Pentecost Sunday 2023
What is Pentecost?
1. We are adopted!
2. We are sealed!
3. We are transformed!
The Apprentice Prayer
Jesus, I love you! Father, I adore you! Holy Spirit, I rely on you!Lord Jesus, I seek to live as your apprentice in all that I do today. My life is your school for teaching me. I relinquish my agenda for this day and I submit myself to you and your kingdom purposes. In all situations today I pray, “Your will, your way, your time.”
Dear Father, I ask you to ordain the events of this day and use them to make me more like Jesus. I trust you, Sovereign Lord, that you won’t let anything happen to my family or me today, except that it passes through your loving hands. So no matter what problems, hardships, or injustices I face today help me not to worry or get frustrated, but instead to relax in the yoke of your providence. Yes, today I will rejoice because I am in your eternal kingdom, you love me, and you are teaching me!
My Lord, I devote my whole self to you. I want to be all and only for Jesus! Today, I seek to love you with all my heart, all my soul, all my mind, all my strength, and all my relationships.
Today, I depend on you, Holy Spirit, not my own resources. Help me to keep in step with you.
Today, I look to love others as you love me, dear God, blessing everyone I meet, even those who mistreat me.
Today, I’m ready to lead people to follow you, Jesus.
Amen.
You can watch this service by clicking HERE.
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Hymn: Spirit of the Living God
Seize the Moment – Day 1166
Today’s modern hymn focus will be
Spirit of the Living God
Hymn 148
John 16:13 (NASB95)
“But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for
He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak;
and He will disclose to you what is to come..”
Spirit of the living God.
Spirit of the living God.
We only want to hear Your voice.
We’re hanging on every word
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 Ken 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.
If you would like to listen to this song, click on this link:
Spirit of the living God
Spirit of the living God
Spirit of the living God
We only want to hear Your voice
We’re hanging on every word
Spirit of the living God
Spirit of the living God
We want to know You more and more
We’re hanging on every word
Spirit of the living God
Spirit of the living God
We only want to hear Your voice
We’re hanging on every word
Spirit of the living God
Spirit of the living God
We want to know You more and more
We’re hanging on every word
‘Cause when You speak, when You move
When You do what only You can do
It changes us
It changes what we see and what we seek
When You come in the room
When You do what only You can do
It changes us
It changes what we see and what we seek
You’re changing everything
Spirit of the living God
Spirit of the living God
We’re leaning in to all You are
Everything else can wait
Spirit of the living God
Spirit of the living God
Come now and breathe upon our hearts
Come now and have Your way
‘Cause when You speak, when You move
When You do what only You can do
It changes us
It changes what we see and what we seek
When You come in the room
When You do what only You can do
It changes us
It changes what we see and what we seek
You’re changing everything
When You move, You move all our fears
When You move, You move us to tears
When You move, You move all our fears
When You move, You move us to tears
When You fall, we fall on our knees
When You fall, we fall at Your feet
When You fall, we fall on our knees
When You fall, we fall at Your feet
[Chorus]
‘Cause when You speak, when You move
When You do what only You can do
It changes us
It changes what we see and what we seek
When You come in the room
When You do what only You can do
It changes us
It changes what we see and what we seek
You’re changing everything
[Outro]
Spirit of the living God
Spirit of the living God
We only want to hear Your voice
We’re hanging on every word
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Psalm 59
The Crucible of Hardships!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Friday, May 26.
David was in mortal danger when he penned Psalm 59, as the title states, “when Saul sent men and they watched the house in order to kill him.” Today’s psalm is David’s reflection upon the events of 1 Samuel 19:11, “Then Saul sent messengers to David’s house to watch him, in order to put him to death in the morning. But Michal, David’s wife, told him, saying, ‘If you do not save your life tonight, tomorrow you will be put to death.’” His wife, who was the daughter of Saul, rescued him from certain death, and David fled to the Prophet Samuel, where he encountered the Holy Spirit (18-24). It is possible that this psalm of rescue and deliverance was written in this time of revival, as Psalm 59:16-17 concluded with a shimmer of glory:
But as for me, I shall sing of Your strength; yes, I shall joyfully sing of Your lovingkindness in the morning, for You have been my stronghold and a refuge in the day of my distress. O my strength, I will sing praises to You; for God is my stronghold, the God who shows me lovingkindness.
Don’t let your life be defined by the hardships. The Psalms of David are reflections upon his life experiences through the lens of his faith in God. They capture his real human experiences, and the full range of emotions that go with them, from the vantage point of God’s victory. Just liked David’s, our souls are forged in the crucible of hardship. Who are you becoming through your experiences? It is not what happens to you that defines you; it is how you respond to it!
Seize the moment and pray Psalm 59, meditating upon God’s purposes for your hardships – “God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).
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.
Videos are posted about a week after the devotion appears in the blog.
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Psalm 58
Meditate on Divine Justice!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Thursday, May 25.
Did you know that both the blessings and the curses of the Bible are equally the promises of God? While this is not a popular sentiment to emphasize in today’s church culture; it is an essential truth to the coherency of our Christian faith. You can’t have the one without the other! There can’t be good news if there was never any bad news to hear in the first place. There is a grave danger in accentuating the positives of Christianity until all the bad news of sin, judgment, and Hell are squeezed out, like water being wrung out of a wet towel.
Psalm 58 is a meditation upon the justice of God. There are curses for sin just as certainly as there are blessings for faith. David urged God to manifest His divine judgment in verses 6-9:
O God, shatter their teeth in their mouth; break out the fangs of the young lions, O Lord. Let them flow away like water that runs off; when he aims his arrows, let them be as headless shafts. Let them be as a snail which melts away as it goes along, like the miscarriages of a woman which never see the sun. Before your pots can feel the fire of thorns He will sweep them away with a whirlwind, the green and the burning alike.
