The blog contains daily devotions and notes from the weekly messages.  We encourage you to review the notes during the sermon or through the week!  Most of the posts will have an audio and/or video link at the end of the notes.  From time to time the pastors will share other insights and devotions here.
 
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Seize the Moment – Day 1190

Shine Brilliantly!

Psalm 76

 

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!

Psalm 75

 

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.

 

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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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?

 
 

You can watch this video by clicking HERE.

 
 

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Seize the Moment – Day 1187

Today’s modern Hymn focus will be:

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. 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

all that Jesus has done for us.
 

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.

 

 
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:

 

This is Amazing Grace

 
Who breaks the power of sin and darkness?Whose love is mighty and so much stronger?The King of glory, the King above all kings
Who shakes the whole earth with holy thunder?And leaves us breathless in awe and wonder?The King of glory, the King above all kings
 
This is amazing graceThis is unfailing loveThat You would take my placeThat You would bear my cross
You laid down Your lifeThat I would be set freeOh, Jesus, I sing forAll that You’ve done for me
 
Who brings our chaos back into order?Who makes the orphans a son and daughter?The King of glory, the King of gloryWho rules the nations with truth and justiceShines like the sun in all of its brillianceThe King of glory, the King above all kings
 
This is amazing graceThis is unfailing loveThat You would take my place
That You would bear my cross
You laid down Your lifeThat I would be set freeOh, Jesus, I sing forAll that You’ve done for me
 
Worthy is the Lamb who was slainWorthy is the King who conquered the graveWorthy is the Lamb who was slainWorthy is the King who conquered the graveWorthy is the Lamb who was slainWorthy is the King who conquered the graveWorthy is the Lamb who was slainWorthy, worthy, worthy
 
This is amazing graceThis is unfailing loveThat You would take my placeThat You would bear my cross
You laid down Your lifeThat I would be set freeOh, Jesus, I sing forAll that You’ve done for me
All that You’ve done for me
 
 
Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Josh Farro / Phil Wickham / Jeremy Riddle
This Is Amazing Grace lyrics © Wb Music Corp., Fbr Music, Josh’s Music, Bethel Music Publishing, Word Music, Llc
 
 
 

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Seize the Moment – Day 1186

Pray for the Persecuted Church!

Psalm 74

 

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:

 
[1] James Montgomery Boice, Psalms 42–106: An Expositional Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2005), 616.
 
 

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Seize the Moment – Day 1185

The Corruption of Envy and Bitterness!

Psalm 73

 

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!

Psalm 72

 

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!

Psalm 71

 

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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Seize the Moment – Day 1182

Be a Person of Blessing!

Psalm 70

 

Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Monday, June 12.

 

Do you find yourself cursing people and complaining about the state of the world? Psalm 70:2 should serve as a warning, “Let those be ashamed and humiliated who seek my life; let those be turned back and dishonored who delight in my hurt.” No matter how much in the right you think you are, you should not curse another person, in thought, word, or deed (Matthew 5:21-26). Be a person of blessing, not cursing (James 3:9-10).

 

David teaches us the way in verse 5, “But I am afflicted and needy; hasten to me, O God! You are my help and my deliverer; O Lord, do not delay.” While this may not sound like the prayer of a mighty warrior or conquering king; it is! David was powerful amongst men because he knew intimately the truth that Jesus taught in John 15:5, “apart from Me you can do nothing.” Until you understand this, you are far weaker and more vulnerable than you can imagine.

 

God is not a crutch for weak people; He is the way of victory for all people! We walk with God when we realize that oppressing others is never the way of victory. The way of God is seeking the liberation of all – freedom from sin! You cannot bless and curse a person at the same time. It’s impossible!

 

John 3:16-17 explains why Jesus came from Heaven to Earth, “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. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.” The rescue mission of Jesus is “to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). Are you living as a hope-bearer or are you being a doomsdayer?

 

Seize the moment and pray Psalm 70, meditating upon the great rescue mission of Jesus Christ – “O God, hasten to deliver me; O Lord, hasten to my help!” (Psalm 70:1).

 

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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Grow Strong in God’s Grace (Wk 14)

Learning How to be a Faithful Farmer for God’s Harvest!

