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 990

Live a Holy Life!

Ezra 9

 

Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Friday, December 2.

 

Throughout the Bible, God calls His people to be holy – set apart from the impurities of the world for His divine purposes (1 John 2:15-17). God is not wanting to rain on your parade, He is desiring to reign over your life. The sacrifices you are asked to make may not make sense at the time, but it comes down to trusting God and that His ways are right and true, every time.

 

Ezra returned to Jerusalem to find that Israel had already disobeyed God by intermarrying with the Canaanites. As a priest and scribe, he was seeking to ensure God’s people were observing the Torah, and mixed marriages had been outlawed in Deuteronomy 7:1-6. Ezra’s response was recorded in Ezra 9:3,
 
“When I heard about this matter, I tore my garment and my robe, and pulled some of the hair from my head and my beard, and sat down appalled.”

 

It is hard for us to understand why Ezra was so upset upon his discovery of these intermarriages, but it is important to understand that this was about Israel’s religious purity, not the wives’ ethnicity. It was Israel’s disobedience that led them into captivity and caused the destruction of Jerusalem and the first temple, in the first place, so this was not a minor issue; this was life or death. Disobedience to God always comes with consequences – “for the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23a). Ezra could not let sin slide, nor should we in our lives.

 

Seize the moment and live a holy life by walking closely with Jesus – “For you are a holy people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for His own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth” (Deuteronomy 7:6; cf. 1 Peter 2:19).

 

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 989

Boast in the Lord!

Ezra 8

 

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

 

Does God get glory from your success? That all depends on whom you boast! Ezra was caught in a catch-22 as he prepared to make the four-month journey from Babylon to Jerusalem, which covered approximately nine hundred miles of dangerous terrain. The priest describes his predicament in Ezra 8:21-23:

 

Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God to seek from Him a safe journey for us, our little ones, and all our possessions. For I was ashamed to request from the king troops and horsemen to protect us from the enemy on the way, because we had said to the king, “The hand of our God is favorably disposed to all those who seek Him, but His power and His anger are against all those who forsake Him.” So we fasted and sought our God concerning this matter, and He listened to our entreaty.

 

Ezra was an expert in God’s Word, so, in doing what he did, he was doing more than trying to save face with Artaxerxes the king of Persia. He was exercising his faith in God’s promise from Deuteronomy 20:1-4, which had been invoked previously by the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 31:1-3). Ezra knew that the victory belonged to God, not in horses or chariots. Ezra 8:31 records the fulfillment of the promise in Ezra’s decision to entreat the Lord rather than the king for the caravan’s safety, “Then we journeyed from the river Ahava on the twelfth of the first month to go to Jerusalem; and the hand of our God was over us, and He delivered us from the hand of the enemy and the ambushes by the way.”

 

Seize the moment and boast in the Lord – “Some boast in chariots and some in horses, but we will boast in the name of the Lord, our God” (Psalm 20:7; cf. Proverbs 21:31; Jeremiah 9:23-24).
 

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 988

The Hand of God is Upon Me!

Ezra 7

 

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

 

What does it mean that the hand of God is upon a person? The Bible teaches us that God is spirit (John 4:24), so when the Bible states that the hand of God is upon someone it is not talking about a literal body part. Rather, it is using anthropomorphic imagery to illustrate God being on the side of His people to guide them and to bring about success in their work.

 

The following three verses emphasize how the hand of God was upon Ezra as he led the second wave of exiles back to Jerusalem:

 

  1. Ezra 7:6, “This Ezra went up from Babylon, and he was a scribe skilled in the law of Moses, which the Lord God of Israel had given; and the king granted him all he requested because the hand of the Lord his God was upon him.”
  2. Ezra 7:9, “For on the first of the first month he began to go up from Babylon; and on the first of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, because the good hand of his God was upon him.”
  3. Ezra 7:28b, “Thus I was strengthened according to the hand of the Lord my God upon me, and I gathered leading men from Israel to go up with me.”

 

Ezra was essential to the plans of God, but apart from God’s hand being upon him no amount of support from King Artaxerxes (11-25) or his family lineage as a priest (1-5) would have brought about such success. The key to Ezra’s success was his faith, as emphasized in Ezra 7:10, “For Ezra had set his heart to study the law of the Lord and to practice it, and to teach His statutes and ordinances in Israel.” Ezra walked hand in hand with God so it’s no wonder that God’s hand was upon him!

