Psalm 6
A Prayer of Repentance!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Tuesday, March 14.
Psalm 6 is one of the seven penitential psalms, which means the author’s focus was on confessing sin and asking God for mercy and forgiveness. In other words, it is a psalm of repentance! In Psalm 6:1-4, David cried out to God five times:
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.
Do you hear both his physical pain and emotional anguish? The consequences of sin can be far reaching in our lives. Therefore, in our suffering, we must turn to the One who can rescue us. Repentance begins with a confession of faith – David cried out, “O Lord!” five times in four verses. Before anything else, he declared God to be Yahweh – the One who would hear his cry and answer him in his distress. In his suffering, David did not run from God, He ran to Him. Like a child to her father is David to his God.
David cried out to Yahweh by lamenting his sin, agonizing over his pain, requesting mercy and grace, and pleading for God not to delay. This is the key to an effective prayer life – pray fervently to the One who can give you relief (James 5:16). By verse 9, David has experienced relief and an assurance of God’s response, “The Lord has heard my supplication, the Lord receives my prayer.”
Seize the moment and pray Psalm 6, meditating upon the faithfulness of God to respond to your prayer of repentance – “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.
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Psalm 5
Sing for Joy!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Monday, March 13.
I’ve always enjoyed listening to music. But I didn’t start singing until I became a Christian. I learned quickly that Christians love to sing when they get together. Paul commanded the early church in Ephesians 5:18c-19, “be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord.” But this wasn’t a new idea for God’s people!
The Psalms were often set to music, like Psalm 5 states in its introduction, “For the choir director; for flute accompaniment.” David called the people of God to song in verse 11, “But let all who take refuge in You be glad, let them ever sing for joy; and may You shelter them, that those who love Your name may exult in You.” David was petitioning God for protection from wicked people through this psalm, and in doing so, he was using music to teach God’s people how to cry out to God with their hearts, minds, bodies, and souls.
Music is meant to teach, inspire, and encourage us in our walk with God; to spur us on to godliness and faithful living. In Colossians 3:16, Paul explained how our singing is to build one another up in the faith, “Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.”
We are to gather and sing together, but you are to wake up each morning and sing for joy, as David invites in Psalm 5:3, “In the morning, O Lord, You will hear my voice. In the morning I will order my prayer to You and eagerly watch.”
Seize the moment and pray Psalm 5, meditating upon the power of praise in your Christian life. When you sing for joy, the promises of God anchor deeply into your soul.
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 5
Learning How to be a Faithful Farmer for God’s Harvest!
Sow the Good Seed: The Second Step of the Farmer’s Strategy!
Matthew 13:3-9 & Mark 4:26-32 (NAS95)
We are learning that the strategy of a hard-working farmer has four steps, each of which the faithful farmer must diligently work, if the farmer hopes to harvest a large crop yield:
- Cultivate the soil.
- Sow the good seed.
- Care for the maturing plant.
- Reap a harvest.
Last week we discussed the first step, “Cultivate the soil.” We learned how to prepare people’s hearts to receive the good seed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus explained the Parable of the Four Soils for us, teaching us how to discern the condition of each person’s heart and mind, in hopes of reaping a harvest of praise, to the glory of God.
Today, we are going to dive into the second step of the faithful farmer’s strategy: Sow the good seed! To learn about this, we are going to dive into three parables of Jesus Christ. I will start by emphasizing a different point from last week’s parable, “The Parable of the Four Soils,” found in Matthew 13:3-9. Instead of focusing on the four types of soil, today we will examine it as “The Parable of the Sower” and learn about the good seed He is sowing:
And [Jesus] spoke many things to them in parables, saying, “Behold, the sower went out to sow; and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up. Others fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil. But when the sun had risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. Others fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out. And others fell on the good soil and yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear.”
We learned from Jesus in Matthew 13:19 that the seed is “the word of the kingdom.” The following seven passages instruct us about the characteristics and qualities of the good seed, which is the “word of the kingdom”:
- Joshua 1:8, “This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success.”
- Isaiah 55:10-11, “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there without watering the earth and making it bear and sprout, and furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater; so will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; it will not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.”
- Matthew 24:35, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.”
- 2 Timothy 3:16-17, “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”
- 2 Peter 1:20-21, “But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.”
- Hebrews 4:12, “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”
- 1 Peter 1:23-25, “For you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God. For, ‘All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls off, but the word of the Lord endures forever.’ And this is the word which was preached to you.”
From this first parable of Jesus, we learn about the good seed, which was passed down to us and we are to pass it on to others who will join us in the work of sowing it. Paul taught this to his protégé in 2 Timothy 2:2, “The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” Just like God first sowed the seed of life into us and invited us to join Him in His garden (creation). We read this in Genesis 2:7-8, “Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. The Lord God planted a garden toward the east, in Eden; and there He placed the man whom He had formed.”
God said to His image bearers at the beginning, “Be fruitful and multiply” (Genesis 1:26-28). As image bearers of God, we were to continue to fulfill His desires for His creation, which is that all things would live under His rightful rule (in His kingdom). This is the work of the harvest, as Jesus commanded in Mark 16:15, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.” This is the Great Commission for which Jesus taught us to pray in Luke 10:2, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.” The work of the harvest is to sow the good seed, passing it from person to person, generation to generation, and nation to nation. As Jesus emphasized in Matthew 28:19-20, “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.”
Let’s enter a time of prayer, asking God to open our eyes to this plentiful harvest. The harvest is in our homes and neighborhoods, in our schools and places of work, throughout our communities, and to the places around the world which we go. Are you willing and available to be a laborer in God’s harvest, wherever and whenever He may call you to go? Let’s pray for each of us to be open, available, and willing to be used by God, wherever and whenever He may call.
[Time of Prayer]
In the next parable, the Parable of the Seed, found in Mark 4:26-29, Jesus taught about the importance of God’s grace in the work of sowing the good seed:
And [Jesus] was saying, “The kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil; and he goes to bed at night and gets up by day, and the seed sprouts and grows – how, he himself does not know. The soil produces crops by itself; first the blade, then the head, then the mature grain in the head. But when the crop permits, he immediately puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”
Just like with life itself, there is a mystery in the power of the seed because it is God-breathed. The seed comes from the Sower (God), who provided the good seed to us so that we can sow in His name, with His same Spirit that brought life out from the dust. There is a guarantee on this seed, as we’ve already learned from Isaiah 55:11, “it will not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.” These words are spoken by the Sower of faith. Isaiah 55:8-9 tells us about the One who makes such an extravagant promise, “‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,’ declares the Lord. ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.’”
