Seize the Moment – Day 1192
A Call to Repentance through Remembrance!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Thursday, June 22.
In Psalm 78, Asaph provides a word of instruction to God’s chosen people through a lengthy history lesson about Israel. The theological purpose of this seventy-two-verse psalm is found in verses 4-8:
We will not conceal them from their children, but tell to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, and His strength and His wondrous works that He has done. For He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which He commanded our fathers that they should teach them to their children, that the generation to come might know, even the children yet to be born, that they may arise and tell them to their children, that they should put their confidence in God and not forget the works of God, but keep His commandments, and not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation that did not prepare its heart and whose spirit was not faithful to God.
Asaph’s retelling of their history was a word of grace, calling the people to learn from their forefathers and to return to right worship of God before there was further destruction caused by their apostasy. We see something similar happen in Jesus’ ministry in Matthew 11:20-24, when He renounced the cities who rejected Him and His miracles, comparing them to Sodom. Just like with Asaph, Jesus did not bring up their sinful history to judge them, but to warn them of God’s coming wrath, inviting them to receive God’s grace before it was too late. His renunciation of their apostasy was the prelude to His gracious invitation to them in Matthew 11:28, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.”
Seize the moment and pray Psalm 78, meditating upon the call to repentance by remembering from what you were saved – “It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1).
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 1191
Pray Out Loud!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Wednesday, June 21.
When is the last time you prayed out loud? Do you remember the last time you’ve heard your own voice talking to God? Asaph prayed out loud in Psalm 77:1, “My voice rises to God, and I will cry aloud; my voice rises to God, and He will hear me.” Jesus Himself prayed aloud in His ministry, as recorded in Hebrews 5:7, “In the days of His flesh, He offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His piety.” Jesus prayed aloud in John 17, leaving us with an amazing account of His prayer life.
Try it right now, find a private place and start praying aloud so that you can hear your own voice. Don’t know where to start? With your Bible open, pray through today’s psalm, meditating upon the candor and courage of Asaph, who authentically talked to God. Then start using your own words, be honest with God about what’s on your heart. A great way to pray aloud is by writing down your prayers, just like Paul did in Ephesians 3:14-21, Philippians 1:9-11, and Colossians 1:9-12. It is a powerful spiritual discipline to pray aloud, then record them in your personal journal.
Silent prayer is also a critical component of anyone’s prayer life. Obviously, we couldn’t “pray without ceasing,” as Paul exhorts us to do in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 if it required of us to do so aloud all the time. You may lose your job, and it would drive your family and friends crazy if you did. Plus, it would be exhausting! The point is to pray, whether aloud or silent, in private or public.
Seize the moment and pray Psalm 77, meditating upon the God who wants to hear your prayers. Go for a walk with Jesus today, talking to Him like you would your most trusted friend.
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 1190
Shine Brilliantly!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Tuesday, June 20.
There is a word in Psalm 76 that grabs my imagination – “resplendent.” It means to shine brilliantly, to be attractive and impressive. Psalm 76:4 describes God, “You are resplendent, more majestic than the mountains of prey.” Specifically, this verse is saying that God shines brightly, more than the spoils of His victories.
During this year’s track season, I enjoyed watching my throwers shine as they did their very best in competition. At sectional championships, Caleb shined for all to see when he threw a massive personal best in the discus throw to surprise everyone with a second-place finish, qualifying for the regional championships. Similarly, Laura launched an impressive personal best to take the lead from her teammate in the discus throw competition. This brought out the best in Alaina who was unaccustomed to being in the number two spot; she responded with smiles and dancing, heaving the discus past her best friend, securing their first and second finishes and their shared trip to regionals. They were resplendent as their joy was visible for all to see!
Just like these athletes shined on the fields of friendly strife, the resplendent God wants you to live with joy and shine through your circumstances. Jesus spoke this over His disciples in Matthew 5:14-16:
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.
Seize the moment and pray Psalm 76, meditating upon the resplendent glory of God. Greater than your victories are the everyday ways you shine the light of God in your life!
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 1189
A Faithful and Righteous Judge!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Monday, June 19.
