Take Care of People!

Zechariah 11

Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Saturday, October 19.

People matter to God! The leaders of Israel had failed in their responsibilities to shepherd the people, so God commanded the prophet to symbolically portray their failure in Zechariah 11:9-13:

Then I said, “I will not pasture you. What is to die, let it die, and what is to be annihilated, let it be annihilated; and let those who are left eat one another’s flesh.” I took my staff Favor and cut it in pieces, to break my covenant which I had made with all the peoples. … I said to them, “If it is good in your sight, give me my wages; but if not, never mind!” So they weighed out thirty shekels of silver as my wages. Then the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the potter, that magnificent price at which I was valued by them.” So I took the thirty shekels of silver and threw them to the potter in the house of the Lord.

The potter’s field was a place of debris where a potter would discard broken pottery, so the prophet was being commanded to throw his pastoral wages into the trash. This image was invoked at the time of Jesus’ crucifixion when Judas sought to repent of his sin for betraying innocent blood, but the religious leaders of Israel refused him, “What is that to us? See to that yourself” (Matthew 27:4). They betrayed their sacred responsibilities by denying Judas an opportunity for repentance, and, in doing so, they fulfilled Zechariah 11 not only as failed shepherds, but also literally, in Matthew 27:7-8, when they threw the ransom price to the potter (Exodus 21:32).

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.

The Cure of Souls!

Zechariah 10

Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Friday, October 18.

Spiritual problems require spiritual solutions! This is a principle that cannot be ignored because applying a legal, psychological, or biological treatment to a diseased soul is no solution at all; it’s putting a Band-Aid on a gushing artery wound. So many people stubbornly refuse to get help when it comes to the matters of their soul, forgetting that divorce, disease, and death are spiritual issues first. Zechariah 10:2-4 is a convincing proof of our need to turn to God for help in times of spiritual crisis:

For the teraphim [household idols] speak iniquity, and the diviners see lying visions and tell false dreams; they comfort in vain. Therefore the people wander like sheep, they are afflicted, because there is no shepherd. “My anger is kindled against the shepherds, and I will punish the male goats; for the Lord of hosts has visited His flock, the house of Judah, and will make them like His majestic horse in battle. From them will come the cornerstone, from them the tent peg, from them the bow of battle, from them every ruler, all of them together.

The people had turned to household idols and divination for help, which caused them to become like sheep being led to the slaughter. God diagnosed the problem as a lack of spiritual leadership, so the people were receiving no soul care. Don’t be mistaken, there were civil and religious leaders, but the people needed the cure for their soul, not a Band-Aid. Moved by compassion, God promised to send the Messiah, who would be the cornerstone, the tent peg, the bow of battle, and the ruler – the cure of souls!

Seize the moment and find the cure for your soul by listening to the voice of Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd of your soul, who promises in John 10:27-28, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.”

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.

Embrace the Liminal Space!

Zechariah 9

Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Thursday, October 17.

Have you ever experienced a liminal space, a transitional time of waiting between what has been done and what is still to be done? The Lord gave Zechariah a series of prophecies that foretold of two such fertile voids in human history. The first oracle had a more immediate historical fulfillment with the future conqueror of nations, Alexander the Great (Zechariah 9:1-8; cf. Daniel 8). The second prophecy foretold the futuristic coming of the Messiah in Zechariah 9:9-10:

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, humble, and mounted on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a donkey. I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the horse from Jerusalem; and the bow of war will be cut off. And He will speak peace to the nations; and His dominion will be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.

While there was a three-century gap between Alexander the Great and Jesus the Christ, we live today in the even greater liminal space between the first coming of Christ and His return. The first half of the messianic prophecy was quoted in the triumphal entry of Matthew 21:1-11, yet we are still waiting for world peace. Christ has come and Christ will return; this liminal space is the fertile void of opportunity called faith. We believe that what has not yet been fulfilled in His first coming will be finished in the end times.

Seize the moment and take on the easy yoke of Jesus to work the fields of this fertile void, learning to become like Him, “gentle and humble in heart” (Matthew 11:28-30). The Holy Spirit will fulfill the promise of Christian discipleship in and through you (Mark 1:17; Romans 8:29).

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.

Strengthen your Hands!

Zechariah 8

Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Wednesday, October 16.

The prophet’s next response to the delegation from Bethel calls them to strengthen their hands for the work of rebuilding the temple. The priority was for them to soften their hearts and return to right worship of God through covenant obedience (Zechariah 7). Now, the prophet was calling them to wholeheartedly work unto the Lord by strengthening their hands, as explained in Zechariah 8:9-13:

Thus says the Lord of hosts, “Let your hands be strong, you who are listening in these days to these words from the mouth of the prophets, those who spoke in the day that the foundation of the house of the Lord of hosts was laid, to the end that the temple might be built. … But now I will not treat the remnant of this people as in the former days, … It will come about that just as you were a curse among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so I will save you that you may become a blessing. Do not fear; let your hands be strong.”