As you reflect upon such prayers, you may find your stomach churning. The anxiety caused by the reality of divine justice is intended to open you to the good news. You should fear the Lord and take seriously His righteous judgment for sin. This is the work of the Holy Spirit, according to Jesus’ teaching in John 16:8, “And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment.”
Seize the moment and pray Psalm 58, meditating upon the blessings and curses of God’s divine justice – “Surely there is a reward for the righteous; surely there is a God who judges on earth!” (Psalm 58:11).
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.
Videos are posted about a week after the devotion appears in the blog.
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Psalm 57
God is My Hiding Place!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Wednesday, May 24.
Did you have a go-to hiding place growing up? Maybe you used it when you were scared or when you were playing a game of hide and seek. The classic places to hide are the closet, under the bed, or in some hidden nook. Psalm 57 takes us into the mountains with David “when he fled from Saul in the cave,” as described by the title. In verses 5-6, David expressed what it felt like to be hiding in a cave:
My soul is among lions; I must lie among those who breathe forth fire, even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows and their tongue a sharp sword. Be exalted above the heavens, O God; let Your glory be above all the earth. They have prepared a net for my steps; my soul is bowed down; they dug a pit before me; they themselves have fallen into the midst of it. Selah.
David was hiding in a dark and obscure location, far away from Saul and the prying eyes of his spies, but he knew there was no where he could hide for long. So, David petitioned God in verse 1, “Be gracious to me, O God, be gracious to me, for my soul takes refuge in You; and in the shadow of Your wings I will take refuge until destruction passes by.” Where do you go when you are scared, or when you are overwhelmed by life and don’t want anyone to find you?
Seize the moment and pray Psalm 57, meditating upon God as your hiding place, the One you seek when you need help in times of need – “But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you” (Matthew 5:6).
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.
Videos are posted about a week after the devotion appears in the blog.
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Psalm 56
Praying Peace over Past Trauma!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Tuesday, May 23.
Have you ever had a traumatic experience that keeps replaying in your head, like a bad scene from a horror movie? When a trauma happens in a person’s life, the brain is flooded with adrenaline and other neurochemicals that causes that memory to be forged into the brain. Simply, this is why people can be easily triggered into a trauma response.
David had some traumatic experiences in his life, which he kept replaying in his head. Psalm 56 is from the time when David was in peril at the hands of the Philistines, specifically “when [they] seized him in Gath” (title). This event is recorded immediately after Doeg saw David with the priest Ahimelech, who later betrayed him to Saul, the historical context for Psalm 52. Additionally, David’s rescue from Abimelech [Achish king of Gath] was the setting for Psalm 34. First Samuel 21:12 records, “David … greatly feared Achish king of Gath.”
How did David deal with the memories of his past traumas? David processed his memories through the writing of these three psalms. He brought it all to God, as recorded in Psalm 56:3-4, 9-11:
When I am afraid, I will put my trust in You. In God, whose word I praise, in God I have put my trust; I shall not be afraid. What can mere man do to me? … Then my enemies will turn back in the day when I call; this I know, that God is for me. In God, whose word I praise, in the Lord, whose word I praise, in God I have put my trust, I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?
Seize the moment and pray Psalm 56, meditating upon the peace of God – “You’ve kept track of my every toss and turn through the sleepless nights, each tear entered in your ledger, each ache written in your book.”[1]
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.
Videos are posted about a week after the devotion appears in the blog.
FOOTNOTE:
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Psalm 55
The Deep Pain of a Friend’s Betrayal
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Monday, May 22.
When I was in the military, we trained hard to protect against friendly fire. To avoid shooting at their comrades or allies, we instilled into the soldiers the importance of situational awareness, fire discipline, and target acquisition. It is demoralizing to soldiers to learn that their own army was responsible for the damage and death. David experienced friendly fire at a very personal level, as attested in Psalm 55:12-14:
For it is not an enemy who reproaches me, then I could bear it; nor is it one who hates me who has exalted himself against me, then I could hide myself from him. But it is you, a man my equal, my companion and my familiar friend; we who had sweet fellowship together walked in the house of God in the throng.
David was experiencing the attacks of a close friend, the deep pain of a friend’s betrayal. David expressed how the friendly fire affected him personally in today’s psalm:
- Verse 2, “I am restless in my complaint and am surely distracted.”
- Verse 4, “My heart is in anguish within me, and the terrors of death have fallen upon me.”
- Verse 5, “Fear and trembling come upon me, and horror has overwhelmed me.”
How did David respond to the deep pain of a friend’s betrayal? He passed on his response in Psalm 55:22, “Cast your burden upon the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken.” The final words of today’s psalm give us the victory, “But I will trust in You.” (vs 23) When those closest to you cause you the most pain, turn to God, the One who will never betray you (Deuteronomy 31:6; Joshua 1:5; Hebrews 13:5-6)!
Seize the moment and pray Psalm 55, meditating upon God as your safe place in times of conflict – “casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7).
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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Next Gen Ministries
Graduation Video
The Kidz Zone: Time Machine
A video about the Time Machine ((0:30)
Q & A with Cindi (6:45)
Children’s Ministry (15:00)
AWANA
Youth Ministry (29:50)
Leading By Example
The Orange Method
You can watch this video by clicking HERE.
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Hymn: Great Things
Great Things
Hymn 147
Psalm 40:5 (NASB95)
“Many, O Lord my God, are the wonders which You have done, and Your thoughts toward us; There is none to compare with You. If I would declare and speak of them, they would be too numerous to count.”
Come let us worship our King Come let us bow at His feet
He has done great things. See what our Savior has done
See how His love overcomes He has done great things
He has done great things
We need to wake up to the fact that God has been, is, and always will be faithful and to put our full trust in Him. God is bigger than all our problems, fears and situations and He will be there every step of the way with us.
