Seize the Moment – Day 728
The Willingness to Work Hard!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Tuesday, March 15.
Are you willing to work hard? Naomi’s daughter-in-law shows her true colors in Ruth 2:2-3:
And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, “Please let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after one in whose sight I may find favor.” And she said to her, “Go, my daughter.” So she departed and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers; and she happened to come to the portion of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech.
Ruth was an outsider, despised because she was from Moab. She had only one chance at a new life in Bethlehem. There are many ways she could have responded to her circumstances, such as complain and grumble, but, instead, Ruth’s character shined brightly. She labored willingly in the fields of Boaz, gleaning to survive while hoping for a miracle of provision that would care for Naomi. Her willingness to work hard paid off as Ruth 2:11-12 captures Boaz’s response to her selfless service to Naomi:
All that you have done for your mother-in-law after the death of your husband has been fully reported to me, and how you left your father and your mother and the land of your birth, and came to a people that you did not previously know. May the Lord reward your work, and your wages be full from the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to seek refuge.
Seize the moment by letting your faith shine brightly through your willingness to work hard!
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Seize the Moment – Day 727
The Power of Conversion!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Monday, March 14.
The book of Ruth is a sad story with a happy ending. It is a short, four-chapter story, that takes place during the time of the Judges. It is the story of Elimelech and his wife, Naomi, who, with their two sons Mahlon and Chilion, traveled to the land of Moab to avoid a famine. They lived in the land for ten years, during which Naomi’s husband died, the two sons take Moabite women as wives, then both sons died. This sad chain of events left Naomi alone with two Moabite woman as her daughters-in-law. As Naomi prepared to return to Bethlehem, she released the two Moabite women from their commitments to her, but one of them would not depart. Ruth’s response to Naomi’s urging is found in Ruth 1:16-17:
Do not urge me to leave you or turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God. Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. Thus may the Lord do to me, and worse, if anything but death parts you and me.
Did you know that Ruth’s proclamation of faith is the key to this entire story? As a Moabite woman she would not be allowed to enter the assembly of God’s people (Deuteronomy 23:3), but her conversion brought great blessing to her and to Naomi. Without her declaration of loyalty love, this story could be nothing more than another flagrant violation of the Law of God in the time of the Judges, but with it, it is transformed into a story of love and loyalty – a foreshadowing of God’s redemptive love through Jesus Christ.
Seize the moment and declare your loyal love to God and His people. Your conversion transforms your story through the gospel of Jesus Christ.
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Train to Live on Mission – Week 6
Battle Drill #6: Choose to Do Good
My child, don’t lose sight of common sense and discernment. Hang on to them, for they will refresh your soul. They are like jewels on a necklace. They keep you safe on your way, and your feet will not stumble. You can go to bed without fear; you will lie down and sleep soundly. You need not be afraid of sudden disaster or the destruction that comes upon the wicked, for the Lord is your security. He will keep your foot from being caught in a trap.
Do not withhold good from those who deserve it when it’s in your power to help them. If you can help your neighbor now, don’t say, “Come back tomorrow, and then I’ll help you.” Don’t plot harm against your neighbor, for those who live nearby trust you. Don’t pick a fight without reason, when no one has done you harm. Don’t envy violent people or copy their ways. Such wicked people are detestable to the Lord, but he offers his friendship to the godly.
The Lord curses the house of the wicked, but he blesses the home of the upright. The Lord mocks the mockers but is gracious to the humble. The wise inherit honor, but fools are put to shame!
Last week, we were reminded by Pastor Jerry that according to Proverbs 3:5-6. We are told to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.” Since trust is to fully and truly rely on God, you would think it would only be common sense for us to do that which He tells us to do, and not take matters into our own hands and do what we want to do instead. To take that course of action just does not seem like common sense. But we have found that in many areas of our lives. That which we thought was common sense has not been taught. A couple of examples that come immediately to mind are: Covering a cough or a sneeze (tissue or sleeve); or who has the right of way when two or more cars approach a four way stop sign (the name should give it away).
