United or Divided?

Sunday, October 9, 2011 – Nehemiah 1, 2; Psalm 133-134; Luke 22

S: Psalm 133:1 – BEHOLD how good and how pleasing it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.

O: It is good and pleasing to God when man lives in unity.

A: Unity has been on my heart lately. God designed us to need each other. To live together. To work together. To serve together. We were not intended to live alone. We were created to need one another. To love one another just as our Creator loves us. The Bible is full of illustrations of how the body of Christ is to work together in unity – different giftings, different talents, different abilities – all working together for one purpose – to spread the gospel. To grow up in Christ. To love each other through the growing pains; through life. Too often when I look around at the world today I see people judging one another, gossiping about each other, tearing each other down, vying for position and power. And to be honest is the church all that different? Even in our churches there seems to be an epidemic of negativity. Ministry vs. Ministry. Vying for money, for power, for position. Let’s be honest – ministries are made up of people – full of gifts and flaws. I suppose it’s only natural. After all the goal of the Enemy is to distract the body of Christ from it’s purpose. Judgments, gossip, money, power, position. These are the tools of the Enemy. It may be natural for the world to succumb to them but I don’t serve a natural God. I SERVE A SUPERNATURAL GOD. And so does the Church. I may be only one person but I can change the atmosphere of negativity into one of UNITY. How? By not letting the spirit of division work in me and through me. Jesus suffered and died that I could live. But I have to choose to live. Just as I can choose death instead of life - I can choose division instead of unity. Today I am choosing unity. Once my eyes are open to the battle I can choose a side. Every word I speak against another ministry or another member of my church is ammunition for the Enemy. Jesus came to bring love to a hurting world. Now it’s my turn. Am I spreading the message today or spreading the disease?

P: Father God forgive me for all the times I have spoken any form of negativity about my church – it’s leadership, its ministry heads or another member of my church family. Forgive me Lord. It is not my heart to sew seeds of division but of unity. Teach me how to bring unity to a divided world. Use me to open the eyes of others that the battle is at our doorstep. Nothing is impossible with you God. Teach us how to be united in spite of our differences. To love this world as you loved it. To reach the lost. To restore hope to the hopeless. To set the prisoner’s free. United we can change the world!