2 Cor 5:18-21 And all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given to us the ministry of reconciliation; whereas God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and putting the word of reconciliation in us. Then we are ambassadors on behalf of Christ, as God exhorting through us, we beseech you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For He has made Him who knew no sin, to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
As we’ve been traveling across the United States, one of the messages we’ve been carrying is being a minister of reconciliation for bringing restoration of relationship between parties that have been divided and wounded.
Throughout this journey, we’ve spoken at multiple venues hearing numerous stories of congregations who have split for one reason or another. Yet through our outreach, divided communities have come together, in some instances for the first time since they parted ways.
The enemy works skillfully and diligently to divide, disrupt, and destroy the body of Messiah. But we have a duty and an obligation to be ministers of reconciliation and work toward spiritual unity.
When, through humility and prayerful seeking of God’s mind, we learn to resolve conflicts, we will realize the unity of the Spirit and display the reconciling power of love (agape) and give testimony of Yeshua as He said,” “They will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” [John 13:35]
The spirit of reconciliation does not necessarily require uniformity of belief, but a unity in deferential love, where disagreements are not in essentials. My wife and I disagree in a number of areas, for example, but we will not allow these disagreements to override our love for one another.
One of the greatest revivals in history, the Moravian revival endured for 100 years, as all the saints were committed to practicing this maxim, “In essentials UNITY, in non-essentials LIBERTY, and in all things LOVE.”
If we can unify in the essentials of our faith … without surrendering sound doctrine … not based on the spirit of ecumenism, but the unity of the Holy Spirit, our testimony will be authentic and powerful as we bring the message of the Kingdom, “Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand.”
Reconciliation is the work of the Messiah, accomplished on His cross to reconcile men to God. Yeshua’s exemplary work of reconciliation lays a completely sufficient foundation for us to walk in as well. We must diligently seek unity and reconciliation with one another, both individually and corporately through humility, prayer, confession, and forgiveness. Our enemy the Devil loves and knows how to divide us. Will we pursue the Lord’s way? By the power of His Spirit, we can love one another and fight to achieve the Unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]David is called a “man after God’s own heart.” Considering that he lusted after his neighbor’s wife, committed adultery with her, and had her husband murdered, the Lord’s description of him is remarkable. How could a man who was convicted a murderer and an adulterer also be called one after God’s own heart?
“Break up your fallow ground.” In this context, the Lord is referring to breaking up the ground overrun with weeds and thorns creating a hardness to produce righteous fruit.
This passage in Isaiah contains a poetic play on words which is lost to any reader but one who understands Hebrew. A word for word translation runs something like this: “If not you will believe (lo ta-aminoo), surely not you will be established (lo te-amenoo).” The three letter Hebrew root – “aleph”- “mem”- “nun”, is the same in both words, and the Holy Spirit through the prophet Isaiah is clearly playing on this root to emphasize His point. The same root letters are also used in the spelling for the familiar word “Amen” which literally means “truthfully”.
Momentum is simply the force or speed of movement that carries an object to its final destination. If you want to break through, you need to have a certain amount of momentum. In order for a rocket to blast into space, it needs tremendous momentum to break the gravitational barrier – but with the enormous power of jet engines and rocket fuel the ship is propelled faster and faster till it breaks free of the earth’s gravitational pull.
As we press in closer to the Lord and His calling on our lives, the enemy becomes more and more fierce, throwing all kinds of darts of fear and doubt our way. But as beloved children of God, we can trust the Lord to defend us! God has an invisible army all around, ready to protect us in our times of need. When the battle intensifies, when the enemy seems to be attacking from every side, when it seems all too great for our eyes, know that the Lord has placed His protection all around you! We may not see it — but we must walk by faith!
When the Apostle Paul wrote this letter to the Corinthians, he was speaking to a church that was surrounded with sexual immorality. The city of Corinth was a haven of hedonism where many temples hosted hundreds of prostitutes which were visited by vast multitudes of foreigners. In the ancient world, the term “Corinthianize” indicated a life of sexual promiscuity.
You know how sometimes we get a phone call from someone who didn’t intend to dial us? And what do we usually say? Sorry, you have the wrong number.