Our job as hard-working farmers is to sow the good seed, which has been provided to us, not second guess the seed or what the Sower says it is capable of or what it will produce. As Jesus taught in the above parable, we can rest easy at night knowing that we have been faithful farmers who “cast seed upon the soil.” The rest is up to God and the power of His good seed.
What is required of you, the faithful farmer? Just that, it requires faith! The kind of faith that reminds you to sow seed everywhere you go because it’s good seed. Regardless of whether it is hard ground, shallow rocky soil, land filled with thorns and thistles, or fields that have proven themselves to be good soil, you sow the seed!
You are called to sow, but you can’t make it grow! You aren’t in control! You can’t control the results of your hard work, only in whether you are willing to work hard and follow the strategy of the faithful farmer, entrusted to you generation after generation, and preserved through the Bible handed down to you. It’s a life learning how to “walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7) – the farmer goes to bed, sleeps peacefully because he trusts the strategy passed down to him. As Jesus taught in His parable, the farmer wakes up to see that “the seed sprouts and grows – how, he himself does not know. The soil produces crops by itself; first the blade, then the head, then the mature grain in the head.”
The second step of the farmer’s strategy is the high call of living by faith. In 1881, C. H. Spurgeon preached about the life of sowing the seed:
The precious seed of the word of God is small as a grain of mustard-seed, and may be carried by the feeblest hand where it shall multiply a hundred-fold. We need never quarrel with God because we cannot do everything if he only permits us to do this one thing; for sowing the good seed is a work which will need all our wit, our strength, our love, our care. Holy seed sowing may well be adopted as our highest pursuit, and be no inferior object for the noblest life that can be led.[1]
What Spurgeon calls “the noblest life that can be led” is the life of a hard-working farmer, a life of growing strong in God’s grace. By God’s grace, we sow in faith, even if our faith is no bigger than that of a mustard seed. In the next parable of Jesus, the Parable of the Mustard Seed, found in Mark 4:30-32, Jesus emphasized the power of faith:
How shall we picture the kingdom of God, or by what parable shall we present it? It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the soil, though it is smaller than all the seeds that are upon the soil, yet when it is sown, it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and forms large branches; so that the birds of the air can nest under its shade.” (cf. Matthew 13:31-32)
Do you feel that you are lacking in faith to be a hard-working farmer for God’s harvest? Jesus’ words convince me that a mustard seed of faith is sufficient to the task! Sowing the good seed is an activity of faith, and the faith you have, even that of a mustard seed, is sufficient for the task that Jesus has called you to participate in. How do I know this? Because the measure of faith you have is not your own, you didn’t muster up, it was given to you by God’s grace, and God’s grace is sufficient to all that God calls you to be and do. Paul taught this in Romans 12:3, “For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.”
Have you received the good seed of Jesus Christ? You first must receive what you are called to sow into the lives of others. I invite you now to receive Jesus Christ by inviting Him to be your Lord and Savior. Submit to the Lord of the Harvest and be filled with the imperishable seed of God’s Word, who plants eternity into your heart through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
[altar call and pray for salvation]
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FOOTNOTES:
[1] C. H. Spurgeon, “What the Farm Labourers Can Do and What They Cannot Do,” in The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit Sermons, vol. 27 (London: Passmore & Alabaster, 1881), 330.
[2] C. H. Spurgeon, “The Joy of the Lord, the Strength of His People,” in The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit Sermons, vol. 17 (London: Passmore & Alabaster, 1871), 717.
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Hymn: Knowing You, Jesus
Seize the Moment – Day 1089
Today’s song focus will be
Knowing You, Jesus
Philippians 3:8 (NASB95)
“ More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ,”
Released on May 16, 2010, this modern-day hymn was written by Graham Kendrick. He had begun reading the book of Philippians after being asked to write a specific song to go along with the Bible readings and teachings for an upcoming conference. As he mediated and asked God to reveal anything that might be a seed for a song, his attention was drawn to today’s scripture. After listing all his accomplishments, Paul dramatically pushes them aside for the sake of one supreme goal – to know Christ Jesus.
Knowing you, Jesus. Knowing you, there is no greater thing
You’re my all, you’re the best You’re my joy, my righteousness
And I love you, Lord
We need to wake up and desire to have the same drive as the Apostle Paul. It is not about us and what we have done, but what Christ has done and continues to do in and through us. May God receive all the glory, honor and praise for what we do and say each and every day!
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.
Knowing You, Jesus
All I once held dear, built my life upon
All this world reveres and wars to own;
All I once thought gain I have counted loss,
Spent and worthless now compared to this.
Chorus
Knowing You, Jesus, knowing You
There is no greater thing
You’re my all, You’re the best
You’re my joy, my righteousness,
And I love You Lord.
Verse 2
Now my heart’s desire is to know You more,
To be found in You and known as Yours,
To possess by faith what I could not earn
All surpassing gift of righteousness
Chorus
Knowing You, Jesus, knowing You
There is no greater thing
You’re my all, You’re the best
You’re my joy, my righteousness,
And I love You Lord.
Verse 3
Oh to know the power of Your risen life,
And to know You in Your sufferings;
To become like You in Your death, my Lord,
So with You to live and never die.
Chorus
Knowing You, Jesus, knowing You
There is no greater thing
You’re my all, You’re the best
You’re my joy, my righteousness,
And I love You Lord.
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Psalm 4
Prayer in the Evening!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Friday, March 10.
As we pray through Psalm 4, we participate in David’s experience with injustice, suffering, and oppression. We all need to learn how to pray when we, too, face hardships. Notice how David’s prayer transitions from individual lament to confidence in God. It starts with the prayers of a sleepless night in verse 2, “O sons of men, how long will my honor become a reproach? How long will you love what is worthless and aim at deception? Selah.” Have you ever struggled to stop thinking about something or someone? Have you ever wondered how long it would take you to fall asleep? We can easily become restless in times of hardship.
But God… He has given us a way of escape that moves us from ruminating on the world’s injustices to focusing on God’s faithfulness. Psalm 4:8 concludes with this delightful promise of rest, “In peace I will both lie down and sleep, for You alone, O Lord, make me to dwell in safety.” What a beautiful transformation this evening prayer offers us – from restlessness to rest! This prayer takes us from focusing on the actions of other people, which leads to us feeling insecure and fearful, to the security and acceptance we find in God alone; He is our shield (Psalm 3:3). This prayer moves us from the worries of the world to the worthiness of God!
What’s the key to praying this psalm? It is found in verse 4, “Tremble, and do not sin; meditate in your heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah.” Just like Psalm 46:10, this psalm invites us into the promise of stillness – “Cease striving [“Be still” (NIV)] and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
Seize the moment and pray Psalm 4, meditating upon the promises of God – Trust in God’s sufficient sovereignty and you will sleep peacefully under the shield of His presence. Selah.
