Thoughts From the Bible

Read Luke 11: 14-23-  Jesus is using one of His miracles to give us a lesson on unity and unity in Christ. In verse 17, we read this, '(1 7) But he, knowing their thoughts, said to the m , "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and a house divided against itself falls. "  Unity is important. It is important for organizations. It is important in families, and it is important spiritually . We need to be c areful as read the Bible and learn God's principles, that we do not take the approach that certain principles were for certain times and maybe not for us. We need to follow what Jesus said in verse 23, "He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters. "   Sometimes unity, takes work on our part because we have different ideas and sometimes different beliefs. We need to be careful to stay focused on God's principles and the advancement of God's kingdom and not our own thoughts or beliefs.    ...

Luke 9: 49 -50- ‘Now John answered and said, “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow with us.” (50) But Jesus said to him, “Do not forbid him for he who is not against us is on our side.”’   The disciples had a myopic view of God’s work. They erroneously thought someone had to be physically with them to be able to see what God could do. Jesus wanted them to see people who believed in the power of God can pray for others and expect God to work in their lives. We have denominations today who sometimes feel they have the ultimat e ticket to God’s grace. If we believe in Jesus Christ and His resurrection and His forgiveness of our sins, we can expect God to work in our lives.   Proverbs 13:2 2- A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children, but the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous.  

Read Mark 3: 22- 30-  Here is another situation where the scribes were working to find a reason to discredit Jesus. They were  trying to associate Jesus with Satan which they felt would be enough for people to ignore Jesus. Jesus had another opportunity to teach. One principle we can take with us was  written in verses 24 and 25,  “If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.”   Unfortunately, I have seen churches go from large, vibrant churches to small inconsequential congregations because of division and lack of unity. We have all seen marriages  end  because of two people having different purposes and desires. Jesus is teaching that relationships and organization c annot expect to last if they are divided in their purpose.  I have a responsibility to continue to evaluate what my purpose is and is my personal purpose in line with the principles...

Read Matthew 12: 22- 32- For me there are two key items in this passage so the reading will probably be repeated. My first lesson in this passage has to do with unity. Jesus knew what the Pharisees were talking about, so he confronted their conversations with a thought on unity. Jesus said, ‘Knowing their thoughts, He said them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand. And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? And if I c ast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore, they will be your judged.”’ Unity of actions and messages are important if we are to project a Christian example to those around us. Jesus’ actions showed the people who He was, and it coincided with His message to them and then to the Pharisees. I need to work to be consis tent in my actions and what I say to others so my life of Christianity will have a consistent purp...

Read John 17: 20- 21 - “I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. (21) I pray that they will all be one, just as You and I are one; as You are in me, Father, and I am in You. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me.” Jesus is praying for us to be unity in our Christian message and Christian lives we leave. Jesus prayed about it. That possibly was because He knew what a magnificent challenge that would be for all of us who follow Him. We are human and everyone has their own opinions on how things should be. That applies to how people interpret the Bible and what God would have us all do. This unity in message and lifestyles has not been achieved but it doesn’t mean we should simply accept it and move on. As individual Christians, we need to recognize this is important to God and we need to work toward unity in any relationship we find ourselves. Jesus knew how powerful unity is s...

Read John 17: 9- 12 - We have heard that we should pray as Jesus prayed in the Lord’s Prayer. That is not wrong. I do think it interesting though in verse 11, Jesus prays for the protection of those who have followed them. “ Now I am departing from the world; they are staying in this world, but I am coming to you. Holy Father, you have given me your name; now protect them by the power of your name so they will be united just as we are.” Jesus was praying for the disciples knowing the coming days would test their resolve about Jesus, but He also prayed they would stay united. Jesus wanted the disciples to be united as He was with God. I cannot imagine a greater example of unity other than the Trinity, but Jesus actually prayed the disciple would experience the same level of unity. Are we willing to pray that prayer for ourselves and those around us. That level of unity would require such a oneness of spirit and principle. There are so many in the world who want to march to...