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 Ken 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.
If you would like to listen to this song, click on this link:
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Psalm 54
Pray for God’s Protection!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Friday, May 19.
David wrote this psalm at a time of betrayal by the Ziphites (Psalm 54:title), and the ensuing mortal danger at the hand of King Saul (1 Samuel 23:19-29; 26:1-14). Both times David’s life was preserved. His is a powerful example to us about why we need to include God in our rapid response plans, because, as Christians, it’s not enough to do “whatever it takes” to survive. We must demonstrate our allegiance to God in how we respond to betrayals and dangers. Paul set a clear example in Acts 20:22-24:
And now, behold, bound by the Spirit, I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit solemnly testifies to me in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions await me. But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God. (cf. Acts 21:11-14)
Seize the moment and pray Psalm 54, meditating upon God as your protector – “For He has delivered me from all trouble, and my eye has looked with satisfaction upon my enemies” (Psalm 54:7).
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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Psalm 53
Pray Honestly!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Thursday, May 18.
Have you ever wondered why Psalm 14 and Psalm 53 are nearly identical? Spurgeon explained the repetitive nature of these two psalms:
The evil nature of man is here brought before our view a second time, in almost the same inspired words. All repetitions are not vain repetitions. We are slow to learn, and need line upon line. David after a long life, found men no better than they were in his youth. Holy Writ never repeats itself needlessly, there is good cause for the second copy of this Psalm; let us read it with more profound attention than before. If our age has advanced from fourteen to fifty-three, we shall find the doctrine of this Psalm more evident than in our youth.[1]
If you are tempted to call the language of total depravity hyperbole, granting David a poetic license to illustrate his point, but not really believing his doctrine, then you are deceived by the very seductions of your flesh that you are discounting. David is not making an exaggerated statement; rather, he is accurately diagnosing our human condition. The mortal taint of sin is incurable by man’s vain efforts; sin is a universal struggle – all people wrestle with their own self-will, the flesh, as Psalm 53:1-3 diagnoses:
The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God,” they are corrupt, and have committed abominable injustice; there is no one who does good. God has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men to see if there is anyone who understands, who seeks after God. Every one of them has turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.
Seize the moment and pray Psalm 53, meditating upon your absolute need for a Savior – “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).
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.
Videos are posted about a week after the devotion appears in the blog.
FOOTNOTE:
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Psalm 52
The Importance of a Lightning Rod!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Wednesday, May 17.
Praying while you are angry can serve the same purpose as a lightning rod in a storm! While it doesn’t prevent lightning from striking, it does divert its destructive power to ground.
The title of Psalm 52 gives us the historical context for today’s psalm, “when Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul and said to him, ‘David has come to the house of Ahimelech.’” From 1 Samuel 22:6-23, we learn that Doeg’s report of David’s activity led to Saul ordering the massacre of eighty-five priests – Ahimelech and his father’s household. Doeg’s heinous crime was on David’s mind when he penned Psalm 52:1-5:
Why do you boast in evil, O mighty man? The lovingkindness of God endures all day long. Your tongue devises destruction, like a sharp razor, O worker of deceit. You love evil more than good, falsehood more than speaking what is right. Selah. You love all words that devour, O deceitful tongue. But God will break you down forever; He will snatch you up and tear you away from your tent, and uproot you from the land of the living. Selah.
David’s anger burned against Doeg, but there is no record of him seeking revenge. Instead, the story culminated with this prayer. David expressed his grief and his anger to God, entrusting vengeance to the Lord. This is a powerful illustration of Romans 12:19, “Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord.” Easier said than done! May today’s psalm serve as an example of how to prayerfully trust God in times of pain and anger. Don’t gossip or take matters into your own hands; rather, petition God for His lovingkindness in your circumstances. Otherwise, the anger will consume you!
Seize the moment and pray Psalm 52, meditating upon the power of God to ground all your pain and anger. Trust God to be your lightning rod today!
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.
Videos are posted about a week after the devotion appears in the blog.
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Psalm 51
Plead the Blood of Jesus!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Tuesday, May 16.
There is power in saying, “Yes, I did it. I’m guilty of the crime.” If you want to experience true freedom, then you must confess your sins as rebellion against God. It’s not a bad choice or a phase of life; it’s sin! God used Nathan the prophet to call out David for his crimes against Bathsheba and Uriah (2 Samuel 11-12). There was no getting around it; David knew he was guilty of murder and adultery, deserving of God’s righteous judgment.
David petitioned God for the forgiveness of sin in Psalm 51:2-4, “Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against You, You only, I have sinned and done what is evil in Your sight, so that You are justified when You speak and blameless when You judge.” Furthermore, David pleaded the blood in verse 7, “Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow” (cf. Isaiah 1:16-18). David’s request invokes the Exodus and the sacrifice of the Passover Lamb (ref. Exodus 12:21-22). David confessed his guilt and knew that he was not able to forgive himself, nor cleanse himself from his unrighteousness, so he petitioned God.
The way to forgiveness was made through Jesus Christ – “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). The blood of the Lamb provides the propitiation of God’s wrath for humanity’s rebellion against Him. In simple words, Jesus satisfied God’s righteous judgment through the shedding of His own blood (1 Peter 1:18-19; Hebrews 9:22; Ephesians 1:7; Romans 3:21-25).
Seize the moment and pray Psalm 51, meditating upon David’s confession; plead the blood of Jesus – “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
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.
Videos are posted about a week after the devotion appears in the blog.
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Psalm 50
Pray in the Day of Trouble!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Monday, May 15.
