“I
plead with Eudia and I plead with Syntche to agree with each other in the Lord.”
Philippians
1:2
In the Bible, Paul reminds us
over and over again to have unity in the body of Christ. This verse is one example of his heart on the
issue. He pleads with two women who are arguing. He begs them to stop so that peace may fill
the body again.
This is just one tiny little
fight, yet Paul (and GOD) made it a point to include it in the Holy Word of God
for our instruction. If this small issue
was such a concern to the Lord, then what must he think of the fighting in the
body that goes on now? Church of Christ
and Baptists can’t worship together.
Catholics and Pentecostals refuse to break bread together. Everyone stick with your denomination and don’t
wonder into anything else or you will be shunned.
Hmm…this doesn’t seem right to me.
Aren’t we supposed to all be in search of TRUTH that comes from the
Word of God? Ephesians 4:4-6 says, “There
is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when you were
called—one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over
all and through all and in all.”
ONE.
Not several, not two, not
hundreds.
We are to be all one body of
believers who function, act, and worship together in oneness. Unity.
So you probably agree with me up
to this point, right? Well, what are you
going to do about it? How does this
concern you personally?
“If it is possible, so far as it depends on
you, be at peace with all men.”
Romans
12:18
As far as it concerns YOU. Be at peace with all men.
Who do you judge for going to a
different church?
Why is it a competition to see
how many people we can fit in our pews versus how many are in the pews across
the street??
That’s not love. That’s not unity. That’s business and numbers, jealousy and
dissention. Satan wins when we fight
over numbers and people rather than fighting for each other and working toward
the common goal of complete fellowship with God and ALL his people.
You have been brainwashed by
society, and now you need to let the Word of God wash over your mind and
cleanse it (Romans 12:2.)
Perhaps you don’t go to church
because you are fed up with the fighting, the hypocrisy, and the judgment (much
like my last few posts.) Well in that
case you need to know something very important.
There is no perfect church.
There are no perfect people. No
perfect worship service, nor pastor, nor doctrine.
We’re all broken and we’re all
doing our best, yet we fall desperately short, including me. Hebrews 10:25 tells us to not give up meeting
together with other believers. The book
of Acts displays what the church should look
like, and that is a body of people meeting together regularly to lift each
other up closer to the Lord. 1
Thessalonians 5:11 tells us to encourage one another daily. That means we all need a TIGHT group of close
Christians to lift up and to lift us up.
Note: the verse says “daily.”
Yes, that means it is a lifestyle.
Not a once a week social event.
Do you realize how much happens in a week? What if Sunday you see Sally and she’s on top
of the world in love with Jesus, but Wednesday she finds out her husband is
having an affair and her kids are failing classes in school.
Is she supposed to wait until
Sunday to ask for prayer and encouragement?
Are you supposed to wait until the Sunday meeting to hold her hand as
she cries and walk her through the situation at hand?
NO. O course not, because by the next Sunday she
will have done what we all seem to do oh so terribly well: stuff in down deep,
smile, and keep going. By doing that she
gets no healing, no encouragement, and no help.
Satan wins again and the church keeps a squeaky clean image. Everything’s
fine.
Yet on the inside our hearts are
breaking and our pews are slowly murdering us.
We weren’t meant to live this
way. We were meant to live in community
with other believers…despite the well known fact that THEY TO ARE HUMAN, and
they too will hurt us and disappoint us, leaving us bruised and broken at
times. But they will also pick us up
when we need it too.
How do we start this revolution?
One person at a time. Be the Christian you want others to be.
Help people the way you want to
be helped.
FORGIVE EACH OTHER!!
“Be kind and compassionate to one another,
forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”
Ephesians
4:32
Do not hold others to impossibly
high standards and you won’t be held to the same judgment. (Matthew 7:2.)
Love in spite of everything. Love
cancels out fears. (1 John 4:18.) Love
never fails. Love always protects,
always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres. (1 Corinthians 13)
Have you been loving your neighbor lately?
