Prayer Journal
Monday, July 31, 2000
"I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. Then will they follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people, and I will be their God." Ez 11: 19,20
Unity within the body of Christ is a much understood subject. The first church (Acts 2:42-47) "devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the breaking of bread and to prayer." God's people were identifiable by their unity and "enjoyed the the favor of all the people" and their number grew by virtue of it. Though the early church was persecuted and martyred, they stood together and their testimony was one of "solidarity" to the death.
Jesus prayed for His disciples in John 17:11; "Father, protect them by the power of your name - the name you gave me - so that they may be one as we are one." Today, it's hard to find a family that is unified, much less a church. But Jesus prayed that His church would be exactly that - "unified".
It seems every street corner has a church building, housing a congregation claiming to be the people of God. Yet, by denominational or cultural differences, they are anything but unified. And most churches of the same denomination are usually the product of an unresolved conflict with those of a "parent" church.
Is "unity" within the body of Christ (the Church), the "absence of disagreement" or a "persevering trust for one another under the authority of God's word"? What do you think?
Is God's word your authority? Are you like the Bereans or are you like the Thessalonians? "Now the Berans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true." Acts 17:11
"In your church Lord, be glorified today" Just Thinkin'.. WebServant
(1) Scripture comes from the Holy Bible, New International Version; (c)1978 by New York International Bible Society
(2) The images used herein were obtained from the Learning Company's ClickArt Christian Graphics Deluxe product, (c)1999 The Learning Company, Inc and its subsidiaries, 88 Roland Way, Novato, CA 94945 USA. All Rights Reserved.
