Micah 7:2
“The good man is perished out of the earth: and there is none upright among men: they all lie in wait for blood; they hunt every man his brother with a net.”
Listen to today’s Message of the Week by Pastor Cecil by clicking above on the play button.
Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
Luke 24:29
“But they constrained Him, saying, ‘Abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent.’ And He went in to tarry with them.”
If you knew that you were very near the end of your life, what would you write? The author of this week’s hymn, Henry F. Lyle, was preaching his final sermon to the small congregation he had served for over 20 years. He was so weak that he had to be helped to the pulpit.
He encouraged his parishioners to rely on the Savior who loved them enough to die for them. His prayer, reflected in this hymn, is a prayer that each of us can breathe when we approach the valley of death.
1. Abide with me—fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens—Lord, with me abide;
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me!
2. Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day;
Earth’s joys grow dim, its glories pass away;
Change and decay in all around I see;
O Thou who changest not, abide with me!
3. I need Thy presence every passing hour.
What but Thy grace can foil the tempter’s power?
Who, like Thyself, my guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, Lord, abide with me.
4. Hold Thou Thy word before my closing eyes,
Shine thru the gloom and point me to the skies;
Heaven’s morning breaks and earth’s vain shadows flee
In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me!
To access Abide With Me, this free inspirational video from GloryScapes.com, please go to: https://gloryscapes.com/abidewithme/
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
1 Timothy 1:15
“This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.”
The Apostle Paul was not ashamed to admit that he was a sinner. In fact he goes so far as to describe himself as the chief of sinners. That may or may not be the truth since only God knows the heart of each person and He alone is the One who is able to deal with our sinful nature and actions.
It is possible to try and convince ourselves that we are not all that bad. All too often we measure our actions by others and may even convince ourselves that since we are not guilty of the sins that others have been guilty of, we are doing okay.
If ever there was a suffering saint of the Lord I would place Paul near the top of the list. He, on the other hand, does not see himself that way. Paul describes himself as the chief of sinners. He knows what is in his heart and knows that he falls short of God’s standard of righteousness.
How would you describe yourself? When there no one is watching, how do you conduct yourself? Just remember, others may not be able to see, but God not only sees our actions but He also knows our thoughts. I pray that we might be quick to confess our transgressions and walk with the Lord at all times.
Blessings dear hearts walk with God today and become a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
1 Thessalonians 2:19
“What is our hope, our joy, our crown of rejoicing? It is you in the presence of our precious Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ when He comes.”
Some of you feel that you are at the end of your rope. The pressures of life have been crushing in on you from all directions and, one after another, of your safe havens have disappeared. You may even feel that there is no place to go for help.
Hope is more than mere wishful thinking that things may get better. That concept of the meaning of the word hope seems to be all too common. It is not simply wishing for something that probably will not happen.
Let me correct that idea for us once and for all. The Greek word for hope as used in 1 Thessalonians 2:19 is the word elpis. It carries with it the meaning of confident expectation that God is the answer. Do you hear that? It is confidently waiting for something the Lord has prepared especially for us! Please read that last sentence over one more time. It is not what we desire for ourselves, but what God wants to do in and through us. I think the greatest joy in life is to be used of God.
Spend time meditating on the fantastic truth found in Proverbs 3:5-6: “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, rather than leaning on your own understanding; In everything give Him the credit, and He will direct your paths.”
Blessings dear hearts walk with God today and become a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
Colossians 3:4
“Christ is our life and when He makes His glorious appearance, then those of us who have been born again will also appear with Him in glory.”
The husband of my oldest cousin was a source of joy and delight. As I think back of all of our encounters with Don, there was laughter and spontaneity. He seemed to write the book on what was to be expected. If you had plans to meet for breakfast at 7:00 a.m., he was just as likely to be by to meet you at 5:30 a.m. Ouch!
My wife, Joyce, and I always looked forward to the times when we were close enough to spend times with Don and Betty. We left their company feeling like we had experienced pure joy and delight.
The Scripture for today points to the day when Christ will make His glorious appearance. We are told that we will be with Him. In other words we will also make a glorious appearance. Not because of our own merits, but because of our Savior and the fact that we are His precious possession.
I rise each morning and open God’s Word to drink in the promises that He has given to make my life meaningful and complete. One day I will accompany our Lord and all His saints as we make our glorious appearance. What a day that will be!
Blessings dear hearts walk with God today and become a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
Psalm 27:1
“The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”
Asking for divine help is not necessarily during the times of emergency or threats. We can come to the end of our endurance in a number of ways. We can become physically exhausted, mentally fatigued or even spiritually depleted. Regardless of our condition we can always trust the Lord to be there for us. Praise the Lord!
We are told that David was a man after God’s own heart. That certainly does not mean that David always did what was right. He was as much a sinner as each and every human born into the world. But I am so thankful that David confessed his sin and continued to walk with the Lord.
God never calls us to be perfect! If that was the case I certainly would fall short of that goal. (Don’t become too smug. God knows your heart as well!). God does call us to reach out to Him and allow Him to be our light and salvation.
In what or in whom are you relying for your eternal destiny? If you trust in the so-called wisdom of men you will face terrible disappointment. Only the Lord Jesus Christ offers us confidence that we can face eternity – – FEARLESS! My hope is built on nothing less than Christ and His righteousness!
Blessings dear hearts walk with God today and become a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
Romans 12:3
“For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself (or herself) more highly than (they) ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.”
Listen to today’s Message of the Week by Pastor Cecil by clicking above on the play button.
Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
Ecclesiastes 3:11
“He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.”
