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The blog contains daily devotions and notes from the weekly messages. We encourage you to review the notes during the sermon or through the week! Most of the posts will have an audio and/or video link at the end of the notes. From time to time the pastors will share other insights and devotions here.
Note:
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29
Aug '24
Joel 2
29
Aug '24
Day 1626
Receive the Holy Spirit!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Thursday, August 29.
The threat of the ravenous locust army was upon Israel. How were the people to respond to this clear and present danger? God spoke to his people through His prophet in Joel 2:12-13, “‘Yet even now,’ declares the Lord, ‘Return to Me with all your heart, and with fasting, weeping and mourning; and rend your heart and not your garments.’ Now return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness and relenting of evil.”
The message was the same – “Return to Me with all your heart.” The character of God had not changed – “He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness and relenting of evil.” When the danger is real, turn to a real source of help! More than save you from your circumstances, God will give you His presence, as promised in Joel 2:28-29, “It will come about after this that I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; and your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on the male and female servants I will pour out My Spirit in those days.”
God’s promise was that He would give Himself to His people, and that is why Christ came. In Acts 2:16-21, the Apostle Peter quoted the entirety of Joel 2:28-32 in his first sermon after Pentecost, after the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the first disciples. In response to hearing Peter proclaim Pentecost as the fulfillment of the ancient prophet’s message, the witnesses asked, “What shall we do?”
Seize the moment and return to the unchanging God of the Bible, whose presence is your greatest protection from the clear and present danger – “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38).
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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28
Aug '24
Joel 1
28
Aug '24
Day 1625
Prepare for the Day!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Wednesday, August 28.
The prophetic work of Joel is famous for the imagery of the locust army, which has captured the imagination of people ever since. The menacing locusts are introduced in Joel 1:4, “What the gnawing locust has left, the swarming locust has eaten; and what the swarming locust has left, the creeping locust has eaten; and what the creeping locust has left, the stripping locust has eaten.” The locust horde brought utter devastation to the Promised Land, and then, in a masterful use of poetic metaphor, the prophet connected this agricultural disaster to an invading army as a warning of God’s wrath against Israel in Joel 1:6, “For a nation has invaded my land, mighty and without number” (cf. Joel 2:2-11). While there is very little debate about the prophetic message itself, there is speculation about when Joel gave it. The three historical settings that it seemingly fits are the time of: 1. The Assyrian Empire before the destruction of the northern ten tribes of Israel; 2. The Babylonian Empire before the exile and destruction of Solomon’s Temple; or 3. The Persian Empire during the postexilic times of Zerubbabel’s Temple.
Regardless of when Joel’s ministry happened, his warning about the coming judgment comes with the same choice regardless of the time (ancient or contemporary) or place (over there or right here). The leaders of the nation are to call for a sacred gathering, leading the people in a time of corporate repentance, in accordance with Joel 1:14-15, “Consecrate a fast, proclaim a solemn assembly; gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land to the house of the Lord your God, and cry out to the Lord. Alas for the day! For the day of the Lord is near, and it will come as destruction from the Almighty” (cf. Joel 2:15-17).
Seize the moment and prepare for the day of the Lord (Matthew 24-25; 2 Peter 3:3-18).
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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27
Aug '24
Hosea 14
27
Aug '24
Day 1624
Motivated to be in Right Relationships!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Tuesday,
Are you motivated to be in right relationships? Are you committed to do the hard work necessary to get there? Those are two key questions I must ask a person, or a couple, before I can help them successfully. I’ve learned the hard way, with much sacrifice of my own time and energy over the last two decades of doing this kind of work, that there is one thing I simply cannot do and that is want the relationship for the couple more than they want it for themselves. If either individual is unmotivated or uncommitted to the relationship, then there is no way forward except to pray and fast for God to change their hearts. The key ingredients to success in a right relationship are personal motivation and a wholehearted commitment to make it work with the other person. With this knowledge in mind, the prophet concluded his work with a final invitation for wayward Israel to return to their God in Hosea 14:1-3:
Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God, for you have stumbled because of your iniquity. Take words with you and return to the Lord. Say to Him, “Take away all iniquity and receive us graciously, that we may present the fruit of our lips. Assyria will not save us, we will not ride on horses; nor will we say again, ‘Our god,’ to the work of our hands; for in You the orphan finds mercy.”
Seize the moment and commit yourself wholeheartedly to the God who loves you (John 3:16). He has kept His vow to you, now return to Him in repentance, motivated to be with Him and committed to do the hard work necessary to be in a right relationship. Getting right with Jesus enables you to take the next step of getting right with other people because you can’t give to another what you haven’t received first yourself.
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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26
Aug '24
Hosea 13
26
Aug '24
Day 1623
Thankfulness on the Pathway to Recovery!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Monday, August 26.
Imagine if you only had today what you gave thanks to God for yesterday. When you count your blessings one-by-one, what you are doing is rehearsing that which you are thankful for – you remember so that you won’t forget! People, as a species, struggle with mindfulness because we are so easily distracted. The spiritual practice of thankfulness reminds us of God’s goodness and keeps us focused on making good decisions today.
