The blog contains daily devotions and notes from the weekly messages.  We encourage you to review the notes during the sermon or through the week!  Most of the posts will have an audio and/or video link at the end of the notes.  From time to time the pastors will share other insights and devotions here.
 
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Seize the Moment – Day 840

Seek God and Live!

2 Kings 1

 

Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Tuesday, July 5.

 

It is a question asked by soldiers in war, and by people in hospitals every day: Am I going to live? It is a natural question to ask, but there is only One who can give you the real answer.

 

Ahaziah, the king of Israel, had taken a bad fall and wanted to learn if he would live. Following in the ways of his dad and mom, Ahab and Jezebel, he inquired of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron. In 2 Kings 1:3-4, the God of Israel had a message for him through Elijah, the same prophet who gave the Word of God to his parents:

 

But the angel of the Lord said to Elijah the Tishbite, “Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria and say to them, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron?’ Now therefore thus says the Lord, ‘You shall not come down from the bed where you have gone up, but you shall surely die.’ ”

 

To highlight the emphasis of Ahaziah’s life-threatening condition, this question is posed three times in verses 3, 6, and 16, “Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron?” It was not a physical condition, caused by a fall through the lattice of his upper chamber that threatened Ahaziah’s life, but his rejection of the one true God. His death in verse 17 was the fulfillment of the promise of God in Deuteronomy 8:19,
 
“It shall come about if you ever forget the Lord your God and go after other gods and serve them and worship them, I testify against you today that you will surely perish.”

 

Seize the moment and “believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31).
 
God bless you!
 
If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.
 

YOUTUBE:

If you prefer a video, Pastor Jerry reads his devotion on YouTube as well. Click HERE to visit the page.
Videos are posted about a week after the devotion appears in the blog.
 

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Seize the Moment – Day 839

 

Seek Truth from God’s Word!

1 Kings 22

 

Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Monday, July 4. Happy Independence Day!

 

Ahab, king of Israel, was surrounded by false prophets who tickled his ears by affirming his desires and approving his decisions. In 1 Kings 22:7-8, after Ahad had received the rubber-stamp affirmation from his 400 prophets to go to battle, Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, challenged Ahab to truly inquire of the Lord:

 

But Jehoshaphat said, “Is there not yet a prophet of the Lord here that we may inquire of him?” The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of the Lord, but I hate him, because he does not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. He is Micaiah son of Imlah.” But Jehoshaphat said, “Let not the king say so.”

 

Clearly Ahab and Micaiah had some history. Jewish historian Josephus believed Micaiah was the prophet who had prophesied against Ahab in 1 Kings 20:39-43, after he had disobediently made a covenant with Ben-hadad of Syria.[1] Ahab hated Micaiah because he was no respecter of men, but of God and His Word. Micaiah was faithful and courageous! He ended up in prison after giving an honest report to the king and his false prophets (13-28).

 

Like many today, Ahab was easily deceived because he surrounded himself with people who told him what he wanted to hear, they affirmed his desires and approved his decisions. In 2 Timothy 4:2-3, Paul warned his protégé that many would become like Ahab, “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.”

 

Seize the moment and seek truth from God’s Word for every area of your life, so that God and His will is your desire, and His Word directs your decisions.
 
 
God bless you!
 
If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.
 

YOUTUBE:

If you prefer a video, Pastor Jerry reads his devotion on YouTube as well. Click HERE to visit the page.
Videos are posted about a week after the devotion appears in the blog.
 
 
 

FOOTNOTES:

 

[1] Jason Darrell Coplen, “Micaiah the Prophet,” ed. John D. Barry et al., The Lexham Bible Dictionary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016).

 

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Train to Live on Mission – Week 19

Battle Drill #19:

Give an Honest Report!

Proverbs 12:13-20 (NAS95)

 

Today, we are going to walk through the four action steps of a soldier’s training routine to learn the next battle drill – “Give an Honest Report!”

 

In the military, reporting is critical to the mission success, whether it’s your location, an update on your situation, or a description of enemy activity, giving an honest and accurate report is an essential task for every soldier. For example, reporting your accurate location, on time every time, saves lives because when artillery or close air support is called in, or when friendly forces are moving into your area of operation, your location being properly posted on the map is a life-or-death reality. A false report easily leads to confusion, friendly fire, and even death. The same is true within the Church of Jesus Christ in our mission to seek and to save the lost.

 

Action Step #1) Know the Field Manual.

