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The blog contains daily devotions and notes from the weekly messages. We encourage you to review the notes during the sermon or through the week! Most of the posts will have an audio and/or video link at the end of the notes. From time to time the pastors will share other insights and devotions here.
Note:
We realize it isn’t easy to always find what you are looking for, so we are in the process of organizing these blogs. Click HERE to go to an index of blogs that reference our YouTube channel in order to get you where you need to go…
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15
Mar '23
Seize the Moment – Day 1093
15
Mar '23
Cry for Justice!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Wednesday, March 15.
When David was being pursued by Cush, a Benjamite, he cried out to God for deliverance. In his request for divine vindication, He called God his refuge (1), his shield (10), and a righteous judge (11). David knew his enemies’ accusations were false, so he had nothing to fear from God’s judgment; therefore, he petitioned Him in Psalm 7:3-5:
O Lord my God, if I have done this, if there is injustice in my hands, if I have rewarded evil to my friend, or have plundered him who without cause was my adversary, let the enemy pursue my soul and overtake it; and let him trample my life down to the ground and lay my glory in the dust. Selah.
Was David innocent? Are you innocent? Romans 3:10 says, “There is none righteous, not even one.” Is it justice we want or is it mercy that we need? The answer is yes! We want justice in our everyday circumstances, but we need mercy for our lives! If there is not a single person innocent, who can cry out for justice as David does in this psalm?
Thanks be to God for Jesus Christ! Justice and mercy kiss at the Cross of Calvary. Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:21, “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” When we cry out to God for justice, He transfers the guilt of our sin onto Jesus – He took our death! When we cry out to God for mercy, He transfers the righteousness of Jesus onto us – We live in Him! Jesus has atoned for sin (mercy) and propitiated God’s wrath (justice), once for all.
Seize the moment and pray Psalm 7, meditating upon the Cross of Jesus Christ where mercy and justice kiss!
God bless you!
If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.
YOUTUBE:
If you prefer a video, Pastor Jerry reads his devotion on YouTube as well. Click HERE to visit the page.
Videos are posted about a week after the devotion appears in the blog.
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14
Mar '23
Seize the Moment – Day 1092
14
Mar '23
A Prayer of Repentance!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Tuesday, March 14.
Psalm 6 is one of the seven penitential psalms, which means the author’s focus was on confessing sin and asking God for mercy and forgiveness. In other words, it is a psalm of repentance! In Psalm 6:1-4, David cried out to God five times:
O Lord, do not rebuke me in Your anger, nor chasten me in Your wrath. Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am pining away; heal me, O Lord, for my bones are dismayed. And my soul is greatly dismayed; but You, O Lord – how long? Return, O Lord, rescue my soul; save me because of Your lovingkindness.
Do you hear both his physical pain and emotional anguish? The consequences of sin can be far reaching in our lives. Therefore, in our suffering, we must turn to the One who can rescue us. Repentance begins with a confession of faith – David cried out, “O Lord!” five times in four verses. Before anything else, he declared God to be Yahweh – the One who would hear his cry and answer him in his distress. In his suffering, David did not run from God, He ran to Him. Like a child to her father is David to his God.
David cried out to Yahweh by lamenting his sin, agonizing over his pain, requesting mercy and grace, and pleading for God not to delay. This is the key to an effective prayer life – pray fervently to the One who can give you relief (James 5:16). By verse 9, David has experienced relief and an assurance of God’s response, “The Lord has heard my supplication, the Lord receives my prayer.”
Seize the moment and pray Psalm 6, meditating upon the faithfulness of God to respond to your prayer of repentance – “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
God bless you!
If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.
YOUTUBE:
If you prefer a video, Pastor Jerry reads his devotion on YouTube as well. Click HERE to visit the page.
Videos are posted about a week after the devotion appears in the blog.
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13
Mar '23
Seize the Moment – Day 1091
13
Mar '23
Sing for Joy!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Monday, March 13.
I’ve always enjoyed listening to music. But I didn’t start singing until I became a Christian. I learned quickly that Christians love to sing when they get together. Paul commanded the early church in Ephesians 5:18c-19, “be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord.” But this wasn’t a new idea for God’s people!
