​PASTOR CECIL · Pastor Cecil's Devotional: “CHOOSE LIFE!” Deuteronomy 30:19a

CHOOSE LIFE​!

Deuteronomy 30:19a – Devotional

Deuteronomy 30:19a

“I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life.“

Many times I have sat near grieving individuals who have just experienced the loss of a loved one. In a few instances I have been the one to deliver the news of that loved one’s death.

At times I have heard statements to the effect that God needed another angel — and the deceased person was that angel. I am always compelled to debunk the false notion that we become angels when we die.

It always delights me to learn that the deceased person had received Jesus as their personal Savior. All too often, however, there is no indication that the deceased had ever received Christ as their personal Savior. Some have tried to paint a picture of salvation where there is no basis for that false hope.

In contrast to this false comfort are those who have made the choice to go God’s way. When believers close their eyes in death, they awaken to life everlasting. That is real comfort that is based upon the certainty of God’s Word.

May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!

– – – Pastor Cecil

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​PASTOR CECIL · Pastor Cecil's Devotional: “SALT VERSUS SAND!” Mark 9:50

SALT VERSUS SAND!

Mark 9:50 – Devotional

Mark 9:50

“Salt is good, but if salt loses its salty quality, you can never restore its salty quality again. Be at peace with each other.“

I can recall my teenage years when I worked mixing and hauling concrete. I still can recall how sore my muscles became as I first started working on the laborious task. That is an experience which lingers in one’s mind.

I have read today’s passage from Mark’s Gospel many times and always reflect on how similar sand and salt are to each other, yet they are uniquely different. Sand is simply fine bits of stone, but salt is a chemical with unique qualities.

Salt can season food to make it taste more appealing, it can preserve food to make it last longer, it can be scattered on an icy walk to make it safe to walk, or to be used in many other ways. Fries would just not taste the same without salt!

Making this personal we need to ask ourselves, just how are we similar to the salt we crave so much. Do we act as a preservative to the things which God wants to remain? Do we create a desire for more of God’s Word after we have been with other people? Let’s strive to have more qualities of salt than sand!

May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!

– – – Pastor Cecil

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If you have watched The Sands of Eternity video above and prayed the prayer at the end, please go to https://PastorCecil.com/ and use the form on the webpage to let us know so we can send you follow up resources and/or send an email to pastorcecil@dailyevotional.com and let him know.

​PASTOR CECIL · Pastor Cecil's Devotional: “OUR HOLY LIFE!” 2 Timothy 1:9

OUR HOLY LIFE​!

2 Timothy 1:9 – Devotional

2 Timothy 1:9

“He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of His own purpose and grace.“

I have had opportunity to spend a small amount of time in fruit orchards. I cannot recall ever hearing groans from the trees as they produced their luscious fruit. I have also walked down the long rows of onions while slicing off the seed pods for a seed company…and never once heard the onion plants groaning as they matured. The trees and the onions just produced according to their purpose.

Sometimes it seems that we try our best to be something other than what God designed us to be. In writing this second letter to Timothy, the Apostle Paul clears the deck and lays it out for all of us to see. We are all called to live a holy life.

Paul is quick to add that there is nothing that Timothy can do to merit this holy life, and that point applies to us as well. The holy life is not achieved by what we accomplish, but by what Jesus has done for us from the very beginning of time.

God’s great and magnificent grace! Not what we deserve, but what we need. The Lord knows our inability to be holy and He has provided Himself as our strength. As we turn our life over to Him, our roots sink down into the rich soil of His love and He becomes our holiness. Allow Him to be our holy life!

May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!

– – – Pastor Cecil

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If you have watched The Sands of Eternity video above and prayed the prayer at the end, please go to https://PastorCecil.com/ and use the form on the webpage to let us know so we can send you follow up resources and/or send an email to pastorcecil@dailyevotional.com and let him know.

​PASTOR CECIL · Pastor Cecil's Devotional: “ETERNAL VALUE!” Mark 8:36

ETERNAL VALUE​!

Mark 8:36 – Devotional

Mark 8:36

“What value would it be if someone were to gain the whole world, yet sacrifice their own soul?“

Many prominent people seem to possess everything this world has to offer, yet end up lacking eternal value. People sometimes sacrifice their time and talent to gain notoriety only to end up hiding from that notoriety.

I recall the incident when an extremely wealthy man was asked how much money it would take for him to feel satisfied. His reply to that question was; “Just a little bit more!”

So what should we strive to accomplish in this crazy and self-centered world? It is certainly not the things that will rust, perish and fade away. Things will always fade, perish, and pass away. That is the reality of human existence.

Only as we come to the place of receiving eternal life through the precious blood of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ, will we find eternal value. Eternal value can never be measured in this world’s currency. It far exceeds the value of anything that can be measured by monetary currency or human achievement. It is the value of eternal life with the Lord which Jesus paid for with His own blood!

May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!

– – – Pastor Cecil

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Share a blessing by inviting your friends and family to subscribe to Pastor Cecil’s DailyEvotional emails by clicking on the Subscribe button above.

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If you have watched The Sands of Eternity video above and prayed the prayer at the end, please go to https://PastorCecil.com/ and use the form on the webpage to let us know so we can send you follow up resources and/or send an email to pastorcecil@dailyevotional.com and let him know.

​PASTOR CECIL · Pastor Cecil's Devotional: “A NEW APPEARANCE!” 2 Corinthians 5:17

A NEW APPEARANCE!

2 Corinthians 5:17 – Devotional

2 Corinthians 5:17

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things have become new.“

Listen to today’s Message of the Week, “A New Appearance!” by clicking above on the play button.

Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today and be a blessing!

– – – Pastor Cecil

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Share a blessing by inviting your friends and family to subscribe to Pastor Cecil’s DailyEvotional emails by clicking on the Subscribe button above.

Share the Lord with someone by directing them to https://PastorCecil.com.

If you have watched The Sands of Eternity video above and prayed the prayer at the end, please go to https://PastorCecil.com/ and use the form on the webpage to let us know so we can send you follow up resources and/or send an email to pastorcecil@dailyevotional.com and let him know.

​PASTOR CECIL · Pastor Cecil's Devotional: “A RUSTY MESS!” Matthew 6:20

A RUSTY MESS​​!

Matthew 6:20 – Devotional

Matthew 6:20​

“Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal.“

Listen to today’s Message of the Week, “A Rusty Mess!” by clicking above on the play button.

Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today and be a blessing!

– – – Pastor Cecil

​PASTOR CECIL · Pastor Cecil's Devotional: SURELY HE HATH BORNE OUR GRIEFS! Zechariah 12:10

SURELY HE HATH BORNE OUR GRIEFS​​!

Zechariah 12:10 – Devotional

Zechariah 12:10

“They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son.“

Isaiah 53 reads . . .

Who has believed our message
and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?

He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.

He was despised and rejected by mankind,
a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces
he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.

Surely he took up our pain
and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
stricken by him, and afflicted.

But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed.

We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.

He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.

By oppression and judgment he was taken away.
Yet who of his generation protested?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
for the transgression of my people he was punished.

He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence,
nor was any deceit in his mouth.

Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.

After he has suffered,
he will see the light of life and be satisfied;
by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,
and he will bear their iniquities.

Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,
and he will divide the spoils with the strong,
because he poured out his life unto death,
and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

You can enjoy this week’s free inspirational video, “Surely He Hath Borne Our Griefs” from GloryScapes by going to: https://gloryscapes.com/surelyhehathborneourgriefs/

Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today and be a blessing!

– – – Pastor Cecil