Seize the Moment – Day 1016
Count the Cost!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Wednesday, December 28.
When confronting evil you must count the cost first – you must agree to take on yourself the consequences of your actions. The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. counted the cost of leading the civil rights movement knowing that at a minimum he would spend time in jail. Ultimately, the cost of carrying his cross for the healing of our nation was his very life. The cost has not changed – freedom is never free!
Mordecai was overwhelmed with anguish upon hearing the murderous decree of the king – “he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes, … and wailed loudly and bitterly” (Esther 4:1). At first, Queen Esther refused to act against this great evil, explaining how going to the king uninvited would be a breach of royal etiquette that could lead to her own death (4-11). Then Mordecai challenged Esther in verses 13-14:
Do not imagine that you in the king’s palace can escape any more than all the Jews. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place and you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this?
Jesus Christ is inviting you to consider that same question as one of His followers, “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14:27). Has God elevated you to a position of royalty “for such a time as this?” What good has God laid upon your heart to do? Are you willing to “suffer for the sake of righteousness” (1 Peter 3:13-17; Matthew 5:10-12)?
Seize the moment and count the cost of God’s call upon your life. You never know how God might use your courage to take action. As the missionary Jim Elliot said before his martyrdom, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”
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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Seize the Moment – Day 1015
Stand Against the Enemy’s Schemes!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Tuesday, December 27.
Though the enemy’s plots appear to be insurmountable, we do not need to fear; rather, we are called to pray and put our trust in the God who promised to fight for us (Deuteronomy 20:3-4). Paul taught his protégé how to defeat the enemy’s schemes in 2 Timothy 4:17-18:
But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that through me the proclamation might be fully accomplished, and that all the Gentiles might hear; and I was rescued out of the lion’s mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed, and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom; to Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Seize the moment and stand with the Lord against the enemy’s schemes (Ephesians 6:10-18; James 4:7). Your victory is found through faith in the Immanuel – Jesus Christ is with you (Matthew 1:23; 28:20; 1 John 5:4-5)!
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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Seize the Moment – Day 1014
Postured for Providence!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Monday, December 26.
What’s your heart posture? God is at work in the world, and He wants to work through you! Are you ready to seize the moment in agreement with God’s plans and purposes for His creation? Whether it is a willingness to go where He invites you to go, or a desire to do the work God calls you to do, what matters is that your heart is “gentle and humble,” like Jesus’ heart (Matthew 11:29). Are you postured for providence?
Esther was a beautiful Jewish woman who lived in exile during the reign of the Persian Empire. She was orphaned and raised by her uncle Mordecai (Esther 2:7). God’s providence shaped her life from a young age, so when she was taken into the harem of King Ahasuerus (Xerxes), she made the most of her situation (8-16).
An orphaned Jewish girl became the Queen of Persia. While God shaped Esther’s story on purpose – for His plans – Esther had to be willing to be a part of His plans! Is your heart postured for providence? Jesus promises in John 14:12, “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do.” I wonder what “greater works” God has in store for you. You will never know unless you believe in Jesus and trust God to work in your circumstances.
Seize the moment and posture your heart for God’s providence. Watch. Listen. Obey.
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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Seize the Moment – Day 1012
Today’s Christmas hymn focus will be
Mary Did You Know
Luke 2:19 (NASB95)
“ ‘But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart.’”
Mark Lowry began writing the lyrics in 1984 to one of the most popular Christmas songs. When asked to create a musical program for Living Christmas Tree, Lowry spent time pondering the person of Mary, posing all the questions that are written in the song. Seven years later, he contacted Buddy Greene to help write the music. A few weeks later, they got the music into the hands of Michael English, who sang it and included it on the album he was making at that time.
Mary did you know that your baby boy will some day
walk on water? Mary did you know that your baby boy
will save our sons and daughters?
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 this song, click on this link:
Mary Did You Know?
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Seize the Moment – Day 1011
An Honorable Woman!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Friday, December 23.
In the best of storytelling, the opening scene is crucial because it foreshadows the heart of the story, oftentimes in a subtle way that is undetectable until you know the whole story.
As we start the last history book of the Old Testament – the book of Esther, we find that the first chapter is a set up for the epic tale of an honorable Jewish woman who God placed in a position of influence, “for such a time as this” (Esther 4:14). In fact, the main character, Esther, for which the book is named, is not even mentioned. What you may have missed is that an honorable woman had to be deposed from her position to make room for Esther to providentially become queen.
Queen Vashti was an honorable woman! Yes, I know, she disobeyed her husband, but that was a breach of royal etiquette, not a breach of character. King Ahasuerus (Xerxes) was a powerful and prideful man who was used to getting what he wanted, so that during a seven-day drinking party, when he was “merry with wine,” “his wrath burned within him” when his queen disobeyed his dishonoring command to showcase her beauty to his leading officials (5-12).
Ultimately, the king, with the counsel of his leading men, deposed the queen, which is a necessary, but heartbreaking, set up for the story of Esther (13-22). Esther 1:19 foreshadows the climax of Esther’s honorable action as the Queen, “Vashti may no longer come into the presence of King Ahasuerus.” Esther would breach royal etiquette and put her life in the hands of this prideful and powerful king to save a nation. God worked through two honorable women, both doing the right thing even if it meant losing their positions of influence.
