I am burdened and weary of what is going on in the world today.
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest - Mathew 11:28
The biggest burden I feel is a disunity among believers.
Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace - Ephesians 4:3
Complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind - Philippians 2:2
I feel confused, sad, and frustrated, but I know:
God is not a God of confusion but of peace (1 Corinthians 14:33, ESV).
Cast all your anxiety on Him (God), because He cares for you (1 Peter 5:7, ESV)
Be sober-minded and alert. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8, ESV).
In feeling my passion rise about particular “hot topics” today, I continue to hear one word.
H U M I L I T Y
God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble - James 4:6
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded - James 4:6-8
Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you - James 4:10
Believer's we all must check our own hearts
Things I am learning:
1. Limit my social media activity and remain cautious when viewing. Instead, return back to God’s Word.
I (Jesus) have given them your (God’s) word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world… Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth - John 17:14, 17
2. Learn how to listen and discuss God’s way. I hate confrontation and tend to distance myself from those who think differently. This is still division and has to change. I'm challenging myself to talk face to face with believers who think differently.
with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace - Ephesians 4:2-3
Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person - Colossians 4:6
Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; James 1:19
3. When discussing “hot topics”, focus on what unifies, Christ.
There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call — one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all - Ephesians 4:4-6
I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me - John 17:23
4. Remember, our solutions are not found in authority figures, new causes, or philisophical ideas, but in the One (Jesus) who came to seek and save the lost. - Luke 19:10