As the Israelites turned away from God, and toward the empty idol worship of their neighbors, God reminded them of His covenant faithfulness to rescue and provide for them in Hosea 13:4-6, “Yet I have been the Lord your God since the land of Egypt; and you were not to know any god except Me, for there is no savior besides Me. I cared for you in the wilderness, in the land of drought. As they had their pasture, they became satisfied, and being satisfied, their heart became proud; therefore they forgot Me.” After receiving the gift of the Promised Land, a land of rest (peace) and a land flowing with milk and honey (prosperity), they became self-sufficient and self-satisfied. They soon forgot God’s rescue and provision. Because of His mercy, when they were stuck in the rut of their own pride, God reminded them of the essential truth of creation, “there is no savior besides Me.” God was inviting the intoxicated Israelites to get honest about their self-delusions, then to take the next steps of putting their faith and hope back in Him as their savior. This is what the daily discipline of thanksgiving does, it helps you work through these first three steps of recovery – honesty, hope, and faith.
Seize the moment and give thanks to the God who can rescue you from yourself and restore you to the pathway to recovery. Start each day by thanking God for what you have, so that you may have the courage to take the right next step.
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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24
Aug '24
Hosea 12
24
Aug '24
Day 1621
Wait for God Continually!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Saturday, August 24.
Patience is an expression of hope. Waiting upon the Lord requires faith, but trust has always been difficult for humanity. To illustrate this point in Hosea 12:2-6, the prophet referenced the thousand-year-old story of Jacob:
The LORD also has a dispute with Judah, and will punish Jacob according to his ways; He will repay him according to his deeds. In the womb he took his brother by the heel, and in his maturity he contended with God. Yes, he wrestled with the angel and prevailed; He wept and sought His favor. He found Him at Bethel and there He spoke with us, even the LORD, the God of hosts, the LORD is His name. Therefore, return to your God, observe kindness and justice, and wait for your God continually.
The prophet’s exhortation to his people, “wait for your God continually,” was grounded in the formation of Israel, through Jacob. Hosea briefly highlighted some of the historical events in verses 2-5, but the full story is found in Genesis 25-50, with the prophet specifically alluding to Genesis 25:26; 28:10-22; 32:24-30; and 35:10-15. It was through Jacob’s journey with God that his character was changed from being a schemer and deceiver to being a person of faith whom God could use for His purposes. Hosea was calling upon Israel to remember their story, and to be transformed by waiting upon the Lord through their time of judgment. God did not abandon Jacob in his time of need, and He was not finished with Israel in Hosea’s generation. In the same way, God is not done with you! He desires to transform you through the renewal of your mind, but this requires patience during the unfolding of your story.
Seize the moment and wait for your God continually – “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” (Isaiah 40:31).
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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23
Aug '24
Hosea 11
23
Aug '24
Day 1620
Warning Signs!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Friday, August 23.
I enjoy traveling, especially to visit the American National Parks. Having lived from coast to coast, and having visited every state in the country, I can attest to you the importance of reading signs along your route. It is essential to have an up-to-date map, or trustworthy source for directions, but it’s also critical to pay attention to signs due to changing circumstances and ever-present road construction. If you don’t pay attention to the warning signs, your trip will go badly.
In 2 Kings 17:13-15, God described the many warning signs on Israel’s route to destruction at the hands of Assyria:
Yet the LORD warned Israel and Judah through all His prophets and every seer, saying, “Turn from your evil ways and keep My commandments, My statutes according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you through My servants the prophets.” However, they did not listen, but stiffened their neck like their fathers, who did not believe in the LORD their God. They rejected His statutes and His covenant which He made with their fathers and His warnings with which He warned them. And they followed vanity and became vain, and went after the nations which surrounded them, concerning which the LORD had commanded them not to do like them.
One of the clearest warning signs to Israel was the life and message of the prophet Hosea, who succinctly stated in Hosea 11:1-2, “When Israel was a youth I loved him, and out of Egypt I called My son. The more they [the prophets] called them, the more they went from them; they kept sacrificing to the Baals and burning incense to idols.” Signs don’t help unless we pay attention to them!
Seize the moment and heed the warning signs God has put on your path. God is trying to get your attention. Are you listening?
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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22
Aug '24
Hosea 10
22
Aug '24
Day 1619
Break up your Fallow Ground!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Thursday,
The yoke is an image of being under authority and submitting to direction, and it carries the implications of a covenant relationship with blessings or curses. This agricultural image was reintroduced by the prophet in Hosea 10:11-12, as the Israelites were being removed from the Promised Land because of their disobedience to God:
Ephraim is a trained heifer that loves to thresh, but I will come over her fair neck with a yoke; I will harness Ephraim, Judah will plow, Jacob will harrow for himself. Sow with a view to righteousness, reap in accordance with kindness; break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the LORD until He comes to rain righteousness on you.