The battle drill we are going to learn and apply this week is from Proverbs 12:13-20:

 

An evil man is ensnared by the transgression of his lips, but the righteous will escape from trouble. A man will be satisfied with good by the fruit of his words, and the deeds of a man’s hands will return to him. The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man is he who listens to counsel. A fool’s anger is known at once, but a prudent man conceals dishonor. He who speaks truth tells what is right, but a false witness, deceit. There is one who speaks rashly like the thrusts of a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing. Truthful lips will be established forever, but a lying tongue is only for a moment. Deceit is in the heart of those who devise evil, but counselors of peace have joy.

 

To better understand how I am applying this Scripture, you need to hear these verses in their context, as a part of the whole of Proverbs 12. Read from the Bible. This is what the Field Manual says, let’s now take the second action step to learn how to apply today’s battle drill to our everyday lives as good soldiers of Jesus Christ.

 

Action Step #2) Train together as one unit.

Psalm 133:1 proclaims, “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity!” Paul teaches in Ephesians 4:1-3 that there is a way for the body of Christ to dwell together in unity:

 

Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

 

We must, each one of us, walk in a manner worthy of our calling as soldiers of Jesus Christ – we are fellow members of the one body of Christ (Romans 12:4-5). For us to grow into maturity, Paul further teaches in Ephesians 4:11-16 that we must give an honest report to one another by speaking the truth in love, and he makes it very clear that it starts with the spiritual leaders:

 

And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.

 

To give one another an honest report is to speak the truth in love. This is how the body of Christ matures in Christlikeness. In John 1:14, Jesus is described as coming to us, “full of grace and truth.” We must go to others as Christ came to us – full of grace and truth, not full of grace and, most of the time or only when it feels comfortable, truth. And not full of truth and, when we feel like it, grace. Jesus was full of grace and full of truth. It seems to me that very few of us find this balance of doing both. It boils down to fear and trust. A fear that grace is the same as complicity. A distrust that truth will be received well. I find this tension within myself.[1]

 

I, and my fellow leaders, are to teach you the Word of God “until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and the knowledge of the Son of God.” Paul teaches us in Galatians 6:1-2 that we must be careful in how we do this, “Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ.” Our logos of truth must be expressed in the pathos of grace so that the ethos of the gospel is love.

 

Our hearts must be aligned with our minds. We must live what we know is the truth. There is a prescribed way to go about giving honest reports to one another (accountability) and to avoid giving honest reports about one another (gossip). This is taught in Matthew 18:15-20:

 

If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every fact may be confirmed. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven. Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven. For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.

 

This passage ends with a very popular promise – the promise of Jesus’ presence. We often forget that it is given within the context of loving confrontation and accountability. It’s not talking about worship or prayer times. Jesus is present during loving confrontation, and that should shape our conversations. Whereas Matthew 18 has been used to justify blacklisting people and shaming people for their decisions, that is not what God intends for us. It is to the glory of God and the good of His people that we do all things His way, which is why we now turn to action step 3 to see how we are to do this.

 

Action Step #3) Seek the Commander’s approval.

How are we to go about consistently and lovingly applying Matthew 18 as the people of God? God expects each of us to be leaders in this area of our Christianity, every member of the body of Christ must do this for the building up of His body in love (Ephesians 4:16). He has anointed us for the sake of His Glory and the fulfillment of His mission! As we read in 2 Timothy 2:24-26:

 

The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.

 

Let’s look at what it means to be LEADERS when it comes to applying today’s battle drill:

 

Lead by example; follow Jesus and the standards He has set for us in faith and practice. First and foremost, leaders live lives that are examples to imitate (Philippians 3:17; 1 Timothy 4:12; Titus 2:7-8; Hebrews 13:7; 1 Peter 5:1-3).

Evaluate the situation; start the process at the lowest level possible (brother to brother, sister to sister), just as Matthew 18:15 commands.

Approach the person prayerfully, with gentleness, humility, and in a timely manner, just as Galatians 6:1 teaches.

Discuss, discern, and decide the next steps with God in prayer, and with the person face-to-face, whenever possible. Pastors and elders must be prayerfully ready to uphold the holiness of the Lord in the body of Christ if we get to the final step of Matthew 18, which is for the purpose of loving the person back to a full fellowship with God, and then the church.

Empower the congregation before, during, and after the process to be a people who love well, relate as brothers and sisters in Christ, revere God, seek a holy life, and live a life as fellow members of the body of Christ according to 1 Corinthians 12-13.

Respect confidentiality; avoid all gossip, dissension, or unnecessary public exposure by walking in the Spirit through the process (Galatians 5:1-26).

