Be Kind to One Another (#wtsdevo kindness)

Ephesians 4:32-5:1 – “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.”  

Kindness has been a theme in my life recently. I’ve been learning to show kindness in new and creative ways. I’ve experienced kindness shown to me in ways that I never thought would happen or that I needed to experience. I’ve been learning that two major components of kindness are mercy and selflessness.

Kindness isn’t deserved. We didn’t deserved God’s great kindness of saving us and giving us everything we need for life and godliness, but He gave it to us anyway. That’s why Ephesians says that we should imitate God as it says we should be kind and tenderhearted to one another. None of us is deserving of kindness. So instead of holding it back, we should imitate God and lavish it freely on every single person we meet.

Let’s be kind even when it’s inconvenient to do so. Let’s be kind even if the person receiving it hurts us in return. Let’s be kind even when the other person doesn’t deserve it. And when they are easy to be kind to, let’s not take the kindness we have received for granted.  Let’s show each other the value that each person has by being kind to each person no matter what because God was kind to us no matter what.

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Devotional Series: Kindness (#wtsdevo kindness)

Posted by: Rebecca Hankins \ Personal //  Walk the Same

Filling up that Empty Space (#wtsdevo kindness)

Once I heard someone saying that his inability felt like a huge gaping hole in his life that simply sat there, empty and breaking everything else good that was around him. He said that he wished that someone could fill that hole up so that he could heal.

It made me realize that most of us come across those situations in life where we feel like there’s something empty inside. And worst of all, it is eating us away slowly and steadily and we simply can’t do anything about it on our own and by our own strength. But in that situation, if someone chooses to help us and lift us up, everything changes. Our worries our gone. Our stresses no more and things feel like they are going to be okay after all. That’s because someone’s kindness filled the empty void that was in our life. It feels like we are whole again.

Kindness does more than meets the eye. It heals, it brings joy, it transforms lives and it makes us whole again. Sounds like Jesus doesn’t it? We were a wretched people, living life our own way and by our own terms. What we didn’t realize was that we were opening up wounds within ourselves and by the day, they got raw and inflamed. God didn’t have to save us but He saw our hurting hearts. He wanted us to be more. He wanted us to be the way He created us to be. And out of His sheer kindness and love for us, He sent us His Son. That chasm that once was between us and God was now filled by the incredible sacrifice that Christ made for us. His kindness saved us and here we are.

Remember that being kind to others is more than just helping someone. It is a lifestyle for us Christians and it is part of who we are and our identity. When we choose to be kind, we allow Christ to shine onto others through our lives. We may not realize it but every little act of kindness plays a part in changing the world.

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Devotional Series: Kindness (#wtsdevo kindness)

By: Jude \ Personal // Walk the Same

Kindness Unaware (#wtsdevo kindness)

At this, the man’s ears were opened, his tongue was loosened and he began to speak plainly.

Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone. But the more he did so, the more they kept talking about it. People were overwhelmed with amazement. “He has done everything well,” they said. “He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.” - Mark 7:35-37

Commanding His followers to secrecy can be seen on more than one occasion in the Bible. It is clear that Christ wanted to make sure that His kindness towards others didn’t end up becoming a show for others to enjoy and gossip about.

And this makes me wonder as to how many times in my life has God intervened without me realizing it. I’m pretty sure it is more times than I can even imagine.

With Jesus acting and reacting the way He does around kindness, He commands us to do the same and asks us to avoid putting on a show when it comes to treating others with love, genuine concern and care.

Being kind to others is something that should come out of us by default especially with us being Christians. Being able to understand one another, help those in need and to be able to be that person who stands as a pillar of hope in times of hopelessness should be traits that shouldn’t hesitate to come out through our words, actions and interactions with others.

To be kind to expect something in return is most certainly not the way of Christ considering how sacrificial He was when it came to kindness and love. He gave up His all in order to ensure that our lives were elevated and lifted up closer to God. This should be us when it comes to our kindness towards others.

I can only image how many more smiles there would be if we realized that there was more and more of kindness coming from people around us in unexpected and secret ways. Maybe you and I can start.

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Devotional Series: Kindness (#wtsdevo kindness)

By: Jude \ Personal // Walk the Same

Kindness over Condemnation (#wtsdevo kindness)

The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) -John 4:9

This is such a sweet parable. Not only was it taboo for a man to confront a woman back then, it was well known that Jews and Samaritans did not associate with one another. A double whammy. So when Jesus approached "the woman at the well" He was overstepping some major boundaries.

