#walkthesame
Jesus is Greatness (#wtsdevo Jesus)
It’s insane how you see so many people boast and flaunt about their greatness these days. It is mind blowing, (and getting old very fast). I am Australian, but I hear about the greatness of Donald Trump all the way across the world. Not because of anyone else, but just from him alone! Is this really greatness though? Well let’s find out, shall we?
Now forget Trump for just a bit (check out the telly if you want more of him) and let’s bring Jesus into the conversation here. We all know that God is beyond ourselves and anything we can imagine. He is greater and next to Him we are just tiny, tiny, tiny humans who are in constant need of Him everyday, just so we can live. The world was burning and just deteriorating in sin, and so God had a mission and that is to save the world. To lead this mission, God sent down His only Son - Jesus, to come down to us. To rescue us and to save us.
Jesus! This is not some guy a few blocks away from where you live. This isn’t some guy who happens to be my neighbor. This isn’t some great athlete in some world class football team. Jesus is no prince of Egypt or England, or a president in some powerful country. Jesus isn’t any of these. Jesus is God. He is all of us combined. He is all of the universe and beyond combined and His greatness and power can’t be measured or put into perspective. It’s madness to even try to measure or even quantify who Jesus is because He is Jesus. Jesus is God.
As John shares in the Bible, - “The Word became flesh…” and goes on to say that Jesus “… Made His dwelling among us.” Some important words here if you caught on to this already. Jesus just didn’t stay or stick to one place. Not a throne. Not a place. Not a president’s office. Nope. He was so great, that it was among us that He chose to live. He didn’t stop there with defining what greatness was.
In the Bible, we meet the religious leaders and the pharisees who just about defined what greatness was to the people of the time. We have people no different from these even today. However Jesus turned heads around and left them spinning when He chose to demonstrate what greatness really was. It was all about reaching out to the helpless, healing the sick, comforting those who were in pain and even washing the feet of His own disciples. In other words - it was by serving others and in sacrifice that He demonstrated what true greatness was.
Ultimately what Christ shared with us was the fact that greatness does not come from boasting, flaunting, wealth or from literally anything earthly. Power and greatness comes from within. From Christ dwelling within us. Greatness comes from those moments when we choose sacrifice over ourselves. When we choose to serve than to be served. Greatness comes when we accept that we can’t do everything on our own but that we are in need of Jesus to take lead over our lives so that we can be more like Him. Great like Him.
I urge you today to not let anyone tell you and dictate your greatness. Your greatness does not come from the world or by any formula, quantity or ability. Your greatness comes from Jesus Himself because Jesus is greatness! You and I are great in Him.
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Devotional Series: Jesus (#wtsdevo Jesus)
By: Elle \Personal// Walk the Same// Color Movement
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Crowded with God
Type & Edit byJude Dias , Photography by Yousif Malibiran
Are we just blind or what?!?!
I don’t mean to be brash but I find myself asking this question especially when I feel down and hopeless. Think about it…
In the Bible we see Jesus constantly telling His followers about God and His nature. God knows it all. He sees it all and just based on this fact, Jesus questions the disciples about their faith every time they freak out about something or have doubts cloud their mind.
“Where is your faith?”
Jesus and His Word makes it absolutely clear - God is everything and there is no escaping Him. You can run and hide and God will find you. You can bury a secret in the depths of your mind and heart but God sees and feels everything that is within you. Because this is God we are talking about.
As a Christian, I should know and be certain of the fact that Jesus is around and that I am always covered by His presence, love and grace. I’ve no room to doubt, fear or freak out. But yet I do. Because I am a weak human and I fail everyday. And here is Jesus continuing to love me despite this.
If the room is crowded, you’d notice it right? The world is crowded with Jesus. He is literally everywhere you look. And there are those days when we even fail to notice Him. There are those days when we fail to remember that He is around for us and that we are safe in His hands. We just worry and fear like blind people. So again I ask the question…. Are we blind?
Yes and no. No; We are not blind because we all as Christians know and believe that we are in need of a Savior to help us and save us. And yes; because we forget sometimes when the world and the things in it manage to overwhelm us and push us off track.
My prayer for all of us today is that we constantly have our eyes opened to the beautiful knowledge of God’s presence around us. In His presence, fear has no place in us. He crowds the world and every space and crevice in our hearts and souls. Evil will not win today or ever.
