Seize the Moment – Day 1213
Our God Reigns!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Thursday, July 13.
Do you need to be reminded that God is still on the throne? When life feels out of control and evil seems to be getting its way in the world, there is a truth that I return to – “Our God Reigns!” More than a song, this is a profound truth from today’s psalm on which to build your life and find your peace.
Psalm 93:1-2 declares this unchanging truth for our everchanging circumstances, “The Lord reigns, He is clothed with majesty; the Lord has clothed and girded Himself with strength; indeed, the world is firmly established, it will not be moved. Your throne is established from of old; You are from everlasting.” These verses teach three characteristics about God:
- He is majestic. God is “clothed with majesty” means that He is resplendent in all His glory – “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come” (Revelation 4:8).
- He is powerful. God has “girded himself with strength” describes how He can do what He says He will do! Unlike earthly rulers who make power plays, God is the Sovereign – “He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together” (Colossians 1:17).
- He is immutable. God’s “throne has been established from of old; You are from everlasting” demonstrates how God is the cornerstone on which all of creation has been built (Psalm 18:31; Genesis 1). He does not change in His character nor waver in His purposes – “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).
Seize the moment and pray Psalm 93, meditating upon Jesus’ ministry of intercession at the right hand of the Father (Romans 8:34) – “far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come” (Ephesians 1:21; cf. Philippians 2:9-11; 1 Peter 3:22).
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 1212
Remember the Sabbath!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Wednesday, July 12.
The church in America is caught up in our 24/7 culture. Have we forgotten how to stop, to cease from our striving, or even to delay our compulsive need to consume or to produce so that we may delight in God and one another? Are we being stripped of our ability to manage our emotions, control our thoughts, delay our sensuality, and be civil in our conversations because we have forgotten the way to be at peace with God, ourselves, and the world around us? Billy Graham warned the church during his ministry, “I’m afraid we’re in danger of forgetting this commandment [Sabbath] today – but when we do, we pay a price both physically and spiritually. Instead, God loves us, and He wants to bless us by giving us rest and restoring our souls.”[1]
The antidote is simple – remember to live in the rhythms of God’s unforced grace, which includes honoring the Sabbath Day! Psalm 92’s title explains that this was the psalmist intent for writing today’s psalm, “A song for the Sabbath Day.” The purpose of having a set apart day is to cease from your unfinished labors to delight in the Lord’s finished work. The results of taking time each week to celebrate God’s creative intent and redemptive work are found in Psalm 92:12-15:
The righteous man will flourish like the palm tree, he will grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still yield fruit in old age; they shall be full of sap and very green, to declare that the Lord is upright; He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.
Seize the moment and pray Psalm 92, meditating upon the hard work of ceasing so that you may flourish (Hebrews 4:9-11). Take out your calendar right now and intentionally set apart a day each week to make space for grace to be God’s sufficiency in your life (2 Corinthians 12:7-10).
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] Billy Graham. “Billy Graham’s Answer: What Is the Sabbath Really For?” Billy Graham Evangelistic
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Seize the Moment – Day 1211
Declaring God’s Protection!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Tuesday, July 11.
“You shall not pass!” Those famous words are from the movie, The Fellowship of the Ring, spoken by Gandalf to the evil creature bent on death and destruction. That is the visual I had in my mind, when in 2020-22, during the COVID-19 pandemic, people posted lawn signs throughout our rural community, proclaiming “Psalm 91” over their households. The people were declaring their belief in God’s protection during this time of crisis, trusting Him to fulfill the following promises from today’s psalm:
- Verse 3, “For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper and from the deadly pestilence.”
- Verses 5-7, “You will not be afraid of the terror by night, or of the arrow that flies by day; of the pestilence that stalks in darkness, or of the destruction that lays waste at noon. A thousand may fall at your side and ten thousand at your right hand, but it shall not approach you.”
- Verses 9-10, “For you have made the Lord, my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place. No evil will befall you, nor will any plague come near your tent.”
With powerful promises such as these, Psalm 91 is a perfect psalm to meditate upon and pray in times of danger. Spurgeon testified of the power of today’s psalm:
In the whole collection there is not a more cheering Psalm, its tone is elevated and sustained throughout, faith is at its best, and speaks nobly. A German physician was wont to speak of it as the best preservative in times of cholera, and in truth it is a heavenly medicine against plague and pest. He who can live in its spirit will be fearless, even if once again London should become a lazar-house, and the grave be gorged with carcases.[1]
Seize the moment and pray Psalm 91, meditating upon the powerful protection of God – dwell in the shelter of the Most High (vs 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.
