KINDLE KINDNESS
BREAD
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Galatians 5:22-25 (NIV)
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8 Love never fails. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (NIV)
15 Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else. 1 Thessalonians 5:15 (NIV)
5 Let a righteous man strike me–it is a kindness; let him rebuke me–it is oil on my head. My head will not refuse it. Yet my prayer is ever against the deeds of evildoers. Psalm 141:5 (NIV)
24 And the Lord’s servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. 25 Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, 26 and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will. 2 Timothy 2:24-26 (NIV)
32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Ephesians 4:32 (NIV)
12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Colossians 3:12-14 (NIV)
3 We put no stumbling block in anyone’s path, so that our ministry will not be discredited. 4 Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; 5 in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; 6 in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; 7 in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left; 8 through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as impostors; 9 known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed; 10 sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything. 2 Corinthians 6:3-10 (NIV)
4 Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you toward repentance? Romans 2:4 (NIV)
23 This is what the LORD says: “Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, 24 but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,” declares the LORD. Jeremiah 9:23-24 (NIV)
BUTTER
“A tree is known by its fruit; a man by his deeds. A good deed is never lost; he who sows courtesy reaps friendship, and he who plants kindness gathers love.” St. Basil
“Kindness has converted more sinners than zeal, eloquence, and learning.” Frederick Faber
“Kindness is the oil that takes the friction out of life.” Anonymous
“Why in the world disdain the small? It’s always the smallest strokes that add up to the greatest masterpieces. Because the thing really is: Do we ever really know which mark we make — that will matter the most? The extraordinary things happen nowhere else but in the everyday and today can always be the beginning: That card you signed and sealed and put in the mail, the way you smiled and nodded to the white-crowned woman bent over the still-green bananas, the way you dug around in the dirt and left that seed or that gift of the knees and that prayer whispered for a stranger or that glass of water you handed to someone and winked because you just knew — You’ve got to remember: we don’t know when and how we are leaving the greatest marks on the world. It all matters. Believe it: Every tremor of kindness might erupt in a miracle on the other side of the world.” Ann Voskamp
“When arrogant people who know they deserve eternal misery tremble before a holy God of passionate wrath, they discover grace. They encounter the depths of God’s kindness and love, a kindness and love they find nowhere else. They fall to their knees and worship Christ as their Lord and Savior and as their truest friend, really their only true friend. They know they don’t deserve a hug, no matter how badly they’re hurting; but they get an eternal one anyway. That’s the grace that takes their breath away.” Larry Crabb
“Conquer evil men by your gentle kindness.” Isaac of Syria
“You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late.” Ralph Waldo Emerson.
“Grace and love must come before ethics. No-condemnation must come before the morality discussion. Because it is God’s kindness that leads to repentance, not our repentance that leads God to be kind. Love – the broad embrace of the narrow path – will trigger some of the most life-giving experiences you’ll ever be part of. In the end, the more conservative we are in our beliefs about the Bible – the more we truly believe every single word of it – the more liberal our loving will be. Because the narrow path of Jesus? It always leads to a broad embrace.” Scott Sauls
“Every act of kindness and compassion done by any man for his fellow Christian is done by Christ working within him.” Julian of Norwich
“I would rather make mistakes in kindness and compassion than work miracles in unkindness and hardness.” Mother Teresa
“The thunders of the law and the terrors of judgment are all used to bring us to Christ; but the final victory is effected by loving-kindness. The prodigal set out to his father’s house from a sense of need. However, his father saw him a great way off and ran to meet him, so that the last steps he took towards his father’s house were with the kiss still warm upon his cheek and the welcome still musical in his ears…What Moses with the tablets of stone could never do, Christ does with His pierced hand. Such is the doctrine of effectual calling. Do I understand it experimentally? Can I say, ‘He drew me, and I followed on, glad to confess the voice divine?’ If so, may He continue to draw me, until at last I shall sit down at the marriage supper of the Lamb.” Charles H. Spurgeon
“Who among us does not need grace? Who among us does not long for merciful loving-kindness? Who among us does not need forgiveness? Every morning get up and teach yourself the Gospel – we all are sinners in need of a Savior – and be ever so thankful that we have One.” BHY
“We are to do acts of kindness to those that least of all deserve it.” William Law
“A true champion extends grace and kindness because he knows the transformation that has taken place in his own heart, and he realizes those who receive God’s love and grace have no other course of action but to give God’s love away.” Michael Youssef
“What impression do you want to leave with others if the only thing they have to go on is your countenance, attitude or expression? Sadly, for some of us the message would be ‘unhappy home,’ ‘mad at the world,’ or ‘depressed and downtrodden.’ As believers in Christ, we must not live there. Rather, our lives should reflect whose we are. The Scriptures teach us in Psalm 68:3, ‘…may the righteous be glad and rejoice before God; may they be happy and joyful.’ If you’re a child of the King, then take on an attitude of royalty. Reveal God’s presence in your life. Hold your head high, greet others with genuine hospitality and be careful to show loving-kindness to all people. By doing these things, you will become a bold witness for Christ without ever having to open your mouth.” Renee Nail
“Speaking your mind can’t change anything like speaking kind. The art of living masters the beauty of both. Warmth draws us like the wind never does. Look for the warmth in every wind. Rest in the agelessness of it: Tender kindness is the truest kind of beauty.” Ann Voskamp
HEART SAVOR
• Jesus was kind when He walked this dusty earth. As His follower, I too am to show kindness. It is the Fruit of the Spirit given to me to give others.
• I am to love, and Biblical love is kind.
• Kindness is not afraid to share Truth in a gentle manner.
Beth Yoe's Sharing Bread 