What loving parents do not wish for their children to call upon them in their day of trouble? When you need to be rescued, to whom do you turn? God desires for it to be Him, as He invites His children to do in Psalm 50:15, “Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I shall rescue you, and you will honor Me.” What a beautiful promise from your Heavenly Father – God wants you to cry out to Him when you are in distress. He wants you to trust Him and to rely upon Him to be there for you in your day of trouble. We find this call for intimacy with God in Psalm 91:14-16:
Because he has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him securely on high, because he has known My name. He will call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him. With a long life I will satisfy him and let him see My salvation.
Like any loving parent, God would like to protect you from the day of trouble, by showing you how to avoid it in the first place. This is why children are taught to obey and honor their parents in Ephesians 6:1-3 – to avoid the pitfalls of life by learning how to live in the way of blessing! This is the way of a right relationship with God, as taught in Psalm 50:23, “He who offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving honors Me; and to him who orders his way aright I shall show the salvation of God.” Obey and honor God as your Heavenly Father, and you will walk in His way.
Seize the moment and pray Psalm 50, meditating upon God as your Heavenly Father who desires to rescue you from the day of trouble and put your feet back on solid rock.
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.
Videos are posted about a week after the devotion appears in the blog.
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Grow Strong in God’s Grace – Wk 12
Grow Strong in God’s Grace: Learning How to be a Faithful Farmer for God’s Harvest!
The Faith that Bears Fruit! (Cont.)
Hebrews 11:11-12 (NASB)
STEP #3 OF THE FARMER’S STRATEGY: CARE FOR THE MATURING PLANT
Sarah was a real woman, with real faith, in real history, and her story began with a faith that pleased God. Her transforming story is recorded in Hebrews 11:11-12:
By faith even Sarah herself received ability to conceive, even beyond the proper time of life, since she considered Him faithful who had promised. Therefore there was born even of one man, and him as good as dead at that, as many descendants as the stars of heaven in number, and innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore.
To experience the promises of God we must learn how to care for the maturing plant of our faith through the storms and tribulations of this life. Genesis 21:1-8 tells us how long Abraham and Sarah had to wait to experience God’s promise in their lives:
Then the Lord took note of Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as He had promised. So Sarah conceived and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the appointed time of which God had spoken to him. Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore to him, Isaac. Then Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. Now Abraham was one hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. Sarah said, “God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh with me.” And she said, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.” The child grew and was weaned, and Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned.
If you read more about Abraham and Sarah’s transforming story of faith in Genesis, you will see that they went through many trials and tribulations. While they blessed the nations through their faith, they had to live by faith to bear the good fruit of the promises of God to them. We are now going to turn to the New Testament, learning from the biblical pattern of Paul’s life so that we can learn how to live strong in God’s grace as an heir of the promise of Abraham. Let us learn from the fruit of Sarah’s womb how we are to live as those who have inherited the promise of Abraham through faith in Jesus Christ. As Paul said in Galatians 4:28, to those who believe in Jesus Christ, “And you brethren, like Isaac, are children of promise.” This is how Paul saw himself and this is how we should see ourselves.
There are four practical steps we can learn from Paul about how to live as children of promise. First, Paul started by claiming the promises of God in Philippians 1:6, “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” As we have previously learned in my Live like a Champion Today sermon series, the Bible is filled with the promises of God that will lead you to living the victorious life of Jesus Christ. For example, you may think, “If I am not successful in this situation, then my life will fall apart.” The natural result of such catastrophic, slippery-slope thinking is anxiety and doubt. Replace that faulty logic with the promise of God, “Even if I am not successful in every situation, God, who began a good work in me, will bring me through this tribulation and bring me to completion.” This promise will decrease the anxiety-inducing, self-focused thinking, and keep your mind focused on the power of God to fulfill the promises of God, in and through you!
Second, Paul taught us to pray the promises of God in Philippians 1:9-11:
And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ; having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
The Bible is filled with prayers that are effective and in accordance with God’s will: pray these prayers! The Psalms were Jesus’ prayer book; the Bible has example after example of prayers God has already declared as prayers He will answer. Memorize them, cultivate them into your heart and mind, plant them as seeds of grace, so that in your 9-1-1 moments your communion with God will be unbreakable by neither of the normal fleshly responses caused by your autonomic nervous system: adrenaline rush (fight) or detached retreat (flight). To illustrate this form my life experience, Psalm 23 is my personal go-to prayer. I have memorized it and I walk through my days with it for three reasons:
- It relaxes me – rest for my soul in His green pastures and beside quiet waters
- It reminds me of who God is – the Good Shepherd of my soul, in whom I shall not want
- It focuses me on God’s promises for my life and eternity – He walks with me all the days of my life and I will dwell with Him always
Paul then gives us the right perspective on our circumstances in Philippians 1:12-14:
Now I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel, so that my imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the whole praetorian guard and to everyone else, and that most of the brethren, trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment, have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear.
Our circumstances overwhelm us so often that we lose perspective on what is true and real in life from God’s reality. Yes, it is true that our perception shapes how we view what is real to us, but it is not true that my perception is true reality. Paul claimed God’s promises, he then prayed them, and then he gained an accurate assessment of reality. God gave Paul his perspective: what has happened to me, though difficult, has served a greater purpose. In life, we are going to suffer, but will our suffering have meaning, purpose, and hope attached to it. It is a right perspective of life that shapes our contentment and ability to rejoice in all circumstances. It is how we walk through these circumstances that often shapes our witness to those around us and proclaims the transforming power of faith to all who are watching us. This is the good fruit of God’s grace through the gospel of Jesus Christ – live strong in God’s grace today!
That brings us to the last thing we are going to learn from Paul in how to care for the maturing plant so that it grows strong enough to bear good fruit. Paul teaches us to seize the moment and execute God’s plan for our lives in Philippians 1:21-24:
For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose. But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better; yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake.
