Read: John 17:20-26
[I pray] that they all may
Five days before Christmas, the newspaper headline
proclaimed:
GOOD WILL? PEACE?
A 133-year-old congregation was being torn apart. The
pastor was being heckled during his sermons. Competing
factions were passing around their own collection
plates. The police even had to be called in when the
arguing got out of hand during a service.
That's bad news. We wince at the public spectacle of
Christians divided by jealousy and anger.
On the other hand, the good news is that this is a
rare occurrence. Newspapers typically report the
unusual and bizarre, not the ordinary events of everyday
life. We read about one plane crash, not the countless
safe landings; about one church that is torn by hatred,
not the many that are filled with love.
Just before Jesus' crucifixion, He prayed that His
followers would all "be one, as You, Father, are in Me,
and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the
world may believe that You sent Me" (Jn. 17:21).
As that prayer is answered in your life and in your
church, you probably won't make the headlines. But you
will bring joy to God's heart and help show people in a
troubled world that the Prince of Peace has come.
-David C. McCasland
Blest be the tie that binds
THERE IS NO PLACE IN THE BODY OF CHRIST
OUR DAILY BREAD, Copyright 1998 by Radio Bible Class,
Grand Rapids,Michigan. Used by permission.
be one,...that the world
may believe that You sent
Me. -John 17:21
NOT IN THIS CHURCH
Our hearts in Christian love!
The fellowship of kindred minds
Is like to that above. -Fawcett
FOR A BONE OF CONTENTION.
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