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…

Search the Blog

Seize the Moment – Day 910

When it’s time to Party – Let’s Eat!

1 Chronicles 16

 

Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Tuesday, September 13.

 

As an ordained Baptist minister, and as an active member of a local Baptist congregation, I can attest to you that we love to eat. Nothing makes a party successful quite like good food, and lots of it!

 

David agreed! He was singing and dancing as the ark of the covenant was brought home (1 Chronicles 15:26-29), and then he had a big party, described in 1 Chronicles 16:1-3:

 

And they brought in the ark of God and placed it inside the tent which David had pitched for it, and they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before God. When David had finished offering the burnt offering and the peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord. He distributed to everyone of Israel, both man and woman, to everyone a loaf of bread and a portion of meat and a raisin cake.

 

At this party, David served up a huge amount of food, not just to those in attendance, but as verse 3 states, “he distributed to everyone of Israel.” Wow! That is a lot of sacrifices to provide that much meat. This was not your typical church pitch-in, this was a fully catered meal, with the Levites on the barbeque.

 

So, it shouldn’t be surprising that when Jesus fed the multitudes (the 5,000 in Matthew 14:13-21; Mark 6:33-44; Luke 9:12-17; and John 6:1-14; and the 4,000 in Matthew 15:32-39 and Mark 8:1-10), the people wanted to make Him king, as explained in John 6:15,
 
“So Jesus, perceiving that they were intending to come and take Him by force to make Him king, withdrew again to the mountain by Himself alone.”

 

Jesus knew how to throw a party! Triumphantly, shouldn’t we expect Heaven to be the best party we’ll ever attend! Revelation 19:9 explains,
 
“Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.”

 

Seize the moment and plan a big party, and make sure there is lots of good food for everyone to enjoy! When we break bread together, we are “proclaiming the Lord’s death until He comes” (1 Corinthians 11:26). Maranatha!

 

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 909

Learn from your Mistakes!

1 Chronicles 15

 

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

 

Wisdom is applied knowledge, and most often it is learned through good old-fashioned OJT, on-the-job training through the ups and downs of daily life. We must be humble enough to be able to learn from our mistakes. A wise person doesn’t keep repeating the same mistake, expecting different results; only a prideful, or insane, person would expect that!

 

David was wise, and, like all of us, had to learn from his mistakes. Case in point, he moved the ark of God without consulting the owner’s manual. He had rightly discerned the will of God, had consulted with leaders, and even convened the congregation around the need to return the ark, but he made a big mistake. Demonstrating humility and wisdom, David named his mistake to the Levites in 1 Chronicles 15:13,
 
“Because you did not carry it at the first, the Lord our God made an outburst on us, for we did not seek Him according to the ordinance.” [italics added]

 

Opportunities to correct our mistakes are a gift from the Lord! Thank God for people who are humble enough to admit their mistakes, then align their lives to God’s Word after messing it up the first time because they had done it their own way. David took his mulligan, and did it right this time, according to God’s Word, as emphasized in 1 Chronicles 15:15,
 
“The sons of the Levites carried the ark of God on their shoulders with the poles thereon, as Moses had commanded according to the word of the Lord.” [italics added]

 

Seize the moment and thank God for second chances to live your life according to His Word! Show your gratitude for God’s grace by learning from your mistakes, repenting of your sins, and walking in the way of God’s Word today (Psalm 119:11, 105; Joshua 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.

 


Read more...

Train to Live on Mission – Week 29

Battle Drill #29:

Prioritize Peace!

Proverbs 20:3 (NAS95)

 

Today, we are going to walk through the four action steps of a soldier’s training routine to learn the next battle drill – “Prioritize Peace!”

 

Nothing will lose a battle quicker than friendly fire! It’s demoralizing to the army when soldiers are taken away from accomplishing the mission by either intentional or unintentional friendly fire. Unfortunately, and to the detriment of our mission success, the Church of Jesus Christ has had to learn this lesson repeatedly, throughout our two-millennia history, but we must continue to learn it afresh in every generation, and on a more frequent basis within our local assemblies. The strife and division caused by infighting, and the quarrelling that comes with it must be dealt with directly by their fellow members of the body, and when people won’t listen to their brothers and sisters, then by church leaders. Just like when the blood cells in a person’s body turn against other blood cells, a congregation that turns against itself will become unhealthy, and, if not treated, will die.