The fourth response was a promise of what would happen if the remnant of Israel softened their hearts in right worship of God and strengthened their hands to do the work of rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem, as foretold in Zechariah 8:22, “So many peoples and mighty nations will come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem and to entreat the favor of the Lord.” The summary of God’s response is simple: Yes, keep fasting, but do it for Me, and I will bless the work of your hands.

Seize the moment and strengthen your hands to do the Lord’s work – “Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve” (Colossians 3:23-24).

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.

Soften your Heart!

Zechariah 7

Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Tuesday, October 15.

Zechariah 7 & 8 focus on the prophet’s response to a question posed by a delegation from Bethel who traveled to seek the Lord’s favor in 518 BC. They asked the priests and prophets of Jerusalem, “Shall I weep in the fifth month and abstain, as I have done these many years?” (Zechariah 7:1-3). They were referring to the Ninth of Av, the fast day commemorating the anniversary of the temple’s destruction. Their question revealed that their concern was with external religious practices. Are we doing it right?

The Lord’s first of four responses asked them to reflect upon their heart motives throughout the seventy years of Babylonian exile, “Was it actually for Me that you fasted?” (Zechariah 7:5-7). In other words, what is the heart of your worship – yourself or God? After all these years of reflecting upon the disaster, have you returned to Me in your heart? The prophet continued with this theme in his second response in Zechariah 7:11-12, “But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears from hearing. They made their hearts like flint so that they could not hear the law and the words which the Lord of hosts had sent by His Spirit through the former prophets; therefore great wrath came from the Lord of hosts.” The prophet looked backwards on purpose; God was warning the postexilic generation to heed His commands and to seek Him, not with external religion, but with a wholehearted commitment to worship. God has always sought after His people’s heart loyalties, and He seeks after yours today (Matthew 22:37-40).

Seize the moment and soften your heart to the Lord – “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh” (Ezekiel 36:26). Is your heart right with God?

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.

Be Encouraged!

Zechariah 6

Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Monday, October 14.

What is the purpose of God giving us prophetic visions? The eight visions of the prophet came to an end in Zechariah 6:1-8 with the final vision of four horses, which bookends with the first vision of four horses in Zechariah 1:8-11. Interestingly, these visions point to the apocalyptic imagery of Revelation 6:1-8 and the consummation of all things in the last days. This is an important intertestamental connection because the prophetic imagery of the end times continues in Zechariah 6:11-15 with a significant messianic prophecy:

Take silver and gold, make an ornate crown and set it on the head of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest. Then say to him, “Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘Behold, a man whose name is Branch, for He will branch out from where He is; and He will build the temple of the Lord. Yes, it is He who will build the temple of the Lord, and He who will bear the honor and sit and rule on His throne. Thus, He will be a priest on His throne, and the counsel of peace will be between the two offices.’” Now the crown will become a reminder in the temple of the Lord … Those who are far off will come and build the temple of the Lord.

While the coronation of Joshua served as an encouragement to the remnant to rebuild the temple in postexilic Jerusalem; prophetically, it forever yokes the offices of priest and king in the person of the Messiah, which is uniquely fulfilled by Jesus Christ as priest (Hebrews 4:14-16; 6:20-7:28) and king (Matthew 27:11; Luke 1:32-33; Revelation 19:16). The priest-king Joshua foreshadowed the Messiah Jesus, encouraging God’s people to prioritize the kingdom of God no matter their hardships because the One who has come once for all, will return to rule (Hebrews 9:26-28; Matthew 6:33).

Seize the moment and be encouraged – “In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).

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.

Live Free from Sin!

Zechariah 5

Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Saturday, October 12.

The judgment of evil is one of the promises of God in which people have found hope. Zechariah 5 contains two of the eight visions that directly points to this promise: the flying scroll that contained God’s curse for thieves and perjurers (1-4) and the sealed ephah that contained the embodiment of evil called “Wickedness” (5-11). Both visions culminate with God’s judgment of evil. The first vision demonstrates God bringing judgment to the homes of liars and perjurers in Zechariah 5:4, “‘I will make it go forth,’ declares the Lord of hosts, ‘and it will enter the house of the thief and the house of the one who swears falsely by My name; and it will spend the night within that house and consume it with its timber and stones.’” Compare this with the judgment for evil incarnate, who is brought to a region of Babylon in Zechariah 5:11, “To build a temple for her in the land of Shinar; and when it is prepared, she will be set there on her own pedestal.”

Whereas the consequences of individual sin must be dealt with at a personal level, evil itself must be vanquished once for all at the highest level. There is a difference between the necessity for personal repentance from sin and the cosmic victory over evil itself. Don’t continue in your sin while declaring that Satan has been defeated by Jesus’ crucifixion, “When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him” (Colossians 2:15). You have been baptized into Jesus’ death; therefore, live as the redeemed of the Lord in the light of His resurrection (Romans 6:1-11), knowing with certainty that there is a coming judgment for sin (Hebrews 9:27).

Seize the moment and live free from the sin that so easily entangles you, so that you can live for God holy and whole (Romans 6:11-13; Hebrews 12:1-3; 1 Peter 2:24-25).

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.