The Stone of Stumbling!

Isaiah 8

Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Friday, December 22.

Is it difficult to accept that suffering and hardship can come from the hand of God to bring about His good purposes? Often, we create elaborate conspiracy theories to understand what can be explained by God’s Word: there is evil in the world, and it is often at work from within each of us. Therefore, God must work, first, within us, and second, through us, to eradicate evil and ease its effects upon creation. That is not a simple process, and one that often requires us to trust God during challenging circumstances. In Isaiah 8:11-14, God spoke to Israel to stop participating with evil and to start partnering with Him:

For thus the Lord spoke to me with mighty power and instructed me not to walk in the way of this people, saying, “You are not to say, ‘It is a conspiracy!’ In regard to all that this people call a conspiracy, and you are not to fear what they fear or be in dread of it. It is the Lord of hosts whom you should regard as holy. And He shall be your fear, and He shall be your dread. Then He shall become a sanctuary; but to both the houses of Israel, a stone to strike and a rock to stumble over, and a snare and a trap for the inhabitants of Jerusalem.”

Throughout history, God’s people have had to learn that His ways are higher than our ways (Isaiah 55:8-9). Paul quoted Isaiah 8:14 in Romans 9:33 to emphasize how Jesus’ crucifixion was a stumbling block to the Jewish people, leading them to reject God’s love for them. Peter quoted it in 1 Peter 2:7-10, emphasizing the transformative power of faith, which causes us to become witnesses of God’s light when we walk faithfully through dark places.  

Seize the moment and don’t stumble on God; instead, build your life upon the rock of Jesus (Matthew 7:24-27).

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.

The Greatest Sign Ever Given!

Isaiah 7

Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Thursday, December 21.

The Christmas season is the most wonderful time of year! Interestingly, one of the most quoted prophecies of Christmas was given in a time of great despair and impending doom. In fact, the prophecy of “Immanuel” was given as a time marker of destruction – “within another 65 years Ephraim will be shattered, so that it is no longer a people” (Isaiah 7:7-9). In Isaiah 7:14-16, after King Ahaz had been warned, he was given a sign, “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel. … For before the boy will know enough to refuse evil and choose good, the land whose two kings you dread will be forsaken.”

In a way only God can do, this prophecy had a double fulfillment – Immanuel was a sign of the coming judgment to Ephraim, the northern tribes of Israel, and for the redemption which would ultimately come through the Messiah. Every Christmas season, Christians celebrate Jesus Christ as the long-awaited Messiah of Israel who came as a baby, born of a virgin, as declared by the Gospel of Matthew 1:20-23:

Behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins. Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: ‘Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,’ which translated means, ‘God with us.’”

Seize the moment and embrace the wonder of Christmas; it is the most wonderful time of year because it declares the greatest sign ever given – Immanuel, God is with 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.

A Personal Encounter with God!

Isaiah 6

Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Wednesday, December 20.

How can you claim to represent someone you have never met? As Christians, we are called “ambassadors for Christ,” so how can we claim such an important position if we have never met the One we say we are representing (2 Corinthians 5:18-20)? This is why Christianity emphasizes a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ; an encounter with God is a requirement to fulfill such a job title. This is deeply rooted in the prophetic tradition of Israel, starting with Abraham, exemplified in Moses, carried on by Isaiah, and passed on to the church though Jesus. Foundational to his legitimacy as a prophet of God was Isaiah’s personal encounter with God, described in Isaiah 6:1-8:

I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called out to another and said, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory.” And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke. Then I said, “Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.” … Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

Seize the moment and cry out to God for a personal encounter with Jesus. Once you have experienced the love of God, you will never be the same, as Jesus’ promised, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men” (Mark 1:17).

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.

The Vineyard of God!

Isaiah 5

Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Tuesday, December 19.

