DAILY-E-VOTIONAL

BLESSINGS FROM THE HEART

Pastor Cecil A. Thompson

September 15, 2015

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“FAITH!”

I Corinthians 13:11-13

“When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.  And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”

Yesterday I wrote about hope. As I was meditating about today’s topic, I immediately thought of today’s Scripture. FAITH-HOPE-LOVE seem to be a trio of attributes the Lord Jesus would like to see in every believer.

Faith is described in Strong’s Concordance this way:  persuasion, i.e. credence; moral conviction (of religious truth, or the truthfulness of God or a religious teacher), especially reliance upon Christ for salvation; abstractly, constancy in such profession; by extension, the system of religious (Gospel) truth itself:—assurance, belief, believe, faith, fidelity. In my words it would be this: If God says it, I believe it!

When we take our eyes off of ourselves, or trying to please others, we gain a new perspective. Rather than being self-oriented or others-oriented, we need to commit ourselves to be God oriented. We can only do that by reading His Word and spending time with Him in prayer.

What is the level of your faith? You may feel that your situation is absolutely hopeless, but that is never the case. Have faith that Jesus who created the universe cared enough to come and offer us eternal life.

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

- - - Pastor Cecil 

You can find previous E-Votionals covering a variety of Scriptures and topics to help you in your walk with the Lord at www.Daily-E-Votional.com

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BLESSINGS FROM THE HEART

Pastor Cecil A. Thompson

September 14, 2015

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“HOPE!”

Psalm 42:11

“Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall yet praise Him, the help of my countenance and my God.”

I am told that depression is so prevalent in our society that many people have given up all hope. What a sad commentary that is. In an era when science and technology has brought about changes to make life easier, many feel only hopelessness.

When I use the word "hope," it is not longingly wishing for something that is not possessed, but rather a confident expectation that what has been promised will come to pass. 

For the believer, we need to have a hope that looks beyond the things of this world in anticipation of the glory that awaits us in eternity. It is so easy to be caught up in the rat race around us. So often our focus is on temporal things rather than eternal values.

There's an old hymn that often echoes through my mind called "Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus." One line goes like this: "And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace." I want that for my life!

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

- - - Pastor Cecil 

You can find previous E-Votionals covering a variety of Scriptures and topics to help you in your walk with the Lord at www.Daily-E-Votional.com

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DAILY-E-VOTIONAL

BLESSINGS FROM THE HEART

Pastor Cecil A. Thompson

September 11, 2015

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“DRAW ME NEARER!”

Luke 15:19-20

“So he got up and went to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.” 

One of my most pleasurable jobs as a pastor is helping families restore broken relationships. I once was called upon to officiate at a funeral service. The son of the deceased told me that he had not spoken to his sister for years and wanted me to reconcile them before the service. Right! Just like that!

Less than an hour before the service I met with the two and their families. Each of them had ten or fifteen children, spouses and others on their side. He and his family were on one side and she and her family on the other side of the aisle. I had prayed for just the right words and to this day cannot recall what Scripture I used. I had just finished when the brother stood and walked across the aisle and hugged his sister. The two families merged with great joy.

Fanny J. Crosby lived from 1820 to 1915. This remarkable lady never let problems keep her away from the Lord. Her blindness as an infant meant that she spent her entire life without physical sight, but was blessed with a keen spiritual sight.

When she was only eight years old she wrote the following poem: Oh, what a happy child I am, although I cannot see! I am resolved that in this world contented I will be! How many blessings I enjoy that other people do not! So weep or sigh because I am blind, I cannot – nor I will not. The hymn, Draw Me Nearerexpresses her desire to draw nearer to her blessed Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Draw Me Nearer

I am Thine, O Lord, I have heard Thy voice, And it told Thy love to me;
But I long to rise in the arms of faith And be closer drawn to Thee.

Refrain: Draw me nearer, nearer blessed Lord, To the cross where Thou hast died;

Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer blessed Lord, To Thy precious, bleeding side.

Consecrate me now to Thy service, Lord, By the power of grace divine;
Let my soul look up with a steadfast hope, And my will be lost in Thine.

Refrain: Draw me nearer, nearer blessed Lord, To the cross where Thou hast died;

Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer blessed Lord, To Thy precious, bleeding side.

Oh, the pure delight of a single hour, That before Thy throne I spend,

When I kneel in prayer, and with Thee, my God, I commune as friend with friend!

Refrain: Draw me nearer, nearer blessed Lord, To the cross where Thou hast died;

Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer blessed Lord, To Thy precious, bleeding side.

There are depths of love that I cannot know, Till I cross the narrow sea;
There are heights of joy that I may not reach, Till I rest in peace with Thee.

Refrain: Draw me nearer, nearer blessed Lord, To the cross where Thou hast died;

Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer blessed Lord, To Thy precious, bleeding side.

To access Draw Me Nearer, go to: http://www.gloryscapes.com/drawmenearer/ 

Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!

- - - Pastor Cecil

You can find previous Daily-E-Votionals at www.Daily-E-Votional.com to help you in your walk with the Lord.

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DAILY-E-VOTIONAL

BLESSINGS FROM THE HEART

Pastor Cecil A. Thompson

September 9, 2015

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“LONG LIFE!”

Luke 12:19-20

“And I will say to my soul, ‘Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’”

From time to time I see an advertisement for a product to boost your health. (We all need that, don’t we?). In the ad a woman is walking toward the camera and says; “I’m in my 60’s and I have many good years left to live.”

