Last week I attended our Pacific Southwest Conference annual celebration. While I was there I attended a workshop on growing churches. Paul Wilson, our Superintendent was the facilitator. He made a profound point about power. He said that there are two great powers in this age. The first is the power to divide and the second is the power to unite. From a biblical worldview, we know that behind the power to divide is our arch enemy the Devil. It is his primary role in this age to divide people. History shows he has done a good job! Whether on a macro level or a micro level, we are living in a time of great divisions. Sadly, even in the body of Christ there are divisions among believers. In our series in the book of Acts, we will be observing how God was able to keep the unity among the body of Christ as they faced extreme challenges both within and from outside the body. This happened because there is a greater power in the world! That power is in the Holy Spirit of God! He is able to break down walls of division and unite people in Jesus. Paul writes in Ephesians that Christ broke down the barriers through the work on the cross. The Spirit takes this work of Christ and applies it in the hearts of everyone who truly comes in faith to Jesus. We need to be praying earnestly for God’s Spirit to break into our world. It begins with Christians uniting around Jesus and living out the Gospel both in the church and in the world. When I reflect on this in terms of our own context, we must work hard at maintaining our unity in Christ here in Eagle Rock. It begins with our own Christian community and then our brothers and sisters who fellowship around us. Then it is living in peace as much as possible with our neighbors. We have a purpose and that is being Jesus here!
