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 930

Pray for Wisdom!

2 Chronicles 1

 

Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Monday, October 3.

 

What do you ask God for when you are facing a hard decision?

 

As a pastor, I pray regularly for God’s wisdom and knowledge. Apart from God’s Spirit at work in me, I cannot properly shepherd God’s people, effectively discern situations or counsel others, rightly study God’s Word, or accurately communicate God’s timeless truths through my teaching, preaching, and writing ministry (1 Corinthians 2:12-14).

 

In the beginning of his kingship, Solomon feared God. The story of his rule in 2 Chronicles 1 began with him sacrificing one thousand burnt offerings to God at the tent of meeting, and God responded to his act of faithfulness with an opportunity, “Ask what I shall give you?” (6-7). In 2 Chronicles 1:10, Solomon seized the moment by answering, “Give me now wisdom and knowledge, that I may go out and come in before this people, for who can rule this great people of Yours?” It was this decision which gave Solomon such great success as the king of Israel. God honored his humility and poured out riches, fame, and favor upon him (11-17).

 

In James 1:5-6, followers of Jesus are commanded to make the same request of God,
 
“But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind.”

 

In today’s world, we are bombarded by a mixed bag of information and a hodgepodge of ideas that can easily lead us astray. We need wisdom and knowledge to build our lives upon a firm foundation, discern right from wrong, and to act with justice and righteousness.

 

Seize the moment and start with the fear the Lord – this “is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding” (Proverbs 9:10; cf. Proverbs 1:7; Psalm 111:10).
 
 

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.

Videos are posted about a week after the devotion appears in the blog.

 


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Train to Live on Mission – Week 31

Battle Drill #31:

Build a Good Reputation!

Proverbs 22:1 (NAS95)

 

Today, we are going to walk through the four action steps of a soldier’s training routine to learn the next battle drill – Build a Good Reputation!” In the military, your reputation means everything, not only within the unit you serve, but also in determining your future opportunities. While there are professional qualifications that do set you apart by their mere presence on your uniform and in your personnel file because,let’s be honest, the military loves their uniforms and bureaucracy, what really matters is the character and conduct of the person who is wearing the uniform. Whether you are a private or a captain, and whether you have badges and tabs on your uniform, at the end of the day, it is your reputation that will determine your success. Yes, making the next rank, earning special qualifications, and graduating from elite schools are indicative of your potential, ultimately, it is what you do with your potential that matters.

 

In the same way, you can dress the part in the church, you can learn the language of Christianese, and you can even hold important positions in the congregation, but what matters is your character and conduct. Just like in the military, it is what you do and how you do it that shapes your reputation amongst the congregation and the community. While appearances, positions, and education can make a positive impression up front, it is your character and conduct in the everyday situations of real life that builds your reputation. God’s Word speaks clearly to the importance of this in today’s battle drill. Let’s turn to the Field Manual and take the first step of a soldier’s training routine to live on mission.

 

Action Step #1) Know the Field Manual.

The battle drill we are going to learn and apply this week is from Proverbs 22:1, “A good name is to be more desired than great wealth, favor is better than silver and gold.”

 

Ecclesiastes 7:1a states it this way, “A good name is better than a good ointment. This is what the Field Manual says, let’s now take the second action step to learn how to apply it to our everyday lives as good soldiers of Jesus Christ.

 

Action Step #2) Train together as one unit.

Your name, which is your reputation, is more valuable than any measurement of wealth (silver, gold, or ointment); in fact, it has eternal value.

 

To learn how to properly train this, we are going to learn to do two things:

 

1. How to live with an eternal perspective of our name by learning to live backwards.
2. How to seek the commander’s approval by learning to live from the inside-out.

 

Let’s start by training ourselves to live life backwards by cultivating an eternal perspective of our reputations. Watch Jesus train His disciples to live on mission in Luke 10:17-20:

 

The seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.” And He said to them, I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning. Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you. Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven.”

 

The disciples’ names were written on the roll call of the Commander – they had been chosen by God to be enlisted as good soldiers of Jesus Christ (2 Timothy 2:3-4)! Here’s the point: You don’t deploy yourself to become a soldier or because you want people to think you are a soldier; soldiers train to live on mission so they can deploy at their Commander’s direction, according to His authority for the fulfillment of His mission.

