Seize the Moment – Day 741
The Dawning of a New Day!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Monday, March 28.
Today is a new day! Do you need a new beginning in an area of your life? The Israelites did and Samuel gave it to them after a long season of mourning. First Samuel 7:2-4 marks the dawning of a new day for Israel under Samuel’s faithful leadership:
From the day that the ark remained at Kiriath-jearim, the time was long, for it was twenty years; and all the house of Israel lamented after the Lord. Then Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, “If you return to the Lord with all your heart, remove the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you and direct your hearts to the Lord and serve Him alone; and He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines.” So the sons of Israel removed the Baals and the Ashtaroth and served the Lord alone.
Like the Israelites were confronted by God’s messenger, you have a choice to make if you want today to be the dawning of a new day in your life! I invite you to ask God to be your help in your pursuit to start afresh. Whether it’s for a new vision, or it’s for the perseverance to see a previous vision fulfilled, you can’t do it alone. Samuel demonstrated this in verse 12 with his fervent prayers for the Israelites: “Then Samuel took a stone and set it between Mizpah and Shen, and named it Ebenezer, saying, ‘Thus far the Lord has helped us.’”
Ebenezer literally means “stone of help.” Samuel lifted an Ebenezer as a tangible reminder of the people’s need for God. It was a proclamation of God’s victory over their enemies, provision for His people’s needs, and the power to fulfill His promises for His people.
Seize the moment and lift an Ebenezer by confessing your sins, repenting by offering yourself as a living sacrifice, and experiencing the dawning of a new day by walking in the way of Jesus Christ.
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Train to Live on Mission – Week 8
Battle Drill #8: Watch for Ambushes!
Proverbs 5:1-23 (NAS95)
Today, we are going to walk through the four action steps of a soldier’s training routine to learn the eighth battle drill – Watch for Ambushes!
Action Step #1) Know the Field Manual. The battle drill we are going to learn and apply this week is from Proverbs 5:21-23, “For the ways of a man are before the eyes of the Lord, and He watches all his paths. His own iniquities will capture the wicked, and he will be held with the cords of his sin. He will die for lack of instruction, and in the greatness of his folly he will go astray.”
To understand how I am applying this text to learning how to watch for ambushes as your battle drill for this week, you need to hear these verses in their context from the Field Manual in its entirety, Proverbs 5:1-23:
My son, give attention to my wisdom, incline your ear to my understanding; that you may observe discretion and your lips may reserve knowledge. For the lips of an adulteress drip honey and smoother than oil is her speech; but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. Her feet go down to death, her steps take hold of Sheol. She does not ponder the path of life; her ways are unstable, she does not know it. Now then, my sons, listen to me and do not depart from the words of my mouth. Keep your way far from her and do not go near the door of her house, or you will give your vigor to others and your years to the cruel one; and strangers will be filled with your strength and your hard-earned goods will go to the house of an alien; and you groan at your final end, when your flesh and your body are consumed; and you say, “How I have hated instruction! And my heart spurned reproof! I have not listened to the voice of my teachers, nor inclined my ear to my instructors! I was almost in utter ruin in the midst of the assembly and congregation.” Drink water from your own cistern and fresh water from your own well. Should your springs be dispersed abroad, Streams of water in the streets? Let them be yours alone and not for strangers with you. Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth. As a loving hind and a graceful doe, let her breasts satisfy you at all times; be exhilarated always with her love. For why should you, my son, be exhilarated with an adulteress and embrace the bosom of a foreigner? For the ways of a man are before the eyes of the Lord, and He watches all his paths. His own iniquities will capture the wicked, and he will be held with the cords of his sin. He will die for lack of instruction, and in the greatness of his folly he will go astray.
We know 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. Watching for an ambush is a significant reality in combat missions. An ambush, by definition, is a surprise attack from a concealed position. The primary way to avoid a surprise attack is through a well-chosen route, in other words by learning how to “walk in the way,” but, at times, when you have not avoided an ambush through route selection, you must then learn to look for signs of the enemy by knowing that you have an enemy who is actively scheming against you. As Jesus said of the devil in John 10:10a, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.”
The devil is actively seeking any opportunity to defeat you when you are walking in the way of God and one of his primary schemes is to get you out of the way of God, even for just a night, so that he can ambush you to destroy your testimony, rob you of your joy and love, or kill your faith or hope. Listen to passages from God’s Word teaching us this reality of our enemy:
- Ephesians 6:11-13. “Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.”