Years ago I heard a minister tell of an incident in a hospital elevator where he had just come from visiting a very ill patient. A young man overheard him speak about eternity and, perhaps wanting to mock his view, asked the minister where eternity was. The minister told the boy to place his hand on his chest to feel the beat of his heart. Young man, eternity is one heartbeat away! That may answer where eternity is or at least how close we are to it, but just how long is eternity?
Our daughter was in the hospital near death. One afternoon as the two of us spoke quietly, she said she felt she was cheated out of half of her life. She went on to say that grandpa was 74 when he died and here she was just 35.
That evening as I drove into the garage I noticed that the car had been bringing in sand. I took out a sheet of typing paper and swept up some of the sand. I then sat at the kitchen table and counted out 74 grains. Some were larger than others, but all of them were quite small. I placed the 74 grains of sand in a tiny sample perfume bottle.
The next day as I entered her room I placed the bottle on her bed. When she asked what it was I told her it was grandpa. I asked her to imagine the earth being nothing but a ball of fine sand. Each grain represented one year of eternity. The 74 grains in the bottle represented grandpa’s life. Compared to the entire globe of sand it was nothing. Whether a person’s life lasted long or short – – compared to eternity it was nothing.
It is what we do with the years we are given that matters. We can choose to confess our sins and accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior or we can continue our own willful way and suffer the dreadful consequences prepared for the lost.
I pray that the video that accompanies today’s Daily-E-Votional will assist you in making the right choice. Please feel free to share it with others while there is still time.
To view the video The Sands of Eternity, go to: https://pastorcecil.com/
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
Isaiah 57:1
“The righteous perishes, and no man takes it to heart; merciful men are taken away, while no one considers that the righteous is taken away from evil.”
When I served in the military, we had a term for those who were close to being discharged from active duty – – SHORT-TIMERS! The title implied that they could not be relied upon quite as much as those who had a longer commitment.
The reality of life is that our time here on earth is limited. As long as we focus upon what will satisfy our own pleasures, we will be disappointed. It is when we live a life of service to God and to others that we will find real meaning.
There are also many people who struggle with the unknown. The glimpses of glory that we find in God’s Word should be of glorious assurance for those who have received eternal salvation by our faith in God’s wonderful grace.
I have been at the bedside of precious saints of God including my wife and daughter. I want to tell you that there is peace that goes beyond human understanding. I actually longed to be going with them. God assures me that as long as He has work for me I must wait a little longer. Tomorrow I will be sending out a repeat of my Daily-E-Votional called the Sands of Eternity. Watch for it!
Blessings dear hearts walk with God today and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
Proverbs 3:5-6
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.”
Asking for directions from a stranger can be a frightening experience. In rural areas the people who live in the area are prone to give simple directions such as buildings, trees, brooks, or other such tangible objects.
Then there are the modern day programs that speak through the car radio and inform you what street or highway to take, how far to travel, when you have arrived at your final destination.
For believers in the Lord Jesus as our personal Savior, we are assured of the right directions as long as we keep our spiritual eyes on Him instead of being led astray by the appeals of the world to abandon directions from God’s Word.
If you are not spending quality time in the study of God’s Word, I will sternly warn you that there are many dead ends ahead for you. We all will face bumps in the road, but when we travel with Jesus, He will keep us focused on the right direction!
Blessings dear hearts walk with God today and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
Romans 5:1-2
“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”
If grace is not a blue eyed blonde, neither is faith a brown eyed brunette. Perhaps the best way to describe what we read here in Romans chapter 5 is faith in the completed works of Christ is the means by which we find peace that surpasses all.
There is no way we can be saved by doing anything. All of our works are nothing but filthy rags before a righteous and holy God. It is total dependence on the free gift He offers that matters.
The thief on the cross next to Jesus never accomplished a single righteous act that assured him of eternal life, other than a plea for Jesus to remember him when He (Jesus) came into His kingdom, Can you just imagine the scene later that day when the thief died and awoke in Paradise and saw Jesus as the Savior of the world! WOW!
Faith in the trustworthiness of God’s Word allows us to live our life to the full and eagerly anticipate the joy that awaits us when we enter our eternal home with all of the saints of God who we will meet in glory. Faith opens our eyes to what God has waiting for us in glory.
Blessings dear hearts walk with God today and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
Galatians 3:2-3
“This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?”
I can almost remember my childhood days. Believe me they are far back in my rear view mirror. One thing I do recall is having arguments with either my brother or other kids and using the phrase; “Why don’t you?” The reply was usually; “Well, why don’t you?”
Unfortunately this same argument is often carried into married life. Many times I have tried to counsel couples who seem to be stuck in the same childhood rut of argumentation. It never seems to resolve their problems.
I have tried to counsel couples who are caught in this whirlpool of conflict to replace the phrase with, “How can I?” What a difference it makes to offer to make a change in one’s own life rather than demanding the other person make a change.
This is even more significant when it comes to our relationship with God. Let’s face it, there many times when we want God to do the changing. We pray that same question; “God why don’t You?” We want God to do the changing to meet our own desires. If we truly accept what Paul is writing in today’s Scripture, we will be prepared to ask Him, “Lord, how can I?”
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
2 Timothy 2:1-2
“You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others.”
From time to time I rack my brain to know what to share with you each day. I have a wealth of past experiences, but there are also current sources of inspiration. There are many inspirational Christian radio stations that provide wonderful and edifying music and solid Biblical teaching.
On the internet I have used a Bible search program for many years that provides exhaustive concordances, dictionaries, commentaries and word search. Many of these can be accessed free of charge at certain websites.
Television offers selective programs that are true to the Word, but care must be taken to insure that the messages presented are Biblically based and not a way to solicit income from listeners.
The greatest source is your own personal Bible. Spend quality time reading and studying it and then make it a habit to share what you learn with others. PASS IT ON!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