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There’s no greater love than the love of God.
We’ve started an awesome new project which we’ve appropriately called - A Crazy Love Story (ACLS). The purpose of ACLS is to provide a place for people to share their own unique and amazing love stories they share with God. It is our hope that these stories inspire you & others and help everyone see God in a whole new way.
Have a story that you’d like to share with us? Visit our website (by clicking on the image) to submit your story. We can’t wait to receive your story and share it with the world.
Spread the news and share the stories and this amazing movement with your friends and family. Tag #acrazylovestory if you have any related stories and experiences that you’d love for us to see.
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A Shared Heartbeat (#wtsdevo love)
As a child, my grandmother used to always tell me that I needed to be very careful about everything that I embrace into my life, because it will likely shape me in the long run. Embrace the good, and we will see good results . Accept the bad and unhealthy, and what we end up with is hurt and pain down the road.
The same can be said when talking about our relationship with God. So many people say they love Jesus, and yet their lives do not reflect it. However when we do love Jesus with all our heart, mind, soul and body, that bond with our Father will shape us into individuals who reflect Him entirely. His life becomes ours, His love becomes ours, His mission becomes ours and His heartbeat becomes ours.
What a wonderful connection is that!
My prayer for all of us today is that our relationship with God holds true and faithful, that we may grow in Him and share a life together with Him making everything else including our fears and trouble trivial and irrelevant. His love will take over and everything else drowns in the weight of His love.
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Devotional Series: Love (#wtsdevo love)
By: Elle \ Personal // Walk the Same // Color Movement
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Because God IS Love (#wtsdevo love)
Life is so chaotic and tends to be a lot more disheartening these days that I find it super crucial to me to remind myself on a daily basis that God loves me. With life and things around us trying to constantly weigh us down, it easy for us to sometimes wonder where God is in the midst of all of this. The negative thoughts and feelings that the enemy tries to pin down on us usually tend to make us feel like God has abandoned us because we aren’t all that worthy enough for Him.
Just as God constantly reminds me how good and loving He is, I want to extend that reminder to you today and share the good news that God loves you. Yes! He does. You may have had your shortcomings, your downfalls. You may have flaws and you may feel insecure and more….. But God loves you.
You may ask why “Why does God love me?”…. Well He does because He is love Himself. It is who He is and love being part of His nature and being, it is impossible for Him to not love you. What this means for you and me is that His love is always here to stay because it is based purely on who He is and not what we do or who we are.
Remember that God’s word triumphs over the world and people around you any day. You are loved and that love will never end.
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Devotional Series: Love (#wtsdevo love)
By: Jude \ Personal//Walk the Same
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Joy in the Process
Words byJohanna Loh
As she cradled the baby in her arms, her face creased with smiles. She stared wonderingly at the day-old infant, noticing how he had dark eyes just like her own. While she couldn’t quite make out the shape of his nose yet, she was willing to bet that it would mirror the shape of his father’s. A plethora of emotion coursed through her. Gratitude to a God who was faithful to His promises. Relief that her labor had gone smoothly despite her years. Above all, she felt the awe of holding her very own son and the immense, fiery maternal love.
For many, many years she had longed to be a mother. But no matter how hard she and her husband had tried, the role had always seemed to elude her. Mistress of her household, indeed. One of the most beautiful women in the land, yes, even well past the bloom of youth. But never a mother. Watching her maid and other servants playing with their children, she had felt herself grow envious as she longed for the child she couldn’t seem to conceive. As the years went by, she started to resign herself to the fact that she probably would never have a little one of her own flesh and blood. She was well aware that bitterness had also taken root in her spirit, fed by her disappointment and unfulfilled hopes.
However, the coming of the child had changed everything. Sarah clearly remembered how ridiculous it had all seemed when the three visitors had come to their tent about a year ago. It had been such a hot, stifling afternoon in Mamre, with only the terebinth trees providing a much welcomed source of shade. She was particularly curious about the visitors. Her normally unruffled husband had rushed into their tent, bidding her to quickly prepare cakes of fine meal for these three men. Intrigued, she had later positioned herself behind the tent door just out of sight to listen to their conversation. Who were these people that they warranted such a reaction from Abraham? Incredulity and doubt quickly spread through her as she distinctly heard the words from one of them, “…and Sarah your wife shall have a son.”