The time of threshing was over, and the days of the yoke were upon Israel. When a trained heifer was allowed to thresh, it would walk freely on the harvested stalks until the grain was separated from the ears. It was a time to benefit from its previous hard work as the heifer was allowed to eat as it threshed (Deuteronomy 25:4). Contrast that with the hard work of breaking up fallow ground, which is ground that was previously plowed and readied for sowing but then laid useless and unproductive. It required the discipline of the yoke to accomplish this task as the oxen team was directed to plow, harrow, sow, and then reap. God’s purpose in this imagery was to indicate Israel’s absolute need for His leadership to bring about their fruitfulness. Would the people reject His yoke?
Seize the moment and find rest from the heavy burden of sin by taking on the easy yoke of Jesus Christ (Matthew 11:28-30). There is a harvest to be reaped, so join with Jesus to “break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the Lord until He comes to rain righteousness on you” (Hosea 10:12).
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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21
Aug '24
Hosea 9
21
Aug '24
Day 1618
Pursue Prosperity of the Soul!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Wednesday, August 21.
What kind of prosperity are you pursuing? Jesus pointedly asked in Mark 8:36-37, “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? For what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” Wealth can be a seductive measurement of success in life, and the pursuit of prosperity can lead a person away from faithfulness to God. The prophet called out Israel for this at one of their fall festivals in Hosea 9:1-3:
Do not rejoice, O Israel, with exultation like the nations! For you have played the harlot, forsaking your God. You have loved harlots’ earnings on every threshing floor. Threshing floor and wine press will not feed them, and the new wine will fail them. They will not remain in the LORD’S land, but Ephraim will return to Egypt, and in Assyria they will eat unclean food.
Heartbreakingly, so much of what we strive for in life can be taken away from us, abandoning us in our time of need. The Israelites turned to foreign nations for security, and, in doing so, rejected God and His protection and provision. God warns you not to pursue the fool’s gold of this world, that which appears to be worth your efforts but only sparkles without worth. Instead, pursue prosperity through a relationship with the One who promises to transform your soul through His great treasure in you (2 Corinthians 4:7). There is nothing more valuable to the world today than a person of character who shines with wisdom, hope, and love (Proverbs 3:15).
Seize the moment and pursue prosperity of the soul – “This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success” (Joshua 1:8).
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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20
Aug '24
Hosea 8
20
Aug '24
Day 1617
Break the Cycle of Devastation!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Tuesday, August 20.
When we turn to idols, we are seeking after one of four things: comfort, approval, control, or power. Christian counselors often call these the four core or source idols, meaning that one of these four deep desires is at the heart (control center) of our adulterous worship. As we have learned from the thematic imagery of Hosea, idolatry is spiritual adultery. In the same way that there will be devastation when seeking sexual satisfaction outside of the covenant relationship of biblical marriage, when we strive to make our lives work for us outside of the covenant relationship with God, we will reap what we sow. The seed of Adam and Eve’s apple debacle still grows within us today!
Dramatically, the prophet declared to Israel in Hosea 8:7, “For they sow the wind and they reap the whirlwind.” Who would want to intentionally bring about devastating damage by invoking unnecessary storms in our own lives, families, and communities? But that is the major theme of all human history, including that of Israel. Our rebellion against God is caused by a pervasive lack of faith in Him, and our nagging belief that He can’t or won’t keep His promises to us. So, in response to our deep mistrust of anyone but ourselves, we take matters into our own hands to find comfort, approval, control, or power. In doing so, we become like Israel, rejecting His covenant faithfulness for fast-food pleasures that will, more often than naught, make our lives worse in the long run. This is the heart struggle of humanity, and we are still reaping the whirlwind today.
Seize the moment and break the cycle of devastation in your life by doing one overt act of love and kindness today that demonstrates your trust in God to meet your deep need for comfort, approval, control, or power – “Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary” (Galatians 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.
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19
Aug '24
Hosea 7
19
Aug '24
Day 1616
Repent without Regret!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Monday, August 19.
Do you hate your sin, or do you only seek to avoid the consequences of sin? This is a question that requires honest self-reflection. In 2 Corinthians 7:8-10, Paul taught that the Holy Spirit brings life to those who are truly heartbroken over the conviction of their sin:
For though I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it; though I did regret it – for I see that that letter caused you sorrow, though only for a while – I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance; for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God, so that you might not suffer loss in anything through us. For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, … .
Paul had called out the Corinthians, and though it caused conflict by doing so, his pastoral concern brought about godly sorrow in the people, which in turn produced a “repentance without regret.” When Hosea proclaimed the consequences of sin to Israel, they mocked God by putting on a manipulative show of repentance as described in Hosea 7:13-14, “I would redeem them, but they speak lies against Me. And they do not cry to Me from their heart when they wail on their beds; for the sake of grain and new wine they assemble themselves, they turn away from Me.” They didn’t hate their sin, so they went through the motions of empty religion, hoping to pacify God. God was not fooled by their religious showmanship, nor will He be by ours today. God looks to your heart!
Seize the moment and repent without regret. May your spirit respond to the Holy Spirit’s conviction of sin so that you may experience true repentance, giving you internal freedom from your hurts, habits, and hangups.
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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