 

It is one thing to discuss, and even debate, ideas on what the Bible teaches about different topics, but to assassinate people’s character and attack them because they don’t agree with your perspective is completely another. You see, it is ok to disagree (at least it should be!) and it’s even okay to debate the weightier issues of life and godliness, but to quarrel is never acceptable for the children of God. We, as the people of God, just like we, as Americans, have lost the civility (and humility) to prioritize peace over our own opinions and perspectives.

 

There is hope – the hope that comes through faith in Jesus Christ, who gives us peace with God, offers us His Holy Spirit who guards our minds and hearts with God’s peace, and invites us to live on mission as His peacemakers to all people. These are the precious and magnificent promises, and we covered all these promises of peace, in detail last year – vertical peace, internal peace, and horizontal/external peace – and this is the purpose for Christ coming and it is our mission! [To learn more about this, you can find them in my study on the Promises of God, Live Like a Champion Today: The 40 Promises in 40 Days Challenge!] Let’s learn how to train today’s battle drill, “Prioritize Peace,” 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 20:3, “Keeping away from strife is an honor for a man, but any fool will quarrel.”
 
Earlier, in Proverbs 17:14, Solomon wrote, “The beginning of strife is like letting out water, so abandon the quarrel before it breaks out.” 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.

We are commanded not to quarrel! It is foolishness because it’s in violation to God’s Word, as James 3:13-18 explains:

 

Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth. This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

 

We will yield “the peaceful fruit of righteousness” when we submit ourselves to the discipline of our Heavenly Father, and that includes whenever we find ourselves quarreling with  our brothers and sisters, in thought, word, or deed (Hebrews 12:11). No good parent finds joy in watching his kids fight, but, rather, good parents desire to see their children cultivating a lifelong friendship. Let’s be honest, children of God, we reap what we sow! If you want to be a peacemaker during your week, in the hard places of work and life, then you must prioritize peace in here, with your church family. We are off mission whenever we quarrel.

 

Paul gave the following instructions about prioritizing peace in their ministries to the church to both of his famous protégés:

 

  1. Titus 3:1-11. “Remind them to be subject to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good deed, to malign no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing every consideration for all men. For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another. But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. This is a trustworthy statement; and concerning these things I want you to speak confidently, so that those who have believed God will be careful to engage in good deeds. These things are good and profitable for men. But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and strife and disputes about the Law, for they are unprofitable and worthless. Reject a factious man after a first and second warning, knowing that such a man is perverted and is sinning, being self-condemned.”
  2. 2 Timothy 2:14-26. “Remind them of these things, and solemnly charge them in the presence of God not to wrangle about words, which is useless and leads to the ruin of the hearers. Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth. But avoid worldly and empty chatter, for it will lead to further ungodliness, and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, men who have gone astray from the truth saying that the resurrection has already taken place, and they upset the faith of some. Nevertheless, the firm foundation of God stands, having this seal, ‘The Lord knows those who are His,’ and, ‘Everyone who names the name of the Lord is to abstain from wickedness.’ Now in a large house there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also vessels of wood and of earthenware, and some to honor and some to dishonor. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work. Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. But refuse foolish and ignorant speculations, knowing that they produce quarrels. The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.”

 

Paul requires us to train ourselves according to the will of God, and the will of God is for us to become like His Son Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace. This requires discipline. I have repeatedly told the elders of our church that they are not allowed to be quarrelsome, but to be listeners and to be people of prayer. That if they are to speak, they do not speak from political ideology or personal perspectives, but from the Word of God. This is a hard discipline to be under, and all church leaders fail at it because we are all human, but we must prioritize peace, especially the Gospel of Peace. That means we must deal with our own heart and mind issues that war against the Prince of Peace and His Cross. We can’t give the world what we first don’t carry ourselves. That takes us into the third action step of a good soldier of Jesus Christ.

 

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

Today’s battle drill exposes our heart issue, which is exposed every time we quarrel (inside and out)! Allow me to introduce this to you in a positive way, through an Old Testament story where the great Patriarch of our faith, Abraham, exposes the heart issue of his nephew Lot, from Genesis 13:5-9:

 

Now Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents. And the land could not sustain them while dwelling together, for their possessions were so great that they were not able to remain together. And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock. Now the Canaanite and the Perizzite were dwelling then in the land. So Abram said to Lot, “Please let there be no strife between you and me, nor between my herdsmen and your herdsmen, for we are brothers. Is not the whole land before you? Please separate from me; if to the left, then I will go to the right; or if to the right, then I will go to the left.”

