Seize the Moment – Day 653
Take Responsibility!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Thursday, December 30.
I was recently in a meeting, when someone suggested that we put a name next to each action item. If you want something to get done, then someone must take responsibility to bring the good idea to fulfillment.
Moses completed the second giving of the Law (12-26) and was about to lay out the blessings and curses of the Law (27-28). But first, a command was given by Moses and the elders, in Deuteronomy 27:1-3, that the people must publicly commit themselves to obeying the Law in a covenant renewal ceremony upon their entrance to the Promised land:
Then Moses and the elders of Israel charged the people, saying, “Keep all the commandments which I command you today. So it shall be on the day when you cross the Jordan to the land which the Lord your God gives you, that you shall set up for yourself large stones and coat them with lime and write on them all the words of this law, when you cross over, so that you may enter the land which the Lord your God gives you, a land flowing with milk and honey, as the Lord, the God of your fathers, promised you.”
It is important that “the elders of Israel” were included in the giving of this charge with Moses, whereas, it had been only Moses speaking prior to this. The answer for this addition was simple, Moses would not be with them when they entered the Promised Land so, just like with the pronouncement of Joshua as the next leader (Deuteronomy 3:28), the elders were put in a position of responsibility to ensure the covenant renewal ceremony happened upon their entrance.
Seize the moment and take responsibility for what needs to get done around your home, church, and community. Don’t expect others to do what God lays on your heart to be done. Jesus is calling you to do great things for Him (Ephesians 2:10)!
YOUTUBE:
Read more...
Seize the Moment – Day 652
A Farmer’s Liturgy!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Wednesday, December 29.
What are your rhythms of giving thanks to God? To demonstrate your dependency upon God as the giver of all good gifts (James 1:17), what words do you say and what practical gestures of gratitude do you make?
My father was a wandering Aramean, and he went down to Egypt and sojourned there, few in number; but there he became a great, mighty and populous nation. And the Egyptians treated us harshly and afflicted us, and imposed hard labor on us. Then we cried to the Lord, the God of our fathers, and the Lord heard our voice and saw our affliction and our toil and our oppression; and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and with great terror and with signs and wonders; and He has brought us to this place and has given us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. Now behold, I have brought the first of the produce of the ground which You, O Lord have given me (5-10).
God required rhythms of formal worship (liturgies) to remind them of His mighty deeds and to call them to a shared life of faith and purpose as His “treasured possession” (16-19).
Seize the moment and build rhythms of formal worship into your life! You are shaped by your life of devotion!
YOUTUBE:
Read more...
Seize the Moment – Day 651
Good Stewardship!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Tuesday, December 28.
Some people treat their animals better than they treat people. Not so with the people of God! We are to treat our animals well and people even better!
This was not only a stewardship practice, but part of a larger stewardship principle that God’s people were supposed to live as His partners in caring for the creation. As image bearers of God, we are fellow stewards of creation (Genesis 1:27-29; 9:1-3). We read in Proverbs 12:10a, “A righteous man has regard for the life of his animal.” Loving care of animals is an important part of being a good steward of God’s creation!
YOUTUBE:
Read more...
Seize the Moment – Day 650
Protecting Priorities!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Monday, December 27.
Have you ever heard someone say, “Happy wife, happy life”?
While such a statement does not allow for an idolatrous view of marriage and family, it does call you to realize that right priorities make for a holy and healthy life. If you make the decision to get married, then you must protect and prioritize that relationship. If you and your spouse decide to have children, then you need to work together to figure out how to partner to prioritize the raising of those children. Neither marriage nor having children are required of you to live a holy life, but if you decide to follow either path, then you must accept the consequences of your decision by protecting and prioritizing the responsibilities those decisions require of you!
This is an amazing teaching that demonstrates the power of shared priorities. But it also reveals how difficult it can be to protect your priorities when you live in a culture that doesn’t share them, and even works against them!
What decisions do you need to make to protect your priorities in your daily life?
Seize the moment and prioritize time and energy to the priorities of your life today!
YOUTUBE:
Read more...
The Day After Christmas
“The Sacred of the Ordinary!”
Luke 2:21-40 (NAS95)
The Day after Christmas (1st Sunday of Christmastide)
These are the events a week after the Christmas miracle of Immanuel, God with us! Then, the story goes silent for twelve years with these two verses, Luke 2:39-40: “When they had performed everything according to the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own city of Nazareth. The Child continued to grow and become strong, increasing in wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.”
Then, after a short snapshot of Jesus at twelve (41-50), the story goes quiet again, this time for even longer (approximately 18 years) with these two verses, Luke 2:51-52: “And He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and He continued in subjection to them; and His mother treasured all these things in her heart. And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.”
