The Big Get - Unity

^{Colossians 3:14} And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. 

According to the most infamous prayer of Jesus in John 17 His great appeal to the Father was for the unity of the believers. Unfortunately it hardly worked out that way with all the varying and sundry denominations, sects and christian "movements" down through the ages we do indeed agree on much however the things we disagree on apparently tend to separate us into our divisions and assemblies. The best we can do to work on in order to fulfill this great prayer of Jesus is to be unified within our own group first. This starts with the family, then to the church then to the rest of the culture. The big clue to accomplish that is to put on love which

according to 1 Peter 4:8

Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.

and to 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres

Well now that we know what to do and how to do it it will be to our great blessing if we could do it.

APPLICATION
I believe, help me with my unbelief.

Peace, the Referee of our Soul

^{Col. 3:13} Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 

 Here is the building block of how to live at peace with one another. If we are not at peace with one another we are not at peace with God nor ourselves.

1 John 4:20 Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen.

We are to practice the lifestyle of living at peace with one another. The currency of peace is to bear with each other and to forgive one another as a constant matter of our personality and character. To strive for peace is our way of walking with God. When our peace is disturbed it is an indication of our path with God being off track and in need of adjustment. God will use our peace as a very strong way of directing our thoughts, our attitudes and our actions on our path.

Psalm 85:10
Love and faithfulness meet together; righteousness and peace kiss each other.

Psalm 119:165
Great peace have those who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble.


Proverbs 3:16-18
16 Long life is in her right hand;
   in her left hand are riches and honor.
17 Her ways are pleasant ways,
   and all her paths are peace.
18 She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her;
   those who hold her fast will be blessed.

 So as we peace is a characteristic that a christian is to constantly be mindful of as God uses it to keep us close to Him.

APPLICATION
I need to be more sensitive in recognizing the loss of peace and how it affects my decisions and attitude

Power Upon You

Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

The primary demonstration of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit is that you are empowered by God to be a witness of Him and what He has done in your life. Indeed many times the gifts of the HS as in speaking in tongues is present at the time of the Batism of the HS but not always. However the boldness and confidence and also a God centered mindfulness of His presence is always the accompanying occurrence of the Spirit coming upon a person with Power to do God's will.

APPLICATION

I need to pray daily for the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. For apart from Jesus I can do nothing.

Usurper of God's Sovereign Authority

 ^{ACTS 1:7} He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.

And ever since then we as humans want to know the times and the dates... We always want what we cannot have. "you can eat from any of the trees in the garden except this one ..."  "which one?"  It is just our nature to drive us toward the forbidden. So many have come along and declared oh on such and such a day is the day... To no avail. In fact in this verse it is by God's sovereign authority that the times are set. So for a man to make such a declaration is to usurp the authority that belongs only to God and He alone. How foolish even to attempt.  


APPLICATION
What are the things in my life that are under God's authority that I have foolishly usurped to myself what belongs to the Father. My will, my time, finances. I need to recondition my thinking on these matters.

Minutiae of our Little World

^{ACTS 1:6} Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” 

This is revealing question as it uncovers the disciples true motivation to follow Jesus. All along the disciples were anticipating that Jesus would somehow transform into a political or military leader and overthrow the Roman occupation and rightly restore the government of Israel  back to the people of Israel and their God. You have to realize that this entire generation of Israelites were a people who did not know life apart from being under the rule of a foreign empire. It would be like if in the 1940 America lost the war with Germany and the German government took over and then you were born. You would have learned from your grandparents that there was a time when we were free to worship our God and did not have to be forced into the German way of doing things etc. Culturally we would be steeped in the search for the "one" who would come and free us from the oppressors.

So the disciples anticipated that Jesus was that "One" and the Scriptures foretold of the time when the Messiah would carry the government upon His shoulders. In fact we are still awaiting that to occur since it will happen when Jesus comes back to vanquish the oppressor of mankind, Satan not the Germans or the Romans.

APPLICATION
I need to be mindful of the big picture of what God is doing, and not be distracted by the minutiae of my little world.

Blind Faith?

^{ACTS 1:5} For John baptized with^[a] water, but in a few days you will be baptized with^[b] the Holy Spirit.”

This must have seemed at best puzzling to the twelve, this term is one that they had never heard of, then again they are having dinner with a ghost which is freaky enough. Just think that one through for a minute, here is their leader who was brutally put to death before their eyes and now he is back conversing with them and walking through walls, showing them his wounds. No wonder they are mostly speechless, I would be too.  So when He says this new thing that they would be baptized by the Holy Spirit there is no question of what that is, they are probably just reeling in their minds no doubt somewhere between astonishment dumb founded.

Once the dust settled I'm sure they had to go over with each other their instructions, ok we need to stay in Jerusalem until this baptism of the HS...what? What's that? Oh too late to ask Jesus he's gone for now...

