It is interesting to note that unity is the result of the Holy Spirit’s work in our lives. In fact, it is called, “the unity of the Spirit” in Ephesians 4:3. It’s His. We are called to “preserve” this unity, not create it. It already exists wherever He has influence. And if it’s not present, we’ve left His influence out of the equation.
Christian Fellowship
T. J. Green
Noah was drunk and naked. His youngest son laughed and made light of his fathers state while the older sons took a sheet and walked backwards to cover him. Immaturity delights in the shortcomings of others but maturity will restore dignity to the family of God.
Warren W Wiersbe
A friend told me he wanted to start a church only for people fifty and older, and I suggested he put an undertaker on the staff. God meant for His church to include male and female, old and young, and those in between, and that all of them should learn from one another. There are old fools as well as young fools, and age is no guarantee of wisdom or even useful experience. The young people in my life help me catch up with the present, and I help the to catch up with the past, and so we all stay balanced and love one another.
Phillip Ware
One of the great blessings of church, for all of its imperfections, is the gift of a genuine laughter – a laughter shared and bequeathed to us by our perfect Father. This is a laughter that we will share in even greater measure when all the sorrow is gone and every tear is wiped from our eyes. One day, like the captives many years ago said, we too will sing:
We are like those who dream. Our mouths are filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. It is said among the nations, “The LORD has done great things for them.” Yes, the LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy. Psalm 126:2-3
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
In a Christian community, everything depends upon whether each individual is an indispensable link in a chain. Only when even the smallest link is securely interlocked is the chain unbreakable. A community which allows unemployed members to exist within it will perish because of them. It will be well, therefore, if every member receives a definite task to perform for the community, that he may know in hours of doubt that he, too, is not useless and unusable. Every Christian community must realize that not only do the weak need the strong, but also that the strong cannot exist without the weak. The elimination of the weak is the death of the fellowship.
Frederick Denison (F. D.) Maurice
Of all the spirits, I believe the spirit of judging is the worst, and it has had the rule of me, I cannot tell you how dreadfully and how long… This, I find has more hindered my progress in love and gentleness than all things else. I never knew what the words, “Judge not that ye be not judged,” meant before; now they seem to me some of the most awful, necessary, and beautiful in the whole Word of God.
Ed Stetzer
Christians need to learn from discerning voices. We need mature believers who will speak truth, guide us through trials, and teach us about God, ministry, and culture. A major part of the problem in the age of outrage is that we are looking for answers in the wrong places. When we turn to the voices of our culture for wisdom—Fox News or MSNBC; celebrities or athletes; musicians or pop psychologists; or the self-help section at the bookstore or on our podcast app—we give platforms to people with no allegiance to or love for the gospel. One of the major ways to combat this and ensure our worldview is shaped by the gospel is by listening to voices that lead us toward holiness.
A W Tozer
Sometimes we react by a kind of religious reflex and repeat dutifully the proper words and phrases even though they fail to express our real feelings and lack the authenticity of personal experience. Right now is such a time. A certain conventional loyalty may lead some who hear this unfamiliar truth expressed for the first time to say brightly, “Oh, I am never lonely. Christ said, `I will never leave you nor forsake you,’ and, `Lo, I am with you alway.’ How can I be lonely when Jesus is with me?”
Now I do not want to reflect on the sincerity of any Christian soul, but this stock testimony is too neat to be real. It is obviously what the speaker thinks should be true rather than what he has proved to be true by the test of experience. This cheerful denial of loneliness proves only that the speaker has never walked with God without the support and encouragement afforded him by society.
Katherine Walden
When time runs out on TV cooking contests the contestants have to hold their hands up in the air and take a step back from their cooking stations, meal finished or not, messy presentation or not. Their time has run out. That’s the picture God often gives me when I am tempted to step into a situation when he has asked me to step back. He may not be done with an individual or a situation, but either my time in the situation has run out or I have been put in a temporary ‘time out’. I am only a sous kitchen in His kitchen and I need to learn to take my directions from the Executive chef. Yes too many cooks CAN spoil the broth.
Henri J.M. Nouwen
Forgiveness is the name of love practiced among people who love poorly. The hard truth is that all of us love poorly. We do not even know what we are doing when we hurt others. We need to forgive and be forgiven every day, every hour – unceasingly. That is the great work of love among the fellowship of the weak that is the human family.