 Daily Devotional October 28, 2020Song for Reflection - “Nobody” Casting Crowns ft. Matthew West - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yBzIt_z8oY
Video story - “Sticks & Stones: The Church in Iraq” (Open Doors, 2017) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlp5ws1hwZE “...live a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all, in all, and living through all” (Ephesians 4:1-6). The video story asks the question, “What if we were bold enough to pray for the Church, not just critique the Church.” As Christ-followers, too often, we love to identify how our understanding of God’s Word is superior to that of other Christians...after all, if we didn’t believe our interpretations, we would change them. At the heart of this attitude is pride, our insistence that we are right and refusal to acknowledge that we may in fact be wrong. But what of those believers with whom we disagree?...do they not also possess the very same Word of God?...is it not the same Saviour to whom we plead allegiance?...do they not also share one Holy Spirit with us?...will we not all enjoy the same reward of heaven? Our enemy knows the basic principle of ‘divide and conquer,’ but too often he doesn’t even have to lift a finger. We do all the work for him. We lack the qualities of humility, gentleness, patience and love and end up tearing one another apart. We have forgotten our essential ‘oneness’ in the Spirit as the body of Christ, with the very same hope for the future–eternity in heaven with our Heavenly Father through the work of His Son, Jesus. We have neglected our need to, “Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace.” Could it be true? That we have become the oppressors of the faith we profess! What would happen if we truly set aside ‘me’ in favour of ‘you?’ Today, let’s pray that our current global situation would bring us together in a similar fashion that ISIS brought together the believers in Iraq (see video story). We are the army of God and should be making progress in a fight against the enemy, but it will never happen if we continue to fight our seemingly endless hand-to-hand skirmishes with other believers who differ in their understanding and traditions. Let’s remember to take on the enemy in defense of our Christian brothers and sisters around the world in prayer...not spend our time nit-picking our traditional and lexical differences. ~ Pastor Jane _______________________________ Want to get the most out of this week of prayer emphasis? Take up the challenge of the prayerful fast and memorize Romans 8:26-27. Time spent with God is never wasted! Prayerful Fast: Choose a meal or activity to fast from in this coming week to set aside more time to spend with God each day. A shift in our focus often requires us to forego set routines in order to make space in our day. Verse: “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.” Romans 8:26-27 “Spirit Lead Me” Michael Ketterer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABWnLjXer10
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