 

Jesus emphasized this kind of thinking in John 15:16, “You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you.” You have been chosen, now bear the good fruit of eternity. Paul emphasizes this in Ephesians 2:8-10:

 

For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

 

God chose you by grace (remember Proverbs 22:1 stated, “favor is better than silver and gold”), so now walk in the good works He prepared for you ahead of time. God gave you good works to shine His light and to proclaim His Kingdom. There is a backwards feel to this because in the world your works determine your reputation, but in the Kingdom, you don’t earn Heaven with your works. In direct opposition to that, you proclaim that you belong to Heaven by your good works! You do the works of the Commander because you are being a good soldier whose name is on the rolls of His army. Jesus explained such thinking with the fruit-bearing imagery of the Christian life in Matthew 7:15-23:

 

Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, you will know them by their fruits. Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles? And then I will declare to them, I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.”

 

Pointedly, this haunting passage teaches us that we could do the same kinds of things as those people – claim ourselves to be people who can cast out demons, be prophets, or perform miracles, but if we are not doing so as good soldiers, in accordance with God’s will, then we are equated with the lawless one. Church, let us not be so easily impressed with personality, charisma, or self-righteous proclamations of faith,let’s watch the consistency of conduct and character, the good fruit that demonstrates whether we are good trees. There are charlatans out there, wolves in sheep clothing, who can dress it up and talk the talk, but only those who belong to Heaven will persevere to the end. In Revelation 3:5, Jesus challenges us with the truth of having an eternal perspective on our name, “He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.” This is the backwards way of living – it is an eternal perspective on your name which allows you to persevere until the end because you know it is what God says that matters. This brings us to the third action step of a good soldier of Jesus.

 

Action Step #3) Seek the Commander’s approval.

Today’s battle drill exposes our heart issue of hypocrisy.

 

This is a significant issue, especially seen in social media, where people present a false front of what is true. To the point that many people have multiple social media accountsone that is for their teachers, employers, or family to see their crafted identity, and the other, often under a different name, so that those same people do not know who they really are.

 

Allow me to give you a piercing but liberating truth so that we can eradicate the issue of hypocrisy from our own lives. Hebrews 4:13-16 gives us the treatment plan:

 

And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do. Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

 

Praise God that He knows the truth about us! We don’t have to hide from Him, but rather we can find rest for our souls in surrendering our lives to His lordship and working out our salvation with fear and trembling so that God has full access to bring about His good works through our lives. This is what Paul promised in Philippians 2:13, “for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.”

 

God wants to build our reputations from the inside-out! The heart of Jesus’ invitation to become His disciple is take on His easy yoke and find rest for our souls – in relationship with Him we become like Him, gentle and humble in heart, so that the world may see and hear Christ through us (Matthew 11:28-30). We are called by God to be His image bearers and our reputation, our name, is shaped by His Spirit in us. We are to shine brightly, just as Jesus said 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.

 

My name is designed by God to point to His Name – my reputation to His gospel proclamation because “there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12)! This leads us to the final action step of our soldier’s training regime.

 

Action Step #4) Live on mission.

Paul spoke of those who served in the mission alongside of him in a special way in Philippians 4:1-3:

 

Therefore, my beloved brethren whom I long to see, my joy and crown, in this way stand firm in the Lord, my beloved. I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to live in harmony in the Lord. Indeed, true companion [yokefellow], I ask you also to help these women who have shared my struggle in the cause of the gospel, together with Clement also and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.

 

Paul was saying that those who are His true companions are those in the yoke of Jesus Christ. The mission is to make Christ visible through us, so that people will repent of their sins and put their faith in Jesus Christ. Our reputations make visible which kingdom we belong. I have tried to make it clear that we will persevere until the end when our names are written in the book of life because God does His work from the inside-out through His Holy Spirit. In 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, Paul speaks of it in terms of our inheritance of the Kingdom of God:

 

Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.

 

It is not that you have struggled or once were a partaker of these sins. No, haven’t we all sinned and struggled?! It is that you are not defined by your sin – such things are not the pattern of your life nor definer of your name. Quite the opposite, your name, your reputation, are washed through the blood of Jesus Christ to shine Christ alone. John admonished us in 1 John 1:5-10:

 

This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.