 

Seize the moment and put your hand into the hand of God almighty (Isaiah 41:13; 42:6).

 

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 987

Pray for those in Authority!

Ezra 6

 

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

 

Are you actively praying for the leaders of your community, state, and nation? Paul exhorts his protégé in 1 Timothy 1:1-2, “First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.”

 

Ezra 6 concludes the first half of the book as the temple was completed in 516 BC, seventy years to the date of its destruction – “This temple was completed on the third day of the month Adar; it was the sixth year of the reign of King Darius” (Ezra 6:15). Whereas Solomon’s temple stood for nearly four hundred years (959-586 BC), the second temple would stand for nearly six hundred years, until its destruction by the Romans in AD 70.

 

Just as in any major building project, the rebuilding of the temple was a coordinated effort of many involved parties and key players (Ezra 6:13-14). In Ezra 5, Tattenai, the governor of the province, wrote a letter to King Darius to know how the Persian Empire wanted him to handle the Israelites in Jerusalem. Because “the eye of their God” was upon them (Ezra 5:5), Darius wrote a decree to Tattenai to stop opposing their efforts, but rather to support the work in significant ways (Ezra 6:1-12).

 

The remnant knew that this was a miraculous answer to prayer (22), which protected their lives and provided the remnant with everything they needed to finish the temple. Upon doing so, they “celebrated the dedication of this house of God” (16-18). This chapter of Israel’s history closes with the exiles celebrating Passover to the glory of God (19-22).

 

Seize the moment and pray for all who are in authority! You never know how God will answer your prayers. This is our greatest civic responsibility.

 

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 986

The Eye of the Lord Watches Over Me!

Ezra 5

 

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

 

You’ve heard parents say, “I’m keeping an eye on my children.” You can feel the love and concern for their children’s safety in this statement. This nurturing image is used in the Bible to express God’s concern for His people.

 

After the previous chapter’s broad stroke of time, Ezra 5 details a specific moment of history – approximately forty years since the proclamation of Cyrus the king of Persia (Ezra 1:1), a time of political upheaval in the Persian Empire. The remnant no longer had a copy of the decree that authorized their work in Jerusalem to rebuild the temple, so a letter had to be written from Tattenai, the governor of the province, to the new king of Persia, Darius (3-17).

 

Ezra 5:5 demonstrates the remnant’s faith in God, “But the eye of their God was on the elders of the Jews, and they did not stop them until a report could come to Darius, and then a written reply be returned concerning it.” They kept working because they believed God was watching over them. The anthropomorphic phrase, “the eye of their God” is also found in Deuteronomy 11:12 regarding God’s protection of the Promised Land; in 1 Kings 9:3 regarding God’s care for Solomon’s Temple; and in Psalm 33:18 of  God’s love for His children (cf. Job 36:7).

 

What a beautiful truth that God is watching over us to protect and provide for us. I recently heard a man declare this truth in song at a funeral for his beloved family member, “For His eye, His eye is on the sparrow, and I know, I know He watches over me” (based on Jesus’ teaching from Matthew 6:26). That comforts me!

 

Seize the moment and rest in God’s watchful gaze – He has His eye on you because He cares about you, so cast all your anxiety on Him (1 Peter 5:7).

 

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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Advent 2022 – Week 1

Welcome Home: Inviting Jesus to Make My Heart His Home!

“A Home of Hope”

Psalm 62:5-8

 

He was fresh out of the military and multiple deployments oversees. He saw ghosts during the day and fought them in his sleep. He saw the eyes. The eyes that never blinked. The eyes he would never forget. The eyes that looked back at him every time he shaved. They weren’t his own, but they were the eyes through which he experienced the world. The drinking helped, but it was never enough. He was desperate for peace but found none. He told himself he was unforgiveable for what he had done; what those eyes saw him do. What he knew he was guilty of. His buddy told him that he had found some peace after becoming a part of a group that met a couple times a week. He said they talked about real life, prayed about real struggles, read from the Bible, and found real answers, helped each other out in real ways. He was happy for his buddy. God knows everyone needs a little peace in this hell of a world we live in. But they weren’t him and they hadn’t done what he did. He had to be cursed because it sure did feel like his demons were getting the best of him. He called up his buddy, not knowing where else to turn. It was late, really late, he couldn’t sleep, he didn’t want to sleep. Nights were hard. His buddy answered the phone. They were going to meet at Steak-n-Shake in 30 minutes. His buddy told him that he had been praying for him and that he had been waiting for this moment. He told him that he had some good news to share with him. God knows he needed some good news. He wasn’t sure how much more he could take of this hopeless existence. He walked out the door to go meet with his buddy, hoping to feel hope for the future again.[1]

