Seize the Moment – Day 981
Firmly Rooted in God’s Promises!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Wednesday, November 23.
When you transplant a tree or plant from one location to another, you can’t just pull it out and place it on top of the ground. It’ll die! You need to dig around it to ensure you have the root system in place, then you need to prepare the ground for it to be firmly rooted in its new location.
God preserved a remnant so that He could transplant them back into the Promised Land. Ezra 2 is a long chapter of names and numbers, introduced by verses 1-2:
Now these are the people of the province who came up out of the captivity of the exiles whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away to Babylon, and returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his city. … The number of the men of the people of Israel:
The introduction ended with a faith declaration – these are “the people of Israel.” Remember that Israel is the covenant name of God’s people, which God gave to the patriarch Jacob in Genesis 35:10-12:
God said to him, “Your name is Jacob; you shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your name.” Thus He called him Israel. God also said to him, “I am God Almighty; be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall come from you, and kings shall come forth from you. The land which I gave to Abraham and Isaac, I will give it to you, and I will give the land to your descendants after you.”
After seventy years of captivity in Babylon, Ezra was reminding the remnant of who they really were and why they existed. He was giving them deep roots so they would thrive where they were transplanted to grow – in Jerusalem.
Seize the moment and be firmly rooted in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 3:14-19; Colossians 2:6-7). God has given you deep roots so you can bloom where He has planted 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.
Videos are posted about a week after the devotion appears in the blog.