Submit to and support your leaders. Trust that God works through God-fearing, Christ-exalting, Bible-teaching leaders, especially when you may not have all the facts (Hebrews 13:17).

 

When we each follow these seven steps as LEADERS, then we are living on mission in how we are conducting ourselves as His body in speaking the truth in love. This is how we are to give an honest report and that takes us to the fourth action step.

 

Action Step #4) Live on mission.

We will either do it God’s way and live on mission or we will do it our way and lose our evangelistic witness of John 13:34-35, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” Just as Peter commanded the church in 1 Peter 4:8, “Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.”

 

Follow up praise report for Backyard Bible Club (Davisson’s). Then, call up the DR short-term mission team to pray over them as they “go” to live on mission, taking the love of Jesus.

 

By training ourselves to deal with one another in love and according to God’s Word then we will not only give an honest report to one another, but our public witness will be an honest report that we belong to God and are proclaiming His gospel, in word, deed, and in how we do relationships. As a church leader expressed to me this week on this very point:

 

Many outside the church know the story of Jesus. They have heard the gospel. But they don’t believe it, or don’t want to associate themselves with it because of how they see the people within the church hurting each other, or hurting those outside the church, in the way they do relationships. Yes, the gospel is the uncompromised core of who we are and why we do what we do, but if our relationships, which are the thing that is the most relatable and most visible, are not loving and healthy, then we cannot hope to draw people to the Jesus we serve.[2]

 

May Jesus Christ, crucified, risen, and coming again, be proclaimed in and through us and our relationships as we learn to give an honest report to one another and in doing so, give an honest report to the world about Jesus. Make this battle drill a reflexive, instinctive, and habitual part of your Christian life so that you can CM – Continue the Mission! Therefore, live on mission today and train the battle drill of the week for the glory of God. Let us pray.
 
 

 

You can listen to the message here:

 

You can watch the message by clicking HERE.

 
 

FOOTNOTES:

 

[1] Informed by my email conversations with both Curt Ferrell and Emily Hurst.

[2] From an email conversation with Emily Hurst, June 28, 2022.


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Seize the Moment – Day 837

Today’s hymn focus will be

Victory Ahead

 

1 Corinthians 15:57(NLT)           

 

“But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

 

The son of a confectionary, William Grum was born in Camden, NJ in 1878. He grew up to become a letter carrier until he retired in 1920 to begin full time ministry as the pastor of Kaighn Ave. Methodist Episcopal Church in Camden, NJ and also at First Methodist Episcopal Church in Gloucester City, NJ. He was also a talented musician, singer and writer of gospel hymns and songs and is best known for this hymn that was published in 1905.

 

Victory ahead! Victory ahead! Through the blood of Jesus, victory ahead.

Trusting in the Lord, I hear the conqueror’s tread.

By faith I see the victory ahead.

 

We need to wake up and hold on to the promise of victory in each and every situation in our lives. The verses of this hymn declare several stories of those who put their trust in the Lord to bring about the victory in their lives. If God did it for them, He will do the same for you and me.
 
 
If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.
 

YOUTUBE:

If you prefer a video, Pastor Ken reads his devotion on YouTube as well. Click HERE to visit the page.
Videos are posted about a week after the devotion appears in the blog.
 
If you’d like to hear the song, click on the link below:
 
Victory Ahead
 
1
When the hosts of Israel, led by God,
Round the walls of Jericho softly trod,
Trusting in the Lord, they felt the conqu’ror’s tread,
By faith they saw the victory ahead.
 
Refrain:
Victory ahead! Victory ahead!
Through the blood of Jesus, victory ahead;
Trusting in the Lord, I hear the conqu’ror’s tread,
By faith I see the victory ahead!
 
2
David with a shepherd’s sling and five stones,
Met the giant on the field all alone,
Trusting in the Lord, he knew what God had said,
By faith he saw the victory ahead. [Refrain]
 
3
Daniel prayed unto the Lord thrice each day,
Then unto the lion’s den led the way,
Trusting in the Lord, he did not fear or dread,
By faith he saw the victory ahead. [Refrain]
 
4
Often with the carnal mind I was tried,
Asking for deliverance oft I cried,
Trusting in the Lord, I reckoned I was dead,
By faith I saw the victory ahead. [Refrain]
 
5
When like those who’ve gone before to that land,
By death’s river cold and dark I shall stand;
Trusting in the Lord, I will not fear or dread,
By faith I see the victory ahead. [Refrain]
 
 

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Seize the Moment – Day 836

 

Obey God’s Better Way!

