“Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”–Ephesians 4:3   Unity in a church doesn’t “just happen”, it is the result of much effort on the part of it’s members. Churches aren’t destroyed from without, but from within. Pride produces strife, which causes divisions that lead to destruction. The Bible commands us to work for peace. Sometimes that means you can’t have things your way. The following story serves as a good illustration of what our attitude should be:   A little church in the country was voting on building a new church. Everyone in the church wanted to build, except one older couple that always sat on the front row. They were very much opposed and told all who were in the church that their present arrangement was adequate, and God was not in favor of them building a new church. But the vote was finally taken and the church decided to build, starting the next Monday morning, on the cite already chosen. All volunteers were to show up at 8 a.m. The appointed day came and the first man on the job was the very man who had voted against the building. He had his shovel, hammer, saw, overalls–and a good spirit. At lunch time his wife had all the workmen over to her house for a homemade hot lunch. And the same man showed up everyday, until the building was completed. That’s what a Spirit-filled believer would do. What would you have done?

These who have turned the world upside down have come here too.
Acts 17:6

The first Christians were walking torches who weren’t afraid to share their faith, spread their news, praise their Lord, and set the world on fire. They’d discovered a secret that had turned them inside out. Gone were their inhibitions, failures, sins, and temporal concerns. The risen Christ was living within them, walking among them, and working through them. They were filled with the Spirit, and they shared the Word with boldness, though it sometimes brought the lash down on their backs and the government down on their heads. They didn’t expect to be here long, so they made the most of every opportunity.

There are still Christians like that, but the majority of us are content with being middle-of-the-roaders whose lukewarm Laodicean faith won’t even cause the world to tilt a little.

The Gospel isn’t going to turn the world upside down until it turns us inside out and rightside up, and we’ll not set others on fire until we become walking torches. But when the zeal of Christ sets a church afire, people will say of us as was said of old: “These who have turned the world upside down have come here too.” (From Turning Point)

The Christians who have turned the world upside down have been men and women with vision in their hearts and the Bible in their hands.
T. B. Maston

“Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask Him.” Matthew 6:8

According to an article, Henry Ford asked some engineers to box the transmissions for his Model-T Fords in certain sized boxes. He gave meticulous dimensions and material instructions for these boxes. The builders were confused, but they did as they were told.

When the transmissions were delivered, the factory workers took apart the boxes and used them for the floorboards! Mr. Ford was thinking ahead!

That’s what God does. He knows what we need even before we ask Him. We may not understand all of His ways, just like those workers who were boxing up the transmissions did not understand.

We do not live by our understanding; we live by His promises.

Is there something happening in your life right now that you don’t understand? Read Proverbs 3:5-6 and trust in the promise that He will direct your path. (Adrian Rogers)

“And Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas,(which is, being interpreted, The son of consolation,) a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus, Having land sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the apostles feet.”-Acts 4:36-37   About 100 years ago a preacher said, “This is the most corrupt age the world has ever seen.” That echoed what many others had said many years before and it has been repeated many times since. So, who is right? Perhaps they were all right. All had a good reason for feeling as they did, because “evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse”(2 Tim. 3:13). The world is on a downhill slide!   Regardless of the time in which a person lives, the world is wicked, days are difficult, and times are tough. That’s life– “of few days and full of trouble.”(Job 14:1).Our burdens are heavy and the battle is fierce. For many it is more shadow than sunshine, more winter than spring, and their hopes fade like the flowers after being touched by the frost. Many are driven to despair. So, how do we respond?   As bad as life is, here’s the good news–we always have an opportunity to be an encourager. There is always someone whose difficulty is our door of opportunity. Their misery becomes our means of serving God, by ministering to their needs. Let us not add to the burdens of others by treating them unkindly, nor neglect them with calloused indifference, nor join them in their pity party, by constantly harping about the difficulties and unfairness of life. May we instead come to their side as encouragers and helpers, pouring courage into their soul and hope into their heart, showing them the difference that Christ can make in a person’s life. We have more than enough discouragers. We need more encouragers–people who care enough to get involved in the lives of others, people who are focused on ministry rather than misery. How about it–will you sign-up for service today? Someone needs you! Go, encourage them in Jesus name.