Seize the moment and do the honorable thing, no matter the consequences. You never know how God is shaping a better future because you decided to take the right next step.
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.
(Pastor Ken)
If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.
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Seize the Moment – Day 1010
Remember Me, O My God!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Thursday, December 22.
No one ever said doing the right thing is easy. At West Point, it was drilled into me, “Do the harder right over the easier wrong!”
Nehemiah had returned to Artaxerxes king of Persia. Upon his arrival back in Jerusalem he was confronted with situations that threatened the well-being of Israel. First, Tobiah the Ammonite official, who had opposed Nehemiah’s refortification of Jerusalem, had taken residence in a large room of the house of God. Nehemiah threw him out (Nehemiah 13:4-9).
Seize the moment and take the right next step today and trust that God will remember you and your faithfulness for good. May the God who sees give you the courage to act.
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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Seize the Moment – Day 1009
The Gift of Joy!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Wednesday, December 21.
Have you experienced a sad situation that was transformed by the gift of joy?
The Lord gave them joy, so they rejoiced! A situation that began with Nehemiah’s weeping and mourning over Jerusalem’s distress and shame (Nehemiah 1:1-2:10), was transformed by the gift of joy as Nehemiah led the people in celebration for not only the restoration of the walls and gates, but also of their spiritual vitality. Joy is a central expression of the people’s experience with God. Truly, “the joy of the Lord is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10).
When Paul was in chains for the gospel, he proclaimed in Philippians 4:4, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!” Joy is a central expression of your faith in Jesus, no matter your circumstances. When Jesus faced his own death, Hebrews 12:2 describes of our Savior, “who for the joy set before Him endured the cross.” Joy is a gift from God that compels God’s people to rejoice in their circumstances because we trust that God will transform them for His glory.
Seize the moment and receive “the good news of a great joy” through faith in Jesus Christ (Luke 2:10) – “in Your presence is fullness of joy” (Psalm 16:11; cf. John 15:11; 16:24).
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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Seize the Moment – Day 1008
Whatever God’s Lot, Be Faithful!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Tuesday, December 20.
Have you ever heard of the tooth-to-tail ratio? This is a military statistic of the number of support personnel (the “tail”) it takes to put one fighting soldier on the front line of combat (the “tooth”). In recent American history, it has been as low as 8:1 in the Iraq War. That means for every one warrior fighting on the front line, there were eight military personnel in a support role. While no one is making movies about those eight “tales,” they are the key to the effectiveness of the fighting force. The better the ratio, the better the effectiveness of the actual fighting force!
Nehemiah was an organizational genius who strengthened the lot of God’s people in Jerusalem. He did so by repopulating the city with only ten percent (a tithe) of the Israelites who lived in the area, as explained in Nehemiah 11:1-2:
Now the leaders of the people lived in Jerusalem, but the rest of the people cast lots to bring one out of ten to live in Jerusalem, the holy city, while nine-tenths remained in the other cities. And the people blessed all the men who volunteered to live in Jerusalem.
With the Jewish leaders already strategically living in Jerusalem, Nehemiah established a tooth-to-tail ratio of 9:1 in the repopulation efforts of the refortified capital city. For every one family that was chosen by lot to live in Jerusalem, nine other families remained behind to work their farms and continue living in their established communities. Ninety percent would remain on their lands because they would need to provide for the people who were chosen to repopulate Jerusalem. Those who stayed behind would be a necessary blessing to ensure there were enough supplies and resources to sustain those people who were on the front line of reestablishing the foothold of Israel in Jerusalem.
Seize the moment and live faithfully whatever God has given you to do!
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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Seize the Moment – Day 1007
Prioritize your Priorities in Real Ways!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Monday, December 19.
How do you maintain a healthy rhythm of life? You say that Jesus is your priority, but how do you prioritize Jesus in real ways in real time as your way of life?
The returning exiles made a covenant with God, and they did so in a binding written agreement (Nehemiah 9:38). Nehemiah 10:1-27 lists eighty-four people who signed it, starting with Nehemiah (1), followed by a group of priests (2-8), then the Levites (9-13), and concluding with the leaders (14-27). This was a decisive moment in their ability to move forward as God’s people.
Specifically, they had to deal with the foreign traders who wanted to do business on the Sabbath. Whereas the Sabbath was established as a holy day for the Jewish people in Exodus 16:22-30, then codified in the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20:8-11, it was just another ordinary day to the local inhabitants. The leaders had to forbid commerce otherwise the Jewish people would start treating it like it was an ordinary day, just like everyone around them.
Both the honoring of the weekly Sabbath day and the Sabbatical year were so important to the reformed people of God that they specified how they would live out those priorities in real ways in real time.[1] We need to do the same today!
Seize the moment and prioritize real ways in real time to live out your priority of seeking first His Kingdom and His righteousness” (Matthew 6:33).
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.
FOOTNOTES:
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