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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Seize the Moment – Day 1203
Where Righteousness and Peace Kiss!
Psalm 85
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Monday, July 3.
When we speak of mercy and truth as well as righteousness and peace being reconciled in God because of the work of Jesus Christ, we imply that somehow they are in conflict. But the qualities in God are never in conflict, and the psalm is certainly not speaking of a conflict. On the contrary, love and faithfulness, righteousness and peace are always at home in God, and it is from this divine harmony that all other harmonies come. We have peace only when we rest in him.[1]
You can trust that the same God who sent His only begotten Son to save you from your sins will show up in your circumstances today. Whatever you are going through, don’t let doubt or fear cause you to become double-minded about God’s salvation. James 4:8 invites you, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” Rest in God by trusting Jesus and His atoning sacrifice where righteousness and peace kiss in your life.
Seize the moment and pray Psalm 85, meditating upon the perfection of God’s salvation on the Cross of Calvary.
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] James Montgomery Boice, Psalms 42–106: An Expositional Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2005), 700.
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Grow Strong in God’s Grace (Wk 17)
The Fullness of the Blessings of the Gospel
I want to encourage you to be still and know that He is God. When we receive the Gospel, we receive a life changing power within us. That power begins to change us from the inside out. We sing songs of praise, and we sing of the blessings God gives us. Please know when we leave this place God allows us to live in the fullness of His blessings. We don’t need to leave the blessings here. We live in those blessings out there!
But out there, we get so caught up in the things of this world, politics, inflation, high prices, wars, civil unrest, LGBTQ++ issues in schools and at work, unrest with neighbors, friends, family the list goes on and on with all the things that distract us from the blessings of Christ.
The Gospel is God’s agent, it is His power. Romans 1:16, “I am not ashamed of the Gospel for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” The Gospel is that which contains the purpose for your life. It is filled with His blessing. Just like Jesus came full of grace and truth, the Gospel comes with that, and it comes with the abundant grace of God. In the Gospel we have everything we need.
In John 10:10 Jesus says, “I have come that they might have life and have it more abundantly.” My encouragement for us today is to focus on all we have in the Gospel. Let’s live in His abundance! Let’s live in the blessings He freely and generously gives us!
Now the blessings I am talking about here come from the inside out. These blessings come from believing and trusting in Jesus.
When you do, you can know you’re a child of God, bought with a price, living in His grace and mercy. The blessings I want to focus our attention on are found IN HIM, in a personal relationship with Jesus. These blessings are not found anywhere else. But the good news here is if you have that personal relationship with Jesus, you have all these blessings already. You can walk in them with confidence because of what Jesus has already done! Trust Him!
So let me ask a few questions to help you clarify your true understanding of what you have inside you (IF you know Jesus to be the payment for your sin) or what you CAN have today if you decide to trust Jesus as your payment today.
How do you see yourself? Prov 23:7, “As a man thinks in his heart so is he.” Do you see yourself as a person who has it all together? Someone who has no need of God because you can handle anything life throws at you.
Do you see yourself as a person who is so dirty and worthless that not even God can save you out of the pit, you’re in?
Both views are dead wrong!
God loves you as you are
Rom 8:38, 39: 1 Jn 4:9; 2 Thes 3:5. Jesus is your sacrifice your complete payment
How do you evaluate your circumstances? Are your circumstances all bigger than you? Do you feel like there’s no way out? Does it feel like the circumstances are bigger than God?
If we have those attitudes, we will not see the blessings that are staring us in the face because the blessing begins on the inside. The blessing is released from the inside. We get distracted and our faith waivers. The fulness of the blessing of the Gospel starts and ends with faith.
Jerry has been using the example of a farmer in his sermon series. Here is the seed of the Gospel being planted and it is planted only by faith.
The Gospel is a seed within us.
(To be incorruptible means not subject to death or decay it is eternal.)
The fullness in the Gospel of God carries all the life of God; it carries all the blessings of God; it carries all the promises of God. Everything God wants for you came in a seed. That seed is wanting to be released, but if we don’t live from that, if we don’t live from our spiritually renewed nature, if we live from our emotions and allow our own selfishness to rule, then we will miss out on the fullness of the blessings of the Gospel of God. We miss out because we stop walking in faith and start looking at all the things around us for answers.
