United We Stand: The Power of Unity in Faith
Psalm 133:3b
…for there the LORD commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.
I want to be wherever it is that the Lord commands the blessing! In our reading, verse one tells us the place in which the Lord does so; the place of unity. God says in essence, “I like that unity so much, I command the blessing upon that group of people!” I have been in places where there was no unity, and as a result, there were also no blessings. I do not wish to ever revisit those places again!
There are those who feel as though they accomplish more with controversy and division, all in the name of “taking a stand,” than they do with unity. I’m all for taking a stand for something, as long as it’s worth taking a stand for! However, many times people fight the wrong battles; we’re not here to fight one another, but we’re here to unite with one another to do battle against the devil and his kingdom of darkness (see Eph 6:12).
When the devil convinces one of God’s children that a sister or brother is their enemy, then he has successfully distracted and detoured that individual into dedicating all their energy in the wrong area, making matters worse instead of better. I wonder how many people in the church have aided Satan’s cause more than the unbelieving world has?
Let us never forget this; divided we fall, but united we stand! Jesus even said that a house divided against itself shall not stand (Matt 12:25). It is embarrassing to admit this, but the truth is that there have been so many unnecessary church splits that speak to our shame as Christians that our salt, in many places, has lost its effectiveness; we have been tossed out to be trodden under the feet of men.
Instead of uniting our efforts and resources for one common goal of advancing the Gospel, we have split over the non-essentials, and therefore are so divided into splinters that God could not bless many of our churches if He wanted to! Instead of solving problems, we simply split! At times, even those who share the same doctrinal beliefs seem to be able to get along with no one but themselves.
Our prayer this day should be that we learn some lessons about unity, for it is a revival of unity that we need in our churches! If this were to happen, then once again God’s blessings could fall fresh on our ministries, thereby yielding effectiveness in spreading the Gospel!
~ Pastor Gary Caudill
…for there the LORD commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.
I want to be wherever it is that the Lord commands the blessing! In our reading, verse one tells us the place in which the Lord does so; the place of unity. God says in essence, “I like that unity so much, I command the blessing upon that group of people!” I have been in places where there was no unity, and as a result, there were also no blessings. I do not wish to ever revisit those places again!
There are those who feel as though they accomplish more with controversy and division, all in the name of “taking a stand,” than they do with unity. I’m all for taking a stand for something, as long as it’s worth taking a stand for! However, many times people fight the wrong battles; we’re not here to fight one another, but we’re here to unite with one another to do battle against the devil and his kingdom of darkness (see Eph 6:12).
When the devil convinces one of God’s children that a sister or brother is their enemy, then he has successfully distracted and detoured that individual into dedicating all their energy in the wrong area, making matters worse instead of better. I wonder how many people in the church have aided Satan’s cause more than the unbelieving world has?
Let us never forget this; divided we fall, but united we stand! Jesus even said that a house divided against itself shall not stand (Matt 12:25). It is embarrassing to admit this, but the truth is that there have been so many unnecessary church splits that speak to our shame as Christians that our salt, in many places, has lost its effectiveness; we have been tossed out to be trodden under the feet of men.
Instead of uniting our efforts and resources for one common goal of advancing the Gospel, we have split over the non-essentials, and therefore are so divided into splinters that God could not bless many of our churches if He wanted to! Instead of solving problems, we simply split! At times, even those who share the same doctrinal beliefs seem to be able to get along with no one but themselves.
Our prayer this day should be that we learn some lessons about unity, for it is a revival of unity that we need in our churches! If this were to happen, then once again God’s blessings could fall fresh on our ministries, thereby yielding effectiveness in spreading the Gospel!
~ Pastor Gary Caudill