Psalm 75 gives thanks to God for being a faithful and righteous Judge. There is powerful imagery in today’s psalm that was used by the prophets – the cup of God’s wrath, as described by Asaph in verses 7-8, “But God is the Judge; He puts down one and exalts another. For a cup is in the hand of the Lord, and the wine foams; it is well mixed, and He pours out of this; surely all the wicked of the earth must drain and drink down its dregs.”
In Jeremiah 25:15-16, God described the judgment of the nations, “Take this cup of the wine of wrath from My hand and cause all the nations to whom I send you to drink it. They will drink and stagger and go mad because of the sword that I will send among them.” In Isaiah 51:17-23, the prophet declared that God would remove “the cup of His anger,” “the cup of reeling,” and “the chalice of My anger” from His people’s hand so that He may comfort them.
How was this prophecy fulfilled and the cup of God’s wrath satisfied? The night before His crucifixion, Jesus prayed in Matthew 26:39, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.” The cup Jesus was praying to the Father about was the cup of His wrath; Jesus saw it being poured out on Him on the cross, and the severity of it shook Him to the core of His humanity. It was for this reason that Jesus came from Heaven to Earth: to satisfy God’s wrath, by drinking “the cup of His anger” down to its dregs – Jesus is the propitiation for the sins of the world (1 John 2:2; 4:10).
Seize the moment and pray Psalm 75, meditating upon the cup of God’s grace extended to you every time you participate in the Lord’s Supper, in remembrance of Jesus (1 Corinthians 11:25).
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.
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Grow Strong in God’s Grace (Wk 15)
Grow Strong in God’s Grace: Learning How to be a Faithful Farmer for God’s Harvest!
“The Faith that Gives You a Limp!”
Hebrews 11:21 (NASB)
God is in the business of transforming stories through the gospel of Jesus Christ. We are to grow strong in God’s grace as active participants in the world He created. God has entrusted His creation to His people to work as His Harvest workers – “All the world’s a field, and all the disciples of Jesus Christ merely farmers!” Therefore, let’s be faithful farmers by following the four-step strategy of a hard-working farmer: 1) cultivate people with faith; 2) sow the good seed of God’s grace (the gospel) into their hearts and minds; 3) care for them as their stories are transformed into fruit-bearing plants; and 4) reap a harvest of praise as the church of Jesus Christ.
This strategy must be empowered by the Holy Spirit because apart from God we cannot bear any good fruit (John 15:5)! Therefore, harvest workers of God’s kingdom are called to grow strong in God’s grace. Let’s take the first step by learning from the transforming stories of the Hall of Faith, found in Hebrews 11.
STEP #1 OF THE FARMER’S STRATEGY: CULTIVATE THE SOIL WITH FAITH
Today, I have the privilege of telling you the story of Jacob, but to tell his story I also must tell you about his twin brother, the older twin brother Esau. Their story is found in between last week’s teaching on verse 20 and today’s Scripture lesson found in verse 21. Everyone loves a good back story to fill in the gaps, so let’s read both, Hebrews 11:20-21, which says, “By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau, even regarding things to come. By faith Jacob, as he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff.”
Jacob’s story happened between the blessing he received from his father and the blessings he gave to Joseph’s sons, as if they were his own sons. Essentially, his whole adult life (between being a young adult and becoming elderly) is missing in Hebrews 11. His full story is behind the scenes of Hebrews 11 but aren’t the truest and most important parts of our stories often happening behind the scenes, in the gaps of our public lives. Jacob’s story is an encounter with God, which forever changed his story from selfish pride and self-sufficient scheming to graceful humility and faith.
Is this your story too? This is the story of what God’s grace can do in a person’s life, but you must be willing to leave today with a limp for it to become true in your life. Are you willing to learn how to lean on God, just like Jacob had to lean on the top of his staff when he blessed his grandchildren? Are you willing to pray that Proverbs 3:5-6 becomes a reality in your story, just like it did in Jacob’s story, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” You can’t lean on God if you are still leaning on yourself! Let’s pray for God’s grace to prevail over us today, cultivating the soil of our hearts and minds so that his good seed of grace can be planted deep in us, just like when God wrestled with Jacob, humbling him so that he would live a life for someone more than himself.
