Jeremiah 17
Know my Heart!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Friday, April 5.
Did you know that when you point your finger at someone else, three fingers are pointing back at the heart of the problem? We love to project blame onto others, to emotionally insulate ourselves from having to take responsibility for a situation. We do this as children by blaming our siblings or classmates. We do this as adults with even more elaborate schemes, but as we mature, we come to realize that the real problem is found within us. In Mark 7:20-23, Jesus made it very clear that it is not something outside of you that makes you unholy, but a condition of your heart:
That which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man.
Jesus taught that the heart of the problem is found in the control center of your life, where your emotions and thoughts are derived. He was echoing an ancient truth, made visible through the first couple’s blame game, and clearly proclaimed by God through the prophet in Jeremiah 17:9-10, “The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it? I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give to each man according to his ways, according to the results of his deeds.”
Seize the moment and invite God to cleanse you from the inside out. Holiness is Christ in you, ruling from the throne of your heart, so invite the Holy Spirit every morning, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxious thoughts; and see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way” (Psalm 139:23-24).
God bless you!
If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.
YOUTUBE:
If you prefer a video, Pastor Jerry reads his devotion on YouTube as well. Click HERE to visit the page.
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Jeremiah 16
Embody the Message!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Thursday, April 4.
Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection clearly proclaim God’s love to the world (John 3:16). If it weren’t for Jesus’ crucifixion, humanity could never understand the fulness of the gospel, as explained in Romans 5:8, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Jesus, as the Suffering Servant of Israel, was not the first messenger to Israel whose life embodied the message. Just like God used the intimate details of Jesus’ life to portray the message, God revealed Himself in the personal details of His prophets’ lives. Like Hosea’s broken marriage and Ezekiel’s loss of his wife, Jeremiah’s call to celibacy had symbolic meaning. In Jeremiah 16:2, God commanded Jeremiah, “You shall not take a wife for yourself nor have sons or daughters in this place.” He obeyed God and trusted Him for the future.
I can only imagine how costly such a command was to Jeremiah, but he was a man called to embody the judgments of God, demonstrating the prophetic message of God’s wrath for sin. No wonder he was called the weeping prophet. Even though he had been called to celibacy, later, in Jeremiah 29:5-7, God commanded him to encourage the people to marry and have families while in exile, which was a prophetic sign through the people’s lives. Jeremiah’s symbolic action of not having a family represented the coming destruction of Jerusalem, just like the people’s actions of having families while in exile was symbolic of God’s promise to restore them. We must do the same by discerning how we are to live our lives, “so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body” (2 Corinthians 4:7-11).
Seize the moment and obey God’s Word in the intimate places of your life. Tell a better story with your life by embodying God’s message in the personal choices you make.
God bless you!
If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.
YOUTUBE:
If you prefer a video, Pastor Jerry reads his devotion on YouTube as well. Click HERE to visit the page.
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Jeremiah 15
Fresh Bread!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Wednesday, April 3.
Do you like fresh bread? There is a significant difference between eating bread, baked fresh from the oven, versus bread that has been left out for days, which has become hard and stale. I compare my morning devotion time to that of a baker making fresh bread each morning.
In Jeremiah 15:16, the prophet describes the privilege of receiving God’s Word, “Your words were found and I ate them, and Your words became for me a joy and the delight of my heart; for I have been called by Your name, O Lord God of hosts.” Another prophet made a similar statement in Ezekiel 3:1-3, “Then He said to me, ‘Son of man, eat what you find; eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.’ So I opened my mouth, and He fed me this scroll. He said to me, ‘Son of man, feed your stomach and fill your body with this scroll which I am giving you.’ Then I ate it, and it was sweet as honey in my mouth.”
What a privilege to be given God’s Word; to be chosen as a spokesperson of God to the nations. In 2 Corinthians 5:19-20, Paul speaks to all who have been reconciled to God through His Son Jesus Christ, “He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us.” Just like the prophets of old, you have been called to consume God’s Word so that you can give it to those in desperate need of their daily bread. What do you have to share with others?
Seize the moment and enjoy some fresh bread today by reading your Bible – “taste and see that the LORD is good” (Psalm 34:8). Don’t give people something dry and hard; give them something baked in your morning devotion time. That’s what I’m doing for you!
God bless you!
If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.
YOUTUBE:
If you prefer a video, Pastor Jerry reads his devotion on YouTube as well. Click HERE to visit the page.
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Jeremiah 14
Hope in Dark Days!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Tuesday, April 2.
A severe drought had come upon Jerusalem and the surrounding region of Judah. What were the people to do, knowing the drought was a righteous judgment for their rebellion? In Jeremiah 14:7-9, on behalf of the people, the prophet cried out to God for mercy:
Although our iniquities testify against us, O Lord, act for Your name’s sake! Truly our apostasies have been many, we have sinned against You. O Hope of Israel, its Savior in time of distress, why are You like a stranger in the land or like a traveler who has pitched his tent for the night? Why are You like a man dismayed, like a mighty man who cannot save? Yet You are in our midst, O Lord, and we are called by Your name; do not forsake us!
