Dear First Pres,
1 Peter 5:8, “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” Do you remember Beth Paz highlighting this verse on Sunday?
The word “devil” comes from the root word that means “to split or divide.” Pastor Max Lucado writes, “The devil is a splitter, a divider, a wedge driver. He divided Adam and Eve from God in the garden and has every intent of doing the same to you.” And, I would add, “and to our congregation.”
Lasting unity seems a rare experience these days. With “cancel culture” and political polarization and large-scale mistrust, the devil seems to be having his heyday in the category of creating division. And he would love nothing more, I think than to see that division within Christian congregations.
Especially in a congregation like ours - a congregation that has Democrats and Republicans, lovers of classic style worship and lovers of modern style worship, people who live south of Ashlan and people who live north of Ashlan, Fresnans and Clovisians, homeschoolers and public schoolers, employers and employees, newcomers and oldtimers, single folks and married folks, plus Gen Zers and Millennials and Gen Xers and Boomers and Elders. And, right now, people who feel like we should be worshipping in person and people who feel we should wait. There are so many things that could divide us if we take our focus off the One who brings us together. And that’s exactly what the devil wants to do because when we’re divided, we’re off-mission. When we’re divided, we’re distracted; we’re more focused on ourselves than on Christ.
Perhaps this is why Paul so strongly encouraged the Ephesians to “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:3).
So, how do we do that?
We pray. Please join me in praying for God to protect our unity in Christ. Our unity isn’t in anything other than Christ. He is the One who has broken down the great wall of hostility (see Ephesians 2). It’s hard to stay divided when we are truly seeking the Lord together in prayer.
We love one another. So much of today’s division is the result of dehumanizing others with our quick judgments, categorizations, assumptions, and pride. When we truly love one another we are prone to listen rather than dismiss. We’re prone to be full of grace as Christ has been full of grace to us. We’re prone to desire learning more than winning. When we truly love one another, by God’s grace, we’re prone to be more like Christ.
Finally, we nurture hearts ablaze for Christ. When our hearts are on fire for Christ, the things that might normally attach to our hearts and cause offense - the things that might normally cause us to compare ourselves to others, or put ourselves above others, or think too highly of ourselves, or dehumanize others - they simply burn off because our hearts are ablaze for Christ. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to be known as a congregation whose hearts were burning for Christ? It wouldn’t mean that all our differences would go away. It wouldn’t mean that we'd be done grappling with hard things. But it would mean that our focus - our gaze, our attention, our passion, our energy - would be focused in the same direction: giving glory to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
God has given us the victory over the devil through Christ Jesus. Let’s live in that victory by making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. Pray, love, and nurture a heart on fire for Christ.
Blessings,
Jeremy
P.S. One of the great unifiers in the Church is the Lord’s Supper. We’ll celebrate the sacrament in worship this weekend. Please be prepared with something to eat and drink.
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