So, with the exceptions of his miraculous birth story, dedication at eight days, and pilgrimage at twelve years old, the epic story of Jesus Christ, is silent on the first thirty years of His life. The next time we see Jesus is at His baptism, ready to fulfill the purpose of His life.
What happened in each of those ordinary days, along the way, in thirty years of preparation for the epic journey of Jesus Christ to the Cross—the gospel story, which is the recording of the most sacred life ever lived! There are some hints in our two passages:
- Verse 40, “The Child continued to grow and become strong, increasing in wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.”
- Verse 52, “Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.”
While we normally celebrate the high points of Jesus’ epic life: His conception, birth, dedication, baptism, and ministry for three years that culminated with His crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension. And while we exhaustively discuss and debate His second coming and His promises for the future, we don’t discuss those first thirty years of preparation—the ordinary humdrum days of Jesus’ humanity in a small community as the son of Joseph and Mary, and then as a carpenter. Those ordinary years that daily shaped and prepared Jesus for his extraordinary ministry that has become the greatest Story ever told—the gospel—were just as sacred as the high days we call Christmas and Easter. Because, without each of those ordinary days, Jesus would not have grown up, increased in wisdom and stature, and in God’s grace (favor). Every day is sacred in the epic story called the gospel of Jesus Christ—the greatest Story!
I love epic stories! Whether it is a classic tale such as C. S. Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia, or J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, or a contemporary epic story such as Ted Dekker’s The Circle Trilogy, or Andrew Peterson’s The Wingfeather Saga, I am all in and can’t get enough of an epic story well told! My heart comes alive and my soul years for something better as I join the characters in their story!
Epics spin tales of different worlds while, simultaneously, giving us glimpses into the very best and worst of what lies in each of our hearts. Epics tell us the truth in a way that gets beyond our normal defense mechanisms so that we may hear truths that are otherwise veiled from our eyes or caught in the shadows of our own choices. Epics are stories of biblical proportion and, whether the author knows it, point to the greatest Story ever told, because everything that is good and true and right comes from our Heavenly Father! Epics draw us in and rescue us from living in the humdrum of the ordinary by showing to us the sacred of the ordinary!
I want my life to point to the greatest Story ever told! I want my life to be fully alive—a life that causes other people to yearn for something more for their life. I believe, with every ounce of my being, that we can live this life today! Our stories are intended to point to His Story—the gospel of Jesus Christ! The gospel is the truest story ever told and it pierces the darkness of our souls and calms the storms of our hearts. We come alive when we find ourselves inside His Story! Jesus rescues us through His epic life, so that we may live the epic life today (John 10:10). Jesus calls us to join with Him in the great rescue of all human history—the epic story, called the gospel, to seek and to save that which was lost (Luke 19:10). Our story points to His Story!
The Apostle Paul was radically rescued by Jesus Christ, and he devoted the rest of his life to telling others God’s epic story come alive in Him through a personal encounter with the resurrected Lord (Acts 9). It was not enough for Paul to experience the grace of God for Himself, it was His deepest desire for God’s people to be strong in the grace of God that comes through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Paul believed that the epic life of Jesus Christ was available to every person, not just for an eternity, but, also, for today!
The key is to learn how to grow strong in grace like Jesus Christ did, as recorded in our two theme passages of Luke 2:40 & 52, and like Paul did after His encounter with Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus. Paul teaches us what it looks like for us to grow in God’s grace in 2 Timothy 2:1-7:
You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. 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. Also if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not win the prize unless he competes according to the rules. The hard-working farmer ought to be the first to receive his share of the crops. Consider what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.
It is from this passage that we are going to launch our 2022 sermon series next Sunday and learn how to grow strong in God’s grace by remembering our sacred call within the ordinary details of our everyday lives. With the same discipline and intentionality of a soldier, athlete, and farmer, we are to grow strong in the grace of Jesus Christ and live the epic life today. In 2011, we learned the life of a champion athlete and, in 2022, we will learn the life of a soldier on mission!
You can listen to Pastor Jerry’s message here:
You can watch the video by clicking HERE.
Read more...
Seize the Moment – Day 648
Merry Christmas to all who may dwell here.
Merry Christmas, if even just one
May the joy of the season surround you.
Merry Christmas, with love!
Today’s hymn focus will be
“The First Noel”
Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel! Born is the King of Israel
YOUTUBE:
The First Noel
was to certain poor shepherds in fields as they lay;
in fields where they lay keeping their sheep,
on a cold winter’s night that was so deep.
Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel,
born is the King of Israel.
shining in the east, beyond them far;
and to the earth it gave great light,
and so it continued both day and night. [Refrain]
three Wise Men came from country far;
to seek for a king was their intent,
and to follow the star wherever it went. [Refrain]
o’er Bethlehem it took its rest;
and there it did both stop and stay,
right over the place where Jesus lay. [Refrain]
full reverently upon the knee,
and offered there, in his presence,
their gold and myrrh and frankincense. [Refrain]
Read more...
