Train to Live on Mission – Week 15
Battle Drill #15:
Search and Rescue!
Proverbs 8:1-36 (NAS95)
Today, we are going to walk through the four action steps of a soldier’s training routine to learn the next battle drill – “Search and Rescue!” I wrote a fictional story called, “The Rescue Mission,” a modern-day parable, about a rescue mission on Lake Michigan.
The Founders came to Christ while serving together in the US Navy in the Pacific Theatre of WWII. After experiencing tragedies, like the sinking of the USS Indianapolis, when these sailors came back to the states, they decided to build a light house and rescue people from a watery grave in Lake Michigan. The Founders worked regular jobs while setting up the rescue mission, bought land, built houses to live close to the rescue mission, married women who had a kindred spirit for the mission, and raised their children together. The second generation was raised on the mission, and they kept it going, making improvements in honor of their parents’ commitments to the vision. They believed in the mission, but they also saw the sacrifices of their parents and remembered not having a normal childhood, so they wanted to give their kids more of a “normal” life. For the grandkids of the Founders, the ever-expanding compound started to be upgraded. A pool was installed, recreational boats were put in next to the rescue boats. These kids played every day, went to school in the local community telling their friends all about how much fun their rescue mission was, invited them over for birthday parties, so as the third generation grew up, they knew there was a rescue mission, but now they just called the place they lived “The Rescue Mission.” Now the fourth generation was being raised on a place that looks more like a resort area than a rescue mission. You should see the renovated Light House. You can even walk up it and look out over the Lake and witness the expansion of the Rescue Mission with the RV park, water play area, miniature golf course, and more. It truly is beautiful. A great place to bring your kids for a family vacation.
Remember the original vision of the rescue mission on Lake Michigan. Did I tell you that after the Korean War, in the 50s, the Founders mortgaged their homes to buy a helicopter to help them with their rescue efforts? And then after Vietnam, as they got older and their kids were coming back from their war, they did the same thing with their homes to buy a Vietnam-era Huey. The crazy thing is by the time the third generation was taking over the rescue mission, they stopped using those helicopters for rescue efforts and started selling rides to families on vacation to the Lake. You should have seen how much money came in during the 90s and the improvements that were made around the place. Wow! What a sight They even built a museum to honor their grandparents’ mission and to remember all the rescued people, saved from certain death. The mayor, the Chamber of Commerce, and even the governor came by for the grand re-opening. The sad thing is, on that very day, six people died less than a mile out from “The Rescue Mission”; no one was on duty when the distress call came in.[1]
I pray the Holy Spirit will use this story to show us our need and help us learn how we need to train today’s battle drill so we, God’s Rescue Mission on earth, can live on mission today.
Action Step #1) Know the Field Manual.
The battle drill we are going to learn and apply this week is from Proverbs 8:17, 32-36:
I love those who love me; and those who diligently seek me will find me. … Now therefore, O sons, listen to me, for blessed are they who keep my ways. Heed instruction and be wise, and do not neglect it. Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at my doorposts. For he who finds me finds life and obtains favor from the Lord. But he who sins against me injures himself; all those who hate me love death.
To better understand how I am applying this Scripture, you need to hear these verses in their context, as a part of the whole of Proverbs 8:1-36. Read from the Bible.
This is what the Field Manual says, let’s now take the second action step to learn how to apply today’s battle drill to our everyday lives as good soldiers of Jesus Christ.
Action Step #2) Train together as one unit.
Now therefore, O sons, listen to me, for blessed are they who keep my ways. Heed instruction and be wise, and do not neglect it. Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at my doorposts. For he who finds me finds life and obtains favor from the Lord. But he who sins against me injures himself; all those who hate me love death.
Responding to people and situations according to the heart of God requires a life of discipleship with Jesus Christ, the study of God’s Word, and the learning to listen to the Holy Spirit. The Church of Jesus Christ exists for the Mission of God on earth, but we cannot lose the heart of the mission because we have gone into maintenance mode on the upkeep of the infrastructure of the Rescue Mission itself.[2] That is why our greatest priority is to know God and to become like Him.