The first thought that surfaced was, but that is impossible! I’m 90 years old! She had silently laughed within herself at the absurdity of it, made even more surreal by the quiet confidence with which the strange man had made his bombshell of a statement. Almost as if the impossible was going to happen, without a shadow of a doubt. Her laugh then had been birthed out of years of deadened anticipation and unrealized dreams.
Abraham had bequeathed their child the name of Isaac shortly after his birth. How apt, Sarah mused. Isaac. Yitzchaq. Laughter. She had laughed as she held him for the first time, and so had Abraham. She declared, “God has made me laugh, and all who hear will laugh with me!” Now, she laughed once more as she held their only son tightly. A son that had been ninety years in the making for her, and a century for him. Their miracle baby. But the sound from Sarah’s lips wasn’t the resentful or incredulous noise that it had been a year ago. Instead, it was one of sheer joy, gladness and gratitude. It is not just you, my son, even as she revealed in him. It is God. He is the one that brings joy. He was faithful to an old and resentful woman even when she doubted His word. He is the giver of true joy, and you are my reminder of His gift. And if one day you ever ask me about your name, I can’t wait to tell you how my bitter laughter turned to joy…
We’re all like Sarah, in one way or another. Maybe we’re waiting on an Isaac that seems to be taking forever to materialize. It might be a job offer that hasn’t come, or that yet unrealized dream. It could be a still incomplete healing from depression or a longed-for reconciliation with a loved one. We also could be wrestling with our own frustration, doubt and bitterness due to circumstances. What would your “Isaac” be?
I can’t help but wonder about Sarah. She was so desperate to have children that prior to Isaac, she attempted to gain one by giving her maid to Abraham. The promise that God would establish a nation from her and Abraham’s offspring seemed too unattainable for her. I wonder if she spent years of being disillusioned and disappointed, not fully trusting God’s promises and taking matters into her own hands. Because I’m guilty of that too. Moments come when I fret too much over things I have no control over and try to plan out things so they don’t go wrong. My thoughts turn to future concerns and past regrets. I don’t let God be God. Rather, I fall back on self-reliance and logical reasoning. The result? I end up losing my joy, and my faith becomes clouded.
Maybe we all need perpetual reminders of how life is a process. It’s not seeing the end result, but rather going through the process with an attitude that makes all the difference.
Maybe we all need perpetual reminders of how life is a process. It’s not seeing the end result, but rather going through the process with an attitude that makes all the difference. We were never meant to carry certain burdens; logical reasoning does not always make the most sense. But when we see things through God’s perspective, joy comes. When He changes us in the journey of our respective trials and challenges, there is joy to be found. When we trust him, he changes our hearts. When we walk with Him in the ups and downs, He gives us much joy. Our role is just to let Him make us laugh.
I believe there is much to gain from Sarah’s statement. She wasn’t just rejoicing about seeing her promise come to pass and having the years of disappointment washed away. She could finally grasp more profoundly just how big her God was. Nothing was too hard for Him. At that point, she could comprehend that her joy was only from God. May we all remember to always find joy in God’s presence, and laugh because of Him.
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Joy in the Process
Words byJohanna Loh
As she cradled the baby in her arms, her face creased with smiles. She stared wonderingly at the day-old infant, noticing how he had dark eyes just like her own. While she couldn’t quite make out the shape of his nose yet, she was willing to bet that it would mirror the shape of his father’s. A plethora of emotion coursed through her. Gratitude to a God who was faithful to His promises. Relief that her labor had gone smoothly despite her years. Above all, she felt the awe of holding her very own son and the immense, fiery maternal love.
For many, many years she had longed to be a mother. But no matter how hard she and her husband had tried, the role had always seemed to elude her. Mistress of her household, indeed. One of the most beautiful women in the land, yes, even well past the bloom of youth. But never a mother. Watching her maid and other servants playing with their children, she had felt herself grow envious as she longed for the child she couldn’t seem to conceive. As the years went by, she started to resign herself to the fact that she probably would never have a little one of her own flesh and blood. She was well aware that bitterness had also taken root in her spirit, fed by her disappointment and unfulfilled hopes.