 

We conclude with a glimpse of the New Heaven and New Earth from Revelation 21:23-27:

 

And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. In the daytime (for there will be no night there) its gates will never be closed; and they will bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it; and nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

 

If your name is written in the Lamb’s book of life, your name will point to the eternal name of Jesus Christ! That is the work of the Holy Spirit in you because the Spirit causes you to persevere until the end – to proclaim the name of Jesus Christ through the good works He appointed you to do. This is God’s will.

Make this battle drill a reflexive, instinctive, and habitual part of your Christian life so that you can CM – Continue the Mission! Therefore, live on mission today and train the battle drill of the week for the glory of God. Let us pray.

 

 

You can listen to the message here:

 

You can watch the message by clicking HERE.

 

 

 


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Seize the Moment – Day 928

Today’s hymn focus will be

“Glorious Day”

1 Peter 2:24 (NASB95)
 

 and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.”

 

In 2009, Mark Hall, the frontman and songwriter for Casting Crowns, wrote the music for a glorious old hymn. He took the strong lyrics of this hymn that depicted the life of Christ, a hymn he grew up on and rearranged it because people were not singing it much anymore.

 

The original hymn, ‘One Day’ was written by John Wilbur Chapman who was born in Richmond, Indiana. Written about 1908, he was a passionate evangelist, he wrote this hymn to provide a memorable way to share the gospel.

 

Both of these men wanted this message to be declared loud and clear:

 

Living He loved me, dying He saved me, buried He carried my sin far away

Rising He justified freely forever; One day He’s coming, O glorious day!1 Peter 2:24dkl

O glorious day! 

 

 We need to wake up and not be bashful about telling others of the Good News! Even if you can’t sing it, you can use the words of this hymn to share the story of Christ’s love, His life, His sacrifice, His victory and of His soon return! We don’t have a moment to wait!
 

 

 
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:

 
 

Glorious Day

 
One day when Heaven was filled with His praisesOne day when sin was as black as could beJesus came forth to be born of a virginDwelt among men, my example is HeWord became flesh and the light shined among us
His glory revealed
Living, He loved meDying, He saved meBuried, He carried my sins far awayRising, He justified freely foreverOne day He’s comingOh glorious day, oh glorious day
 
One day they led Him up Calvary’s mountainOne day they nailed Him to die on a treeSuffering anguish, despised and rejectedBearing our sins, my Redeemer is HeHands that healed nations, stretched out on a tree
 
And took the nails for me
Living, He loved meDying, He saved meBuried, He carried my sins far awayRising, He justified freely foreverOne day He’s comingOh glorious day, oh glorious day
One day the grave could conceal Him no longer
 
One day the stone rolled away from the doorThen He arose, over death He had conqueredNow is ascended, my Lord evermoreDeath could not hold Him, the grave could not keep HimFrom rising again
 
Living, He loved meDying, He saved meBuried, He carried my sins far awayRising, He justified freely forever
One day He’s comingOh glorious day, oh glorious day
 
One day the trumpet will sound for His comingOne day the skies with His glories will shineWonderful day, my Beloved One bringingMy Savior Jesus is mine
 
Living, He loved meDying, He saved meBuried, He carried my sins far awayRising, He justified freely foreverOne day He’s comingOh glorious day, oh glorious dayGlorious dayOh glorious day
 
 
 
 
 

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Seize the Moment – Day 927

The Rhythm of Generosity!

1 Chronicles 29

 

Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Friday, September 30.

 

Immediately before Solomon’s coronation, David led the people in consecrating their offerings to the Lord for the building of the temple. His excitement was contagious, as 1 Chronicles 29:8-9 describes, “Whoever possessed precious stones gave them to the treasury of the house of the Lord, in care of Jehiel the Gershonite. Then the people rejoiced because they had offered so willingly, for they made their offering to the Lord with a whole heart, and King David also rejoiced greatly.

 

The cause and effect found in this passage is beautiful – the people rejoiced because they had offered so willingly. This is the joy that comes from living in the rhythm of generosity with Jehovah-Jireh, just as David prays in verses 12-14:

 

Both riches and honor come from You, and You rule over all, and in Your hand is power and might; and it lies in Your hand to make great and to strengthen everyone. Now therefore, our God, we thank You, and praise Your glorious name. But who am I and who are my people that we should be able to offer as generously as this? For all things come from You, and from Your hand we have given You.