We must emphasize as our primary imperative, the building of a personal relationship with the mission’s Founder and His vision! If we emphasize who God is and His vision for His creation, then we cannot avoid becoming a missional people, for the mission is the heart of God and the very reason Jesus invites us to follow Him. Listen to Jesus’ invitation in Mark 1:17, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” In our commitment to follow Jesus faithfully, the Spirit of God transforms us into His likeness, with His heart, which is the life of search and rescue! This is the purpose of Christian discipleship – to transform us through the renewal of our minds (Romans 12:2). It is not the end game in and of itself – there is a vision!
Action Step #3) Seek the Commander’s approval.
Jesus’ parables, found in Luke 15, reinforce this purpose for God’s people:
- The Lost Sheep (1-7).
- The Lost Coin (8-10).
- The Lost Sons (11-32).
All three parables end with celebration because that which was being searched for – the sheep, the coin, and the younger son – were found and returned safely. Success! Now, with that said, there is a necessary nuance to the last parable that we, as God’s people, need to hear, once again: The older son was also lost though he never left home. He didn’t share the heart of his father in the joy of his younger brother’s rescue. He lived on the “Rescue Mission,” but he wasn’t a part of the rescue effort; he made it all about him. We, as sons and daughters of God, need to hear this part of the story as it was intended – as a rebuke and as a warning; watch the exchange between the older son and his father in Luke 15:25-32:
Now his older son was in the field, and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. And he summoned one of the servants and began inquiring what these things could be. And he said to him, “Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has received him back safe and sound.” But he became angry and was not willing to go in; and his father came out and began pleading with him. But he answered and said to his father, “Look! For so many years I have been serving you and I have never neglected a command of yours; and yet you have never given me a young goat, so that I might celebrate with my friends; but when this son of yours came, who has devoured your wealth with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him.” And he said to him, “Son, you have always been with me, and all that is mine is yours. But we had to celebrate and rejoice, for this brother of yours was dead and has begun to live, and was lost and has been found.”
While most of us do rejoice in being the younger son who was rescued, we must heed Jesus’ scathing rebuke of the Pharisees of His day and the Spirit’s warning to the Church today to not become like them in our spiritual pride and lack of concern for those who are lost, separated from God by their sin. We are to follow the example of Jesus Christ and go into the world, not to judge people, but to conduct search and rescue missions – to show them Jesus. And, furthermore, we are not to view the church community as one that keeps us “safe” from the world. In other words, we should not expect the church to be devoid of “messy” people who need Jesus. We must not only be willing to receive these people into our community, but we should be actively pursuing those whose lives indicate their own need for Jesus.[3]
This is the Great Commission of the Church of Jesus Christ, to join with Him in His great search and rescue mission, as commanded by Jesus in Matthew 28:19-20: “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” We are to train ourselves to live on mission today! That brings us to our closing point and response time.
Action Step #4) Live on mission.
[Jesus] entered Jericho and was passing through. And there was a man called by the name of Zaccheus; he was a chief tax collector and he was rich. Zaccheus was trying to see who Jesus was, and was unable because of the crowd, for he was small in stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree in order to see Him, for He was about to pass through that way. When Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him, “Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house.” And he hurried and came down and received Him gladly. When they saw it, they all began to grumble, saying, “He has gone to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” Zaccheus stopped and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I will give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
Are there areas of your life where you need to respond to Jesus’ invitation upon your life? Jesus sees you and He is calling out to you personally – to save you and to bring you into His Rescue Mission, simultaneously. He calls us to be saved so that we can be part of the rescue mission for others. Today is the day to respond to Him and to live on mission with Him. He rescued you and now He is calling you to be a member of His search and rescue mission team. There are people drowning out there, are you hearing their distress call?
You can listen to the message here:
You can watch the message by clicking HERE.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] I cannot remember where the idea first came for my story, The Rescue Mission © 2022. If it shares elements of other stories or grabs at bits of history from my tours of light houses and visits to Lake Michigan, then I am happy to give credit where credit is due, whether for the idea and for any specific details that overlap.
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Seize the Moment – Day 795
Today’s hymn focus will be
And Can It Be
Romans 5:8 (NLT)
“ But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners..”
Even though Charles Wesley grew up in a strict religious home, went to a Christian college, and went out as a missionary to an American colony, it wasn’t until his journey home and his meeting with a group of Moravians that he came realize that ‘salvation is by faith alone’. He gave his heart to the Lord and wrote “…I confess with joy and surprise the He was able to do exceedingly abundantly for me above what I ask or think.”
