Unity

Season 3 Episode 26 -- When you hear the word "unity," what comes to your mind?  It might be the power of a common purpose -- with your teammates at work, the members of your family, the members of your sports team, or the members of your community.  In today's episode, I want to focus on a special venue in which unity is vital... but sometimes hard to realize.  Curious?  Listen and find out more!

"Reflect on This" is a once-a-week, short devotional podcast, where I share what I am learning about following Jesus, through applying eternal biblical principles to life, in practical ways.  Not religion, but RELATIONSHIP - relationship with Jesus!
 
If you like the podcast, please tell your friends and family about it, and subscribe/follow it, because it helps others to find the podcast more easily.
 
Resources that inspired some episodes:

"Worship Is My Weapon" podcast by Rita Springer:  https://youtu.be/RucXhr1zYGU?si=WeVTpssmUP4rMXlL 

"My Heart, Christ's Home" by Robert Munger

"The Language of Rivers and Stars" by Seth Lewis

“Dream Small:  The Secret Power of the Ordinary Christian Life” by Seth Lewis

Seth Lewis blog:  https://sethlewis.ie/

35 Bible Verses About Listening To Others (Explained) - Bible Repository 

"Restoration Year: Devotions to Transform Your Relationships, Spirit, and Faith" by John Eldredge

"Boundaries" by Henry Cloud and John Townsend

"The Pleasure of His Company" by Dutch Sheets

"Fresh Air" by Chris Hodges

“The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love that Lasts” by Gary Chapman

"The Lies We Believe: Renew Your Mind and Transform Your Life" by Dr. Chris Thurman

Featured ministries and resources:
 
“Agape Puppets” (ministry)
This is an amazing world-wide ministry that uses puppet shows to reach children (and their parents) for Christ, in cultures that are generally not very open to the Gospel.  To learn more, go to: https://theagapepuppets.org/ 

"Manufacture Good" (ministry)
Manufacture Good is a Christian ministry that offers paid apprenticeships to men who need a second chance.  These apprentices learn biblical principles, character, and valuable woodworking and metalworking skills which lead to employment opportunities.  You can shop their catalog of fine home and office products, order a standard or custom piece of furniture, make a donation, and learn more about this amazing ministry, at: https://manufacturegood.org/.

"The World and Everything in It" (podcast)
This is a weekday 35-minute podcast that presents headline news, in-depth news articles, media reviews, and opinion pieces from a Christian world view.  Their stated mission is "biblically objective journalism that informs, educates, and inspires."
 
“Crazy Little Thing Called Marriage” (podcast) 
This is a once a week 30-minute podcast hosted by Greg and Erin Smalley, who head up the marriage team at Focus on the Family.  Each episode addresses a different aspect of marriage, using biblical principles, featured guests, practical advice, and a mixture of humor and candidness.  
 
Music credits:
Beauty by MaxKoMusic | https://maxkomusic.com/
Music promoted by https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/
Creative Commons CC BY-SA 3.0
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Transcript

Throughout my life, God has given me several recurring principles – what I call parts of my life message.  (By the way, in a future episode, I hope to share more about what a life message is, and how you can identify your life message.)  See if you can identify my life message principle in the following passage:

Philippians 2:1-4 NASB  Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion,  (2)  make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.  (3)  Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard [esteem, value, honor] one another as more important than yourselves;  (4)  do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.

Paul deeply desired unity among the followers of Christ.  In this passage, he is pointing out four aspects of unity that he desired for the body of Christ:

·         Encouragement in Christ

·         Comfort of love

·         Fellowship of the Spirit

·         Affection and compassion

Paul describes unity as being like-minded or “of the same mind.”  He is not saying that we should have “uniformity in thought, but [instead we should have] the common disposition to work together and serve one another – the attitude of Christ.” (NIV Study Bible notes)  Did you catch that?  Unity refers to our attitude and disposition toward one another – to work together and serve one another, even if we do not think alike on everything.

Paul then reveals one secret to being of the same mind -- humility.  “[This] should not be confused with false humility, [such as thinking,] ‘I’m not good.’  True humility is focused not on self but on others – caring for them, putting their needs above one’s own.” (Kingdom Life Bible notes)  We are to esteem, value, and honor others.  “Honor recognizes and affirms that every person is valuable… and celebrates the best in people, in spite of our differences.” (Kingdom Life Bible notes)

In Paul’s letter to the Colossians, he points out a second secret to unity -- love.

Colossians 3:14 CSB  Above all, put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.

I believe that Paul is expressing God’s desire for this same level of unity and love among believers today.  After all, our unity and love for one another is vital for our witness to the unbelieving world:

John 13:35 NASB  "By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."

Another principle in my life message is to not merely know the Scriptures, but to apply them to my life in practical and intentional ways.  So, how can we apply this principle of unity to differences in the body of Christ that exist today?  Although I could choose examples of different standards for food and drink, clothes, movies, appearance, etc., instead I have chosen the following examples of differences in Sunday services to illustrate how we might apply this principle of unity:

Creeds and statements of faith were originally created to make it easier for Christians to share with unbelievers (and affirm with each other) what they believe in a succinct way.  Some groups today seem to have neglected the value of these, in what they regard as an effort to focus solely on the Bible as their source of truth.  Other groups seem to have over-valued these statements of faith, and in some cases seem to have unknowingly elevated them to a higher role in defining how they live than the Bible.  My encouragement to promote unity in this area?  Find the common ground, where there is appropriate value in the creeds and statements of faith as reminders of our core beliefs, but still rely upon the Bible as the ultimate source of instruction on how to live.

Style of worship is another area that can cause disunity today.  Some regard the traditional music and liturgy of some groups’ style of worship as not sufficiently engaging their souls with the heart of God.  Others regard more contemporary music and worship as too reliant on an emotional response and not sufficiently reverent.  My encouragement to promote unity in this area?  Find the common ground, where there is acknowledgement of the value in both the traditions of the historical church (assembling together to read scripture, to sing, to pray, etc.) and the value of music and worship that encourages the engagement of our soul with the heart of God.

The method of preaching in our worship services is another area that can cause disunity today.  Some advocate for a strictly exegetical style of preaching, where the pastor goes sequentially through a book of the Bible over a period of time, offering insights and applications from the text.  Advocates of this approach may feel that this approach offers greater encouragement to a pastor to address difficult topics, because he cannot simply skip over difficult verses.  Others advocate for a topical approach to preaching, where the pastor chooses a topic and then shares from many Scriptures related to that topic.  Advocates of this approach may feel that this brings “the full council of God” to a discussion of a particular topic.  My encouragement to promote unity in this area?  Find the common ground, where there is acknowledgement of the value in both approaches to preaching.

Here is my main point:  Do not be critical of those believers that have different standards, or choose a different form of liturgy, style of worship, method of preaching, etc.  Instead, we are to have the attitude of Christ toward them – the common disposition to work together and serve one another in love.  

Psalms 133:1 NIV  How good and pleasant it is when God's people live together in unity!

1 Corinthians 1:10 NLT  I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose.

An unbelieving world is watching to see if we truly “have love for one another.”

Today, I encourage you to "Reflect on This."