 

This is a situation that has been playing out for generations, in many shapes and sizes. There are the lost stories of the Civil War and World War I veterans who came home. There are the whispered stories of the World War II & Korea War veterans who came home. There are the loud stories that I grew up with of the Vietnam veterans who were homeless and struggling with substance abuse. There are the sensational stories of the Iraq and Afghanistan veterans coming home lost to themselves and their families, with devastating suicide rates.

 

These stories of veterans coming home from war and struggling to transition back into their families and communities have a theme – the soldier may have left the war to come home, but the war didn’t leave them just because they came home. We’ve said, “Welcome home!” Now let’s welcome soldiers home from war in a way that invites them to experience the qualities of a home of faith that will be healing to them and to all our families – a home, which is characterized by hope, love, joy, and peace.

 

There is a lot of preparation that goes into a homecoming, for both those at home and the soldier who is returning. The home itself must be actively prepared to be a home of hope, love, joy, and peace, just as the soldier must intentionally work on transforming his mind and heart from a posture of hyper-vigilance (called “Battle Mind”) to being in a posture of rest. Jesus wants to make His home in each of our hearts and in all our homes, and it is His presence in our hearts and homes that transforms us.

 

This Christmas, I am inviting you to surrender your heart to be Christ’s home so that your home may become a home of hope, love, joy, and peace – a place where the weary of mind and body, and heavy-burdened of heart and soul, can come and find rest (Matthew 11:28-30). If you want to transform your home, you must start with your own heart – you must become a person of hope, love, joy, and peace.

 

Today, the message will focus how our faith invites Jesus Christ to transform our hearts into a home of hope. Our Scripture for this message is Psalm 62:5-8:

 

My soul, wait in silence for God only, for my hope is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold; I shall not be shaken. On God my salvation and my glory rest; the rock of my strength, my refuge is in God. Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us. Selah.

 

Selah invites us to take a breath, pause, and pray. So let us do that. Let us be still and know that He is God (Psalm 46:10). Let us pray.

 

As we see in our passage today, a home of hope is a place of patience – a people who have learned to be still, to wait in silence, to trust God in the uncertainty and unknowing. We create a safe place for soldiers to come home when we are a patient presence for them and create space for grace amid the struggle and turmoil of stress, uncertainty, insecurity, and fear.

 

We come to know that God is our refuge only after we have learned how to hide ourselves in Him. It is easy to hide yourself behind a façade of success, a busy schedule, a nice appearance. But hiding in anything but God only leads to a loneliness that seeps into our souls. We hide in God so that we can risk being seen by others.

 

We come to know that God is the rock of my strength only after we have learned to build our lives firmly upon Him – the rock, the only secure foundation. It is tempting to build our lives on our jobs and reputations, our volunteer efforts and good works, and our pleasures and hobbies. When we build our lives on anything other than God, we are building our lives on shifting sands. We build on the rock so that we can risk being involved in real ways in real life.

 

We come to know that God is our salvation when we learn to put our trust in Him alone. It is preferable to keep ourselves as the center of our lives, to fight for control, to carry the full weight of responsibility for our own destinies, but when we do so we never learn to trust anyone else, and we end up crushed by our inability to carry the load to the finish line. We trust God alone for our salvation so that we can risk loving and trusting others in everyday life.

 

We must wait upon God so that this hope gets in our bones, so that our faith is a truth that transcends a propositional statement. Faith is meant to be what upholds us as we learn to hope in what we believe is true and wait upon the God who promises to deliver on our faith. A home of faith gives us the hope we need to be a soft place to land and a space of grace for living.