He went on to write new hymns with every new spiritual experience or thought that crossed his mind. Even on his deathbed, he dictated the words to this hymn that we still sing today:
Amazing love! How can it be,
that Thou, my God Shouldst die for me?
YOUTUBE:
And Can It Be
An int’rest in the Savior’s blood?
Died He for me, who caused His pain?
For me, who Him to death pursued?
Amazing love! how can it be
That Thou, my God, should die for me?
Amazing love! how can it be
That Thou, my God, should die for me!
Who can explore His strange design?
In vain the firstborn seraph tries
To sound the depths of love divine!
‘Tis mercy all! let earth adore,
Let angel minds inquire no more. [Refrain]
So free, so infinite His grace;
Emptied Himself of all but love,
And bled for Adam’s helpless race;
‘Tis mercy all, immense and free;
For, O my God, it found out me. [Refrain]
Fast bound in sin and nature’s night;
Thine eye diffused a quick’ning ray,
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;
My chains fell off, my heart was free;
I rose, went forth and followed Thee. [Refrain]
Jesus, and all in Him is mine!
Alive in Him, my living Head,
And clothed in righteousness divine,
Bold I approach th’eternal throne,
And claim the crown, through Christ my own. [Refrain]
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Seize the Moment – Day 794
The Antidote to the Contagion of Discontentment!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Friday, May 20.
Did you know that discontentment can be contagious?
Absalom was a discontented man bent on the downfall of his father, David. Fueled by ambition and anger, the man who murdered his own brother was now conspiring for the throne of Israel, as evidenced by 2 Samuel 15:3-6:
Then Absalom would say to him, “See, your claims are good and right, but no man listens to you on the part of the king.” Moreover, Absalom would say, “Oh that one would appoint me judge in the land, then every man who has any suit or cause could come to me and I would give him justice.” And when a man came near to prostrate himself before him, he would put out his hand and take hold of him and kiss him. In this manner Absalom dealt with all Israel who came to the king for judgment; so Absalom stole away the hearts of the men of Israel.
Absalom systematically worked a contagion into the hearts and minds of God’s people – discontentment! He conspired against his father by causing the people to believe that they couldn’t trust the king to meet their needs, but that they could trust him. In 1 Timothy 6:6-9, Paul provides the antidote to Absalom’s rebellion against God’s rightful authority, which continues to be a tool of the enemy against God’s people to this day:
But godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment. For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either. If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content. But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction.
Seize the moment and be content in your circumstances so that you can be motivated to work with your whole heart for the glory of God in all that you do (Colossians 3:23).
YOUTUBE:
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Seize the Moment – Day 793
Seize the Moment for Reconciliation!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Thursday, May 19.
After killing his brother Amnon, David’s firstborn son, Absalom fled to Geshur for three years (2 Samuel 13:37-39). David mourned for his sons, the one who was dead and the one who fled, but even upon his return to Jerusalem, David did not see him for two more years (2 Samuel 14:28). That’s five years of estrangement and the heart ache compounded over time, until Joab, the mighty general of David’s armies, intervened. It may be that Joab understood, in a unique way, the plight of Absalom because Joab had incurred the wrath of David for avenging his own brother’s murder years earlier (2 Samuel 3:26-30). Joab, more than anyone else, knew that reconciliation was possible, and necessary, so he facilitated the process.
Seize the moment and look for moments of reconciliation in your own life; be a peacemaker to those you encounter (Matthew 5:9).
YOUTUBE:
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Seize the Moment – Day 792
Discipline is Designed for Good!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Wednesday, May 18.
Have you ever experienced discipline that seemed hard, but later, you realized, was an important and essential part of your development? The Bible speaks of the importance of parental authority and the urgency of discipline for the character development of children.
Second Samuel 13 is a heartbreaking chapter as David’s children sin against one another, not because David was absent from their lives, but because he wouldn’t discipline them for their wrongdoing. David’s firstborn son, Amnon, lusted after his half-sister, Tamar, and devised a plan to take her as his own, but upon taking her he hated her with a greater intensity than his former obsession and abandoned her (1-19). This is an ugly tale that fueled a deep hatred within Absalom’s heart. Absalom was the full brother of Tamar, and upon seeing David do nothing in response to this situation (21), he devised a plan to punish Amnon (20-39). He murdered him and later sought the death of his father when he led a military coup against him (2 Samuel 15-18). Absalom’s hatred burned hot!
