#ellecoleman

[walkthesame]

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.

[walkthesame]

The Listener and the Worker (#wtsdevo unexpectedways)

She had a sister, Mary, who sat before the Master, hanging on every word he said. - Luke 10:39

I’ll always love the story of Mary and Martha in the Bible because it speaks to us in so many ways and it relates so much to all of us in many proportions. But it is Christ’s reaction and take on the situation that always gets to me.

For some strange reason, our society weighs our worth and value on the work and effort that we put into things. If we are able to be productive, society would slap a fat gold star in our book and cheer us on. But if we are on the other side of that so called “norm”, we would be pushed to the corner and be labelled as useless and probably a dead-weight. I’d like to say that I am being harsh here but it is the reality of the world that we live in today. This is so ingrained in our heads and ethic that anything different would be so strange and probably off-putting to all of us.

By our standards, Martha would be the star of the show. She was hardworking, getting things done and making it all happen. But Christ’s response to her when she tried to get Mary to be the same as her was and is so unexpected in our world that it almost feels like Christ had gone crazy. He chose Mary’s listening over Martha’s hard work and although He appreciated all that Martha was doing, He reserved His praise for Mary saying that she had chosen what was right and good. And this response is a wake up call for all of us.

The world may rate our value and worth based on our performance on things but that’s because the world as a whole really isn’t concerned about the well-being and the depths of our soul and if we were to take up the world on that, we are heading for nothing less than a trainwreck. Things of this world are not permanent and to value ourselves on something that isn’t constant is a dangerous thing. However God is forever the same and all things of Heaven is eternal, never to go away. To find and discover this is not an easy thing in the midst of all the chaos in the world that we live through which is why Christ praised Mary for choosing what was important than going with what the world thought was right.

All of this may seem strange and unsettling when we compare it with what we’ve been used to doing but it is true and something that we’ll need to taken to heart and adopt. Being Christian we are called to seek everything above that of the world and we can start by listening to God’s voice more than over-weighing ourselves with work and work and more work that the world piles on top of us.

That gold star the world gives you will surely fade away and be probably left around forgotten but God’s world is here to stay and it’s up to us to choose what’s worth it all.

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Devotional Series: Unexpected Ways (#wtsdevo unexpectedways)

By: Elle \ Personal // Walk the Same.

[walkthesame]

Why Generosity? (#wtsdevo generosity)

Being the recipients of God’s lavish generosity, we in turn get to be generous people in mind, body and spirit and the Bible tells us to be intentional about it (Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children .Ephesians 5:1). If you are having second thoughts, look no further than the cross upon which Christ gave His life for you and for me. He did so without complaint or regrets. He gave and He did so freely (He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? .Romans 8:32)

We can do this (ie being generous) by taking into consideration and concern the needs of people around ourselves and taking steps to make sure that these needs are met. When you come to understand the joy that God has in giving freely to us, it feels the same when we choose to give freely to others as well. When we trust and believe in God to provide for us, we are set free from the fears that holds us back from giving, the usual being: Will I have enough if I give? What if I need this later on?

But giving to us, God made a great sacrifice. This should help us understand that giving does not come without sacrifice, but in that sacrifice, one can expect only greater things to follow. No I am not talking about the monetary or physical but I am talking about peace, joy, grace and more. The things money can’t buy. The priceless.

However our motivations are very crucial to consider in our giving. I know people who’ve said that one can be generous without Christ but then without Christ in your life, your motivations for giving come from your own flesh and body and we know that our flesh and body aren’t things that we can rely on with complete faith and trust. On our own, our bodies are weak and it gives way to the earthly easily but in God, we anchor ourselves to a rock and thereby we are made strong and our generosity comes from a place of purity and truth. When we give with the Gospel as our foundation, our motivation in giving is to purely to see the world change.

So why generosity? It opens our hardened selves to the realm of God and we get to experience and live the life that He led. By being generous, we open ourselves to all the amazing things that God has in store for us and no longer do we contain ourselves in a box within which exists a grey and colourless world made of stone

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Devotional Series: Generosity (#wtsdevo generosity)

By: Elle \ Personal // Walk the Same.

[walkthesame]

The Pursuit of Abundance (#wtsdevo abundance)

We’re all looking for the field with the greener grass and we’re trying to do whatever we possibly can to get there. It’s a pursuit that almost every human-being in the world is fighting for and how that pursuit happens, different people approach it in different ways. And not all ways are good… or even right.

I’ve seen some people do terrible things in order to find and gain everything they want and are looking for. Sometimes they fail. Sometimes they succeed. And then I see and even know people who work really really hard to get to the place they want. They end up getting tired and exhausted but they keep on fighting just so that they can provide and come to a place where they feel like they are abundant enough to carry on with their day. Sure all of these people get to where they want be. They gain what they were after but then they also lose a bit of themself. You see we were created for more and better things in life and by ignoring ourselves and our well being to seek abundance, we alter the patterns and foundations of who we are and our identity.

This straying away, makes us lose some of the goodness that makes us who we are and at the end of the day, we end up feeling miserable, tired and sometimes it makes us wonder if we are unfit or unworthy.

However there is another doorway towards abundance and that is Christ Himself. We are constantly peeking over the fences of others, longing and dreaming about the greener grass on the other side, when we have a God who is right in front of us ready and waiting to make our life abundant and “greener” than ever. We are way too busy dreaming and wondering that we are blinded to His presence and His calls for us.