FOOTNOTE:
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Seize the Moment – Day 1210
The Opportunity of Today!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Monday, July 10.
Coming into pastoral ministry in my late twenties, I have spent my thirties and forties experiencing the profound truth of Psalm 90: Life is a gift, invest it wisely! I have officiated over three hundred funerals in that time-frame, walking with loved ones through their death and dying process, then speaking over their lives. My perspective on life is different than it was twenty years ago, because persistent exposure to grief changes a person. As I prepare to enter my fifties, I am sobered by the reality that every single day is an opportunity to glorify God.
Today’s psalm gives each of us the right mindset to embrace the gift of life. In Psalm 90, one of the greatest men of the Bible, “Moses, the man of God,” (title) contrasts the stability and eternity of God with the frailty and brevity of the human life. He teaches us that the fear of the Lord is the right perspective to embrace each day and not waste the opportunity found in it, as stated in Psalm 90:10-12:
As for the days of our life, they contain seventy years, or if due to strength, eighty years, yet their pride is but labor and sorrow; for soon it is gone and we fly away. Who understands the power of Your anger and Your fury, according to the fear that is due You? So teach us to number our days, that we may present to You a heart of wisdom.
Every day is God’s gift of grace! Like every person who has received the precious gift of life, you must choose wisely how you are going to invest the time you have left. Learn wisdom and glorify God with it!
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.
Videos are posted about a week after the devotion appears in the blog.
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Grow Strong in God’s Grace (Wk 18)
Learning How to be a Faithful Farmer for God’s Harvest!
The Faith that Humbles You!
Hebrews 11:23-29 (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’s story is about Moses, found in Hebrews 11:23-29:
By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw he was a beautiful child; and they were not afraid of the king’s edict. By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as seeing Him who is unseen. By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, so that he who destroyed the firstborn would not touch them. By faith they passed through the Red Sea as though they were passing through dry land; and the Egyptians, when they attempted it, were drowned.
This is the Word of God; let us pray: God, we invite you to cultivate the soil of our hearts with faith to receive the good seed of Your Word! May Your grace work in us and through us so that our stories point to Your story and reap a harvest of praise to the glory of God.
STEP #2 OF THE FARMER’S STRATEGY: SOW THE GOOD SEED OF GOD’S GRACE
The first forty years of Moses’ life are that of legends – Moses’ foundational years! This part of Moses’ story, highlighted in Hebrews 11:23-27, is told in Exodus 2:1-15:
Now a man from the house of Levi went and married a daughter of Levi. The woman conceived and bore a son; and when she saw that he was beautiful, she hid him for three months. But when she could hide him no longer, she got him a wicker basket and covered it over with tar and pitch. Then she put the child into it and set it among the reeds by the bank of the Nile. His sister stood at a distance to find out what would happen to him. The daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the Nile, with her maidens walking alongside the Nile; and she saw the basket among the reeds and sent her maid, and she brought it to her. When she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the boy was crying. And she had pity on him and said, “This is one of the Hebrews’ children.” Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and call a nurse for you from the Hebrew women that she may nurse the child for you?” Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Go ahead.” So the girl went and called the child’s mother. Then Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child away and nurse him for me and I will give you your wages.” So the woman took the child and nursed him. The child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter and he became her son. And she named him Moses, and said, “Because I drew him out of the water.” Now it came about in those days, when Moses had grown up, that he went out to his brethren and looked on their hard labors; and he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his brethren. So he looked this way and that, and when he saw there was no one around, he struck down the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. He went out the next day, and behold, two Hebrews were fighting with each other; and he said to the offender, “Why are you striking your companion?” But he said, “Who made you a prince or a judge over us? Are you intending to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid and said, “Surely the matter has become known.” When Pharaoh heard of this matter, he tried to kill Moses. But Moses fled from the presence of Pharaoh and settled in the land of Midian, and he sat down by a well.
The seed of faith was put into Moses, but in his first forty years, a time of privilege and prestige for Moses, he did not know how to wield the power of his position to do good – to protect his people, the Israelites (the Hebrews), so in his haste to do so, he killed an Egyptian man and fled from the wrath of his adoptive father, a man who had ordered his death once before in Exodus 1:15-22.