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 3
Prayer in the Morning!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Thursday, March 9.
How do you start your day? Do you have a morning routine that focuses on the size of the giants you are facing off with that day? Or do you have a morning regimen that trains your mind and heart to trust the God who promises to be by your side throughout the day? Your morning prayers matter because what you fixate on first thing determines the focus of your day! Don’t allow yourself to be ensnared by the worries and anxieties of your day; rather, cry out to God for new mercies (Lamentations 3:19-25). Put your giants in God’s hands!
According to the introduction of Psalm 3, David wrote this psalm when he was fleeing from Jerusalem because his son Absalom was rebelling against him. This story, told in 2 Samuel 15-18, is a heartbreaking tale of betrayal and upheaval. It’s family drama at its worst, but according to Psalm 3:5-7a, David started his day with morning prayers:
I lay down and slept; I awoke, for the Lord sustains me. I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people who have set themselves against me round about. Arise, O Lord; save me, O my God! For You have smitten all my enemies on the cheek; You have shattered the teeth of the wicked.
David awoke from sleeping and cried out to God to be a shield about him (3-4). Start your day with morning prayers and cry out to God for help in your day. Your problems will not go away, but you will not face the giants alone.
Seize the moment and pray Psalm 3, meditating upon the victory of Jesus Christ – “If God is for us, who is against us?” (Romans 8:31b). Train yourself to wake up with your eyes fixed on Jesus, the author and perfector of your faith, so that you may run with endurance the race set before you (Hebrews 12:1-3).
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 2
The Rightful Rule of the Messiah!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Wednesday, March 8.
When you pray through Psalm 2, you are praying for the fulfillment of Jesus’ kingdom on Earth as it is in Heaven. Did you know that Psalm 2 is one of the most quoted psalms in the New Testament? It is a Messianic Psalm, meaning that it is fulfilled through the Messiah of Israel, who is Jesus of Nazareth.
Psalm 2 begins with the nations taking a stand against God and rejecting His Anointed One (the Messiah) because they desire to live free of God’s rule. The Sovereign laughs at their pride in verse 4 and then declares, in verses 10-12, that there is only one way back to Him:
Now therefore, O kings, show discernment; take warning, O judges of the earth. Worship the Lord with reverence and rejoice with trembling. Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way, for His wrath may soon be kindled. How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!
This was the reason that Jesus Christ came from Heaven to Earth – to restore the rebellious nations back to God’s rule. Jesus is the Anointed One, the only begotten Son, and in Philippians 2:9-11, He was declared the One who uniquely fulfilled Psalm 2:
For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Seize the moment and pray Psalm 2, meditating upon the rightful rule of the Messiah – Jesus is the way of the righteous that leads to life and blessings! Are there places in your life where you need to “do homage to the [King of Kings]”?
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 1
Praying the Prayer Book of Jesus!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Tuesday, March 7.
Are you ready to take your prayer life to the next level? My hope and prayers for you is that you will start a 150-day prayer journey through the Psalms and experience God’s blessings. Make the commitment today that you are going to open your Bible to the prayer book of Jesus, meditating upon a Psalm each day.
The Psalms are a collection of poems and songs, which have served as the prayer book of God’s people, including Jesus Christ, for three thousand years. It is my intent to help you approach each Psalm in the same way you do the Lord’s Prayer, as God’s means of grace to form your prayers through His words. This way, while your own thoughts and feelings will inform your prayers, your heart and mind will be directed by God’s Word and not your current situation.
Psalm 1 is the starting point of our prayer journey and an entry way into the theme of the book of Psalms – there is a way that leads to God’s blessing, just as surely as there is a path that leads to destruction. Psalm 1:6 clarifies, “For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.” Jesus invited His disciples in Matthew 7:13-14 to choose the narrow way that leads to life and avoid the broad way that leads to destruction. Furthermore, Jesus identified Himself as “the way” (John 14:6) and as “the door of the sheep” (John 10:7). Jesus invites you to pray in His name and experience the blessings of God (John 14:13-14).
Seize the moment and pray Psalm 1, meditating upon the image of your roots growing deeply into the living waters of Jesus Christ (John 4:14). As you pray, may you experience the nourishment of the Spirit of God coursing into your life, making your tree stronger, and bearing fruit upon your branches (John 15:1-8).
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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Job 42
Pray for your Family and Friends!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Monday, March 6.
We have arrived at Job 42, the last chapter, where we now experience the restoration of Job’s health, family, and fortunes. This amazing turn of events demonstrates God’s mercy and grace, but there is an important nuance found in Job 42:10, “The Lord restored the fortunes of Job when he prayed for his friends, and the Lord increased all that Job had twofold.” [emphasis added]
When did the restoration happen? Don’t miss this! It was when he prayed for his friends who were rebuked by God in Job 42:7-9:
It came about after the Lord had spoken these words to Job, that the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “My wrath is kindled against you and against your two friends, because you have not spoken of Me what is right as My servant Job has. Now therefore, take for yourselves seven bulls and seven rams, and go to My servant Job, and offer up a burnt offering for yourselves, and My servant Job will pray for you. For I will accept him so that I may not do with you according to your folly, because you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has.” So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went and did as the Lord told them; and the Lord accepted Job. [emphasis added]
Job’s faith was counted to him as righteousness; therefore, his prayer was effective (Romans 4; James 5:16)! God responded to Job’s faith and accepted their sacrifice offered to God for the atonement of their sins. God doesn’t want any to perish, but for all to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9), so He calls forth His faithful servants to pray in faith for their friends and family to be saved from His coming wrath.
Seize the moment and pray for your family and friends – be a stretcher bearer by bringing them “to the throne of grace, so that [they] may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Luke 5:17-20; Hebrews 4:16).
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 4
Grow Strong in God’s Grace: Learning How to be a Faithful Farmer for God’s Harvest!
Cultivate the Soil: The First Step of the Farmer’s Strategy!
Matthew 13:3-9; 18-23 (NAS95)
Friendship is a lot like gardening! It requires you to cultivate the soil – to work the ground.
In friendship, just like with gardening and growing plants and flowers, you have to know the person well enough to know the state of their “soil,” and what each person uniquely needs to grow and be healthy, because every person in your life is different.
Mark 4 includes the foundational parable of the four soils, and it concludes with Jesus’ promise of what His Word and Spirit will produce in people when their hearts have been cultivated. Mark 4:20 promises, “And those are the ones on whom seed was sown on the good soil; and they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.”
