Seize the Moment – Day 1339
Find Meaning with God!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Thursday, November 16.
I heard a Christian music artist testify, “There is no high, like the Most High!” He stated it with an air of personal authority that made it much more believable than if I had said it. Solomon began Ecclesiastes 2 with that same kind of authority, basing his conclusions on personal experience rather than philosophical speculation. He summarized his observations in verses 10-11:
All that my eyes desired I did not refuse them. I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure, for my heart was pleased because of all my labor and this was my reward for all my labor. Thus I considered all my activities which my hands had done and the labor which I had exerted, and behold all was vanity and striving after wind and there was no profit under the sun.
Solomon tried it all and found every kind of pursuit under the sun as having no lasting value (1-11). After reflecting upon the reality that both the foolish and the wise will share the same death (12-16), Solomon journaled in verse 17, “So I hated life, for the work which had been done under the sun was grievous to me; because everything is futility and striving after wind.”
What’s the answer to living a fulfilled life “under the sun” if it’s all a chasing after the wind? After testing every possible pursuit, he summarized his conclusion with a question, in Ecclesiastes 2:25, “There is nothing better for a man than to eat and drink and tell himself that his labor is good. This also I have seen that it is from the hand of God. For who can eat and who can have enjoyment without Him?” You were never intended to do life apart from God (John 15:5); truly, trying to do so is vanity of vanities!
Seize the moment and find meaning with God – “for in Him we live and move and exist” (Acts 17:28).
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 1338
Life Under the Sun!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Wednesday, November 15.
When I first studied the Bible, as a young officer in the US Army, the book of Ecclesiastes pierced my soul, like an arrow to the heart. For years, the opening phrases of Ecclesiastes worked on my soul in deep ways. The Spirit used Ecclesiastes 1:1-3 and 13-14 to bring me to a place of absolute surrender, to answer God’s call:
The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher, “Vanity of vanities! All is vanity.” What advantage does man have in all his work which he does under the sun? … I set my mind to seek and explore by wisdom concerning all that has been done under heaven. It is a grievous task which God has given to the sons of men to be afflicted with. I have seen all the works which have been done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and striving after wind.
Solomon, the Preacher in this book, wrote about the universal human experience of living “under the sun.” This phrase points to the human struggle of living in a fallen world, which is deeply broken because of human sin (Genesis 3). There is a profound struggle to living under the effects of God’s curse, as every aspect of human existence, from the most intimate relationships to your daily work, has been made painful and difficult. There is a fundamental choice we each must make in the face of this reality: to strive to make it all work out by our own efforts or to surrender to God and His grace (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14).
Seize the moment and live under the Lordship of the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who promises to give you His abundant life (John 10:10). Don’t toil under the curse, when you can experience the blessing of a right relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ.
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 1337
Focus on what Matters Most!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Tuesday, November 14.
Did you know that in today’s world you can be busy doing nothing? Are you utilizing the precious time you have to focus on what matters most? Proverbs 31:10-31 captures a description of “an excellent wife,” but what it really does is teach us what the life that embodies wisdom looks like. The conclusion of the matter is found in Proverbs 31:30-31, with a characterization of a person who lives according to the fear of the Lord, “Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised. Give her the product of her hands, and let her works praise her in the gates.” These are the concluding words of the book of Proverbs, a summarization of the theme of Solomon’s wisdom – a wise person lives according to the fear of the Lord.
Take some time today to meditate upon this description of a godly life, seeing how important the wise use of time is for each of us. How are you investing your time? What matters most to you? If time is your best expression of love, to whom are you giving this exquisite gift? If I were to write a short story about your life, what would it sound like based on how you are investing your time and energy? Are there things you would like to change? Consider taking active steps today to do this because you do not know how much time is left that can still be rearranged. Today is a gift!
Seize the moment and apply the wisdom of Proverbs 31: focus on what matters most by cultivating the character of a godly person, and you will reap a harvest of praise to God by bearing the good fruit of the Spirit in your life, “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23).
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.
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Seize the Moment – Day 1336
Ask God for His Will to be Done!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Monday, November 13.
What are you asking God for and why? What are the motivations of your prayer life? In Proverbs 30:7-9, Agur petitions God, “Two things I asked of You, do not refuse me before I die: Keep deception and lies far from me, give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is my portion, that I not be full and deny You and say, “Who is the Lord?” Or that I not be in want and steal, and profane the name of my God.” He asked for a life of integrity, and a life of contentment. Both of which he desires so that he may honor God with his life. Motives matter when we petition God, as James 4:3 explains, “You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.”
