Posts Tagged ‘ Christian Unity ’
And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:19 ESV
God has been generous to us. We likewise should be generous to others, and we shall find that he continues to meet (and often exceed) our needs.
Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
Ephesians 4:32, ESV
As Chrisitians, we have been failing to be kind to each other.
Denominations are not the problem. Sects are not the problem.
We are the problem.
Forgive and be kind, as Christ did for us.
Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.
1 John 4:11-12, ESV
One of the signs you are a saved Christian is a love for the Church. Just as Jesus was rejected by His own people, we may deal with rude, obnoxious people, or even those who are mean and reject us.
But we still love them.
Welcome back, people of the interwebz!
Today we are looking at what it means to be the Church in terms of two or three gathering together.
First, a look at Hebrews 10:23-25 (ESV):
Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
Two things to discuss:
1. We should encourage each other;
2. We should not neglect meeting together.
Last week at church, we had to “deal with” two men who had issue with each other. They had an awkwardness between them. Their wives had an awkwardness. Being a small house church, we dealt with feeling that awkwardness.
These two men probably did it right. They had tried talking it out, but there was still awkwardness between them. So, the pastor called them out, and told them to go talk it out. After the music started, he joined them. Eventually, they were able to come back in, and it was resolved.
This leads us back to Matthew.
In Matthew 18:15-20 (ESV), Jesus said:
15 “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.”
They did this, they were able to talk about it, but there was still an awkward tension.
16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses.
I knew what was going on, as well as the pastor, so there are at least two more people.
17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.
(Treat them as sinner: SHOW LOVE AND GRACE! It may mean kicking someone out of church, but be willing to welcome them back while continually showing love and grace! Thankfully, this was not necessary in this instance.)
18 Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. 19 Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”
(We could definitely dive into “whatever bind … loose” and “where two or three are gathered” in more detail, but that is not the focus of today!)
Many people take this passage, verse twenty in particular, to mean that we have church wherever two or three people gather. While this is true, that is not the context of this passage.
This is about handling disputes between Christian brothers and sisters, how to get along.
And it is nice to be a part of a church that lives this out.
This passage is telling us that we should lift each other up in Christ. In this instance, we see Hebrews 10 in action: encouraging each other and not avoiding each other.
Perhaps you are dealing with problems with brothers and/or sisters in Christ: maybe a literal brother or sister, or a parent, or another relative or just a friend.
Regardless, “do not neglect meeting together” means work it out with them in the Name of Christ!
These two guys worked it out in only about five minutes.
Iron sharpens iron,
and one man sharpens another. ~Proverbs 27:17
(Proverbs 27:14 mentions how a man who loudly greets his neighbor in the morning is an annoyance … coincidence? DEFINITELY! ;P)
Therefore, go out and be excellent to each other!
daniel
Hello, world! … again …
Things are gonna be changing around here! Watch the video for a full explanation.
The highlights?
It may be a bit shaky at first – all of the changes, getting content posted consistently – but here is to a new start … on the weekend of the Day of Atonement! (A post coming just a little later on this!)
Blessings,
Daniel
There are no two ways about it. Wisdom is good. Find some at Proverbial Thought!
Recently, I have heard a lot of interesting views on things.
One of the topics I have heard a lot over is hair.
First, I saw some videos on YouTube in which men with long hair and women with short hair were called sinners.
Then I had a conversation with someone who said men with long hair are not Christians.
Then I read a blog entry that said women with short hair will take down society.
Finally, I had a conversation with someone who just wanted to know about proper hair length for men and women.
A lot of this is based on 1 Corinthians 11:
Nevertheless, in the Lord woman is not independent of man nor man of woman; for as woman was made from man, so man is now born of woman. And all things are from God. Judge for yourselves: is it proper for a wife to pray to God with her head uncovered? Does not nature itself teach you that if a man wears long hair it is a disgrace for him, but if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For her hair is given to her for a covering.
vv. 11-15, ESV
I only find this so interesting knowing of passages such as Numbers 6, which Paul would have known well:
And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When either a man or a woman makes a special vow, the vow of a Nazirite, to separate himself to the Lord, he shall separate himself from wine and strong drink. He shall drink no vinegar made from wine or strong drink and shall not drink any juice of grapes or eat grapes, fresh or dried. All the days of his separation he shall eat nothing that is produced by the grapevine, not even the seeds or the skins.
“All the days of his vow of separation, no razor shall touch his head. Until the time is completed for which he separates himself to the Lord, he shall be holy. He shall let the locks of hair of his head grow long.
vv. 1-5
We all have heard about Samson. (Judges 13-16. Who, honestly, gives some credence to men keeping their hair short!)
There is evidence Paul himself took a Nazirite vow (see Acts 18:18).
Now, I am not saying all of the people who said these things are necessarily coming from a judgmental frame of mind. Most, if not all, may simply be trying to approach life from a biblical point.
However, how many times have we gotten caught up in particulars only to push people away? Whether it be hair, drinking, smoking, clothes, tattoos/piercings, end of life plans, church paint/carpet colors, political affiliation, or music choice, we could certainly show more grace to each other.
If anyone is inclined to be contentious, we have no such practice, nor do the churches of God.
1 Corinthians 11:16
But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people. But avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless. As for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him, knowing that such a person is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned.
Titus 3:4-11_
charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine, nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith. The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. Certain persons, by swerving from these, have wandered away into vain discussion, desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions.
Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully, understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine, in accordance with the gospel of the glory of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted.
1 Timothy 1:3-11_
Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.
Ephesians 4:29
There is nothing to fight over: find wisdom over at Proverbial Thought.
You may remember last year I wrote a series of posts about my puppy dog (the last one found here).
