Seize the Moment – Day 982
The Day of Small Beginnings!
Ezra 3
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Thursday, November 24. Happy Thanksgiving!
There are many reasons to be thankful today so count your blessings one by one! God is doing a new work in our midst, but we must have eyes to see it. The remnant of Israel had to be reminded of this very thing in Ezra 3:11-12:
They sang, praising and giving thanks to the Lord, saying, “For He is good, for His lovingkindness is upon Israel forever.” And all the people shouted with a great shout when they praised the Lord because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid. Yet many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers’ households, the old men who had seen the first temple, wept with a loud voice when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, while many shouted aloud for joy.
This was not a time to weep so God sent two prophets to encourage the remnant and give them courage to persevere in the rebuilding of the temple. In Zechariah 4:10, the prophet asked a piercing question, “For who has despised the day of small things?” Boldly, in Haggai 2:9, the Lord trumpeted to those who were weeping, “‘The latter glory of this house will be greater than the former,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘and in this place I will give peace,’ declares the Lord of hosts.”
The prophets were exhorting the people to persevere in the work of the Lord and to not be discouraged by how these small beginnings compared to what it used to be – God was doing a new work! Paul exhorts in Philippians 3:13b-14, “Forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
Seize the moment and don’t despise small beginnings – every new work must begin with a single cornerstone (Ephesians 2:19-22). Build your life on the firm foundation of faith in Jesus Christ today (2 Corinthians 5:17).
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.
Read more...
Seize the Moment – Day 981
Firmly Rooted in God’s Promises!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Wednesday, November 23.
When you transplant a tree or plant from one location to another, you can’t just pull it out and place it on top of the ground. It’ll die! You need to dig around it to ensure you have the root system in place, then you need to prepare the ground for it to be firmly rooted in its new location.
God preserved a remnant so that He could transplant them back into the Promised Land. Ezra 2 is a long chapter of names and numbers, introduced by verses 1-2:
Now these are the people of the province who came up out of the captivity of the exiles whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away to Babylon, and returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his city. … The number of the men of the people of Israel:
The introduction ended with a faith declaration – these are “the people of Israel.” Remember that Israel is the covenant name of God’s people, which God gave to the patriarch Jacob in Genesis 35:10-12:
God said to him, “Your name is Jacob; you shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your name.” Thus He called him Israel. God also said to him, “I am God Almighty; be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall come from you, and kings shall come forth from you. The land which I gave to Abraham and Isaac, I will give it to you, and I will give the land to your descendants after you.”
After seventy years of captivity in Babylon, Ezra was reminding the remnant of who they really were and why they existed. He was giving them deep roots so they would thrive where they were transplanted to grow – in Jerusalem.
Seize the moment and be firmly rooted in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 3:14-19; Colossians 2:6-7). God has given you deep roots so you can bloom where He has planted 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.
Read more...
Seize the Moment – Day 980
Be an Unlikely Hero!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Tuesday, November 22.
The book of Ezra begins exactly where the Chronicler left off – with the fulfillment of Jeremiah’s prophecy that after seventy years Israel would return to Jerusalem from Babylonian exile. Interestingly, God’s hero of the first chapter of this post-exilic history book is not an Israelite, but a Persian king named Cyrus, who, after conquering the Babylonian Empire, was moved by God to “build Him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah” (2 Chronicles 26:23; Ezra 1:2). Cyrus was an unlikely hero!
The first temple in Jerusalem was constructed by Solomon, and it was destroyed by the Babylonian King, Nebuchadnezzar, some four hundred years later. As you learned from our journey through the Kings and Chronicles, those centuries were filled with division and devastation as Israel struggled to worship God with pure devotion.
But God, in His great compassion, redeemed Israel and chose to give them another chance. God did so by utilizing the resources at His disposal – real people in real history. In Ezra 1:3, Cyrus the king of Persia decreed to the remnant of Israel in Babylon, “Whoever there is among you of all His people, may his God be with him! Let him go up to Jerusalem which is in Judah and rebuild the house of the Lord, the God of Israel; He is the God who is in Jerusalem.”
If it wasn’t for this unlikely hero, God’s people would have been left in exile. If it wasn’t for this pagan ruler, God’s Word, through His prophet Jeremiah, would have failed. But that’s impossible because God promises that His Word “will not return to Me empty” (Isaiah 55:11). God uses real people in real history to bring about his purposes. That means God can use you.
Seize the moment and be an unlikely hero in your world today. You never know how one faithful act of obedience could change history for a person, or a people.
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.
Read more...
Seize the Moment – Day 979
Heed God’s Discipline!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Monday, November 21.
