Posted February 1, 2021 | Judith Ingram
Scripture
Matthew 23:13-14 NLT
“What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you shut the door of the Kingdom of Heaven in people’s faces. You won’t go in yourselves, and you don’t let others enter either.”
Consider
When we choose to follow Christ as Lord, God gives us the privilege and responsibility to shine his goodness and mercy in whatever circumstances we find ourselves. Paul references this truth in his letter to the young church at Corinth when he observes that God makes his appeal to unbelievers through the good deeds of his people.
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Posted January 25, 2021 | Judith Ingram
Scripture
1 John 1:8-9 ESV
If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Consider
A good first step toward resolving a quarrel is to examine our own hearts for sin before we start accusing others of theirs. Confessing our own contribution to a conflict is a humbling act that can immediately cool hot tempers and pave the way toward productive communication. Reluctance to admit our sin stems from a stubborn need to be right and morally superior.
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Posted January 18, 2021 | Judith Ingram
Scripture
Romans 12:12 NIV
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
Consider
Pain is a sure indicator that we have been somehow injured. Physical pain alerts us to damage in our body and the need to take immediate action. Whether the result of physical trauma, stress, or disease, pain captures our attention and motivates us to do something to relieve it. Similarly, emotional pain tells us that we have suffered an injury to the heart. The cause might be personal betrayal by a friend or someone’s impersonal act that nevertheless hurts us.
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Posted January 11, 2021 | Judith Ingram
Scripture
Isaiah 32:1-5 ESV
Behold, a king will reign in righteousness, and princes will rule in justice. Each will be like a hiding place from the wind, a shelter from the storm, like streams of water in a dry place, like the shade of a great rock in a weary land. Then the eyes of those who see will not be closed, and the ears of those who hear will give attention. The heart of the hasty will understand and know, and the tongue of the stammerers will hasten to speak distinctly. The fool will no more be called noble, nor the scoundrel said to be honorable.
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Posted January 4, 2021 | Judith Ingram
“God Knows”
by Minnie Louise Haskins (1875-1957)
And I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year:
“Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.”
And he replied:
“Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the Hand of God.
That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way.”
So I went forth, and finding the Hand of God, trod gladly into the night.
And He led me towards the hills and the breaking of day in the lone East.
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