Picture of Ben Van Arragon

Ben Van Arragon

Ben Van Arragon is a preacher and writer based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He preaches and teaches the Bible in church, online, and anywhere else he has the opportunity.
Devotionals

Caught in the Crossfire

Read: Lamentations 3:1-15 He bent his bow and set me as a target for his arrow. (v. 12) Following September 11, 2001, a few prominent Christian leaders were quick to assign

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Devotionals

Cry Out in the Night

Read: Lamentations 2:17-22 Pour out your heart like water before the presence of the Lord! (v. 19) During their “empty nest” years, my grandparents cared for foster children. Many of them

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Devotionals

Poured Out

Read: Lamentations 2:11-16 My eyes are spent with weeping; my stomach churns. (v. 11) It’s not easy being a prophet. Jeremiah’s ministry coincided with the decline and fall of the nation

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Devotionals

Torn Down

Read: Lamentations 2:6-10 The LORD determined to lay in ruins the wall of the daughter of Zion. (v. 8) In the film Polish Wedding, a once-gentle husband flies into a jealous

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Devotionals

Like an Enemy

Read: Lamentations 2:1-5 He has bent his bow like an enemy. (v. 4) In the years leading up to the exile, God identified himself as Israel’s husband and characterized their idolatry

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Devotionals

No Comfort?

Read: Lamentations 1:17-20 Zion stretches out her hands, but there is none to comfort her. (v. 17) Years ago, I watched a television program that featured a man beginning the process

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Devotionals

Unable to Move On

Read: Lamentations 1:12-16 Look and see if there is any sorrow like my sorrow. (v. 12) When I was a new pastor, I learned much from my mistakes. One hard lesson

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Devotionals

Regret Redeemed

Read: Lamentations 1:7-11 Jerusalem remembers . . . all the precious things that were hers. (v. 7) As I get older, I find myself troubled by regrets: failing to savor my

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Devotionals

How

Read: Lamentations 1:1-6 How lonely sits the city that was full of people! (v. 1) The original Hebrew title for the book of Lamentations is also the book’s first word: How.

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