The Psalms were often set to music, like Psalm 5 states in its introduction, “For the choir director; for flute accompaniment.” David called the people of God to song in verse 11, “But let all who take refuge in You be glad, let them ever sing for joy; and may You shelter them, that those who love Your name may exult in You.” David was petitioning God for protection from wicked people through this psalm, and in doing so, he was using music to teach God’s people how to cry out to God with their hearts, minds, bodies, and souls.
Music is meant to teach, inspire, and encourage us in our walk with God; to spur us on to godliness and faithful living. In Colossians 3:16, Paul explained how our singing is to build one another up in the faith, “Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.”
We are to gather and sing together, but you are to wake up each morning and sing for joy, as David invites in Psalm 5:3, “In the morning, O Lord, You will hear my voice. In the morning I will order my prayer to You and eagerly watch.”
Seize the moment and pray Psalm 5, meditating upon the power of praise in your Christian life. When you sing for joy, the promises of God anchor deeply into your soul.
God bless you!
If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.
YOUTUBE:
If you prefer a video, Pastor Jerry reads his devotion on YouTube as well. Click HERE to visit the page.
Videos are posted about a week after the devotion appears in the blog.
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12
Mar '23
Grow Strong in God’s Grace Wk 5
12
Mar '23
Learning How to be a Faithful Farmer for God’s Harvest!
Sow the Good Seed: The Second Step of the Farmer’s Strategy!
Matthew 13:3-9 & Mark 4:26-32 (NAS95)
We are learning that the strategy of a hard-working farmer has four steps, each of which the faithful farmer must diligently work, if the farmer hopes to harvest a large crop yield:
- Cultivate the soil.
- Sow the good seed.
- Care for the maturing plant.
- Reap a harvest.
Last week we discussed the first step, “Cultivate the soil.” We learned how to prepare people’s hearts to receive the good seed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus explained the Parable of the Four Soils for us, teaching us how to discern the condition of each person’s heart and mind, in hopes of reaping a harvest of praise, to the glory of God.
Today, we are going to dive into the second step of the faithful farmer’s strategy: Sow the good seed! To learn about this, we are going to dive into three parables of Jesus Christ. I will start by emphasizing a different point from last week’s parable, “The Parable of the Four Soils,” found in Matthew 13:3-9. Instead of focusing on the four types of soil, today we will examine it as “The Parable of the Sower” and learn about the good seed He is sowing:
And [Jesus] spoke many things to them in parables, saying, “Behold, the sower went out to sow; and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up. Others fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil. But when the sun had risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. Others fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out. And others fell on the good soil and yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear.”
We learned from Jesus in Matthew 13:19 that the seed is “the word of the kingdom.” The following seven passages instruct us about the characteristics and qualities of the good seed, which is the “word of the kingdom”:
- Joshua 1:8, “This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success.”
- Isaiah 55:10-11, “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there without watering the earth and making it bear and sprout, and furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater; so will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; it will not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.”
- Matthew 24:35, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.”
- 2 Timothy 3:16-17, “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”
- 2 Peter 1:20-21, “But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.”
- Hebrews 4:12, “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”
- 1 Peter 1:23-25, “For you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God. For, ‘All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls off, but the word of the Lord endures forever.’ And this is the word which was preached to you.”
From this first parable of Jesus, we learn about the good seed, which was passed down to us and we are to pass it on to others who will join us in the work of sowing it. Paul taught this to his protégé in 2 Timothy 2:2, “The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” Just like God first sowed the seed of life into us and invited us to join Him in His garden (creation). We read this in Genesis 2:7-8, “Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. The Lord God planted a garden toward the east, in Eden; and there He placed the man whom He had formed.”