In this parable, Jesus described four types of soil into which the Word of God is sown. These soils represent four conditions of people’s lives: When the ground is cracked, due to being dry and hard (15), God’s love is like a spring shower to soften it. When the topsoil is shallow, due to rocks (16-17), God’s compassion is like rich mulch that brings greater depth. When there are thorns and thistles (18-19), God’s grace uproots sin to heal the land.
God is working in every condition, but not every person reacts the same way to God’s Truth. That makes friendship hard! But, just like with gardening, it’s worth it!
Seize the moment and cultivate the ground of the people in your life. We have been invited to work the garden of God’s creation as Image Bearers. Pray and ask God to help you in your friendships.
“Preaching is sowing, prayer is watering, but praise is the harvest.”
– C. H. Spurgeon
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Hymn: There is a Redeemer
There is a Redeemer
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Job 41
King of the Hill!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Friday, March 3.
When I was a young, developers built a neighborhood in the forest behind our home. It was sad because those woods in northern Connecticut contained the stone fences of early settler’s farmsteads and the arrow heads of the Indigenous people. Though I was saddened by this development, like most children, I adapted and explored this new kind of playground. We played king of the hill on the large mounds of excavated dirt – one of us would stand at the top and defend our rightful place at the top from the other kids. Don’t we all want to be the king of whichever hill we are standing?
God concluded his speech to Job by describing a mighty beast named Leviathan in Job 41. As verses 33-34 stated, Leviathan was the king of the hill, “Nothing on earth is like him, one made without fear. He looks on everything that is high; He is king over all the sons of pride.” Why did God end His speech with His champion poised at the top of the hill? He explained His purposes in Job 41:9-11:
Behold, your expectation is false; will you be laid low even at the sight of him? No one is so fierce that he dares to arouse him; who then is he that can stand before Me? Who has given to Me that I should repay him? Whatever is under the whole heaven is Mine.
If you expect to defeat Leviathan in battle, then you are wrong; dead wrong! Here’s the point: If you can’t expect to have supremacy over Leviathan, then how do you expect to have supremacy over God or even comprehend His ways. There is only one God, and you are not Him!
Seize the moment and surrender your hills by inviting God to take His rightful place in every situation of your life – “The LORD is King forever and ever” (Psalm 10:16a)!
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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Job 40
A Righteous Response!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Thursday, March 2.
I love it when people tell me the questions they’ll ask God when they are face-to-face with Him in Heaven. I smile to myself because I know they’ll do no such thing because there is only one righteous response to being in the presence of God. Twice we see Job’s righteous response to God. The first is in Job 40:4-5, “Behold, I am insignificant; what can I reply to You? I lay my hand on my mouth. Once I have spoken, and I will not answer; Even twice, and I will add nothing more.” The second is in Job 42:1-6:
I know that You can do all things, and that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted. ‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’ Therefore I have declared that which I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. ‘Hear, now, and I will speak; I will ask You, and You instruct me.’ I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear; but now my eye sees You; therefore I retract, and I repent in dust and ashes.”
Both responses are worth meditating upon as Job responded to the presence of God, who had arrived in the power of the storm and had spoken to Job. Not surprisingly, Job did not follow through with his own plans of what he was going to do when he was finally face-to-face with God, as he had boasted he would do in Job 23:3-4, “Oh that I knew where I might find Him, that I might come to His seat! I would present my case before Him and fill my mouth with arguments.” Instead, Job responded with humility by repenting of his sin and praising God for His glory. This is the righteous way to respond to God’s presence!
Seize the moment and bow done before Him (Psalm 95:6-7; Philippians 2:9-11)!
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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Job 39
God Cares about His Creation!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Wednesday, March 1.
God’s questions in Job 38:39-39:30 continue to proclaim God’s glory by pointing to His supremacy over the animal kingdom. God faithfully provides for the lion and the raven (38:39-41), gives life to mountain goats (39:1-4), controls wild donkeys and wild oxen (39:5-12), protects the ostrich’s young (39:13-18), provides the horse with strength (39:19-25), and gives flight to hawks and eagles (39:26-30). God rules over all of creation, including the animals for which He cares and provides.
God had a reason for asking this series of rhetorical questions. For the same reason, Jesus referenced the animal kingdom in Matthew 6:25-27:
For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?
Jesus used this truth to illustrate why people should not allow their lives to be driven by worry, but rather to believe God cares and trust that He provides for all His creation. A commentator notes about Jesus’ use of the birds in the Sermon on the Mount:
Jesus was saying God has built into His Creation the means by which all things are cared for. The birds are fed because they diligently work to maintain their lives. They do not store up great amounts of food, but continually work.[1]
Seize the moment and work hard like a diligent farmer, all the while trusting God to provide because He cares about you (2 Timothy 2:6; Matthew 6:33; 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.
Videos are posted about a week after the devotion appears in the blog.
FOOTNOTES:
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Job 38
Show us Your Glory!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Tuesday, February 28.
Have you ever been stuck in a rut? This phrase came from the early 1800’s when the wheels from covered wagons would end up in a worn groove, known as a rut. It was difficult for them to go where they wanted to go when they were stuck in the well-worn path of those who has gone before them. Today, we use it as an idiom to mean that you are trapped in a non-changing pattern of life, work, and/or personal behavior.
After thirty-five chapters (Job 3-37) of dialogue between Job, Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar, and Elihu, they were stuck in a rut of a well-worn pattern of conversation. God rescued them by responding in Job 38:4-7 with the beginning of a litany of questions that would lift them out of their rut:
Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding, who set its measurements? Since you know. Or who stretched the line on it? On what were its bases sunk? Or who laid its cornerstone, when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
Through a long series of questions, God helped Job gain a new and larger perspective on his suffering. Question after question, God emphasized to Job how little he could see from his current vista. Was God being demeaning to Job? No! The proclamation of God’s glory gives us a larger perspective on life. When we get stuck in our own limited perspectives of our circumstances, we often get stuck in ruts that disallow us to see a way out of our predicaments.
Seize the moment and gain a new perspective on your life and the ruts you currently find yourself stuck in. This is why Jesus Christ came – to show us God’s glory and rescue us from the ruts of our sinful ways (John 3:16-17)!
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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Job 37
A Warning to Teachers of God’s Word!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Monday, February 27.
Have you ever felt like the preacher needs to listen to his own preaching? Job 37:23-24 captures the final words of Elihu’s six-chapter speech to Job, “The Almighty – we cannot find Him; He is exalted in power and He will not do violence to justice and abundant righteousness. Therefore men fear Him; He does not regard any who are wise of heart.” Elihu appealed to Job, one last time, to fear God and repent of his pride (being “wise of heart”). Elihu believed he saw Job’s situation accurately and that he was speaking on behalf of God to Job. He made this dramatic claim in Job 36:4, “For truly my words are not false; One who is perfect in knowledge is with you.” When I first read this, I thought he was talking about himself, and I was struck by his arrogance – the audacity! It is one thing to be convinced that you are called to be a teacher of God’s Word, but it is altogether a different thing to believe that when you speak, it is synonymous to speaking God’s perfect knowledge.