- 1 Peter 5:8-10. “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.”
- James 4:7. “Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”
- Ephesians 4:26-27. “Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity.”
- Luke 10:18-19. “And [Jesus] said to them, ‘I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning. Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you.’”
- 1 Timothy 3:6-7. “And not a new convert, so that he will not become conceited and fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil. And he must have a good reputation with those outside the church, so that he will not fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.”
- 1 Thessalonians 3:5. “For this reason, when I could endure it no longer, I also sent to find out about your faith, for fear that the tempter might have tempted you, and our labor would be in vain.”
- Acts 5:3. “But Peter said, ‘Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back some of the price of the land?’”
- 1 Corinthians 7:5. “Stop depriving one another, except by agreement for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer, and come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.”
- 1 Thessalonians 2:18. “For we wanted to come to you – I, Paul, more than once – and yet Satan hindered us.”
- Luke 22:31-32. “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat; but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.”
- 2 Corinthians 2:10-11. “But one whom you forgive anything, I forgive also; for indeed what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, I did it for your sakes in the presence of Christ, so that no advantage would be taken of us by Satan, for we are not ignorant of his schemes.”
- Romans 16:20a. “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.”
- Matthew 4:10-11. “Then Jesus said to him, ‘Go, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.’ ’ Then the devil left Him; and behold, angels came and began to minister to Him.”
- 1 John 3:7-10. “Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil. No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother.”
- 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.”
- Matthew 6:13. “And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”
Today’s battle drill – “Watch for Ambushes!” – requires of each of us to be on the alert and to make wise choices. Just like we learned last week, we need to have interlocking sectors of fire, to ensure we are maintaining effective security in our lives and in our community life. There are many ways the devil would seek to get a foothold or stronghold in your life, and in our community life, so we must be vigilant to walk in the way of God and keep ourselves from the pitfalls of immorality. That takes us to the third action step…
Action Step #3) Seek the Commander’s approval. In the NASB, Proverbs 5 is titled, “Pitfalls of Immorality.” To avoid the ambushes and to not fall into the schemes of the devil, we must pay attention to every step we take, and ask God to direct our steps so that our ways are pleasing to Him, as Proverbs 5:21 states, “For the ways of a man are before the eyes of the Lord, and He watches all his paths.”
When I go hiking in treacherous terrain, whether by the nature of the terrain itself or caused by an unexpected storm, I am unable to enjoy the scenery, unless I take the time to stop and look around, because my eyes are 100% focused on the trail – on every step I take – so that I do not slip, fall, get hurt, or die. Listen to three passages on avoiding pitfalls along the way:
- Psalm 7:14-15. “Behold, he travails with wickedness, and he conceives mischief and brings forth falsehood. He has dug a pit and hollowed it out, and has fallen into the hole which he made.”
- Proverbs 26:26-28. “Though his hatred covers itself with guile, his wickedness will be revealed before the assembly. He who digs a pit will fall into it, and he who rolls a stone, it will come back on him. A lying tongue hates those it crushes, and a flattering mouth works ruin.”
- Proverbs 28:9-10. “He who turns away his ear from listening to the law, even his prayer is an abomination. He who leads the upright astray in an evil way will himself fall into his own pit, but the blameless will inherit good.”
Today’s battle drill is not only about the enemy external, Satan, but also about the enemy within – self, the flesh – who often will lead us willfully off the right way and into dangerous territory when we seek to please ourselves instead of God, the One who enlisted us into His services for His glory! A powerful illustration of this is the Samson story and how he kept returning to Delilah, the adulteress of Proverbs 5 – she was a pitfall to Samson, and we must learn from his story. Listen to my Seize the Moment devotion on Judges 16:
What is your Delilah? Judges 16:4-6 introduces us to the woman that would be Samson’s downfall, and yes, her name was Delilah:
After this it came about that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. The lords of the Philistines came up to her and said to her, “Entice him, and see where his great strength lies and how we may overpower him that we may bind him to afflict him. Then we will each give you eleven hundred pieces of silver.” So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me where your great strength is and how you may be bound to afflict you.”
Samson fell in love with a seedy woman and while the Bible gives us Delilah’s motivation from the get-go, Samson seemed to be unaware of her intentions, or at least blinded to them by his infatuation with her. His romantic involvement prevented him from seeing straight. They do say love is blind, but in this case, it wasn’t love; rather, it was lust, and lust is a counterfeit, an enemy smoke screen to obscure the battlefield.
