I love to call my Mom on the phone as often as I can. Now almost ninety years old, she remains well aware of my lifeand also has a deep “heart” understanding of my two brothers and four sisters. I thank God for her physical and emotional care for me over the years, and today I cherish her spiritual support as we talk of God’s Word and see the power of prayer.
The Bible asks a good question.
Amos 3:3:
Can two walk together, except they be agreed?
God tells us, His kids, to pray always. But in my early years as a believer, busy with family, job, school, friends, fellowship, traveling, and all those things that seem to keep us busy, I neglected my prayer time with God. Troubles would come up and I’d get serious about it for a while until I received God’s deliverance, then back to busy.
Jesus Christ taught many things. Perhaps one of his best known teachings is about sowing seed and bringing forth fruit.
Last October, Gene and I moved away from a small, rural community where we had been living for eleven years.
If you are reading this, you must have life. It allows you to breathe, think, and act. It is a gift from God, for God is life.
In Branded by God, Part 1, we established that keeping the unity of the spirit, “…starts with recognizing that each and every born again believer is a member of the body of Christ,” and “no individual believer is any ‘better’ than another, and none is of less value.” That is the essence of the lowliness and meekness toward God and one another that we need to keep the unity of the spirit.
After a sinless life, always doing the will of his Father, Jesus Christ gave his life for us. He was dead and buried. Then God fulfilled His promise and raised him, as the angel declared on that glorious day.
How Are We Supposed to “Keep the Unity of the Spirit” in This Dark World?
You may have been a member of the boy scouts, coach of a soccer team, teacher in a high school, or part of an army battalion. All of these organizations require that the members work together to accomplish a common goal. Even the coaches of opposing soccer teams must be unified to make the soccer season a success.
I was ten years old and we had just moved into town. I first saw her playing kickball and admired her pretty face, athleticism, and spunky drive—and something new sparked in my heart. Over the next six years, this exciting and uneasy feeling continued as she dated others and I never had the courage to tell her how I truly felt. I was “in love” according to all the books and movies I knew, but I wasn’t sure what it all really meant.