Jesus used agricultural imagery in his teaching because He, as a master teacher, was connecting with an agrarian audience. Jesus spoke of soil, the sowing of seeds, the reaping of harvests, an oxen yoke, and many other images of a working farm because the people intuitively understood them from their everyday lives. Moreso, in His parable of the tenants, told in Matthew 21:33-41, Jesus did more than connect to agricultural imagery, He referenced the Old Testament’s prophetic parable from Isaiah 5:1-7:

My well-beloved had a vineyard on a fertile hill. He dug it all around, removed its stones, and planted it with the choicest vine. And He built a tower in the middle of it and also hewed out a wine vat in it; then He expected it to produce good grapes, but it produced only worthless ones. “And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge between Me and My vineyard. … I will remove its hedge and it will be consumed; I will break down its wall and it will become trampled ground. ….” For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel and the men of Judah His delightful plant.

Jesus fulfilled Isaiah’s prophecies of a coming Messiah, so when He told His parable it carried the weight of God’s judgment of His vineyard. His original audience would have known this, then Jesus changed the parable’s emphasis from the destruction of Israel to a change in kingdom leadership, to those who would bring about the fruit God desired from His vineyard (Matthew 21:42-44). Jesus came as Israel’s forever King and He has given His church access to all the promises of Israel (2 Corinthians 1:20).

Seize the moment and abide in the vine of Jesus; accept His rightful rule and you will bear much fruit, but apart from Him you can do nothing (John 15:1-17).

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.

The Branch of the Lord!

Isaiah 4

Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Monday, December 18.

Have you ever lived in, or driven through, an area where the farmers burn their fields in preparation for the planting season? While it may feel like you are driving into a war zone, the reality is that the fire does not destroy the fields; instead, it prepares them by clearing the stubble from the land, killing the bacterial and fungal residues, and providing fertilizer for the crop. In the same way, God uses a refiner’s fire to prepare His people for even greater purposes. Isaiah 4:2-5 provides a prophetic snapshot of God’s glory in Israel’s judgment:

In that day the Branch of the Lord will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth will be the pride and the adornment of the survivors of Israel. It will come about that he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy – everyone who is recorded for life in Jerusalem. When the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and purged the bloodshed of Jerusalem from her midst, by the spirit of judgment and the spirit of burning, then the Lord will create over the whole area of Mount Zion and over her assemblies a cloud by day, even smoke, and the brightness of a flaming fire by night; for over all the glory will be a canopy.

After the judgment of Jerusalem, a remnant would be preserved, and God’s glory will shine upon them and lead them. Israel is destined to be ruled by the Messiah, who is called, “the Branch of the LORD” in verse 2 (cf. Isaiah 11:1; 53:2; Jeremiah 23:5; 33:15; Zechariah 3:8; 6:12). Amazingly, from what appeared to be dead, life burst forth. This is a foreshadowing of the resurrection of Jesus Christ – beauty from the ashes (Isaiah 61:3).

Seize the moment and trust God for His greater purposes in your circumstances today!  

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.

Today’s song focus will be

Joy to the World

Isaiah 9:6 (NASB95)         

“For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;

And the government will rest on His shoulders;

And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor,

Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.”

Isaac Watts was one of the greatest hymn writers in church history. He originally wrote this hymn as a poem based on Psalm 98:4-9, adapting and interpreting the words to celebrate Jesus’ role as both king of His church and the whole world. The melody to which it is sung today was set to fragments composed by Watts & George Handel in England and pieced together by Lowell Mason & William Billings in America. And it is easy to remember how it starts because it is a simple scale played in descending order.

Joy to the world, the Lord has come! Let earth receive her King.

Let every heart prepare Him room, And heaven and nature sing

And heaven and nature sing! And heaven, and heaven and nature sing!

We need to wake up and share this good news of great joy! With all that is happening around us today, the world needs more joy! So share that gift with everyone you meet this holiday season…and beyond!

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:

Joy to the World

Pray for Leaders!

Isaiah 3

Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Friday, December 15.