STEP #2 OF THE FARMER’S STRATEGY: SOW THE GOOD SEED OF GOD’S GRACE
Last week, I contrasted Jacob and Esau by how they valued the promises of God in their own lives. Jacob highly valued and prioritized the promise of God that was passed through his father’s blessing. The birthright and blessing were rightfully Esau’s (the first born), but through Jacob’s trickery and scheming, Esau sold his birthright for a single meal and then despised it. Last week, we read this story from Genesis 25:27-34 and highlighted its implications from Hebrews 12:15-17. This would not have been possible if it weren’t for Esau’s complete disregard for spiritual things; his focus was on the temporary pleasures and opportunities of the world.
Selling his birthright flowed out of Esau’s calloused heart, just as tricking his brother for his birthright flowed out of Jacob’s desperate heart! Esau and Jacob are three-dimensional people – warts and all. If you thought Esau was an easy target, you don’t have to look hard to find the character flaw that threads throughout Jacob’s story and eventually this flaw in his personhood becomes the point of why Jacob is such an important biblical character to whom we all can honestly relate. Then, by God’s grace for God’s glory, Jacob’s story can become our story, and all our stories can tell a better story – the story of God’s grace and faithfulness! Through Jacob, we learn how to live strong in God’s grace today!
Jacob was a self-centered sinner to the core of who he was from birth! In fact, this was so obvious in Jacob that it’s why he was named Jacob. His name means “heal-grabber” and carries with it the implied meaning of being a cheater or deceiver. From the womb, Jacob wanted what he believed to be his: the blessing and birthright of the first-born son (Genesis 25:23-26). You know Jacob’s type – everything is about them, their preferences, and how it impacts them. I know the type because I am a recovering self-centered sinner too. To be redeemed, I had to have an encounter with the God of grace, learning from faith to walk with a limp!
Jacob was a self-sufficient schemer! Jacob was so desperate for what he thought should be his (and not his brother’s!) that he took matters into his own hands. He worked hard! He was stronger! He was more than capable of making his own way in the world! You know Jacob’s type – they don’t want help or even admit that they need help. This is the self-made person that thinks they are better than others because they’ve worked for everything they have. I know the type because I am a recovering workaholic. To be redeemed, I had to have an encounter with the God of grace, learning from faith to walk with a limp! The mystery of God’s grace is that until we have an encounter with God that causes us to trust Him, rather than trust ourselves, we will never get off the ground. There must be a seed planted, for there to be a fruit-bearing tree!
Jacob’s story is all about the faithfulness of God: God unrelentingly pursued Jacob! By God’s grace, God spoke over Jacob’s life from his mother’s womb in Genesis 25:23, “The Lord said to [Rebekah], ‘Two nations are in your womb; and two peoples will be separated from your body; and one people shall be stronger than the other; and the older shall serve the younger.’”
In the same way, God knew us before we were born. All of us have been born self-centered, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). God knows the truth about us and that we deserve eternal separation from Him, yet He still loves us and chose to bless us through His Son – “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). I know this is true about me! You can’t move on to the next step until you believe this truth – the seed of faith through God’s grace must be planted if you are going to be transformed into a fruit-bearing tree! Do you believe it is true about you?
STEP #3 OF THE FARMER’S STRATEGY: CARE FOR THE MATURING PLANT
By God’s grace, when God should have struck Jacob dead for his scheming and trickery, he met him in the wilderness as he ran for his life the first time. When Jacob’s self-centered, self-sufficient scheming finally caught with him and what he deserved was death, God met him and showed him grace in Genesis 28:10-22:
Then Jacob departed from Beersheba and went toward Haran. He came to a certain place and spent the night there, because the sun had set; and he took one of the stones of the place and put it under his head, and lay down in that place. He had a dream, and behold, a ladder was set on the earth with its top reaching to heaven; and behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. And behold, the Lord stood above it and said, “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie, I will give it to you and to your descendants. Your descendants will also be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and in you and in your descendants shall all the families of the earth be blessed. Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.” He was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.” So Jacob rose early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on its top. He called the name of that place Bethel; however, previously the name of the city had been Luz. Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will keep me on this journey that I take, and will give me food to eat and garments to wear, and I return to my father’s house in safety, then the Lord will be my God. This stone, which I have set up as a pillar, will be God’s house, and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You.”
