Hammer on Anvil '

"I will be in them and You will be in Me so that they will be completely one. Then the world will know that You sent Me..." (John 17:23, NCV).

Generally when we talk about unity in the Body of Christ, Ephesians 4:3 is the Scripture cited: "Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace." But as I read this passage from John last week in my devotions, the second part of this verse grabbed me: "THEN the world will know that You sent Me."

When will the world know that God sent Jesus? When His followers are "completely one." Gulp.

If you have been part of a body of believers for any length of time, you are well aware of the fact that sometimes unity seems hard to come by. We seem to forget that we are not our own, that we were purchased with the precious blood of Jesus. We push and shove and gossip and try to cause dissension when we don't get our own way.

Just last week, I heard another sad story of a church about to implode due to lack of unity. The youth group was given permission to do a worship service. When they began to play and sing, the adults promptly sat down, rather than standing for worship as they would normally do. The message they sent to the youth was, "If you're not going to do things OUR way, we're opting out." How tragic!

First Peter 2:9 says we are "a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a  holy nation." Our mission is to "declare the praises of Him who called us out of darkness." The knowledge of who we are in Christ Jesus should bond us together in holy, brotherly love. What can be done to foster unity of the Spirit?

Nothing is more vital in this endeavor than to commit ourselves to lives of prayer. Remember the Upper Room? Christ's followers stayed there for ten days and "joined together constantly in prayer" (Acts 1:14). Jesus had exhorted them to not leave Jerusalem, but to "wait for the gift My Father promised" (Acts 1:4). I sense that in those ten days of united prayer, the disciples' hearts were knit together as one. Today, it's like pulling teeth to get God's people to come together for a prayer meeting.

I recently read an Andrew Murray devotional that painted a vivid picture of the importance of unity:

Because of the many mountains in Natal (a region in South Africa), the streams often flow down with great force. The Zulus join hands when they want to pass through a stream. The leader has a strong stick in the right hand, and gives his left hand to some strong man who comes behind him. And so they form a chain and help each other cross the current. When God's people reach out their hands to each other in the spirit of prayer, there will be power to resist the terrible influence that the world can exert. In that unity, God's children will have power to triumph with God.

Wow. What a lovely illustration of unity in the Body of Christ! Joining hands in a spirit of prayer, realizing that we CANNOT do life alone!

Are you forming a chain today in your relationships with other believers? Or are you yanking and pulling and stubbornly trying to go your own way? My friends, the world will not know we are believers in Jesus when all they see is bickering and jealousy. John 13:35 says, "Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are My disciples."

Let's try to do what the disciples did as they waited for the Holy Spirit. In the communion of loving, believing, faithful prayer, our hearts can be united for the one purpose of living for and glorifying God. 




 

"Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace" (Ephesians 4:3).

If you have been part of a body of believers for any length of time, you are well aware of the fact that sometimes unity seems hard to come by. We seem to forget that we are not our own, that we were purchased with the precious blood of Jesus. We push and shove and gossip and try to cause dissension when we don't get our own way.

First Peter 2:9 says we are "a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a  holy nation." Our mission is to "declare the praises of Him who called us out of darkness." The knowledge of who we are in Christ Jesus should bond us together in holy, brotherly love. What can be done to foster unity of the Spirit?

Nothing is more vital in this endeavor than to commit ourselves to lives of prayer. Remember the Upper Room? Christ's followers stayed there for ten days and "joined together constantly in prayer" (Acts 1:14). Jesus had exhorted them to not leave Jerusalem, but to "wait for the gift My Father promised" (Acts 1:4). I sense that in those ten days of united prayer, the disciples' hearts were knit together as one.

Unity to some people seems to be a distasteful thing; they are not happy unless they are churning things up. Perhaps they don't understand how vital unity is. Or maybe they think it means they will lose their identity as they join with other believers. On the contrary, unity is indispensable if we hope to live Christ-centered lives that "bear fruit in keeping with repentance" (Matthew 3:8).

I recently read an Andrew Murray devotional that painted a vivid picture of the importance of unity:

Because of the many mountains in Natal (a region in South Africa), the streams often flow down with great force. The Zulus join hands when they want to pass through a stream. The leader has a strong stick in the right hand, and gives his left hand to some strong man who comes behind him. And so they form a chain and help each other cross the current. When God's people reach out their hands to each other in the spirit of prayer, there will be power to resist the terrible influence that the world can exert. In that unity, God's children will have power to triumph with God.