 

David rightly acknowledged that God owns everything. Furthermore, he admitted that they have nothing to offer God apart from what God’s generous hand had already provided.This revelation is a game changer! Our ability to give is only because God first gave to us. It requires humility to embrace this truth, but in doing so it opens you up to the rhythm of generosity that flows from God to us as showcased by Jesus Christ – “We love, because He first loved us(1 John 4:19; cf. John 3:16).

 

Seize the moment and choose to live in a rhythm of generosity with the God who owns everything and who has provided for your every need, for God loves a cheerful giver(2 Corinthians 9:7). By doing so, you will not be grieved by your giving, rather the joy of the Lord will be your strength (Nehemiah 8:10).
 

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.

Videos are posted about a week after the devotion appears in the blog.

 
 
 

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Seize the Moment – Day 926

Put your Feet Up and Rest!

1 Chronicles 28

 

Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Thursday, September 29.

 

“Please, sit down and put your feet up. Rest and stay a while.” Maybe you’ve heard those words from family or friends after a long journey, or you have said them to a valued guest in your home.

 

King David introduces this restful imagery in 1 Chronicles 28:2,
 
“Listen to me, my brethren and my people; I had intended to build a permanent home for the ark of the covenant of the Lord and for the footstool of our God. So I had made preparations to build it.”

 

The unique image is that of a “footstool.” It is used again in Psalm 132:7, “Let us go into His dwelling place; let us worship at His footstool” (cf. Isaiah 66:1; Matthew 5:35). David was charging his son Solomon, a man of rest (1 Chronicles 22:9), to build a resting place for God, so that God could put up His feet and stay a while. While it may sound crass to say it so unpoetically, this metaphor is about “fulfilled promises.”[1] The tabernacle was being replaced by a permanent building.

 

Ultimately, the final “rest” would not come through Solomon’s Temple, or even Herod’s Temple, but through the temple of the eternal kingdom (Ezekiel 40-43; Zechariah 6:12-13). Access to this rest comes through Christ alone, who invites in Matthew 11:28-29,
 
“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (cf. Jeremiah 6:16).

 

Seize the moment and trust Jesus to fulfill all the promises of God in your life by putting your feet up and resting the full weight of your life into His eternal embrace (2 Corinthians 1:20).

 

God bless you!

 

If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.

 

YOUTUBE:

If you prefer a video, Pastor Jerry reads his devotion on YouTube as well. Click HERE to visit the page.

Videos are posted about a week after the devotion appears in the blog.
 
 
 

FOOTNOTES:

 

[1] “For the Chronicler ‘rest’ denotes ‘fulfilled promises’ (cf. Is 14:1–3; 66:1; 30:10), for the nation then returned from captivity was ‘at rest’” (Kevin D. Zuber, “1 Chronicles,” in The Moody Bible Commentary, ed. Michael A. Rydelnik and Michael Vanlaningham [Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2014], 579). Furthermore, the language of a “permanent home” is significant, “The word mĕnuḥâ can also indicate a state of rest, either in general (e.g., 2 Sam 14:17; Isa 28:12) or metaphorically from war and enemies (e.g., 1 Chr 22:9)” (Joshua Joel Spoelstra, “Rest,” ed. Douglas Mangum et al., Lexham Theological Wordbook, Lexham Bible Reference Series [Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2014]).

 
 

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Seize the Moment – Day 925

Single-minded for God’s Purposes!

1 Chronicles 27

 

Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Wednesday, September 28.

 

Are you single-minded for God’s purposes in your life?

 

David’s activities as the king of Israel seemed to be all over the map! We read in 1 Chronicles 27:1 how David transformed Israel’s military from twelve separate tribal armies to a single professional army with twelve divisions, with each division being on duty in Jerusalem for a month, once per year. He used his organizational genius to ensure the army was loyal to the nation and its king.

 

After naming the divisional leaders of David’s new military organization (2-15), he then showed political savvy by wisely listing the chief officers of the tribes (16-24), followed by his appointed overseers (25-31), and his direct advisors (32-34). While this may feel like a compilation of supplemental materials, this is a critical chapter, providing the conclusion of five chapters of materials, which started in 1 Chronicles 23:1-2, “Now when David reached old age, he made his son Solomon king over Israel. And he gathered all the leaders of Israel with the priests and the Levites.” Whereas this chapter covered “all the leaders of Israel,” the previous four chapters detailed the “priests and the Levites.”