 

Abraham avoided a quarrel by giving up the chance to seize the best portion for himself. After all, he is the one called by God, and Lot was a just a tag along. Why should he allow, nevertheless offer Lot the first choice of the land? And that question is the crux of the matter; there is our heart issue – it’s why Jesus Christ came as a servant (Philippians 2:3-11)! We are always looking out for #1 and trying to make our lives work out for us according to our own desires. Humanity, from the beginning, has proven to be a bunch of schemers, who are willing to rebel against God, and one another, to get ahead. We orchestrate events in our best interest, so that we can be the masters of our own destinies! Oh, don’t get me wrong, we give lip service to worshipping God and living for Him and His will (“take the wheel God”), but ultimately, every single person in this room has already proven that they would sell their birthright as a child of God to gain worldly happiness or comfort – it’s called sin, and according to Romans 3:23, every single one of us is guilty, deserving of judgment.

 

This is why Jesus Christ came – to rescue us from the grip of our selfish ambition and vain conceit, the sin that seeks our own desires (Philippians 2:3-4). Apart from Jesus Christ, we are not at peace with God; therefore, we cannot be at peace with ourselves, or with others. While we can orchestrate a cease fire, which only works as long as it benefits everyone according to their own desires (well, at least until someone feels like they get a better deal by breaking the cease fire). That’s the peace the world has to offer; it is a counterfeit of what God offers us through Jesus Christ. Jesus promised in John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.”

 

As you already know, every promise of God comes with a praxis, and the praxis of peace comes with a hard discipline – the discipline of crucifixion, to carry one’s cross. In the same way Jesus had to be crucified to bring us peace with God, you must crucify your own rights to be a peacemaker. The gospel invites you to carry your cross; listen to how Jesus invited His followers to follow Him in Matthew 16:24-26:

 

If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?

 

So go ahead and justify your quarreling with your pompous self-righteousness and arrogant pride, but don’t be deceived, God will not be mocked even if you are swimming in da-Nile (denial), the Bible exposes the real issues that your quarreling exposes; it cuts to the heart, as diagnosed by Jesus’ half-brother, in James 4:1-4:

 

What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members? You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures. You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. [Open your Bible and read the rest of the chapter; it’s relevant!]

 

With the heart condition of today’s battle drill diagnosed, and your training regimen established through Paul’s exhortations to Timothy and Titus, let’s conclude by looking at the final action step.

 

Action Step #4) Live on mission.

Let me be clear with you, and please know that I say this as a fellow beggar at the King’s table, so I will personalize it, there is no justification for when I quarrel with you, for when I provoke my children to anger, or for when I pop off like a blowhard and alienate someone from the gospel of Jesus Christ because of my ideologies and perspectives.

 

In my opinion, there is only one thing that I should ever do that is offensive to you and that is to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ to you without compromise, declaring that the wages of your personal sin is your death, the second death of eternal torment in Hell. There is a coming judgment, and the only solution is to humbly yourself, confess your sin, repent of it, and cry out to God for His peace through faith in Jesus Christ. This is the only way to receive God’s peace, because it was Jesus Christ who came to take away God’s quarrel with you and, in His place, gives you His righteousness. The Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ, saved you to be peacemaker who proclaims the Gospel of God’s love with grace. Therefore, there is no place or time for you to wage a war that has already been won on the Cross of Jesus Christ. You are to declare it in word and deed; therefore, you are to prioritize peace as your way of life – vertically with God, internally within your own mind and heart, and in your relationships as you extend the gospel peace of Jesus Christ to all people, regardless of their ideologies and perspectives (Philippians 2:14-15).

 

I dream of peace within the people of God. While it feels like a pipe dream in today’s world, nonetheless, I pray for it, and I prioritize working together with God’s people, His Church, to fulfill the angelic proclamation that accompanied the birth of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the World, in Luke 2:14, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.” Peace is the good fruit of the Christmas miracle!

 

We are the branches upon which we are to bear that fruit! It is the Holy Spirit who brings peace to the nations through the coming of the Messiah. That is the promise of Isaiah 9:6-7:

 

For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.

 

The Holy Spirit works through the people of God to accomplish this purpose for the coming of Jesus Christ. God is bringing the world under His peace, through the Church’s faithful proclamation of the Gospel of Peace, in preparation for the Messianic Kingdom. This is what He has saved you for, He bestowed love and grace upon you, to give you peace and reconciliation, to enlist you for His peace-making mission. As Paul stated in Romans 5:8-11:

 

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.

