Unified through Praise & Worship: Part 2

From Part 1 of this topic we learned that God not only wants us to be like minded but has granted us to be. This means He has given us a gift to be in unity of mind with each other. And from Romans 15:7 we are told that the reason God grants us to be like minded is to glorify Him. To glorify also means to worship. In order to worship God, His Spirit must connect to our spirit individually. In order for corporate worship to happen there must be unity amongst those that are present. When unity is there God's glory can be made manifest. It’s in an atmosphere like this that healing, deliverance and blessings flow more easily and unhindered.

However in order to get to worship we have to move through something else. We must first offer thanksgiving and praise. Psalm 100:4 says, Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. After and only after we praise can the Spirit of God usher us into worship. This is because God inhabits the praises of His people. Psalm 22:3 But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.

I believe that two of the easiest things to do in unity should be to praise and worship God. I say this because both praise and worship are focused completely on God. Regardless of another person’s personal beliefs; when believers come together praise and worship should flow easily because it is all about God. Of course this isn't always what happens. How often have you been in a service where the praise and worship is strained or lacking? But God is raising up people who are moving stronger and more fervently in this area. The cry of Judah is being proclaimed!

I would like to share something that I feel impressed in my spirit by the Spirit of God. If you already know it, perhaps this will call it back to a fuller place of remembrance and stir it up more strongly inside of you. And if you are already walking in it fully then bless God that our spirits can agree with one another. Or maybe it will be a different way of thinking about something that you already know.

It is the Power of Praise.

1Peter 2:9 says: But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light:

Often when this verse is quoted Christians are captivated by what I call the 'A part' of the scripture. And it is beautiful and of utmost importance to know what we are so that we cannot be tricked into being anything other than what God says we are and has called us to be. But it’s the 'B part' of this scripture that is the power part. Because it’s after we realize what/who God has called us as that we can do what He has called us to do. We are what He says we are that we should do something. We should show forth the praises of him who called us out of darkness and sin and into the light of righteousness and holiness through salvation by Jesus.

It’s when we show forth this praise (that must come from the depths and abundance of our clean hearts and renewed spirits) that we exercise the power available to us by the workings of the Spirit of God. It’s this praise along with the other weapons God has given us that will defeat the enemy.

So when you are burdened and going through; physically, emotionally, spiritually or however realize that God is waiting on you to exercise the power that goes along with the calling of being adopted into the "chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people." Then he can move on your behalf and I guarantee that you will experience fuller joy and peace no matter what the circumstance. With God inhabiting your praise how could anything else ever be possible?

Until next time keep praising God in whatever season of your life you're in. God sees and knows every situation and it’s your faithfulness to Him and His word that will make the difference. God Bless!

Unified through Praise & Worship: Part 1

Romans 15:6-7
Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus:
That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

I'd like to begin by defining a few words from the scriptures above.

In the New Testament and in particular in the scripture above, the word patience means the following: the characteristic of a person who is not swerved from their deliberate purpose and their loyalty to faith and virtue by even the greatest trials and sufferings. It also means: steadfastness, constancy, endurance.

The word consolation means: a calling near, summons, (especially for help); importation, supplication, entreaty; exhortation, admonition, encouragement.

The word grants means: to give something to someone or to bestow a gift; to give or commit to someone something to be religiously observed.

The phrase one mind means: with one accord, with one passion, unanimously.

Finally the word glorify means: to praise, extol, magnify, celebrate; to honor, do honor to, hold in honor; to make glorious, adorn with luster, clothe with splendour; to impart glory to something, render it excellent; to cause the dignity and worth of some person or thing to become manifest and acknowledged.

If we re-read the above scriptures bearing these definitions in mind we find that the God of patience means that our God will never cease to want us to be in unity with one another. God is so committed to unity amongst His people. Why is this? Its because when and where there is unity God commands a blessing and the Father loves to bless His people. In the same way when we read the God of consolation we know that it means our God is encouraging us and exhorting us along the way. He is urging us to move in unity. He knows what we need before we have the need and is importing it us. Through His Spirit it is being imparted to us!

So our God of patience and consolation grants us to be like minded. From the definition above we know that this means that God has bestowed a gift to us. A gift is something that is freely given. (It can either be accepted or rejected. Sadly there are many Christians who reject the gifts of God.) So of God's own accord and without any help He has given the 'gift of likemindedness' to those who are called by His name.

I believe many people mistake peace for unity. Of course it is very important to have peace. God promises us perfect peace if we keep our minds stayed on Him. The Apostle Paul instructs us to Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you. (2 Corinthians 13:11). However peace and unity are not the same. People who don't believe the same thing can have peace between them. As we know in war there can be a peace treaty. It doesn't mean that one side changes their mind or position and agrees with the other side. They still believe they are right but they decide to stop fighting. Each side is still proclaiming their way even if only in their mind. Families can live in peace and under the surface there can exist strife and turmoil that is being held down for the sake of peace. There can be peace between people and yet each individual can be without peace within themselves.

Unity is completely different. When there is unity there is no dissension, there is no strife. Unity involves the minds being alike - one mind. The mind influences the heart. And as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he. (Proverbs 23:7) Let's stop for a minute and think about what the Body of Christ would be like if we moved with one mind to further the Kingdom of God. The freedom and liberty we would possess! The joy everlasting! The blessings that would flow! The anointing that would be poured out!

Going back to the scripture; God has given us this 'gift of likemindedness' so that we can glorify Him in unity. I like the last part of the definition above. To cause the dignity and worth of some person or thing to become manifest and acknowledged. When we worship God in spirit and in truth this is what we do. We are instrumental in everything that is good about God being made manifest in our lives, those around us and throughout the earth. This of course is our ultimate purpose. We are to reconcile others to God through Christ as we were reconciled. And the only way that work can begin is through unity.