1 Kings 21

 

Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Friday, July 1.

 

Have you ever been “restless, irritable, and discontent”? It’s a dangerous cocktail of emotions that often leads to poor decision making. In the recovery movement, these three words are often used together to remind us that we must care for our emotional well-being by doing the right thing. A similar word combination is used in the story of Ahab, the king of Israel.

 

Twice in short order we find Ahab “sullen and vexed.” The first time was in 1 Kings 20:43, after the prophet rebuked him for disobeying God by making a covenant with Ben-hadad of Syria. The second occurrence was in 2 Kings 21:4,
 
“So Ahab came into his house sullen and vexed because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him; for he said, ‘I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers.’ And he lay down on his bed and turned away his face and ate no food.”

 

In both cases, the most powerful man of Israel, was experiencing this dangerous cocktail of emotions because his appetites and ambitions were being limited by God’s Word. It was his own disregard for doing what was right that caused him to become distraught. The antidote was obvious, to obey God and find rest for his soul, but Ahab, like a child, wanted what he wanted, and he wanted it now. He didn’t like getting his hand slapped at the cookie jar!

 

God is a loving parent! The purpose of God’s Word in establishing clear boundaries on right and wrong is to prosper and protect you. Insatiable appetites and unrestricted ambitions seek to consume you as your progressively need more to bring you a sense of ease from being sullen and vexed.

 

Seize the moment and find rest from your inner turmoil by learning from Jesus how to obey God’s better way (Matthew 11:28-30).

God bless you!
 
If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.
 

YOUTUBE:

If you prefer a video, Pastor Jerry reads his devotion on YouTube as well. Click HERE to visit the page.
Videos are posted about a week after the devotion appears in the blog.

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Seize the Moment – Day 835

 

The Lord God of Mountain Tops and Valleys!

1 Kings 20

 

Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Thursday, June 30.

 

Genesis 1:1 proclaims, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” This truth is the key to Ahab’s victory over the king of Aram. In fact, it was for the honor of the one true God’s sovereignty over all that He granted Ahab a dramatic victory over the Arameans, as articulated in 1 Kings 20:28:

 

Then a man of God came near and spoke to the king of Israel and said, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Because the Arameans have said, “The Lord is a god of the mountains, but He is not a god of the valleys,” therefore I will give all this great multitude into your hand, and you shall know that I am the Lord.’ ”

 

As clearly portrayed in this passage, and again in verse 23, the king of Aram made his battle plans based on the ancient supernatural assumption that gods were either functional, such as a harvest or fertility god, or geographical, gods of different cultures and their corresponding regions. The fact that there was one God who was the Lord over the battle fields of both mountains and valleys was radically new and unimaginable. This revelation of God was a Copernican Revolution to their understanding of the supernatural. Every time Israel put their faith in the Creator God who is sovereign over all, He gave them unparalleled victories as a testimony to His power.

 

Yahweh is not simply one of the elohim, in competition with many for supremacy, He is God over all His creation. As the prophet declared in Jeremiah 32:17,
 
“Ah Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! Nothing is too difficult for You.”

 

Seize the moment and put your full confidence in the Lord God of all, who is victorious regardless of whether you are on the mountain top or in the valley.

God bless you!
 
If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.
 

YOUTUBE:

If you prefer a video, Pastor Jerry reads his devotion on YouTube as well. Click HERE to visit the page.
Videos are posted about a week after the devotion appears in the blog.

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Seize the Moment – Day 834

The Valley of the Shadow!

1 Kings 19

 

Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Wednesday, June 29.

 

Did you know that the “valley of the shadow of death,” a famous phrase coined by King David in Psalm 23:4, is not exclusively death, but includes any experience of peril? Have you ever experienced the valley of the shadow? How did you handle it?

 

From the highest of highs to the lowest of lows, Elijah went from the mountain top experience with the defeat of the 850 pagan prophets on top of Mount Carmel, to the valley of the shadow with the unveiled threat to his life by the wicked queen Jezebel. Elijah was now in the wilderness, literally and spiritually, as told in 1 Kings 19:4,
 
“But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree; and he requested for himself that he might die, and said, ‘It is enough; now, O Lord, take my life, for I am not better than my fathers.’”

 

Elijah was experiencing the valley of the shadow, which led him to suicidal ideation. This is one of the primary Bible stories that Christian counselors use when researching a biblical understanding of depression and like issues. Elijah, in this low moment, did the most important thing that any of us can do when we are low, he did a 9-1-1 call to God. In his dark shadow, he didn’t turn inwards to find help, he cried out to God with an honest prayer. Like King David before him, he learned that God’s presence with him overcomes the worst things he can face in his life.