Growing up, my dad would travel for work and my mom would be left at home outnumbered by us boys. We were always pushing one another’s buttons and pressing the limits of our mom’s patience, but there was one warning that we heard again and again, “You wait until your father gets home and hears about this.” Mom warned us of the coming danger…
The last chapter of 2 Chronicles walks through the last four kings of Judah – Jehoahaz (or Joahaz, 1-3), Jehoiakim (4-8), Jehoiachin (9-10), and Zedekiah (10-21). But the focus is not on the kings themselves; rather, it’s on God and why He brought justice to His people. As 2 Chronicles 36:21 explains, it was at the hands of King Nebuchadnezzar and his Babylonian Empire that Jerusalem was destroyed and Judah was exiled, “to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed its sabbaths. All the days of its desolation it kept sabbath until seventy years were complete” (cf. Leviticus 26:34-35).
Jeremiah gave this word in Jeremiah 25:12 and 29:10, but he was not the only prophet to have warned them of God’s coming justice, as 2 Chronicles 36:15-16 states of God’s compassionate efforts to rescue His people from the consequences of their rebellion:
The Lord, the God of their fathers, sent word to them again and again by His messengers, because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place; but they continually mocked the messengers of God, despised His words and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against His people, until there was no remedy.
I get it now that I’m older and a parent myself – I should have listened to my mom’s warnings. In the same way, we need to pay attention to the Spirit as He speaks to us through God’s Word – Jesus is coming and only He can rescue you from the coming wrath (1 Thessalonians 1:10; Romans 5:9).
Seize the moment and heed God’s discipline (Hebrews 12:7-11)!
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.
Read more...
Table of Blessings! 2022
Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth.
Serve the Lord with gladness;
Come before Him with joyful singing.
Know that the Lord Himself is God;
It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
Enter His gates with thanksgiving
And His courts with praise.
Give thanks to Him, bless His name.
For the Lord is good;
His lovingkindness is everlasting
And His faithfulness to all generations.
You can listen to this service by clicking below:
You can watch this service by clicking HERE.
Read more...
Seize the Moment – Day 977
Today’s hymn focus will be
“We Gather Together”
Psalm 100:4 (NASB95)
“Enter His gates with thanksgiving
And His courts with praise.
Give thanks to Him, bless His name.”
Once again, I find myself without much of a voice due to a recurring ear infection. But that is not about to stop me from bringing God praise. In addition to this phone call, tomorrow morning we will be encouraged as a church through the testimonies of three families, giving praise to God for what He has done in and through their lives this past year.
Today’s hymn was written in the 16th century by an anonymous Dutch author to encourage their fellow congregants to worship and give God praise. During this time, the church was being oppressed by a Spanish rulership and they wanted religious freedom. In the late 1800’s, the hymn entitled “Prayer of Thanksgiving” was translated into English by Theodore Baker, a musicologist from New York who had studied in Leipzig, Germany. It was then published as a traditional Thanksgiving hymn in 1894.
It can be found in our hymn book as hymn 561.
We gather together to ask the Lord’s blessing;
He chastens and hastens, His will to make known.
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:
We Gather Together
He chastens and hastens his will to make known;
The wicked oppressing now cease from distressing:
Sing praises to his name; he forgets not his own.
Whose kingdom calls all to the love which endures.
So from the beginning the fight we were winning:
You, Lord, were at our side; all glory be yours!
And pray that you still our defender will be.
Let your congregation escape tribulation:
Your name be ever praised! O Lord, make us free!
Read more...
Seize the Moment – Day 976
Stay in your Lane!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Friday, November 18.
Josiah was a faithful king who brought Judah back to right worship with God. But even he made bad decisions that came with terrible consequences. We need to learn that just because we have a right relationship with God doesn’t mean we are automatically correct in all that we think, say, and do.
If you were to look at a map, it quickly becomes obvious why Josiah did what he did – the Egyptian army was marching through his land on their way to a battle up north. Josiah was protecting the borders, but, ultimately, the Chronicler, in 2 Chronicles 35:20-21, makes it clear that God didn’t want him to fight this battle:
After all this, when Josiah had set the temple in order, Neco king of Egypt came up to make war at Carchemish on the Euphrates, and Josiah went out to engage him. But Neco sent messengers to him, saying, “What have we to do with each other, O King of Judah? I am not coming against you today but against the house with which I am at war, and God has ordered me to hurry. Stop for your own sake from interfering with God who is with me, so that He will not destroy you.”
Josiah ignored Neco’s words and marched his army to Megiddo, as described in verse 22, “However, Josiah would not turn away from him, but disguised himself in order to make war with him; nor did he listen to the words of Neco from the mouth of God, but came to make war on the plain of Megiddo.” [emphasis added] It was in this unnecessary battle that he was killed.
Do you decide to get involved in situations that aren’t yours to meddle in? Proverbs 26:17 warns, “Like one who takes a dog by the ears is he who passes by and meddles with strife not belonging to him.” Instead of getting yourself or others hurt by meddling in things that you shouldn’t, here is some godly counsel for you – stop meddling and start praying!