Paul’s life was built on the promises of God, he prayed effective prayers from the Word of God, and he kept a right perspective on his circumstance, so that he could seize the moment for the plan of God in his daily life. God used Paul’s life as a descendent of Sarah’s womb, an heir of Abraham’s promise – Paul was a blessing to the nations as the Apostle to the Gentiles! We are to do the same in our lives as children of the promise – we are called to bless the nations as ambassadors of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17-20). Just as Sarah’s faith bore good fruit, so should our lives reap a harvest of praise. That brings us to the last action step.
STEP #4 OF THE FARMER’S STRATEGY: REAP A HARVEST OF PRAISE
Living strong in God’s grace leads to a harvest of praise because it is the empowered life of the Holy Spirit! In a life that reaps a harvest of praise, all four of the elements we learned from Paul’s life are important: a promise to claim; a prayer to pray; the right perspective on circumstances; and a plan to execute. Without one of these you may find yourself overridden with an anxious or fearful heart, aimless in your life, and buried in your circumstances. If you were to examine the life of Abraham and Sarah, you will see the damaging effects of not trusting God for the promises of God (Genesis 16). Whereas the flesh produced Ishmael, the Spirit of God birthed the good fruit of Isaac (Galatians 4:21-31). Paul emphasized this part of the Abraham-Sarah story in Galatians 4:31-5:1, to illustrate why we, as followers of Jesus Christ, are to walk by the Spirit, “So then, brethren, we are not children of a bondwoman [Hagar who gave birth to Ishmael], but of the free woman [Sarah who gave birth to Isaac]. It was for freedom [from sin] that Christ set us free [to live for God through faith]; therefore keep standing firm [by faith through the Spirit] and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery [the flesh].”
It is my desire to help you choose the better way, the way of living by the power of the Holy Spirit, who promises to reap a harvest of praise in and through your life, learning to trust God’s promises and obeying Him in all that you do. This is the life of faith – live strong in God’s grace! Jesus taught about the empowered life of the Holy Spirit in John 14:15-21:
If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. After a little while the world will no longer see Me, but you will see Me; because I live, you will live also. In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.”
To keep Jesus’ commandments is to obey the God you worship. True worship is not empty praise from unbelieving lips; it is a life whose actions and attitudes flow out of what you believe about God. This is what Jesus intended when He said in John 4:23-24, “But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” Are you worshipping in spirit and truth?
What do you believe about God? Faith is reckoned to you as righteousness! What does your life say you believe about God? Faith in God leads to a life that proclaims the very character of God through the fruit bearing of the Holy Spirit, as promised in Galatians 5:22-23, “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” This is the harvest of praise that will spread the seed of Abraham, the fruit of Sarah’s barren womb, to all the nations because you obeyed God’s voice in your life. This is the miracle of God’s grace as it grows in you – from Sarah’ barren womb came the child of promise, Isaac, just as from the seed of faith, God grows the fruit of the good news of Jesus Christ – God’s righteousness for all the nations. Be fruitful for the kingdom of God!
Abraham and Sarah’s transforming story of faith strengthens our faith, gives us hope, and gives us the courage to tell a better story with our stories. To make visible that which is invisible – the kingdom of God on Earth as it is in Heaven! May we reap a harvest of praise as our stories are transformed through the gospel of Jesus Christ!
You can watch this message by clicking HERE.
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Hymn: The Lord’s Prayer (it’s Yours)
Seize the Moment – Day 1152
Today’s modern hymn focus will be
The Lord’s Prayer (it’s Yours)
Hymn 146
Matthew 6:9 (NASB95)
“Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.”
This song began through an exchange of voice memos and phone calls between Matt Maher and Bryan Fowler. Both men are known for taking the timeless Scriptures and setting them to music. With a desire to help believers memorize
truth, they set part of Matthew 6 to a melody with a gospel flair.
Father let Your kingdom come, Father let Your will be done
On earth as in heaven, right here in my heart.
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 Ken 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.
If you would like to listen to this song, click on this link:
The Lord’s Prayer (it’s Yours)
Father let Your will be done
On earth as in heaven
Right here in my heart
Father let Your Kingdom come
Father let Your will be done
On earth as in heaven
Right here in my heart
Forgive us, forgive us
As we forgive the ones who sinned against us
Forgive them
And lead us not into temptation
But deliver us from the evil one
Let Your kingdom come
Father let Your will be done
On earth as in heaven (Let it be done)
Right here in my heart
Father let Your Kingdom come (Holy, holy)
Father let Your will be done
On earth as in heaven (Let it be done)
Right here in my heart
Forgive us, forgive us
As we forgive the ones who sinned against us
Forgive them
And lead us not into temptation
But deliver us from the evil one
Let Your kingdom come
All Yours, all Yours
The kingdom, the power, the glory are Yours
It’s Yours, it’s Yours
All Yours, all Yours
Forever and ever the kingdom is Yours
It’s Yours, it’s Yours
All Yours, all Yours
The kingdom, the power, the glory are Yours
It’s Yours, it’s Yours
All Yours, all Yours
Forever and ever the kingdom is Yours
Father let Your will be done
On earth as in heaven (Let it be done)
Right here in my heart (Here in my heart)
Father let Your Kingdom come (Holy, holy)
Father let Your will be done
On earth as in heaven (Let it be done)
Right here in my heart (Here in my heart)
Right here in my heart
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Psalm 49
Praise God for Paying the Price!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Friday, May 12.