 

David convened the most powerful people of the land, and then he named the who’s who of Israel. He did this because he was actively uniting the nation around the building of the temple and the throne of his son. David was not scattered in his efforts, in fact, he was singularly focused on recruiting people to fulfill God’s purposes – the building of His house.

 

Seize the moment and be single-minded for God’s purposes in your life! Join with Paul in declaring, “Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: 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” (Philippians 3:13-14).

 

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 924

Work is Divine!

1 Chronicles 26

 

Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Tuesday, September 27.

 

Comparison is often at the root of our discontentment, especially when we make value judgments about ourselves, or others, based on things like jobs and economic status. Instead of seeing all work as God’s work, we view some jobs as more important than others. That’s just not true! The Bible teaches us that work was God’s idea first (ref. Genesis 1:26-28); therefore, all work is divine, whether you get paid for it or not.

 

As David nears the end of his kingship, he applies the full force of his administrative abilities to organize the kingdom and amass great wealth in preparation for Solomon, his son, to rule a kingdom centered around the temple system. In 1 Chronicles 26 that includes the establishment of three additional categories of workers: the temple’s gatekeepers (1-19), the temple’s treasurers (20-28), and various civil servants who served outside of the temple (29-32). Every job was important and centered around right worship of God.

 

Within David’s kingdom, all work was God’s work, as God designed it to be from the beginning. Significantly, in 1 Chronicles 26:12, we find an important connection between the doormen who provided security and the priests who worked at the altar, “To these divisions of the gatekeepers, the chief men, were given duties like their relatives to minister in the house of the Lord.” David gave them equal value! Both were serving in ministry because anything you do unto the Lord is ministry in the eyes of God, whether a doorman, bookkeeper, or civil servant.

 

Seize the moment and “Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve” (Colossians 3:23-24). Treat your work as a divine calling.

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 923

The Prophecy of Praise!

1 Chronicles 25

 

Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Monday, September 26.

 

Worship Leaders and their teams of singers and musicians are an important group of people in any church. Within the body of Christ, God sets apart people for specific callings, and while that does not make them better or more important than anyone else in the congregation, it does equip them uniquely to fulfill God’s purposes.

 

Worship leaders, singers, and musicians are no exception. Within the assemblies of God’s people, these men and women are anointed to lead us in the prophecy of praise, as taught in 1 Chronicles 25:1-2:

 

Moreover, David and the commanders of the army set apart for the service some of the sons of Asaph and of Heman and of Jeduthun, who were to prophesy with lyres, harps and cymbals; and the number of those who performed their service was: Of the sons of Asaph: Zaccur, Joseph, Nethaniah and Asharelah; the sons of Asaph were under the direction of Asaph, who prophesied under the direction of the king.

 

To illustrate the point, verse 3 ends with this purpose statement of those chosen to sing in the house of the Lord, “who prophesied in giving thanks and praising the Lord.” Keeping the theme of prophecy prevalent in this organizational chapter dealing with the Levitical singers, verse 5 emphasizes that one of the worship leaders, Heman, was the “king’s seer.”

 

Why all the emphasis upon prophecy in praise? God set apart anointed people who would usher in the Spirit of God during singing so that His people could know the will of God and praise Him for His revelations through their thanksgiving of praise (Ephesians 5:18-20; Colossians 3:16-17). Our worship time is a time of prophetic forthtelling of God, His attributes, and His will for His people’s lives.

 

Seize the moment and proclaim the goodness of God by regularly gathering with a local congregation to sit under anointed worship leaders and singers (Hebrews 10:24-25). You are invited to participate!
 

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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Train to Live on Mission – Week 30

“Do Righteousness and Justice!”

Proverbs 21:3 (NAS95)

Today, we are going to walk through the four action steps of a soldier’s training routine to learn the next battle drill – “Do Righteousness and Justice!” This is an essential battle drill because, just as we learned the importance of preventing friendly fire incidents, which demoralize an army and reduce its effectiveness, so, today, we learn that we must avoid war crimes, which tarnish the reputation of the Commander and the nation he represents, as well as jeopardizes the moral high ground and legality of the mission. War crimes happen in every war, and when war criminals are brought to justice, they are tried by military tribunals and civilian courts, alike, to measure their actions according to the laws of land warfare, such as the Geneva Convention, and the specific rules of engagement as established by their Commander.