In John 14:6 Jesus openly tells us all that He is the road towards life. Not just any life but a fulfilled life. A life filled with abundance through Christ. The question we need to ask ourselves is this, are we looking for simply a life of fulfillment or are we seeking God. If it is the latter, then you can be sure that you’ll gain everything and more than you ever asked for. Why stress yourself out looking for abundance when you and I have a God who is ready and more than willing to give it to us today and forever.

God should be our pursuit and our destination and when we find God, we will be abundant just as much.

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Devotional Series: Abundance (#wtsdevo abundance)

By: Elle \ Personal // Walk the Same

[walkthesame]

Forgiveness. It works. (#wtsdevo forgiveness)

I was was watching this segment of the Ellen show on YouTube and on it were this guy and a girl. The girl was seated on a wheelchair (never to walk again) apparently having had met with a tragic accident caused by a drunk driver. But what struck me the most was her positive personality, her strong manner and her encouraging attitude. But what hit me the most was when she said that she had forgiven the drunk driver. When asked why, she simply replied that had she not forgiven him, she would’ve not move past the moments of her accident and wouldn’t have moved on with her life in general.

Forgiveness works and it may not bring her legs back but it certainly helped her to freedom and joy - things that most people (even with their legs still intact) in our society and even in the Church lack these days.

Forgiveness is a subject that is constantly visited in the Bible and it’s because of its importance to us as Christians. Christ knew that no matter the good He did, He would still have to face torture and death, but He chose to forgive purely because of the power that would unleash out into the world. Life was restored, freedom was bought and death died that day. And it was all because Christ chose to forgive.

Forgiving someone (or anyone for that matter) is hard. Our earthly bodies aren’t built to handle something as pure as forgiveness and authentic love which is why we should be more than eager to allow the Spirit of God to take control over our lives. Knowing that forgiveness truly makes a difference, this is the life that we need to be in pursuit of everyday.

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Devotional Series: Forgiveness (#wtsdevo forgiveness)

By: Elle \ Personal // Walk the Same

[walkthesame]

The Truth Hurts. But it Redeems (#wtsdevo truth)

“The truth hurts” is a common saying that I’ve heard in passing over the years. And yes it does hurt which is why I believe that most people (Christians and Non-Christians alike) try to avoid it when they possibly can. The lie seems easier to deal with….. until we have to face the consequences of that lie.

We may be able to dodge a bullet or two. Even possibly a hundred but a lie can only go so far. Because it is merely a facade. It’s a “something” that doesn’t exist in reality. There’s only so much that we can do to stretch it until it gives away and exposes reality. If you think about it, a lie in of itself reflects the deception that is the core of the devil - falsehood and fake.

On the other hand the truth, whilst it may hurt, it has reality backing it up. It has solid substance that makes it meaningful and foundational. It remains unshakeable and immovable. Sounds just like Christ doesn’t it? Christ endured extreme amounts of pain being an ambassador of the truth. But His truth was so powerful that even death couldn’t contain Him. His critics were shut down and the truth stripped away the darkness of the world and made everything new. God’s truth made history and sent out ripples that you and I feel to this day.

The truth is scary but it redeems.

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Devotional Series: Truth (#wtsdevo truth)

By: Elle \ Personal // Walk the Same

[walkthesame]

Our Friend (#wtsdevo truth)

It seems like with every passing moment, it is hard to find a true friend around. Even the friendship thing seems to have become competitive and something people do to take advantage out of others. I am not saying that this is the case with everyone but rather, this attitude towards friendship can be seen very commonly. It has put us into a position wondering and pondering who truly is our friend.

People wondered the same when Jesus hung around with them. It felt too good to be true that this Man, who healed the sick, gave sight to the blind, raised people from the dead and more, would simply hang around them and continue to share the Word of God. I can only imagine how many people would’ve felt uncomfortable and awkward next to Him - wondering and thinking to themselves that they weren’t even worthy enough to be in His presence. They must’ve even felt that Jesus was on a bragging spree showing everyone that He was better than anyone else.

The truth is far different though. Just as Christ mentions, He did not come to condemn the world but instead to heal and save it. At no point in His life, do you see Him go out of His way to get credit. Instead He lived a life where He primarily chose to serve God and others and pursued those who needed the shelter, comfort  and the kind of love, peace and protection that He could only provide. He came to replace shortcomings with the wholeness of God.

And this is what the truth is - Jesus. He is friend for all. A friend that we can always count on.

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Devotional Series: Truth (#wtsdevo truth)

By: Elle \ Personal // Walk the Same

[walkthesame]

Blessings Ahead (#wtsdevo gratitude)

A life that is filled with blessing is a life that God intends for all of us. If that’s the case, how can we tap into a life that’s filled with blessing? It all starts with knowing who God is and in that intimate relationship begins a life that roots from love and thankfulness towards God which in turn leads to worship. Worship isn’t singing songs at your Church or even ritualistic. It is a way of life, an automatic response where we honour God for His goodness whenever and wherever.

When we worship God, our bond with Him strengthens and we live a life where we become closer to Him everyday in every moment. And this is an amazing thing. Because sure by living a life closer to God, He blesses us but it by no means takes away the troubles that life brings. The changing seasons come and go but in the middle of all of this, we can live a life knowing that we are anchored in the goodness of God and that means we are stronger than what life brings our way. No matter what life brings, His blessings are at hand just as much as He Himself is.

No matter what you may be going through today, live knowing that God is closer than you think He is. Praise God for His goodness and I promise you that everything will be okay.

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Devotional Series: Gratitude (#wtsdevo gratitude)

By: Elle \ Personal // Walk the Same