UNITY
AMONG BELIEVERS
BREAD
14 Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to
be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. 15 See
to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to
cause trouble and defile many. Hebrews
12:14-15 (NIV)
19 Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to
peace and to mutual edification. Romans
14:19 (NIV)
12 Also in Judah the hand of God was on the people to
give them unity of mind to carry out what the king and his officials had
ordered, following the word of the LORD. 2 Chronicles 30:12 (NIV)
1 How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together
in unity! 2 It is like
precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard, running down on
Aaron's beard, down upon the collar of his robes. 3 It is as if
the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion. For there the LORD bestows his
blessing, even life forevermore. Psalms
133:1-3 (NIV)
20 “My prayer is not for them
alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and
I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have
sent me. 22 I have given them the glory that you gave
me, that they may be one as we are one: 23 I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity
to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have
loved me. John
17:20-23 (NIV)
11 It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be
prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12 to
prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be
built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the
knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure
of the fullness of Christ. Ephesians 4:11-13 (NIV)
5 May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give
you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, 6 so
that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ. 7 Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you,
in order to bring praise to God. Romans 15:5-7 (NIV)
1 As a prisoner for the Lord,
then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2 Be
completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make
every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
Ephesians 4:1-3 (NIV)
BUTTER
“If we focus on our differences, our focus
is on each other. If we focus on unity,
our focus is on God.” Anonymous
“Let us note how far from satisfactory is the
state of those who are content with sound doctrinal opinions, and orthodox
correct views of the Gospel, while in their daily life they give way to
ill-temper, ill-nature, malice, envy, quarrelling, squabbling, bickering,
surliness, passion, snappish language, and crossness of word and manner. Such persons, whether they know it or not,
are daily proclaiming that they are not Christ’s disciples. It is nonsense to talk about justification,
and regeneration, and election, and conversion, and the uselessness of works,
unless people can see in us practical Christian love.” John Charles Ryle
“Whether the offenses against us are titanic or trifling, God’s judgment frees us to exchange bitterness for patience, retribution for mercy. The very word judgment brings to mind our own offenses against God, offenses that cried out for our blood until Jesus shed his own. It reminds us that our offender, if outside of Christ, deserves our pity and, if inside Christ, needs our brotherly love. It removes all self-righteousness from our mouths and replaces it with the Christlike plea of ‘Lord, forgive them.’ It beckons us to release our ‘right’ to get even, and to hand over our cause to him who judges justly.” Scott Hubbard
Robert Murray M’Cheyne’s gravestone
reads: “Died in the 30th
year of his age and the 7th year of his ministry, walking closely
with God, an example for the believers in word, in conversation, in charity, in
spirit, in faith, in purity, he ceased not day and night to labor and watch for
souls.”
“Love one another that it may at last be
said of Christians as it was at first: ‘Behold how they love one another.’” Ralph
Venning
“Have
you ever thought about what a net is? It
is a bunch of holes tied together. Do
you know what a hole is? It’s ‘a
nothing.’ And that is exactly what we
are – ‘a bunch of nothings.’ But, if you
take ‘a bunch of nothings’ and tie them together, they become powerful. Just as a net is woven and interlaced, people
are netted and tied together with other people resulting in tremendous
power. Woven together in the unity of
the Spirit, we accomplish far more than any single individual could do by
himself. There is power in
cooperation. You do much better fishing
by net than with a hook and line.
Together we join hands and work the works God would have us to do.” Wales
Goebel
“Let us love one
another deeply. May the Love of Christ overflow from our hearts. May people who
are around us and see us know that we are Christians by our love. May our
countenance, our faces display Christian Love.” Roger
Killian
“Among
believers in the Lord Jesus, there is to me unity in the essentials, charity in
the nonessentials.” Anonymous
“Jesus’ whole life was a witness to his
Father's love, and Jesus calls his followers to carry on that witness in his
Name. We, as followers of Jesus, are sent into this world to be visible signs
of God's unconditional love. Thus we are not first of all judged by what we say
but by what we live. When people say of us: ‘See how they love one another,’
they catch a glimpse of the Kingdom of God that Jesus announced and are drawn
to it as by a magnet. In a world so torn
apart by rivalry, anger, and hatred, we have the privileged vocation to be
living signs of a love that can bridge all divisions and heal all wounds.” Henri
Nouwen
“Christian
Love, either towards God or towards man, is an affair of the will.” C. S.
Lewis
HEART SAVOR
·
Christians are called to love one another just as
Jesus loved us and gave His life for us.
·
We are to love one another because love comes from
God. God is love.
·
We are to be known by our love for one another.
