Unity: September 19, 2013

TODAYS WORD FOR THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 19. 2013

UNITY

DEFINITION:

The state of being one; harmony among elements; agreement; absence of diversity.

SCRIPTURE:

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity. Psalm 133:1.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

Jesus and His Father were in perfect unity. Jesus said of their relationship in John 10:30, “I and My Father are one.” Jesus desire was that there be unity among His disciples and among all believers. This was His prayer in John 17:20-21, “My prayer is not for them alone (His disciples), I pray also for those who will believe in Me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as You are in Me and I am in You.”

The three persons of the Godhead, God, the Father, God, the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are one. They are perfectly united in their purpose and plan for the world. Their purpose was to provide a plan of salvation for all of us. God has chosen believers to be His representatives to the lost of the world. In order to be an effective and powerful witness to the world, to the reality of God’s love and the truth of God’s Word, we as believers must live and serve the Lord in unity.

Unity does not just happen. It takes work. None of us are ever going to be perfect here on earth so we must accept other believers as they are in spite of their faults. We all have differences of opinion and ideas but believers must not let their differences divide them.

It is the work of the Holy Spirit to build unity among believers, but we as individuals must be willing to be led and let the Holy Spirit do His perfect work in us. 

If Jesus was concerned about unity among believers in those days, think how much more so He is now. The whole world is in a state of turmoil and division. God is not the author of turmoil and confusion. His desire for us is that we dwell together in unity.

Unity must begin with those who believe in the Lord. As a believer in Jesus each of us need to work on unity in our lives. It must begin in our home. This is a real challenge for parents in today’s world with all the corrupt outside influences.

It is the responsibility of parents to develop an atmosphere of unity in their home. In order to have unity in the family there must be love, love that is Christ-like and love that is unselfish. Love that is unselfish and Christ-like brings harmony and a desire to work together for common goals.

Successful family units are a rarity today. The breaking up of the family is a serious problem in our society. With the breakdown of the family comes moral decline. Not many today have experienced what the Psalmist has written above, “how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.”

We have referred many times in these devotionals to the “ME” generation we live in. This is because everyone thinks of themselves only and goes their own direction every day. There is a lack of communication among family members in most homes today. For some the excuse is that they are all just too busy. This is not an acceptable excuse. We always find time in our lives for things that are a priority to us. The problem is that family unity is not a priority for many families.

The Apostle Paul tells us in Philippians chapter 2 that as believers we will develop unity with our families and other believers through humility. He tells us that we must be like minded, have the same love for one another and be of one accord. We are not to let things be done through selfish ambition or conceit (this is the ME generation philosophy) but esteem others better then ourselves. Paul also reminds us that if we want unity we need to not only look out for our interests but for the interests of others.

You need to take time now to evaluate your priorities. Do you love your family and others as Christ loves you? Is your family in one accord on the daily issues you face in life? Do you esteem others better than yourself? Do you look out for only your interests?

As parents we constantly reminded our children by our words and more important by our actions the importance of living our lives in unity as the Psalmist suggested --- how pleasant it was for brethren to dwell together in unity.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in II Timothy 1:7.

For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.

PRAYER:

Help me to be obedient to the leading of the Holy Spirit so that I will be a peacemaker in my family, my workplace, my community and my church to encourage others to live in unity governed by humility. Thank You for the inspiration You gave the Apostle Paul to challenge us to live a life of unity through humility.