which meant filling with gas, washing the windows, checking under the hood, and checking the tire pressure. All of that followed the request to fill–er up!
What a sad change of attitude in our current culture. The only request that is made today is whether we wish to pay by cash or credit card. There is most often a lack of service. You might say that the (service) stations are more interested in what you can do to make their lives easier than the other way around.
I want to get off that pet peeve and focus on the spiritual implications we find in this verse. The Apostle Paul is uttering a prayer for his readers. His prayer is that we might be filled up with joy and peace. I like that! He does include a condition for the Lord to FILL –ER UP! We are to trust in Him.
As I recall those long ago days at the service station, it was with an air of expectancy that customers drove up to the pumps. In like manner we need to draw near to the heart of God and expect to be filled with His high octane dose of joy and peace. I like that! Fill me up, Lord!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
—Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Aug 5, 2013 | Romans
Romans 7:19-20
For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do–this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
For many years before entering the Christian ministry I served in the criminal justice field, from street patrolman to criminal justice planner. I know what it is like to confront an offender who has committed some crime and is faced with the consequence of the offense.
In talking with some of these offenders I tried to determine the reason for their actions. Many of them knew that they were almost certain of being apprehended, so why did they do it? Not always, but in many cases they indicated that the reason for their actions was that they just wanted to do it.
Even small children disobey their parents when told not to do something. When the parents confront the child about why they did it, it is not uncommon for the child to give the same response as the criminal offender. BECAUSE I WANT TO!
When we read the Word of God there are specific things that we are told to do or to refrain from doing. Why do we do it? BECAUSE WE WANT TO! May God forgive us! My prayer for myself as well as others is that we will change our wants from our own will to His will. Lord, not my will, but may Your will be done!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
—Pastor Cecil