 

Prioritize peace today. I pray Paul’s words from Colossians 3:15 over you, “[may] the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful.”

 

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 this message here:

 

You can watch this message by clicking HERE.

 
 
 

Read more...

Seize the Moment – Day 907

Today’s hymn focus will be

Wonderful Peace

 Philippians 4:7 (NASB95)            

 

 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

 

This hymn expressing several thoughts about the peace of God was written ‘by accident’ in 1889 at a camp meeting in West Bend, Wisconsin. Rev. Warren D Cornell was seated in the tent, and after a time of deep introspection, began writing the words reflecting the thoughts in his heart. Unknowingly, he left the paper in the tent when he left.

 

An hour or so later, Rev. William Cooper came to the tent and discovered the paper. Fascinated by the theme of the chorus and the accompanying verses as they reflected some of his own current thoughts, he finished the poem and sat down at the organ and composed the melody that we sing today.

 

            Peace! Peace! Wonderful peace, coming down from the Father above

            Sweep over my spirit forever, I pray, in fathomless billows of love.

 

We need to wake up to the fact that He is the giver of peace. It is not something that we strive for, but rather surrender complete control to…to God as He leads and directs our paths 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 this song, click on this link:

 

Wonderful Peace

1
Far away in the depths of my spirit tonight
Rolls a melody sweeter than psalm;
In celestial-like strains it unceasingly falls
O’er my soul like an infinite calm.
 
Refrain:
Peace! Peace! wonderful peace,
Coming down from the Father above;
Sweep over my spirit forever, I pray,
In fathomless billows of love.
 
2
What a treasure I have in this wonderful peace,
Buried deep in the heart of my soul;
So secure that no power can mine it away,
While the years of eternity roll. (Refrain)
 
3
I am resting tonight in this wonderful peace,
Resting sweetly in Jesus’ control;
For I’m kept from all danger by night and by day,
And His glory is flooding my soul. (Refrain)
 
4
And methinks when I rise to that City of peace,
Where the Author of peace I shall see,
That one strain of the song which the ransomed will sing,
In that heavenly kingdom shall be: (Refrain)
 
5
Ah! soul, are you here without comfort or rest,
Marching down the rough pathway of time?
Make Jesus your friend ere the shadows grow dark;
Oh, accept this sweet peace so sublime. (Refrain)
 

Read more...

Seize the Moment – Day 906

Culturally Acceptable Sin Has Consequences!

1 Chronicles 14

 

Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Friday, September 9.

 

Do you tend to idealize the people you look up to? We look at our heroes through rose-colored glasses. From the beginning to the end of 1 Chronicles 14, the Chronicler’s purpose was to exalt David, as expressed in verse 2, “David realized that the Lord had established him as king over Israel, and that his kingdom was highly exalted, for the sake of His people Israel.” This sentiment was amplified in verse 17, “Then the fame of David went out into all the lands; and the Lord brought the fear of him on all the nations.”

 

Now, I don’t want to be nitpicky, and I’m not standing in judgment of David, the Bible does say he was a man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:14; Acts 13:22), but something bothers me about the story of David. The very thing that is so troublesome to me was being used by the Chronicler to establish David’s throne. It was his polygamy, stated in verse 3, as a response to verse 2 and David’s realization that God had established his kingship, “Then David took more wives at Jerusalem, and David became the father of more sons and daughters.” Yes, I know it was culturally acceptable for ancient kings to amass a large harem, but it was in direct violation of God’s Word for Israel’s kings, “He shall not multiply wives for himself, or else his heart will turn away” (Deuteronomy 17:17a).

 

No person, even an exalted king, is above the Law of God, nor is immune to the promises of God. The generational consequences of David’s disobedience led to Solomon’s moral corruption and the division of David’s kingdom (1 Kings 11:1-13).

 

Seize the moment and don’t turn a blind eye to sin because you think you are getting away with it, or because others are affirming it. There are always consequences to violating God’s Law, even that which has become a culturally acceptable sin (1 Samuel 15:22-24; Romans 1:18-32).
 

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 905

Leaders Convene for God’s Glory!

1 Chronicles 13

 

Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Thursday, September 8.