Delilah is not subtle about her efforts to sell Samson to his enemies, the Philistines, for riches beyond anything she would ever be able to earn in her normal nighttime activities. In fact, when you read Judges 16:6-20 you just want to pull Samson aside and talk some sense into him. Every time she asked him how to bind his strength, the very next scene his enemies were doing it to him. Yet, Samson, in all his pride, kept returning to Delilah.
What is your Delilah? What do you keep returning to even though you know it is seeking to steel, kill, or destroy you (John 10:10a)?
Seize the moment and break up with your Delilah today – “Flee immorality” and “pursue righteousness” (1 Corinthians 6:18; 2 Timothy 2:22)!
How then shall we live on mission today? We must submit to God and resist the devil, which takes us to our final action step in training to live on mission as good soldiers of Jesus Christ.
Action Step #4) Live on mission. The battle drill for today is to watch for ambushes so that you can avoid them. The following are warning signs of potential ambush locations:
- You can see or hear the enemy or their weapons, or signs of their activity along the way
- There is an obstacle in the middle of the way that causes you stop
- There is an intersection where a decision must be made on which path to take
- There is an open area or some kind of exposed area where you would be exposed
- There is damage on or near the way from previous ambushes that mark the location as a dangerous area based on past experiences of those who have gone before you.
Pay attention to these situations and the circumstances of your life that could cause you to make decisions that you would be ashamed of, decisions that take you off the path and could potentially destroy your witness, rob you of joy, and kill your faith and hope. Apply Paul’s teaching to his protégé in 2 Timothy 2:15-17a, 22-26:
Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth [this is the AWANA theme verse]. But avoid worldly and empty chatter, for it will lead to further ungodliness, and their talk will spread like gangrene. … Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. But refuse foolish and ignorant speculations, knowing that they produce quarrels. 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.
Ambushes often occur at night or in the places of our lives where we are not allowing the light of God to shine. Therefore, apply Psalm 119:105 to your daily life, which states, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” Invest time with God daily so that the Spirit of God may utilize the Word of God to illuminate every step you take so that you can avoid potential ambush locations by bringing light to darkness. Much of watching for and avoiding enemy ambushes is proper route selection – cry out for discernment and walk in the way, trust God and choose to do good, guard your heart for from it flows life and godliness!
But sometimes ambushes are unavoidable, when the enemy is tenacious to destroy you, and has put you and your ministry in the bullseye, just as he did last weekend to one of our staff members who has been so effectively impacting our church and community through her testimony. I am going to close today’s sermon with a prayer for this staff member and with an admonition that as a faith community we need to watch out for one another, while each of us watch that we don’t find ourselves alone on the way. We are not intended to walk the way alone because when you are alone you are easy prey. Satan is a predator seeking his next prey! We must pray against Him and watch one another’s back while standing firm against him and his schemes together. I conclude with Paul’s words from Galatians 6:1-2, which expresses our need to be in community, especially when it comes to avoiding ambushes:
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.
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.
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Seize the Moment – Day 739
Today’s hymn focus will be
A Mighty Fortress
Psalm 46:1(ESV)
“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”
This hymn, based off Psalm 46, was written by German Reformation Leader Martin Luther. He was known for the 95 theses that he wrote and nailed to the door of the church at Wittenberg on Oct. 31, 1517, but also for writing over 37 hymns that stood alongside those theological writings. Hymnal editor Carlton R. Young said he not only composed and wrote original hymns and melodies, but he encouraged the composition of new texts and rhythmic hymn melodies.
The hymn we know today was translated in 1853 by Frederick Henry Hedge and has stood the test of time very well.
A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing
Our helper He amid the flood, Of mortal ills prevailing
For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe
His craft and power are great, and armed with cruel hate
On earth is not his equal.
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A Mighty Fortress
a bulwark never failing;
our helper he, amid the flood
of mortal ills prevailing.
For still our ancient foe
does seek to work us woe;
his craft and power are great,
and armed with cruel hate,
on earth is not his equal.
our striving would be losing,
were not the right Man on our side,
the Man of God’s own choosing.
You ask who that may be?
Christ Jesus, it is he;
Lord Sabaoth his name,
from age to age the same;
and he must win the battle.
should threaten to undo us,
we will not fear, for God has willed
his truth to triumph through us.
