BLESSING IN UNITY

“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments;As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the LORD commanded the blessing, even life for evermore” PSALM 133

“Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them” MATTHEW 18:19-20

 

There is power in unity. Division creates confusion. There is something special about people coming together and agreeing for a course. Unity is strength whiles division creates weakness. Unity again enhances survival, it is protection. Animals have developed an adaptation to survive by sticking together and walking in pacts. The weakest of preys have been able to overcome their fiercest predators by grazing together. Unity breeds confidence and creates a sense of security. Certain nations of the world, tribe, and tongue have endured and survived moments of adversity by staying together as one people, as the popular saying goes, “united we stand, divided we fall”. Scripture puts it right, a threefold cord is not quickly broken. Again if two walk together (in unity), they have a reward for their work, for if one falls, one will lift his fellow. Woe to you, it continues, if you walk alone, if you fall who lifts you up? (ECCLESIASTES 4:9-12). Divide and rule has long been a tactic used destroy, dominate, and rule a people. Certain powers of the world without a doubt have before and still do adopt this method to rule certain nations. They have long known that it is impossible to have your own way among people who are united until you pitch one group against the other. Political instability in certain nations of the world like we all know are as a result of one group of people of the same nation fighting another. Sometimes certain powers support even an illegitimate political group under the pretext of supporting good governance. See, the enemy will do anything to bring you down, and will do anything to separate and divide, to achieve his end which is destruction. Wherefore God in His Word admonishes us to stick together in unity. It is like a precious ointment He said! You cannot put a price on unity, it is the greatest defence against any onslaught of the adversary. Watching the movie 300 taught me a lot about the strength in unity. The secret to the Spartan Military strength was fighting together as a unit. Legend has it that a mere 300 Spartans were able to resist the advancement of Xerxes’ army who were so many that ‘their arrows blocked the sun’ in the Battle of Thermopylae. Truth or fiction, the great Leonidas, King of the Spartans led a brave few Greeks who fought together as a unit against an overwhelming Persian Army. Scripture again says that brethren dwelling together in unity is like the dew of Hermon, and as the dew which descended upon the mountains of Zion. Dews are known to have great influence on the nature of the soil and vegetation. it increases fertility and its gentleness flourishes the green vegetation. Brethren dwelling together in unity and exhibiting tender love one towards another fosters prosperity and peace. Enmity and division, hatred and war, is like a pest and the scorching sun in an arid habitat.

On the day of Pentecost, scripture says that they were all together with one accord in the upper room, and then The Holy Ghost descended. God is not the author of confusion, neither will He dwell in confusion. Where two or three are gathered together in His Name, there His is in their midst. He will never dwell nor inhabit in confusion. He commands His blessings where there is unity. Marriages are blessed when there is unity between the spouse, peace reign where there is agreement. War and confusion in a home or any environment is like sowing seeds among thorns. As they sprout forth, they are choked by the thorns and die. If two agree together on earth concerning anything, the bible says it is done of The Father in heaven. It is time for growth and prosperity, it is time for peace and blessings. It is time for survival and strength. Unity is the key. Days of brothers standing against one another, spouses disagreeing in fighting is over. God points to us in His Word that He commands His blessings on a united front. May we seek the preciousness of dwelling together in unity and thereby reap the benefits of its blessings. Our lives will never be the same again. In The Name that is above all names, Jesus Christ, Son of The Living God. Amen and Amen!

GOD LOVING

“And thou shalt love The LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might” DEUTERONOMY 6:5

“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me” GALATIANS 2:20

 

To love God is to give yourself away without reservation to Him. To love Him is to open up to Him wholly without holding anything back. To love Him is to stick and stand by Him come what may, regardless of the circumstance. To love Him is to be unselfish in all your dealings and approach to Him. To love Him is to present yourself to Him as living sacrifice without blemish. To love God is to be truthful to Him. Loving God is giving Him the honour due Him. Loving Him is being not ashamed of Him. To love God is to give Him the preeminence in all you do, putting Him first in everything. To love God is to love your neighbour. He is a liar who says he loves God and hate his neighbour ” If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?” 1 JOHN 4:20. Love is the greatest commandment, it is what preserves the universe. Love preserves relationships whether between God and man, or between fellow humans. Love creates the compromise which binds two together in agreement. It is well accepted to say that, two can never walk except they agree (AMOS 3:3). There can be no agreement without a compromise. Love compromises in the sense that it seeks not its own but that of others (1 CORINTHIANS 13:5). When all else fails, love will still be thriving, it is eternal. Love is the most effective weapon in God’s armoury, Satan ducks with all his troops at the scene of love. There will be no broken homes if there was love, no gangs on the streets if love prevailed, because love is completely void of self, it is unselfish, it seeks not its own. No man will ever put a bullet in another mans head if love prevailed. There will be no snatching of bags; and all life revolves around love. Love in essence preserves life (PSALM 31:23, PSALM 145:20). It is not a hard thing or asking much to love someone who loves you and sacrificed a lot for you, even his life. If someone loves you and lay down his life for you, you also ought to live for such. The command to love God with all our heart, soul, and might is not grievous, and it shouldn’t be a burden. It is reciprocal and natural, and every sound soul knows this. God loved us enough to lay His own life down for us, not because we merited it, but because His unselfish nature availed so. He layed down His life not because He had to, but because He wanted to “No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again”. To love with all your heart, soul, and might is a voluntary act, you do it because you want to willingly, not because you are under pressure to do so.

A love relationship is death to self. We love Christ because He loved us first and gave Himself for us. Because love is void of self, His love being shed abroad in our hearts naturally causes us to die to our own selves to live for Him. When in love with someone, it is no more you who lives, but your loved one who lives in you. You ever heard the verse in this song, ” how do I live without you?” It seems weird but true to an extent. People sometimes feel that they have nothing to live for when their loved ones depart. May the love of God be shared abroad in our hearts, may we live our lives for Him who loved us and gave Himself for us. Our lives will never be the same again. In The Name that is above all names, Jesus Christ, Son of The Living God. Amen and Amen!