Common sense for Christians has to be taught as well, especially since man is by nature a sinner. Common sense is defined by the Oxford Dictionary as “Good sense and sound judgment in practical manners.” So, for us to understand this portion of the scriptures today, Solomon is reminding us not lose sight of those things that we were taught, which is why we need to first and foremost…
I. Know the field manual by keeping focused on the Word.
Proverbs 3:21-23
Refreshes your soul
Visibly evident like shiny jewelry
Provide protection in your daily walk.
Deuteronomy 6:6-7
“And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up.” (emphasis added by me!)
Matthew 7:12
“Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets.” (Golden Rule)
What about the ‘Golden Results? It is a direct corollary to the Golden Rule: “Other people will usually treat you the way you treat them.”
“Blame others and they blame you; admit you were wrong, and often they will do the same; listen patiently and openly to others and hold off making premature judgments, and others will be inclined to do the same for you, which will open the way for understanding and increase the likelihood of agreement.” (article: NCBaptist.org, Jan.7, ’21 See reference at end.)
II. Importance of Training Together Brings Familiarity.
Romans 12:8-10
“ If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.
Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection and take delight in honoring each other.”
We all have different gifts and abilities, but that is what makes it so that not just one person is carrying out the tasks given to us by Command Central!
We cannot expect one person to have ALL of these abilities/gifts
Romans 12:12-13
“The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ. Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit.”
The Blood of Jesus paid the same price for each and every one of us so that we become joint heirs with Jesus…Children of God!
III. Seek the Commander’s Approval in all things!
Ephesians 6:7-8
“Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. Remember that the Lord will reward each one of us for the good we do, whether we are slaves or free.”
It’s all in the attitude! Who are you doing it for…You or Jesus?
Illustration: Paul Hollywood handshake “Great British Bake Off”
1 Thessalonians 5:15-18
“See that no one pays back evil for evil, but always try to do good to each other and to all people. Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.”
Always doing good (each other and all people)
Always joyful
Always praying
Always thankful in all circumstances
IV. How do we Live on Mission?
A. Never grow tired of doing good
Galatians 6:9-10
“So, let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith.”
This does not mean that we are to be doormat Christians and allow people to abuse our love and service.
1 Timothy 6:11-12
“But you, Timothy, are a man of God; so run from all these evil things. Pursue righteousness and a godly life, along with faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness. Fight the good fight for the true faith. Hold tightly to the eternal life to which God has called you, which you have declared so well before many witnesses.”
We live on mission when we…
Pursue righteousness
Pursue a godly life
Pursue faith
Pursue love
Pursue perseverance
Pursue gentleness
As we stay in God’s Word every day, and come together for discipleship times of training, and strive to please God in all that we do while we share the message of Hope to a world in need, we discover that we have to make the right decisions and choices. These are the choices that we make every day: We choose to be Bitter or be Better; to be Hopeless or be Hopeful; to Love less or Love More. So I need to ask you…Do you believe that you can do all things through Christ who gives you strength? You have heard His commands, straight from the Bible. Now you are responsible for what you are going to do with this information. I pray that you choose to truly trust God and do good!
You can listen to the message here:
You can watch the message by clicking HERE.
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Seize the Moment – Day 725
Today’s hymn focus will be
The Love of God
I John 4:7 (ESV)
“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.”
Today’s hymn was written by Frederick Lehman in 1917. He was born in Schwerin, Germany and his family emigrated to America when he was about 4 years old. He grew up in Iowa and studied for the ministry at Northwestern College in Naperville, IL. Even while serving as pastor in various churches, he devoted much of his life to writing sacred songs. He was at a camp meeting service when he heard the pastor share a line of a poem describing the immense love of God. He later moved to California and while taking a break from his manual labor job of crating lemons, he grabbed a scrap piece of paper and a stub of a pencil to write with those words echoing in his mind…
O love of God, how rich and pure, how marvelous and strong
It shall forevermore endure, the saints’ and angels’ song.