The prince of darkness grim,
we tremble not for him;
his rage we can endure,
for lo! his doom is sure;
one little word shall fell him.
no thanks to them abideth;
the Spirit and the gifts are ours
through him who with us sideth.
Let goods and kindred go,
this mortal life also;
the body they may kill:
God’s truth abideth still;
his kingdom is forever!
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Seize the Moment – Day 738
Curb your Curiosity!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Friday, March 25.
My daughter loves monkeys, so Curious George makes regular appearances in my life. He is such an adorable and funny character. His curiosity is constantly getting him into situations that could be avoided. That makes for great comedy relief, but in real life it can lead to serious situations. You have heard it said that curiosity killed the cat, but in 1 Samuel 6:19-21 curiosity killed a lot more than a cat:
He struck down some of the men of Beth-shemesh because they had looked into the ark of the Lord. He struck down of all the people, 50,070 men, and the people mourned because the Lord had struck the people with a great slaughter. The men of Beth-shemesh said, “Who is able to stand before the Lord, this holy God? And to whom shall He go up from us?” So they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kiriath-jearim, saying, “The Philistines have brought back the ark of the Lord; come down and take it up to you.”
While there is some scholarly debate over the number of deaths, 70 or 50,070, due to some original language issues, the point of the story is unaffected – God can’t let sin go unpunished! It is neither loving nor holy to do so – God is just in all that He does!
The ark of God had been returned after seven months of captivity. Upon it returning, the people of Beth-shemesh, most likely with the best of intent to ensure the contents were still in it, looked inside of it. Their curiosity had led them to violate the Law of God, then He brought swift judgment upon them (Numbers 4:5, 15, 20; Romans 6:23).
Seize the moment and trust that God’s ways are right and true for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:2-3). Don’t let curiosity lead you astray from the way of God in your life.
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Seize the Moment – Day 737
The Grave Danger of a Graven Image!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Thursday, March 24.
Have you ever been tempted to put something or someone other than God on the throne of your heart? That is called idol worship. In Samuel 5:2-4, God judged Dagon, the god of the Philistines, when the ark of the covenant was placed in the temple where the Philistines worshipped Dagon’s idol:
Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it to the house of Dagon and set it by Dagon. When the Ashdodites arose early the next morning, behold, Dagon had fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord. So they took Dagon and set him in his place again. But when they arose early the next morning, behold, Dagon had fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord. And the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were cut off on the threshold; only the trunk of Dagon was left to him.
God was powerfully communicating to the Philistines that not only was their god beneath Him, and had been judged accordingly, but that they, as a people given over to idol worship, would end up just like Dagon – cut off from future life (headless) and powerless to do anything about it (handless).
Psalm 115:8 states of people who worship idols, “Those who make them will become like them, everyone who trusts in them” (cf. Psalm 135:18; Isaiah 44:9-11). First Samuel 5:6-12 demonstrates this truth; watch as God’s judgement unfolds in verse 6, “Now the hand of the Lord was heavy on the Ashdodites, and He ravaged them and smote them with tumors, both Ashdod and its territories.” Scholars believe that these tumors would have prevented their ability to have children, causing them to become like Dagon – cut off from future life and powerless to change it.
Seize the moment and “guard yourselves from idols” (1 John 5:21). You are shaped by your life of devotion so choose carefully what you allow on the throne of your life.
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Seize the Moment – Day 736
The Story of Ichabod!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Wednesday, March 23.
Have you ever felt like God removed His presence from you?
In 1 Samuel 4, Israel experienced a day of great tragedy that culminated in such a feeling. In a series of battles against the Philistines, 34,000 men were killed (2, 10). Even with this tragic loss of life, the story emphasizes that the greatest loss was that of the ark of the covenant, which was where God would manifest His presence to the Israelites.
Ichabod literally means, “inglorious” or “no glory.” The glory of God describes God’s favor and blessing upon His people; it is brought about by the giving of His presence. While we know that God is omnipresent and it is impossible for God not to be where God always is, the removal of His manifest presence, His glory, is the removal of favor; it is judgment upon people for their sin. This woman felt the removal of God’s presence in Israel and named her son Ichabod!
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Seize the Moment – Day 735
Respond to God’s Word!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Tuesday, March 22.
