Meditation

Meditation for 10/22/2019

“’Master’,” said John, ‘we saw a man driving out demons in your name and we tried to stop him, because he is not one of us.’ Do not stop him,’ Jesus said, ‘for whoever is not against you is for you.’”(Luke 9:49-50)

The church has servants but not rulers. No human official controls the church; all serve Christ through the church. The church practices openness and acceptance toward all people. Those who accept the outcasts reveal they have accepted Christ. Christ has followers who do not belong to our group. We cannot reject them for not being with us or doing things our way. When they oppose evil and serve Christ, they are part of His church, just as any other Christian.

God’s people include all who serve Him and do His will. The people of God are multinational, bearing different gifts and speaking many languages. This great throng of people is united by common allegiance to Jesus Christ as Lord.

PRAYER FOR THE DAY:

Precious Abba, let Your will be done in the way Your way and not by the way “we” think it ought to be. Let the love of Christ flow through all of Your people and let us have the ability to recognize our fellow Christian workers, and they us. Let You love each of us equally and without reservation. This we pray in our Savior’s name. Amen

THOUGHT OF THE DAY:

“God is a His best, when man is at his worst!”

KNOWING GOD:

“’You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.’ He(Caiaphas) did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation, and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one. So from that day on they plotted to take his (Jesus) life.” (John 11:50-53)

Even the religious establishment unconsciously and against their own wills acknowledged the atoning work of Christ. The church goes beyond all racial and political boundaries. Christ’s death offered salvation to all people. The Jewish leaders thought they could escape punishment from the Roman government by letting Jesus die. God’s purposes go beyond the Jewish nation to include all people. He works to unite all people under Christ. Churches are local groups but they are part of the spiritual church and, consequently, are not to live in isolation. Christ’s spiritual church includes all people everywhere who follow Jesus as Lord.

I AM:

The Church, Redeemed of All Ages: (John 10:14-18)

Jesus is the Shepherd of His sheep—all those who call on the name of Christ. He knows His sheep and calls them by name. The flock of God is not a large, nameless group of people, but individuals known of God and called by Him. God’s people include others who are different to race, nationality, and native religion than those to whom the gospel first came. All these belong to God because Jesus laid down His life for the sheep.

Second Thought of the Day:

“My prayer is not for them alone, I pay also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of hem may be one. Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one. I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.” (John 17:20-23)

The church was not limited in time. Jesus sought fruitful disciples who would carry on His work after He ascended to the Father. He prayed for all he church through all ages. He wanted the expansion of he church to produce a unified people. Divisions of the heart among God’s believers are not His will. A united people of God can witness effectively for Him.

The continuing presence of Jesus with His church brings unity, displaying God’s love to the world. All believers should for the unity of heart and ind with other believers rather than engaging in that which is divisive. Christianity must never blind us to the larger unity of the church around the world.