However, the coming of the child had changed everything. Sarah clearly remembered how ridiculous it had all seemed when the three visitors had come to their tent about a year ago. It had been such a hot, stifling afternoon in Mamre, with only the terebinth trees providing a much welcomed source of shade. She was particularly curious about the visitors. Her normally unruffled husband had rushed into their tent, bidding her to quickly prepare cakes of fine meal for these three men. Intrigued, she had later positioned herself behind the tent door just out of sight to listen to their conversation. Who were these people that they warranted such a reaction from Abraham? Incredulity and doubt quickly spread through her as she distinctly heard the words from one of them, “…and Sarah your wife shall have a son.”
The first thought that surfaced was, but that is impossible! I’m 90 years old! She had silently laughed within herself at the absurdity of it, made even more surreal by the quiet confidence with which the strange man had made his bombshell of a statement. Almost as if the impossible was going to happen, without a shadow of a doubt. Her laugh then had been birthed out of years of deadened anticipation and unrealized dreams.
Abraham had bequeathed their child the name of Isaac shortly after his birth. How apt, Sarah mused. Isaac. Yitzchaq. Laughter. She had laughed as she held him for the first time, and so had Abraham. She declared, “God has made me laugh, and all who hear will laugh with me!” Now, she laughed once more as she held their only son tightly. A son that had been ninety years in the making for her, and a century for him. Their miracle baby. But the sound from Sarah’s lips wasn’t the resentful or incredulous noise that it had been a year ago. Instead, it was one of sheer joy, gladness and gratitude. It is not just you, my son, even as she revealed in him. It is God. He is the one that brings joy. He was faithful to an old and resentful woman even when she doubted His word. He is the giver of true joy, and you are my reminder of His gift. And if one day you ever ask me about your name, I can’t wait to tell you how my bitter laughter turned to joy…
We’re all like Sarah, in one way or another. Maybe we’re waiting on an Isaac that seems to be taking forever to materialize. It might be a job offer that hasn’t come, or that yet unrealized dream. It could be a still incomplete healing from depression or a longed-for reconciliation with a loved one. We also could be wrestling with our own frustration, doubt and bitterness due to circumstances. What would your “Isaac” be?
I can’t help but wonder about Sarah. She was so desperate to have children that prior to Isaac, she attempted to gain one by giving her maid to Abraham. The promise that God would establish a nation from her and Abraham’s offspring seemed too unattainable for her. I wonder if she spent years of being disillusioned and disappointed, not fully trusting God’s promises and taking matters into her own hands. Because I’m guilty of that too. Moments come when I fret too much over things I have no control over and try to plan out things so they don’t go wrong. My thoughts turn to future concerns and past regrets. I don’t let God be God. Rather, I fall back on self-reliance and logical reasoning. The result? I end up losing my joy, and my faith becomes clouded.
Maybe we all need perpetual reminders of how life is a process. It’s not seeing the end result, but rather going through the process with an attitude that makes all the difference.
Maybe we all need perpetual reminders of how life is a process. It’s not seeing the end result, but rather going through the process with an attitude that makes all the difference. We were never meant to carry certain burdens; logical reasoning does not always make the most sense. But when we see things through God’s perspective, joy comes. When He changes us in the journey of our respective trials and challenges, there is joy to be found. When we trust him, he changes our hearts. When we walk with Him in the ups and downs, He gives us much joy. Our role is just to let Him make us laugh.
I believe there is much to gain from Sarah’s statement. She wasn’t just rejoicing about seeing her promise come to pass and having the years of disappointment washed away. She could finally grasp more profoundly just how big her God was. Nothing was too hard for Him. At that point, she could comprehend that her joy was only from God. May we all remember to always find joy in God’s presence, and laugh because of Him.
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Songs of Joy
Type & Edit by Naomi Scheel
When we were overwhelmed by sins, you forgave our transgressions. Blessed are those you choose and bring near to live in your courts! We are filled with the good things of your house, of your holy temple. You answer us with awesome and righteous deeds, God our Savior, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas, who formed the mountains by your power, having armed yourself with strength, who stilled the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, and the turmoil of the nations. The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders; where morning dawns, where evening fades, you call forth songs of joy. - Psalm 65:3-8
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Righteousness
Type & Edit by Naomi Scheel
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. - 1 Timothy 6:10-12
No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. - Matthew 6:24
The LORD is righteous in all his ways and faithful in all he does. - Psalm 145:17
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You Become What You Pursue (#wtsdevo Pursuit)
“You become what you pursue” is true for much in life. This can span over a variety of things such as your career, relationships, goals, personal growth and more. Pursuing the Lord is my main focus every single day because the more I choose to pursue Him, the more I see myself growing as a Christian and as a person. The process of growth hasn’t been an easy one, but thanks to Christ, I find myself having the strength and courage to step up and move on.