It was Eli who taught him that it was God who was calling him by name and to respond, “Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening” (9). Samuel responded to the word of God and his life was forever changed. Ironically, even though that first message was a word of judgment against Eli and his household for their unfaithfulness, Eli, who was far from a perfect mentor, gave him a faithful example that would set him up for success as a prophet of God’s word: “It is the Lord; let Him do what seems good to Him” (18).
Samuel learned from Eli to listen for God and to trust that God is right and true in all that He says and does. To respond to God’s word in obedience and trust the outcome to God alone. First Samuel 3:19-21 describes how Samuel did just that:
Thus Samuel grew and the Lord was with him and let none of his words fail. All Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of the Lord. And the Lord appeared again at Shiloh, because the Lord revealed Himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the Lord.
Seize the moment by trusting God and His word, and He will prove you to be Jesus’ disciple (John 8:31-32; 15:8).
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Seize the Moment – Day 734
Preparing for a Lifetime of Service!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Monday, March 21.
This summer marks thirty years since I attended Cadet Basic Training at West Point. Duty, honor, and country were deeply instilled in us, as was our commitment to a lifetime of service to country.
There is an interesting connection between the boy Samuel and another boy that would come over a thousand years later. Listen to the Gospel of Luke 2:52, “And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.” The two verses read very similar. God used both boys’ circumstances to prepare them for a lifetime of service!
God’s high regard for Samuel was verified through prophecy, as declared to Eli in verse 35, “But I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest who will do according to what is in My heart and in My soul; and I will build him an enduring house, and he will walk before My anointed always.” God was about to do something brand new in Israel and he set apart Samuel for this very purpose.
Seize the moment and prepare the next generation for a lifetime of service to God. The next generation will service someone or something, why not God!?! Train them to seek first the Kingdom and His righteousness (Matthew 6:33).
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Train to Live on Mission – Week 7
Battle Drill #7: Guard Your Heart!
Proverbs 4:1-27 (NAS95)
Today, we are going to walk through the four action steps of a soldier’s training routine to learn the seventh battle drill – Guard Your Heart!
Action Step #1) Know the Field Manual.
The battle drill we are going to learn and apply this week is from Proverbs 4:23, “Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life.”
Today, I am prescribing for you a battle drill that requires a lifestyle change, “Watch over your heart with all diligence!” Sorry, there are no pills to take that allow you to simply carry on with life as you want to live it and have a healthy heart anyways. So that you don’t think you are at your annual cardiologist appointment, being told yet again that you need to lose some weight, exercise, and watch what you eat (oh by the way, do those things!), I want to explain the Bible’s use of the word, “heart.” While it can mean the physical organ in your body, in the Bible, “heart” [leb in Hebrew and kardia in Greek] often speaks to the “seat of physical, spiritual and mental life… As [the] center and source of the whole inner life, w. its thinking, feeling, and volition… of [your] disposition.”[1] The Bible’s usage of the word “heart” has a range of meanings, but for our passage it is the locus of a person’s thoughts (mind, intellect), volition (will), emotions (the affections), and knowledge of right from wrong (conscience). It is the control center of your life.
Today’s battle drill flows logically from last week’s teaching by Pastor Ken from Proverbs 3, “choose to do good.” Ken taught us that we need to train “good sense and sound judgement in practical matters.” Building upon last week’s teaching, today, we are going to learn the importance of protecting the core center of our ability to choose God’s will and do good! Let’s listen to this battle drill from the Field Manual in its entirety, Proverbs 4:1-27:
Hear, O sons, the instruction of a father, and give attention that you may gain understanding, for I give you sound teaching; do not abandon my instruction. When I was a son to my father, tender and the only son in the sight of my mother, then he taught me and said to me, “Let your heart hold fast my words; keep my commandments and live; acquire wisdom! Acquire understanding! Do not forget nor turn away from the words of my mouth. Do not forsake her, and she will guard you; love her, and she will watch over you. The beginning of wisdom is: Acquire wisdom; and with all your acquiring, get understanding. Prize her, and she will exalt you; she will honor you if you embrace her. She will place on your head a garland of grace; she will present you with a crown of beauty.” Hear, my son, and accept my sayings and the years of your life will be many. I have directed you in the way of wisdom; I have led you in upright paths. When you walk, your steps will not be impeded; and if you run, you will not stumble. Take hold of instruction; do not let go. Guard her, for she is your life. Do not enter the path of the wicked and do not proceed in the way of evil men. Avoid it, do not pass by it; turn away from it and pass on. For they cannot sleep unless they do evil; and they are robbed of sleep unless they make someone stumble. For they eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence. But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, that shines brighter and brighter until the full day. The way of the wicked is like darkness; they do not know over what they stumble. My son, give attention to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your sight; keep them in the midst of your heart. For they are life to those who find them and health to all their body. Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life. Put away from you a deceitful mouth and put devious speech far from you. Let your eyes look directly ahead and let your gaze be fixed straight in front of you. Watch the path of your feet and all your ways will be established. Do not turn to the right nor to the left; Turn your foot from evil.