We need to wake up and realize that our action of showing God’s love has to be seen in EVERYTHING that we do. That is what will draw people to a real relationship with Him. They will know we are Christians by our love, for one another AND for those who are lost and in need of a Savior.
YOUTUBE:
The Love of God
The love of God is greater far
Than tongue or pen can ever tell.
It goes beyond the highest star
And reaches to the lowest hell.
The guilty pair, bowed down with care,
God gave His Son to win;
His erring child He reconciled
And pardoned from his sin.
O love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure—
The saints’ and angels’ song.
When hoary time shall pass away,
And earthly thrones and kingdoms fall;
When men who here refuse to pray,
On rocks and hills and mountains call;
God’s love, so sure, shall still endure,
All measureless and strong;
Redeeming grace to Adam’s race—
The saints’ and angels’ song.
Could we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made;
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade;
To write the love of God above
Would drain the ocean dry;
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky.
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Seize the Moment – Day 724
Something Must Change or Else!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Friday, March 11.
Have you ever got to the end of your rope and realized that if something didn’t change in your life, and quick, then there would be no future worth living? That is exactly where the people of God found themselves at the end of the book of Judges – something had to change or else!
The last five chapters of Judges turn my stomach, which is exactly the point. These final two stories are some of my least favorite stories in the Bible, and there are some horrifying stories in the Bible, like the judgment of all humanity through a world-wide flood. But there’s no way to turn this level of debauchery into cute children’s stories to domesticate the Bible and sanitize the absolute horror of its intended message!
Judges 17-21 intentionally close out the history books of Joshua and Judges, transitioning between Moses and the monarchy. They have set the stage for Israel’s need for a king. We know this because these last five chapters are bookended by its theme: “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 17:6 & 21:25). With this thematic statement found at the beginning and end of these last five chapters, we know that everything between them is intended to illustrate this one point – Israel was a hot mess without a king!
Me too! I’m a hot mess without King Jesus ruling over my life, and, from my life, I have plenty of stories that should never be domesticated or sanitized to make my life look more presentable. In fact, some of my worst stories are what led me to bow my knee to King Jesus. Isn’t that the point? I wasn’t willing to surrender all until I realized that something must change or else! How about you?
Seize the moment and submit your life to King Jesus! Apart from Him you are hell-bent, but with Him you are Heaven-bound!
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Seize the Moment – Day 723
The Near Death of Benjamin!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Thursday, March 10.
Have you ever had a near death experience? The tribe of Benjamin did!
Judges 20 continues the story of how the nation of Israel responded to the appalling news of the Levite’s concubine’s rape and murder at the hands of the sons of Benjamin, in the city of Gibeah. They declared war on their cousins – eleven tribes against the one tribe of Benjamin. It was a massacre on both sides as the Benjamites were fierce warriors (14-21). Judges 20:46-48 ends this heart-breaking chapter with the near-death experience of the tribe of Benjamin:
So all of Benjamin who fell that day were 25,000 men who draw the sword; all these were valiant warriors. But 600 men turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, and they remained at the rock of Rimmon four months. The men of Israel then turned back against the sons of Benjamin and struck them with the edge of the sword, both the entire city with the cattle and all that they found; they also set on fire all the cities which they found.
Before his death, when Israel blessed his twelve sons, he spoke these words over Benjamin in Genesis 49:27: “Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; in the morning he devours the prey, and in the evening he divides the spoil.” These people were not to be taken lightly, yet they were nearly destroyed because of the evil they did against the Levite’s concubine. Why did God preserve this rebellious tribe? Because from the tribe of Benjamin came King Saul, the first king of Israel. Then, a thousand years later, came the Apostle Paul, God’s appointed apostle to the Gentiles, who wrote thirteen letters of the New Testament.
