its elle coleman

[walkthesame]

Coming together as One

Words by guest writer Haley MacPherson

“For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others (Romans 12:4-5).”

Have you ever been to Maui? If you have, you might be familiar with the Banyan tree located in Lahaina. The tree is huge. As a child, I remember being baffled by the tree. Everyone said it was the biggest tree in Hawaii but how could that be? You see, the tree has many trunks, which makes the tree appear to be many, not one. When the tree was first planted, it was 8 feet tall but today the tree is 60 feet and has 16 trunks, which come together to form one tree.

Romans 12:4-5 talks about how we, though many, form one body and I think that the Banyan tree is a powerful representation of just this. Like people, the trunks vary. The trunks pop out of different spots in the ground and each trunk differs in appearance but together, these trunks create one beautiful and incredible tree.

God didn’t create us to do life alone. He created us to commune and fellowship together.

Oxford Living Dictionary defines fellowship as “ a group of people meeting to pursue a shared interest or aim.” As Christ-followers, we have a shared interest: we know that our identity is in Christ and that Jesus came to earth to save us all. We also know that we are loved by the King of the Universe; no one could ever love us more.  As a result, we want to go and share this news to the world; we want everyone to know this good, GOOD news. We, like the tree, are connected to each other and God has equipped us and wired us differently to share the truth of who Jesus is; it’s an incredible opportunity to be a part of.

God didn’t create us to do life alone. He created us to commune and fellowship together. Fellowship is beautiful. In fellowshipping with one another, we have the opportunity to be true and brutally honest about our own struggles for the end result of knowing Jesus more. In fellowshipping together, we challenge and cheer each other on as we chase after God, leaving our struggles behind.

So the trunks, though many, come together to form one beautiful and incredible tree. Without the many trunks, the tree wouldn’t be nearly as big as it is. John 15:5 says, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” God is the vine and we are the branches and together we are part of something much bigger than we could ever be on our own.

[walkthesame]

Hope is Alive (#wtsdevo hope)

In the Biblical narrative, you are sure to come across several situations and instances when hope was all lost. Sometimes it’d feel like there was no coming back from the hopelessness in some of the situations that we read of. But just as much as there was hopelessness, hope always came through within each of these lost moments and won the day. Wondering why or how? Because God was present in the midst of all of them.

  Christ came into a world that was broken and one that was so deprived of hope. In His love, mercy and great sacrifice, He showed us how to hope again and to look forward to all the goodness that is to come. And this He continues to share with us even to this day through His presence and His Word.

  There is no end to the hopeless situations that we may run into and it would be utterly ignorant of us to believe that we would be free from all of these just because we follow Christ. What I do believe in is the fact that in Christ, we would continue to be filled with hope despite the situations that we run into and the seasons that we live through.

  Hope is alive because Jesus is.  ____________________________________________

Devotional Series: Hope (#wtsdevo hope)

By: Jude \ Personal // Walk the Same

[walkthesame]

“You are the only Bible some unbelievers will ever read, and your life is under scrutiny every day. What do others learn from you? Do they see an accurate picture of your God?” – John MacArthur #WTSInspire

[walkthesamecollected]

Every year, we at Walk the Same send out Christmas Cards over the month of December to our community to share the love and joy of Christ. This year isn’t any different and we are taking in your addresses a bit earlier than usual so that we can send out the cards (hopefully) in time for Christmas.

If you would like for us to send you a Christmas postcard no matter wherever you may be in the world, you can send your details via this link. We promise that your information will be kept confidential and will not be shared with any 3rd party for any purpose.

However do send in your details fast. We are only giving away 50 cards on a first-come-first-served basis. If you have any questions, feel free to get in touch with us on [email protected]

Again, you can send your details using the following link: https://walkthesame.typeform.com/to/rklYX7

[walkthesame]

Only a few more cards left to go. Send in your details quickly if you would like to have us send you a Christmas card :)

[walkthesamecollected]

Are you a writer? Get featured in our community…

Over the next two weeks we are covering the theme of Fellowship and we would love to have several guest writers share an article on the topic with our community. If you are a writer & would like to have your written article featured within our community, email your piece of work to [email protected]

To help guide you, your article can cover one of more of the following:

What is fellowship in Christianity?

Why is fellowship important?

How can we encourage fellowship in our community?

What difference does fellowship make in our Christian journey

and more…

Please note that there isn’t a word limit to your submission. Writings will be proof-read by our team and will be selected for the feature based on your writing’s relevance to the topic of Fellowship. Aim at making your written article relevant, relatable, inspiring and though-provoking.

The deadline for your submission is 19th Saturday, November 2016. In your email, mention:

“Fellowship Guest Post” in the Subject line of your email 

Include links to a social media account (instagram, twitter or facebook) so that we can credit and reference you appropriately in your article shared on our website

and make sure you send in your submission as an attachment with your email. 

If you have any questions, email [email protected] or [email protected]

[walkthesame]

Encourage

Type & Edit by Jude Dias

I read a book sometime back about how this missionary traveled all the way to a rural part of India to visit this tiny community that had people that we considered outcasts by society. This community was so isolated that there were hardly any visitors or almost no connection to the world outside. And why were these people considered outcasts? Because they were suffering from severe cases of leprosy. 