 

In the same way, as good soldiers of Jesus Christ, when we do things outside the authority God has given us as His agents, actions which are not representative of our Commander nor the kingdom He represents, and are outside of His purposes for His army and His will for His people, we tarnish the reputation of Jesus and His kingdom, as well as jeopardize the moral high ground and legality of God’s rescue mission, as Jesus’ commissioned us in Matthew 28:18-20:

 

And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 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.”

 

War crimes must be avoided if we are to fulfill our mission! Let’s learn how to train today’s battle drill, “Do Righteousness and Justice,” by seeing what the Field Manual has to say about it.

 

Action Step #1) Know the Field Manual.

The battle drill we are going to learn and apply this week is from Proverbs 21:3, “To do righteousness and justice is desired by the Lord more than sacrifice.”
 
This is what the Field Manual says, let’s now take the second action step to learn how to apply it to our everyday lives as good soldiers of Jesus Christ.

 

Action Step #2) Train together as one unit.

You must know the Word of God and prioritize the way of Jesus Christ above all other pathways if you are to do righteousness and justice as a reflexive, instinctive, and habitual part of your Christian life.
 
This is a call to obeying orders, just as we have learned repeatedly during this sermon series. For example, this is the third time I’ve quoted to you 1 Samuel 15:22, “Has the Lord as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams.” Soldiers follow orders. They don’t cover their disobedience with self-justifications, blame shifting, or religious talk.

 

The word selection of “justice and righteousness,” used by Solomon in Proverbs 21:3 is found throughout the Old Testament and it “represents the ideal standards for legal and ethical behavior and an ideal for kingship modeled on the righteousness of Yahweh.”[1] These words are yoked together as a word pair to signify a larger concept of God’s kingdom and, as such, they cannot be separated in the eyes of God, nor should be in our own. We cannot shirk justice under the guise of “being righteous” and we cannot place justice on a pedestal above righteousness. The two are integral concepts to being loyal citizens of God’s kingdom.

 

We find this word combination in 1 Chronicles 18:14, to describe David’s kingdom, “So David reigned over all Israel; and he administered justice and righteousness for all his people.” Very interestingly, this idealistic description of David’s kingdom as one of “justice and righteousness” is used in Jeremiah 22:1-5 to establish a standard by which Israel would be judged:

 

Thus says the Lord, “Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and there speak this word and say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, O king of Judah, who sits on David’s throne, you and your servants and your people who enter these gates. ‘Thus says the Lord, “Do justice and righteousness, and deliver the one who has been robbed from the power of his oppressor. Also do not mistreat or do violence to the stranger, the orphan, or the widow; and do not shed innocent blood in this place. For if you men will indeed perform this thing, then kings will enter the gates of this house, sitting in David’s place on his throne, riding in chariots and on horses, even the king himself and his servants and his people. But if you will not obey these words, I swear by Myself,” declares the Lord, “that this house will become a desolation.” ’ ”

 

The word pair of “justice and righteousness” is God’s standard of conduct for His chosen people. When we carry this into the New Covenant, we realize that Jesus not only exemplified “justice and righteousness” in his own life and ministry, but He also fulfilled it on the Cross of Calvary so that we, through faith in Him, may live according to His example as citizens of His kingdom. Jesus commanded His early listeners to the equivalent of the Old Testament’s “justice and righteousness,” by teaching us in Matthew 6:33, “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

 

The kingdom of God that Jesus calls us to prioritize is His fulfillment of what Israel got only a glimpse of with David’s kingdom. As we just saw, David’s kingdom, though not perfectly, was modeled on the righteousness of Yahweh, and, in fulfillment of God’s promises, unified the twelve tribes of Israel and gave them rest from their enemies within the secure boundaries of the Promised Land – a partial and temporary fulfillment of God’s promise to Abram in Genesis 12:1-3:

 

Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go forth from your country, and from your relatives and from your father’s house, to the land which I will show you; and I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and so you shall be a blessing; and I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”

 