What I am encouraging you to do today is to allow this revelation, that we live in the fulness of the blessing of the Gospel, to take over in your heart. I want to encourage you to truly realize the goodness of God and the fulness of His blessing. Realize your true new nature in Christ. When you do, you will begin to think differently, you will speak differently, and you will act differently. The blessing that is within you will come out in how you live your life.
So, what is the Gospel? Michael Rydelnik, the Professor of Jewish Studies at Moody, defines the Gospel in 25 words. He says,
“The wrong things we do separate us from God. Messiah Jesus died, taking our punishment, and rose again proving He is God. Trust in Him.”
It is the good news of God’s love for you. Rom 8:38, 39; 1 Jn 4:9; 2 Thes 3:5
It is the good news of Christ’s redeeming sacrifice for you. Mk 10:45; Heb 10:12
It is the good news of the promise of the Spirit. You have the very Spirit of God living inside you! That Spirit is the same power that raised Jesus from the dead. Rom 5:5; 8:9; 8:11; 2 Tim 1:14; 1 Cor 6:19;
It is the good news that you are reconciled to God. 2 Cor 5:18-20; Col 1:20, 22; Rom 5:10, 11
It is the good news that you are seated with God in heavenly places. You sit with Christ because Jesus took our place on the cross, thus we are in Him. Eph 2:6; Rev 20:4
It is the good news of an abundant life full of strength, not your strength but His strength in you. Eph 1:19, 3:16, 6:10; Col 1:11
It is the good news of the Gospel of peace. You can be involved in all kinds of turmoil around you but walk in the peace that passes understanding. Prov 3:5, 6; Mark 9:50; Rom 12:18; 2 Cor 13:11; 1 Thes 5:13
It is the Gospel of joy – the joy of the Lord is your strength. Walking in joy is where blessings begin. Ex 15:2; Psalm 21:1, 118:14,
It is the Gospel of walking in faith. Seeing the unseen and knowing that God is good enough to supply what you need. Heb 11:1
It is the Gospel of righteousness. There is nothing more powerful than understanding your right standing with God. Understand you are made righteous! You don’t have to feel guilty; you don’t have to walk in condemnation, you don’t need to feel unworthy. Jesus has made you free from guilt, free from condemnation. You are worthy when you are in Him. That is the Gospel! Rom 5:19; Gal 3:11
God wants you to realize these things are all part of the Gospel. Understand these things deep within your spirit, not just intellectually. Allow the blessings of the fullness of the Gospel into your life and let it change you from the inside out.
It is a Gospel of vision, a Gospel of purpose, a Gospel of freedom from fear. No one needs to be living in fear. No one needs to worry. They are contrary to faith and anti-Gospel. Living in the fullness of the Gospel gives no place to worry, fear, anxiety, depression or oh my what am I going to do?
You don’t need to live in a fallen state!
You have the ability in Christ to live in peace, live in the joy of the Lord. You have the fullness of the Gospel within you and that Gospel will impact your circumstances. It may not change what goes on in Washington, but it will change you personally. It will change what goes on in your house, within your sphere of influence. If you walk around with this blessing on the inside, it can’t help touching the circumstances and the people around you.
Let’s look at what David said in
Psalm 103:2, “Bless the Lord oh my soul and forget not all His benefits.”
It does not say benefit. It says all His benefits. It is plural. It looks like there are more than two. David doesn’t say both His benefits, he says all His benefits. It goes on to talk about forgiveness of sin and healing. David is looking ahead to what we are experiencing.
Let’s look at what Paul had to say in
Ephesians 1:3, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.” Later in the chapter he says we are accepted in Christ. The Gospel has blessed us with everything. You get to experience all this the through the grace of God…
Here is a great definition of grace –
Definition of Grace: God’s abundant provision for every need you have, spirit, soul, and body.
