Posted June 3, 2024 | Judith Ingram
Scripture
Psalm 28:3-5 NLT
Do not drag me away with the wicked—with those who do evil—those who speak friendly words to their neighbors while planning evil in their hearts. Give them the punishment they so richly deserve! Measure it out in proportion to their wickedness. Pay them back for all their evil deeds! Give them a taste of what they have done to others. They care nothing for what the LORD has done or for what his hands have made. So he will tear them down, and they will never be rebuilt!
Consider
If we truly believe that God is just, then this prayer of the psalmist should scare us.
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Posted May 27, 2024 | Judith Ingram
Scripture
Luke 5:4-5 NIV
When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.” Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”
Consider
This passage catches us in the middle of a story. Jesus has been preaching the Word of God to a crowd of listeners. They’ve pressed in on him so hard that he must climb into Simon’s boat and finish his preaching from there. Immediately after, he tells Simon to go back out to the deep water and try his luck again.
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Posted May 20, 2024 | Judith Ingram
Scripture
John 1:3-5 NRSV
All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.
Consider
In this prologue to his Gospel (vv. 1-18), the apostle John seeks to capture for us the power, authority, magnificence, and divine mission of God the Son—our Lord Jesus Christ. John uses the metaphor of light to explain the sovereignty of all that is God over all that is opposed to God.
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Posted May 13, 2024 | Judith Ingram
Scripture
Exodus 20:16 NRSV
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
Consider
Using our words wisely is a powerful responsibility. Unique to the human race, language can build up community or burn down bridges, raise a spirit or destroy a reputation. As James points out in his letter, we use our words to praise God and, in the next breath, to curse a neighbor created in God’s image. “My brothers and sisters, this ought not to be so” (3:10). What we tell ourselves about our neighbor determines the nature of our relationship.
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Posted May 6, 2024 | Judith Ingram
Scripture
Isaiah 58:13-14a NLT
“Keep the Sabbath day holy. Don’t pursue your own interests on that day, but enjoy the Sabbath and speak of it with delight as the LORD’s holy day. Honor the Sabbath in everything you do on that day, and don’t follow your own desires or talk idly. Then the LORD will be your delight.”
Consider
The fourth law of God’s Ten Commandments directed his people to set aside the seventh day of every week for remembrance and worship of God. Sabbath is rooted in the Hebrew word shabbat, which means “to cease or desist.”
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