Prayer is a gift from God. He desires to be in a personal relationship with you, and He wants to hear from you. We are to approach God in the name of Jesus, which means we are to ask Him in accordance with His character and will, as revealed to us through His Word (John 14:14; 15:16; 16:23-24). In Matthew 6:9-13, Jesus taught His disciples how to pray in a new way:
Our Father who is in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
Seize the moment and apply the wisdom of Proverbs 30: ask God for His will to be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven!
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:
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Unity in the Body of Christ!
A Special Message
The Journey to 2030:
Unity in the Body of Christ!
“FBC desires to see communities thriving to the glory of God.”
“FBC desires to see communities thriving to the glory of God.”
We call you to the journey of experiencing the fullness of joy that Jesus promises each one of you, members of His one body. We understand that the Holy Spirit is the One transforming our stories as walk with Jesus; it’s a faithful journey to the destination of Christlikeness. It’s not always a straight journey, and it can be messy, but we must remain focused – eyes on Jesus!
In creating an atmosphere/culture of transformation for your journey, the leaders of FBC desire to, prayerfully (according to Acts 6:4), preach and teach clearly what it means for each of us (individually and collectively) to live as disciples of Jesus Christ so that we each can ensure we are heading in the right direction – intentionally becoming like Him in word and deed.
This will include what we provide, or partner with, for people on Sunday mornings (during Sunday school hour and in service) and Wednesday nights (youth, children, and adult programming available at the church), as well as what is available to you throughout the week in Bible studies and ministry gatherings.
The goal of such teaching is for each of us to have the mind of Christ and to know the will of God according to Romans 12:2, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” This transformation is necessary for us to be actively engaged in the mission of God, to which Jesus calls all His followers to participate in the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20).
Apart from our stories being transformed through the gospel of Jesus Christ we cannot be on the Journey with Jesus. This is a personal journey of discipleship, but it is never private; it is a call to the refreshing work of the Holy Spirit through the great community, called the church. As the leaders of FBC, we desire to empower both the individual and the corporate body, according to the teaching of the Body of Christ in the New Testament (i.e. Romans 12:3-8; 1 Corinthians 12; and Ephesians 4).
Let’s read Ephesians 4:1-16. I’ll make a few comments, then call you to make some commitments as members of the one body of Christ.
There are two ways the force is structured in the US Army: conventional and unconventional. The conventional force has a heavy top-down approach, where no one moves, from top to bottom, without the top first passing down the order that had to move its way down the chain of command. The assumptions of this model are not complementary to the soldiers or their ability to innovate and adapt on their own. Unfortunately, most of the Army is structured this way.
The church is not intended to look this way! We are more like the unconventional forces of the army’s special forces and special operations communities, who empower every solider as a highly trained team member who can accomplish the mission without a lot of oversight. They are given a mission to accomplish, then entrusted with team leadership, to accomplish it in their specific areas of operation, as they have been chosen, trained, and sent to do. This is how the church is called to function, not only with Jesus, our Commander, giving us the Great Commission, and entrusting every congregation in every community of every nation to spring up and get the mission done in ways that are right and true to their time and location, but this is also true of every congregation, as the pastors and leaders empower the people to get the mission done in ways that are right and true to your household, neighborhood, and workplace.
We must structure ourselves to empower you, the soldiers of Jesus who have been chosen, need to be trained, and are being sent to live your life on mission for Jesus.
- The Church Cabinet will consist of Pastoral Staff, Elders, Deacons/Deaconesses, Moderator, and Clerk. The Church Cabinet convenes on a regular basis to assure that those in positions of congregational authority are being faithful to the mission, vision, faith statement and core values of the church.
- The Elders provide spiritual formation and accountability to the pastoral staff of the church. They work together to create a congregational culture that prioritizes the mission and vision of First Baptist Church according to our faith statement and core values.
- The Deacons/Deaconesses are the servants of the church, leading the work of ministry in First Baptist Church. Deacons are affirmed/appointed to their positions based upon their calling to their area of service.
- The Moderator chairs the Church Cabinet, conducts Congregational Meetings, and works closely with the lead pastor to liaise between the congregation and staff.
