Posts Categorized: Devotional

Two Sides of Mercy

Posted August 8, 2016 | 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. Sin makes people selfish.

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Sharing God’s Sorrow

Posted August 1, 2016 | Judith Ingram

Scripture

Matthew 26:36-38 (NLT)

Then Jesus went with them to the olive grove called Gethsemane and he said, “Sit here while I go over there to pray.” He took Peter and Zebedee’s two sons, James and John, and he became anguished and distressed. He told them, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”

Consider

In the painful hour before his arrest, Jesus asked Peter, James, and John to keep watch with him. God’s heart beating in the Son felt sorrow and grief, and in his distress he sought the comfort and companionship of his closest friends.

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When We Can’t Feel God’s Love

Posted July 25, 2016 | Judith Ingram

Scripture

Psalm 143:6-7 (NLT)

I lift my hands to you in prayer. I thirst for you as parched land thirsts for rain.

Come quickly, LORD, and answer me, for my depression deepens. Don’t turn away from me, or I will die.

Consider

Even King David, a man after God’s own heart, suffered from depression.

Anyone who has struggled with depression knows its paralyzing effects and tunnel vision. David was no exception. Why does he complain of thirst for God when God is ever present with life-giving water? Because David is in emotional distress so gripping that he cannot perceive God’s loving nearness.

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Be Merciful

Posted July 18, 2016 | Judith Ingram

Scripture

Romans 12:14 (NLT)

Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them.

Consider

This might be one of the most difficult commandments to embrace. In this time of terrorist attacks and horrific evil in our very streets, it seems impossible to think kindly of the perpetrators. Yet Paul says we should do it. Why? Because Jesus said it first.

Blessing our enemies may sound like a good idea because kindness and love might soften their hearts and turn them from evil. And that may be quite true.

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Who Are “The Wicked”?

Posted July 11, 2016 | Judith Ingram

Scripture

Psalm 36:1-2 (NLT)

Sin whispers to the wicked, deep within their hearts. They have no fear of God at all. In their blind conceit, they cannot see how wicked they really are.

Consider

God’s Word commonly distinguishes between two kinds of people, the righteous and the wicked. Other labels make the same distinction: children of God and children of the devil, the wise and the foolish, the sheep and the goats, believers and unbelievers.

The wicked are the troublemakers, slaves of sin who selfishly pursue their own agendas and make life miserable for people who get in their way.

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