Whereas David’s kingdom saw its fulfillment in Solomon’s Temple and his golden era of prosperity and influence, Jesus’ kingdom will not fall into decay and division, and will have its ultimate fulfillment in the eternal Kingdom of God, called the New Heaven and New Earth, with a New Jerusalem, as described in Revelation 21-22. Until that time, Jesus’ kingdom, in which we, His Church, the living temples of the Holy Spirit, are called to administrate His kingdom on Earth as it is in Heaven as kings and priests, with justice and righteousness, in order to unify all nations under His banner of love, with the promise that one day Jesus will return to rule from His throne with a “rod of iron,” a symbol of God’s unerring government of justice and righteousness where there is no corruption, perversion, or favoritism (Revelation 2:27; 12:5; 19:15). Until the completion of the promise to see all nations blessed, we are to continue the work of blessing all the families of the Earth through the blessings we have received in Jesus Christ as rightful heirs to the promise of Abram, as I read from Genesis 12:1-3 earlier, and for which Jesus succinctly stated in Luke 19:10, “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

 

We are to train ourselves to take the blessing we have been given and bless others with it – we are to bring Christ’s rule of justice and righteousness to all people. This is our mission! Now we must deal with what causes us to become distracted from the mission. This brings us to the third action step of a good soldier of Jesus Christ.

 

Action Step #3) Seek the Commander’s approval.

Paul commanded his protégé in 2 Timothy 2:3-4, “Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.
 
No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier.” You were saved for the mission of God – you were enlisted! That’s not enough because being a good soldier requires training to develop a vigilance of mind and heart so that you don’t give into lesser pressure, whether from the world, other people, or yourself.

 

Today’s battle drill exposes our heart issues of worry and anxiety – the worry that causes us to lose focus on the mission of God and the anxiety that entangles us in the affairs of everyday life. As one pastor explained, “Our actions flow from what we actually BELIEVE to be true – not from what we SAY we believe. We worry because we really don’t believe that God owns everything, that he provides our resources and protection. Worry is a statement of belief that God will not fulfill his promises, and is not a good father.”[2]

 

This is a common example from our daily human experience – many of us struggle with financial security, finding ourselves worried about whether we or our loved ones will have our daily bread, enough money for retirement, or enough (and the right kind of) insurance to pay for our increasing medical care, or whatever it is we are fretting about at that moment. In that place of worry, we have a decision to make in our daily walk with Jesus Christ – to trust God and walk faithfully in His ways, or to trust in ourselves and do it our way or the world’s way.

 

To do justice and righteousness as a battle drill, we must trust the Commander and seek His will, His way, even in the places and times of our insecurity and fears, which cause us anxiety and worry. Simply trusting in Him is a huge step toward quelling the fears that try to overtake us. Faith moves mountain of unbelief within our own mind and hearts. Faith calms the storms that are raging inside of us. Paul promised God would do this for us in Philippians 4:6-9:

 

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

 

Right actions flow from right emotions which flow from right thinking. Right thinking comes from meditating on God’s Word, which is the spiritual principle behind the promise of prosperity found in 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.”

 

We must actively separate our thinking from the thinking of the world. It is the thinking of the world that often feeds into our anxieties and fears. But God’s way is different, and better, from the world’s way.[3] We are admonished to do just that in the promise of transformation found in Romans 12:2, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” If you want do righteousness and justice, then you must submit to God’s ways.

 

Let’s take this into our everyday lives. Jesus explained how we are to have victory over our worry and anxiety so that we can prioritize justice and righteousness in Matthew 6:25-34:

 

For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! Do not worry then, saying, “What will we eat?” or “What will we drink?” or “What will we wear for clothing?” For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

 

Jesus diagnosed us accurately and told us the truth of why we struggle to do justice and righteousness – we allow our worry and anxiety to control our lives, instead of living by God’s grace and walking in the Spirit. We are reacting to people and situations from fear and not faith, worry and not grace. We are not trusting God to calm the storms. Jesus is inviting you to a great faith. This leads us to the final action step of training as a good soldier to live on mission today.

 

Action Step #4) Live on mission.

Today’s battle drill requires you to prioritize your life around faith.
 
You have a choice to make – to trust God and His ways or to take matters in your own hands. The life of faith comes with life and consolations from the Spirit. The life of flesh comes with death and desolation of your spirit. Paul spoke this clearly in Galatians 5:16-25:

 

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.

 

The conclusion of this passage, verse 25, has military image in the original language. The picture given by Paul is that when we live by the Spirit then we are walking in rank and file as His good soldiers, submitted to His commands.[4] The Commander is calling you to train yourself to live by faith and walk in the Spirit, and in doing so, you will not commit war crimes – you will do justice and righteousness – you will seek first His kingdom and His righteousness.