All areas of ministry (and their teams) are directly accountable to a member of the cabinet. The reason we have this structure at FBC is empower you, the priesthood of all believers, to live on mission, the good fruit of your life of discipleship. In the words of Jesus, for you as a good tree to bear good fruit (Matthew 7:15-20). We want to minimize meetings and red tape, so that you can be equipped, encouraged, and empowered to live for Jesus, on mission for God!
Therefore, I call you to the following six membership commitments to ensure the unity of the body of Christ while so that we can function as God intended, sending you out as an unconventional force of elite special forces soldiers. We gather to scatter!
- I commit to being a loving member where I see membership as a call to godly living and relationships. I will:
- Uphold biblical standards in my own life and in relationship with my brothers and sisters, according to Matthew 18.
- Prioritize greater spiritual, emotional, physical, and relational health with God, self, family, and others.
- I commit to being a healthy member where I see membership as a part of God’s plan for my life (John 13:35). I will be a source of:
- Unity, not division, knowing that none of us, including leadership, are perfect.
- Mercy and grace, not gossip and dissension.
- I commit to being a praying member where I see prayer as my Christian responsibility to fulfill Jesus’ prayer in John 17. I will discipline my life to pray daily for the body of Christ including:
- Pastors and leaders
- Ministries & missions
- Families & community
- The worldwide church throughout all nations
- I commit to being a serving member where I see membership as an opportunity to visibly live a life of sacrificial service (Philippians 2:5-11). I will:
- Serve the church and its membership.
- Actively live a life of ministry and mission through the guidance and power the Holy Spirit in my day-to-day life.
- I commit to being a functional member where I see membership according to the Bible’s teaching (1 Corinthians 12 – 14). I will demonstrate this in the following ways:
- Active participation in a discipleship group.
- Service in ministry.
- Biblical financial partnership.
- Witness for Christ to the community.
- I will be a committed member where I see membership in the body of Christ as a privilege that comes with responsibilities. I recognize the church will only be healthy and grow when I am doing my part; therefore, I will:
- Learn about and use my spiritual gifts to build the body of Christ (Ephesians 4).
- Display the fruit of the Spirit to our community and beyond (Galatians 5:22-23).
I am going to be focusing on discipleship; providing “pathways of grace” for you to grow in godliness (Christlikeness). May your life bear the good fruit of a transformed life through the gospel of Jesus Christ. Thriving is more than an understanding of what is God’s best for my life, the church, and surrounding community, it is a call to full participation in that life through our 7 big words, on the banners behind you: gather, follow, rest, belong, love, service, and go. It is seeing our four core values, posted right here on the wall to my left, come alive in you.
We all have very little space on our calendars available, just as we all have more demands on our money, so we want to invite you to choose pathways of grace that will help you thrive and that will bring thriving to our communities through your unique contributions.
I want to conclude with a thought I read a while back, “Our lives seem too crowded – too busy, we might say, were it not that after long hours of work we let entertainment and various addictions gobble up a good portion of the remaining time – to allow us to give sustained attention to the challenge of discerning the life truly worth living…It’s not just that we don’t know how to live meaningful lives. We don’t even seem to be able to focus for very long on the question” (source unknown).
The leaders of FBC want to help you focus on the abundant life of Jesus Christ; we invite you participate in the work of Jesus Christ to bring about your transformation, but we know that can only happen through your submission to the power and presence of the Holy Spirit in your life. Jesus calls that His “easy yoke” (Matthew 11:28-30).
We invite you to join us on FBC’s Journey to 2030. To get out of the heavy yoke of the world and its definitions of thriving and to get into Jesus’ easy yoke and to walk with Him, in His way. We know it’s going to take a long time, but we are committed to the process of transformation that God will do in us and through us as we learn, step-by-step, to be about our Father’s Work in His Harvest fields.
May Jesus lead us on FBC’s Journey to 2030! To God alone be the Glory!
If you would like to watch Pastor Jerry present this message, Click HERE.
If you would like to watch the entire service including music, click HERE.
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Seize the Moment – Day 1334
.’Today’s song focus will be
Christ is Enough!
Colossians 2:9-10 (NASB95)
“For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority.”
Written in 2003 by Hillsong Worship, this song is a wonderful reminder that Jesus is our reward, our devotion, our joy, our salvation and our hope. He is all we need. By making the decision to follow Him, we choose to turn away from the things of this world and follow after Him with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. He is more than enough for us! Verse two states:
Christ my all in all, my joy and my salvation
And His hope will never fail, Heaven is our home
We need to wake up and realize the sufficiency of our Lord and Savior! He is our all in all, and is everything we will ever need.