Unfortunately, there are still some people groups and locations that are considered off limits. Certain races aren't welcomed and certain social classes are thought to be best remaining separate. But there is one universal action that could open the door that leads to change. It could loosen the brick that drops the entire wall.

Kindness. And at its finest it's given undeservingly. This kind of action can't be mustered up from our will. Granted, we can be really, really nice. We can be compassionate. But kindness—this kindness only comes through the very Spirit of God.

It's nothing different from the grace He gives us or His eagerness to give us good things. At the very least, He is kind to give us a roadmap with all the directions and detours to avoid destruction. See, kindness meets a need. It bridges the gap. So we offer it freely as it is offered to us.

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Devotional Series: Kindness (#wtsdevo kindness)

By: Julian Davis \ Personal // Walk the Same

His Steadfast Love (#wtsdevo goodness)

“For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.” - Psalm 100:5

There was a time in my life not too long ago where I questioned God’s goodness in my heart. For a few months, the circumstances of my life had been going in a direction that I thought was going to change my life for good. I thought I had reached a point where the next steps for me were clear, where I knew what was going to happen. I was so excited about the future that seemed to be in front of me. But in just a few days, all that changed completely. Almost every aspect of what I had planned fell apart. I no longer knew what I would be doing in the next few months, and I no longer knew who would be with me on that journey. It was one of the loneliest times of my life as I wrestled with trusting the Lord and remaining close to Him while I waited to see what He would actually bring about. Graciously He provided everything I needed and more, and now I am so thankful for the way He redirected my life. His plan was infinitely better than mine.  

But what I struggled with as all this was happening was that I questioned whether God was really being “good” in all this. I felt like He had given me certain gifts of people in my life as well as a job opportunity. I felt like I had been unjustly robbed of those things when they were taken away. I wondered whether I had done something wrong, or whether I had just misheard God’s voice. It took many months, but after seeking the Lord and coming to Him in honesty and brokenness, He said to me clearly that He had never changed that whole time (Malachi 3:6). He had remained good. He had remained faithful and loving to me. What was missing was my perspective. His goodness never changes because He never changes! I simply could not see it from my partial and flawed perspective. Even when the Lord spoke that truth to me, I had to believe it by faith. I could not explain everything that happened. Today, I still may not be able to explain every detail, but what I definitely can explain is that since then, I have seen the goodness of the Lord (Psalm 27:13). Even in taking things away, He was actually merciful and loving and good because He knew what was best for me. He knew what His plan was all along, and just because I didn’t, didn’t mean that He wasn’t good. Friends, we can have confidence that our Lord never changes. No matter what happens, He is faithful and He is good. He is our rock solid foundation that we can trust. This means that when our circumstances seem awful or even irredeemable, the fact that He is good means that He is actually working in them to bring about His plan for our good as His children.  Let’s praise Him for His goodness today, rest in that foundation, and ask Him to help us trust Him by faith that He is good even when we can’t see it.

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Devotional Series: Goodness (#wtsdevo goodness)

Posted by: Rebecca Hankins \ Personal //  Walk the Same

Bless the Lord (#wtsdevo goodness)

“I will bless the LORD at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul makes its boast in the LORD; let the humble hear and be glad. Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together! I sought the LORD, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed. … Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!” - Psalm 34:1-5, 8

Seventeen years ago this past Tuesday (October 31), Jesus Christ changed my life forever. My mom shared with me the truths that Jesus had died to save me so I could be forgiven. My small self knew that there was a standard of perfection (the holiness of God) that I could never live up to. Even as a child, I knew I was not perfect. The news that Jesus had lived up to that standard for me was amazing! I knew that I needed Him to make the way for me to be forgiven by God. I asked Him to save me, and He did. Heaven was filled with joy in that moment (Luke 15:7).

This is why I reflect on the goodness of God this week. He didn’t have to do that for me – but He did. And He did it for you too. Jesus covers all our shame and restores our relationship with our loving Creator, a relationship that we couldn’t fix by ourselves. Because of Jesus, our God sees us as His children whom He loves. Because of Him, I call out with the Psalmist, “Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together!” This is true in my life: “I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears”! How incredible is the goodness of our God. He is not far away; He is right there ready to come and get His children. Fifteen years ago this week, He came and got me. My eternity was sealed by the God of the universe (2 Corinthians 1:21-22).