Could Absalom’s spiral into murder and betrayal have been avoided if David disciplined Amnon for his gross sin against Tamar? Hebrews 12:9-11 states the importance of a father’s discipline:
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.
Seize the moment and submit yourself to the loving discipline of the Lord and His authorized agents in your life; God has good plans for you (Jeremiah 29:11).
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Seize the Moment – Day 791
We all Need a Nathan in our Lives!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Tuesday, May 17.
When was the last time you were confronted by God through a person who loved you enough to tell you the truth? A person you trust who has permission to directly hold you accountable for your walk with Jesus. Do you have a Nathan in your life?
In 2 Samuel 12:1-15, Nathan the prophet used a story of injustice to confront King David for his sin against Uriah and Bathsheba. David was pierced to the heart through this direct confrontation, and by God’s grace, confessed his brokenness before God in 2 Samuel 12:13: “Then David said to Nathan, ‘I have sinned against the Lord.’ And Nathan said to David, ‘The Lord also has taken away your sin; you shall not die.’” Even though David experienced mercy for his sin, it was not without grave consequences.
For thousands of years, David’s deep contrition for his sin, as recorded in Psalm 51, has resonated with countless people who have found themselves in a place of brokenness over their own sin. I, too, have prayed these words of repentance, as first heard in verses 1-4:
Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; according to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against You, You only, I have sinned and done what is evil in Your sight, so that You are justified when You speak and blameless when You judge.
We all need to experience brokenness over our sin; therefore, we all need a Nathan in our lives who has permission to speak truth to us with a genuine love and a gentle spirit (Galatians 6:1). Who is your Nathan?
Seize the moment and ask God to give you a clean heart, to renew a steadfast spirit in you, and to restore the joy of your salvation (Psalm 51:10, 12).
YOUTUBE:
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Seize the Moment – Day 790
Be Where You are Supposed to Be!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Monday, May 16.
The situation got worse, and everyone knew about it, including Uriah, whom David had brought back from the front line in a failed attempt to cover his shame for his abuse of power. Uriah’s response to David in verse 11, when David asked him why he had not gone home to be with his wife, made the situation abundantly clear:
The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in temporary shelters, and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are camping in the open field. Shall I then go to my house to eat and to drink and to lie with my wife? By your life and the life of your soul, I will not do this thing.
Uriah was not letting David off the hook. He emphasized that everyone was where they were supposed to be, except David! Uriah refused to cover David’s shame, but instead multiplied it. The situation escalated out of control and David ordered his death. The chapter ends with David’s honor in doubt, as verse 27 declared, “the thing that David had done was evil in the sight of the Lord.” Sin is progressive by nature, and while it may start small, it seeks to devour you in the end.
Seize the moment and be where you are supposed to be and do what you are supposed to do; don’t give evil a foothold in your life.
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Train to Live on Mission – Week 14
Battle Drill #14:
Plan Your Route!
Proverbs 7:1-27 (NAS95)
Today, we are going to walk through the four action steps of a soldier’s training routine to learn the next battle drill – “Plan Your Route!” I have some stories to help illustrate today’s lesson:
1) Learning land navigation in the military is a significant investment of time, energy, and resources for infantry soldiers. We spent a lot of time working on the skills necessary to do this during the day and in the night. My body has the marks to show how hard it can be, especially at night, just like our souls bear the scars of how hard it can be to plan our routes properly in life, especially in the valleys of the shadow.
2) Ranger school taught me the need to know my location when on mission. At any time, you may need to pivot in place due to attack or unexpected changes. You need to learn to know where you are on the map by looking at the terrain around you (providence).
3) On a road trip you can’t blindly trust your GPS, or you may end up a dead end or in a place you never intended. You need to know how to use a map to double check your route.
Let’s learn how we can train this battle drill so that you can live on mission today.
Action Step #1) Know the Field Manual.
