Seize the Moment – Day 547
High Standards for Leaders!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Wednesday, September 15. P
Do you have high expectations of people who hold leadership positions in your church?
We all do! It is normal and right to desire of our leaders to have an integrity of faith and practice that manifests God’s love throughout their lives—at home, in the church, and in the community. The problem is not having high expectations of leaders, it is not having grace and mercy for them when they fall short. I have yet to meet a leader who is fully qualified all the time.
Correspondingly, 1 Timothy 3:2-5 sets high standards for the New Testament Church and its qualifications for elders:
An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not addicted to wine or pugnacious, but gentle, peaceable, free from the love of money. He must be one who manages his own household well, keeping his children under control with all dignity (but if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God?).
Seize the moment and pray for the current and future leaders in your congregation. It is not surprising that few people are willing to serve as leaders in the church today as our culture moves away from biblical standards, but never forget that none of us are qualified to be members or leaders in the Church except by God’s grace.
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Seize the Moment – Day 546
The Root of the Issue!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Tuesday, September 14.
When I provide pastoral care for a person, which often is a combination of active listening, pastoral prayer, biblical counseling, and Christian discipleship, I am attempting to get to the root of the issue and not manage the bad fruit. Another way I think about this is that while catharsis provides short-term relief, transformation brings long-term victory.
Leviticus 20 diagnoses the root of holiness issues as false worship. Listen to verses 6-8,
As for the person who turns to mediums and to spiritists, to play the harlot after them, I will also set My face against that person and will cut him off from among his people. You shall consecrate yourselves therefore and be holy, for I am the Lord your God. You shall keep My statutes and practice them; I am the Lord who sanctifies you.
The previous verses address the false worship of Molech with the Canaanite practice of child sacrifice, forbidding it by penalty of death. The chapter then lists many practices that flow from false worship that carried with them the death penalty, excommunication, or barrenness.
So often, churches have mutated Christianity into a laundry list of acceptable and forbidden activities, but that is not the heart of why Christ came. All our behaviors and activities flow out of our relationship with the God we truly serve. The God you worship will determine the fruit of your life because you are designed to reflect what you worship!
Seize the moment and worship Jesus in spirit and truth (John 4:24)! Jesus came to show you the heart of the Father and to bear the Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23).
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Seize the Moment – Day 545
The Second Greatest Commandment!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Monday, September 13.
Do you love your neighbor as yourself?
This concept comes from Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 22:37-40, when Jesus responded to a lawyer’s question about the most important commandment in the Levitical Law:
And [Jesus] said to him, “‘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. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”
Listen to verses 15-18 and learn the fullness of Jesus’ teaching when quoting verse 18 as the second greatest commandment:
You shall do no injustice in judgment; you shall not be partial to the poor nor defer to the great, but you are to judge your neighbor fairly. You shall not go about as a slanderer among your people, and you are not to act against the life of your neighbor; I am the Lord. You shall not hate your fellow countryman in your heart; you may surely reprove your neighbor, but shall not incur sin because of him. You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the Lord.
This teaches me that loving my neighbor is more than being nice and friendly; it is about justice, fairness, honesty, integrity, charity, and forgiveness.
Seize the moment and love others with the heart of God! Obedience to the second greatest commandment will change the world because it will first change you.
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Live Like a Champion – Week 37
The Promise of Gathering!
Hebrews 10:24-25 (NAS95)
My family has spent the last few weekends working on a big landscaping project to create a fire pit area to sit around and enjoy one another. Our investment is not in the landscaping itself, but in our family’s relationships. Kimberly and I are intentionally creating a set apart place to gather—to talk and share, to build memories, to have places our children want to join with us as they get older, and to have a place where they can invite their friends and bring our future family.
Think of the campfire as a metaphor—each of us are the coals of the fire and the more of us that gather the brighter the fire. When one of us is removed from the fire pit, it not only diminishes the overall warmth and brightness of the fire, but it puts that one individual coal in danger of losing its heat and light.
How does this apply to the Church of Jesus Christ and its individual members?
This week’s promise is, “The Promise of Gathering!” and it provides the answer.