What is the price tag of your soul? When Voltaire was on his death bed, he reportedly said to his doctor, “I will give you half of all I possess if you will give me six months more of life.”[1] Even though he was rich and powerful, one of the most influential minds of the European enlightenment, Voltaire died in despair. He was not the first person, nor, unfortunately, will he be the last, to put his hope in his riches. Psalm 49:7-12 teaches us that only a fool puts his hope in wealth because it will ultimately fail you when you need it the most:
No man can by any means redeem his brother or give to God a ransom for him – For the redemption of his soul is costly, and he should cease trying forever – That he should live on eternally, that he should not undergo decay. For he sees that even wise men die; the stupid and the senseless alike perish and leave their wealth to others. Their inner thought is that their houses are forever and their dwelling places to all generations; they have called their lands after their own names. But man in his pomp will not endure; he is like the beasts that perish.
Jesus cautioned from such pompousness in Mark 8:36-37, “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? For what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” Jesus paid the price of redemption – the price tag of your soul was His precious blood, shed on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins (1 Peter 1:18-19; Ephesians 1:7-8a; Acts 20:28). You are free from sin to live for Christ, apart from the fear of death and its ensuing judgment (Hebrews 9:27-28).
Seize the moment and pray Psalm 49, meditating upon the cost of your redemption – “For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body” (1 Corinthians 6:20).
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.
Videos are posted about a week after the devotion appears in the blog.
FOOTNOTE:
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Psalm 48
Pray for Your Community!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Thursday, May 11.
Are you praying for the community in which you live? Are you asking God to use you to shine His light and share His love to your community?
Psalm 48 is the Song of Zion. Zion is the temple mount in Jerusalem and is used synonymously with Jerusalem itself. The first three verses demonstrate how intertwined Jerusalem was with the Jewish people’s worship of God and their thankfulness for His presence in their city, “Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, in the city of our God, His holy mountain. Beautiful in elevation, the joy of the whole earth, is Mount Zion in the far north, the city of the great King. God, in her palaces, has made Himself known as a stronghold.”
James Montgomery Boice explained how we don’t have the same theology of city that the Jewish people had, while also opening Christians to the reality that we have something better as New Covenant believers:
The ancient devout Jew was conscious of the presence of God in Jerusalem, symbolized by the ark of the covenant that rested within the Most Holy Place of the temple. It is why he could say, “God is in her citadels” (v. 3). We cannot say that God is in our cities in the same way, or even in our churches. But we have something better: God in us, in the person of his Holy Spirit … (John 14:16-17). … To have the Holy Spirit within us is a very great bulwark against the world, the flesh, and the devil, against all sin and temptation.[1]
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.
Videos are posted about a week after the devotion appears in the blog.
FOOTNOTE:
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Psalm 47
Practice the Promise of Praise!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Wednesday, May 10.
In the same way that Psalm 46:10 taught us to be silent and see God’s exaltation in the earth, Psalm 47:1-2 calls us to be loud in our worship of the Lord’s supremacy over the nations, “O clap your hands, all peoples; shout to God with the voice of joy. For the Lord Most High is to be feared, a great King over all the earth.” There is an appointed time for everything, just as Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes 3:7, there is “a time to be silent and a time to speak.”
Just as important as incorporating times of silence and solitude into our lives, so is building in times of personal and corporate praise to God, as Psalm 47:6-8 commands, “Sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praises to our King, sing praises. For God is the King of all the earth; sing praises with a skillful psalm. God reigns over the nations, God sits on His holy throne.” Five times in this short passage, we are told to “sing praises.” Our prayer life is to be a rhythm of human expression, from the silence of meditation to the loudness of celebration. There is an appointed time for everything!
In both expressions of your life of devotion – in silence and singing – you are declaring the reality of the Sovereign God. Whether in being still or by clapping your hands, whether in silence or with loud praise, you are centering your heart and mind on the truth of God’s supremacy over all creation and His preeminence over your life.
Seize the moment and pray Psalm 47, meditating upon the worthiness of God to receive all your praise – join in the prostrated praise of Revelation 4:11, “Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.”
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.
Videos are posted about a week after the devotion appears in the blog.
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Psalm 46
Practice the Promise of Stillness!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Tuesday, May 9.
Psalm 46:10-11 teaches us the promise of stillness, “Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah.” It may sound more familiar to you when I read the KJV, “Be still, and know that I am God” (NIV & ESV). The Message explains it “Step out of the traffic! Take a long, loving look at me, your High God, above politics, above everything.” However you translate it, the point is the same – God’s got this, so stop trying to do it by your own power!
Whatever it is you are going through, there is an action plan that involves stillness – setting apart a moment in time to be reminded by your inactivity of God’s activity to cause “all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). Prioritizing time for silence and solitude in your busy days is the spiritual discipline of the promise of stillness; it is the intending of your attention on the presence of God. It’s not passivity; stillness is the sacred activity of being “conformed to the image of His Son” (Romans 8:29). As I explained about Jesus in Live Like a Champion Today:
Jesus intended His attention on the presence of God throughout His ministry. He prayed at His baptism (Luke 3:21) and then immediately went off for a prolonged forty days of silence and solitude in the wilderness (Luke 4:1-2). Jesus gave Himself to the Cross after a time of being still before the Lord, as was His custom, in the Garden of Gethsemane (Luke 22:39-42).[1]
Seize the moment and pray Psalm 46, meditating upon the presence of the Lord of hosts in your life, and His power to exalt Himself through every situation you will face.
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.
Videos are posted about a week after the devotion appears in the blog.
FOOTNOTE:
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Psalm 45
Pray with Anticipation!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Monday, May 8.
