Have Courage and Encourage Others!

2 Samuel 4

Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Thursday, May 5.

Courage is an important quality to be found in a person, especially a leader. When people speak and act with conviction in the face of fear, they put courage in others, which encourages them to speak and act likewise.

The political intrigue continued as the king responded to the death of his general in 2 Samuel 4:1, “Now when Ish-bosheth, Saul’s son, heard that Abner had died in Hebron, he lost courage, and all Israel was disturbed.” Therefore, Ish-bosheth was assassinated and the nation of Israel found itself leaderless and grieving with the only living heir to the throne described in verse 4: “Now Jonathan, Saul’s son, had a son crippled in his feet. He was five years old when the report of Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel, and his nurse took him up and fled. And it happened that in her hurry to flee, he fell and became lame. And his name was Mephibosheth.” Saul and his lineage were now effectively cut off from the kingship.

Ish-bosheth’s lack of courage in the face of Abner’s death sent a ripple effect throughout the nation, which ultimately led to his own assassination and the discouragement of his people. Contrast that with David’s behavior.

The two assassins brought news of their treachery to David, hoping for a reward and a place of honor in his entourage. David, now the king of Judah, remembering his vow to Saul to not cut off his line entirely, executed them instead for their cold-blooded actions against the king (9-12).

David showed courage in the face of political intrigue. He remained steadfast to his convictions and faithful to his vows. Therefore, as we will see in the next chapter, David was installed as king over all of Israel. His courage encouraged the nation!

Seize the moment and “be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9). Have courage and you will encourage others!

YOUTUBE:

Live above Reproach!

2 Samuel 3

Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Wednesday, May 4.

Have you ever been accused of something that you didn’t do? How did you prove your innocence? In 2 Samuel 3:6-8 there is an exchange between Ish-bosheth, the king of Israel, and Abner, the general of Israel’s armies:

It came about while there was war between the house of Saul and the house of David that Abner was making himself strong in the house of Saul. Now Saul had a concubine whose name was Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah; and Ish-bosheth said to Abner, “Why have you gone in to my father’s concubine?” Then Abner was very angry over the words of Ish-bosheth and said, “Am I a dog’s head that belongs to Judah? Today I show kindness to the house of Saul your father, to his brothers and to his friends, and have not delivered you into the hands of David; and yet today you charge me with a guilt concerning the woman.”

The context was that Abner was “making himself strong in the house of Saul.” The king did more than accuse him of sleeping with one of Saul’s concubines. He was accusing him of a military coup because that activity was considered a public signal of an attempt to overthrow the king (e.g., 2 Samuel 16:21-22).

Abner was furious and he moved against the king to put David on the throne of Israel. Abner soon died at the hands of Joab and Abishai, who sought revenge for the death of their brother Asahel in the battle of Gibeon (2 Samuel 2:23; 3:26-30). David grieved Abner’s death and was frustrated with his men for killing him (31-39). It was a mess of personal agendas and political intrigue!

Seize the moment and live above reproach. “Keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame” (1 Peter 3:16).

YOUTUBE:

Embracing the Twists and Turns of Life!

2 Samuel 2

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

Don’t you ever wish that your story had less twists and turns? While we may wish that for our lives, the reality is that none of us would enjoy a movie or book that had no plot twists. A story without drama doesn’t have opportunity for human intrigue, adventure, crisis, and redemption, the ingredients of all great epic stories.

The story of Israel becoming a united kingdom under King David’s reign is a twisted story, just like all great stories. King Saul was dead, and while we were led to believe that his sons were dead alongside of him in battle, a twist appeared in 2 Samuel 2:8-11:

But Abner the son of Ner, commander of Saul’s army, had taken Ish-bosheth the son of Saul and brought him over to Mahanaim. He made him king over Gilead, over the Ashurites, over Jezreel, over Ephraim, and over Benjamin, even over all Israel. Ish-bosheth, Saul’s son, was forty years old when he became king over Israel, and he was king for two years. The house of Judah, however, followed David. The time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months.

The great general of Saul’s armies, Abner, propped up Saul’s living son, Ish-bosheth, as the rightful heir to the throne. Was Abner using him to keep himself in power and to continue the fight against David and his men? Time would tell, but for the meantime David continued to be forged in the twists and turns of Israel’s toxic political environment. This drama served to prepare him for his kingship, one that would unite the twelve tribes.

Seize the moment and embrace the twists and turns of your life. Trust that God is sovereign and “causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).

YOUTUBE:

Bless Your Enemy!

2 Samuel 1

Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Monday, May 2.

Have you ever rejoiced at the death of an enemy?

Welcome to the 10^th book of the Old Testament. Second Samuel 1:17-18 begins with David doing a surprising thing: “Then David chanted with this lament over Saul and Jonathan his son, and he told them to teach the sons of Judah the song of the bow; behold, it is written in the book of Jashar.” We understand David’s grief over Jonathan, but why Saul? While Saul was the anointed of Israel and his king, Saul was also the mad man who had made the last eight years of David’s life miserable. Burning with jealousy and fueled with anger, Saul had relentlessly sought David’s life.

But David, a man after God’s own heart, not only would not raise a hand against his king, the anointed of God, he lamented his death through this psalm, as recorded in 2 Samuel 1:19-27. David set an example for us to follow. Don’t dance on the graves of your enemies but grieve for them and pray for their salvations.

Jesus commanded us to love our enemies and to pray for those who persecute us in Matthew 5:44-45. Peter taught the way of Jesus to the early church in 1 Peter 3:8-9: “To sum up, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit; not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing.” Paul commanded the same in Romans 12:17 and 1 Thessalonians 5:15.