 

The Faith that Blesses!

 

Hebrews 11:20 (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! 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, we are telling the story of Isaac, based on Hebrews 11:20, which says, “By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau, even regarding things to come.”[1] From Isaac’s story, we are going to learn the faith that blesses.

 

How did you come into the faith? What is the starting point of your transforming story? Kimberly and I both came to know Jesus through outreach ministries to the military; we were both young adults out of high school and in the beginning of our military service. Maybe you were blessed to come from a home filled with godliness and faith, and you have been a Christian as long as you can remember. What a privilege and joy! That is our prayer for our three children and for all the children of our congregation. Regardless of how or when your story began, in Christ we each have the power to bless another generation. Though the story of Isaac and his twin sons, Jacob and Esau, we are going to learn the power and choice of blessing people by planting the good seed of God’s grace in their lives through faith.

 

STEP #2 OF THE FARMER’S STRATEGY: SOW THE GOOD SEED OF GOD’S GRACE

 

The context of this whole Hebrews 11 passage is that one word: faith! Hebrews 11:1 teaches us that “faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” It means to put your whole trust in someone or something. In this case, and throughout the Bible the object of our faith is in God, who is trustworthy and true. In fact, the purpose of highlighting the people and their stories is to teach us more about who God is and that He is faithful. God is worthy to put all our weight on Him, just as we learned last week through the Abraham-Isaac story. The stories bring to life these doctrinal truths through illustration, illumination, and inspiration!

 

We have been learning about the faith and obedience of Isaac’s parents, Abraham and Sarah. Though far from perfect as a man and woman, above all they modeled a real relationship with God. Truly, they imperfectly put their full trust in God and God’s grace perfectly sustained them. They believed and they acted upon this belief because they are people of the promise, and Isaac’s very life was the fulfillment of God’s promise to them. We learned of God’s faithfulness and trustworthiness through the very existence of Isaac. Isaac was a miracle baby!

 

Here is what we know about Isaac: his birth was foretold, longed for, and miraculous (Genesis 21:1-3). He was circumcised by the very hand of his father Abraham on the eighth day as a sign of the covenant that God had personally made with Abraham (Genesis 21:4). Isaac’s mom died at 127 years old, when he was approximately thirty-seven years old, since he was born when she was 90 (Genesis 23:1). She died approximately twenty years after the climactic event of Genesis 22, when God commanded Abraham to sacrifice his one and only son as an act of worship (check out last week’s teaching). I can only imagine how for thirty-seven years Sarah loved Isaac and spoke of why he was named, “Laughter.” With a smile on her face, she would recount her own lack of faith in God’s plan to give her a baby at 90, and how Isaac shouldn’t make the same mistake: God had proven time and time again, through Isaac’s birth, his experience with her crazy husband on the mount in Moriah as a teenager, that God is a great provider and worthy of all his trust. This would have been a mother on a mission to make sure her son knew he was a miracle, chosen by God, and blessed by his parents, for a purpose.

 

What is amazing about Isaac is his rich faith heritage. When many focus on the speculation of his psychological damage caused by being a teenage boy who was almost slaughtered at the hands of his father Abraham, their musings miss out on the one thing that is the point of this ongoing story of the people of God’s promise; that is the powerful influence of one generation’s faith on the next generation. Isaac’s family blessed him to be a blessing to others! That is the promise of Genesis 12:2-3, given to Abraham, passed on to Isaac, “I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and so you shall be a blessing… in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”

 

How can your home be a place of faith where the next generation is not indulged, but rather blessed so that they will be a blessing to others? When I serve my children, I tell them that I do it  so that they will learn to serve others. I bless them so that they will learn to be a blessing to others! That takes us to our next action step.

 

STEP #3 OF THE FARMER’S STRATEGY: CARE FOR THE MATURING PLANT

 

Isaac may have been a second-generation follower of God, but he believed in God’s promises for himself. His father’s God was His God. His mother’s God was His God. His faith was His own! Isaac was blessed to live in a family with faith, but even as a member of that community, he had to know God for himself. The promise of Genesis 12 had to become his own, just as all the promises of God through Jesus Christ must become our own. The faith of the previous generation is passed on to us so that we can make it our own, passing it on to the next generation.