In the same way, God meets us in our circumstances with His grace, as Romans 5:8 states, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” I know this is true for me! Do you believe it is true for you?
By God’s grace, twenty years after God met Jacob in his escape from Esau, he was running again, this time from his father-in-law Laban. He had not repented of his ways, but continued in his own self-sufficiencies and pride, finding Laban to be his equal in self-focused snobbery and self-consumed scheming, lying, and deceiving. Yet, God did not forsake nor leave Jacob! God met Jacob, so desperate, so fearful, so lost in himself, that it took God Himself to show up on the scene to intervene for Jacob. This story is found in Genesis 28-32.
Sound familiar? God has shown up once for all to intervene! As Jesus said in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” What does it take for a person to realize that they are so lost they can’t save themselves? There was Jacob on the run again for his life, from Laban going back to Esau, from whom God had rescued the first time. Jacob was uncertain of his own future, and in his anxiety and fear, can you guess what he did, yet again. He schemed, still not trusting anyone but himself, still not believing the very promises of God that he had stolen from Esau, because all this time he still didn’t get it. Jacob still thought it was all about him. He had gone so far, but still had so far to go. What would it take to get through to this man? That brings us to the last action step because every farmer expects to experience a harvest of praise from all that hard work of cultivating the soil, planting good seed, and caring for the maturing plant!
STEP #4 OF THE FARMER’S STRATEGY: REAP A HARVEST OF PRAISE
It all changed in one night, the night before he was to be confronted by Esau. Jacob was rightfully scared, fearful for his own life as his brother had pledged to kill him all those years ago. Esau was coming out to greet him with an army of 400 armed men. Jacob devised one of his brilliant plans, his scheming was found in about every detail of it, figured for everything, but, once again, He left out one main factor: God’s transformative power over Esau’s heart! Little did Jacob know, in the same way that he would be greeted with love and acceptance the next day by his brother, that very night God was going to give him a limp that would forever transform his story. Genesis 32:22-32 captures this life transforming moment in Jacob’s life:
Now he arose that same night and took his two wives and his two maids and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. He took them and sent them across the stream. And he sent across whatever he had. Then Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. When he saw that he had not prevailed against him, he touched the socket of his thigh; so the socket of Jacob’s thigh was dislocated while he wrestled with him. Then he said, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking.” But he said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” So he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” He said, “Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel; for you have striven with God and with men and have prevailed.” Then Jacob asked him and said, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And he blessed him there. So Jacob named the place Peniel, for he said, “I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been preserved.” Now the sun rose upon him just as he crossed over Penuel, and he was limping on his thigh. Therefore, to this day the sons of Israel do not eat the sinew of the hip which is on the socket of the thigh, because he touched the socket of Jacob’s thigh in the sinew of the hip.
Jacob was never the same after encountering God! God does for Jacob that which Jacob could not do for himself: God touched him with His grace, a power that overwhelmed him and broke him of his scheming and self-sufficiency. God’s grace changed Jacob’s name to Israel. A person’s character is found in his or her name. When God asks Jacob his name, it is not because God did not know his name, it is because God was asking Jacob to confess his true nature as a self-centered, scheming man. But it took the severe mercy of God’s touch on Jacob’s hip to bring him to the end of his own self-sufficiencies. And at the confession of his own name, Jacob acknowledged his own character and his own desperate need for God, becoming Israel, which means, “He who strives/wrestles with God.” Jacob was no longer defined by his sin, but by his relationship with God! As Paul taught in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”
God’s grace restored Jacob’s relationship with his brother Esau (Genesis 33:1-11). In the light of having experienced the grace of God through personally wrestling with God, Jacob now saw the face of God in the very man he had once treated as an obstacle to the promises of God! Don’t miss the miracle: Jacob had a new outlook on life! His story was transformed by grace!