Seize the moment and stay in your lane – “lead a quiet life and attend to your own business” (1 Thessalonians 4:11)!
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.
Read more...
Seize the Moment – Day 975
No Half Measures – Be All In!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Thursday, November 17.
Will you be successful at work if you only do part of your job description? Will you thrive in your marriage if you only keep your vows part of the time? Will your team win the championship if you and your teammates aren’t fully committed to practicing together to learn how to work as a team? We all know that’s not the way it works.
We learn from Josiah, the last good king of Judah, that there can be no half measures when it comes to your worship of God – you must be all in to be faithful! Josiah demonstrated that he and his kingdom were fully committed to the pure worship of God by his removal of all idolatry from the land, as summarized in 2 Chronicles 34:2, “He did right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the ways of his father David and did not turn aside to the right or to the left.” Josiah’s kingship demonstrated being in the yoke of covenant faithfulness to God – he was all in! He took no half measures when it came to his obedience to God (1 Samuel 15:22).
Are you all in with Jesus? He said in John 14:15, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” Obedience to Jesus isn’t burdensome (1 John 5:3); in fact, it’s the life of taking on His easy yoke and finding true rest with God through submission to His ways of living your life (Matthew 11:28-30). Being all in protects you from the consequences for lukewarm living (Revelation 3:16).
Seize the moment and be all in with your worship of God! There can be no half measures; therefore, don’t allow yourself to be pulled between the yoke of the world and the yoke of Jesus – you are either in His easy yoke of freedom or you are in the heavy yoke of sin (Galatians 5:1).
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.
Videos are posted about a week after the devotion appears in the blog.
Read more...
Seize the Moment – Day 974
Hope for Dirty Rotten Scoundrels!
2 Chronicles 33
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Wednesday, November 16.
Are you a dirty rotten scoundrel? If so, I have good news for you… Hard to believe, but what I have to offer you is even better than what the first two hundred customers were gifted at Culver’s on Monday. You may be asking, what’s better than a free meal every week for a year? I’m glad you asked…
King Manasseh was a dirty rotten scoundrel (2 Chronicles 33:1-11; cf. 2 Kings 21:1-18). He was the worst of the kings of Judah. This guy gives Paul a run for his money for the title of “worst of sinners” (ref. 1 Timothy 1:15). Though it was not recorded in the 2 Kings account of his story, the Chronicler emphasized Mannasseh’s conversion later in life, in 2 Chronicles 33:12-13:
When he was in distress, he entreated the Lord his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers. When he prayed to Him, He was moved by his entreaty and heard his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord was God.
The Chronicler emphasized his conversion to illustrate to the remnant of Judah, after they returned to Jerusalem from their exile in Babylon, that God would keep His promise of 2 Chronicles 7:14, “and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land”
Just like they were with Manasseh, God’s promises are true for you and for me – this is good news for sinners, including a dirty rotten scoundrel like you and a wretch like me. This is amazing grace!
Seize the moment and receive the grace of God for the forgiveness of your sins through faith in Jesus Christ – “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:13).
God bless you!
If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.
YOUTUBE:
If you prefer a video, Pastor Jerry reads his devotion on YouTube as well. Click HERE to visit the page.
Videos are posted about a week after the devotion appears in the blog.
Read more...
Seize the Moment – Day 973
The Greatest Test of your Life!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Tuesday, November 15.
Hezekiah continued to shine in his kingship, but as he neared the end, he faced the greatest test of his life, just as each of us must. As Paul taught in 1 Corinthians 15:26, “The last enemy that will be abolished is death.”
Not surprisingly, in response to the Assyrian’s invasion of Judah, Hezekiah organized the people of Jerusalem and encouraged them in 2 Chronicles 32:7-8:
“Be strong and courageous, do not fear or be dismayed because of the king of Assyria nor because of all the horde that is with him; for the one with us is greater than the one with him. With him is only an arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles.” And the people relied on the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.
The king put his wholehearted trust in God, and his people followed him to victory (9-22). In his words of encouragement, Hezekiah quoted from Joshua 1:9, “be strong and courageous, do not fear or be dismayed,” and he alluded to the presence of the heavenly host, just as Elisha had done in 2 Kings 6:16. His words were salted with his faith in God.
While Hezekiah demonstrated great humility to pass the test of this great national calamity (31), he struggled with pride when it came to his own mortality (24-26). Therefore, God confronted Hezekiah’s pride, and the king passed the test – he repented of his sin. Never forget, that God loves you and will use all things to purify your heart so that when you stand before Him face-to-face, He will see His image (1 Corinthians 13:12; 1 John 3:2).
Seize the moment and put your wholehearted trust in God – “And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure” (1 John 3:3).
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.
Read more...