 

God provided a faithful wife to Isaac in Rebekah (see Genesis 24). Isaac was 40 when he was married and 60 when Abraham died. Before his death, God blessed Isaac with great abundance; Genesis 25:5 says, “Now Abraham gave all that he had to Isaac.” Interestingly, the Bible makes it clear in Genesis 25:11 who was really doing the blessing, “It came about after the death of Abraham, that God blessed his son Isaac.” After Abraham died, God adopted Isaac as his own son; He did not leave Isaac as an orphan! Jesus said in John 14:18, “I will not leave you as orphans.” God tends to the maturing plant through the presence and power of His Spirit!

 

So, like Abraham before him, Isaac was blessed with everything, except the one thing that was necessary to keep passing on the legacy – a child! For twenty years they had tried to conceive a child (Genesis 25:26), then when Isaac was 60, God blessed them as Genesis 25:21 records, “Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was barren; and the Lord answered him and Rebekah his wife conceived.” Isaac had a faith that blessed! He learned this from his mom and dad, but he had to make it his own!

 

Every generation must embrace faith as their own because God does not have grandchildren; He has children! In the same way that Abraham and Sarah wandered through the nothingness of infertility, so did Isaac and Rebekah. For twenty years, they had to wrestle with their own faith and trust in God; to believe God to keep His promises. To learn that God is good! Faith becomes your own when you have personally had to put your full weight into God. You see, you can’t bless someone with a future promise that you yourself don’t believe in. Sure, you can give them a family name and maybe some money and stuff in an estate, but you can’t pass on to the next generation what you don’t have yourself! Brothers and sisters, what matters is that you pass on the name of Jesus! The name that you have learned through life’s hardest circumstances is trustworthy and true! It is only by the name of Jesus you will have an eternal legacy.

 

Do you believe? One day, when each of us must stand before God to give an account for our lives, it will be just you and Him. No pastors, no parents, no excuses, no ATMs, just God and you… Do you know Him? Do you trust Him? Are you reaping the good fruit of a life of faith by having plenty of seed-rich fruit to hand to those in your life? That brings us to our last action step in the hard-working farmer’s strategy.

 

STEP #4 OF THE FARMER’S STRATEGY: REAP A HARVEST OF PRAISE

 

Jacob and Esau are real people in real history; they are the twin sons of Isaac and Rebekah, the grandchildren of Abraham and Sarah. These miracle babies, a set of twins that Jacob blessed according to Hebrews 11:20, represent so much more than who they are. We cannot spend as much time with these brothers as I would like, and prefer as a Bible teacher, but for today’s purposes allow me to draw an important contrast between them. Genesis 25:27-34 says a lot in a short space:

 

When the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the field, but Jacob was a peaceful man, living in tents. Now Isaac loved Esau, because he had a taste for game, but Rebekah loved Jacob. When Jacob had cooked stew, Esau came in from the field and he was famished; and Esau said to Jacob, “Please let me have a swallow of that red stuff there, for I am famished.” Therefore his name was called Edom. But Jacob said, “First sell me your birthright.” Esau said, “Behold, I am about to die; so of what use then is the birthright to me?” And Jacob said, “First swear to me”; so he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew; and he ate and drank, and rose and went on his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.

 

Here is the contrast: Jacob highly valued the birthright of the promise of God and Esau despised his because of his own foolish decisions. Jacob and Esau both have some glaring character flaws, but what matters is that they both made a choice: Jacob for the promise of God and Esau for the pleasures of the world.

 

You have a choice: every generation must choose whether they will be a Jacob or Esau.

 

Esau violated the covenant of God, married many foreign wives (Hittites and an Ishmaelite) representing his compromises away from the promises of God and yoking with the world, and he fathered nations who war against God’s people, just like Ishmael fathered great nations who still war against God’s people. Listen to the summary of Esau’s bitterness at rejecting his own birthright and choosing foreign wives, from Genesis 26:35, “They made life bitter for Isaac and Rebekah” (ESV). “Esau” passes on bitterness and grief (NASB), generation after generation.

