Posts Categorized: Devotional

Qualified to Comfort

Posted March 6, 2017 | Judith Ingram

Scripture

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (NIV)

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.

Consider

Nobody likes pain. In fact, we take great measures to avoid pain, and when our measures fail, we may look for someone to blame. Pain interferes with the course we’ve set for our lives. Reversal of fortune, the onset of illness, unexpected grief, disappointment in a relationship—these may seem unfair.

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Take It Up, Take It In

Posted February 27, 2017 | Judith Ingram

Scripture

Isaiah 55:10-11 (TNIV)

As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

Consider

As with a personal letter, God sends his word to us. The Bible is not a history book or a collection of interesting stories to be read passively and discarded. The Bible is Scripture, holy words from a holy God.

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Night Season

Posted February 20, 2017 | Judith Ingram

Scripture

Psalm 42:8 (Common Book of Worship)

The LORD grants loving-kindness in the daytime; in the night season the song of the LORD is with me, a prayer to the God of my life.

Consider

For some reason, our troubles can seem worse at night. As we lie awake on our beds in those silent hours of relentless dark, our worries weigh heavier, fear looms larger, grief pulls up forgotten sorrows, and remorse stings like shaming nettles. The night season can feel lonely. We may search for God without the hope and confidence that carried us through the daylight hours.

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To Cap or to Cure?

Posted February 13, 2017 | Judith Ingram

Scripture

Isaiah 65:1-2 (NLT)

The LORD says, “I was ready to respond, but no one asked for help. I was ready to be found, but no one was looking for me. I said, ‘Here I am, here I am!’ to a nation that did not call on my name. All day long I opened my arms to a rebellious people. But they follow their own evil paths and their own crooked schemes.”

Consider

In the aftermath of a hurtful event, when it’s time to choose whether we will cling to our bitterness or turn to God for relief and healing, why do we so often choose the dark path of bitterness?

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Love In the Ruins

Posted February 6, 2017 | 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 children’s pain. They hurt when their children are disappointed or abused. They may shed tears along with the child who grieves for a lost pet or a painful separation.

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