There is nothing lacking. Nothing was left off of the cross. Everything that Adam’s sin unleashed, has been restored and then some through the blessing of the Gospel.
So, Paul says we have been blessed with every blessing in heavenly places. By faith you receive the blessings of God. They are where moth and rust cannot corrupt. Those blessings are yours now.
What does Peter say? Look at
1 Peter 3:9, “Knowing that you were called to this that you may inherit a blessing.”
If you were to find out that a rich Uncle, who had you in his will you would be excited about that. You would be anticipating that inheritance. You have something far greater than a rich Uncle! You have an inheritance, a blessing, Peter says.
Do you need peace? Does anyone have circumstances that are complicated? Do you want peace that passes understanding? Do you want joy unspeakable, full of glory? Do you want the wisdom of God and to know what to do?
All of that is your inheritance! That is the blessing of the Gospel that came to you in seed form and is basically waiting on you to accept that fact and to walk by faith in the fullness of the Gospel. This will change your life and the lives of those around you. This is powerful! It begins when we choose to believe it. When you choose to believe that God is for you and not against you. Believe that He will bless you and He will multiply you. Believe God is giving to you pressed down and running over.
Yes, Lord I believe that. This faith changes the way you think! When you trust in Jesus it will change the way you speak. Choose to believe God’s Word at face value.
The Gospel is about a transformed life. You became a new creation through the incorruptible seed of the Gospel. You became something that never existed before. You were spiritually separated from God, and you have been plugged back into God. You are one spirit with Him. You have a new life, a new creation life.
The Gospel is about being free from guilt and condemnation.
Please realize you do not need to live under a cloud of guilt! You have been released. You are free. You have victory. Let go of feeling unworthy. That is not living in the blessing of the Gospel. Jesus died on the cross to set you free from guilt and condemnation. “There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus…” Live in the joy of the Lord and in the presence of God in your life.
The Gospel is about loving as we have been loved.
The Gospel is about abounding in grace for every good work.
There are situations around you that God has placed you in and given you the grace to bring healing, to bring solutions, to bring wisdom, to bring help in time of need for the people around you, depending on what the circumstances may be, there is grace for that. Please realize God has placed you there and given you the grace needed for such a time as this. Be bold and get involved. Allow the blessing of the fullness of the Gospel to flow through you! You have the gifts that others desperately need. You are the only answer, in some cases, to people’s trauma or need. That is the power of the fullness of the blessing of the Gospel in you. Realize that power, agree with it, allow God to bless others through you and your giftedness. Let the blessing out.
The Gospel is about joy and peace.
Others will notice when you are walking in the fullness of the blessing of the Gospel because they can see you responding to situations with grace and peace and having joy from within that is not touched by the circumstances around you. That doesn’t mean you are always laughing but you are not overwhelmed by negative things around you. You have the joy of the Lord and can minister from His strength in you.
Are you beginning to realize the power of this Gospel? Romans says it is the power of God.
The Gospel is about ceasing from your own works to earn salvation.
You can just give up trying to earn right standing with God. You cannot do anything to make God love you more and you cannot do anything that will cause God to love you less. That was all dealt with on the cross. You cannot earn anything from God. You can do something. You can believe and receive what He has already done and what He has already given.
2 Corinthians 1:20 says, “For all the promises of God are in Him, yes and amen to the glory of God through us.”
All the promises of God reveal God’s heart for His people. All the promises in Him are yes and amen to the glory of God through us. Through us! Believe God is that good and He wants to bless your life. You get to bless others! God’s grace and His blessings are yes. We cannot keep this good news to ourselves! We get to tell His story!
If your life needs a major overhaul God is the one who wants to do it! God is the one who has grace for it to happen. God is the one who gave all these promises to begin with so we would have a place to go and a resource, so say, “Father, show me… “ Where will you find the promise? Not on TV. Only in the Word of God. That is where you will find your inheritance.
If I told you I hid a pot of gold in your back yard, would you invest in a shovel? Would you invest some time digging around to find it? You have a treasure in the Word of God. He tells us about all the promises. That is your inheritance that is the blessing of the fullness of the Gospel that is available to you. How much is it worth to you? Go after it!