 

While leaders provide clear direction, they cannot accomplish the task without the people buying into the vision and applying themselves to the task. That is what the Chronicler was emphasizing in 1 Chronicles 13:1-4:

 

Then David consulted with the captains of the thousands and the hundreds, even with every leader. David said to all the assembly of Israel, “If it seems good to you, and if it is from the Lord our God, let us send everywhere to our kinsmen who remain in all the land of Israel, also to the priests and Levites who are with them in their cities with pasture lands, that they may meet with us; and let us bring back the ark of our God to us, for we did not seek it in the days of Saul.” Then all the assembly said that they would do so, for the thing was right in the eyes of all the people.

 

He was retelling an important story from David’s kingship, an action that, according to the Chronicler, set him apart from Saul’s leadership – the retrieval of the ark (2 Samuel 6:1-11). In doing so, David modeled for his people, and us today, an effective decision-making process for bringing about a God-sized vision:

 

  1. Seek the Lord (2).
  2. Consult with the leaders (1).
  3. Convene the congregation (2-4).

 

Leaders want to do great things, and while that is good, it can also be dangerous if there is not a process that invites all parties involved to seek the Lord’s will together. Leaders should not run ahead of their people, just like people should not stonewall their leaders. We are all members of the one body of Christ seeking to fulfill God’s will by each of us doing our own part, as given to us by the Holy Spirit (Romans 12:4-8; Ephesians 4:11-16).

 

Seize the moment and seek “what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2). Let’s bring God glory together!
 

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 904

Pass the Peace!

1 Chronicles 12

 

Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Wednesday, September 7.

 

I dream of peace. It feels like a pipe dream in today’s world, but, nonetheless, I pray for it, and I prioritize working to fulfill the angelic proclamation that accompanied the birth of the Son of David, the Messiah,
 
“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased” (Luke 2:14).

 

David dreamed of peace, too! Even though David was a military man responsible for an estimated 140,000 deaths during his life,[1] David worked for peace. David knew that peace would come by unifying the twelve tribes of Israel, and he was working to accomplish this goal in 1 Chronicles 12:23-37, summarized in verse 38,
 
“All these, being men of war who could draw up in battle formation, came to Hebron with a perfect heart to make David king over all Israel; and all the rest also of Israel were of one mind to make David king.”

 

To illustrate God’s direct involvement in this process, the Chronicler references the work of the Spirit to gather the people to David (18). It is the Holy Spirit who brings peace to the nations through God’s salvation (Isaiah 9:6-7). The Spirit works through the people to pass the peace until all people are brought under God’s banner of love (Song of Solomon 2:4) through faith in Jesus Christ (Philippians 2:9-11).

 

Illustratively, David’s army is described in verse 22 as being “like the army of God,” which means we are rescued from our own agendas (made free by the Spirit as Paul states in 2 Corinthians 3:17) and unified as good soldiers of Jesus Christ (2 Timothy 2:3-4), under the authority of the One who brought God’s peace to the world (John 14:27; 16:33; Romans 5:1). You have been saved for a peace-making mission!

 

Seize the moment and pass the peace – “let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful” (Colossians 3:15).

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] John Goldingay, 1 and 2 Chronicles for Everyone, Old Testament for Everyone (Louisville, KY; London: Westminster John Knox Press; Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 2012), 30.

 

Read more...

Seize the Moment – Day 903

Setting Right Expectations!

1 Chronicles 11

 

Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Tuesday, September 6.

 

Who sets the expectations for your life?

 

Expectations are a strong belief that something will happen in the future, and having right expectations is an essential ingredient to living the abundant life of Jesus Christ (John 10:10). It’s like when a friend puts her arm around you and says, “I know we can accomplish this goal, especially if we do it together.” That’s what the Chronicler was doing with the Israelites in how he was retelling the story of King David – setting right expectations for the people as they were working together to rebuild their nation

 

The following are three expectations set by the Chronicler in 1 Chronicles 11:

 

  1. Unity of Purpose. In the first three verses, the people of Israel declared that they were one with David. The Chronicler emphasized the importance of the people’s unity.
  2. Hard Work. Verses 4-9 emphasize David’s commitment to seize Jerusalem as Israel’s new unified capital, and then verses 10-47 demonstrate the urgency for all the people to work hard to accomplish the goal.
  3. God’s Direct Involvement. David was king because it was “according to the word of the LORD through Samuel” (3). Their success was dependent on God, just as verse 9 states, “David became greater and greater, for the Lord of hosts was with him.”

