GOD CALLS HIS PEOPLE TO UNITY
BREAD
12 Also in Judah the hand of God was on the people to give them unity of mind to carry out what the king and his officials had ordered, following the word of the LORD. 2 Chronicles 30:12 (NIV)
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. Psalms 133:1-3 (NIV)
20 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: 23 I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.” John 17:20-23 (NIV)
3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. 4 Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. Romans 12:3-5 (NIV)
3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4 Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus. Philippians 2:3-5 (NIV)
2 My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Colossians 2:1-3 (NIV)
10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. 1 John 4:10-12 (NIV)
BUTTER
“If we focus on our differences, our focus is on each other. If we focus on unity, our focus is on God.” Anonymous
“Have you ever thought about what a net is? It is a bunch of holes tied together. Do you know what a hole is? It’s ‘a nothing.’ And that is exactly what we are – ‘a bunch of nothings.’ But, if you take ‘a bunch of nothings’ and tie them together, they become powerful. Just as a net is woven and interlaced, people are netted and tied together with other people resulting in tremendous power. Woven together in the unity of the Spirit, we accomplish far more than any single individual could do by himself. There is power in cooperation. You do much better fishing by net than with a hook and line. Together we join hands and work the works God would have us to do.” Wales Goebel
“Jesus was praying for a unity of love, a unity of obedience to God and His Word, and a united commitment to His will; a united purpose and commitment.” Bible Knowledge Commentary
“Unity in Christ is not something to be achieved; it is something to be recognized.” A. W. Tozer
“Every act of self-discipline by a Christian is also a service to the community. Conversely, there is no sin in thought, word, or deed, no matter how personal or secret, that does not harm the whole community. When the cause of an illness gets into one’s body, whether or not anyone knows where it comes from, or in what member it has lodged, the body is made ill. This is the appropriate metaphor for the Christian community. Every member serves the whole body, contributing either to its health or to its ruin, for we are members of one body not only when we want to be, but in our whole existence. This is not a theory, but a spiritual reality that is often experienced in the Christian community with shocking clarity, sometimes destructively and sometimes beneficially.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer
“When God makes a covenant with us, God says: ‘I will love you with an everlasting love. I will be faithful to you, even when you run away from me, reject me, or betray me.’ In our society we don’t speak much about covenants; we speak about contracts. When we make a contract with a person, we say: ‘I will fulfill my part as long as you fulfill yours. When you don’t live up to your promises, I no longer have to live up to mine.’ Contracts are often broken because the partners are unwilling or unable to be faithful to their terms. But God didn’t make a contract with us; God made a covenant with us, and God wants our relationships with one another to reflect that covenant. That’s why marriage, friendship, life in community are all ways to give visibility to God’s faithfulness in our lives together.” Henri Nouwen
“The other service one should perform for another person in a Christian community is active helpfulness. To begin with, we have in mind simple assistance in minor, external matters. There are many such things wherever people live together. Nobody is too good for the lowest service. Those who worry about the loss of time entailed by such small, external acts of helpfulness are usually taking their own work too seriously. We must be ready to allow ourselves to be interrupted by God, who will thwart our plans and frustrate our ways time and again, even daily, by sending people across our path with their demands and requests.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer
“It is a bad world, Donatus, an incredibly bad world. But I have discovered in the midst of it a quiet and good people who have learned the great secret of life. They have found a joy and a wisdom which is a thousand times better than any of the pleasures of our sinful life. They are despised and persecuted, but they care not. They are masters of their souls. They have overcome the world. These people, Donatus, are Christians…and I am one of them.” St. Cyprian, 200-258
“In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity.” Augustine
BUTTER
• We are to love one another in the body of Christ so that the world may know we are His disciples.
• Our spiritual unity is to be made manifest by the way we live our lives. This is not to be confused with uniformity as we are all different. Just as the parts of the natural body are different and have differing functions so too in Christ we who are many form one body and we belong to all the others.
• It is both good and pleasant when brother live in unity with one another.
****NOTE: In an effort to bring encouragement to others during these uncertain times I have recorded (albeit lamely!) some Scripture recitation. If you are interested in viewing these they are on the links below or you can go to Beth Yoe at Instagram. I will be changing out these links each Monday (Lord willing!) ****
Also, we are beginning to post Bible Studies recorded on Anchor which may be of interest. Thus far we have James and we are now beginning Esther. The site is: https://anchor.fm/betsy44
Beth Yoe's Sharing Bread 