 

Hope is a right expectation in God – I wait upon Him knowing that He will show up in my situation. As the prince of prophets taught us in Isaiah 40:28-31:

 

Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth does not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable. He gives strength to the weary, and to him who lacks might He increases power. Though youths grow weary and tired, and vigorous young men stumble badly, yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary.

 

Hope is not wishful thinking – it is the certainty of Immanuel, God is with us! The Christmas miracle provides you stability during the trials and tribulations of your everyday life. Today, the first Sunday of Advent, we are invited to remember the first coming of Jesus Christ, which was awaited for a thousand years, from the time of God’s promise to King David, and for four hundred years since the faithful remnant of Jewish people received the promise of God in Malachi 3:1, “‘Behold, I am going to send My messenger, and he will clear the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple; and the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming,’ says the Lord of hosts.”

 

The Jewish people were forged in a long season of waiting. When Jesus Christ came, the messengers of God proclaimed the fulfillment of their waiting in Luke 2:8-14:

 

In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. “This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.”

 

It’s as if they were saying, “The wait is over! God has delivered on His promises! Your hope has been fulfilled. The victory has been won, and bestowed upon you, through faith in Jesus Christ! Don’t miss it!”

 

And I say to you, “DON’T MISS IT!” As those who believe in the Christmas miracle, hope is our superpower because hope never disappoints. God’s promises are worth waiting for, no matter how long you must wait for their fulfillment. As Paul promises in Romans 5:1-5:

 

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God. And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

 

Hope is a mindset – a mental perspective that anchors your everyday life and situations in the reality of God and His victory over the devil, death, and sin through His Son Jesus Christ. Hope is an “anchor of the soul” (Hebrews 6:19), which allows us make space for grace in our hearts and homes. If we want to welcome home the soldiers, then we need hope to be an essential quality of our lives. This hope is forged into our lives as wait for the Lord’s second coming. We conclude with the declaration of this hope from 1 Thessalonians 5:8-11:

 

But since we are of the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation. For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him. Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing.

 

Let us wait upon the Lord’s return, and in doing so, may the Holy Spirit transform our hearts into a home for Jesus Christ – a home of hope – a safe place to invite the soldiers to come home and find rest for their souls.
 
 

You can listen to this message by clicking below:

 

You can watch this message by clicking HERE.

 
 
 
 
 

FOOTNOTES:

 

[1] I found this story in my files. I’m not sure if I originally wrote it or if someone else did, but either way I modified it for this sermon. I am happy to give credit where credit is due, if I knew, all glory to God!


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Seize the Moment – Day 984

Today’s hymn focus will be

Come Thou Long Expected Jesus

 Haggai 2:7 (KJV)

 

“And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord of hosts.”

 

In 1744, Charles Wesley was pondering Haggai 2:7 while riding aboard a train coach.  As he was looking at the class divide in Great Britain and what was happening with the orphans in the areas around him, he first wrote “Come Thou Long Expected Jesus” as a Nativity prayer.

 

In 1855, Charles Spurgeon made a Christmas sermon noting that Jesus was born a King, not a prince, and was sent to rule our hearts and lives. This song appeared in both the Methodist and the Baptist hymn books ever since.

 

But it is important to realize that Wesley was also looking further towards the Second Coming of Christ, echoing the words that illustrate the believer’s hope and longing for His return. This is why we sing this song today.

 

Born thy people to deliver, born a child and yet a King,
born to reign in us forever, now thy gracious kingdom bring.

 

As we begin this Advent season, may our hearts be awakened to not only celebrate Jesus’ coming to the manger, but also to look forward with great anticipation to His return to take us home.
 

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 would like to listen to this song, click on this link:

 

Come Thou Long Expected Jesus

1.
Come, thou long expected Jesus,
born to set thy people free;
from our fears and sins release us,
let us find our rest in thee.
Israel’s strength and consolation,
hope of all the earth thou art;
dear desire of every nation,
joy of every longing heart.
 
2.
Born thy people to deliver,
born a child and yet a King,
born to reign in us forever,
now thy gracious kingdom bring.
By thine own eternal spirit
rule in all our hearts alone;
by thine all sufficient merit,
raise us to thy glorious throne.
 

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Seize the Moment – Day 983

Face Frustration with Faith!