Over the past fifteen years of this relationship, I can say again with the Psalmist that I have tasted and seen the goodness of the Lord. He never changes, never fails, is never unfaithful. Any good in me is from Him. Jesus has truly changed not just my external life but my inner being. The ultimate purpose and fulfillment of my life is nothing if not found in Him whom I was created by and for. “In Your presence there is fullness of joy.” (Psalm 16:11)

I share this part of my story, the beginning, in the hope that it will encourage someone who reads it, that it will bring glory to my God, and that it will spark in someone a desire for the same kind of life change. All that is necessary is faith that Jesus really did live the perfect life that we could not live, die the death that we could not die, and rise again to eternal life so that we could spend forever with Him, our lives on this earth dedicated to His glory and praise. Our God is so good that He made the way for us to come back to Him when we couldn’t even see that we needed it.

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Devotional Series: Goodness (#wtsdevo goodness)

Posted by: Rebecca Hankins \ Personal //  Walk the Same

We are the Peacemakers (#wtsdevo peace)

Christ came into a chaotic world and turned everything upside down. He did this by taking all sin upon Himself and replacing all of that chaos with peace. A peace and redemption that no one had experienced before.

It is from this sacrificial act that we now have the privilege of understanding, experiencing and living peace through Him. The kind of peace leaves us unshaken even in the face of trouble and persecution.

Being made in His likeness, as we take on the mission to follow Him, we become more and more like Him and adopt His very nature into our own lives that makes us peacemakers of this world.

No matter where we go, the world will see Christ inside us and they too will experience a revival in their own lives like never before. It all starts with us.

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Devotional Series: Peace (#wtsdevo peace)

By: Jude \ Personal // Walk the Same

Patience Perfected (#wtsdevo patience)

“But let patience have her perfect work, that you may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.” -James 1:4

This is one of those verses I've heard a lot over the years but kind of glazed over. I've just more recently found something that I have been missing all this time.

In different versions of the Bible the word "patience" is interchangeable with words like endurance, perseverance and steadfastness. They all have one thing in common. They are unmovable. Unrelenting. Unshaken. They withstand the test of time.

Most of us have a limit when it comes to waiting. We run out of gas before we reach our destination. So, in our impatience we keep it from producing in us what God is after. Our completeness. We can wait until we've either grown too weary or think we can take matters into our own hands. But the moment we do that, we make ourselves God.

Because He is the only sovereign, all-knowing Being. I imagine a line graph that measures the trajectory of my faith from start to finish and the time after. The time after would be if my faith hadn't flatlined and continued until it actually reached its perfect work. I wonder how much longer it would be. I know God would be my all in all. That's the enduring type of patience I long for.

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Devotional Series: Patience (#wtsdevo patience)

By: Julian Davis \ Personal // Walk the Same

The Fruit of the Spirit (wtsdevo joy)

Galatians 5:22 – “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness…”

What is joy? Is it just a stronger form of happiness, or is it something more? Or something else entirely? It’s defined by some Bible scholars as “cheerfulness” or “calm delight,” a disposition marked by contentedness and peace. I think that what sets joy apart from simple happiness is its source. In Galatians, Paul is teaching the Christians about walking by the Spirit, not by the sinful desire of the flesh. He even says that the two desires are in opposition to one another. He draws a sharp distinction and clearly shows by examples what the desires of the flesh are: “sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these” (v. 5:19-21). Then he gives us a list of what things are “fruit of the Spirit” – which includes joy! This list describes not what we can do for ourselves (because of our flesh), but the fruit that the Holy Spirit of God produces in us when we are walking in Him! So the source of joy is the Spirit of God. This is more than just happiness or “cheerfulness” because those things more often than not have their source in circumstance. Joy, on the other hand, can only be produced by the Spirit of God working in us and giving us joy in Him despite other secondary circumstances. Friends, because God is the source of all joy and tells us that His Spirit produces it in us, that means we can actually pray and ask Him for joy and He will give it to us. He says in the Word that we know that we have whatever we ask for from Him when we ask in faith according to His will (1 John 5). Today I am going to boldly ask the Lord to fill me with joy in Him—join me!