Reading this, reminded me of Christ in the Bible when He too was around people with leprosy. Society at that time rejected those suffering from the disease and it sort of became the norm. However Christ went against this norm and healed those suffering from the disease and I can only image how notorious this would’ve become at the time. But what struck me was that, in His act of helping and healing them and wanting to be in their company, they probably would’ve been encouraged like never before. Having always been kept apart from society and being called unclean, they probably would’ve sensed freedom and renewed strength. Instead of rejecting them as everyone else, Christ encouraged them to live, do more and be more.

This shouldn’t be any different for us. My prayer is that we all encourage one another to do good and to lift the spirits of our brothers and sisters higher than ever before. The world needs it now more than ever and you as a Christian have the power to do that and make a difference. 

Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing. - 1 Thessalonians 5:11

[avowab-bassoo]

Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.

- Isaiah 41:10

[avowab-bassoo]

This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. - 1 John 1:5

[avowab-bassoo]

Come near to God and he will come near to you.

James 4:8A

[walkthesame]

Passion in Pursuit

Type & Edit by Jude Dias 

“Don’t hoard treasure down here where it gets eaten by moths and corroded by rust or—worse!—stolen by burglars. Stockpile treasure in heaven, where it’s safe from moth and rust and burglars. It’s obvious, isn’t it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being. - Matthew 6:21

[avowab-bassoo]

I am going to leave this right here and let God speak the way He does. May His words touch your beautiful hearts and souls.

There’s an opportune time to do things, a right time for everything on the earth:

2-8 A right time for birth and another for death, A right time to plant and another to reap, A right time to kill and another to heal, A right time to destroy and another to construct, A right time to cry and another to laugh, A right time to lament and another to cheer, A right time to make love and another to abstain, A right time to embrace and another to part, A right time to search and another to count your losses, A right time to hold on and another to let go, A right time to rip out and another to mend, A right time to shut up and another to speak up, A right time to love and another to hate, A right time to wage war and another to make peace.

9-13 But in the end, does it really make a difference what anyone does? I’ve had a good look at what God has given us to do—busywork, mostly. True, God made everything beautiful in itself and in its time—but he’s left us in the dark, so we can never know what God is up to, whether he’s coming or going. I’ve decided that there’s nothing better to do than go ahead and have a good time and get the most we can out of life. That’s it—eat, drink, and make the most of your job. It’s God’s gift.

14 I’ve also concluded that whatever God does, that’s the way it’s going to be, always. No addition, no subtraction. God’s done it and that’s it. That’s so we’ll quit asking questions and simply worship in holy fear.

15 Whatever was, is. Whatever will be, is. That’s how it always is with God.

- Ecclesiastes 3:1-15

[avowab-bassoo]

God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains; it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.

C. S. Lewis

[avowab-bassoo]

“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” -Acts 4:12 NIV

[walkthesame]

“We are able to persevere only because God works within us, within our free wills. And because God is at work in us, we are certain to persevere. The decrees of God concerning election are immutable. They do not change, because He does not change. All whom He justifies He glorifies. None of the elect has ever been lost.” - R.C. Sproul #WTSInspire

[avowab-bassoo]

When she speaks, her words are wise, and she gives instructions with kindness. -  Proverbs 31:26

Words are powerful and strong. They can shake up nations or even lift someone up from despair to hope. Let us be intentional in how and what we speak and I pray that we speak kindness into the lives of every single person we ever meet.

[avowab-bassoo]

As they continued down the road, they came to a stream of water. The eunuch said, “Here’s water. Why can’t I be baptized?” He ordered the chariot to stop. They both went down to the water, and Philip baptized him on the spot. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of God suddenly took Philip off, and that was the last the eunuch saw of him. But he didn’t mind. He had what he’d come for and went on down the road as happy as he could be. 

- Acts 8:36-39

All it takes it for everything to change is to invite Jesus into your life. No matter what, you will forever remain joyful… even during the more trying of trials. This is the power of Jesus Christ.

[walkthesame]

What is Kindness? (#wtsdevo kindness)

“But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy.” - Titus 3:4-5

How did the kindness of God appear? Through the life of Jesus Christ. That’s the greatest, most complete picture of kindness we will ever know. God saw the whole of the hurt, brokenness and despair in the world and He saw a people with no hope of breaking free from pain and suffering. So he sent his Son to DIE in order to rescue them. There’s no logical reason for him to do this. NONE. No one deserved his kindness. But thankfully, God doesn’t treat us like we deserve.

Do you understand why we didn’t deserve God’s kindness? Titus 3:3 offers an explanation: “At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures … ” The word that really sticks out to me here is “enslaved.” That’s what sin does. Like a prisoner shackled and chained in the darkest dungeon, our disobedience, our desire to do things our own way rather than God’s, stood between us and freedom. We were deceived by the things the world said would make us happy and we were captives to the lusts of our flesh. But when we accepted the truth, the true life that comes only through Christ, the chains were broken and we were set free.

God knew what we needed before we even asked for it. That is kindness—the ability to recognize the needs of others and take steps to meet those needs. Kindness is understanding. It’s compassion. It’s love.

____________________________________________

Devotional Series: Kindness (#wtsdevo kindness)

Posted by: Conner Folger\ Personal // Walk the Same