This wasn’t always the case though. As a child, following the time my parents had died in a tragic accident, I pursued sadness and anger purely out of the pain I had to endure at the time. I thought it would help me cope with everything that I was going through. It actually felt right at home in the beginning, but life seemed to crumble apart with time. It seemed like nothing was meant to go right for me. It was just a bad time.
Yet in the middle of that downfall in my life, God opened a window, showing me that there was a life much better than what I was experiencing at the time. All I had to do was give up everything I knew and follow Him. I remember thinking that I had nothing left to lose. I was so desperately in need of love and comfort that I chose to obey Him.
Moving on to this day, here I am growing but in a much better place.
It was a hard lesson for me to learn but I was clearly shown whom I needed to follow in order to live a life that was filled with pure joy. You can live a life today filled with the blessing that Christ had promised for all of us. You just have to accept Him and pursue Him and everything else will fall into place.
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Devotional Series: Pursuit (#wtsdevo Pursuit)
By: Elle \Personal// Walk the Same// Color Movement
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Join the Team : Team Co-Leader
Do you have a flair for leadership and think you have what it takes to lead a team? As a Team Leader you will be part in co-leading the overall workings of Walk the Same, manage some of our currently on-going projects and work together with other leaders and members of the team to share more, inspire more and make a difference. If you are someone who considers yourself to be a leader, pro-active, creative, positive, encouraging, and most of all - a disciple and follower of Christ, we would love to hear from you.
You can applyvia our application form or alternatively you can click on the image on this post orthis link to visit our Join the Team page.
If you have any questions regarding the above role, you are welcome to email Autumn ([email protected]) or Elle ([email protected]). We look forward to hearing from you.
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Fear of the Lord
Type & Edit by Naomi Scheel
“Humility is the fear of the Lord; its wages are riches and honor and life.” - Proverbs 22:4
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Knowing that God is always present, keep your head up no matter what your day turns out to be like. In your daily pursuit of God, remember that you are perfectly positioned within God’s plan for your life and that no matter what happens or the position you are placed in, you will always be presented with the opportunity to Glorify God.
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Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live. – 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
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Through Every Generation (#wtsdevo faithfulness)
“If we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself.” -2 Timothy 2:13
I am deeply grateful that my God’s faithfulness doesn’t hinge on my faith. He would still be just if He measured our relationship based on what I offered Him. After all, we operate that way down here among the mortals.
One of our greatest flaws as human beings—what most separates us from a holy God is our failure to be perfect. We lie, we cheat, we cut corners and we disappoint. And because we’re humans rubbing elbows with other humans on a daily basis, it can be easy to attach our standards to Him as well. Even accidentally.
He is holy and perfect. Anything short of that is a direct contradiction to His nature. He cannot fail. He can’t be unloving. Even in His judgement He loves us. Also, while He deserves our best effort and perfect faith, we fall majorly short. Our God is still faithful.
All of our human characteristics are mere shadows compared to His. He is the essence and definition of faithfulness. He can never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). Nothing can separate us from His love (Romans 8:38-39). The faithfulness of the Lord endures forever (Psalm 117:2).
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Devotional Series: Faithfulness (#wtsdevo faithfulness)
By: Julian Davis \ Personal // Walk the Same
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A suffering person does not need a lecture - he needs a listener. - Billy Graham #WTSInspire
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Faithful Living (#wtsdevo faithfulness)
I love listening to the inspiring and life changing messages that I hear every Sunday. They make impact when it comes to how I live daily and transforms the way I think and approach situations. As Christians, we are keen to hear all that is being shared when our Pastors and teachers share them but all too often it is hard to actually apply them into our own lives faithfully. That’s because of the human condition of being too comfortable and our pride.
However there’s more to living life than sticking to what our flesh tells us to and Christ demonstrated that to us through His life. Unlike most of those that were around Him, it was clear, reading the Bible, that Christ experienced a true sense of freedom. He lived a life of peace and He was in a position to be there for others and comfort them when the need came. His life became like so because He was shaped by His faithfulness - to His Father, to His cause and mission and His purpose.
