Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Psalms 133:1-3
Ps 133:1-3
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.
Eph. 4:1-6
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. 4 There is one body and one Spirit- just as you were called to one hope when you were called- 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
James 3:17-18
17 But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. 18 Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.
Jesus told his apostles that the way the world would know his disciples is that they would love each other. John asks the rhetorical question in his book: how can we say we love God whom we have not seen if we don’t love each other whom we have seen? This is not a call to make peace or to create unity among God’s people. As Paul says above we are to make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit. It is God who adds us to his church and that makes us one.
When the church began (Acts 2), we read that all the believers were together and had everything in common. For a while they all got along with each other and worked together in the peace and unity that God supplied. But then there arose a problem because of an ego problem that resulted in God killing two of them. We are to be humble and consider others better than ourselves. This leads to the unity that God desires. We will have disagreements and differences in the way we understand God’s word but we can still love each other in humility and still get along as brothers and sisters in Christ. We are to be one in Christ.
O Lord God, I thank you for your wonderful love and the salvation that is provided in Jesus Christ. Thank you for making me a part of your family. The more I know about you and your majesty, the more I realize how far I am from being perfect and how little I deserve to be yours. Yet, I also know that because of your great love, your compassion and your forgiveness I am made righteous. Give me a pure heart to love others fervently and be forgiving. I pray in the name of Jesus.
Robert