We must pray for our leaders. A nation is judged according to its leadership and the decisions they make for justice and righteousness. In Isaiah 3:13-15, God denounces Israel’s leadership for acting corruptly, which led the people out of the way of Yahweh:

The Lord arises to contend, and stands to judge the people. The Lord enters into judgment with the elders and princes of His people, “It is you who have devoured the vineyard; the plunder of the poor is in your houses. What do you mean by crushing My people and grinding the face of the poor?” Declares the Lord God of hosts.

As you read Isaiah 3 today, you will see how the pride and haughtiness of the people followed in the ways of their leaders. Jesus defined the way of godly leaders in Matthew 20:25-28, because churches, communities, and countries rise and fall on leadership:

You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. It is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.

Pray for leaders to be humbled, walking in the way of Jesus, as Paul testified of his own ministry in Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”

Seize the moment and pray for leaders at every level of influence in our culture and churches to live godly lifestyles and make wise decisions for God’s glory.

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.

Hope for the Final Victory!

Isaiah 2

Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Thursday, December 14.

Before there was international conflict, national unrest, or community discord, there was a spiritual rebellion raging in the Heavenlies against God and His rightful rule over the elohim (translated “gods” in Psalm 95:3-4, and “rulers” in Psalm 82:1). In the ancient Near East cosmology, mountains were places of habitation for the gods, from which they ruled over the affairs of humanity. Mount Zion, where the temple was built by King Solomon, was considered the place of Yahweh’s habitation. The Israelites did not view Yahweh as another territorial god, but as the Creator, who is supreme over all gods, sovereign over all nations, and the only Savior of humanity. This is proclaimed in the prophetic imagery of Isaiah 2:1-3:

The word which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. Now it will come about that in the last days the mountain of the house of the Lord will be established as the chief of the mountains, and will be raised above the hills; and all the nations will stream to it. And many peoples will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; that He may teach us concerning His ways and that we may walk in His paths.”

God chose Zion to be His dwelling place, as Psalm 132:13-14 describes, “For the Lord has chosen Zion; He has desired it for His habitation. ‘This is My resting place forever; Here I will dwell, for I have desired it.’” In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus referenced Zion as “the city of the great King” (quoting Psalm 48:2 in Matthew 5:35). Don’t discount ancient cosmology as mythology; there is significance to geographical locations – Jerusalem is at the center of God’s plan for His final victory.

Seize the moment and hope for the final victory – “Then I looked, and behold, the Lamb was standing on Mount Zion” (Revelation 14:1). Pray for the peace of Jerusalem (Psalm 122:6-9).

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.

The Heart of the Father!

Isaiah 1

Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Wednesday, December 13.

Today, we begin a 250-day journey through the seventeen books of the Old Testament prophets. Just like in the New Testament, where you can find the historical context of each of Paul’s thirteen letters in the early church history book of Acts, the backdrop of each of these prophet’s ministries can be found in the history books of the Old Testament. The prophetic books should not be read as stand-alone works, to be taken out of their historical context, but as companion accounts of God’s salvific history. As you go on this journey with the ancient prophets of Israel, may you hear the heart of God the Father anew, for yourself, as He called out to His beloved children, “Come Home – Return to Me!”

A prophet is a person inspired to proclaim or reveal divine will or purpose. They are real people, with real faith, in real history, who, at great personal cost, gave the message as God gave it to them. Isaiah was called the Prince of Prophets, and his book is the largest, covering sixty-six chapters. According to Isaiah 1:1, his ministry was set during dangerous days of destruction, specifically, “during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah” (ref. 2 Kings 15-20 and 2 Chronicles 26-32). In this historical context of religious rebellion, national decline, and international instability, God’s heart was put on center stage, as He cried out to Israel in Isaiah 1:18, “‘Come now, and let us reason together,’ says the Lord, ‘Though your sins are as scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they will be like wool.’”

Seize the moment and may your life proclaim the heart of the Father – “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10).

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.