During dark days, Jeremiah boldly cried out for God’s mercy, concluding his plea in verse 21, “Do not despise us, for Your own name’s sake; do not disgrace the throne of Your glory; remember and do not annul Your covenant with us.” The prophet knew that the only hope for rescue and redemption was by invoking God and His ancient covenant.
When a nation is under judgment it may feel like God has forsaken His people, plunging them into darkness with no light to guide them. But God! He has a plan for even the darkest of days. In Romans 1:18-32, we learn how God gives people over to their own rebellion for the purpose of showing them the consequences of their choices; it’s God inviting His people, “Hope in Me! I am your way of escape. Repent and follow Me!”
Seize the moment and cry out to Jesus, “the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27), who promised in John 8:12, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”
God bless you!
If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.
YOUTUBE:
If you prefer a video, Pastor Jerry reads his devotion on YouTube as well. Click HERE to visit the page.
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Jeremiah 13
Show Me, Don’t Tell Me!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Monday, April 1.
Have you ever tried to teach someone, but words were not getting through to the person? When words are not enough, showing is more powerful than telling. God knows His people better than any teacher knows her students, and He loves to use word pictures to get across complicated concepts. You may remember that Isaiah was tasked by God with walking around naked in Isaiah 20. That got everyone’s attention!
In the prophetic work of Jeremiah there are at least nine times that the prophet is commanded to show them through a symbolic action. In Jeremiah 13:1-7, he is tasked to buy fine linen, the cloth of a priest, and wrap it around his waist. Then he was told to hide it in the crevice of a rock where it was destroyed, rendering it useless for the purpose it has been purchased. God explained the living parable in Jeremiah 13:9-11:
Thus says the Lord, “Just so will I destroy the pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem. This wicked people, who refuse to listen to My words, who walk in the stubbornness of their hearts and have gone after other gods to serve them and to bow down to them, let them be just like this waistband which is totally worthless. For as the waistband clings to the waist of a man, so I made the whole household of Israel and the whole household of Judah cling to Me,” declares the Lord, “that they might be for Me a people, for renown, for praise and for glory; but they did not listen.”
Seize the moment and abide in God, like a branch to a vine, so that He may bear fruit on your branch, demonstrating to the world that you are His disciple (John 15:1-8). God is still using word pictures today through our prophetic activity to the nations, so as you go, show them Jesus!
God bless you!
If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.
YOUTUBE:
If you prefer a video, Pastor Jerry reads his devotion on YouTube as well. Click HERE to visit the page.
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Hymn: House of the Lord
Seize the Moment – Day 1474
Today’s worship song focus :
House of the Lord
Psalm 122:1 (NASB95)
“ I was glad when they said to me,
Written in 2020, in the middle of the pandemic, Phil Wickham created this powerful song of worship as an anthem for all believers. Wanting to connect the church to the heart of God with the invitation to experience his love and grace, Phil composed the beautiful lyrics, moving melody and powerful instrumentals to remind the church that it is more than just a physical building. It is to be a place where we gather to worship, be encouraged, and experience the presence of God.
There’s joy in the house of the Lord,
There’s joy in the house of the Lord today
And we won’t be quiet, We shout out Your praise.
There’s joy in the house of the Lord,
Our God is surely in this place
And we won’t be quiet,
We shout out Your praise.
YOUTUBE:
If you prefer a video, Pastor Ken reads his devotion on YouTube as well. Click HERE to visit the page.
If you would like to listen to this song, click on this link:
House of the Lord
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Jeremiah 12
That’s God’s Job!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Friday, March 29.
The prophet cried out to God for justice against the evil nations, asking God why their wicked neighbors were prospering and living at ease. Jeremiah acknowledged that it was God who planted them and allowed them to bear fruit, but wanted to know how long He was going to allow them to remain. After lamenting the current crisis, God responded with an oracle of salvation in Jeremiah 12:14-17, referencing the agricultural imagery of Jeremiah’s observation that it was He who planted them:
Thus says the Lord concerning all My wicked neighbors who strike at the inheritance with which I have endowed My people Israel, “Behold I am about to uproot them from their land and will uproot the house of Judah from among them. And it will come about that after I have uprooted them, I will again have compassion on them; and I will bring them back, each one to his inheritance and each one to his land. Then if they will really learn the ways of My people, to swear by My name, ‘As the Lord lives,’ even as they taught My people to swear by Baal, they will be built up in the midst of My people. But if they will not listen, then I will uproot that nation, uproot and destroy it,” declares the Lord.
This oracle of salvation reminds me of Jesus’ Parable of the Wheat and Tares in Matthew 13:24-30. While God promised to uproot evil from our midst one day, He was also very clear that we should trust Him for His ultimate justice in how we live our lives today. The only way of lasting peace with God is to swear by His name (Acts 4:12), so walk in the way of God’s justice by loving your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:37-40).