Eph 3:20, “To Him who is able to do exceedingly, abundantly above all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us.”
There it is again – in us. God wants to do exceedingly abundantly more than you can ask or think.
So, the blessing of the Gospel is even bigger than we can comprehend, more than we can understand with our finite minds. But it is according to the power that works in us, so what is the power that works in you and me? Well in the scope of all the things we could talk about, it is, first of all, you agree that God wants you to have these blessings. God is good and He wants to bless His children!
But you say, I have too many things that have gone wrong in my life, too many hardships. It is hard for me to believe God has given me all these blessings, I can accept some of them but in my experience God does not or has not supplied.
Here is what I want to encourage you to do. Stop judging the Gospel through the lens of your experience. Look at and judge your experience through the lens of the Gospel. Stop allowing the experience to be your god. If you or someone you know is saying that didn’t work for me or that didn’t work for Aunt Mable and that IF it didn’t work for this person, nothing works. Well, if that’s the case then God’s a liar and we may as well pack up and go home.
But God is not a liar!! His Word is true. I encourage you to look at your experience through the lens of the blessings of the Gospel, knowing the Word of God is true. I encourage you to stop exalting your experience above what the Word says. Look at your experience through the magnifying glass of the Word.
Romans 8:32, “He who did not spare is own Son, but delivered Him up for us all how shall He not with him also freely give us all things.”
All things. If God gave you Jesus, why in the world would He withhold anything else? Why would He withhold any of His blessings? His victory? He has given you His name, His blood, His Spirit. He has given you His covenant, He has given you His promises, His armor, His authority. He has given you the sword of the Word, the keys of the Kingdom. He has given us the fullness of the blessing of the Gospel. When we accept Jesus as Savior and when we are born again, we get the whole package! Just think about that… If God gives us Jesus, why in the world would He withhold anything else?
The reality is God is not withholding anything. What’s happening is we are choosing to be fearful. Choosing to worry, choosing to doubt, choosing to feed our flesh with garbage. Choosing to do all those things means you are not choosing God and it is for that reason the blessings are being withheld.
Blessings come through faith and trust that Jesus is Who He says He is and will do what He says He will do. This is faith in the Gospel. I encourage you to get back to believing that you are the righteousness of Christ. He will reward you as you diligently seek Him.
James 1:17, “Every good gift and every perfect gift comes from above and comes down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.”
What that means is God does not change. God is not fickle. He doesn’t make up one set of rules for some and another set for someone else. There is no shadow of turning – there is no variation in God. Every good gift, every perfect gift comes down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation.
God is good. Taste and see that the Lord is good. All this power, all this blessing of the Gospel comes from the inside. Please understand that God is good, God is for you, God’s mercies are new every morning. God has given you His promises, His name, His Spirit, His covenant His Word and on and on. God has given all of this because He wants you to be blessed. He delights in your blessing. As a parent and a grandparent I delight in seeing my children and grandchildren blessed. I don’t want to see them suffering. God is a much better parent than I am! He wants to see me blessed. He wants to see you blessed.
All this begins with our heart becoming convinced. First thing you must be convinced in is that Jesus is the Son of God and that His death was for you personally, His resurrection is your resurrection and His life is your life. Choose to believe that from your heart. Confess it with your mouth – Jesus is Lord.
Choose to believe His joy is your strength
Choose to believe you am accepted in Christ
Choose to believe all things are possible because you believe
Choose to believe you hear His voice
Choose to believe that His favor surrounds you as a shield (Psalm 5:12)
Choose to believe you are blessed in your going out and in your coming in
Choose to believe God – without faith it is impossible to please God
Choose to believe you live with Him in heavenly places
One more passage 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12, “Therefore we also pray always for you that our God would count you worthy of this calling and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness. And the work of faith with power that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you and you in Him according to the grace of our God and our Lord Jesus Christ.”
- A good farmer cultivates the soil of faith: Blessings of the fulness of the Gospel come from the inside out. You must believe by faith. You are bought with a price living in His grace and mercy. You have all these blessings because of what Jesus has already done! Trust Him!