The battle drill we are going to learn and apply this week is from Proverbs 7:1-3:
My son, keep my words and treasure my commandments within you. Keep my commandments and live, and my teaching as the apple of your eye. Bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart.
To better understand how I am applying this Scripture to learning how to plan your route, you need to hear the rest of this passage so I will continue reading from Proverbs 7 with verses 4-27:
Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,” and call understanding your intimate friend; that they may keep you from an adulteress, from the foreigner who flatters with her words. For at the window of my house I looked out through my lattice, and I saw among the naive, and discerned among the youths A young man lacking sense, passing through the street near her corner; and he takes the way to her house, in the twilight, in the evening, in the middle of the night and in the darkness. And behold, a woman comes to meet him, dressed as a harlot and cunning of heart. She is boisterous and rebellious, her feet do not remain at home; she is now in the streets, now in the squares, and lurks by every corner. So she seizes him and kisses him and with a brazen face she says to him: “I was due to offer peace offerings; today I have paid my vows. Therefore I have come out to meet you, to seek your presence earnestly, and I have found you. I have spread my couch with coverings, with colored linens of Egypt. I have sprinkled my bed with myrrh, aloes and cinnamon. Come, let us drink our fill of love until morning; let us delight ourselves with caresses. For my husband is not at home, he has gone on a long journey; he has taken a bag of money with him, at the full moon he will come home.” With her many persuasions she entices him; with her flattering lips she seduces him. Suddenly he follows her as an ox goes to the slaughter, or as one in fetters to the discipline of a fool, until an arrow pierces through his liver; as a bird hastens to the snare, so he does not know that it will cost him his life. Now therefore, my sons, listen to me, and pay attention to the words of my mouth. Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways, do not stray into her paths. For many are the victims she has cast down, and numerous are all her slain. Her house is the way to Sheol, Descending to the chambers of death.
We know what the Field Manual says, let’s now take the second action step to learn how to apply today’s battle drill to our everyday lives as good soldiers of Jesus Christ.
Action Step #2) Train together as one unit.
1) Reading a map, to include plotting points and use terrain association skills along the route.
2) Using a compass to include setting an azimuth (the direction of travel between two points).
3) Learning your pace count (the ability to track distance traveled in a specific direction).
Here is how the two connect so that we can see how we are training them together as the church:
- The Bible provides us a map of where we were, where we are, and where we are going. Just like we read in today’s scripture from Proverbs 7:1-3, Psalm 119:105-106 also teaches, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. I have sworn and I will confirm it, that I will keep Your righteous ordinances.” If we are going to find ourselves on the map, then we need to know it.
- Jesus is our compass and helps us set our direction. Paul teaches us Colossians 3:17, “Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.” If we are going to know the way we are to live our lives, then we must set every direction according to Jesus Christ, our true north.
- The Spirit is our guide as we learn to walk in the way of Jesus. Jesus taught many things about the Holy Spirit, to include this in John 16:13, “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.” If we are going to remain in the way, then we need to listen to the Spirit at work in our lives.
Action Step #3) Seek the Commander’s approval.
There is an expression that I used earlier and that I now want to explain to you so that you can learn how to seek God’s approval in your life before all else and in doing so plan your route: “Jesus is our true north.” Allow me to explain this to you by sharing from a research article:
The expression true north is based on a fact that navigators and surveyors must deal with every day: a magnetic compass is not a terribly reliable instrument. A magnetic compass points toward the magnetic north pole, which is not the same as true north, or the geographic (or geodetic) north pole. The difference between magnetic north and true north is currently a matter of several hundred miles—but it changes, due to the fact that the magnetic north pole drifts several miles a year. The earth produces a magnetic field. The places where the lines of magnetic induction converge are called the magnetic poles. The location of the magnetic north pole changes over time. In contrast, true north is a fixed spot on the globe: the true north pole is found at the conjunction of the lines of longitude, the point at which the earth’s axis exits the globe. Magnetic north varies position from year to year; true north is unchanging. Because the needle of a magnetic compass points toward the magnetic north pole, not the geographic north pole, it is not entirely accurate. It may give a general idea of where north is, especially in the middle latitudes, but it can be wildly unreliable in the regions closer to the poles, varying by 20 to 60 degrees. The difference between magnetic north and true north is called declination, and it varies according to where one is located on the globe. To compensate for declination and find true north, we must perform some mathematical calculations using an up-to-date chart or calibrate our compasses. Adding to the confusion is magnetic deviation, caused when nearby metallic objects or electrical equipment influence the compass needle. Deviation is especially a problem inside ships and airplanes and in areas containing a lot of metal ore. Like declination, deviation must be overcome, usually by means of auxiliary magnets, in order to find true north.[1]
Therefore, when you hear it said that “Jesus is our truth north” you know now that means that Jesus is the constant, unchanging source of truth and life. As Hebrews 13:8-9a states, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Do not be carried away by varied and strange teachings…” Jesus concludes His sermon on the mount with these critical words of how we are to apply His teachings to our lives and in how we are to plan our routes, from Matthew 7:24-27:
Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.