 

These three expectations are relevant today! They are necessary if our churches are going to see God do great things in and through us. God is the one who sets our expectations, and He has done so by giving us His precious and magnificent promises through a relationship with Jesus Christ (2 Peter 1:3-4). As fellow members of the body of Christ, we must unify around God’s purposes for our lives (Romans 12:4-21; Ephesians 4:11-16).

 

Seize the moment and spend time with Jesus every day so that you will walk in His way (Luke 5:16). Remembering that apart from Him, we can do nothing (John 15:5).

 

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 902

The Verdict for Sin!

 

Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Monday, September 5. Happy Labor Day!

 

The fear of death is a daily reality for so many people. But it doesn’t need to be for Christians. After nine chapters of genealogies, the narrative of the Chronicler begins with the death of Saul, Israel’s first king. Whereas Samuel’s account of Saul took twenty-three chapters (1 Samuel 9-31), the Chronicler covered him in fourteen verses, explaining why he died in 1 Chronicles 10:13-14:

 

So Saul died for his trespass which he committed against the Lord, because of the word of the Lord which he did not keep; and also because he asked counsel of a medium, making inquiry of it, and did not inquire of the Lord. Therefore He killed him and turned the kingdom to David the son of Jesse.[emphasis added]

 

The Chronicler named the reason for Saul’s death as being the same as for Israel’s exile; it is found in the Hebrew word, ma’al, translated “trespass. Listen to a commentator explain the significance of this word choice:
 
The Hebrew word used here, ma’al, indicates a violation of covenant trust (e.g., Lev 5:15). It is used to describe adultery in terms of a woman being unfaithful to her husband (Num 5:12, 27). More often, however, it is used to describe idolatry or unfaithfulness to Yahweh (e.g., Deut 32:51; Josh 7:1). The word is used throughout Chronicles (e.g., 1 Chr 2:7; 2 Chr 12:2; 26:16-18) and is listed as the reason for the exile (1 Chr 5:25; 2 Chr 36:14-21).
 

Both Israel and Saul were judged for their unfaithfulness to God. The Chroniclers point is the same one the Holy Spirit is making today – it doesn’t matter if you are the king or a nation, the verdict for sin is death (Romans 1:32; 5:12; 6:16-23; 8:6-13)!

 

Seize the moment and walk in the victory of Jesus Christ,who has swallowed death and given you eternal life through the Holy Spirit, who seals you and anoints you to live faithfully toGod (1 Corinthians 15:50-58; Galatians 6:7-9; Romans 8:1-39; Ephesians 1:13-14; 1 John 2:20-29)

 
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...

Train to Live on Mission – Week 28

Battle Drill #28:

Listen to Counsel and Accept Discipline!

Proverbs 19:20-21 & 27 (NAS95) 

Today, we are going to walk through the four action steps of a soldier’s training routine to learn the next battle drill – “Listen to Counsel and Accept Discipline!” 

The military is an uncompromising environment for obedience; that is for one primary reason: the mission is dependent on every single soldier doing his or her job, regardless of the circumstances. Soldiers are expected to follow orders, to listen to the counsel of those who have been put in places of responsibility over them, and to accept discipline when they have not done the first two. The Church of Jesus Christ is set up the same way because, like the military, we are a missional people – the mission is dependent on us understanding clear lines of authority. In other words, just like the military exists by decree of national authority to execute the will of its Commander, so the Church exists by the grace of God to fulfill the will of God. The clearest illustration of this is Jesus’ praise of the centurion’s faith in Matthew 8:9-10: 

“For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.” Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those who were following, “Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel.”

Did you hear what Jesus just taught us – a right understanding of being under authority is “great faith.” Even though it has been misapplied by many church leaders, to the detriment of the church’s reputation and the fulfillment of our mission, it is this understanding of submission to authority that caused Paul to reference soldier imagery in the Scriptures. If we, disciples of Jesus, are to be effective and fruitful for the very reason we were saved, then we must remember the words of Paul to his protégé in 2 Timothy 2:3-4, which are the theme verses for this entire year of study on how we are to train to live on mission, “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.” 
 

Let me be clear, in praising the centurion, Jesus was not praising Rome nor affirming the military occupation of Israel. Jesus was not rubber-stamping might makes right, political coercion, nor the subjugation of a people. Jesus, the Prince of Peace, was praising the centurion, a Roman military officer, for understanding authority and submission to authority, in a way that military people uniquely understand – good soldiers reflexively, instinctively, and habitually follow orders! Paul understood this and called the church to have the great faith of the centurion – to teach us how to live under authority and focused on the mission of God for the glory of the King of Kings, Jesus, our Commander. Let’s learn how to train today’s battle drill, “Listen to Counsel and Accept Discipline,” 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 19:20-21 & 27,
 
“Listen to counsel and accept discipline, that you may be wise the rest of your days. Many plans are in a man’s heart, but the counsel of the Lord will stand. … Cease listening, my son, to discipline, and you will stray from the words of knowledge.”
 
