Seize the Moment – Day 1425
Today’s worship song focus :
Everlasting God
Isaiah 40:31 (NASB95)
“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.”
Written in the summer of 2006 by Lincoln Brewster and Brenton Brown, this song was inspired by the passage in Isaiah 40 and a season of personal struggle in Brenton’s life. Carrying a powerful message of hope and encouragement, we, the worshipper, are reminded of God’s everlasting nature and His promise that He will provide the strength and renewal for us when we put our trust in Him.
You are the everlasting God, the everlasting God, You do not faint
You won’t grow weary, You’re the defender of the weak
You comfort those in need, You lift us up on wings like eagles.
We need to wake up and quit rushing through the day. Take the time to put God first and wait in His presence. Remember that resting in Him will provide you with His unwavering strength so that you are not relying on yourself and your strength alone.
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.
If you would like to listen to this song, click on this link:
Everlasting God
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Seize the Moment – Day 1424
Live Like the Redeemed!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Friday, February 9.
You are more than a conqueror in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:37-39), a chosen member of His family who has been redeemed by the blood of Jesus (Acts 20:28; Titus 2:14). Now, live like it! As the nations raged against Jerusalem, God looked upon His people and said, “You are Mine,” giving them the assurance of their redemption in Isaiah 43:1-5:
But now, thus says the Lord, your Creator, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel, “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine! … For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I have given Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in your place. Since you are precious in My sight, since you are honored and I love you, I will give other men in your place and other peoples in exchange for your life. Do not fear, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, and gather you from the west.”
What a promise in the middle of a big old hot mess! Israel suffered at the hands of Assyria and Babylon, only to be released from captivity by Persia. Yet, during that time, God promised to redeem the offspring of Israel from the four corners of the Earth. To this day, that is the mission of the church, as witnesses of God’s redemption (Isaiah 43:8-13; Acts 1:8), calling His people home through Jesus Christ, the One who paid the ransom (Mark 10:45; 1 Peter 1:18-19).
Seize the moment and live as one who has been redeemed, no matter your circumstances today – “Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom He has redeemed from the hand of the adversary and gathered from the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south” (Psalm 107:2-3).
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.
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Seize the Moment – Day 1423
Sing the New Song of the Suffering Servant!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Thursday, February 8.
The first of the four Suffering Servant Songs is found in Isaiah 42:1-9, followed by a song of praise, which begins with a command in verse 10, “Sing to the Lord a new song, sing His praise from the end of the earth!” This same phrase was used in Psalm 98 as a call to the God of Mission to bring His salvation to all the nations. What a triumphant conclusion to the prophecy of the Messiah, foretelling His responsibility to establish God’s justice in the Earth, as Isaiah 42 proclaims:
Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold; My chosen one in whom My soul delights. I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the nations. He will not cry out or raise His voice, nor make His voice heard in the street. A bruised reed He will not break and a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish; He will faithfully bring forth justice. He will not be disheartened or crushed until He has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands will wait expectantly for His law. … I am the Lord, I have called You in righteousness, I will also hold You by the hand and watch over You, and I will appoint You as a covenant to the people, as a light to the nations, to open blind eyes, to bring out prisoners from the dungeon and those who dwell in darkness from the prison. … Behold, the former things have come to pass, now I declare new things; before they spring forth I proclaim them to you.
Seize the moment and sing the new song of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ – “Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation” (Revelation 5:9).
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.
(Pastor Ken)
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.
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Seize the Moment – Day 1422
The Beginning and the End!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Wednesday, February 7.
From the first to the last chapter of the Revelation of John, we hear Jesus described this way, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end” (Revelation 22:13; cf. 1:8, 17; 2:8; 21:6). This name of God was introduced in Isaiah, as God’s answer to a rhetorical question about who had caused the uprising of the nations; Isaiah 41:2-4 was specifically referring to Cyrus king of Persia. Twice in Isaiah 41, God asks such a rhetorical question. The first time is in verse 4, “Who has performed and accomplished it, calling forth the generations from the beginning? ‘I, the Lord, am the first, and with the last. I am He.’” The second time began the conclusion of today’s chapter, verses 26-29:
Who has declared this from the beginning, that we might know? Or from former times, that we may say, “He is right!”? Surely there was no one who declared, surely there was no one who proclaimed, surely there was no one who heard your words. Formerly I said to Zion, “Behold, here they are.” And to Jerusalem, “I will give a messenger of good news.” But when I look, there is no one, and there is no counselor among them who, if I ask, can give an answer. Behold, all of them are false; their works are worthless, their molten images are wind and emptiness.