God’s grace was given to the people of Israel in the man of Moses, but Moses’ foundational years did not prepare him properly to be a man God could use for His purposes. He fled Egypt, according to our passage in Hebrew 11:23-27, because God had to take him to a place where He could care for Moses and bring him to maturity. It was in the next forty years of his life that the faith of Moses was formed so that he was a man God could use for His glory.
STEP #3 OF THE FARMER’S STRATEGY: CARE FOR THE MATURING PLANT
The second forty years of Moses’ life were the most important – Moses’ formative years! This part of his story is not mentioned in Hebrews 11, it is found between Hebrews 11:27 & 28. This period begins in Exodus 2:16-22, where Moses is taken in by Jethro the priest of Midian, who takes him in to his household; Moses marries Zipporah, one of his daughters, starts his family (they have two sons), and he serves Jethro as a shepherd. In exile, Moses goes from being an exalted prince of Egypt to a humbled shepherd, an occupation despised by the Egyptians. This forty-year period is summarized in Exodus 3:1, “Moses was pasturing the flock of Jethro,” but by the end of these formative years something is about to happen, as indicated in the verses in Exodus 2:23-25:
Now it came about in the course of those many days that the king of Egypt died. And the sons of Israel sighed because of the bondage, and they cried out; and their cry for help because of their bondage rose up to God. So God heard their groaning; and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God saw the sons of Israel, and God took notice of them.
Moses was put into exile at the age of 40, having escaped the wrath of his adopted father, the king of Egypt, until the day of his Pharaoh’s death, around the time Moses would have been 80. There is an appointed time for everything, and we must remember a very important lesson as the people of faith: God is always doing more than we can see or imagine! God is doing a larger work in the nations and through His people. You are a part of that, but you are not the center of it – God is the main character of our story; it’s His story that is being told through our stories! We must be formed into the kind of people He can use.
God’s people were in Egypt for 400 years, but it was in these 40 years of Moses’ exile that God set the conditions for the Exodus. It was during his years as Jethro’s shepherd that Moses became a humbled man, broken and contrite, the kind of person God could use. You see, Jethro the priest of Midian, turned his countenance toward Moses, which means he took him in as a his own, protected him, and gave him a new family. A family of security, hard work, and commitment to the community. At just the right time, when both the conditions were set and Moses was formed into a man God could use and trust, God called Moses at the burning bush (Exodus 3:1-4:18) to enter the third phase of his life – the formidable years!
STEP #4 OF THE FARMER’S STRATEGY: REAP A HARVEST OF PRAISE
The final forty years of Moses’ life tell the most famous story ever told – Moses’ formidable years! This part of Moses’ story was highlighted in Hebrews 11:28-29, and it began after his burning bush experience with God and didn’t conclude until his death forty years later, after accomplishing all that God had set for him to do – to rescue and deliver His chosen people from slavery, defeating the most powerful military in the world and leading them to the Promised Land.
Interestingly, all three periods of Moses’ life, each of which were forty years long, ended with a reference to Moses’ relationship with the father-figure who defined each of these three distinct seasons of his life:
- Pharoah defined Moses’ foundational years. Exodus 2:15 ended that phase, stating, “When Pharaoh heard of this matter, he tried to kill Moses. But Moses fled from the presence of Pharaoh and settled in the land of Midian, and he sat down by a well.”
- Jethro defined Moses’ formative years. Exodus 4:18 ended that phase, stating, “Then Moses departed and returned to Jethro his father-in-law and said to him, ‘Please, let me go, that I may return to my brethren who are in Egypt, and see if they are still alive.’ And Jethro said to Moses, ‘Go in peace.’”
- God defined Moses’ formidable years. Deuteronomy 34:10-12 summarized this phase after his death, stating, “Since that time no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, for all the signs and wonders which the Lord sent him to perform in the land of Egypt against Pharaoh, all his servants, and all his land, and for all the mighty power and for all the great terror which Moses performed in the sight of all Israel.”
We remember Moses because of his epic birth story, the kind of backstory that we give our heroes. We remember Moses because of his supernatural call narrative, the kind of experience we give those who are called to do formidable tasks for God. We remember Moses because of the Exodus, his victory over the Egyptian military machine, and all of his awesome deeds as a leader of a newly formed nation that was constantly grumbling and rebelling against him and their God.
