Welcome to Heart Notes, a weekly post where we hear from the heart of the Lord through His Word, the Bible.
Did you download the July printable? If not, here it is:
Earlier in the summer, I spent time studying the book of Ephesians using my friend, Jenifer Jernigan’s marvelous, recently-released Bible study entitled, Dive Deeper. I would highly recommend this study to anyone who would like to learn how to study the Bible. Jenifer offers a simple method that she has used to study God’s Word in an in-depth manner. It is a do-able method for any level of study.
While there are many wonderful messages that the book of Ephesians offers, the one that the Holy Spirit worked into my heart came from Ephesians 4:3. Check it out:
Always keep yourselves united in the Holy Spirit, and bind yourselves together with peace. Ephesians 4:3 (NLT)
Unity….it is a commodity of which there is a famine in the world today. The church of Jesus Christ is starving for unity, and I’m certain the Holy Spirit is grieved by the situation.
A few examples:
- People who call themselves Christians fall out on both political sides in America. Fair enough. What is so wrong is the name-calling and defamation that goes on from BOTH SIDES. I see it on Facebook, Twitter, and in the media every day. I see it nationally and locally. I do not believe that God is pleased with this. I know it overshadows, and often negates, the Christian witness of those who engage in it. Simply because we disagree with another person on politics, or anything else, does not justify name-calling, condescension, and slander. Think people!! WWJD? He certainly would NOT be engaged in some of the things Christians do and say today in the name of politics.
- Denominational bickering is a blight on Christianity today. If those who name the name of Jesus cannot live and work in unity to spread the message of Christ, why in the world would those who don’t know Jesus want to know Him? There are definitely non-negotiables in Christianity. The virgin birth, the sinless God-Man, the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ to provide atonement for sin and eternal life, that Jesus is the ONLY way to salvation and heaven. Those are not up for negotiation, as far as I am concerned. But when the church of Jesus Christ begins to bicker about things like music, dress code, baptism versus sprinkling, young versus older pastors, Calvinism, and a host of other issues, we are not shining the light of unity for the world to see.
- Even within the local church, and the small group scene, we see a lack of unity. This Bible study teacher is better than that one. This Bible translation is the only acceptable one. Power grabs. Fallouts over music styles. Someone got my seat in the sanctuary. The pastor didn’t publicly recognize my anniversary/birthday/grandchild/accomplishment, etc. Nor did he come visit me when I was sick.
See what I mean? For the love of Pete, we must take this issue of unity seriously. It could very well be what either draws the lost to Christ or repels them. You and I could very feel be the only JESUS some people ever see. Lord, forgive us. Let’s decide today to live in unity, especially with our Christian family. Let’s offer grace to our brothers and sisters.
Where do you see a famine of unity in the body of Christ? What needs to happen to restore unity? I want to hear from you on this topic.
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Today, I am so blessed that my friend, Kerry is talking about HeBrews: A Better Blend AND offering a GIVEAWAY of a copy of the book. Please click here and stop by her corner of the WWW and visit.