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[1] A scene that captures this action item comes from J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Fellowship of the Ring, when Gandalf stated to Frodo, after Frodo had commented that Gollum deserved death for his many horrible deeds: “Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement. For even the very wise cannot see all ends.”
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Seize the Moment – Day 722
Do Good by Showing Hospitality!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Wednesday, March 9.
What are your expectations of other Christians?
Judges 19:11-13 sets up the final story of the book of Judges, with a Levite, his concubine, and his servant traveling home after she had visited with her father for four months:
When they were near Jebus, the day was almost gone; and the servant said to his master, “Please come, and let us turn aside into this city of the Jebusites and spend the night in it.” However, his master said to him, “We will not turn aside into the city of foreigners who are not of the sons of Israel; but we will go on as far as Gibeah.” He said to his servant, “Come and let us approach one of these places; and we will spend the night in Gibeah or Ramah.”
This is a story of great heart ache and pain. The Levite did not want to stay in or near Jebus, which was Jerusalem, because it was not yet under Israel control. The Levite did not like or trust the Jebusites and did not want to have to depend upon them for hospitality. Instead, they pushed on to a town of Israel, hoping God’s people would care for them by showing them hospitality. But, as Judges 19:1 foreshadowed about this sad story, “Now it came about in those days, when there was no king in Israel.”
When you read for yourself the horror of what happened in verses 14-30, your heart will break remembering that the last time there was such brutality of a guest was Sodom, which led to its destruction at God’s hand (Genesis 19:1-28). Hebrews 13:2 commands all believers, “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it.”
Seize the moment and do good by showing hospitality (1 Peter 4:9; Romans 12:13).
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Seize the Moment – Day 721
Not Every Promotion is Good!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Tuesday, March 8.
There are times in a person’s career and working life where a decision must be made – to accept or decline a promotion, to stay or to go. For some, it is the right thing to do; it is the natural professional progression of experience and responsibility, but for others it is not. Not every promotion is good!
The story of Israel’s apostasy grows as 600 men from the tribe of Dan seek to settle in the land near Micah’s home, taking his household gods and the Levite priest while they are at it. Judges 18:18-20 captures the tragic scene of what happened in Micah’s household as Dan’s men are confronted by the priest during the burglary:
When these went into Micah’s house and took the graven image, the ephod and household idols and the molten image, the priest said to them, “What are you doing?” They said to him, “Be silent, put your hand over your mouth and come with us, and be to us a father and a priest. Is it better for you to be a priest to the house of one man, or to be priest to a tribe and a family in Israel?” The priest’s heart was glad, and he took the ephod and household idols and the graven image and went among the people.
If you are invited to take a new opportunity outside of your current workplace or receive a promotion within the organization, then I encourage you to be wise and discerning. Cry out to God whether you should take it or leave it. Because not every promotion should be accepted and not every attractive job opportunity is the right thing to do.
Seize the moment and walk in the spirit of “power and love and discipline” (2 Timothy 1:7). Don’t allow yourself to be intimated into making a bad decision. Trust God and do good!
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Seize the Moment – Day 720
Offering Right Worship!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Monday, March 7.
As the book of Judges starts to come to an end with its final two stories, the situation has worsened for Israel. To explain the setting for the story of the Ephraimite Micah and his Levite priest, Judges 17:6 reminded the reader, “In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did what was right in his own eyes.” The absence of a strong central leader in Israel was responsible for not only the anarchy of the tribes, culminating in civil war by the end of the book, but also to the widespread religious apostasy, which is the focus of this chapter.
Apostasy is not necessarily a walking away from being religious or spiritual, but, rather, it is the decision to step off the prescribed way of one’s faith. Plainly speaking, it is a breaking of the covenant as established by God for our good. It’s offering a form of worship that God does not accept. That is what is described in Judges 17:5, “And the man Micah had a shrine and he made an ephod and household idols and consecrated one of his sons, that he might become his priest.”
