- “I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naïve.” (v.17-18) This better not be you. As a follower of Christ, you are called to encourage and build the unity of your fellow followers of Christ. When you are together with them, your presence needs to take part in the unification process of the family of followers. Yet is it? Are you aware of how your words encourage/discourage our fellow followers? Do you strive to use your gifts to better the church or does that never even come into your train of thinking? Do you only use the church leadership to build you up or do you take time to find ways to build them up as well? What’s your purpose for being at your church? Is it truly to create health in the family and grow together in Christ or is it some other reason? How you respond to these questions is going to be a good indicator to see if your presence in your church family is a unifying or divisive one. I encourage you to strive to be a “unifier”. Why? If you’re not, God is telling you that those who aren’t, are not serving Him. As a fellow follower, my hope is that you desire to serve God. Begin today by checking yourself; is your presence helping the body grow or is your presence actually holding the church back from being what God is calling it to be. – Daily DEVO 2
- Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, who risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks but all the churches of the Gentiles give thanks as well. Romans 16:3-4 – Be willing to speak favorably of someone else. Be willing though to speak favorably even when it doesn’t earn you anything in return. Paul is praising the work of these two and encouraging the church at Rome to greet them well knowing that for him it’s not getting him anything in return. How could you today use your words to uplift someone else without considering how it benefits you? Maybe it’s sending an encouraging message anonymously to someone or speaking favorably of someone when they aren’t even around to hear it. Let’s create a habit of uplifting others for their good and not just our own. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1064
- Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you.17 I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. Romans 16:16-17 – Paul spends a large portion of our chapter sending greetings and love to different individuals. To people like Junia or Ampliatus or Hermas, people we don’t know much or anything about, but were impactful in Paul’s life. We see a loving and caring way to handle the relationships within the body, to greet and bring close those who follow Jesus with us. Paul then takes a hard turn in verse 17. Now it’s a warning, a warning against the people whose heart isn’t closeness of the body of believers, but division instead. We are to be watchful for such individuals because their desires is to separate what God has designed to be together and they will even create obstacles to encourage such division. Clearly then in the church body we see two very different ways we can live with our brothers and sisters. We can live pursuing unity or live pursuing disunity. Choose unity. With how you speak of other church members and what’s happening at your church, choose to pursue unity. With how you treat other believers and how you witness in front of the lost, choose to pursue unity. If as you read this you are finding yourself more on the side of the ones creating division, today is a perfect day to change that. This summer has been a lesson for me on the value and importance of church family. Be someone who encourages the growth of what’s happening at your church, not one who’s known for tearing down. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2425
Daily DEVO 