Sometimes we just need to listen and obey and not be all straight in our minds with the facts and logic and all. Many times God would call people into service with explicit instructions that were indeed incomplete instructions, their blessings followed their obedience.


APPLICATION
I need to be willing to be obedient even though I do not fully understand everything involved, and have peace with that.

Obedient Obedience- God's Thing, God's Way

^{ACTS 1:4} On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about.

Would you want to receive a gift from God the Father that Jesus himself tells you is awaiting you? What hangs in the balance is being obedient to Jesus' command. Obedience is the clearest route toward the gifts, blessings, prosperity of God. So why do we lose our way so easily? Impatience, lack of faith or perhaps even rebellion of sorts. If we can get a handle on this one it will clearly change the trajectory of our lives for the good. 

But what about this gift that Jesus told them about, the Holy Spirit. Up until this time the HS had not been poured out on mankind. So something new was about to happen for the first time in history. With this outpouring of the HS God would change the trajectory of the whole world.


APPLICATION
Obedience to doing God's thing God's way will always bring me closer to the very path He has ordained for me. I need to re establish my thoughts, actions and patterns to better reflect His Holy Spirit in me.

Proverbs 31:7 - Contentment

^{Proverbs 31:7} Let them drink and forget their poverty
   and remember their misery no more. 

Remember that this is not an invitation or permission to use alcoholic beverage as a lifestyle it is an instruction for a young king. His mother is drawing the distinction of who he is and how he should act and then there are the rest of the people that he needs to see as those who need him to be sober minded for them. For the most part the regular people lived in relative poverty compared to Solomon, so Bathsheba is saying that drinking wine to forget their misery is ok for them but not for him who is in the lap of luxury and has many responsibilities.

Application
Remain cognizant of the responsibilities that the Lord has given me and to find contentment therein.

Proverbs 31:6 - Play it Safe

^{Proverbs 31:6} Let beer be for those who are perishing,
   wine for those who are in anguish! 

So here is proof text for a sedative of some sort.  When we are in pain or our circumstances become difficult our tendency is to get more and more wrapped up in our own self and our own thoughts and in some respects our world gets real small, and as a relief of that anguish perhaps some calming drink may help. However as we all know it is not the occasional indulgence that is ever the problem but the chronic abuse that leads to devolution on many levels. All chronic abuse begins with just a harmless sip and the slippery slope begins. However not all harmless sips lead to abuse but all abuse begins with a harmless, benign beginning. Another form of this same circumstance is the epidemic of prescription drug abuse in our culture.
For many this is the path to destruction, for others not. The big question remains, "should I just play it safe and abstain altogether or take the chance and flirt with potential destruction".


Proverbs 6:27
How can you take fire into your bosom and not expect to get burned?

APPLICATION
I hereby re-commit to playing it safe.

Wisdom - Proverbs 31:5

 lest they drink and forget what has been decreed,
   and deprive all the oppressed of their rights.

The leader that God appoints needs to be careful to be sober and clear headed so that he may make right judgements.  For he is not only making decisions for himself but also for those who God has privileged him to serve. A leader needs to be able to ascertain the law properly and to bear in mind the rights of the people, especially those who are not powerful or wealthy. He must judge fairly, based upon principle and not upon emotion or "relational connections".

APPLICATION
I need to be careful of anything that distracts me away from my understanding of the principles of the Word of God. Knowledge of the Word is important but in order to properly apply the Word at the right time is wisdom.

A Leaders' Responsibility

^{Proverbs 31:4} 

It is not for kings, Lemuel—
   it is not for kings to drink wine,
   not for rulers to crave beer, 

This is considered some of the final instructions from Bathsheba to her son Solomon who became king at a young age of 16. Once he would become king his attitude regarding receiving instructions might change so these instructions are of high priority, and to be considered most valued instruction.


Apparently there is a distinction between kings, rulers or leaders and everybody else.  Everyone else makes decisions for themselves, however a leader needs to rightly be able to make decisions not only for themselves but also on behalf of others welfare. And he needs to be ready in season and out of season.
It brings to mind this area of Scripture:

2 Timothy 2:20-22

 ²⁰ In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for special purposes and some for common use. ²¹ Those who cleanse themselves from the latter will be instruments for special purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.
 ²² Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. 

With responsibility comes great benefits, but also great sacrifice. In my youth I wontonly drank with indiscretion, now as a leader and pastor I have the benefit of being used by God in ways most people never get close to but with that benefit is responsibility. One of which is to be sober minded so as to be able to guide and direct my household as well as those who God has given me influence over.

APPLICATION
I need to continue to cleanse myself of any residue of evil desires of youth, and practice holiness out of reverence for God and His calling on my life.