- A good farmer sows the seed of the Gospel: The Gospel is a seed within us. The incorruptible seed of God’s Word comes into us when we get born again. That incorruptible seed carries all the fullness of the blessings of God.
- A good farmer cares for their plants: Realize your true new nature in Christ. When you do, you will begin to think differently, you will speak differently, and you will act differently. The blessing that is within you will come out.
- A good farmer reaps a harvest – the harvest of the fullness of the Gospel comes when we realize we get to live in God’s grace and His grace is what motivates us to share in His life.
Please hear me in what I say next. Are you listening? The world is trying to tell you that you are good in yourself. That is not what I am saying! We are fallen creatures, no one is righteous because of the good things they do. What I am saying is we live in His goodness. There is no one good but God. When we trust that Jesus paid the price for sin, we receive His goodness and righteousness in us.
When you accepted Jesus as Savior, you may have not realized everything that took place. As a boy I certainly didn’t. Now you know. Now you know what has been deposited in you. This is exciting!
We get to live in all the fullness of the Gospel!
We get to be a blessing in this world. Go live in fullness! Proclaim it freely to those around you. The world is in desperate need of the message of the fullness of the Gospel!
If you have never publicly proclaimed your faith is Jesus, today is the day. Come receive the blessings of the fullness of the Gospel for yourself!
Receive the blessings of the fullness of the Gospel today. Remember The wrong things we do separate us from God. Messiah Jesus died, taking our punishment, and rose again proving He is God. Trust in Him.”
You can watch this message by clicking HERE.
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Seize the Moment – Day 1201
Today’s hymn focus will be “Sing to the King”
Psalm 96:1-2 (NASB95)
Sing to the Lord a new song; Sing to the Lord, all the earth.
Sing to the Lord, all the bless His name;
Proclaim good tidings of His salvation from day to day.”
This hymn was originally written in the early 1900’s by Charles Sylvester Horne, the youngest child of Charles and Harriet. He grew up to become a renowned preacher and author, writing hymns that are still sung today.
This is where Billy Foote comes in. He began leading worship after graduating from East Texas Baptist University in 1990. Sadly, he was stricken with hyper-dysphonia, a condition that affected his vocal cords, around 2000, his wife Cindy took over the lead vocals as he continued to write worship songs. He took this classic hymn and gave it a modern style.
Sing to the King Who is coming to reign,
Glory to Jesus the Lamb that was slain
Life and salvation His empire shall bring,
And joy to the nations when Jesus is King
We need to wake up and lift up our voices every day in worship of the One that gave His everything so that we might have life and have it to the fullest. Billy may have lost his ability to sing, but he gave the church songs that remind us why we are to sing!
If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.
YOUTUBE:
If you prefer a video, Pastor Ken reads his devotion on YouTube as well. Click HERE to visit the page.
If you would like to listen to this song, click on this link:
Sing to the King
Glory to Jesus, the Lamb that was slain,
Life and salvation his empire shall bring
Joy to the nations when Jesus is King.
Come let us sing: Praise to our King,
Jesus our King, Jesus our King;
This is our song, who to Jesus belong:
Glory to Jesus, to Jesus our King.
Races long severed his love shall unite,
Justice and truth from his sceptre shall spring,
Wrong shall be ended when Jesus is King.
Freedom shall flourish and wisdom increase,
Foe shall be friend when his triumph we sing,
Sword shall be sickle when Jesus is King.
Doubt shall not darken his witness within,
Hell hath no terrors, and death hath no sting;
Love is victorious when Jesus is King.
Hasten, O Father, the dawn of the day
When this new song thy creation shall sing,
Satan is vanquished and Jesus is King.
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Seize the Moment – Day 1200
Practicing the Presence of God!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Friday, June 30.
Psalm 84:10 may sound familiar to you, “For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand outside. I would rather stand at the threshold of the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness.” It was transformed into a popular praise song by Matt Redman in 1995, and just reading today’s psalm caused my heart to sing out in praise to God – “Better is one day in Your courts than a thousand elsewhere!” I love how so many of the psalms have been put to song, so that we can worship God, singing back to Him His Word.