It is not surprising that the Scripture teaches us to, “not [forsake] our own assembling together” because the Church of Jesus Christ is not just a random gathering like a concert, but rather the assembly or the gathering of those who are called out of the world and into relationship with God through the call of Jesus Christ—the Head of the body.
Jesus is the One who gathers us—He calls us out by name! We gather in obedience to Jesus because it has always been and always will be His idea and not our own. We have corrupted the gathering of the Church as a personal preference and that has only diminished our witness. When we make something about us and forget who it is about, we destroy it by making it in our own image. We are designed to be in the image of God and to shine His light for His glory!
You are the Church and to forsake the assembly is to forsake your very identity as a member of the body of Christ. Without all the coals in the fire, we have no ability to be the very “light of the world” that Jesus calls us in Matthew 5:14-16:
You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
The concept of a city is significant here. A person wouldn’t call a single light in the distance a city. But the clustering of several lights in one space is often identifiable, even from outer space, as a city. There is strength and significance in numbers. This is why we gather!
When you don’t gather you are taking your coal out of the fire, and it goes from being bright to being dull. When you don’t gather you are taking your light from the city, and it goes from being visible to being invisible. God’s will for your life is for you to be the best version of you—burning true and bright for the world to see His love through you—and God designed that to happen in community! From the beginning, God intended you to be His Image Bearers. Jesus came to redeem you to this original purpose, so that the world may know of God’s love.
The promise of gathering comes with a practice—the habit of prioritizing first things first!
We must put on our schedule first what eternally matters to God and stop forsaking the assembling on a consistent basis. Each of us is going to miss from time to time. I miss being at FBC four to six times per year, but it is my habit to prioritize assembling with you, my church family as an intentional spiritual discipline of my walk with Jesus.
It is like prioritizing prayer before meals or Bible intake before media exposure! It’s like protecting a day of rest once per week and reciting Psalm 23 before going to bed. These are the rhythms of grace that we are invited to live in so that we may experience the promises of God.
According to Hebrews 10:24, we gather “to stimulate one another to love and good deeds.” We are gathered to bring God glory and make God’s glory visibly brighter to the world!
Let’s be clear at this point that our gathering was never intended to be restricted to only Sunday morning worship services. In the New Testament Church, the people would gather daily. Listen to a powerful witness of the promise of gathering found in Acts 2:37-47:
Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?” Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. “For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.” And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation!” So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls. They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common; and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need. Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.
The promise of gathering is a priority of you putting first things first, day by day! We find time for that which we prioritize. Is once per week truly enough to shine brightly and consistently?
Sometimes we come to the gathering with barely a light left in us, but when we are thrown back in the fire, we are fanned into flame by our brothers and sisters around us! I have found this true at every mid-week prayer service—I come in exhausted, but I leave refreshed by the Spirit’s work in our corporate gathering of prayer, worship, and Bible reading!
The promise of gathering invites each of us to have a participant mentality and not a spectator mentality! While athletes appreciate being cheered on and supported, it is the participants who memorize the play book, train themselves, listen for the Coach’s voice, and run the plays as a team. We are inspired and encouraged best by those who are on the playing field with us!
As we gather as gospel participants and not church spectators, we are transformed by the renewal of our minds through our Spirit-filled time of worship in song, prayer, and Bible teaching to bring thriving to the community for the glory of God. I encourage you to prioritize first things first and not just for the once per week gathering, but as a rhythm of life throughout your week—not just in this building, but throughout the community!
Why more frequently? Because Hebrews 10:24-25 teaches us that we gather to “[encourage] one another, and all the more as you see the day drawing near.” We need one another because it is so easy to become a critical spectator of the religious game rather than being an active player running the plays in need of huddle time to be reminded and encouraged by the other players.
We are participants, not spectators! We are the many coals in the fire pit that when together, they each burn brighter to become a bright and shining lights in the world. Listen to Paul describe how this happens in Philippians 2:14-16,
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.
Did you hear the daily discipline of prioritizing first things first for the glory of God?
You can listen to Pastor Jerry’s message by clicking the link below:
You can watch the service by clicking HERE.
