Unity in Christ

In today's chapter of Ephesians, chapter 4, Paul talks about Unity in the body of Christ. This is so important, and is something that we should have.
I do think though that Unity is not about agreeing with one another, or everybody having the same opinion. I believe its a group of people that all want the same thing that love each other enough that they will agree to differ. 
As Christians no matter what our opinions we should all want the same thing - that Jesus be Lord of our lives and the lives of those we meet. We should all want God's Kingdom to rule in this world and so our goal should be bringing the Kingdom into the lives of the lost. That is true unity.
The problem is that in a room full of people there are as many opinions are there are people, and so when there is a disagreement people start to think that there is no unity. We have unity in Christ, and through that unity in Him we need to give one another the grace to bare with them and allow them to have their opinion, even if it means that you agree to disagree.
Let's be united under one banner, the banner of Heaven. Let's make sure that Jesus is Lord of our lives and our opinions and allow one another to be who we are all called to be in His name. Let's cherish our differences and Praise God for the fact that even though we are different we serve the same God.  

We're all in if we want to be!

More from Ephesians today. In chapter 2, Paul encourages the Ephesians by telling them that they are all part of God's family, joined through the blood of Christ into the promise that was given to the people of Israel. This includes us - We are all one family - God's family.

Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow-citizens with God's people and members of God's household - Verse 19

This is good news. Let's face it, in the Old Testament the gentiles were pretty much out of the plan, but after the cross - we're in!
We can be part of God's family and part of His plan and all we have to do is choose to be. God never pushes Himself on us, he chooses us, but we have to choose Him too. We have free will, and so have the choice as to whether we choose Him and therefore choose in or out. God's love for us is so much that He gives us the choice, and we can sum it up in one verse:

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

I've got the POWER!

Today I began the next book in the New Testament which is Ephesians. This is one of my favourite books in the bible and so I am looking forward to reading through the 6 chapters and seeing what God has to say over the next few days.
The whole of this first chapter is brilliant, but the thing that stood out for me the most is the Power that is within us! 
And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit.
When Jesus becomes Lord of our lives He has promised us that we will receive the Holy Spirit as the seal of our Salvation. That we are His and His alone. 
There is more to this though, as the Holy Spirit that Jesus promised to us, that dwells within us is the same Holy Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead! When I think about this it always blows me away. 
The very same Holy Spirit that raised the dead, healed the sick, hovered over the waters at the time of creation, breathed breath into Adam, changed the lives of the disciples, lives in me. I just feel so blessed when I think that God's Spirit chooses to dwell within me and all I have to do is ask. Thank you Jesus! 

The cross

I finished Galatians today, and what a great way for Paul to finish. 
May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation.
Why should I ever boast in anything but the cross? I am a new creation because of the cross. I am a different person because of the cross. I am forgiven because of the cross. I have life in all its fullness because of the cross. I am saved because of the cross. Without the cross my life would be meaningless. 
If you are reading this and you have no idea what I'm talking about, you can. It's as easy as 1,2,3.
1) Accept that Jesus died for your sins
2) Ask Him to forgive you and come into your life
3) Follow Jesus and walk in the new freedom that it brings 

Its the cross that makes it all possible. Jesus died that we might be forgiven, so that we can have a relationship with the Father and have eternal life. Its as simple as that
 

God's children

In Galatians today Paul tells the Galatians who they are. He wants them to know that they are sons of God. 
Once again this is as much for us today as it was when Paul was putting pen to paper. We need to come to a realisation of who we are in Christ. We need to have confidence in who we are and what it means to be a Christian. 
I know that sometimes things happen that make me feel insignificant, and unimportant, however when others make me feel like this, I hold onto the FACT that God doesn't see me in the same way. God looks at me as His child, as someone who is saved by grace - a winner!
This passage of scripture should give us all the confidence to know who we are in Christ. We should not be afraid to stand up for what we believe, we shouldn't worry what others think of us. We need know that we are the most privileged people on the planet, because we know the truth, because we know Jesus, because we are God's children.  

Honesty is the best policy

Yesterday I was thinking about whether we please man or God, and today in Galatians chapter 2 its a similar theme.

Paul openly tells the Galatians that he had a disagreement with Peter, and that he'd told Peter that he was WRONG! Peter had been acting differently in different circumstances. He would eat with the Gentiles, but when his friends were about he would stop socialising with the Gentiles. 

Peter wasn't being open and honest, he was too worried about what the others thought. He was afraid of what they might say. He was afraid that they might judge him or tell him he was behaving inappropriately.

This got me thinking, do I behave differently around others? Are there some people that I behave one way, and others that I behave another? We should always behave in a manner that glorifies God and not worry about what others think. We need to be open and honest and stand for the truth even if it means that we are treated differently or even excluded. 

Man or God?

I've just started reading Galatians today, and it struck me how straight talking Paul is in this first chapter. He doesn't mess around, he gets straight to the point. 
He asks the reader "Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ." 
What an important passage this is today. What are we like as Christians? Are we man pleaser's or God pleaser's?  Do we worry about offending others or do we tell them the truth and allow the gospel to speak for itself. 
The gospel is offensive. Jesus never tried to whitewash the truth. He always spoke with Power and authority and wasn't worried about the reaction.
I'm not saying we should try and offend others, or that we should be insensitive, but what I am saying is that we need to be bold and courageous and allow God to do the rest. If we don't tell others about Jesus then who will? If we don't tell others the truth, then how will they know? If we don't show the love of Jesus to a lost world then we are not doing them any favours. We live in a lost world and so its our job to show them the answer to every question - JESUS!