Clearly Micah was a religious person, but the making of a house shrine, with the worship of household idols, and the consecration of his son as a priest, was not an acceptable form of worship to God. Micah was an ambiguous character, and while he does not seem to be filled with evil intent, he was simply doing what was right in his own eyes and wandered out of the way. It was this sort of misguided behavior that went unchecked by strong leadership, that ultimately led to the corruption of the priesthood and the people, ending in the nation’s destruction.
Seize the moment and walk in the way of God! Follow the way of Jesus and worship God in spirit and in truth (John 4:24).
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Train to Live on Mission – Week 5
Battle Drill #5: Trust the Commander!
Proverbs 3:1-20 (NAS95)
Today, we are going to walk through the four action steps of a soldier’s training routine to learn the fifth battle drill – Trust the Commander!
Action Step #1) Know the Field Manual.
The battle drill we are going to learn and apply this week is from Proverbs 3:5-6: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.”
The fifth battle drill is to trust God, the Commander who enlisted you to be a good soldier of Jesus Christ. Today’s battle drill comes from a very famous Scripture that many have memorized already. Let’s listen to it from the Field Manual in its entirety, Proverbs 3:1-20:
My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments; for length of days and years of life and peace they will add to you. Do not let kindness and truth leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. So you will find favor and good repute in the sight of God and man. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your body and refreshment to your bones. Honor the Lord from your wealth and from the first of all your produce; so your barns will be filled with plenty and your vats will overflow with new wine. My son, do not reject the discipline of the Lord or loathe His reproof, for whom the Lord loves He reproves, even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights. How blessed is the man who finds wisdom and the man who gains understanding. For her profit is better than the profit of silver and her gain better than fine gold. She is more precious than jewels; and nothing you desire compares with her. Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are pleasant ways and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her, and happy are all who hold her fast. The Lord by wisdom founded the earth, by understanding He established the heavens. By His knowledge the deeps were broken up and the skies drip with dew.
A significant part of this battle drill is trusting that God is good and that all He does is good! Listen to additional Scriptures that teaches us this foundational truth about God:
- 1 Chronicles 16:34. “O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; For His lovingkindness is everlasting.”
- Psalm 34:8. “O taste and see that the Lord is good; How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!”
- Nahum 1:7. “The Lord is good, A stronghold in the day of trouble, And He knows those who take refuge in Him.”
- James 1:17. “Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.”
- Mark 10:18 “And Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone.’”
When you know God’s nature, remembering that the fear (respect, reverence, awe) of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, then you can trust Him in every circumstance of your life. We must train this truth into our lives so that it is instinctive, reflexive, and habitual. As way of example from my own life, 11 years ago, right after Alana was born, Kimberly called me to come back to the hospital because Alana’s heart rate had dropped dangerously, and the doctors rushed her away from Kimberly. Needless to say, I made it to Henry County Hospital in record time and I want you to hear a summary of my prayer as I drove down SR-3:
God, I really want to keep this baby and see her grow up. I love her so very much and I love my wife and we come to You asking You to save her, heal her, and allow us the privilege of raising her. Lord, if that is not Your will, then I trust you and no matter what happens we are going to serve you wholeheartedly. No deals, I’m just asking you to heal her, please Lord. I love you and I trust you no matter what. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
That prayer was my reflexive and instinctive because my habitual prayer life is that of absolute trust in the goodness of God; therefore, even in the worst scenarios I trust Him as the Commander of my soul. Your prayer life is critical to training this battle drill into your bones.
Action Step #2) Train together as one unit.
It is when the battle is at its fiercest and survival is the most precarious, that today’s battle drill is the most critical. If it’s not trained to be reflexive, instinctive, and habitual through a significant investment of time and energy in training, then at the very moment it matters the most, when the momentum of the battle is at stake, the soldier may not trust the Commander in action, no matter how much he or she says they do. For example, many people love to declare the popular promise of God found in Jeremiah 29:11, “‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.’” This promise encourages each of us that God is good and has good intent for our lives, but I want you to hear it in its context, Jeremiah 29:4-13:
Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon, “Build houses and live in them; and plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and become the fathers of sons and daughters, and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; and multiply there and do not decrease. Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf; for in its welfare you will have welfare.” For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, “Do not let your prophets who are in your midst and your diviners deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams which they dream. For they prophesy falsely to you in My name; I have not sent them,” declares the Lord. For thus says the Lord, “When seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My good word to you, to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans that I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.”