 

You have received the right of inheritance[5] – the kingdom of God has come to you through Jesus Christ, and you are to manifest it on Earth as it is in Heaven! This is your birth rite and the mission of God; the question is whether you will live according to it. Just like with any soldier at any time in world history, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ, you are off mission when you disobey the Commander and aren’t focused on His purposes for your life. Soldiers who violate the rules of engagement or the laws of land warfare become an impediment to the mission, and potentially a war criminal. Please, don’t do this as a soldier of Jesus Christ! You will do nothing but illegitimize the mission in the eyes of nonbelievers, bring dishonor to the name of Jesus, and further blemish the Church. Instead, trust God in word and deed, and you will proclaim the kingdom of God on Earth as it is in Heaven! Make this battle drill a reflexive, instinctive, and habitual part of your Christian life so that you can CM – Continue the Mission! Therefore, live on mission today and train the battle drill of the week for the glory of God. Let us pray.
 
 
 

You can listen to the message here:

 

You can watch the message by clicking HERE.

 

 

 
 

FOOTNOTES:

 

[1] John D. Barry et al., Faithlife Study Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016), Je 22:3.

[2] Shared with me in an email from Curt Ferrell on September 22, 2022.

[3] Comments to me in an email from Emily Hurst on September 23, 2022.

[4] Emily Hurst commented on this passage in an email to me on September 23, 2022, “The original Greek shows us something interesting about verse 25. The word live here comes from the Greek verb ‘zaó,’ which means both the physical vitality of being alive as well as the process of living life. The phrase ‘let us walk by’ comes from the Greek “stoicheó” WHICH IS THE MILITARY WORD FOR WALKING IN RANK, AS SOLDIERS!!! So, a paraphrase of this verse, based on the Greek roots, might be: ‘Since the Spirit gives you life, stay in rank for the Spirit.’ Which is literally the whole point of the battle drills we are learning.”

 

[5] Curt Ferrell commented in this statement in an email to me on September 22, 2022, “Reminds me of John 1:12-13 – ‘But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.’ This translation seems to imply that while we have the ‘right’ to become children of God, we might not claim that ‘right’ – and lose out on being called Children of God. But I recently saw a different perspective/translation – ‘he gave the AUTHORITY to become Children of God.’ If we are truly children of God, we must act within the authority that he has given us. We could simply ‘claim’ to be children of God, or be ‘identified’ as children of God – but we can only ACT as children of God if we have his authority and act according to the power inherent in that authority.”


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Seize the Moment – Day 921

Today’s modern day hymn focus will be

Great is the Lord

 

Psalm 145:3-4 (NASB95)             

 

 Great is the Lord, and highly to be praised,
And His greatness is unsearchable.
One generation shall praise Your works to another,

And shall declare Your mighty acts.”

 

In 1982, Michael W. Smith and his wife Debbie were active members of a church in Nashville TN where he also led worship. During that season of their lives, they would often sit together at night, open up the scriptures and allow God to inspire their hearts. One night, God took them to the above passage. While she wrote a few lines, he played the melody, and they saw them come together practically at the same time.

 

The next Sunday, he taught the song to the congregation of Belmont Church, and they were greatly moved to a spirit of worship, lifting their voices in praise as they sang this song.

 

            Great is the Lord, He is holy and just, by His power we trust in His love

            Great is the Lord, He is faithful and true, by His mercy He proves He is love

 

We need to wake up and each and every day declaring the words of this song, for He is glorious and great and worthy to be praised.
 

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:

 

Great is the Lord

 
Great is the LordHe is holy and justBy His power we trustIn His loveGreat is the LordHe is faithful and trueBy His mercy He provesHe is love
 
Great is the LordAnd worthy of gloryGreat is the LordAnd worthy of praiseGreat is the LordNow lift up your voiceNow lift up your voiceGreat is the LordGreat is the Lord
 
Great is the Lord,He is holy and justBy His power we trustIn His loveGreat is the LordHe is faithful, and trueBy His mercy He provesHe is love
 
Great is the LordAnd worthy of gloryGreat is the LordAnd worthy of praiseGreat is the LordNow lift up your voiceNow lift up your voiceGreat is the LordGreat is the Lord
 
Great are you LordAnd worthy of gloryGreat are you LordAnd worthy of praiseGreat are you LordI lift up my voiceI lift up my voiceGreat are you LordGreat are you Lord
 
 
 

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