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Devotional Series: Joy (#wtsdevo joy)

Posted by: Rebecca Hankins \ Personal //  Walk the Same

Steadfastness (#wtsdevo patience)

James 1:2-4 – Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

Recently I’ve been going through a lot of life change. I moved across the country. I started a new job. I started new relationships. Ones that I had before have changed. In many ways, I was ready for this. In a lot of others, I was unprepared. This past season of change has brought difficulties and trials that I had not imagined. There are struggles that I’ve had that I thought I was finished with already. There are new struggles that I didn’t expect to happen and have felt very unprepared for.

I say all this to remind myself and you of this: God wants to use our trials and struggles. James tells us in the above passage to actually consider it JOY when we go through tough things. Why? The testing of your faith produces steadfastness, or endurance. We must persevere when our faith is tested. Friends, my faith has been tested and stretched to the breaking point recently. But this passage tells me that persevering through these trials will allow God to make me “perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” This is what I want to be, because this is what God’s Word says. Think of each trial and struggle in your life right now. God wants to use that to make your character more perfect and complete. He wants to grow you. Because of Him we can actually have joy in trials. The ultimate hope and prayer is that at the end of it all, God will have used them for our good and His glory.

Lord, use each trial in our lives today to make us more like you. Help us persevere and be steadfast when our faith is tested. I pray that you would bring all this to its full effect, so that we are perfect and complete in You, and lack in nothing. Amen.

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Devotional Series: Patience (#wtsdevo patience)

Posted by: Rebecca Hankins \ Personal //  Walk the Same

A Perfect Kind of Love (#wtsdevo love)

When it comes to love, most of us have a love-hate relationship with it. We were created with love and naturally we love Love and we continually seek love. On the other hand, love (the earthly kind of love) isn’t the most perfect as we’d like. It comes with its flaws and its own problems which sometimes leaves us pulling our hair out, sometimes heartbreak and sometimes pain.

Regardless of this not-so-perfect-love, we’d do anything and go anywhere to seek it and experience it in some way or form. That’s how much we crave it. But every so often, we are left more hurt and in pain than joy because this love, that we run after, is temporary and can be a downer when we least expect it.

But even in the midst of this messy love, is there a love that is so perfect that it covers everything - our flaws, our pain and everything ugly? Is there a love that is so perfect that it changes our lives completely forever?

There is…. And this love has a name and His name is Jesus.

His love covers it all. It remains and it is full of grace, love and sacrifice. A love that wants nothing but you and you alone.

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Devotional Series: Love (#wtsdevo love)

By: Elle \ Personal // Walk the Same.

Joy that Fills (#wtsdevo joy)

“These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” - John 15:11

The best experiences in life you may say was the day you were married or the birth of your first child. Or maybe money affords you the finer things in life, leaving little to complain about.

Those are all things that can make us happy. But something in marriage happens called life. The honeymoon ends. Those beautiful newborns grow up and we find our smiles exchanged with tears and frustration. Money fades and even when it lasts, it's hollow happiness.

I find myself often going through the motions. Just scraping enough of the goodness of God to get me through the day. The crumbs from His table become my breakfast, lunch and dinner. So I find myself always hungry and unsatisfied with man's pursuit of happiness.

Until I remember where real joy comes from. And not the temporary, fleeting kind. The joy of the Lord. The joy that fills to the brim and overflows so much that others can feed from our helping. The unmatched, unconditional joy that only comes from abiding in Jesus. Let's pray for it together until it's ours!

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Devotional Series: Joy (#wtsdevo joy)

By: Julian Davis \ Personal // Walk the Same

The Source of Joy (#wtsdevo joy)

When parents come home from work or when they return after an extended time away back to their kids, it’s not to hard to notice how excited and happy they are to see their parents back with them. I was watching a bunch of YouTube videos the other day and saw how even pets get uber excited when they see their owners return back after staying away for a while. It’s heart-warming to watch and the sight alone brings a whole lot of joy. But in both of these cases, their excitement and joy comes from seeing that their guardians and carers are back with them.

No longer are they left alone. Instead they are now back into the world of security, care and protection that their parents bring into the relationship. I believe that this is the kind of joy that people, like the disciples and followers of Christ in the Bible, felt when Jesus came to be with them. They once lived in a world without direction or guidance. But now with Jesus around, everything changed. He was there to lead them, protect them, guide them, heal them and raise them up no matter the season and situation.

Can you even begin to imagine how all of these people must’ve felt when Jesus was ripped away from them and everything they knew when He was taken away to be murdered on the cross?