Within this promise is the essential truth of training yourself to trust the Commander! The Commander has the strategic victory in mind, even if, especially when, it feels like a tactical defeat! This promise reminds us that God’s people would have to endure 70 years of captivity yet set their whole heart to thriving while doing so! God’s people wouldn’t return home for 70 years, so until then they were to raise their families so that their grandchildren would trust God and be ready to return and experience His promised blessing. Let me be clear about this promise so that we can be very clear about today’s battle drill, as if you were hearing this prayer from Jeremiah himself for you in that day: You are commanded to be faithful even unto death, even if you never get to experience the strategic victory that God has for His people – live in such a way that your children and grandchildren trust God habitually, reflexively, and instinctively!
This is the life of faith, just as Hebrews 11:13-16 said about the heroes of faith:
All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own. And indeed if they had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them.
There is only way to please God – wholehearted trust in Him! Hebrews 11:6 states, “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.”
Action Step #3) Seek the Commander’s approval.
Trusting the Commander requires faith, which, according to Hebrews 11:1, is, “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” That is why our battle drill from Proverbs 3:5-6 states, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” It is God who brings all things together according to His will. The Apostle Paul teaches us this in Romans 8:26-28:
In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
Praying and living according to the will of God requires a wholehearted trust in His goodness and grace in your life. This level of trust must be trained into us throughout our lives, just as Hebrews 12:10b-14 teaches us of the Father’s purposes for His discipline:
[God] 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. Therefore, strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble, and make straight paths for your feet, so that the limb which is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed. Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord.
Every soldier has had discipline trained into their very DNA! The life of faith, the life of pleasing the One who enlisted you, is a holistic lifestyle. It is not a part-time national guardsman commitment; it is an active-duty commitment that encompasses every arena and aspect of your life. It is wholehearted! Jesus taught this in Matthew 22:37-38, in what is known as the Greatest Commandment: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and foremost commandment.” This is not a foreign concept to anyone who has served in the active-duty military. The life of a soldier is a lifestyle, not a job. A lifestyle that is fully submitted to training for and accomplishing the mission.
Action Step #4) Live on mission.
Like we learned from Jesus’ praise of the Centurion (Matthew 8:5-13), the key to being a good soldier is submission to authority and that requires humility. This is why Jesus calls us to learn from Him and to become like Him: “gentle and humble in heart” (Matthew 11:29). That means we commit ourselves to the life of training “godliness” or becoming like Jesus (1 Timothy 4:7-8)! This is God’s will for your life and when we are wholeheartedly committed to this then God works in and through us for His good pleasure! Humility does not happen by accident, it requires you to trust God and focus on Him, to receive everything, including your faith, from God and for God, as Paul reminds us in Romans 12:3, “For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.”
In conclusion, allow me to admonish you with and pray over you the magnificence of Jesus Christ and His will for your life as taught by Paul in Philippians 2:1-16:
Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. Do all things without grumbling or disputing; so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I will have reason to glory because I did not run in vain nor toil in vain.
I was an infantryman in the US Army and our motto is “Follow me!” Jesus asks you to trust Him and to follow Him! Jesus will never ask you to do anything that He Himself has not already done for you. Will you trust Him and train to live on mission today? Make this battle drill a reflexive, instinctive, and habitual part of your Christian life so that you can CM – Continue the Mission! When you trust the Commander, His word will accomplish that which He sent it forth to accomplish in and through you (Isaiah 55:11-13). Therefore, live on mission today and train the battle drill of the week for the glory of God.
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