There came several times when He was tempted and when He felt like He couldn’t go any further but by His faithfulness, He understood that there was something bigger and amazing on the other side and this is the same attitude that we too must adopt as we choose to follow Christ.
Is it easy to say with our mouths that we will change but true transformation comes about when we choose to be faithful. Often times, things (and life) may come our way to disrupt our calling and all it takes to deflect these moments is faithfulness.
It can make all the difference to life beyond measure.
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Devotional Series: Faithfulness (#wtsdevo faithfulness)
By: Jude \ Personal//Walk the Same
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Motivated for Good (#wtsdevo goodness)
“Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us.” - Titus 2:7-8
I used to have a lead foot. I treated the speed limit as merely a suggestion. Life behind the wheel was full of impatience and anxiety—all brought on by myself. I’d look for patrol cars or to see if traffic ahead of me was slowing down. If not, I put the pedal to the metal.
So I’ve had my share of speeding tickets. And to think it all could have been avoided if I just obeyed the law. I drove not to get caught. My motivation wasn’t to abide by the God-to-man-appointed law. I had a bigger issue than just speeding. It was an integrity problem.
Although now I feel delivered from my racecar driver complex, that integrity struggle has leaked it’s way into other facets of my life. Not long after engaging in the fight for integrity comes good ol’ legalism. And if I’m not careful my motivation can become not getting caught rather than pleasing the Father—bringing Him glory in my conduct at all times.
Am I moved to obey Him simply because of who He is? My only hope is that He grants me Psalm 19 verse 14:
“Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.”
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Devotional Series: Goodness (#wtsdevo goodness)
By: Julian Davis \ Personal // Walk the Same
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“Time is the brush of God, as he paints his masterpiece on the heart of humanity.” - Ravi Zacharias #WTSInspire
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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
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A Good God (#wtsdevo goodness)
“For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.” -Romans 7:18
Hopefully we can all own this verse. It’s only been a few years since I’ve been able to look at it honestly. Because we live among the measures of good, better and best by our standards. But God, in His perfect goodness is the only truly good One. Paul understood that.
If there is anything about me that isn’t utterly despicable, it’s only by the grace of God and His goodness through me. Not from me or by me. We are simply the vessels that display His goodness. Pride can convince us otherwise but only God is good.
He is a good, good Father.
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Devotional Series: Goodness (#wtsdevo goodness)
By: Julian Davis \ Personal // Walk the Same
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There’s only one condition a man must meet to receive God’s choicest blessings. Man must admit his need. And the only thing in the world that keeps a man from doing this is pride. - Richard C Halverson #WTSInspire
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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
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I believe that the sphere of service, your career, the plan which God has mapped out for you and prepared for you, is the greatest agency in His hands to conform You to His character and to His will. God takes that place of service as He puts you into it with the supreme purpose of breaking you, proving what is in your heart and teaching you to lace your utter dependence upon Him. Through that experience you become conformed to His will in your character. - Alan Redpath #WTSInspire
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Ordinary work, which is what most of us do most of the time, is ordained by God every bit as much as is the extraordinary. - Elisabeth Elliot #WTSInspire
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His Goodness Prevails (#wtsdevo goodness)
Psalm 91 happens to be one of my most favorite Psalms in the Bible because on a bad day, it reminds me that God’s goodness stands out and breaks away all negativity and replaces it with the comfort and grace of God and everything good that you can possibly imagine.
I think that with so much happening these days around in our world, it is easy to lose it and fall into the trap where you end up feeling like everything is going downhill. And in circumstances such as this it is important to journey on ahead with positivity and so much hope. The way that one can do this is by being reminded of God’s goodness and the best source of this is through His own words in the Bible.
The Bible is filled with reminders about His goodness but simply taking Psalm 91 alone and unpacking it, tells us that no matter the season, situation or circumstance, God’s goodness prevails. It comes through even in the times when you might never expect it but it surely does come.
God is our Father and He loves us more than we can ever imagine. He is always for us and is always with us even in the stormy times of life - carrying us through and allowing us to grow in our wisdom and strength. All we need to do it believe and cling onto Him.
He never fails. His goodness is here to stay.
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Devotional Series: Goodness (#wtsdevo goodness)
By: Jude \ Personal//Walk the Same
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