Elihu needed to heed his own counsel! Out of one side of his mouth Elihu said he was speaking with the words of God, while out of the other he claimed God could not be found. Little did he know that God was about to give him a strong dose of humility by showing up in the whirlwind, and answering in Job 38:2, “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?” This is a powerful illustration of how God will humble the proud of heart, especially the very messengers who communicate His Word to the people – fear God you who are called to teach God’s Word for you shall incur a stricter judgment (James 3:1)!
Seize the moment and get your heart right – “humble [yourself] in the presence of the Lord” (James 4:10; cf., 1 Peter 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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Grow Strong in God’s Grace – Wk 3
Grow Strong in God’s Grace: Learning How to be a Faithful Farmer for God’s Harvest!
Farming as an Everyday Illustration for the Spiritual Life!
John 15:1-8 & Matthew 11:28-30 (NAS95)
I have spent the last two Sundays cultivating the soil for this year’s sermon series, “Grow Strong in God’s Grace: Learning How to be a Faithful Farmer for God’s Harvest!” In the first week, we looked at what it means that we want to “Grow Strong in God’s Grace” from 2 Timothy 2:1-6. I connected this year’s series to the previous two years of teaching, which were also grounded in the teachings of Paul about how we are to live as faithful disciples of Jesus Christ by learning from the athlete in 2021, the soldier in 2022, and now the farmer in 2023.
Last week, we went deeper into the theme verse of 2 Timothy 2:6 to learn why Paul used the imagery of a hard-working farmer for the Christian life, and I started preparing you to see the richness of soil and efficacy of seed that God has given from His Word utilizes farming as an everyday illustration for the spiritual life. Today, I start a 5-Sunday emphasis on the teachings of Jesus so that we may learn exactly why and how Jesus used this imagery. From His teachings, we are going to learn over the next month the four steps every hard-working farmer must follow:
- Cultivate the soil.
- Sow the good seed.
- Care for the maturing plant.
- Reap a harvest.
We are going to see from Jesus’ teaching how these four steps are essential in the life of every disciple of Jesus Christ to learn how to be a faithful farmer for God’s harvest. It is important that you know that Paul was building upon the teachings of Jesus and using everyday cultural-relevant imagery to call forth faithful living to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Paul was following in the footsteps of His master, and we are to do the same!
Let’s dive in and see what we can learn from two of my favorite farming illustration given to us by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The first is from the Gospel of John 15:1-8, where Jesus taught using imagery from a vineyard, which was an agricultural image that already had deep religious meaning to the Jewish people to whom Jesus was speaking:
I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.
The most pressing need for the Christian’s ministry in and through the local church is that each follower of Jesus daily answers Jesus’ personal call to be His disciple, chosen and called by the Father, and operating in the sustaining power of the Holy Spirit. Above all other expectations, responsibilities, or demands placed upon you, this is your first calling. It is my desire, through this sermon series to call members of the body of Christ out of the perpetual spin cycle of the tyranny of the urgent and into the long obedience of the most important – the Harvest! Os Guinness reflected, “Calling is the truth that God calls us to himself so decisively that everything we are, everything we do, and everything we have is invested with a special devotion and dynamism lived out as a response to his summons and service.”[1] The Christian life and ministry flows out of the abundance of personal intimacy with Jesus Christ, from the Source of all lasting fruit. As Jesus said in John 15:8, “My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.” An abiding relationship with Jesus that brings glory to God through your life and ministry is the essence of prioritizing the strengthening of your spiritual vitality above any measurable effectiveness in meeting the expectations of others.
Disciples of Jesus Christ must prioritize the harvest, but like I taught last week based on 2 Timothy 2:6, if you are going to work hard as a farmer, then you must make sure that the fruit you are reaping is something you first would bring home to your own family before you export it to other people’s families, communities, or nations. In today’s technological world, there are many people who are seeking to influence others and create platforms for themselves without going through the deep work of spiritual formation. Ultimately, let us never forget that you can teach people what you know, but you will only replicate what you are! There is much evidence of this as we experience leaders’ charisma outpacing their character, leading to scandals that are diminishing the name of Jesus, giving the church a black eye, and hindering the harvest work. If we have learned anything from Mars Hill, and the surrounding discussions in the contemporary church about toxic leadership, it is that the ends do not justify the means. God cares as much about the process as the fruit; in fact, the Bible teaches that God cares more about the process! Jesus overcommunicated this in his calling of the disciples in Matthew 16:24-26:
Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?”