That may sound well in an advertisement, but it is not necessarily true. We have no idea how many years, months, weeks, days, or even hours we have left to live. Isn’t that a sobering thought!

There is a poem written by C.T. Studd, Only One Life, that has one line that many of us have heard so many times we  are sure it is from the Bible; “Only one life, ’twill soon be past, only what’s done for Christ will last.” The rest of that verse goes like this; “And when I am dying, how happy I’ll be, if the lamp of my life has been burned out for Thee.”

We may not know the length of our days, but I praise God we can know that there is an eternity with Jesus waiting for us. What a joy it will be when we will join the believers of all ages---for eternity!

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

- - - Pastor Cecil 

You can find previous E-Votionals covering a variety of Scriptures and topics to help you in your walk with the Lord at www.Daily-E-Votional.com

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DAILY-E-VOTIONAL

BLESSINGS FROM THE HEART

Pastor Cecil A. Thompson

September 8, 2015

TO LISTEN TO THE DAILY E-VOTIONAL, CLICK ON THE LINK (OR COPY AND PASTE INTO YOUR BROWSER) FOR MY DAILY BLOG!

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“BEAUTY OF PAIN!”

II Corinthians 1:3-4

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we

may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”

A few days ago I received a get well card. When I saw the name on the return address, my mind flew back many years ago. I was teaching a Sunday school class of young professional men and women. We had been spending a considerable amount of time on thanking God for every circumstance in our life when this young woman raised her hand to ask a question that has rattled my cage ever since: “Have you ever experienced the beauty of pain?”

She explained that she had fallen while riding her bike on the way to work. The pain was intense and, as she looked down at her knee, blood was flowing freely. She was almost ready to cry when she thought of what I had been teaching in that class. Immediately she thanked God for the circumstance even though she had no idea why she would pray something like this.

Immediately after her prayer an amazing thing took place. It was as if all the members of her body were speaking to each other. They were calling out to be very careful since one of the members was injured. The other leg took most of the strain, but the arms and the torso also tried to ease the injured member of her body.

After all these years I feel that this young woman accomplished far more by her illustration than my weeks of teaching had accomplished. The thought occurs to me that there are many injured members in our body. Rather than ignore them, we need to make every effort to ease their load.

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

- - - Pastor Cecil 

You can find previous E-Votionals covering a variety of Scriptures and topics to help you in your walk with the Lord at www.Daily-E-Votional.com

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DAILY-E-VOTIONAL

BLESSINGS FROM THE HEART

Pastor Cecil A. Thompson

September 7, 2015

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“LABOR DAY!”

John 9:4

“I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one canwork.”

Today, September 7, 2015, is Labor Day here in the US and Labour Day in Canada.  Isn’t it interesting that it is called Labor/Labour Day, when usually no work is done on this holiday? One of the great mysteries of life! Go figure!

There are so many times in our life when the opportunity is lost to witness to someone because we are afraid -- afraid to appear outdated, use the wrong Scriptures, or to be misunderstood in some other way.

I once heard of a young man who was being trained in soul-winning evangelism. He told his trainer that he would go along on the calls they made, but he would never be able to do the witnessing himself. There came a day, however, when the young man wanted to witness to his college roommate. As they talked, the young man seemed to have forgotten everything in which he had been instructed. He used the "wrong" scriptures and was very blunt in his approach. He finally asked his roommate, "Well, are you going to accept Jesus as your Savior or not?" The roommate replied, "Of course I will. You made it so plain to me." They knelt and the roommate received Jesus!

If someone was approaching a bridge that had been washed away and you were stopped ahead of them, I’m sure you would immediately wave your hands to warn them of the dangerous precipice that lie ahead. Believe me, there is one! Let’s labor every day!

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

- - - Pastor Cecil 

You can find previous E-Votionals covering a variety of Scriptures and topics to help you in your walk with the Lord at www.Daily-E-Votional.com

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DAILY-E-VOTIONAL

BLESSINGS FROM THE HEART

Pastor Cecil A. Thompson

September 3, 2015

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“LIFE’S LESSONS!”

Isaiah 40:31

“But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.”

You know the longer I live the more I realize I know so very little. But then it’s really not essential that I know everything. I feel like the old pastor who slowly walked to the pulpit. The congregation eagerly awaited the words that this precious saint of God would deliver. You may recall the story that he simply said; “Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so.”

My sojourn in the hospital gave me an opportunity to read more than I have been able to for some time. I’m so appreciative of having a Kindle device so I can read book after book without carrying an entire armload. I spent a great deal of time reading a book by Jerry Bridges called; “Trusting God; Even When Life Hurts.”

It gave me a new appreciation of the sovereignty of God. It really is not what makes me comfortable or painless. In fact it is not about me at all. It is so easy to focus all of our attention upon making ourselves better or at ease, but what God wants to do with us and through us. If it is pain so be it! If it is suffering so be it! If it is complete healing so be it!

During my stay God was able to use me to bring a little bit of healing to the nurses and staff who treated me. That was my ministry for this particular situation and I thank God for it. I rejoice being home, but I want to be available for God to be sovereign in my life.

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

- - - Pastor Cecil 

You can find previous E-Votionals covering a variety of Scriptures and topics to help you in your walk with the Lord at www.Daily-E-Votional.com

Feel free to invite friends and family to subscribe to the Daily-E-Votional