We don’t remember Moses for being a faithful shepherd, husband, and father, but I believe the forty years he was defined by these relationships and responsibilities that he was shaped into the man of God who did everything else we do talk about. The forty years that didn’t make it into Hebrews 11 are the years that forged the character of Moses from being a pampered prince to being a formidable prophet! Often, the most important parts of our stories are found in the in-between times (the liminal space), for Moses that was the forty years as a shepherd serving his father-in-law. Forty years is a long stretch of time in a person’s life, especially when it comes in what is supposed to be your most productive years of life, but this is where Moses was forged into a humble man that God could use, knowing that Moses would not take the credit for it or hijack it for his own purposes. Moses wasn’t ready to reap a harvest of praise with his life until God nurtured him through his forty years of exile. This was an essential experience for Moses; otherwise, how would Moses have known why God caused His people to wander in the desert for their own forty years of formation to enter the formidable season of conquest under Joshua’s leadership.
Oftentimes, God forges our character through the circumstances of our lives, just as we learned from the story of Joseph. We must be transformed by the renewing of our minds, forged in the crucible of life circumstances before we are able to reap a harvest of praise to God! As Jesus said in John 12:24-26:
Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal. If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.
I conclude with this thought about Moses and Jesus: both are described as humble! Numbers 12:3 is a parenthetic statement about Moses, “Now the man Moses was very humble, more than any man who was on the face of the earth.” Moses had a faith that humbled him, so that he would be the formidable man of God who stood against the most powerful man in the world and led his people to freedom after four hundred years under Egyptian rule. Jesus described Himself in Matthew 11:29 as “gentle and humble in heart.” Jesus was the second Moses, who stood against all the forces of evil, defeated sin and death, and leads His people to freedom!
You can watch the video by clicking HERE.
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Seize the Moment – Day 1208
Today’s hymn focus will be
Since Jesus Came into My Heart
2 Corinthians 5:17 (NASB95)
“Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”
Rufus H McDaniel began writing hymns in the 1880’s, stating that he felt like God had something for him to do to help brighten the experience of struggling souls. He wanted his hymns to bring blessing and glory to God in the name of his dear Son, whose he was and whom He served. He wrote this song in 1914 after the tragic loss of his son. He sent the song to Charles H Gabriel, who composed the melody that we know today.
Since Jesus came into my heart,
since Jesus came into my heart
Floods of joy o’er my soul like the sea billows roll
Since Jesus came into my heart
We need to wake up and remember that no matter what we have faced, or are facing, or will be facing in the near future, we need to sing God’s praises! He brought about change in our lives; He has given us direction; and He will be coming back to take us all home to live with Him for eternity. That should bring you joy!
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:
Since Jesus Came into My Heart | Hymnary.org
Since Jesus Came into My Heart
Since Jesus came into my heart!
I have light in my soul for which long I have sought,
Since Jesus came into my heart!
Since Jesus came into my heart,
Since Jesus came into my heart,
Floods of joy o’er my soul like the sea billows roll,
Since Jesus came into my heart.
Since Jesus came into my heart!
And my sins which were many are all washed away,
Since Jesus came into my heart! [Refrain]
Since Jesus came into my heart!
And no dark clouds of doubt now my pathway obscure,
Since Jesus came into my heart! [Refrain]
Since Jesus came into my heart!
And the gates of the City beyond I can see,
Since Jesus came into my heart! [Refrain]
Since Jesus came into my heart!
And I’m happy, so happy, as onward I go,
Since Jesus came into my heart! [Refrain]
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Seize the Moment – Day 1207
The Stability of Covenant Relationships!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Friday, July 7.
As a pastor, I have the awesome responsibility and sacred privilege to prepare couples for marriage and to officiate their wedding ceremonies. In doing so, I teach and recite the traditional marriage vows multiple times a year – “to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, until we are parted by death. This is my sacred vow.” Biblical marriage is a covenant relationship, meaning the promise is made with God to one another. It is a firm foundation on which to build one’s life, giving you clarity and conviction for everything else you desire to do.
Psalm 89 is a word of instruction about the covenant relationship God has promised to His chosen people. It gives clarity to the psalmist through the highs and lows of life, an unwavering conviction by which to live and make decisions. It is important to note that Ethan the Ezrahite established the firm foundation for this fifty-two-verse psalm in the first four verses:
I will sing of the lovingkindness of the Lord forever; to all generations I will make known Your faithfulness with my mouth. For I have said, “Lovingkindness will be built up forever; in the heavens You will establish Your faithfulness.” “I have made a covenant with My chosen; I have sworn to David My servant, I will establish your seed forever and build up your throne to all generations.” Selah.