The fruit that proves you are abiding in the vine of Jesus Christ is the fruit of the Spirit – “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires” (Galatians 5:22-24). This is the maturity of a disciple who is putting on display (manifesting, proving) the fruit that Jesus Christ commands us to export to the nations for God’s glory. Jesus is the embodiment of the Father and the perfect example of God’s truth and grace, holiness and love, judgment and mercy (John 1:14; Colossians 1:15; 2:9). Jesus intimately knows God and invites people into this depth of relationship that God offers us – for a person to be in Him and for Him to be in the person, which is the abiding imagery of John 15:4-7:
Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
Jesus commands us to learn from Him and, in doing so, live our lives as He lived his life on Earth – submitted to His Father’s will and connected to His source of power. That is the exact point of the second farmer’s illustration I want to share with you, and many of you know this is my favorite of all the images Jesus gave us for the Christian life. It is from the Gospel of Matthew 11:28-30, where Jesus taught using imagery that would be seen six days a week on many family farms in every Jewish community – the yoked oxen working out in the field, which, like the vineyard, was an agricultural image that already had deep religious meaning to the Jewish people to whom Jesus was speaking, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” I was blessed to be able to watch a farmer yoke together two oxen at the Indiana State Fair last summer. What a treat! Listen to the power of Jesus’ illustration from a farmer’s perspective:
Typically a young, untrained ox is yoked with an older, trained ox. The younger learns from the older. If a trained ox can pull 5,000 pounds and an untrained ox can pull 2,000 pounds, together they can pull 10,000 pounds – much more than the sum of the two. Over time, the untrained ox becomes trained and the two begin to walk in-step with each other. Then they can pull 15,000 pounds.[2]
Jesus captured this picture for His Jewish audience with His graceful invitation to come to Him by taking His yoke upon themselves. Until a Christian submits to the direction and pace of Jesus’ life, and is willing to do nothing apart from Him, there is no good work that can be done through his or her ministry. Outside of the yoke of Jesus Christ or outside of the branch’s abiding connection to the vine, who is Jesus Christ, the Christian becomes a stumbling block to the harvest work of the church. As Andrew Murray wrote in Absolute Surrender,
Oh, become nothing in deep reality, and, as a worker, study only one thing – to become poorer and lower and more helpless, that Christ may work all in you. Workers, here is your first lesson: learn to be nothing, learn to be helpless. The man who has got something is not absolutely dependent; but the man who has got nothing is absolutely dependent. Absolute dependence upon God is the secret of all power in work. The branch has nothing but what it gets from the vine, and you and I can have nothing but what we get from Jesus.[3]
Similarly, the yoke emphasizes that Jesus is bearing the burden of the work in and through a person’s life. In both conceptual metaphors, Jesus emphasized that it is not the disciple who is producing the results; rather, it is the Holy Spirit who is the One bearing the fruit. Once again, I turn to Andrew Murray, who nuanced the responsibility of the Holy Spirit’s role in the abiding relationship found in the vine and branch imagery. Listen closely to this amazing truth that he published in 1898:
A law can compel work: only love can spontaneously bring forth fruit. … It is only when good works come as the fruit of the indwelling Spirit that they are acceptable to God. Under the compulsion of law and conscience, or the influence of inclination and zeal, men may be most diligent in good works, and yet find that they have but little spiritual result. There can be no reason but this—their works are man’s effort, instead of bearing the fruit of the Spirit, the restful, natural outcome of the Spirit’s operation within us.[4]
In conclusion, in the easy yoke of Jesus Christ, there is great joy to be found in laboring with Christ, rather than working for Christ alone and by your own strength. The laborer is no longer straining for acceptance from God, or other people. As Dr. Bill Thrasher of Moody Bible Institute, explained during one of my doctoral classes, “The place of rest is under His yoke. Working is drudgery, working for the Lord is dreary, but working with the Lord is delight.”[5] Jesus invites His followers to take upon themselves His yoke and learn from Him how to be faithful to their calling first by answering His call to Christian discipleship and making Him and His heart their preeminent priority for their own lives. In doing so, you will not only be found faithful at the end, but joyful in your work along the way. As Jesus promised in John 15:11, at the conclusion of sharing this farming illustration of the branch and the vine, “These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.”
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FOOTNOTES:
[1] Os Guinness, The Call: Finding and Fulfilling the Central Purpose of Your Life (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2003), 4.
[2] Janet Pope, “A Yoke? What’s that all about?” (November 20, 2013). Accessed February 24, 2023. http://www.janetpope.org/a-yoke-whats-that-all-about/.
[3] Andrew Murray, Absolute Surrender (Chicago, IL: Moody Press. First published 1895, scanned and corrected by Claude King, September 1999), 76.
[4] Andrew Murray, The True Vine: Meditations for a Month on John 15:1-16 (Grand Rapids, MI: Christian Classics Ethereal Library, 1898), 27. Accessed February 20, 2023. https://ccel.org/ccel/m/murray/true_vine/cache/true_vine.pdf.
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Hymn: When I Survey the Wondrous Cross
Seize the Moment – Day 1075
Today’s song focus will be
When I Survey the Wondrous Cross
Hymn 135
Galatians 6:14 (NASB95)
“But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus
Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”
This ancient hymn was written by Isaac Watts in 1707, creating a hymn to be sung that would go along with the sermon of the day with this theologically based song. As we are in the season of Lent, we will focus on the songs that point us to the whole reason we recognize this season. We will reflect on how Jesus would be fulfilling what had been foretold by the prophets of old. Jesus knew that the time was approaching when He would have to give the ultimate sacrifice for all of mankind…His life!
When I survey the wondrous cross, on which the Prince of glory died
My richest gain I count but loss and pour contempt on all my pride
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 the link below:
When I Survey the Wondrous Cross
on which the Prince of glory died,
my richest gain I count but loss,
and pour contempt on all my pride.
save in the death of Christ, my God!
All the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them through his blood.
sorrow and love flow mingled down.
Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,
or thorns compose so rich a crown?
that were a present far too small.
Love so amazing, so divine,
demands my soul, my life, my all.
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Job 36
To Listen and Obey is the Way!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Friday, February 24.
Elihu believed Job’s suffering was the discipline of God, stating in Job 36:10-12:
He opens their ear to instruction, and commands that they return from evil. If they hear and serve Him, they will end their days in prosperity and their years in pleasures. But if they do not hear, they shall perish by the sword and they will die without knowledge. [emphasis added]
The Hebrew word translated “hear” twice in this passage is shema, which means to not only hear from God, but to heed His Word. It calls a person to listen and obey as the way! This Hebrew word is used in a couple famous passages, one of which is Deuteronomy 6:4-5, “Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” The other is when the prophet Samuel said to King Saul in 1 Samuel 15:22, “Has the Lord as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams.”
We must heed God’s reproof when He warns us or disciplines us. This is the only way of covenant faithfulness – to listen and obey! We are to accept God’s correction in the same way, and for the same purpose, that a child heed’s her parent’s discipline, as explained in Hebrews 12:7-11:
It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? … 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.
Seize the moment and receive God’s discipline as the concern and care of your loving parent.
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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Job 35
The Power of Humility!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Thursday, February 23.
Pride is a popular trend in today’s world, but don’t be deceived – “pride goes before destruction” (Proverbs 16:18). In Job 35:12-13, Elihu argues that God will not respond to a person’s plea that comes from pride, “There they cry out, but He does not answer because of the pride of evil men. Surely God will not listen to an empty cry, nor will the Almighty regard it.” In James 4:6-8, the half-brother of Jesus explains how pride breaks fellowship with God:
But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
There can be no place of relief apart from a “broken and contrite heart” because God will not turn away from true repentance (Psalm 51:17). In 2 Corinthians 7:10-11a, Paul contrasts a true repentance that comes from brokenness before God over your sin versus a prideful plea to God because you hate that you got caught in the consequences of your sin:
For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death. For behold what earnestness this very thing, this godly sorrow, has produced in you: what vindication of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what avenging of wrong! In everything you demonstrated yourselves to be innocent in the matter.
A true repentance is motivated by humility before God’s presence and a love for His righteousness (e.g., Job 42:1-6). This leads to a new opportunity at life that demonstrates God’s mercy and grace (e.g., Job 42:10-17).
Seize the moment and “humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you” (James 4:10; cf. 1 Peter 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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Job 34
The Dust of the Earth!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Wednesday, February 15.
Today is Ash Wednesday and we begin the 40-day journey of preparation for Holy Week. Every year on this first day of the season of Lent, church leaders call the people to reflect upon life and death, to repent of their sins, and to humble themselves by receiving a visible sign on their foreheads. As church leaders put ash on the forehead of each participant, they say, “From dust you came and from dust you will return.” They say this because God created us from the dust, according to Genesis 2:7, “Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.”
