LQGQHV¹KA DEEPER KIND OF

NANCY DEEMOSS WOLGEMUTH

© 2021 Revive Our Hearts First printing, 2021

Published by Revive Our Hearts P.O. Box 2000, Niles, MI 49120

ISBN: 978-1-934718-86-5

Printed in the United States of America.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in other works or reviews.

Adapted from chapter 14 of Adorned: Living Out the Beauty of the Gospel Together by Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth (©2017). Published by Moody Publishers. Used by permission.

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Select Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org

Contents4 A Word from Nancy

9 Instruments of Grace

35 Making It Personal

39 100 Different Kinds of Kindness

55 Notes

4

A WORD FROM NANCY

You don’t have to look very far to see that there’s a crisis of kindness in our world today. Or, to be more accurate, a crisis of a lack of kindness.

Incivility, rudeness, and arrogance are the currency of choice in the marketplace of ideas. Dogmatic rants and angry debates are sure to increase ratings on cable and :1@C;>7�:1C?�/4-::18?��!:�?;/5-8�9105-�C1�-00�ŋ8@1>?�to disguise blemishes, smooth wrinkles, or to make it look like we’re working from the beach, but the internal ŋ8@1>�91-:@�@;�>1?@>-5:�;A>�@;:3A1�-:0�.14-B5;>?��&4-@�one, we leave behind.

And that’s just the crisis outside of the home. Inside the home, we’re not much better. (Sometimes worse!) We’re quick to lash out at our families, our words brim with sarcasm, and instead of looking for ways to serve our nearest neighbors, we are intent on promoting our comfort, our convenience, our plans, our wishes.

We may know our Bibles well and be able to recite 8;@?�;2�B1>?1?��)1�9-E�-ő>9�C4-@�%/>5<@A>1�@1-/41?�from cover to cover. But it’s not enough to simply have ?;A:0�0;/@>5:1�-:0�ŋ>9�/;:B5/@5;:?�-.;A@�.5.85/-8�truth. We also need to be clothed in kindness as we live out that truth and share it with others.

5

We often think of kindness as an attitude, a spirit, a manner of speaking or being—and it is all of that. But biblical kindness also involves actions and behavior. In fact, elsewhere in Scripture, the word translated r75:0:1??s�5:�&5@A?�V�5?�?;91@591?�@>-:?8-@10�r3;;0�s��@�91-:?�@;�.1�r.1:1B;81:@�<>;ŋ@-.81�A?12A8�s��@�91-:?�@;�.1�r3;;0�5:�/4->-/@1>�-:0�.1:1ŋ/5-8�5:�1Ŋ1/@�s�

You see, Christian kindness is not just a matter of feeling kind or thinking kind thoughts. It’s not just a de-meanor that is quiet and non-hostile. It may encompass all of those things, but true kindness is active goodness. �@p?�-/@5B18E�5:ŌA1:/5:3�;@41>?��

During His ministry here on earth, Jesus showed us the heart of His heavenly Father who is kind, compas-sionate, and does good to His creatures. And aston-ishingly, God’s kindness is not based on the goodness ;>�C;>@45:1??�;2�@41�>1/5<51:@��&45?�5?�@41�?@-:0->0�-?�we seek to show active kindness—God’s kindness—to those around us. )4E�0;1?�75:0:1??�9-@@1>�?;�9A/4��)4-@p?�-@�?@-71�

52�C1�0;:p@�85B1�@45?�C-E��&5@A?�V�Y�>195:0?�A?�@4-@�@41�purpose is “that the word of God may not be reviled.” If C1�0;:p@�85B1�-�8521�;2�-/@5B1�75:0:1??�<1;<81�C588�?/;Ŋ�-@�the Word of God!

But when we are kind, when we go about doing good—including to those who are ungrateful and un-deserving—we stand out. We’re countercultural. And

6

most important, we demonstrate the presence of Jesus 5:�;A>�85B1?�C41:�C1p>1�05Ŋ1>1:@�2>;9�@41�?182/1:@1>10�angry, unkind world around us.

Whether you’re older or younger, at work or at home, raising children or serving in the church, I pray this booklet will help you to weave a deeper kind of kind-ness into the fabric of your life. When we take the deep work of kindness seriously, our enemies “may be put to ?4-91�4-B5:3�:;@45:3�1B58�@;�?-E�-.;A@�A?s�I&5@A?�V�\J��And above all, we will shine a spotlight on Jesus, mak-ing the redemption story visible to those who need to hear it, “that in everything [we] may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior” (v. 10).

What a calling! What a responsibility! What a privilege is ours.

~ Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth

8

"A>1�75:0:1??�Ō;C?�2>;9��;0p?�?-B5:3�3>-/1�-:0�/;8;>?�;A>�85B1?�C5@4�-�6;E�@4-@�5?�C5:?;918E�/;:@-35;A?��

MARY BEEKE

!801>�C;91:�8571C5?1�->1�@;�.1�>1B1>1:@�5:�.14-B5;>� :;@�?8-:01>1>?�;>�?8-B1?�@;�9A/4�C5:1�� &41E�->1�@;�@1-/4�C4-@�5?�3;;0� -:0�?;�@>-5:�@41�E;A:3�C;91:�

@;�8;B1�@415>�4A?.-:0?�-:0�/4580>1:� @;�.1�?182/;:@>;8810�<A>1�C;>75:3�-@�4;91�

kind, -:0�?A.95??5B1�@;�@415>�;C:�4A?.-:0?� @4-@�@41�C;>0�;2��;0�9-E�:;@�.1�>1B5810��

&�&'%�V�W|Y