God said to His image bearers at the beginning, “Be fruitful and multiply” (Genesis 1:26-28). As image bearers of God, we were to continue to fulfill His desires for His creation, which is that all things would live under His rightful rule (in His kingdom). This is the work of the harvest, as Jesus commanded in Mark 16:15, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.” This is the Great Commission for which Jesus taught us to pray in Luke 10:2, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.” The work of the harvest is to sow the good seed, passing it from person to person, generation to generation, and nation to nation. As Jesus emphasized in Matthew 28:19-20, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Let’s enter a time of prayer, asking God to open our eyes to this plentiful harvest. The harvest is in our homes and neighborhoods, in our schools and places of work, throughout our communities, and to the places around the world which we go. Are you willing and available to be a laborer in God’s harvest, wherever and whenever He may call you to go? Let’s pray for each of us to be open, available, and willing to be used by God, wherever and whenever He may call.
[Time of Prayer]
In the next parable, the Parable of the Seed, found in Mark 4:26-29, Jesus taught about the importance of God’s grace in the work of sowing the good seed:
And [Jesus] was saying, “The kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil; and he goes to bed at night and gets up by day, and the seed sprouts and grows – how, he himself does not know. The soil produces crops by itself; first the blade, then the head, then the mature grain in the head. But when the crop permits, he immediately puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”
Just like with life itself, there is a mystery in the power of the seed because it is God-breathed. The seed comes from the Sower (God), who provided the good seed to us so that we can sow in His name, with His same Spirit that brought life out from the dust. There is a guarantee on this seed, as we’ve already learned from Isaiah 55:11, “it will not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.” These words are spoken by the Sower of faith. Isaiah 55:8-9 tells us about the One who makes such an extravagant promise, “‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,’ declares the Lord. ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.’”
Our job as hard-working farmers is to sow the good seed, which has been provided to us, not second guess the seed or what the Sower says it is capable of or what it will produce. As Jesus taught in the above parable, we can rest easy at night knowing that we have been faithful farmers who “cast seed upon the soil.” The rest is up to God and the power of His good seed.
What is required of you, the faithful farmer? Just that, it requires faith! The kind of faith that reminds you to sow seed everywhere you go because it’s good seed. Regardless of whether it is hard ground, shallow rocky soil, land filled with thorns and thistles, or fields that have proven themselves to be good soil, you sow the seed!
You are called to sow, but you can’t make it grow! You aren’t in control! You can’t control the results of your hard work, only in whether you are willing to work hard and follow the strategy of the faithful farmer, entrusted to you generation after generation, and preserved through the Bible handed down to you. It’s a life learning how to “walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7) – the farmer goes to bed, sleeps peacefully because he trusts the strategy passed down to him. As Jesus taught in His parable, the farmer wakes up to see that “the seed sprouts and grows – how, he himself does not know. The soil produces crops by itself; first the blade, then the head, then the mature grain in the head.”
The second step of the farmer’s strategy is the high call of living by faith. In 1881, C. H. Spurgeon preached about the life of sowing the seed:
The precious seed of the word of God is small as a grain of mustard-seed, and may be carried by the feeblest hand where it shall multiply a hundred-fold. We need never quarrel with God because we cannot do everything if he only permits us to do this one thing; for sowing the good seed is a work which will need all our wit, our strength, our love, our care. Holy seed sowing may well be adopted as our highest pursuit, and be no inferior object for the noblest life that can be led.[1]
What Spurgeon calls “the noblest life that can be led” is the life of a hard-working farmer, a life of growing strong in God’s grace. By God’s grace, we sow in faith, even if our faith is no bigger than that of a mustard seed. In the next parable of Jesus, the Parable of the Mustard Seed, found in Mark 4:30-32, Jesus emphasized the power of faith:
How shall we picture the kingdom of God, or by what parable shall we present it? It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the soil, though it is smaller than all the seeds that are upon the soil, yet when it is sown, it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and forms large branches; so that the birds of the air can nest under its shade.” (cf. Matthew 13:31-32)
Do you feel that you are lacking in faith to be a hard-working farmer for God’s harvest? Jesus’ words convince me that a mustard seed of faith is sufficient to the task! Sowing the good seed is an activity of faith, and the faith you have, even that of a mustard seed, is sufficient for the task that Jesus has called you to participate in. How do I know this? Because the measure of faith you have is not your own, you didn’t muster up, it was given to you by God’s grace, and God’s grace is sufficient to all that God calls you to be and do. Paul taught this in Romans 12:3, “For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.”