Wouldn’t you expect the answer to the second rhetorical question to parallel that of the first one? Instead, God contrasted Himself with the false gods of the nations, who are merely idols. While there is an unfortunate chapter break here, the truth is that the quote never closes, and God gives us the first of the four Suffering Servant Songs in Isaiah 42:1-9. He does provide the couplet we were waiting for, and we learn that the One who is “the beginning and the end” is the Suffering Servant of Israel.
Seize the moment and trust Jesus as “the beginning and the end!”
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.
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Seize the Moment – Day 1421
Go Tell it on a Mountain!
I love the African-American spiritual, “Go Tell It on the Mountain.” It is a beautiful Christmas song that was first published by John W. Work, Jr. in 1907. While its bulletin blurb does not include a reference to the ancient prophecies of Isaiah, I believe it could have been inspired by Isaiah 40:9-11:
Get yourself up on a high mountain, O Zion, bearer of good news, lift up your voice mightily, O Jerusalem, bearer of good news; lift it up, do not fear. Say to the cities of Judah, “Here is your God!” Behold, the Lord God will come with might, with His arm ruling for Him. Behold, His reward is with Him and His recompense before Him. Like a shepherd He will tend His flock, in His arm He will gather the lambs and carry them in His bosom; He will gently lead the nursing ewes.
We are to proclaim the coming of the Messiah from not only Mt. Zion, but from every mountain top in every nation (Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:8). “Go Tell It on the Mountain” describes the shepherds who first heard the angelic proclamation of the birth of Jesus Christ, but it also commands us to declare this good news. Powerfully, in Isaiah 40:3-5, right before this evangelistic call of the coming of the Messiah, Isaiah gave the promise which was fulfilled by John the Baptist in Matthew 3:2-3, who cried out, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. For this is the one referred to by Isaiah the prophet when he said, ‘The voice of the one crying in the wilderness, “Make ready the way of the Lord, make His paths straight!” ’ ” Truly, John told it on a mountain, bearing the good news and lifted up the coming of the Messiah mightily, without fear of his own death.
Seize the moment and go tell it on a mountain!
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.
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Seize the Moment – Day 1420
Boast in the Lord!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Monday, February 5.
The final chapter in Isaiah’s “Book of Hezekiah,” composed of Isaiah 36-39, foreshadows the emphasis of the remaining chapters of Isaiah – the destruction of Jerusalem at the hands of the Babylonian Empire. Little did King Hezekiah know that he would set the stage for such a great calamity, a century prior to it occurring, through a simple act of pride – the sin of boasting. Isaiah 39:2 records his actions, “Hezekiah was pleased, and showed them all his treasure house, the silver and the gold and the spices and the precious oil and his whole armory and all that was found in his treasuries. There was nothing in his house nor in all his dominion that Hezekiah did not show them.”
At best, Hezekiah was naïve, but that is difficult to believe knowing his story. Most likely, Hezekiah was trying to impress a potential ally against Assyria, trusting in the military adage, “An enemy of my enemy, is a friend.” That was not true in the case of the Babylonians. After entertaining the son of the Babylonian king and showing him everything in his kingdom, Isaiah rebuked him with a word from the Lord in Isaiah 39:6, “Behold, the days are coming when all that is in your house and all that your fathers have laid up in store to this day will be carried to Babylon; nothing will be left.”
Seize the moment and boast in the Lord, not in your wisdom, might, or wealth, for everything you have is from God. As Jeremiah, a prophet who lived through the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem, quoted of God, “Let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things” (Jeremiah 9:23-24). Importantly, Paul quoted Jeremiah in 1 Corinthian 1:31 and 2 Corinthians 10:17.
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.
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Everyday Discipleship Wk 5
Teaching #5: “The Call to the Great Community!”
(If you are just beginning your journey, please click HERE to read the introduction
grace abounds! Don’t quit; keep going! Find a pace that works for you.]
5) Calendar a weekly time for spiritual friendship: Y or N
+ Disciple = intentionally following Jesus’ way and teachings
+ Discipleship = intentional journey and life-long commitment to learn and manifest the fruit of who I am in Christ
+ The “Big Three” = transformative practices of Bible intake, prayer intimacy, and spiritual friendships
+ Great Community = intentional community of disciples who are called in love, gathered for love, and sent on mission
1) The Great Community is the “church” (ekklesia in Acts 11:26), which literally means, “the called out gathering or assembly.” While it can be used to describe any assembly of people, in the New Testament it is the work of the Holy Spirit to ingather those who have been called in Christ for God’s will. The church is God’s idea; not mine or yours!
