Posts Categorized: Devotional

Meaningful Suffering

Posted October 19, 2020 | Judith Ingram

Scripture

1 Peter 4:12 ESV

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.

Consider

Suffering. It’s an unpleasant word, conjuring images of physical pain, mental anguish, and spiritual desolation. Nobody wants it. In fact, we take great pains to avoid it. We like to think suffering is an anomaly we can escape by living right and making wise choices. Suffering may surprise us when it hits, and we immediately start looking for reasons to explain it. There must be someone to blame, a behavior we can adjust.

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The Gospel in Forgiving

Posted October 12, 2020 | Judith Ingram

Scripture

Psalm 96:2 CEB

Sing to the LORD! Bless his name! Share the news of his saving work every single day!

Consider

Saint Francis of Assisi once said, “It is no use walking anywhere to preach unless our walking is our preaching.” In other words, the way we treat others shows our heart, and people are quick to spot a hypocrite. If we live out the gospel that we believe, then people will be attracted to Christ because of what they see in us. If, however, our behavior doesn’t bear out the faith we profess to have, then people will dismiss us as frauds and likely dismiss our God as well.

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Do It Now

Posted October 5, 2020 | Judith Ingram

Scripture

Psalm 90:12 NLT

Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom.

Consider

We are not wise to think we have all the time in the world to mend a relationship, or to say what needs to be said, or to ask for someone’s forgiveness. Too many times we let a difficult situation drift either because we don’t know what to do about it or because we are unwilling to do what we know needs to be done. Although we can’t know how much time we really have, we can trust in God’s ongoing plan to redeem and restore hearts and relationships.

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Love in the Ruins

Posted September 28, 2020 | Judith Ingram

 

Scripture

Isaiah 49:14-16 NLT

Yet Jerusalem says, “The LORD has deserted us; the Lord has forgotten us.”

“Never! Can a mother forget her nursing child? Can she feel no love for the child she has borne? But even if that were possible, I would not forget you! See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands. Always in my mind is a picture of Jerusalem’s walls in ruins.”

Consider

Loving parents feel their child’s pain. They hurt when their child is disappointed or harmed. They may shed tears along with the son or daughter who grieves for a lost pet or suffers a painful injury.

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Weedy Hearts

Posted September 21, 2020 | Judith Ingram

Scripture

Mark 4:3-8 NIV

“A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, multiplying thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times.”

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