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.

From the beginning of the book of God’s Wisdom, as we previously discussed in this sermon series with the battle drill, “Heed God’s Wisdom,” Proverbs 1:33 states, “But he who listens to me shall live securely and will be at ease from the dread of evil.”

 

Just as today’s Scripture, Proverbs 19:20 reminds us, “Listen to counsel and accept discipline, that you may be wise the rest of your days.” Stated in the negative, Proverbs 19:27 illustrates the same point, “Cease listening, my son, to discipline, and you will stray from the words of knowledge.” The connections between these verses are obvious. If you want to live the victorious life of Jesus Christ, then, like a good soldier, you must submit to God, by listening to and obeying your Commander! I’m not trying to be overly simplistic, but, truly, just like I would counsel a recruit in the Army, it is that simple. [So why do we make it so hard? I’ll explain that in action step #3, but let’s keep learning how we are to train this before we focus on why we don’t do it.]

There is a very important theme here, and for those of you who were with us last week, it will sound very familiar: Listen! There is an important Hebrew word behind this big concept, and it is found in all three of the above verses: Shema, translated “listen” or “hear” is a famous Hebrew concept because Jesus Christ declared the Greatest Commandment (Matthew 22:37) to be what the Jewish people traditionally call, “the Shema,” from Deuteronomy 6:4-5: “Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”

Every good soldier of Jesus Christ must learn that if you want to train to live on mission, then you must listen to and obey God’s wisdom. We must heed God’s reproof when He warns us or disciplines us. This is the way of wisdom! The book of Proverbs gives us the primary way to discern whether you are a wise person; it is by how you respond to the wisdom of God – to His counsel and His discipline. Accordingly, King Solomon teaches us that there are only three categories of people: 1) the wise, 2) fools, and 3) mockers (“scoffers”). Fools and mockers hate God’s wisdom, do not listen to counsel, nor accept discipline; rather, they turn away from it and hate God’s messengers who bring it. This is made clear in Proverbs 1:20-33:

Wisdom shouts in the street, she lifts her voice in the square; at the head of the noisy streets she cries out; at the entrance of the gates in the city she utters her sayings: “How long, O naive ones, will you love being simple-minded? And scoffers delight themselves in scoffing and fools hate knowledge? Turn to my reproof, behold, I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you. Because I called and you refused, I stretched out my hand and no one paid attention; and you neglected all my counsel and did not want my reproof; I will also laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your dread comes, when your dread comes like a storm and your calamity comes like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you. Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently but they will not find me, because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord. They would not accept my counsel, they spurned all my reproof. So they shall eat of the fruit of their own way and be satiated with their own devices. For the waywardness of the naive will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them. But he who listens to me shall live securely and will be at ease from the dread of evil.”

This passage captures one of the major themes of the book of Proverbs – be wise by listening to and obeying God’s counsel; don’t be like the fools and mockers. Wisdom must be trained into our lives and that requires the discipline of listening to God’s counsel through His Word and its messengers, and accepting God’s discipline through providence, the direct work of the Spirit through the Church, which is Paul charged his protégé in 1 Timothy 4:6-11:

In pointing out these things to the brethren, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, constantly nourished on the words of the faith and of the sound doctrine which you have been following. But have nothing to do with worldly fables fit only for old women. On the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness; for bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. It is a trustworthy statement deserving full acceptance. For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers. Prescribe and teach these things.

This is my charge as your pastor, from the counsel of God’s Word and when I don’t do it properly or faithfully, then the Lord has put me under His discipline. Therefore, allow me to make this as simple as possible: Good soldiers obey the Commander’s orders! That goes for me, as well as it goes for you. We each must submit to His authority and do our respective part as members of one body. Let us now take the third action step of a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
 

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

Last week’s battle drill was dependent on you cultivating the character quality of humility, and we learned that humility is forged in the crucible of your prayer life. It is in your quiet times with God that you become like Jesus.