Are you forming a chain today in your relationships with other believers? Or are you yanking and pulling and stubbornly trying to go your own way? My friends, the world will not know we are believers in Jesus when all they see is bickering and jockeying for position. John 13:35 says, "Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are My disciples."

Let's try to do what the disciples did as they waited for the Holy Spirit. In the communion of loving, believing, faithful prayer, our hearts can be united for the one purpose of living for and glorifying God.

 Last week I blogged about what it means to be part of the Body of Christ. This week I would like to expand that by talking about how vital it is that we "keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace" (Ephesians 4:3).

Acts 4:32 says, "All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had." A quick read through the Book of Acts gives us an accurate picture of what can be accomplished for the kingdom of God when we are unified. Paul's ministry was so extraordinary that we are told, "When handkerchiefs or aprons that had merely touched his skin were placed on sick people, they were healed of their diseases, and evil spirits were expelled" (Acts19:12).

Is it any wonder, then, that the enemy of our souls perpetually pits us against each other and provokes disunity? Consider this quote by Charles Spurgeon:

Satan always hates Christian fellowship; it is his policy to keep Christians apart. Anything which can divide saints from one another he delights in. He attaches far more importance to godly intercourse than we do. Since union is strength, he does his best to promote separation.

Sometimes this separation comes from places you would least expect it. Like when your church is experiencing a crisis, and people bail instead of sticking it out. Or when a sister falls into sin, and you overhear another congregant gossiping about it to others. In this age of technology, Facebook seems to have become the weapon of choice for people to rail against anybody and everybody with whom they disagree. And yes, unfortunately I mean church people. Instead of handling differences in a godly manner, some take the cowardly way out and post inflammatory things on Facebook. Instead of building each other up, we fall right into Satan's trap and do his bidding.

Not taking our church responsibilities seriously also promotes disunity. When we are scheduled to serve in some capacity and don't bother to show up, others are left scrambling. Sometimes things happen and absence is unavoidable, but we should all be considerate enough to get someone to fill in for us if we can't make it. 

Common courtesy and consideration go a long way toward promoting unity. Think about how you would like to be treated, and make an effort to treat others in a like manner. If you see that the leadership in your church is burdened, do what you can to help out. Pray diligently for them. If you know a particular ministry is in dire need of people to fill positions, offer to help once in a while. If you notice that the bathroom is a bit untidy, grab a rag or a toilet brush or whatever is necessary and take a few minutes to clean it up yourself.

Something we can all do to help promote unity is to watch what we say. Before you open your mouth to complain, consider the brother or sister to whom you are speaking. Is your complaint really valid, or do you just want to vent? What is the condition of your brother or sister at the time? Are they harried and pressed for time? Proverbs 25:11 says, "A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver." Take time to consider if the timing is right and if what you want to say is really important, or is better left unsaid. The Holy Spirit will help you determine the appropriateness or inappropriateness of your speech.

Finally, meditate on this truth from Charles H. Brent:

The unity of Christendom is not a luxury, but a necessity. The World will go limping until Christ's prayer that all may be one is answered. We must have unity, not at all costs, but at all risks. A unified Church is the only offering we dare present to the coming Christ, for in it alone will He find room to dwell.

Blessings on you, my brothers and sisters.

Romans 14:19 - "So then we pursue the things which make for peace and the building of one another." The message says "So let's agree to use all our energy in getting along with each other. help others with encouraging words; don't drag them down by in finding fault."







Paul is writing about some arguments on what to eat and what not to eat... but the application of this verse is solid. Before I continue, I want to ask you something: Who are you surrounding yourself with that provide words of life, encouragement, and accountability? Life with Christ demands that we love his bride (the church). Worship is not sitting in Starbucks in your v-neck and Toms and discussing the latest Rob Bell book or the latest Mark Driscoll sermon. This life was not intended to be lived out alone. Are you making it a priority to engage the Lord in worship?
We are in a culture that wants to connect so bad, and spends so much time attempting to do so 'virtually." We are continually texting, on facebook, on chat, reading blogs, etc...
BUT WE LACK REAL CONNECTION. That was simply a bonus for you today.






My commentary and application to the verse we started with: We are so good at finding faults in others. it can be so trivial as what people are wearing or what they say or who we spend time with. the truth is this... If we spent half of the energy we use in finding faults and judging - if we spent it TRYING to get along - then we would save ourselves a lot of grief and as a result - be closer to God.

So the challenge is to WORK at getting along. we need to focus on the common ground and invest the energy in doing what God wants us to do. So let's all agree ... Let's invest the energy... Let's not be a astumbling block.