In the same way, God changes your worldview when you have been saved from self by God’s grace; people are no longer obstacles to your plans and schemes, but now they are the objects of our affections and actions. You are now a minister of reconciliation; Paul taught us of our new purposes in 2 Corinthians 5:18-19:
Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.
God’s grace healed Jacob’s desperate heart. We see this at the very end of his life, when Jacob passed on the blessing to the next generation with peace in his heart because he had learned that day to trust in God and not in himself, “By faith Jacob, as he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff” (Hebrews 11:21). It’s amazing to me that the Bible highlights his limp by emphasizing his need to lean on top of his staff. We watch Israel limp across the river and into the unknown future, not perfectly but by God’s perfect grace to tell a different story, no longer his own, but God’s story of grace.
In the same way, we are commanded to proclaim the story of our limp in 2 Corinthians 5:20, “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.” We each are touched by grace to give us a limp so that wherever we go, we will be reminded that God’s grace is our only sufficiency. According to 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, Paul had a thorn in his flesh and through his limp, found true life in God’s grace:
Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me – to keep me from exalting myself! Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.
Paul had a thorn in the flesh given to him by God. Jacob had a limp also given to him by God. What’s your limp and how does it remind you to lean on God’s grace as your sufficiency?
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Seize the Moment – Day 1187
This is Amazing Grace
“We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin
might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. 7 For when we
died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin.”
In 2010, Josh Farro reached out to Phil Wickham about getting together to write a worship song. The met up, sang some songs together in worship, then shared their ideas and concepts and that became the bones for the song. In about 20
minutes time, they had come up with the chorus and some verse ideas. But it wasn’t until their friend Jeremy Riddle of Bethel Church heard it and asked If he could rework it that the song became what it is today…a celebration anthem of
This is amazing grace, this is unfailing love
That You would take my place, that You would bear my cross
You laid down Your life that I would be set free
Oh, Jesus I sing for all that You’ve done for me.
We need to wake up and rework our worship, making it into an anthem of praise to Jesus for all that He has, is and is going to do in our lives. When the world hears this message of grace and love, it is sure to be contagious and they will want to know more.
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:
This is Amazing Grace
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Seize the Moment – Day 1186
Pray for the Persecuted Church!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Friday, June 16.
Praying for the persecuted church is a powerful way to support those who are suffering for the gospel of Jesus. Through organizations such as The Voice of the Martyrs, you can join with others to stand with the persecuted church in prayer. While prayer is the most powerful way most of us will lock arms with them, the Holy Spirit may lead you, and your local church, to assist your brothers and sisters who are suffering in other practical ways.
Psalm 74 has been memorized, prayed, and sung by countless believers who have experienced persecution. James Montgomery Boice shares an example from church history:
Singing psalms was very important to the Huguenots, those persecuted Protestants who were driven out of France in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. The power of the psalms to bless and fortify them must have been especially feared by their persecutors, for under Louis XIII and Louis XIV many edicts were passed forbidding their use of the Psalter. Nevertheless, these brave people merely hid their books while carrying on their singing in mountain caves or forests, since they knew the psalms by heart.[1]
Psalm 74 is one of the psalms they memorized, meditated upon, and sang to find strength through their times of suffering. The first two verses capture their anguish, and that of all who suffer, “O God, why have You rejected us forever? Why does Your anger smoke against the sheep of Your pasture? Remember Your congregation, which You have purchased of old, which You have redeemed to be the tribe of Your inheritance; and this Mount Zion, where You have dwelt.”
Seize the moment and pray Psalm 74, meditating upon the suffering of the saints throughout the world – “Remember the prisoners, as though in prison with them, and those who are ill-treated, since you yourselves also are in the body” (Hebrews 13:3). Pray for the persecuted church today! Go to www.persecution.com to learn more.
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.
FOOTNOTE:
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Seize the Moment – Day 1185
The Corruption of Envy and Bitterness!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Thursday, June 15.