Psalm 45 is a wedding song, but not for an ordinary wedding; it was written for a royal wedding. Its words are too lofty for even the most exalted of couples; therefore, we are left with only one conclusion: Psalm 45 is a Messianic Psalm. Spurgeon made that point clear in his classic work on the Psalms:
Some here see Solomon and Pharaoh’s daughter only – they are short-sighted; others see both Solomon and Christ – they are cross-eyed; well-focussed [sic] spiritual eyes see here Jesus only, … “The King,” the God whose throne is for ever and ever, is no mere mortal and his everlasting dominion is not bounded by Lebanon and Egypt’s river. This is no wedding song of earthly nuptials, but an Epithalamium [a poem celebrating a marriage] for the Heavenly Bridegroom and his elect spouse.[1]
To illustrate this point, Psalm 45:6-7 was quoted in Hebrews 1:8-9 to emphasize Jesus Christ as the One who fulfills this exalted psalm, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; a scepter of uprightness is the scepter of Your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of joy above Your fellows.” John the Baptist described Jesus as the bridegroom in John 3:29, “He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. So this joy of mine has been made full.” Paul pointed out that the church is the betrothed of Christ in 2 Corinthians 11:2, “I betrothed you to one husband, so that to Christ I might present you as a pure virgin.”
Seize the moment and pray Psalm 45, meditating upon the joy of being the betrothed of Jesus Christ – “Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready” (Revelation 19:7). For the joy set before you, prepare yourself to be a holy and blameless bride (Ephesians 5:25-27).
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.
Videos are posted about a week after the devotion appears in the blog.
FOOTNOTE:
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Grow Strong in God’s Grace – Wk 11
Grow Strong in God’s Grace: Learning How to be a Faithful Farmer for God’s Harvest!
The Faith that Trusts God’s Promises!
Hebrews 11:8-10 (NAS95)
God is in the business of transforming stories through the gospel of Jesus Christ. We are to grow strong in God’s grace as active participants in the world He created. God has entrusted His creation to His people to work as His Harvest workers – “All the world’s a field, and all the disciples of Jesus Christ merely farmers!” Let’s follow the four-step strategy of a faith farmer: 1) cultivate people with faith; 2) sow the good seed of God’s grace (the gospel) into their hearts and minds; 3) care for them as their stories are transformed into fruit-bearing plants; and 4) reap a harvest of praise as the church of Jesus Christ. Never forget, this strategy must be empowered by the Holy Spirit because apart from God’s grace through His Son Jesus Christ you cannot bear God’s good fruit (John 15:5). Therefore, harvest workers of God’s kingdom are called to grow strong in God’s grace to reap a harvest of praise to the glory of God. Let’s turn to Hebrews 11 and learn from the next transforming story in the Hall of Faith.
STEP #1 OF THE FARMER’S STRATEGY: CULTIVATE THE SOIL WITH FAITH
Faith is defined in Hebrews 11:1-2, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the men [and women] of old gained approval.” Today’s passage from Hebrews 11:8-10 illustrates the life of faith with the fourth transforming story in the Hall of Faith, from which we are going to learn how to grow strong in God’s grace:
By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise; for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
Just like you and me, today, Abraham was a real man, with real faith, in real history, and his story began with a faith that pleased God. His story is told in Genesis 11:27-25:8. It all started when his name was still Abram, as he responded to the invitation of God in Genesis 12:1-5:
Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go forth from your country, and from your relatives and from your father’s house, to the land which I will show you; and I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and so you shall be a blessing; and I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.” So Abram went forth as the Lord had spoken to him; and Lot went with him. Now Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his nephew, and all their possessions which they had accumulated, and the persons which they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan; thus they came to the land of Canaan.
Abraham’s faith in God’s promises led him to obey God, leaving for the Promised Land even though he did not know where he was going. Has God ever asked you to take the next step of faith in your life even though you didn’t know where it was taking you? While my story is not nearly as dramatic as that of Abraham, I remember, in October 2009, when we answered God’s call to transition from being the Associate Pastor of Crosswalk Community Church in Sunnyvale, California to become the Senior Pastor here at First Baptist Church of New Castle, Indiana. By faith, and on a handshake, Kimberly and I packed up our baby boy, Beorn, and we drove thousands of miles to come to God’s promised land for our family – the place God called us to serve His kingdom on Earth as it is in Heaven. While it started as a place we had to look up on a map because we had no idea where it was, I can attest to you over 13 ½ years later, since we obeyed God by saying yes to leaving everything to come to New Castle, Indiana, that God has brought great joy to our lives because we obeyed His call, to include both Alana and Willow being born here. If obedience were easy, everyone would be doing it, so let’s learn from the transforming story of Abraham how we, too, can live lives of faith that trust God’s promises.
STEP #2 OF THE FARMER’S STRATEGY: SOW THE GOOD SEED OF GOD’S GRACE
Hebrews 11:8-10 emphasizes Abraham’s faith. It was his faith in God that caused him to go to a place which he was to receive as an inheritance even though he did not know where he was going. It was faith in God that caused him to take his wife and all that he had to a place where he would be an alien in a foreign land. It took faith for Abraham to trust God and move to the Promised Land.
What is the land of promise for us today? While there is still the literal Promised Land, known as Israel, as a biblical principle it goes beyond the geographical land itself. It represents God’s grace at work in the world – His providential provision and divine protection for His people, both for this life and in the life to come. God’s grace is at work in and through His people to bring about a multigenerational eternal promise which has implications for you today! This is why we are learning how to grow strong in God’s grace, so that we can be the people of God – men and women who believe God for His promises!
The Bible makes it clear that the promises of God are dependent on only one thing: the blood line of faith! What started as the blood line of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, then David, was eternally sealed by the shed blood of Jesus Christ (Matthew 26:28; 1 Corinthians 11:23-28; Hebrews 9:11-28). Therefore, you are the people of the promise through the blood of Jesus Christ! The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 1:20-22:
For as many as are the promises of God, in Him they are yes; therefore also through Him is our Amen to the glory of God through us. Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God, who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge.