But that pain didn’t last too long because before they even knew it, Christ was back with them and the joy that they would’ve experience must’ve been immense and beyond amazing.

Christ is the source of our joy and we are able to function they way we do today because the joy that we carry in Him fuels us to do all that we were called to do. The moment we decide to break away from that source and plug into what’s earthly for our joy, we don’t get joy anymore but happiness which is fleeting and temporary just like how much of the world we live in is.

Let us be mindful and intentional where we choose to seek and absorb our joy from. It has the power to shape us build us and what’s more amazing and beautiful than to be shaped after that of God and His ways.

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Devotional Series: Joy (#wtsdevo joy)

By: Jude \ Personal // Walk the Same

Home has it All (#wtsdevo thisishome)

Home is not merely a structure with four physical walls that surrounds you but rather it’s more than that. As a Christian, home is where the heart and soul of God is. You’re safe, protected and you’re loved and taken care of.

Just as the traits of God, home is where you’ll find forgiveness. No matter who you are or where you come from, home never rejects you. You’re welcome always and you are forgiven and blessed. You never find yourself abandoned but rather united and one with God.

At home you’ll also find a whole lot of love. Not the kind of love that takes but a love that keeps on giving. A sacrificial love. A love that lifts you up and empowers you as a person. But what you also get from home is community and connections. It allows you to engage with those that truly care about you and your soul and no longer do you live life in singularity but together with community and those that you can call family.

In short, home is the place that has the ability to make you whole. When you find Christ, you find yourself a home that you can grow and be nurtured in forever.

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Devotional Series: This is Home (#wtsdevo thisishome)

By: Jude \ Personal // Walk the Same

Watch and Learn (#wtsdevo generosity)

“This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person’s failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him. - John 3:16-18

It would be an understatement to say that God is big. He is more than big. He is beyond the world and more. The best part of it is that we are part of that big world of His and naturally we are part of a bigger story.

But looking around it doesn’t seem like a lot of people are experiencing this “big-ness” in their lives. Instead we see them live in small and limited spaces - not looking forward for the best there is or in pursuit of it. This wasn’t any different in the time of Christ. In the Bible narrative, we read how Jesus was all set out to change the world. But at the same time, there were people who only thought about themselves and their own circumstances. Basically they really didn’t think much about anything outside the bubble they lived in. They didn’t think or dream big.

There is so much that makes God big but one thing that stands out is how vast and immense His generosity is. When He gave us His Son, He gave Him for everyone and all without question. He wasn’t being selective when He gave. Instead He gave for all. It is clear that He is the perfect example of generosity and therefore He is our perfect example to follow when it comes to shaping generosity in our own lives.

As Christians, we reflect the image of God and with generosity being an integral part of His nature, it only makes sense that this is reflected in our being too. And when we choose to give over holding onto something tight, God chooses to bless us with more and more knowing that we are givers just as He is.

If you are not sure about where to start, simply watch and learn from Jesus. His life alone defines generosity.

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Devotional Series: Generosity (#wtsdevo generosity)

By: Jude \ Personal // Walk the Same

An Unexpected Rescue (#wtsdevo theunexpected)

I enjoy it when movies have unexpected twists in them. Even better, I love it when those twists are happy and positive ones. It was one of many reasons why superhero movies (especially Batman) became my most favorite kind of genre of movies to watch growing up. You’d have people just like you and me falling into trouble and for a while it seems like all hope is lost but then the superhero makes an unexpected appearance and saves the day. It’s amazing.

These scenarios sound similar though. In the Bible we see so many such instances occurring. At first you might even think that Christ is just as much a superhero. Well He is but He’s more than just an ordinary superhero. Unlike the traditional superhero, Christ didn’t seek to avenge anyone or anything or choose to do what He did out of His own strength. Instead He did what He did out of genuine love and concern for all of us. Besides nothing can compare to the unexpected rescue that Christ carried out for all of us. He sacrificed Himself on the cross for you and me. And let that sink in for a bit. You see, by doing what He did, He didn’t just save a few people nearby in the near vicinity but literally the whole world. No one could possibly imagine that God would go to this length or even try saving such a sinful and wretched human race. But God saw us all differently and here we are today.

There’s no one as unexpected as God is and praise God to His unexpected ways that we continue to have the gifts of His grace and forgiveness. To Him be the glory.

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Devotional Series: The Unexpected (#wtsdevo theunexpeced)

By: Jude \ Personal // Walk the Same