Good Morning Team! We are one in Christ just like God is One. PTL! Recently we studied the Trinity on a . evening. God is 3 in 1. Each individual entity united as One and each with their own purpose. It's hard to get our heads around that and our feeble minds to comprehend how that works. That's all part of faith. God said it and we know it's true and we believe and live life in Christ, led by the Spirit as an act of worship to the Father. Amen! And just like God is One, Jesus prayed for us to be One the night before His crucifixion. Check out Our Daily Bread devo and Connection Blog below and meditate on our unity and oneness in Christ and your part in the unity of the Body. Let me be clear--we are one and unified in Christ., mission and in His Word. PTL! BUT, we must stay vigilant and focused and keep working at that unity so the world can experience our love. They will know we are Christians by our love--right? We are called and gathered to be God's unified powerhouse of love! Keep at it. The world around us is noticing and feeling His love and help through our unified efforts. Thanks and PTL! We all have a part to play individually and roles in His Good News Delivery Co. that are unique of us and very needed. Keep seeking first His Kingdom and working at that unity and doing your part. And keep praying for teammates to travel this life with and for our growing unity in Christ and Love. We are one like He is One and we keep growing at that! PTL! Amen! Go Team! Pray a canopy of God's blessings over us that unites, protects and attracts others. Amen!
ODB:
One in Christ
Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. Ephesians 4:3
In , the town of Winneconne discovered it had been mistakenly omitted from the official Wisconsin state road map, costing the town vital tourist revenue. So the town decided to secede from Wisconsin and become its own sovereign state on of that year. Some say the secession was a move to embarrass the state government, while others claim it was a tongue-in-cheek act of humor. In any case, months of negotiations resulted in state and town coming together again on , 1967.
Most division isn’t as good-natured or as easily resolved. Division is such a threat that the book of Proverbs lists “the person who stirs up conflict” (6:19) as one of seven things “that are detestable to [God]” (v. 16).
Division may not only cause problems but misrepresents Jesus and His Father. The night before the cross, Christ prayed that His followers would be one in Him, “that the world may believe that you have sent me” (John 17:21).
Jesus made it clear that our unity as brothers and sisters in Christ (or lack of it) impacts the world’s belief in Him! Perhaps that’s why Paul told the Ephesians, “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:3). May we allow the Spirit of Christ to make us one—that the world may be drawn to Him.
By Bill Crowder
REFLECT & PRAY
What are some of the things that can divide you from other believers? How can those potential points of conflict be resolved, so that the body of Christ might know and display unity?
Dear Father, please give me a heart for my brothers and sisters in Christ.
Disunity keeps the church weak and ineffective in its role of making disciples. In John 17, Jesus prayed for unity among believers in Him (vv. 20-23). He knew they’d need each other as they faced trials because of their faith. Paul also had much to say about the importance of unity. In Ephesians 4, he urged believers “to live a life worthy of the calling you have received” (v. 1) and to “make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace” (v. 3). In Philippians, he called Euodia and Syntyche “to be of the same mind in the Lord” (4:2). Finally, in Colossians he urged his readers to “bear with each other and forgive one another” and “put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity” (3:13-14). When believers in Christ are unified in love for Him, they bring hope and light to a dark world (Matthew 5:14-16).
Alyson Kieda
Connection Blog:
- A Canopy of God’s Blessing
Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity! It is like the precious oil on the head, running down on the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down on the collar of his robes! It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion! For there the Lord has commanded the blessing, life forevermore. (Psalm 133)
Can you imagine what it would be like for your entire community to be under a canopy of God’s blessing? It’s hard to imagine; isn’t it? I read the incredible firsthand account of the 1949– 1952 Hebrides Revival. For three years, God’s tangible presence was known throughout the island of Lewis. Simply put, virtually all the people were either experiencing the conviction of the Lord or the joy of the Lord. What would happen if God commanded a blessing on our unity that resulted in the tangible presence of the Holy Spirit resting upon our communities? Let’s ask!
Lord Jesus, I come pleading with you for a work of grace upon our community. I see the devastating results of the curse of sin and death. My city needs to see the blessing of God’s Spirit resting over our area as a tent over a family. Your Word promises a commanded blessing on brothers and sisters as we walk in unity. We need a sovereign breakthrough. Break off our petty divisions. Unearth our fallow ground. Resurrect our broken unity. Send forth your power and might to heal our land. You are our living hope! Bring unprecedented unity in my life, family, neighborhood, church, city, state, nation, and world. Root this work in your transforming work on the cross. Let the oil of the Holy Spirit drip down over your Body in our area. Make us a beautiful reflection of a blessed land. Be exalted here. Humble us in the lifting up of your mighty name. Use me as an ambassador of unity. I ask for a work of peace and healing to be wrought in our town. We need you. We are desperate for what only you can do! We trust you for this work of love in our community.
LISTEN ONLINE