2) Read 1 Peter 2:4-12. Why is God calling us out of the world and into fellowship with Him and one another?
+ Meditate upon this truth within the context of Matthew 5:13-16. How is Jesus calling us to be His church?
4) Read Acts 2:38-47. What brings the church together? What were some of the activities of the early church?
5) We are the church! Jesus is the head, and we are the many members of His one body. This imagery gives the body structure and purpose. Read Ephesians 1:22-23; 4:11-16; Romans 12:4-8; and 1 Corinthians 12:12-27.
6) We are commanded to gather as the church. Read Hebrews 10:23-25. Why are we supposed to gather today? What difference does it make to gather regularly?
7) The kingdom of God is a relational kingdom! As fellow members of the church our relationships have significance. What is the “so that” of Jesus’ prayer in John 17:22-23 and how does that connect to the new command of John 13:34-35? What then is the ultimate purpose of all that we do as the church and as a local assembly of believers?
+ “so that the world may know that You sent Me, …”
+ “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, …”
Action Items for this week:
1) Bible intake for this week: John 13-21 & Acts 1-12.
2) Write a SOAP journal entry for either each chapter or each day. Bring your notebook. Are you willing to share?
3) Review this handout as you prepare to read your Bible every day. Invite the Holy Spirit to help you “become” conformed to the image of Jesus Christ (Romans 8:29).
4) Memorize Matthew 5:14 and be intentional about gathering with your local assembly of believers (church).
If you would like to watch this lesson on YouTube, click HERE.
If you would like to view the entire service including music, etc. click HERE.
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Seize the Moment – Day 1418
Today’s worship song focus :
They’ll Know We Are Christians by Our Love
John 13:35 (NASB95)
A favorite song of the late 1960’s and early 70’s, it was written by a young Catholic priest by the name of Peter Raymond Scholtes. Taken from the words that Jesus gave His disciples in John 13, Scholtes wanted to show the connection between the church and its role in the life of the world. While it had a folk style of music, he wanted to connect the faith story of the church’s young people to the disheartened landscape of the culture in America.
Yes, they’ll know we are Christians by our love
We need to wake up and take to heart the words of this song. It is an important part of the message of grace, hope and love that we are to share with our part of the world and beyond. That is when we will truly see our mission of transforming stories through the gospel of Jesus Christ being fulfilled.
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.
If you would like to listen to this song, click HERE
They’ll Know We Are Christians by Our Love
We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord.
And we pray that all unity, may one day be restored.
By our love, by our love.
Yes, they’ll know we are Christians by our love.
We will walk with each other, will walk hand in hand,
We will walk with each other, will walk hand in hand,
And together we’ll spread the news, that God is in our land
We will work with each other, we will work side by side
And we’ll save each man’s dignity, and guard each man’s pride.
And all praise to Christ Jesus, God’s only Son
And all praise to the Spirit, Who makes us one.
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Seize the Moment – Day 1417
Set Your House in Order!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Friday, February 2.
If I came to you, saying, “You had better get your house in order.” How would you respond? This is the situation Hezekiah found himself in Isaiah 38:1, “In those days Hezekiah became mortally ill. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him and said to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live.” ’ ” Hezekiah wept bitterly. Through his tears, he cried out, “Remember now, O Lord, I beseech You, how I have walked before You in truth and with a whole heart, and have done what is good in Your sight” (3). He responded to his crisis with prayer. Just like in Isaiah 37, when Hezekiah did not run to Egypt for rescue, now, in Isaiah 38, he did not run to doctors for a cure. Again, he threw himself at the mercy of God, who responded to his humility in verses 5-8:
“Thus says the Lord, the God of your father David, ‘I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; behold, I will add fifteen years to your life. I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city.’” This shall be the sign to you from the Lord, that the Lord will do this thing that He has spoken: Behold, I will cause the shadow on the stairway, which has gone down with the sun on the stairway of Ahaz, to go back ten steps.”
God moved back the shadow to emphasize that it was He who healed Hezekiah. This was not the work of a doctor; this was the intervention of a merciful God.
Seize the moment and throw yourself at the mercy of God! This is the way to get your house in order, no matter the circumstance.
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.
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