CURRENT EVENTS Jesus sought to give us the opportunity to
live as family when He came to planet earth, but we are not doing very well. The heartbeat of our Lord for unity is reflected in the longest recorded prayer of Jesus in John 17. In verse 23 He states: “I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.” He prayed that those who follow Him would be ONE so that the world could be WON! We do not create unity; Christ did that
on Calvary’s cross through His shed blood. When we give our hearts to Him, He unites us as brothers and sisters. Our
function
is to maintain the unity as Paul stated in Ephesians 4:3: “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” In other words, if you have Christ at the center and circumference of your life, and you are committed to the truth in scripture, and you have a burden for a hurting world, then we are united in Jesus and our function is to maintain it for the purpose of mission! Paul said to Euodia and Syntyche in
IT’S LIKE TYING THE TAILS OF TWO CATS TOGETHER, THAT’S UNION BUT NOT UNITY.
Philippians 4:2, “get along”! They were united in position, but not in practice. It’s like tying the tails of two cats together, that’s union but not unity. As some have said,
“we
may not see eye to eye, but we can walk hand in hand.” The world is too needy for us to divide over minor issues when there are major issues to be addressed or we will self-destruct as a family, church, and nation! When
speaking of the early church in the first five chapters of the book of Acts, five times it is referenced that “they were of one accord,” but it didn’t take long until division set in. What is our response to the chaos of our
times? Rather than getting depressed, angry, or withdrawing from the conflict, it is to see the chaos as a God given opportunity for change, the chance to seek the intervention of God to use His family to bring people together. For if help does not flow from the church, there is no hope! It is to be guided by
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the well-known principle: “In essentials unity, in opinions liberty, and in all things love.” “And over all these virtues (compassion,
kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forgiveness) put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.” Colossians 3:14. Pray for our leaders in America, community, and church. Seek ways daily to touch others with God’s love. Take the initiative to love on your church family, to encourage people, pray for them, be one who unites the family in love, for the things which unite us are so much greater than the things which divide us. What a power in the community the church can be when we unite to push back the darkness with the uniting power of love for God and one another. At WJU, the word university can mean
unity with diversity! We seek daily to be one family, worshiping and serving one Lord and each other. Do we have it all together, of course not! However, since the birth of the university in 1939, it is still our prayer that we can create in our students a wave of unity in Christ and send them forth to unite their world. Since our arrival in Rocklin in 2004, we have had numerous Pastors luncheons on campus with hundreds attending. A marvelous unity has developed among them that is making a huge impact on the region. “How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!” Psalms 133:1. God is on the throne of the universe, and unity flows from Him. Pray for His will and power for your personal life, family, church, nation, and world. Unity is not outdated, it is mandated!
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