You can have faith in God and hope in His glorious return, but still be hijacked by your emotions and hoodwinked by your flesh. Even as a temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19-20), you are still living in a “tent” that is vulnerable to a full range of human realities (2 Corinthians 5:1-8). Don’t be deceived, you are susceptible to the corruption of envy and bitterness, as Psalm 73:1-3 and 21-22 accurately diagnosed:
Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart! But as for me, my feet came close to stumbling, my steps had almost slipped. For I was envious of the arrogant as I saw the prosperity of the wicked. … When my heart was embittered and I was pierced within, then I was senseless and ignorant; I was like a beast before You.
As a child of God, you are so much more that a beast! Therefore, pay careful attention to what Asaph is teaching you in today’s psalm: envy and bitterness can cause you to become senseless and to stumble out of the way of God. He then gives you the solution – don’t lose sight of God and His call upon your life (ref. 23-28). You do this by continually listening to His counsel, rigorously maintaining a sober heart and clear sight by meditating upon His Word and praying in His Spirit. Paul taught in Ephesians 4:22-24, “You lay aside the old self … that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.”
Seize the moment and pray Psalm 73, meditating upon the power of God to transform your story – “My flesh and my heart may fail, But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever” (Psalm 73:26, emphasis added).
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 1184
Praises to the King of Kings!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Wednesday, June 14.
Can you name all the presidents of the United States? Do you remember the great conquerors of world history? While these names are taught and forgot, the name of the King of kings remains ever present on your mind and in your heart. Psalm 72 is a royal psalm, capturing the succession between King David and his son, King Solomon. The title declares it to be, “The Psalm of Solomon,” yet the last verse concludes, “The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended” (20).
This royal psalm points to the Messianic King, who shall reign on the throne of David forever, as Psalm 72:17 declares, “May his name endure forever; may his name increase as long as the sun shines; and let men bless themselves by him; let all nations call him blessed.” As you pray through the description of the king’s reign in Psalm 72, you will find yourself elevated by its descriptions of the king and reminded of the prophet’s proclamation of the coming Messiah in Isaiah 11:1-5 and Isaiah 60-62. Charles Hodge wrote in his Systematic Theology:
The seventy-second Psalm contains a description of an exalted king, and of the blessings of his reign. These blessings are of such a nature as to prove that the subject of the psalm must be a divine person. (1.) His kingdom is to be everlasting. (2.) Universal. (3.) It secures perfect peace with God and good-will among men. (4.) All men are to be brought to submit to Him through love. (5.) In Him all the nations of the earth are to be blessed; … The subject of this psalm, is therefore, the Redeemer of the world.[1]
Seize the moment and pray Psalm 71, meditating upon the eternal kingdom of Jesus Christ – “Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10).
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.
FOOTNOTE:
[1] Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, vol. 1 (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997), 491–492.
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Seize the Moment – Day 1183
The Prayer of the Aged Believer!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Tuesday, June 13.
We live in a culture where influencers are determined by their youth and beauty. Is there a place for the wisdom of the aged in our world today? More than ever, we need the perspective and experiences of our elders. How should the senior saints pray? David modeled for us the prayer of the aged believer in Psalm 71, overtly petitioning God in verse 9, “Do not cast me off in the time of old age; do not forsake me when my strength fails.” Spurgeon insightfully commented on David’s prayer, “Old age robs us of personal beauty, and deprives us of strength for active service; but it does not lower us in the love and favour [sic] of God.”[1]
First, pray with confidence! Even if you, as an aged believer, don’t feel valued by our culture in your old age, never forget that your sufficiency is found in God’s inexhaustible grace, not the energy of your fleeting youth. Second, pray with conviction! David continued in Psalm 71:17-19, calling all senior saints to persevere in the mission of God:
O God, You have taught me from my youth, and I still declare Your wondrous deeds. And even when I am old and gray, O God, do not forsake me, until I declare Your strength to this generation, Your power to all who are to come. For Your righteousness, O God, reaches to the heavens, You who have done great things; O God, who is like You?
Seize the moment and pray Psalm 71, meditating upon the reward of your faith – “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing” (2 Timothy 4:7-8).
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.
FOOTNOTE:
[1] C. H. Spurgeon, The Treasury of David: Psalms 56-87, vol. 3 (London; Edinburgh; New York: Marshall Brothers, n.d.), 209.
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