Today’s battle drill is dependent on cultivating the relational quality of trust! Trust and humility go hand in hand. They have a reciprocal relationship – you will never learn to trust God until you humble yourself and submit to His authority! We learn to trust our Commander by putting Him to the test every time He tells us to do something. What do I mean by that? I mean you listen and obey! You listen to His counsel as if your life depended on it, and you accept His discipline as from the hand of a good and loving father who only has good plans for you. Until you trust God, you will not listen to counsel, from God or His people, nor will you accept discipline from God or those He has placed in authority over you. 

In fact, until you learn to trust God you will be a stubborn, stiff-necked person who will not listen to anyone else’s counsel, but only that which agrees with you and presumptions about how your life should work out, and you won’t even accept the premise of your need for discipline, because all that you do is right in your own eyes. That’s not being a good soldier of Jesus Christ, that’s being a self-righteous person who does what is right in your own eyes! I have countless stories from the 929 chapters of the Old Testament to pull from for where such thinking will take you, but allow me to read what the prophet Samuel said to King Saul in 1 Samuel 15:13-23:

Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said to him, “Blessed are you of the Lord! I have carried out the command of the Lord.” But Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?” Saul said, “They have brought them from the Amalekites, for the people spared the best of the sheep and oxen, to sacrifice to the Lord your God; but the rest we have utterly destroyed.” Then Samuel said to Saul, “Wait, and let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night.” And he said to him, “Speak!” Samuel said, “Is it not true, though you were little in your own eyes, you were made the head of the tribes of Israel? And the Lord anointed you king over Israel, and the Lord sent you on a mission, and said, ‘Go and utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are exterminated.’ Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord, but rushed upon the spoil and did what was evil in the sight of the Lord?” Then Saul said to Samuel, “I did obey the voice of the Lord, and went on the mission on which the Lord sent me, and have brought back Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. But the people took some of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the choicest of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the Lord your God at Gilgal.” Samuel said, “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. For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and insubordination is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He has also rejected you from being king.”

The word “obey” in verse 22 is shema – listen and obey! You think you are worshipping God with the things you choose to do for Him, by doing what seems right to you, but the fact is, according to God’s counsel and the example of His discipline, you are only truly worshipping God when you are doing what He commands you to do. So, listen to my counsel today and hear God’s word of counsel to His people from Jeremiah 7:22-28:

For I did not speak to your fathers, or command them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices. But this is what I commanded them, saying, “Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you will be My people; and you will walk in all the way which I command you, that it may be well with you.” Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but walked in their own counsels and in the stubbornness of their evil heart, and went backward and not forward. Since the day that your fathers came out of the land of Egypt until this day, I have sent you all My servants the prophets, daily rising early and sending them. Yet they did not listen to Me or incline their ear, but stiffened their neck; they did more evil than their fathers. You shall speak all these words to them, but they will not listen to you; and you shall call to them, but they will not answer you. You shall say to them, “This is the nation that did not obey the voice of the Lord their God or accept correction; truth has perished and has been cut off from their mouth.”

This is a prophetic word to our nation today. I beseech you, God’s people, train this battle drill until its reflexive, instinctive, and habitual – listen to God’s counsel and accept His discipline. Trust that your God is a good and loving God who only speaks truth and only disciplines His true children for their good, and for His glory, as Hebrews 12:7-11 explains:

It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness. All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.

It is only with an unwavering trust in God that you will live on mission and bear the good fruit of the Holy Spirt as a member of Jesus’ body. Let’s look at the final action step. 
 

Action Step #4) Live on mission.

In John 15:8-11, Jesus calls us to this very purpose:

My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples. Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, just like soldiers who are serving in the military, the church has a mission that depends on every member of the body of Christ to do his or her job, regardless of the circumstances. Paul teaches this in Ephesians 4:11-16, where we hear the reason why the centurion’s faith is so critical for us today because God has placed each of us under authority so that His church will be faithful to fulfill His purpose for enlisting us as members of His body:

And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.

These are your marching orders for the sake of the growth of the body of Christ. The key is for you to trust God and to take Him at His Word – to listen to counsel and accept discipline! Until you have proved Him to be trustworthy in every area of life and godliness, He will not prove you to be His disciple because the fruit of righteousness only comes through obedience – the true worship of God! This is your freedom from sin (your enlistment to be a member of His body through your salvation), so you can sincerely worship of God in truth and spirit! God is looking for a few good worshippers today! Men and women who will bring His gospel to a world in desperate need of His rescue: “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?”
 
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 may listen to the message here:

 

You may watch the message by clicking HERE.

 
 

Read more...