In the same way, it is based on this truth, and ones like it found in Genesis 3:19, that I pray the ancient committal prayer for a Christian at their graveside service, “In the sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ we commend to Almighty God our sister/brother and we commit her/his body to the ground: earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust.”
I invite you to join us in gathering tonight during our weekly prayer service, and do so in a spirit of humility, remembering Elihu’s words in Job 34:12-15:
Surely, God will not act wickedly, and the Almighty will not pervert justice. Who gave Him authority over the earth? And who has laid on Him the whole world? If He should determine to do so, if He should gather to Himself His spirit and His breath, all flesh would perish together, and man would return to dust.
Seize the moment and remember that the God who first breathed His gift of life into the dust, has now, through faith in Jesus Christ, breathed the gift of His Holy Spirit into our mortal bodies so that we may join Him in the resurrection from the dead (Romans 6:5: Philippians 3:10-11; Colossians 2:12f).
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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Job 33
His Face Shine Upon You!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Tuesday, February 21.
Have you ever seen how small children light up when their mom or dad walks in the room? Something powerful happens once they see the face of their loving parent. It is the power of being in the presence of the one who loves them. The same thing happens to us when we see the face of someone we love and want to be with. There is a joy that makes our face shine when we are in the presence of love.
Job 33:26 captures this powerful imagery and connects it to the promise of redemption, “Then he will pray to God, and He will accept him, that he may see His face with joy, and He may restore His righteousness to man.” What a rich and beautiful promise – there is salvation in the presence of God! In Psalm 16:11, David said, “in Your presence is fullness of joy.” Interestingly, the same Hebrew word for “face” in Job 33:26 is translated “presence” in Psalm 16:11.
When God sent His Son Jesus Christ to His beloved children, He sent His face to shine upon them – so that we might come face-to-face with God and be saved in His presence forevermore. This is why Jesus explained in John 15:11, “These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.” God’s desire is that when you look to Jesus, you will find that His joy is your strength, and experience both peace and grace through His presence.
Seize the moment and respond to the face of God the way a baby responds to her mother. Receive the ancient blessing given to God’s children in Numbers 6:24-26, “The Lord bless you, and keep you; the Lord make His face shine on you, and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up His countenance on you, and give you peace.”
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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Job 32
Slow to Anger!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Monday, February 20.
A new and final character is introduced in Job 32, and his motivation to speak is made very clear from the beginning, as written in Job 32:2-5:
But the anger of Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram burned; against Job his anger burned because he justified himself before God. And his anger burned against his three friends because they had found no answer, and yet had condemned Job. … And when Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of the three men his anger burned.
Elihu was motivated by an anger that burned within him. This was overtly stated four times alone in this short introduction to Elihu’s six-chapter rant. I have learned this lesson the hard way too many times– anger is not how we are to speak to ourselves or other people. Paul taught us in 1 Corinthians 13:1, “If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.” Specifically, Paul taught in Ephesians 4:26-27, “Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity.”
Seize the moment and be slow to anger (Proverbs 14:29)! God does not desire for your life to be fueled by wildfires. Rather, God desires your life to be fueled by His holy fire, the Holy Spirit.[1] Speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15-16)!
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.
FOOTNOTES:
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Grow Strong in God’s Grace – Wk 2
Learning How to be a Faithful Farmer for God’s Harvest!
The Focus of a Hardworking Farmer!
2 Timothy 2:6 & James 5:7-8 & 1 Corinthians 9:7-9 (NAS95)
What is the focus of a hardworking farmer? That’s right, you guessed it – the harvest! Everything a farmer does points ultimately to this one thing – the reaping of a large crop yield! Farmers research land characteristics and soil compositions so that they cultivate what has been entrusted to them properly, as good stewards. Farmers will research seed types and its characteristics in hopes of sowing the exactly right seed for what they envision reaping from their fields. Farmers will read the Farmer’s Almanac, listen and learn from other farmers, and look for any assistance in how to protect their young plants from foreseen and unforeseen threats to their well-being, as well as help nurture those young plants to maturity at the right time. Why? Because that’s what being a farmer is all about and that is how they feed their families and provide for their communities and make the world a better place. Farmers produce large crops of whatever it is they are planting! This is what hard-working farmers do and they do it for a reason. The same is true for disciples of Jesus Christ who Paul equates to being a “hard-working farmer”! C. H. Spurgeon, an English Baptist minister called, “The Prince of Preachers,” preached in 1871, “Preaching is sowing, prayer is watering, but praise is the harvest.”[1] He taught that his Acts 6:4 ministry was all about producing a harvest of praise to God! It is my desire, through my Acts 6:4 ministry, that First Baptist Church of New Castle, Indiana will bring God a large crop yield of praise! That we will be an epicenter of revival throughout our region and into our nation and the nations…
Let us now turn to God’s Word. Please open your Bible to today’s scripture lesson for a message called, “The Focus of a Hardworking Farmer” is 2 Timothy 2:6, “The hard-working farmer ought to be the first to receive his share of the crops.” Let us pray.
Allow me to share some thoughts about what Paul is communicating to us in this passage:
Paul used the analogy of the farmer to show that the one who works hard has the first claim on the fruits of the work. The phrase “to receive a share of the crops” is not an appeal for a diligent worker to receive an adequate salary. It promises a spiritual reward from God for a job devotedly done. The time of this reward may be either in this life or at the last judgment. The reward may consist of honor and recognition from the church or a divine approval and blessing by God. Paul frequently used the verb for “hardworking” to describe the work of ministry (Rom 16:6, 12; 1 Cor 15:10; Gal 4:11). He was underscoring the fact that the farmer who works hard will be the first to enjoy the fruits, and the diligent Christian servant can expect the same. … This passage emphasizes the anticipation of a final reward from the Lord for earnest, steady work in Christ’s service.[2]
Ed Bell explained to me that he and Debbie always test their strawberries, to ensure the berries are of the best possible quality before they bring any to the church or put any out for sale. It would make no sense to give unto the Lord the “first fruits” (Exodus 23:19; 34:22; Leviticus 2:14; Numbers 18:12; Deuteronomy 18:4) only to give what is not their very best, and it would make no sense to sell what you’re not proud to put your name on by having enjoyed some with your own family first.This was clearly stated in the Old Testament, in Jeremiah 31:5, “Again you will plant vineyards on the hills of Samaria; the planters [“farmers” in the NIV] will plant and will enjoy them.” And that can only be done by being the first to receive their share of the crops as our passage is saying in 2 Timothy 2:6.
