Unfortunate Unity

Unfortunate Unity

Acts 5: ⁵ Then Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and breathed his last. So great fear came upon all those who heard these things. ⁶ And the young men arose and wrapped him up, carried him out, and buried him.

⁷ Now it was about three hours later when his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. ⁸ And Peter answered her, “Tell me whether you sold the land for so much?”

She said, “Yes, for so much.”

⁹ Then Peter said to her, “How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.” ¹⁰ Then immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. And the young men came in and found her dead, and carrying her out, buried her by her husband. ¹¹ So great fear came upon all the church and upon all who heard these things.

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When pledging to get into an organization, we all agreed to lie and steal on a number of occasions. I mean it was only for a short time. I could do and say what I wanted to as long as I was with the group. I fit in and we made it into the organization. In one meeting, we discovered money was missing. “How could this happen?” we all exclaimed.

• There were times when I showed unity but it was missing something.
• There were times when I showed unity but the actions were not above the level.
• There were times when I showed unity but I did not want to tell everyone why I was unified.

Ananias and Sapphira sold their land like everyone else, but held some money back for themselves and made it look they gave their all. This pledge ended up being a deadly vow they did not have to make. While they showed unity in their marriage, it was missing one key ingredient, namely GOD.

• GOD wants me to have unity in HIS word.
• GOD wants me to believe in HIM first before anything else.
• GOD wants me to make attempts to unify under HIM so all efforts will be blessed.

Unity is extremely important to GOD. When two or more people vow to stand for what GOD stands for, incredible things happen. Unfortunately when people act on their own, avoiding GOD’s unity, their promises are not heard and prayers end up falling by the wayside.

GOD wants belief in HIS SON to be unified by HIS followers. HIS power, HIS name and HIS position as GOD are all to be lifted to the highest reverence. Even if one person does not have as much faith as another, unity kicks in when by accepting the statement “I believe but LORD help the part of me that does not believe.” I am glad unity is possible through CHRIST.

• Are you right in a group but wrong in the eyes of GOD?
• Do you believe your efforts are unifying or divisive?
• Will you look to unify all your efforts under the way GOD says versus your solo actions so true success can blossom today?

Throwing Monkey Wrenches

Psalm 14: ¹ The fool says in his heart,
    “There is no God.”
They are corrupt, their deeds are vile;
    there is no one who does good.

² The Lord looks down from heaven
    on all mankind
to see if there are any who understand,
    any who seek God.
³ All have turned away, all have become corrupt;
    there is no one who does good,
    not even one.

⁴ Do all these evildoers know nothing?

They devour my people as though eating bread;
    they never call on the Lord.
⁵ But there they are, overwhelmed with dread,
    for God is present in the company of the righteous.
⁶ You evildoers frustrate the plans of the poor,
    but the Lord is their refuge.

⁷ Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!
    When the Lord restores his people,
    let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad!

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“That pastor didn’t preach right” were the words that came from my lips as I sat in the audience critiquing the sermon. I mean at least I was in church and I was paying attention and I was dressed in this jamming new suit! I quickly wrote that church off as “not holy enough” and stopped going. I wonder what other church I could go to that meets my criteria?

• Sometimes my attitude is the barrier.
• Sometimes the way I think is the cause of a broken plan.
• Sometimes my judgmental actions cause me to not help.

I heard before that if I am not “part of the solution I am part of the problem” and not I see that to be true. When even the slightest complaint crosses my lips about another person or group I am part of the problem. My righteousness quickly turns into soiled diapers or used tampons (sorry for the graphic but that’s what the writer meant). GOD expects me to act different.

• GOD wants me to help the poor rather than creating more hurdles for them.
• GOD wants me to point people to HIM as a refuge rather than believing in themselves.
• GOD wants me to let people know the HE and only HE can restore them to their full glory, not humans.

In order to be part of the solution I must drop any superior thinking and join in. I may not understand what the plan is or even how to solve the problem, but my dependence on GOD will always bring fruit.

• Are you frustrating someone’s plans with your complaints?
• Do you think your complaints about that person or those people are acceptable to GOD?
• Can you become part of the solution by dropping your judgment?