Seize the Moment – Day 647
A Season of Generosity!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Friday, December 24.
It’s Christmas Eve and you are invited to join us at our 6:30 PM Christmas Eve Service. Please join us for the wonderful time of singing Christmas carols, lighting the Christ Candle on the Advent wreath, and celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the World.
There are seasons of generosity! The Christmas season is a great example of this as it is a time when people give gifts and make large donations to their churches and charities. Christmas is a time to remember Jesus Christ. As Paul said in 2 Corinthians 9:15, “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!” This season reminds us to be generous as God first gave to us (John 3:16; Romans 5:8; 1 John 4:19).
There are seasons of generosity built into the rhythms of creation! There are seasons of harvesting, both in the farmers’ crops and out in the wild. I love it when I am out on a hike and come across wild berries. It is majestic to come across wild berries on the Appalachian Trail. There is no desire to hoard them because you just eat as you walk and leave the rest for other hikers, with whom you are sharing the trail.
Like the hiking community on the AT, God’s people are to share their harvest as a gift from God, remembering that all good gifts from Him (James 1:17). In Deuteronomy 23:24-25, God commanded His people to be generous with their harvests, both those who raised the crop and those who were allowed to graze or glean from it:
When you enter your neighbor’s vineyard, then you may eat grapes until you are fully satisfied, but you shall not put any in your basket. When you enter your neighbor’s standing grain, then you may pluck the heads with your hand, but you shall not wield a sickle in your neighbor’s standing grain.
Seize the moment and be generous in season and out so that the world may know of God’s great gift of Jesus Christ to the world; to you and me (1 John 3:16-18; 2 Corinthians 9:6-15)!
YOUTUBE:
Read more...
Seize the Moment – Day 646
The Danger of Being Unequally Yoked!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Thursday, December 23.
Have you ever heard the phrase, “unequally yoked” and wondered what it meant?
The unequally yoked relationship is not only a dangerous partnership, but also an unproductive union. Just as the animals would not work together for the common reason they were yoked, unequally yoked people spend most of their time fighting against the yoke that seeks to bind them together, rather than working in harmony for the reason they were brought in union (2 Corinthians 6:14)!
The yoke of Jesus is what transforms us into His image and unites us to His mission. His yoke is custom-made, so that you do not suffer under His teachings and commandments. His yoke unites us with one another as the one body of Christ and empowers our life together. All other yokes cause suffering and lead to divisions between people.
YOUTUBE:
Read more...
Seize the Moment – Day 645
An Unsolved Murder!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Wednesday, December 22.
What happens to a community when there is an unsolved murder?
Deuteronomy 21:1-9 teaches the Israelite people how to deal with an unsolved murder. The elders of the city were to set apart an unworked heifer and take it to an unplowed valley, with running water, and offer it as a sacrifice. Then, the priests, who were responsible for settling disputes and administering justice, blessed the sacrifice, followed by the elders washing their hands over the dead heifer, saying, “Our hands did not shed this blood, nor did our eyes see it. Forgive Your people Israel whom You have redeemed, O Lord, and do not place the guilt of innocent blood in the midst of Your people Israel” (7-8).
God made a way for the land to be liberated and the community to be set free of their bloodguilt. God did not want His people polluted in their hearts because justice could not be fulfilled.
Seize the moment and ask God to cleanse our land and heal out hearts of any bloodguilt caused by unsolved murders or thwarted justice in our communities.
YOUTUBE:
Read more...
Seize the Moment – Day 644
The Battle Belongs to God!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Tuesday, December 21.
The victory belongs to God! We join in His victory when we live our lives according to the promises of God. No matter your circumstances, the battle belongs to God! Moses commanded the religious leaders of Israel to remind God’s people of this truth in Deuteronomy 20:2-4:
When you are approaching the battle, the priest shall come near and speak to the people. He shall say to them, “Hear, O Israel, you are approaching the battle against your enemies today. Do not be fainthearted. Do not be afraid, or panic, or tremble before them, for the Lord your God is the one who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.”
You may not be facing a literal battle today, but whatever you are facing have courage and trust God for His victory! The Bible teaches us that the victory we have and the victory we live is a vicarious one. That means it is a victory that is not of our own making or doing, but rather a victory that has been given to us through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Living the victorious life is, and will always be, God’s work of grace in us and through us for His glory! Let us be clear about this from the forefront: the battle belongs to God!
Seize the moment and live the victorious life! Be an overcomer because “in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us” (Romans 8:37).
YOUTUBE:
Read more...