Posted November 8, 2021 | Judith Ingram
Scripture
Luke 6:27-31 CEB
“But I say to you who are willing to hear: Love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who mistreat you. If someone slaps you on the cheek, offer the other one as well. If someone takes your coat, don’t withhold your shirt either. Give to everyone who asks and don’t demand your things back from those who take them. Treat people in the same way that you want them to treat you.”
Consider
Intellectually, we may be sold on the idea that forgiveness is good medicine for us and for our troubled relationships.
Continue reading >>
Posted November 1, 2021 | Judith Ingram
Scripture
Proverbs 19:17 NIV
Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward them for what they have done.
Consider
God takes our relationships with one another very personally. As our Creator, Sustainer, and Savior, God is constantly present with us and intimately concerned with every activity and relationship we have. When we show kindness and compassion toward one another, Scripture says we are doing the very same toward God.
Continue reading >>
Posted October 25, 2021 | Judith Ingram
Scripture
Romans 8:14-15 NIV
We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.
Consider
As much as we like to think we are in charge of our choices, we can all admit to times when we felt compelled to act in particular ways, perhaps against our will or better judgment. We may have hurt others or ruined a relationship for reasons we can’t explain. In the end we could only shake our heads and offer by way of excuse, “What else could I do? I had no choice.”
Continue reading >>
Posted October 18, 2021 | Judith Ingram
Scripture
Jeremiah 17:1 NLT
“The sin of Judah is inscribed with an iron chisel—engraved with a diamond point on their stony hearts and on the corners of their altars.”
Ezekiel 11:19-20 NLT
“And I will give them singleness of heart and put a new spirit within them. I will take away their stony, stubborn heart and give them a tender, responsive heart, so they will obey my decrees and regulations.”
Consider
God’s words quoted by Jeremiah and Ezekiel encapsulate a problem we still suffer from today—we have stubborn hearts that prefer the ways of sin to God’s ways of mercy and love.
Continue reading >>
Posted October 11, 2021 | Judith Ingram
Scripture
Psalm 123:3-4 NRSV
Have mercy upon us, O LORD, have mercy upon us, for we have had more than enough of contempt. Our soul has had more than its fill of the scorn of those who are at ease, of the contempt of the proud.
Consider
Who has not experienced the scorn of an arrogant person or the ridicule of someone trying to elevate himself at your expense? When have you suffered an insult in silence because you did not want to lose your job or engage in a conflict you knew you could not win? We live in a world of sin, and sin makes people selfish.
Continue reading >>