Have you received the good seed of Jesus Christ? You first must receive what you are called to sow into the lives of others. I invite you now to receive Jesus Christ by inviting Him to be your Lord and Savior. Submit to the Lord of the Harvest and be filled with the imperishable seed of God’s Word, who plants eternity into your heart through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
[altar call and pray for salvation]
Keep your focus as hardworking farmers – the harvest! As C. H. Spurgeon preached in 1871, “Preaching is sowing, prayer is watering, but praise is the harvest.”[2] It is my desire to see First Baptist Church of New Castle, Indiana witness a large crop yield of praise to the glory of God! That we will be an epicenter of revival throughout our region and denomination, and into our nation and to the nations. Until all worship, let us continue to be faithful to the Lord of the Harvest and respond to His call upon our lives to be hard-working farmers!
You can listen to this message by clicking below:
You can watch this message by clicking HERE.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] C. H. Spurgeon, “What the Farm Labourers Can Do and What They Cannot Do,” in The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit Sermons, vol. 27 (London: Passmore & Alabaster, 1881), 330.
[2] C. H. Spurgeon, “The Joy of the Lord, the Strength of His People,” in The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit Sermons, vol. 17 (London: Passmore & Alabaster, 1871), 717.
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11
Mar '23
Seize the Moment – Day 1089
11
Mar '23
Today’s song focus will be
Knowing You, Jesus
Philippians 3:8 (NASB95)
“ More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ,”
Released on May 16, 2010, this modern-day hymn was written by Graham Kendrick. He had begun reading the book of Philippians after being asked to write a specific song to go along with the Bible readings and teachings for an upcoming conference. As he mediated and asked God to reveal anything that might be a seed for a song, his attention was drawn to today’s scripture. After listing all his accomplishments, Paul dramatically pushes them aside for the sake of one supreme goal – to know Christ Jesus.
Knowing you, Jesus. Knowing you, there is no greater thing
You’re my all, you’re the best You’re my joy, my righteousness
And I love you, Lord
We need to wake up and desire to have the same drive as the Apostle Paul. It is not about us and what we have done, but what Christ has done and continues to do in and through us. May God receive all the glory, honor and praise for what we do and say each and every day!
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.
Videos are posted about a week after the devotion appears in the blog.
If you would like to listen to the song, click on the link below:
Knowing You, Jesus
All I once held dear, built my life upon
All this world reveres and wars to own;
All I once thought gain I have counted loss,
Spent and worthless now compared to this.
Chorus
Knowing You, Jesus, knowing You
There is no greater thing
You’re my all, You’re the best
You’re my joy, my righteousness,
And I love You Lord.
Verse 2
Now my heart’s desire is to know You more,
To be found in You and known as Yours,
To possess by faith what I could not earn
All surpassing gift of righteousness
Chorus
Knowing You, Jesus, knowing You
There is no greater thing
You’re my all, You’re the best
You’re my joy, my righteousness,
And I love You Lord.
Verse 3
Oh to know the power of Your risen life,
And to know You in Your sufferings;
To become like You in Your death, my Lord,
So with You to live and never die.
Chorus
Knowing You, Jesus, knowing You
There is no greater thing
You’re my all, You’re the best
You’re my joy, my righteousness,
And I love You Lord.
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10
Mar '23
Seize the Moment – Day 1088
10
Mar '23
Prayer in the Evening!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Friday, March 10.
As we pray through Psalm 4, we participate in David’s experience with injustice, suffering, and oppression. We all need to learn how to pray when we, too, face hardships. Notice how David’s prayer transitions from individual lament to confidence in God. It starts with the prayers of a sleepless night in verse 2, “O sons of men, how long will my honor become a reproach? How long will you love what is worthless and aim at deception? Selah.” Have you ever struggled to stop thinking about something or someone? Have you ever wondered how long it would take you to fall asleep? We can easily become restless in times of hardship.