Action Step #4) Live on mission by keeping Jesus Christ as the true north of your life.
Is your life off course? Do you feel lost? Do you need a course correction or an altogether new route for your life? “Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life… “ (John 14:6)!
You Can Listen to this message here:
You can watch the message by clicking HERE.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] https://www.gotquestions.org/Jesus-true-north.html (accessed May 13, 2022).
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Seize the Moment – Day 788
Today’s hymn focus will be
I Must Tell Jesus
Hebrews 2:18 (ESV)
“For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.”
While pastoring in Lebanon, PA, Elisha Hoffman called on one of his parishioners and found her in great sorry and distress. She kept asking “What can I do…What can I do?” to which he replied “You cannot do better than to take it all to Jesus… you must tell Jesus!” She took these words to heart, meditating on them, then her countenance changed and her face began to glow and she became animated and proclaimed, “Yes, I must tell Jesus, I must tell Jesus!”
Leaving what was originally a sorrow-filled home, he walked home and his thoughts were filled with her joy-illuminated face, transforming her soul from a place of darkness into the light of the Lord. So he echoed those words in this song:
I must tell Jesus! I must tell Jesus! I cannot bear my burdens alone.
I must tell Jesus! I must tell Jesus! Jesus can help me, Jesus alone.
We need to wake up and realize like this woman did that we are to take everything to Jesus in prayer every day, and walk in the assurance that He has taken care of all of it.
YOUTUBE:
I Must Tell Jesus
I cannot bear these burdens alone;
In my distress He kindly will help me;
He ever loves and cares for His own.
I must tell Jesus!
I must tell Jesus!
I cannot bear my burdens alone;
I must tell Jesus!
I must tell Jesus!
Jesus can help me, Jesus alone.
He is a kind, compassionate friend;
If I but ask Him, He will deliver,
Make of my troubles quickly an end. [Refrain]
One who can help my burdens to bear;
I must tell Jesus, I must tell Jesus;
He all my cares and sorrows will share. [Refrain]
O how my heart is tempted to sin!
I must tell Jesus, and He will help me
Over the world the vict’ry to win. [Refrain]
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Seize the Moment – Day 787
Focus!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Friday, May 13.
Do you like to think of yourself as an effective multitasker? I used to! I learned that while it is possible to do two things at once, it’s difficult to give either of them my attention effectively. For example, I can’t listen to a person sitting in front of me effectively while checking my text messages. In that same way that I can’t attend to a phone call while reading emails. I need to pick one or the other to focus my concentration on one person or one task at a time.
Israel found themselves in a battle on two fronts and Joab, the general of their army, made the decision to give his full attention to one front and entrust the other to his brother, Abishai. He galvanized his brother into action with these words from 2 Samuel 10:11-12:
If the Arameans are too strong for me, then you shall help me, but if the sons of Ammon are too strong for you, then I will come to help you. Be strong, and let us show ourselves courageous for the sake of our people and for the cities of our God; and may the Lord do what is good in His sight.
Joab knew that he couldn’t personally lead the battle on both fronts, so he delegated authority so that his attention was not split and both fronts had a leader with their full focus on the task. To win the battle, regardless of whether it is physical, mental, emotional, relational, or spiritual one, you must give your full attention to the situation at hand and trust God with the results on every front in your life.
Seize the moment and work with a whole heart and an undivided mind (Colossians 3:23)! Rather than multitasking focus on the person, task, or situation at hand and watch God win the battle.
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