There is so much to learn from the Field Manual, let us now take the second action step to learn how to apply today’s battle drill to our everyday lives as a good soldier of Jesus in God’s army.
- Proverbs 2:11-12. “Discretion will guard you, understanding will watch over you, to deliver you from the way of evil, from the man who speaks perverse things.”
- Proverbs 3:21-23. “My son, let them not vanish from your sight; keep sound wisdom and discretion, so they will be life to your soul and adornment to your neck. Then you will walk in your way securely and your foot will not stumble.”
- Proverbs 4:6. “Do not forsake [wisdom], and she will guard you; love her, and she will watch over you.”
- Proverbs 4:13. “Take hold of instruction; do not let go. Guard her, for she is your life.”
- Proverbs 13:3. “The one who guards his mouth preserves his life; the one who opens wide his lips comes to ruin.”
As a good soldier of Jesus Christ, approach the application of this teaching from a military perspective. When I was in the infantry, during foot movements toward an objective we would establish patrol bases to plan, prepare, and rest. There were priorities of work that had to be done in a patrol base, but one thing that always happened was security – there was a watch! We would set up a perimeter and then the squad leaders would put the soldiers in pairs, or battle buddies, so that, when one was planning, preparing, or resting, the other was watching outwards in their sector of fire. The sectors of fire of each position were interlocking, they intersected with the position to their left and right, all the way around the perimeter, so that together the unit covered every potential enemy angle of attack. There was never a time that the unit was not being watched over, or guarded, or kept safe, or preserved for the mission. Most of the time we would do 50% security meaning one out of two soldiers was planning, preparing, and resting while the others were watching, but there were times, especially in what is called “stand-to,” at dawn and dusk, where every soldier was on the line, watching, because these were the times when there is most likely going to be an enemy attack. For most of us, the “stand-to” equivalent is H.A.L.T. – when we are hungry, angry, lonely, or tired. That’s when we need to guard our hearts and have interlocking arms as one unit. The church needs to be on alert against the schemes of the devil.
I teach you this because this is the imagery behind Paul’s promise of peace, found in Philippians 4:6-7, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Paul is using military language based upon Jesus’ promise in John 14:27, when Jesus teaches us that the source of protection is found in the promise of the Holy Spirit being sent to His disciples: “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.”
Don’t let the central control room of your life be overrun by the enemy! This protection is from the indwelling presence of God in you and in us! We need to have intersecting lives because there should never be a time that the unit is not being watched over, or guarded, or kept safe, or preserved for the mission. This is a work of God in us and through us – both-and!
God is the one watching the perimeter of your life, and that must begin at the central control room – your heart. God’s presence through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is the way to peace and His peace guards your heart and mind in Christ Jesus. Jesus desires to superintend our attitudes and actions, to transform our entire personhood through the Holy Spirit’s work.
This is what Paul teaches us in Romans 12:1-2, “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” Simply stated, invite Jesus onto the throne of your heart and He will guard you heart and mind, causing you to become like Him, an image bearer of God where the Spirit is at work in and through you for the glory of God! That brings us to action step #3.
You are invited to live your life for the approval of the One who enlisted you and called you to Himself. This happens in the custom-made yoke of Jesus where we learn to become like God, as Jesus described Himself as “gentle and humble in heart” (Matthew 11:28-30). The righteousness of Christ (godliness, holiness) must flow from the source of the One who is righteous, not from our efforts because the only thing we can produce of our flesh is filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). We are to apply diligence to the battle drill of guarding our hearts, for from it come our ability to choose to do good and walk in the way and cry out to God for discernment.
My heart is Christ’s home![2] It’s exclusively God’s and does not belong to any other, including me! I have given Him the right of ownership; the deed belongs to Him alone.