But God… He has given us a way of escape that moves us from ruminating on the world’s injustices to focusing on God’s faithfulness. Psalm 4:8 concludes with this delightful promise of rest, “In peace I will both lie down and sleep, for You alone, O Lord, make me to dwell in safety.” What a beautiful transformation this evening prayer offers us – from restlessness to rest! This prayer takes us from focusing on the actions of other people, which leads to us feeling insecure and fearful, to the security and acceptance we find in God alone; He is our shield (Psalm 3:3). This prayer moves us from the worries of the world to the worthiness of God!
What’s the key to praying this psalm? It is found in verse 4, “Tremble, and do not sin; meditate in your heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah.” Just like Psalm 46:10, this psalm invites us into the promise of stillness – “Cease striving [“Be still” (NIV)] and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
Seize the moment and pray Psalm 4, meditating upon the promises of God – Trust in God’s sufficient sovereignty and you will sleep peacefully under the shield of His presence. Selah.
God bless you!
If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.
YOUTUBE:
If you prefer a video, Pastor Jerry reads his devotion on YouTube as well. Click HERE to visit the page.
Videos are posted about a week after the devotion appears in the blog.
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09
Mar '23
Seize the Moment – Day 1087
09
Mar '23
Prayer in the Morning!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Thursday, March 9.
How do you start your day? Do you have a morning routine that focuses on the size of the giants you are facing off with that day? Or do you have a morning regimen that trains your mind and heart to trust the God who promises to be by your side throughout the day? Your morning prayers matter because what you fixate on first thing determines the focus of your day! Don’t allow yourself to be ensnared by the worries and anxieties of your day; rather, cry out to God for new mercies (Lamentations 3:19-25). Put your giants in God’s hands!
According to the introduction of Psalm 3, David wrote this psalm when he was fleeing from Jerusalem because his son Absalom was rebelling against him. This story, told in 2 Samuel 15-18, is a heartbreaking tale of betrayal and upheaval. It’s family drama at its worst, but according to Psalm 3:5-7a, David started his day with morning prayers:
I lay down and slept; I awoke, for the Lord sustains me. I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people who have set themselves against me round about. Arise, O Lord; save me, O my God! For You have smitten all my enemies on the cheek; You have shattered the teeth of the wicked.
David awoke from sleeping and cried out to God to be a shield about him (3-4). Start your day with morning prayers and cry out to God for help in your day. Your problems will not go away, but you will not face the giants alone.
Seize the moment and pray Psalm 3, meditating upon the victory of Jesus Christ – “If God is for us, who is against us?” (Romans 8:31b). Train yourself to wake up with your eyes fixed on Jesus, the author and perfector of your faith, so that you may run with endurance the race set before you (Hebrews 12:1-3).
God bless you!
If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.
YOUTUBE:
If you prefer a video, Pastor Jerry reads his devotion on YouTube as well. Click HERE to visit the page.
Videos are posted about a week after the devotion appears in the blog.
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08
Mar '23
Seize the Moment – Day 1086
08
Mar '23
The Rightful Rule of the Messiah!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Wednesday, March 8.
When you pray through Psalm 2, you are praying for the fulfillment of Jesus’ kingdom on Earth as it is in Heaven. Did you know that Psalm 2 is one of the most quoted psalms in the New Testament? It is a Messianic Psalm, meaning that it is fulfilled through the Messiah of Israel, who is Jesus of Nazareth.
Psalm 2 begins with the nations taking a stand against God and rejecting His Anointed One (the Messiah) because they desire to live free of God’s rule. The Sovereign laughs at their pride in verse 4 and then declares, in verses 10-12, that there is only one way back to Him:
Now therefore, O kings, show discernment; take warning, O judges of the earth. Worship the Lord with reverence and rejoice with trembling. Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way, for His wrath may soon be kindled. How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!
