Psalm 133:1: "How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!"
Imagine yourself in the midst of an NFL huddle. The quarterback, who is leading the play, calls what he or the offensive coordinator has determined to be the best play. Imagine, if you will now, the confusion it would cause if the offensive tackle disagreed. Or if the halfback agreed with the call, but wanted to add a little extra to his foot movement in the backfield. What if one player, although he was disgruntled with the call, never said anything about it, but did not do his part? The obvious is that there would be total breakdown in the running of that particular play.
In the Christian world, unity allows us to run the offense with proficiency. An Euthopian proverb says, "When spiderwebs unite, they can tie up a lion."
Meditate On This!
"Unity is plural, and at a minimum, is two," was said by R. Buckminster Fuller in his book, Moral of the Work. There may be some area in your Christian life that you do not agree with another brother about, and that is not wrong. However, the need to be unified for the sake of the cause is much greater than your own opinion. How often is our Christian "play" not run properly because of opinion rather than courage? This week try to ask yourself how you can be part of the team and a solution, rather than an individual that is running the opposite way. I am not asking you to forget about truth, but rather to meditate on how you might become an important part of the team of believers God has put you on so the rest of the world might be caught up in the love of Jesus.
Psalm 25:16: "Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted."
The Memphis Flyer on December 22, 1998, ran the following story: "In November, a landlord entered the Bonn, Germany, apartment of Wolfgang Dircks when rent invoices to Dircks bank stopped being paid. The landlord found a skeleton in a chair in front of a television set (in the "on" position, but now out of order) and beside, still twinkling Christmas lights and a TV program guide from December 5, 1993. Since no one had seen Dircks in years, authorities declared that to be his date of his death."
As you read the above story, you must have been struck as I was with the idea of the absence of any intimate relationships in his life. There was a sense that he didnt belong, or that he was detached, separated from any other human life. We have those times in life when we believe we are afflicted and all alone. Gods remedy is to first turn to Him, and then a second area called fellowship of the believers.
Meditate On This!
As a result of our hectic pace and the agenda of our world system to remove relationship, do you find yourself further away from intimacy with God and others? Even though you are surrounded by many people, do you feel all alone at times? Or perhaps you have cut ties with people. Do you find yourself at night sitting in your recliner with your remote control while life just keeps ticking away?
Today, I ask you to consider two things:
- 1) realize that solitude is what you need, not loneliness. A time of getting away occasionally, not to be with yourself or the remote, but rather with God!
- 2) actively seek out those other believers in your community and let them know you need a friend.
Hebrews 10:25: "Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one anotherand all the more as you see the Day approaching."
Bible studies, prayer meetings, church meetings, and Sunday School are part of gathering together. These have been set down by those who have gone before us as ways to get together and encourage one another in the faith. But there are other ways. How about getting together at the office for a time of prayer? How about calling a buddy late at night and praying on the phone? The early Christians had a fellowship which drew them together for worship and preparation. In the above passage, we are encouraged to increase this time together as the day of Christ approaches. It is critical for us in our growth to be involved in a living, Bible-preaching local community.
Meditate On This!
Maybe you have become a little "wishy-washy" in your fellowship with other believers. You are busy, involved in a lot of things, and it is so much easier to scratch off a biblical worship and learning time than it is to cancel an appointment or just "crash at home".
We need to gather together. We need to pray for and encourage our pastors and those who are in ministry with us. How can you do this at a better level? Maybe you feel a little dry right now. Maybe you feel over-worked. Maybe you go to church so much that you have no time for anything else. Sit down this week and ask the Holy Spirit just what your involvement needs to be in light of the above Scripture.