 

God responded to Elijah’s prayer by giving him sleep and nourishment, two essential ingredients to survive any valley experience. God then gave him a journey to travel, to Mount Horeb, where he would learn that there was still a purpose for his life (9-21).

 

Seize the moment by calling out to God with an honest prayer; no matter how deep the shadow, God’s light will pierce the darkness.

God bless you!
 
If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.
 

YOUTUBE:

If you prefer a video, Pastor Jerry reads his devotion on YouTube as well. Click HERE to visit the page.
Videos are posted about a week after the devotion appears in the blog.

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Seize the Moment – Day 833

Mountain Top Experiences!

1 Kings 18

 

Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Tuesday, June 28.

 

Have you ever had a mountain top experience? This is an experience where you encounter the power of God; it is a moment of clarity and exaltation. Elijah experienced the mountain top, literally and spiritually, on Mount Carmel, where he defeated 850 pagan prophets for the glory of God and the devotion of His people.

 

The story began with God taking on Baal, the pagan storm god, with a three-year drought, which Elijah announced in 1 Kings 17:1. Then, in 1 Kings 18, God called for an end of that drought and for the showdown to occur between His prophet, Elijah, and the pagan prophets, who were serving under the evil king, Ahab, and his blasphemous wife, Jezebel. Forty-six verses later, Elijah is on the run, down from the mountain top having just personally experienced God’s justice against a grave evil. The purpose of this showdown was to win back the hearts of God’s people to a singular devotion to the one true God. As Elijah confronted the people in 1 Kings 18:21,
 
“How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.”

 

The purpose of mountain top experiences is to return us to a life of wholehearted devotion to the one true God. God grants them for His glory and our good, but we can’t be dependent on them for our daily walk with Jesus. No one is intended to live on the mountain top itself, but the mountain top experience is intended to embolden how you live. This was true of Jesus, who even after His Transfiguration, which happened on a high mountain, even He, just like Elijah, had to come down and face the reality of everyday life (Matthew 17).

 

Seize the moment and live with a wholehearted devotion to Jesus today by remembering the clarity and exaltation of your mountain top experiences.

God bless you!
 
If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.
 

YOUTUBE:

If you prefer a video, Pastor Jerry reads his devotion on YouTube as well. Click HERE to visit the page.
Videos are posted about a week after the devotion appears in the blog.

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Seize the Moment – Day 832

 

The Miracle of Multiplication!

1 Kings 17

 

Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Monday, June 27.

 

Dire circumstances can turn the smallest request into a great act of faith. During a time of drought, a judgment of God against Israel, Elijah the prophet asked a widow for some water and a piece of bread. Normally, that request would have been nothing memorable, but, as seen in 1 Kings 17:12-16, the widow’s dire circumstances turned a simple act of hospitality into a great act of faith:

 

But she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I have no bread, only a handful of flour in the bowl and a little oil in the jar; and behold, I am gathering a few sticks that I may go in and prepare for me and my son, that we may eat it and die.” Then Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go, do as you have said, but make me a little bread cake from it first and bring it out to me, and afterward you may make one for yourself and for your son. For thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘The bowl of flour shall not be exhausted, nor shall the jar of oil be empty, until the day that the Lord sends rain on the face of the earth.’ ” So she went and did according to the word of Elijah, and she and he and her household ate for many days. The bowl of flour was not exhausted nor did the jar of oil become empty, according to the word of the Lord which He spoke through Elijah.

 

The widow’s obedience led to her experiencing God’s revelation of power and provision. Her willingness to give the last of what she had, in faith, led to a miracle of multiplication that transformed her little into an abundance. This was a foretaste of the gospel of Jesus Christ, who took five loaves and two fish and fed a multitude (Matthew 14:15-21).

 

Seize the moment and trust God to multiply whatever He asks of you in faith, whether it is the giving of your time, talents, or treasures.

God bless you!
 
If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.
 

YOUTUBE:

If you prefer a video, Pastor Jerry reads his devotion on YouTube as well. Click HERE to visit the page.
Videos are posted about a week after the devotion appears in the blog.

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Someone Greater Than Jonah is Here

Someone Greater Than Jonah is Here

A special Message
Speaker:  Dr. Andy Messmer
Missionary to Spain
 
 
Dr. Messmer finds Jesus in every verse of Jonah 1.
 

You can listen to the message here:

 

You can watch the message by clicking HERE.

 


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