There are some important connections here that we need to understand about our spiritual walk with God and our calling to Christian ministry as members of the body of Christ. First, like hard-working farmers, we are to enjoy what we receive from the Lord. In other words, let us never forget that there must be a harvest of good fruit within our own lives before we are concerned with the harvest that comes from our witnesses (the fruit outside from our own lives). And this makes total sense when you realize that you will reproduce in like kind to what you are, as Jesus taught in in Matthew 12:33, “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit.”
So, what kind of fruit are we desiring within our own lives? There are two sources of fruit that can arise from within – the weeds of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit. Paul made this clear in Galatians 5:19-25:
Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.
It only makes sense that if a farmer is not producing something that is worth partaking in at home first, then they shouldn’t give or sell it to others. (I understand that in our world today there are commercial farmers that this may not apply to, but let’s keep our eyes on the prize with the subsistence farming model that has been the dominant image of farming for millennia.) Yes, it is the job of a farmer to produce from the land a harvest, but, as followers of Jesus, let us make sure that we are producing is the work of the Spirit and not the work of the flesh. I am going to say this very clearly and directly, the American church has become so addicted with buildings and numbers that we have become less discerning about the fruit quality of spiritual formation, and more concerned about the harvest size. In fact, we have changed the rubric of church effectiveness from the fruitfulness of Christian discipleship to the unholy trinity of buildings, bucks (in plate), and bottoms (in seat). We must repent or we will be a powerless people who look no different than the world with no light to shine in these dark days. Let us first work hard at ensuring we have the fruit of the Spirit to enjoy at home and with one another before we try to export it to other homes, communities, cultures, and nations.
If we are only driven by numbers of converts, and not the quality of converts, then we will unwittingly become part of the problem that Jesus came to address in the first place. Just asJesus warned about in His days with the religious workers in Matthew 23:15, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.” This rebuke is unfortunatelynot limited to ancient Judaism of the first century because we have modern missionaries who have gone out in the name of Jesus Christ, according to the Great Commission, who havereplicated according to like kind of what they are and not who Jesus is. They have not produced disciples or emphasized the work of the Kingdom of God. The same is true in churches today, as Paul commanded his protégé to work hard in the ministry in 2 Timothy 4:1-8:
I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths. But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.
We must be like hard-working farmers and be sure we are producing something that is worth first having ourselves! Did you hear how Paul ended his exhortation to Timothy? With an incentive – a reward that God has established for all His hard-working farmers! This is where the eternal rewards of the harvest can anchor our souls in the hard work of discipleship and spiritual formation. We can break away from temporary benefits and keep our eyes on the eternal rewards of persevering through the hardships and uncertainties of farming. Paul, when defending his liberties as an apostle, emphasized in 1 Corinthians 9:7-9:
Who at any time serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat the fruit of it? Or who tends a flock and does not use the milk of the flock? I am not speaking these things according to human judgment, am I? Or does not the Law also say these things? For it is written in the Law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle the ox while he is threshing.” God is not concerned about oxen, is He? Or is He speaking altogether for our sake? Yes, for our sake it was written, because the plowman ought to plow in hope, and the thresher to thresh in hope of sharing the crops. [emphasis added]
Did you hear the key word from this passage, which every farmer must have to remain hard working, diligent to the tasks of a farmer? It is HOPE! Hope is the key ingredient when doing the following four steps that every hard-working farmer must follow:
We will learn more about these four steps of a hard-working farmer over the next five weeks of sermons. For now, allow me to emphasize to you that without hope, no farmer can diligently follow these four steps of farming season after season, year after year, generation after generation. Now, let’s cash in on some of our previous training we have done on the biblical concept of hope. What is hope really? Hope is the certainty that your faith in God is not misplaced or misguided. God will keep His promises on time, every time! Believers can take that to the bank, just as farmers literally take their hope in a large crop yield to the bank season after season when they buy more land, invest in better drainage and irrigation, and buy more seeds. Just ask a farmer’s banker! Hope is not for the weak of faith because hope requires patience – the fruit of the spirit defined as waitingon God well. A great example of this teaching is from Isaiah 40:31, “Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary.” The Hebrew words translated “wait for” is also translated “hope in” – to hope in the Lord is wait upon the Lord! There is no distinction in God’s eyes, only in ours.
We see this made clear to us in the farmer imagery of the New Testament in James 5:7-8, when James exhorts all believers, “Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until it gets the early and late rains. You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near.”
Christian discipleship and the long slow obedience of spiritual formation requires hard work and diligence over time, simultaneously waiting for and hoping in God to keep His promises on time, every time. Just like a farmer follows the four steps of farming, knowing that it is ultimately God who has given us the ground, the seed, the weather conditions, and the mystery of the harvest that, like life itself, should only be explained with reverence and awe of the God who has given us life and has invited us to work alongside of Him as partners in stewarding His creation. As Paul emphasized of the hard work he engaged in as an apostle of Jesus Christ in 1 Corinthians 15:10, “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me.”
Let us join with Paul and Timothy in learning how to grow strong in God’s grace, remembering that God wants to first produce a harvest of spiritual fruit within us so that as we go to make disciples of all nations, we may produce disciples in like-kind to the Holy Spirit who is within us. May we see a great harvest of praise to God as we join with hard-working farmers who do so well in the natural what we are called to do in the spiritual. Let us focus on the harvest fields of the Kingdom of God, as Jesus invited in Matthew 9:36-38:
Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.”
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FOOTNOTES:
[1] C. H. Spurgeon, “The Joy of the Lord, the Strength of His People,” in The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit Sermons, vol. 17 (London: Passmore & Alabaster, 1871), 717.
[2] Thomas D. Lea and Hayne P. Griffin, 1, 2 Timothy, Titus, vol. 34, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1992), 204–205.
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Hymn: Take Up Your Cross & Follow Jesus
Seize the Moment – Day 1068
Today’s song focus will be
Take Up Your Cross & Follow Jesus
Matthew 16:24 (NASB95)
“ Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.”
Performed by the fabulous and renowned Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir in 1990 and written by Jane Johannson Knoedler & Steve Millikan, this moving ballad challenges the believer to follow after Christ unashamedly. When Jesus spoke to His disciples, he was telling them that it was not going to be an easy task and they would have to set aside their own wants and desires and follow Him with everything they got.
Take up your cross and follow Jesus Take up your cross every day
Don’t be ashamed to say that you know Him
Count the cost, take up your cross and follow Him
We need to once again wake up and realize, just like last week’s challenge, that this is a daily choice. Counting the costs ahead of time and determining in our hearts and minds that we are going to follow after Jesus, no matter what, is what we have to do.
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:
Take Up Your Cross & Follow Jesus
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