Devotional Song: … GO TO THIS LINK … Please take the time to take in a YouTube video with song and lyrics with Steve Green singing … Find Us Faithful … poignantly singing the way we Christians must live for Christ, TOGETHER, faithfully using our individual gifts for His glory.
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Highlight Verse[s]: Acts 6:6-7 [NKJV] … [Seven Greeks were chosen in Jerusalem to help feed the Greek widows] … 6 whom they set before the apostles; and when they had prayed, they laid hands on them. 7 Then the word of God spread, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith.
… The result of unity among believers is kingdom fruitfulness.
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Highlight Passage [context]: Acts 6:1-7 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK …
… There was disunity among Christians in Jerusalem after the resurrection; but the Apostle and Elders developed a way to unify the believers and it resulted in growth in the Church.
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Reference Passage : … John 15:1-8 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK …
… Jesus shows His disciples how they can be fruitful - by connecting with Him, individually and collectively (as the Church), to be fruitful for Christ in His kingdom.
Reference Passage : … Romans 12:3-5 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK …
… Paul shows believers how we must come together and use our individual gifts to serve our Lord in the unity of the body.
Reference Passage : … Ephesians 4:1-3 [NKJV] … 1 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, 2 with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, 3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
… Paul exhorts fellow Christians, as prisoners of King Jesus, to be unified in the faith.
My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Tim Gustafson, paints a very common word picture of human division which can hurt the fruitfulness of the church. The ODB author wrote: An influx of refugees to our community has led to new growth in area churches. That growth brings challenges. Church members must learn how to welcome these newcomers as they adjust to a strange culture, new language, and different worship styles. All this change can create some awkward situations.
Misunderstandings and disagreements occur everywhere we find people. Church is no exception. If we don’t handle our differences in a healthy way, they can harden into divisions.
Do we get it? … Unity and fruitfulness comes from Christians using our individual gifting and talents TOGETHER as one body in Christ (i.e., the Church) so that our surrender to abide in God’s Spirit will yield Spirit-led power and fruitfulness.
So, we must ask ourselves are we using our spiritual gifts TOGETHER with our fellow Christians to further Christ’s kingdom. Unity from diversity is the key!!
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My THANKFULNESS: … Oh Lord, Jesus, thank You for leading Your Church to become fruitful when we work together in unity.
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My Prayer Today: Abba Father, … King Jesus, … Precious Spirit … Help me to be an agent of unity in Your Church, dear Lord. . … Amen
Blogger Note: Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled “Our Daily Bread,” distributed online via email by RBC Ministries. If you GO TO THIS LINK on the date of my blog, you can read/study the ODB blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.
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