This was the reason that Jesus Christ came from Heaven to Earth – to restore the rebellious nations back to God’s rule. Jesus is the Anointed One, the only begotten Son, and in Philippians 2:9-11, He was declared the One who uniquely fulfilled Psalm 2:
For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Seize the moment and pray Psalm 2, meditating upon the rightful rule of the Messiah – Jesus is the way of the righteous that leads to life and blessings! Are there places in your life where you need to “do homage to the [King of Kings]”?
God bless you!
If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.
YOUTUBE:
If you prefer a video, Pastor Jerry reads his devotion on YouTube as well. Click HERE to visit the page.
Videos are posted about a week after the devotion appears in the blog.
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07
Mar '23
Seize the Moment – Day 1085
07
Mar '23
Praying the Prayer Book of Jesus!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Tuesday, March 7.
Are you ready to take your prayer life to the next level? My hope and prayers for you is that you will start a 150-day prayer journey through the Psalms and experience God’s blessings. Make the commitment today that you are going to open your Bible to the prayer book of Jesus, meditating upon a Psalm each day.
The Psalms are a collection of poems and songs, which have served as the prayer book of God’s people, including Jesus Christ, for three thousand years. It is my intent to help you approach each Psalm in the same way you do the Lord’s Prayer, as God’s means of grace to form your prayers through His words. This way, while your own thoughts and feelings will inform your prayers, your heart and mind will be directed by God’s Word and not your current situation.
Psalm 1 is the starting point of our prayer journey and an entry way into the theme of the book of Psalms – there is a way that leads to God’s blessing, just as surely as there is a path that leads to destruction. Psalm 1:6 clarifies, “For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.” Jesus invited His disciples in Matthew 7:13-14 to choose the narrow way that leads to life and avoid the broad way that leads to destruction. Furthermore, Jesus identified Himself as “the way” (John 14:6) and as “the door of the sheep” (John 10:7). Jesus invites you to pray in His name and experience the blessings of God (John 14:13-14).
Seize the moment and pray Psalm 1, meditating upon the image of your roots growing deeply into the living waters of Jesus Christ (John 4:14). As you pray, may you experience the nourishment of the Spirit of God coursing into your life, making your tree stronger, and bearing fruit upon your branches (John 15:1-8).
God bless you!
If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.
YOUTUBE:
If you prefer a video, Pastor Jerry reads his devotion on YouTube as well. Click HERE to visit the page.
Videos are posted about a week after the devotion appears in the blog.
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06
Mar '23
Seize the Moment – Day 1084
06
Mar '23
Pray for your Family and Friends!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Monday, March 6.
We have arrived at Job 42, the last chapter, where we now experience the restoration of Job’s health, family, and fortunes. This amazing turn of events demonstrates God’s mercy and grace, but there is an important nuance found in Job 42:10, “The Lord restored the fortunes of Job when he prayed for his friends, and the Lord increased all that Job had twofold.” [emphasis added]
When did the restoration happen? Don’t miss this! It was when he prayed for his friends who were rebuked by God in Job 42:7-9:
It came about after the Lord had spoken these words to Job, that the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “My wrath is kindled against you and against your two friends, because you have not spoken of Me what is right as My servant Job has. Now therefore, take for yourselves seven bulls and seven rams, and go to My servant Job, and offer up a burnt offering for yourselves, and My servant Job will pray for you. For I will accept him so that I may not do with you according to your folly, because you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has.” So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went and did as the Lord told them; and the Lord accepted Job. [emphasis added]
Job’s faith was counted to him as righteousness; therefore, his prayer was effective (Romans 4; James 5:16)! God responded to Job’s faith and accepted their sacrifice offered to God for the atonement of their sins. God doesn’t want any to perish, but for all to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9), so He calls forth His faithful servants to pray in faith for their friends and family to be saved from His coming wrath.
Seize the moment and pray for your family and friends – be a stretcher bearer by bringing them “to the throne of grace, so that [they] may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Luke 5:17-20; Hebrews 4:16).
God bless you!
If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.
YOUTUBE:
If you prefer a video, Pastor Jerry reads his devotion on YouTube as well. Click HERE to visit the page.
Videos are posted about a week after the devotion appears in the blog.
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