Seize the moment and trust God for justice; it’s His job to uproot, not yours!
God bless you!
If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.
YOUTUBE:
If you prefer a video, Pastor Jerry reads his devotion on YouTube as well. Click HERE to visit the page.
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Jeremiah 11
Rejected and Despised!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Thursday, March 28.
Jesus was rejected and despised by the people of Nazareth, the hometown in which He grew up. In Matthew 13:57, Jesus said to those who took offense at His ministry, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.” They could not believe that the man who had grown up amongst them was called to be a prophet, nevertheless, was the Son of God. Because of their unbelief, His hometown missed the blessing of God’s visitation (58).
Jesus’ response to Nazareth harkened back to the ancient prophets, illustrated by Jeremiah’s experience with his hometown of Anathoth, described in Jeremiah 11:20-23:
But, O Lord of hosts, who judges righteously, Who tries the feelings and the heart, let me see Your vengeance on them, for to You have I committed my cause. Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the men of Anathoth, who seek your life, saying, “Do not prophesy in the name of the Lord, so that you will not die at our hand”; therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, “Behold, I am about to punish them! The young men will die by the sword, their sons and daughters will die by famine; and a remnant will not be left to them, for I will bring disaster on the men of Anathoth – the year of their punishment.”
The people of Jeremiah’s hometown sought to kill him. It is one thing to be attacked by outsiders; it’s a completely different experience to be rejected and despised by the very people you were called to rescue from the coming wrath. His response to such betrayal foreshadowed that of Jesus Christ: Jeremiah committed Himself and the cause to which He was called to God, the righteous Judge of humanity.
God bless you!
If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.
YOUTUBE:
If you prefer a video, Pastor Jerry reads his devotion on YouTube as well. Click HERE to visit the page.
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Jeremiah 10
Relent of Anger!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Wednesday, March 27.
How do you respond to people when you are upset? Are you unjust and ungraceful in how you express your feelings? In marital counseling, I’ve heard people say vicious things to their spouse, far exceeding what needed to be said. Why do we character assassinate the people we love when we are upset? When people are hijacked by their anger, they more easily make bad decisions without regard for the long-term consequences of their words or actions. We must relent of our anger, inviting the Holy Spirit to govern our hearts and minds so that we do not sin in it and give the devil an opportunity (Ephesians 4:26-27).
In Jeremiah 10:24, the prophet offered a profound prayer, in solidarity with the nation, petitioning God for their impending judgment, “Correct me, O Lord, but with justice; not with Your anger, or You will bring me to nothing.” David had made a similar petition to God in Psalm 6:1-4, “O Lord, do not rebuke me in Your anger, nor chasten me in Your wrath. Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am pining away; heal me, O Lord, for my bones are dismayed. And my soul is greatly dismayed; but You, O Lord – how long? Return, O Lord, rescue my soul; save me because of Your lovingkindness.”
Loving parents discipline their children in love, refraining from doing it while they are still angry. Anger perverts justice and distorts love! Righteous justice is sober-minded, unintoxicated by anger, seeking the good for all while accurately disciplining the one in need of correction. As Hebrews 12:11 promises, “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.” It was for this result Jeremiah petitioned God.
Seize the moment and relent of your anger before you discipline someone you love.
God bless you!
If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.
YOUTUBE:
If you prefer a video, Pastor Jerry reads his devotion on YouTube as well. Click HERE to visit the page.
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Jeremiah 9
The Weeping Prophet!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Tuesday, March 26.
Have you ever sat under a pastor who cried when proclaiming the goodness of God? I am profoundly touched by such a display of emotion when I discern it to be real, but I cringe if I believe it to be showmanship. Truly, only the Lord knows a person’s heart! Jeremiah was the real deal, giving him the reputation as the “weeping prophet.” We catch a glimpse of this in Jeremiah 9:1, “Oh that my head were waters and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!” His depth of concern for the well-being of God’s people reminds me of the Apostle Paul’s compassionate concern for the Jewish people, from whom he experienced rejection and ridicule. He said in Romans 9:1-3, “I am telling the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience testifies with me in the Holy Spirit, that I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my brethren.” Wow: that’s love!
The heartache of Jeremiah and Paul has another similarity, their proclamation of what it means to be Israel. Paul says in Romans 9:6, “For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel.” The prophet explained that being a child of Israel was not about a nationality; it’s a condition of one’s heart, foreshadowing the necessity of the New Covenant in Jeremiah 9:25-26, “Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord, “that I will punish all who are circumcised and yet uncircumcised – … for all the nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised of heart.”
Seize the moment and ask the Lord to reveal the truth of your heart (Romans 2:28-29; Colossians 2:11). Does your heart break for the things that break God’s heart?
God bless you!
If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.
YOUTUBE:
If you prefer a video, Pastor Jerry reads his devotion on YouTube as well. Click HERE to visit the page.
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