From the first verses of today’s psalm, you feel the psalmist’s longing to be in the presence of God, “How lovely are Your dwelling places, O Lord of hosts! My soul longed and even yearned for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God” (1-2). To find yourself in the presence of the Lord is a pearl of great price, as Jesus taught in Matthew 13:45-46, “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.” On the cross, Jesus paid the price for us to have His presence; He made the way for us to enter the courts of His kingdom for eternity.
We no longer follow the pilgrimage trail to Jerusalem to enter the courts of the Lord; rather, we follow Jesus, and the Holy Spirit leads us to the throne of grace. Psalm 84:5 prophesied of this way, “How blessed is the man whose strength is in You, in whose heart are the highways to Zion!”
Seize the moment and pray Psalm 84, meditating upon the presence of God – “I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).
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 1199
Dispel the Darkness!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Thursday, June 29.
My grandfather, Captain John Glenn, flew fighters over Germany in World War II. He served on the side of good during a horrid war animated by evil and fueled by hatred. It was a time in our world’s history when today’s psalm was being acted out – the Jewish people were being systematically exterminated by the forces of evil. Asaph wrote about such evil in Psalm 83, starting in verses 1-4:
O God, do not remain quiet; do not be silent and, O God, do not be still. For behold, Your enemies make an uproar, and those who hate You have exalted themselves. They make shrewd plans against Your people, and conspire together against Your treasured ones. They have said, “Come, and let us wipe them out as a nation, that the name of Israel be remembered no more.”
Nearly sixty years after the conclusion of World War II, I had the moving experience of visiting one of the Holocaust camps in Germany. Such horror must never be forgotten, and that is why Asaph wrote Psalm 83. We must never underestimate the importance of resisting evil, just as Edmund Burke famously said, “All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.”[1] This is true in every generation!
Evil is intolerant of good, striving to destroy anything which reflects the light of God. In John 12:46, Jesus calls forth the image bearers of God to defeat evil, “I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness.” You can dispel the darkness by shining Jesus’ Light into the world (Matthew 5:14-16). It’s amazing what a little bit of light can do to fight back the darkness!
Seize the moment and pray Psalm 83, meditating upon the good works you can do in your community today to bring light to dark places (John 1:5; Philippians 2:15).
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 1198
The Urgency of Spiritual Warfare!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Wednesday, June 28.
Psalm 82 opens our eyes to the urgency of spiritual warfare. Dr. Michael Heiser explains about why today’s psalm opened his eyes to the supernatural worldview of the Bible:
Psalm 82 is perhaps the clearest – and perhaps the most startling. … it’s the passage that opened my own eyes. The psalm refers to Yahweh’s administration as a council. The first verse reads: “God (elohim) stands in the divine assembly; he administers judgment in the midst of the gods (elohim).” … A quick read of Psalm 82 informs us that God has called this council meeting to judge the elohim for corrupt rule of the nations. Verse 6 of the psalm declares that these elohim are sons of God. God says to them: “I have said, ‘You are gods [elohim], and sons of the Most High [beney elyon], all of you.’”[1]
Such a supernatural worldview is not new to you, even if you have never heard today’s psalm taught in this light. Jesus called Satan the “ruler of this world” in John 12:31, and Paul called him the “prince of the power of the air” in Ephesians 2:2. Moreso, in Ephesians 6:11-12, Paul explained the urgency of spiritual warfare:
Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.
The ancient audiences of Jesus Christ understood that there were corrupt rulers of the nations, as Psalm 82 highlighted, which is why the early church understood the Great Commission to be more than a call to evangelism; it was a summons to spiritual warfare!
Seize the moment and pray Psalm 82, meditating upon the rightful rule of Jesus Christ over all the nations – “For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son” (Colossians 1:13).
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] Michael S. Heiser, The Unseen Realm: Recovering the Supernatural Worldview of the Bible, First Edition. (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2015), 26-27. For further study, explore Deuteronomy 32:8-9, Job 1-2, and 1 Kings 22:19-23.
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