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Seize the Moment – Day 543
Today’s hymn focus will be
“Leaning on the Everlasting Arms”
Deuteronomy 33:27(NLT)
“The eternal God is your refuge, and his everlasting arms are under you;”
Anthony Showalter of Dalton, GA was a Presbyterian elder that was well-known for being an advocate of gospel music. He published over 130 music books and became known in the South for his singing schools in local churches.
He was a very relational teacher, taking interest in his students’ lives even after they had finished his school. After finishing a class one night, he returned to his room to find two letters from two former students, both sharing the news that they had lost their wives. He went to the scriptures to find words to comfort them and found this verse in Deuteronomy. As he pondered on the scripture, these words came to mind:
Leaning, leaning, safe and secure from all alarms
Leaning, leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms.
After writing this chorus, he sent the words to his friend, hymnist Elisha Hoffman, saying “I can’t come up with any verses” After writing three stanzas, Elisha sent it back to him and he set it to music, giving us these words to cheer us up in our times of trouble.
We need to wake up and sing this song loud and with faith proclaim:
What have I to dread, what have I to fear? Leaning on the everlasting arms
I have blessed peace with my Lord so near. Leaning on the everlasting arms
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Leaning on the Everlasting Arms
What a fellowship, what a joy divine,
Leaning on the Everlasting Arms!
What a blessedness, what a peace is mine,
Leaning on the Everlasting Arms!
Safe and secure from all alarms;
Leaning, leaning,
Leaning on the Everlasting Arms.
O how sweet to walk in this pilgrim way,
Leaning on the Everlasting Arms!
O how bright the path grows from day to day,
Leaning on the Everlasting Arms!
What have I to dread, what have I to fear,
Leaning on the Everlasting Arms!
I have peace complete with my Lord so near,
Leaning on the Everlasting Arms!
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Seize the Moment – Day 542
Live Pure on Purpose!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Friday, September 10.
Leviticus 18 unapologetically dives deep into the intimate practices of people’s private lives. In fact, the Bible teaches us that these most personal places of our lives demonstrate our true loyalties. Listen to how God introduces this most sensitive conversation in verses 2-5:
I am the Lord your God. You shall not do what is done in the land of Egypt where you lived, nor are you to do what is done in the land of Canaan where I am bringing you; you shall not walk in their statutes. You are to perform My judgments and keep My statutes, to live in accord with them; I am the Lord your God. So you shall keep My statutes and My judgments, by which a man may live if he does them; I am the Lord.
The prelude of this teaching on sexual purity is a call to covenant faithfulness to God. The motivation of God’s heart is to protect His children and to establish a witness of His sovereign grace to those living in rebellion. God’s desire is for His people to escape the corruption of the world and live pure on purpose.
Listen to Paul teach living pure on purpose in 1 Corinthians 6:18-20:
Flee immorality. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.
Paul emphasized it again in 1 Thessalonians 4:3, “For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality.”
Seize the moment and live pure on purpose for this is God’s best for you and for His glory!
God bless your day!
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Seize the Moment – Day 541
The Importance of Blood!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Thursday, September 9.
Have you ever wondered why Christians talk so much about blood and even sing songs about it?
The importance of blood is an ancient concept found Leviticus 17:11 and 14,
For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood by reason of the life that makes atonement. … For as for the life of all flesh, its blood is identified with its life. Therefore I said to the sons of Israel, “You are not to eat the blood of any flesh, for the life of all flesh is its blood; whoever eats it shall be cut off.”
For this reason, Jesus Christ had to die on the Cross of Calvary—to atone for humanity’s sin, once for all, by shedding the blood of the perfect Passover Lamb to fulfill the ancient covenant between God and humanity.
Seize the moment and remember the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins and the cleansing of your unrighteousness.
God bless your day!
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Seize the Moment – Day 540
The Atonement of Sin!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Wednesday, September 8.
What does the biblical word “atonement” mean and why is it important?
Leviticus prescribed an intricate system of priests, daily sacrifices, dietary restrictions, weekly sabbaths, and annual festivals to make atonement for sin.