 

Bitterness begets bitterness! What are some examples in our everyday lives of how we choose Esau: the bitterness of the world? To put it plainly; it happens when we choose to be doomsdayers! When you choose to be negative and nitpicky, as if you are always looking for what is wrong rather than choosing to see what is right, on the verge of anger most of the time, ready to go on the defensive and build a case for your own point of view, living in blame and accusation, critical of others instead of looking for ways to build up and edify, never satisfied rather than living in contentment, never trusting another, but putting yourself first because your worldview as a doomsdayer demands that you protect the glass house you have constructed.

 

There is a way out of bitterness and the consequences of choosing the mindset and lifestyle of a doomsdayer. Jesus sets the prisoners free; He heals the brokenhearted; and He uproots bitter roots! In short, Jesus is our living hope and transforms us from being doomsdayers to being hope-bearers! Church, we are the hope of the world! We are to reap a harvest of praise – declaring the hope of the blessing of God, given to us through Jesus Christ!

 

Jacob’s legacy is the twelve tribes of Israel through whom the Savior – Jesus Christ – was born to carry the promise of Genesis 12 to all the nations. Jacob passed on to us blessings and peace. Genesis 28:3-4 records Isaac’s blessing to Jacob when he sends him back to Rebekah’s people to find a wife and to protect him from his enraged brother Esau, “May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, that you may become a company of peoples. May He also give you the blessing of Abraham, to you and to your descendants with you, that you may possess the land of your sojournings, which God gave to Abraham.”

 

Blessing begets blessing! What are some examples in our everyday lives of how we can choose Jacob: the blessings of God? This is where you declare, right now, out loud for everyone to hear you: I AM A HOPE-BEARER! God has called you to be a person of faith, hope, and love! God has given you the sufficiency of His grace so that you can live strong in God’s grace! God has given you forgiveness through His Son Jesus Christ so that you can forgive others as God first forgave you. God has given you the Holy Spirit, so that you may reap the fruit of the Spirit for all taste and seed that God is “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23). A hope-bearer endures to the end, show resiliency when knocked down, is faithful to God and His mission, and is humble – reaping a harvest of praise to the glory of God!

 

It’s a choice! I present to you today a choice between generational blessings and generational curses. Jacob and Esau’s sibling rivalry has become regional and national conflict today, millennia later, continuing to breed bitterness and grief. But they also represent the choice each person must make to receive between the blessings of God and the bitterness of the world. Hebrews 12:15-17 confronts us with this choice of bitterness or blessing:

 

See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled; that there be no immoral or godless person like Esau, who sold his own birthright for a single meal. For you know that even afterwards, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought for it with tears.

 

Do you want to have a transforming story? It’s a choice between blessing and bitterness. The time ran out for Esau; it was too late to get back what he had rejected for the world! But you are here today, there is breath in your lungs, and there is still time for repentance: REJECT BITTERNESS! Don’t be a doomsdayer! Grow strong in God’s grace and live your life as a hope-bearer! God’s grace is available to you today personally. Until the Lord Jesus returns or you take your last breath on this earth, you can receive the promises of God as yours through faith in Jesus Christ.

 

Jesus came into the world as the light of God to show the way to God’s blessings. The gospel invites you today to accept Jesus Christ and to receive the promises of God, as John 1:11-13 promises:

 

He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

 

You cannot rest on your parents’ faith, your faith heritage, or you church affiliation. The most important decision of your life is what you do with Jesus Christ. This is a holy moment of decision. Today can be the first day of your eternal legacy… Today, you are being invited to receive the faith that blesses. It will bless you, then it will bless through you!

 
 

You can watch this message by clicking HERE.

 
 
 

FOOTNOTE:

 
[1] There is a lot in this story of Isaac’s life, and his twin boys Jacob and Esau, that cannot be covered in today’s lesson, so I highly recommend that you read for yourself Genesis 24-35. This is a complex story that I do not intend to whitewash over but it was impossible to cover everything and most likely you will find important details missing. I encourage you to make this a starting point, not a finish line, in your discovery and study of the Bible and the transforming stories that teach us about the eternal God and how to live strong in His grace today.
 
 
 

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