Soon after the New Year, we got another little guy, a little brother for our pup, if you will.
These two have an interesting way of greeting me when I come home:
When I enter the house, they start biting each other.
I could not help but think about how often we see this in churches: we begin arguing with each other, biting each other with our words.
We can get so caught up in our squabbles that we can miss out on our Father greeting us in His house, through His Holy Spirit who regenerates our hearts and pushes us to love and good works.
May we get over ourselves and put on the righteousness of Christ!
1 Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, 2 to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people. 3 For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. 4 But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. 8 The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people.
Titus 3:1-8, ESV
Instead of my usual theological post, I am going a slightly different route.
You may have noticed that in every post I write I put a reminder to go to Proverbial Thought and read from my fellow contributors’ commentary on the book of Proverbs.
Of course I implore you to head on over there yet again, and, if you have not already, subscribe to this wonderful blog.
Last week we looked at reaching out to the lost and hurting in our broken world.
Today, I offer a reminder that we need to reach out to each other.
There is nothing like the fellowship of believers. We are able to encourage and lift each other up, and we can learn from each other.
Therefore, I am going to encourage you check out the blogs of my brothers at Proverbial Thought.
Our newest contributor, Chris out of Beausejour, MB, Canada, is also a prolific writer. He has two books, even more blogs, and writes a piece for his local paper. All I have to say is this man knows how to have fun, encourage, and spread the gospel! Go check out his blog here.
Nick started his blog, and his dad, David, joined him as a regular contributor. These wonderful British brothers in Christ each have their own unique understanding of the Bible, the Church, and God. They are not afraid to share their struggles, challenge Christians, or share the grace of God. To read their unique view and be both encouraged and convicted, go see Nick’s blog here.
Jason lives near our founder in Tennessee. His blog covers everything theological and fun as well as musical (such as his Christmas music bracket to decide the best song!). You may notice a theme in each of these men by this point, but his blog is a big encouragement! Go see who is really on first at his blog over here.
Grady only blogs at Proverbial Thought, so you know what you are getting! His post every month therefore is filled with thought and wisdom. Continually check out his monthly posts for his reminders of our need for our Lord and Savior!
The founder of Proverbial Thought, Anthony has been our leader and strongest encouragement. With how busy we all are, we know he is busy, too, but he fills in when we slack off! (There some truth in this, but I am exaggerating slightly.) He puts in a healthy amount of wit and humor within his posts, whether they be deeply theological or “Hey, look at that shiny thing!” in nature and everything in between. In his desire to not be too legalistic but to be loving and compassionate, he lets fun, encouragement, conviction, reminders, and reality fill his blog over here.
I am thankful for each of these men and the ways they impact my growth in Christ. Help me encourage them by visiting their blogs.
You will be encouraged, too!
How often do you pray with others?
I do not just mean when the pastor or someone in the band or choir prays. How often do you pray with people who are in need, or who are hurting, or who say “pray for me”?
You might say, “Prayer is a private thing! Jesus told us to pray in secret! Besides, I do not want to make someone else feel uncomfortable.” (I have actually heard, almost and if not exactly verbatim, someone say this to me)
A) Prayer is both private and public. We already discussed doing it corporately. Which leads to 2) Jesus and the Apostles prayed with people. See Acts 1:14 and 2:42. Besides, also) it sounds more like you feel uncomfortable praying with people in public.
If you are anything like me, you are probably guilty of saying “I’ll pray for you!” Then you never do, or at best throw up a quick “God, be with that person.” This either makes you a liar or not as loving as you could be.
I must confess that I have gotten out of the habit of praying with people. For a while, I was one of those people who, if you said “Will you pray for me?” I would say, “Of course! Can we pray right now?” I have not done so well, as of late. I do reply to most text message or e-mail requests with a typed prayer, but it is not quite the same as saying it with the person (though, of course there are times it is not feasible).
My conviction level has been high the past few weeks, too. I have realized the number of opportunities I have passed, followed by some messages on the radio discussing it, and having some dear friends pray with me in just the past couple weeks.
I want to be that person again!
Do you?
Besides, perhaps our lack of active and immediate prayers is a major cause of dissension between believers. Perhaps we fail to get along because we fail to love each other enough to pray with each other.
Lord, grant us the capacity to love You and others enough to want to pray openly with others when they ask. Remind us to pray when we have the opportunities. Move in our prayers as we pray in faith, and help us believe that You are answering even though we sometimes fail to believe. Lord, empower us with Your Holy Spirit, and grow Your love in us. Thank you, Lord Jesus. Amen.
I know this is a little later in the day than I have been posting these, but here is my follow-up from last week’s post!
If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
There are not only denominational differences, regional differences, and even congregational differences, but it is very difficult to even find one or two other people who believe exactly the way we do as individuals on every little thing (theologically, biblically, socially, and habitually).
We need to stop assuming we are right about everything, or at least more right than everyone else. Unless someone is flat-out heretical and/or blasphemous, we can still get along with our differences.
Therefore, how can we fulfill what Paul (and God!) has commanded us here? How can we be “like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose?” With another quote:
Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.'”
Matthew 22:37-39
Seek out and love God, then seek out and love on people. Show God’s love. Indiscriminately.
I have friends who are Calvinist, Arminian, Catholic, Lutheran, Episcopalian, Presbyterian, charismatic, fundamentalist, “free-thinking” (I honestly still have no idea what that is really supposed to mean!), non-denominational, denominational, institutional, etcetera …
We get along for one important reason: We love God so much that our differences seem like nothing.
We each reach out to others in God’s love for one important reason: We know that God loves us first.
I dare you to try it.
a simple man of God 