Atonement describes both the covering of human guilt and the turning away of God’s wrath. It communicates the biblical concept of reconciliation, which is at the heart of God in giving the Levitical Law in the first place.
Leviticus 16:32-34 prescribed the annual festival known as Yom Kippur, which is the Day of Atonement:
So the priest who is anointed and ordained to serve as priest in his father’s place shall make atonement: he shall thus put on the linen garments, the holy garments, and make atonement for the holy sanctuary, and he shall make atonement for the tent of meeting and for the altar. He shall also make atonement for the priests and for all the people of the assembly. Now you shall have this as a permanent statute, to make atonement for the sons of Israel for all their sins once every year.
The reconciliation of relationship between God and humanity is why Jesus Christ came and fulfilled the Levitical Law so that through the one nation of Israel all the nations could be restored under the rightful rule of God’s Messiah, who provides, once for all, atonement of sin (Hebrews 7:27; 10:10).
Jesus Christ fulfilled the Day of Atonement in three ways:
- Jesus is the priest who makes atonement (Hebrews 2:17; 9:1-15).
- Jesus is the place of atonement (Romans 3:21-25).
- Jesus is the sacrifice of atonement (1 John 2:2; 4:10; 1 Peter 1:17-19).
Praise God that it is through a relationship with Jesus Christ we enter His relationship with God.
Seize the moment and trust Jesus Christ with your right relationship with God.
God bless your day!
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Seize the Moment – Day 539
Personal Matters Matter!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Tuesday, September 7.
Do your personal matters matter to God?
Yes! Leviticus 15 covers the most intimate issues of the human body and relationships. As I write this devotion for such a diverse group of people, allow me to generalize this chapter by simply saying, “Personal matters matter!” In other words, you should be concerned about what you think, say, and do, regardless of whether other people know.
Leviticus 15:31 summarizes why your personal matters matter to God: “Thus you shall keep the sons of Israel separated from their uncleanness, so that they will not die in their uncleanness by their defiling My tabernacle that is among them.”
To be defiled is to be unclean and no longer suited for God’s presence. In biblical history, the tabernacle was the place of God’s presence on earth and the mediation of His presence was dependent on the Levitical Law and its intricate systems of priests and sacrifices.
In this delicate system, one person could shut it all down! One person could impact the life of the community. It is important we realize how our personal decisions affect others. We are not islands unto ourselves!
Today, we are the priests of God and Jesus has made the atoning sacrifice “once for all” (Hebrews 10:10). We are made clean by Him and are now the temples of the Holy Spirit and have become the dwelling places of God in this world (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).
Peter further explains the importance of your cleansing in 2 Peter 1:4, “For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.”
Personal matters still matter to God because you are His visible presence to the world He loves.
Seize the moment and walk in purity with God and other people.
God bless your day!
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Seize the Moment – Day 538
God Makes a Way for Rich and Poor Alike!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Monday, September 6. Happy Labor Day!
Leviticus 14 continues the teaching on infectious skin diseases with the cleansing of people, clothing, and materials. The Levitical Law took infectious diseases seriously with 116 verses in these two chapters. By contrast, the teaching on childbirth was a total of eight verses in chapter 12. As I am writing this devotion during the COVID-19 pandemic, it doesn’t surprise me that people would write so much about an infectious disease.
Verses 30-32 make a way for people with limited resources to be able to get the care they need:
He shall then offer one of the turtledoves or young pigeons, which are within his means. He shall offer what he can afford, the one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering, together with the grain offering. So the priest shall make atonement before the Lord on behalf of the one to be cleansed. This is the law for him in whom there is an infection of leprosy, whose means are limited for his cleansing.
God’s Word makes a way for people of different means to have access to these cleansing rites. The Word of God intentionally protects against human greed and corruption by accommodating for all people to have access to the priests and the sacrificial system.
God desires for His people to reflect His heart so that all would have access to Him and His healing work of cleansing and forgiveness through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. As Paul said in Romans 2:11, “For there is no partiality with God.”
Seize the moment and ask God to give you His heart for people so that all people can respond to the gospel.
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