A common biblical image of this concept is an agricultural one, from a fruit-bearing tree. God’s eternal fruit (John 15:1-8) and predestined good works you were meant to walk in (Ephesians 2:10) only happen in your life as a disciple of Jesus when it flows through the root system of a tree planted by streams of living water. Psalm 1:1-3 poetically states of this truth,
How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers” (cf. Jeremiah 2:13; 17:13; Zechariah 14:8; John 4:10-14; 7:37-38; Revelation 7:17).
The nature of the fruit is determined by the nature of the root. A person can only produce fruit in like-kind to what is in his or her heart. Listen to Jesus teach this in Matthew 7:15-23:
Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, you will know them by their fruits. Not everyone who says to Me, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?” And then I will declare to them, “I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.”
How then shall we live on mission? That takes us to our final action step in training to live on mission as good soldiers of Jesus Christ.
We are invited to live by faith, which is a life of daily surrendering to Jesus to be at the center of all that we think, say, and do. With that said, there is a common image the Bible uses for a preservative, and that is salt. When you combine these concepts, maybe Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 5:13-16 will make more sense and be more applicable as an action item of your life:
You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
You are a preservative of God’s will in the world that He so loved that He sent His one and only Son to save the world and to show them His great love and the way they are to live. As your heart is preserved with the living presence of God, then you become, more and more, the preservative of the way, the truth, and the life of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Allow me to close with an everyday image from your home. Your heart is like the water softener of your house. It ensures the water is fit for consumption and won’t do damage to the household. The water softener requires routine maintenance, as well as diligent effort to put 40-pound bags of salt into the tank. In the same way, your heart, the control center of your life, requires the routine maintenance of prayer and confession, community and worship, as well as the diligent effort of Bible study, service, and outreach. We must apply all diligence to the preserving of our hearts because it is out of our hearts that our words and actions flow, and unless we want to do damage to the household of God, we must ensure that what flows out of heart is pure. Jesus taught about the urgency of this in Matthew 15:13-20, and I close with Jesus’ words as a call to apply all diligence to this battle drill in your life:
“Every plant which My heavenly Father did not plant shall be uprooted. Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit.” Peter said to Him, “Explain the parable to us.” Jesus said, “Are you still lacking in understanding also? Do you not understand that everything that goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and is eliminated? But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders. These are the things which defile the man…”
You can listen to the message here:
You can watch the message by clicking HERE.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] William Arndt, Frederick W. Danker, Walter Bauer, and F. Wilbur Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 508-509. This work is commonly referred to as BDAG.
[2] I encourage you to read Robert Boyd Hunger’s 1951 classic, “My Heart Christ’s Home” at https://www.usna.edu/Navigators/_files/documents/MHCH.pdf.
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Seize the Moment – Day 732
Today’s hymn focus will be
Tell Me the Story of Jesus
Acts 5:42 (ESV)
“And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching that the Christ is Jesus.”
In her lifetime, Fanny Crosby wrote over 8000 hymns and poems, many of which are in our hymn book at FBC. Left blind after a failed medical treatment, she never grew bitter, but rather grew into a woman who “saw God” in everything around her and through all of life’s circumstances. She was always giving full credit to God for what she was able to accomplish, wanting nothing more than to help others have a deep loving relationship with Him. Whether it be through missionary work in the poverty-stricken areas of various large cities, or at camp meeting services where area churches came together, she wanted God’s name to be praised
Tell me the story of Jesus, write on my heart every word.
Tell me the story most precious, sweetest that I ever heard.
YOUTUBE:
Tell Me the Story of Jesus
write on my heart every word;
tell me the story most precious,
sweetest that ever was heard.
Tell how the angels, in chorus,
sang as they welcomed His birth,
“Glory to God in the highest!
Peace and good tidings to earth.”
Tell me the story of Jesus,
write on my heart every word;
tell me the story most precious,
sweetest that ever was heard.
tell of the days that are past;
how for our sins He was tempted,
yet was triumphant at last.
Tell of the years of His labor,
tell of the sorrow He bore;
He was despised and afflicted,
homeless, rejected, and poor. [Refrain]
writhing in anguish and pain;
tell of the grave where they laid Him,
tell how He liveth again.
Love in that story so tender,
clearer than ever I see:
stay, let me weep while you whisper,
love paid the ransom for me. [Refrain]
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