Seize the moment and seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness by being a blessing to all – this is the way of Jesus! Do no return evil for evil, rather seek to be a blessing because you never know how God is preparing you for even greater things.

YOUTUBE:

Today’s hymn focus will be

Near the Cross

Galatians 6:14(ESV)

This is another beautiful hymn given to us by Fanny Crosby. Her friend, William Doane, wrote the music then gave it to her to write the text of the hymn.

Combining vivid imagery and powerful biblical metaphors of the Cross, free grace, healing streams, rest and a daily walk of faith with God, she wrote these words that we sing today.

In the cross, in the cross, be my glory every

Till my raptured soul shall find, rest beyond the river.

YOUTUBE:

Near the Cross

Respond to Defeat with Resilience!

1 Samuel 31

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

How do you respond to defeat?

The King was dead! As foretold in 1 Samuel 28:19, Israel’s army was defeated by the Philistines, with Saul and his three sons killed in action. In the face of defeat, three communities of Israel, who lived close to the enemy, abandoned their cities to the Philistines. The Philistines, in an act of defiance, desecrated Saul’s body, and declared their gods as victorious of Israel’s.

Israel responded to defeat by giving themselves over to their fear and that made their circumstances worse. By all appearances, the book of 1 Samuel was ending in utter ruin as defeat led to despair, except for a small group of valiant men who responded to the Philistine’s disgraceful abuse of their king’s body in 1 Samuel 31:11-13:

Now when the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, all the valiant men rose and walked all night, and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-shan, and they came to Jabesh and burned them there. They took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree at Jabesh, and fasted seven days.

Recently, one of my track athletes was tested mentally in a big competition, her first two efforts in the discus throw did not go well. She was on the verge of giving herself over to defeat, and despair was knocking on the door of her heart. But through some positive coaching (and unbeknownst to her a lot of praying) she won the mental battle and came back to throw a seasonal best to earn an unexpected third place. She fought off despair and responded to defeat with resilience! I am so proud of her for learning this life skill at a young age!

Seize the moment and respond to defeat with resilience! Don’t let defeat lead to despair; rather, allow it to bring out your very best!

YOUTUBE:

Trust God’s Providence!

1 Samuel 30

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

Have you ever been denied an opportunity only to find out later that it was the best thing that could have happened to you?

David and his band of fighting men were sent away by the lords of the Philistines in 1 Samuel 29. David was upset! They were rejected and cast off, but it turned out to be the best thing that could have happened because while they were gone the Amalekites had raided their homes in Ziklag. It was a desperate situation for David as recorded in 1 Samuel 30:2-3:

They took captive the women and all who were in it, both small and great, without killing anyone, and carried them off and went their way. When David and his men came to the city, behold, it was burned with fire, and their wives and their sons and their daughters had been taken captive.

If David had not been rejected by the Philistines, they would have missed the opportunity to rescue their families, restore their animals and possessions, and capture a great spoil that David would use to secure alliances with key leaders in Israel (20-31).

Seize the moment and trust God’s providence. What may feel like rejection or denial in the moment may be God’s greatest opportunity for your life.

YOUTUBE:

The Power of a Reputation!

1 Samuel 29

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

What is your name worth to you? I have learned the power of a reputation. People anticipate what you will do based on what you have done. For example, growing up in a small town in Connecticut, I was a successful student-athlete, an Eagle scout, and a leader in the Civil Air Patrol. It did not surprise anyone when I got accepted to West Point because my reputation had gone before me, just like a resume goes before a job interview.

Even though David had a good reputation with Achish, the king of Gath, the lords of the Philistines were not willing to put their men at risk by having David fight with them. In 1 Samuel 29:4-5, we see why, David’s reputation had gone before him:

But the commanders of the Philistines were angry with him, and the commanders of the Philistines said to him, “Make the man go back, that he may return to his place where you have assigned him, and do not let him go down to battle with us, or in the battle he may become an adversary to us. For with what could this man make himself acceptable to his lord? Would it not be with the heads of these men? Is this not David, of whom they sing in the dances, saying, ‘Saul has slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands’?”

Seize the moment and build your life on the reputation of the powerful name of Jesus.

YOUTUBE:

Samuel’s Last Words to Saul!

1 Samuel 28

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

The prophet Samuel was dead. We first learned of this in 1 Samuel 25:1, and now again 1 Samuel 28:3. The fate of Samuel was crystal clear – he was dead! I’ve now said it twice, just like God’s Word, but there is more to this story because even though he was dead, we hadn’t heard the last of him.

King Saul was desperate. He feared the Philistines and God wasn’t communicating with him (5-6). Since there was no David around to win the day for him, Saul took matters into his own hands and looked for a medium who could contact Samuel. Did I mention that he was dead? Saul wanted to use a medium to get in touch with Samuel so that he would inquire of God for him. Did I say Saul was desperate?

Desperate people more often than naught find themselves in bad situations and Saul was no exception. He received a message from God through Samuel through a medium in verses 16-19:

Why then do you ask me, since the Lord has departed from you and has become your adversary? The Lord has done accordingly as He spoke through me; for the Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hand and given it to your neighbor, to David. As you did not obey the Lord and did not execute His fierce wrath on Amalek, so the Lord has done this thing to you this day. Moreover the Lord will also give over Israel along with you into the hands of the Philistines, therefore tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. Indeed the Lord will give over the army of Israel into the hands of the Philistines!

Seize the moment and put your trust in Jesus’ last words, “It is finished” (John 19:30).

YOUTUBE: