Posted January 11, 2016 | Judith Ingram
Scripture
Ephesians 5:5 (NLT)
You can be sure that no immoral, impure, or greedy person will inherit the Kingdom of Christ and of God. For a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world.
Consider
The apostle Paul makes it plain that idolaters have no place in God’s kingdom. Why? Because idolaters pledge their hearts and actions to something or someone other than God. Our cravings for the things of this world can consume us. They turn us deaf to the counsel of the Spirit, steal our attention and worship away from God, and discourage us from following Christ.
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Posted January 4, 2016 | Judith Ingram
Scripture
2 Corinthians 5:17 (NRSV)
So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation; everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!
Consider
When we confess our belief in Jesus as Lord, we are reborn into a new identity. God’s gift of grace and forgiveness transforms us into children of light, beloved ones who belong to God. The Father no longer sees us as hopeless sinners but as holy image-bearers of Christ’s goodness and mercy. Our offenses are overlooked under the mantle of Christ’s righteousness.
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Posted December 28, 2015 | Judith Ingram
Depend on God.
Forgiveness has been called an unnatural act. We humans instinctively hunger for justice that balances a wrongful deed with punishment that fits the crime. To forgo our right to vengeance seems to work against our very nature, yet it fits God’s nature perfectly. When we seek to be like Jesus, the Spirit reshapes our desires with a new, divine nature that makes forgiveness and loving our enemies possible. God never calls us to an unnatural task like forgiving without giving us the grace and means to obey him.
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Posted December 21, 2015 | Judith Ingram
Love because God loves.
When we surrender our relationships to the rule of love, God transforms our perceptions of the people who hurt and betray us. Instead of seeing enemies, we recognize fellow humans suffering in traps of sin and self-deception, much as we ourselves have suffered. God advances the kingdom of heaven through our offerings of love and forgiveness, especially to those who have set themselves against us. Instead of retaliating with harm as the world expects, we learn to soothe and heal and restore relationships with redemptive and holy love that flows through us from God’s own heart.
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Posted December 14, 2015 | Judith Ingram
Imitate Christ.
We honor Christ when we follow his example and do good to those who harm us. When the world expects an evil response, goodness and love shine all the brighter, sometimes enough to pierce the toughest armor. We show kindness and generosity not because our adversary deserves them but because goodness is part of who we are in Christ. An important practice of forgiveness is to see through an offense to the person behind the behavior and ask, What good can I do for this person? No one needs grace more than a person who does not deserve it.
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