Yesterday we wrote about one of the greatest moves of God … the Moravian Revival. When the community was in complete disarray, Count Zinzendorf focused on how they could live together in love despite their differences. He called all the men together for an intense study of the Scriptures to focus on how Christian life in community was portrayed. These studies combined with intense prayer convinced many of the believers that they were called to live together in love and that their disunity and conflict were contrary to the clear calling of Scripture.
Zinzendorf’s dream was to see the differences among the community’s many traditions become secondary to a corporate unity in love. In the history of the Moravian revival, we read:
“Zinzendorf was not aiming at organizational unity and uniformity among Christians and did not desire the dissolution of particular traditions, but rather their binding together in fraternal charity, mutual respect, communication and communion within a sort of loose federation.”
Thus they learned to agree to disagree on certain subjects – the one thing they agreed upon was the emphasis on love – and this was necessary in order to fulfill the “great commission.”
Reader, the complexities of God’s truth will make uniformity in all doctrines impossible for all believers. It is even probable that secondary issues may be used of God to test our hearts. The essential truths of the faith, however, are indisputable among true brethren and they form the truth basis for our unity. The Moravian Revival motto was, “in essentials unity, in non-essentials liberty, but in all things love!” Revivals always reveal the veracity and power of this motto, and their fruit is the result of God’s wonderful unifying presence. We will not compromise on the essentials (though some may even disagree on what they are); and we will peacefully discuss our convictions about secondary issues, agreeing to disagree and preserving the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace.
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]As we approach the end of the age we are overwhelmed with the amount of evidence of the reliability and accuracy of the Bible. In the last century, archaeological discoveries have significantly reinforced the Bible’s credibility. A pivotal moment was in 1947 with the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, an event whose significance was underscored with the timing of the reestablishment of the nation of Israel.
Yeshua (Jesus) gave us some signs and indications of what society would look like just before His return. One sign was the sign of Lot.
People read this verse, and think God is telling them to be passive — to overlook what happened. That is not a bad thing — but it isn’t exactly what Yeshua (Jesus) was saying. Turning the other cheek is not about being passive. It’s about being active! So active that it actually confounds your enemy! Turning the other cheek is about taking an action so revolutionary, so shocking, so out of the ordinary that it shocks everyone around. It confounds the world — and can also change it!
For over 25 years we’ve been covering Christian Persecution, and whenever I come across an amazing story of how a saint endured such hardships, it encourages me. I remember reading about Watchman Nee and his imprisonment. The Chinese government would change the guards at his cell daily for fear that Nee would lead them to the Lord. Their fears were justified — many of those guards did come to faith! Apparently Watchman Nee had learned a powerful lesson from the Apostle Paul.
A careful reading through the life of the Apostle Paul will yield insight concerning those who surrounded him. In this brief devotion, I want to focus on two of Paul’s friends — Luke and Demas.