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:
Christ Is Enough
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Seize the Moment – Day 1333
Repent of Your Stubbornness!
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Seize the Moment – Day 1332
Be Confident in the Lord!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Thursday, November 9.
Are there circumstances in your life holding you back from experiencing God’s best? Is your perspective preventing you from being able to seize the moment in those situations? In Proverbs 28:1, Solomon calls believers to be confident in the Lord, “The wicked flee when no one is pursuing, but the righteous are bold as a lion.” To be as “bold as a lion” is to be daring, or extremely confident. The lion is considered the king of the jungle, not because he is the biggest, but because he is the most confident. It’s his attitude that sets the lion apart, as Proverbs 30:30 explains, “The lion which is mighty among beasts and does not retreat before any.” When the lion sees an elephant, he sees food; whereas, when elephant sees a lion, it flees. The lion sees opportunity where others cannot!
Are you running from situations in your life even though you have the Lord on your side? Paul taught in Romans 8:31, “If God is for us, who is against us?” When we have God on our side, we are to be confident in Him, and His ability to turn any crisis into an opportunity for His glory. We are to be as bold as a lion by being confident in the Lord. Do not make the mistake, as many Christians have, of becoming like a lion in your mannerisms or leadership style. Such bravado only hinders the work of Christ in and through you and the local church. Jesus was meek, but not because He was weak. Jesus is the Lion of the tribe of Judah (Revelation 5:5); therefore, His confidence was in God’s plan for His life. God has a plan for your life, too, so be bold in how you trust Him in every circumstance.
Seize the moment and apply the wisdom of Proverbs 28: be confident in the Lord!
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 1331
Reflect the Image of God!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Wednesday, November 8.
Have you ever seen a photograph with still water in the foreground so that it mirrored the focus of the picture? This is called reflection photography, and the classic example is of a striking mountain vista captured on the still water of a serene lake. My wife has used this photography technique to take beautiful pictures from the Rocky Mountains, to include our recent trip to the Grand Tetons. She tried to do the same when we toured Scotland, but it was too windy, so the lochs did not provide a clear canvas. The key to the mirror effect is still waters. When the water is stirred, the reflection is distorted. With this imagery in mind, Solomon insightfully taught in Proverbs 27:19, “As in water face reflects face, so the heart of man reflects man.”
If you want people to see the majesty of Christ reflected on the canvas of your life, there must be still waters to capture the vista of His presence. We are designed by God to be His image bearers (Genesis 1:27-28), mirroring His sovereign rule to the world. This is the very reason we are saved, as Paul clearly taught in Romans 8:29, “For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren.” We exist to make God visible, and this happens when our hearts are filled with God’s peaceful presence. Jesus explained in Luke 6:45, “The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart.” Your life reflects the truth of your heart.
Seize the moment and apply the wisdom of Proverbs 27: reflect the image of God by finding rest for your soul in the easy yoke of Jesus Christ (Matthew 11:28-30).
God bless you!
If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.
YOUTUBE:
If you prefer a video, Pastor Jerry reads his devotion on YouTube as well. Click HERE to visit the page.
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Seize the Moment – Day 1330
Be Wise with Foolish People!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Tuesday, November 7.
Have you ever been in a situation where you had no idea how to respond to a person who was acting like a fool; nevertheless, whether you should even acknowledge that they said something foolish? I’ve been in this situation in one-on-one conversations and in group settings, small and large. Clearly, Solomon has too, as Proverbs 26:4-5 instructs us how to handle people in such difficult situations, “Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you will also be like him. Answer a fool as his folly deserves, that he not be wise in his own eyes.” Solomon is not contradicting himself in these back-to-back proverbs; rather, he is teaching us situational awareness.
There are times to engage the person with truth, and there are times to ignore him or smooth it over, but there is never a time to be mean about it, even if the person has been casually cruel in his foolishness. In Matthew 5:21-22, Jesus gives clear instruction not to call anyone a fool:
You have heard that the ancients were told, “You shall not commit murder” and “Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.” But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, “You good-for-nothing,” shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, “You fool,” shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.
While conflict is a necessary reality with certain people or situations, character assassination is never acceptable. When a person is acting a fool, be graceful with how you talk about the person, even when you must confront him about his conduct. Check your own heart so that you don’t act like the fool yourself.
Seize the moment and apply the wisdom of Proverbs 26: be wise with foolish people!
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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