The stability of all covenant relationships is found in God’s lovingkindess and faithfulness; it’s God’s idea to build our lives on Him – He is a firm foundation! Until you understand the character of God, that He is the immovable rock of covenant loyalty and unwavering faithfulness, your theology will be muddied by the shifting sands of human frailties and lukewarm sentimentalities.
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 1206
Pure Faith!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Thursday, July 6.
Have you ever felt completely cut off from God without any sense of His presence? Psalm 88 is one of the saddest songs in the Psalter. Praying through this psalm when you are depressed will help you focus your despair on God instead of on yourself, just as the psalmist did in verse 1, “O Lord, the God of my salvation, I have cried out by day and in the night before you.” His faith was intact, even as the rest of the psalm captured his experience of the dark night of the soul, which is when a despairing believer feels that God has abandoned him, taking away from Him the consolations of His presence.
Have you ever experienced the dark night of the soul? It is when you can’t feel God’s presence and are suffering in your soul, seemingly walking through tribulations alone, crying out to God to give you His peace and joy. It is more than mental or physical suffering; it is soul suffering – the deep longing for an encounter with God. It is a necessary pathway to developing a mature faith, one that is not dependent on the feedback loops of your feelings and senses. The dark night of the soul is God’s refiner’s fire to build within you a pure faith – a belief in God that transcends the limitations of the temporary body and its sensual feedback. Such faith must be forged into our lives, as Paul testified in Romans 5:3-5:
And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us (cf. James 1:2-4; Hebrews 5:8).
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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Seize the Moment – Day 1205
Springs of Joy!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Wednesday, July 5.
I was recently working with a man who felt empty. He is blessed with a job that he faithfully works six days a week. He is blessed with a wife and many children, whom he loyally loves and supports. Obviously, his emptiness isn’t for lack of meaningful relationships, purposeful responsibilities, or recreational opportunities; it’s because he has become disconnected from God as the source of vitality. In tears, he confessed his struggles; he’s on the verge of burnout. Together, we took a major step to avoiding it!
No matter how successful or busy you get in life, if you are going to persevere through life with the vitality of joy, you must remain connected to the Source. Psalm 87:7 concludes with a song of tribute to God with this profound truth, “Then those who sing as well as those who play the flutes shall say, ‘All my springs of joy are in you.’” The psalmist is referencing Mt. Zion, like he did in Psalm 46:4, but it’s not an earthly fountain he is referring to as the source of life and joy; it’s God’s presence! The prophet made this clear in Isaiah 12:2-3, “Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation. Therefore you will joyously draw water from the springs of salvation” (cf. Ezekiel 47:1-12; Revelation 22:1-2).
The way to avoid burnout is by connecting with the Source of life and joy! Through a relationship with Jesus, the Holy Spirit flows into your life straight from the throne of God; He is the inexhaustible river of life and joy!
Seize the moment and pray Psalm 87, meditating upon the fount of every blessing – “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water’” (John 7:38).
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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Seize the Moment – Day 1204
The Transformation of Your Story!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Tuesday, July 4. Happy Independence Day! Please join me in wishing a happy birthday to the United States of America.
Do you want to see your story transformed by the gospel of Jesus Christ? In Mark 1:17, Jesus invited His first disciples, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” Though He used the same word of invitation in the original Greek, Matthew 11:28-30 is translated differently, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Both invitations of Jesus reference the Jewish apprenticeship concept of hālakh, which is the Hebrew word used in today’s psalm, as the psalmist wrote in Psalm 86:11-12, “Teach me Your way, O Lord; I will walk in Your truth; unite my heart to fear Your name. I will give thanks to You, O Lord my God, with all my heart, and will glorify Your name forever.” [emphases added]
In today’s psalm, as well as in Jesus’ invitations, the purpose is the same, when we walk with God, we learn how to become like Him; therefore, we unite to His purposes. Jesus used the imagery of being yoked with Him – our hearts learn to revere God above all (the fear of the Lord), so that we reflect Him as image bearers, representing Him as we walk in the way. The motive of Jesus’ invitation is apprenticeship – having our heart motives, mental attitudes, and soul volitions transformed into the likeness of Jesus Christ, who showed us the heart of God!
Seize the moment and pray Psalm 86, meditating upon the transformation of your story to the glory of God as you learn how to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind” (Matthew 20:37).
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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