Ezra 4

 

Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Friday, November 25.

 

Every single one of us will face frustrations. Trials and tribulations are a part of life, just like Jesus explained in John 16:33, “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”

 

Having faith and seeking to walk in the will of God does not give you a free and clear passageway through the frustrations and tribulations of living under the sun. Rather, faith gives you access to the Good Shepherd of your soul, Jesus, who promises you peace by walking with you through your valleys – “I fear no evil, for you are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me” (Psalm 23:4).

 

The remnant of Israel had to cry out to the Good Shepherd to walk with them through frustrations and tribulations. Ezra 4 provides snapshots of nearly a century of opposition that the returning Israelites had in rebuilding Jerusalem. Ezra 4:4-5 introduces the opposition,
 
“Then the people of the land discouraged the people of Judah, and frightened them from building, and hired counselors against them to frustrate their counsel all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia.”

 

These frustrations did not last for a single town council meeting or a string of difficult congregational meetings; rather, the opposition to God’s plans lasted for decades. Would you persevere in the work of God if you had your initiatives approved by one administration, only to be shut down by the next? Would your church remain unified when the neighbors disrupted your work with threats, complaints, and discouragements? How do you face frustration – in faith or fear?

 

Seize the moment and don’t walk alone when you face frustrations! Cry out to the Good Shepherd of your soul to walk with you through the valley of the shadow (Psalm 23).

 

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 982

The Day of Small Beginnings!

Ezra 3

 

Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Thursday, November 24. Happy Thanksgiving!

 

There are many reasons to be thankful today so count your blessings one by one! God is doing a new work in our midst, but we must have eyes to see it. The remnant of Israel had to be reminded of this very thing in Ezra 3:11-12:

 

They sang, praising and giving thanks to the Lord, saying, “For He is good, for His lovingkindness is upon Israel forever.” And all the people shouted with a great shout when they praised the Lord because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid. Yet many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers’ households, the old men who had seen the first temple, wept with a loud voice when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, while many shouted aloud for joy.

 

This was not a time to weep so God sent two prophets to encourage the remnant and give them courage to persevere in the rebuilding of the temple. In Zechariah 4:10, the prophet asked a piercing question, “For who has despised the day of small things?” Boldly, in Haggai 2:9, the Lord trumpeted to those who were weeping, “‘The latter glory of this house will be greater than the former,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘and in this place I will give peace,’ declares the Lord of hosts.”

 

The prophets were exhorting the people to persevere in the work of the Lord and to not be discouraged by how these small beginnings compared to what it used to be – God was doing a new work! Paul exhorts in Philippians 3:13b-14, “Forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

 

Seize the moment and don’t despise small beginnings – every new work must begin with a single cornerstone (Ephesians 2:19-22). Build your life on the firm foundation of faith in Jesus Christ today (2 Corinthians 5:17).

 

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 981

Firmly Rooted in God’s Promises!

Ezra 2

 

Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Wednesday, November 23.

 

When you transplant a tree or plant from one location to another, you can’t just pull it out and place it on top of the ground. It’ll die! You need to dig around it to ensure you have the root system in place, then you need to prepare the ground for it to be firmly rooted in its new location.

 

God preserved a remnant so that He could transplant them back into the Promised Land. Ezra 2 is a long chapter of names and numbers, introduced by verses 1-2:

 

Now these are the people of the province who came up out of the captivity of the exiles whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away to Babylon, and returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his city. … The number of the men of the people of Israel:

 

The introduction ended with a faith declaration – these are “the people of Israel.” Remember that Israel is the covenant name of God’s people, which God gave to the patriarch Jacob in Genesis 35:10-12:

 

God said to him, “Your name is Jacob; you shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your name.” Thus He called him Israel. God also said to him, “I am God Almighty; be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall come from you, and kings shall come forth from you. The land which I gave to Abraham and Isaac, I will give it to you, and I will give the land to your descendants after you.”

 

After seventy years of captivity in Babylon, Ezra was reminding the remnant of who they really were and why they existed. He was giving them deep roots so they would thrive where they were transplanted to grow – in Jerusalem.

 

Seize the moment and be firmly rooted in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 3:14-19; Colossians 2:6-7). God has given you deep roots so you can bloom where He has planted you!

 

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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