SCRIP-BITS

Ephesians 4:4     There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called  in one hope of your calling.

Ah my Friends, it was another beautiful day in this northern paradise, but the heat wave is finally expected this week end, with temps in the thirties, a feeling that others have long been feeling, but which we haven’t yet experienced this summer. Any way, let’s hope the weather forecasters are wrong, as they so often are, cause I’m enjoying this cool weather. But hot or cold, rain or shine, it will not change the fact that believers have a unity of body and Spirit in Christ; a oneness in purpose and direction that enables us to help, share with and encourage each other. Once you accept Christ as your ever living, ever LOVING Lord and Saviour, you automatically become a part of the oneness in Christ. As Bruh Paul explains: ‘There is one body; the one body of Christ, reflected in the Church, the Christian Church. All followers, whether you’re from the north, south, east or west, are participants in that organization, that one corporate entity of Christ’s Church, where we’re supposed to have the same beliefs and the same end in mind; that of keeping it unified, strong and growing in numbers, power and reach. Bruh Paul explained it to the Romans thus: ‘For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: (function) So we being many, are one body in Christ, and everyone (individually) members one of another.’ (Rom.12:4-5) To the Corinthians, re the oneness of the church, he said: ‘For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: So also is Christ.’ (1 Cor.12:12) It sounds confusing, but being ever the caring and concerned teacher, Bruh Paul later broke it down for them, using our human body as a reference; re the eyes, hands, feet, ears etc. being individual parts of our anatomy with their own particular functions, yet they are all attached to one body, and for the body to survive and be successful, all the individual parts must function in harmony. (1 Cor.12:15-23) That brings to mind the story about the individual parts of our body wanting to be the boss, and when the rear end piped up that he wanted to be the boss too, the other more comely parts laughed him to scorn. Ah mih Friends, but comeliness alone does not a boss make, for when the rear end closed up his orifice, all the other parts, comely as they were, became sick. It’s the same way with Christ’s body, the Church. If we all try to run things, we’re just going to make a mess of it. ‘For our comely parts have no need: but God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honour to that part which lacked. That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care for one another. And whether one member suffer, all members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it.’ (1 Cor.12:24-26) Yes mih people, the Lord knew what He was doing when He made the human body, and so did Christ when He created his Church. But sadly Friends, it’s not working out quite the way He envisioned it. There’s too much ‘ism and schism’  amongst the members, which makes the Church an easy target for the enemy and his cohorts. No one who looks at the state of Christ’s Church today can truthfully say that it’s one body, since there’s been so much infighting and disharmony amongst the members, with parts separating, going their own way, but still calling themselves the Church, the one body of Christ. Hn! How can we consider something as one, when there are so many different religions, and within each, several denominations, further broken down into other splinter groups? And likewise the teaching, which varies from the sublime to the ridiculous? Everybody seems to have their own take on the matter. Oh Friends, with such disunity amongst its members how can the Church of Christ even survive, much less grow? We are cutting off our noses to spite our faces. It doesn’t work unless everyone’s on the same page, going in the same direction. We can’t have the Church becoming more splintered than it is; the laughingstock of the enemy. That’s why it’s so easy for wicked to ride roughshod over us; we simply have no unity of task, purpose or vision, and therefore cannot attract the strength in numbers we so desperately need. All should be geared towards the vision of Christ; of empowerment, togetherness, harmony and the enlargement of that one body. But sadly my Friends, we seem to be going in the opposite direction; of more divisiveness rather than unity, which is only encouraging a wave of ungodliness all over the world. My people, I don’t know what else to say or do, how to get us to join together, forget, ignore, relegate our selfish, greedy egos to the background, and work as one for the good of the Holy Church. That’s Christ’s vehicle of salvation, LOVE and eternal life here on earth. I need the help of all you believers out there to start the unifying process, the coming back together, so we can all go forward as one. Without that Friends, the Church is doomed. None of the little splinter groups are big enough to make a significant impact on their own. And in this time of ungodliness that’s spreading like crazy over our world, we need an entity that’s big enough, united enough, powerful and focused enough to make a significant impact. Please help me Friends, by doing your little bit to bring unity back to Christ’s Church. Only when the individual members get together and work in harmony, can the body be healthy. Oh, by the way, how is your part of the LOVE Revolution going? Did you LOVE somebody today? I sure hope so. And while LOVING, please do some bridge building. Much LOVE!…no organization succeeds…unless it is unified… To Be Continued.