You are called to be a person of God’s promises! That requires faith, so let’s examine the work of God’s grace to plant the seeds of faith into our hearts and minds through the story of Abraham in Genesis. After a great military victory to rescue his nephew Lot, and having received a blessing from Melchizedek king of Salem (Jerusalem), Genesis 15:1-6 conclude with one of the most important statements made in the Bible, and it was first used about Abraham:
After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not fear, Abram, I am a shield to you; Your reward shall be very great.” Abram said, “O Lord God, what will You give me, since I am childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” And Abram said, “Since You have given no offspring to me, one born in my house is my heir.” Then behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “This man will not be your heir; but one who will come forth from your own body, he shall be your heir.” And He took him outside and said, “Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” Then he believed in the Lord; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness. [emphasis added]
In two places, Paul quoted this statement, “[God] reckoned it to him as righteousness.” The first is in Romans 4, specifically verses 1-5 and 16-22:
What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has found? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due. But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness, … For this reason it is by faith, in order that it may be in accordance with grace, so that the promise will be guaranteed to all the descendants, not only to those who are of the Law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, (as it is written, “A father of many nations have I made you”) in the presence of Him whom he believed, even God, who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist. In hope against hope he believed, so that he might become a father of many nations according to that which had been spoken, “So shall your descendants be.” Without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah’s womb; yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform. Therefore it was also credited to him as righteousness.
The second place Paul quotes this truth about Abraham’s life is in Galatians 3:6-9, 29:
Even so Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness. Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham. The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “All the nations will be blessed in you.” So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer. … And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise.
Like Abraham, through God’s grace, you are called to be a person who believes God for His promises, and as a person of faith you become a son of Abraham – an heir according to the promise! Obedience flowed from God’s grace through Abraham to Jesus to you today! God made a way through faith – that is God’s grace at work through Jesus Christ! When your story is transformed by faith, through the power of God’s grace, then you will be a blessing to all the nations, just as God choose Abraham and Sarah to do. This is your birth rite as a Christian, as well as the harvest God has called you to reap. Jesus’s Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20 is the work of fulfilling God’s promise to Abraham:
All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.
When you have a faith that trust God’s promises, you will answer the call upon your life to be like a hard-working farmer for God’s Harvest. In doing so, through the power of the Holy Spirit, you will mature in Christ and bear the good fruit of the Spirit. Let’s now turn to Sarah’s story and learn from her the faith that bears fruit.
TO BE CONTINUED NEXT WEEK
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Hymn: The Blood Will Never Lose Its Power
Seize the Moment – Day 1145
Today’s hymn focus will be
The Blood Will Never Lose Its Power
1 John 1:7 (NASB95)
“ but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.”
meat, he began writing down and sing “The blood that Jesus shed for me, way back on Calvary…” But he thought it wasn’t good, so he wadded up the paper and threw it away. But his sister Sandra pulled it back out and told him it was good and he should finish it.
The blood that gives me strength from day to day
It will never lose its power.
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YOUTUBE:
If you prefer a video, Pastor Ken 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.
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The Blood Will Never Lose Its Power
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Psalm 44
Pray through the Suffering!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Friday, May 5.
Suffering is a reality of life. Don’t waste it! Pray through your time of suffering and draw closer to God because of it, just like the psalmist did in Psalm 44:23-26:
Arouse Yourself, why do You sleep, O Lord? Awake, do not reject us forever. Why do You hide Your face and forget our affliction and our oppression? For our soul has sunk down into the dust; Our body cleaves to the earth. Rise up, be our help, and redeem us for the sake of Your lovingkindness.
Have you ever felt like that? Like the Sovereign God was asleep at the wheel? That very sentiment fuels one of the popular philosophical arguments against Christianity – if an all-powerful God is truly good, then why is there evil and suffering in the world? While the skeptic simplistically concludes that there can be no such god, we know there is a reason for suffering in this life. All championship athletes have learned the value of suffering in their training regimen to reach their potential!
Paul asked in Romans 8:35, “Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?” Interestingly, he answered by quoting today’s psalm. Paul found the answer to God’s covenant faithfulness within our human suffering, from verses 20-22, “If we had forgotten the name of our God or extended our hands to a strange god, would not God find this out? For He knows the secrets of the heart. But for Your sake we are killed all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” God proves Himself to us in our times of suffering (Romans 8:37-39).
Seize the moment and pray Psalm 44, meditating upon the loyal love of God through your suffering – “In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; [Jesus has] 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.
Videos are posted about a week after the devotion appears in the blog.
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Psalm 43
Pray through Your Depression! (Part 2)
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Thursday, May 4.
Have you ever experienced your emotions like a storm? If you have ever been on a ship during a storm at open sea then you know how you can be tossed to and fro by the winds, at the mercy of the pounding waves. Today’s devotion is part 2 of how to pray through depression because Psalm 43 is most often paired with Psalm 42, with many scholars believing they were originally one psalm. The refrain of Psalm 42, found in verses 5 and 11, concludes the pair in Psalm 43:5, “Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why are you disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him, the help of my countenance and my God.”
We are desperate apart from God – without hope and cast adrift by our circumstances and the waves of tumultuous emotions that slam against us. Like a ship buffeting against the wind, we must realize that there is a way forward during the storm of spiritual depression. The psalmist names this powerful force of stability in Psalm 43:4, “Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy; and upon the lyre I shall praise You, O God, my God.”
God is my exceeding joy! What a triumphant proclamation of praise that you are invited to declare about God no matter the circumstances of your life. During the return of the exiles from Babylon, while they were rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem with great opposition coming up against them, Nehemiah declared, “Go, eat of the fat, drink of the sweet, and send portions to him who has nothing prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10).
Seize the moment and pray Psalm 43, meditating upon the joy of the Lord – “In Your presence is fullness of joy” (Psalm 16:11). Praise God through your storm!
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.
Videos are posted about a week after the devotion appears in the blog.
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