Until next time I pray that you worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness and that His favor rests firmly on your life. God Bless!

Check back this Thursday for another post about worship.

Unified through Faith

I'd like to discuss something that is of the utmost importance to everyone who knows God through Christ. The Word of God tells us that we are saved through this by grace. We also learn that without this it is impossible to please God. Our prayers are answered when we pray them according to God's word and will with this attached. The thing I'm referring to of course is FAITH.

A couple days ago I had a dream. A very short dream in which I was asked, "What is more important; faith or the Word of God?" As soon as I was asked the question I woke up and answered, "Without faith it is impossible to please God, but faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God." The Word of God is what is more important because without it we can not cultivate faith. And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God. (Luke 4:4) So a person who possesses faith does so by reading, studying, absorbing, pondering, delighting in, acting upon, practicing, etc. the Word of God. The only part of the Christian walk that can come without knowing the Word of God is salvation. You see a person who knows very little about Christ can come to Him if they believe in Him. Of course to believe they have to have heard something about Him, as we all did. But its not a necessity that they understand. Its after salvation, when the Holy Spirit connects with our spirit, that we are required to live by faith. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith. (Romans 1:17)

The beginning of unity in the Body of Christ is established when a person accepts Christ as their Lord and Savior. When this happens there is a rebirth by the Spirit of God. Our spirit is reborn and made new. Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. (2 Corinthians 5:17) Its only after this that we can agree. As we know, two can't walk together unless they agree. Although we may be different ages, from varied ethnic backgrounds and have lived completely different lives up until the point of salvation; when we become saved we are united by faith.

I believe that a lot of confusion and dissension could be done away with if Christians would realize and or remember that this unification by faith through the Spirit of God is by the same Spirit at work in their fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. Yet often what happens is that after salvation we don't allow ourselves to be fully guided by the Spirit. We continue to allow our flesh and our mind to guide us. Think about what would happen if after we are made new in the spirit we did what the Word of God tells us is our reasonable service. I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. (Romans 12:1) What if we all did as was discussed in a prior post and allowed our minds to be renewed and therefore became transformed and not conformed to this world.

Perhaps this seems a difficult task. However, I'm of the mind set that it is not. What is difficult is if we think we can do this ourselves. We absolutely cannot! Romans 12:1 says, "by the mercies of God". Everything we do, every step we take is by the grace and mercies of God. Lamentations 3:23 tells us, His mercies are new every morning. God's word does not lie! This process may not always feel easy. In fact, sometimes it might feel impossible but often God moves in the mightiest ways when we face "impossibilities". Its when there is no other way but God that we must absolutely step out on faith and trust. Not seeing but yet believing that He who promised is faithful.

Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. (Hebrews 10:23-25)

What are the above scriptures telling the Body of Christ? We must hold onto the faith with which we accepted Christ and do so without wavering. We must not allow ourselves to be tossed and driven. The good news is that we can do this through Christ who strengthens us! While we hold to the faith we should consider each other in love (the Thayer Greek dictionary defines consider as; to fix one's eyes or mind upon). We are to gather together and exhort each other (the Thayer Greek dictionary defined exhort as; to console, to encourage and strengthen by consolation, to comfort and to receive consolation, be comforted). This should be done more and more in ever increasing fashion as the day approaches for the return of our Lord and Savior.

This sounds just like unity to me! And it all begins by faith in God through Christ Jesus!

Until next we meet, may God's grace and mercy keep, sustain and nourish you both spiritually and naturally! In Jesus' name! God Bless!

Unified by God's Lead

This week I would like to examine a passage of scripture I came across a couple days ago while reading the Bible. There are many ways that God speaks to us. I believe one of the most frequent ways He chooses is through His Word. Yet another reason why it is so important that we read and study the Word of God. God never ceases to amaze me at His timing. When I write posts for this blog I always ask God to lead and guide me as to what I should say. I have many ideas that are good, because they are about God, but I am looking for God to speak through this blog and not Phillip. 1 Corinthians 10:23 All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient... So out of all the ideas I have God chose to lead me away from them this week and somewhere else. I really do love God!

Let's jump right in!

Proverbs 6 :16-19
These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:
A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,
An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,
A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.

The Amplified Bible says it like this:
These six things the Lord hates, indeed, seven are an abomination to Him:
A proud look [the spirit that makes one overestimate himself and underestimate others], a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,
A heart that manufactures wicked thoughts and plans, feet that are swift in running to evil,
A false witness who breathes out lies [even under oath], and he who sows discord among his brethren.

Let's look at a few key points. In verse 16 we are told that the Lord hates six things. Before they are listed we are told that there is a seventh thing that not only does He hate but it is an abomination to Him.

Hate is the opposite of love. In truth, it is the absence of love. As Christians we are commanded to love but God also tells us to despise wicked and evil. (Psalms 97:10, Psalms 101:3) So that there is no misinterpretation and for clarity's sake; we don't hate people who do evil we hate the evil they do. Its only because of God's love that we can separate the two.

The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia says this about the word abomination:
"it refers to things or practices abhorrent to Yahweh (Jehovah), and opposed to the ritual or moral requirements of His religion." Many Christians may not readily see or recognize their own abominations to God, but once again thank God for His Word and Spirit that shows us our transgressions that we might repent and find ourselves right before God.

So now with an understanding of what hate and abomination are let's move on to the list. For this post we will concern ourselves with the seventh thing. It seems to me that the first six lead to the seventh. An abomination to God is someone who sows discord to their brethren. Discord is strife or contention. Brethren is not just used in the familial sense but it means from one person to another. In other words discord is a lack of unity between people. It is made very clear that God considers a person who causes it an abomination.

I would like to open this up for discussion. Let's all examine ourselves and our lives and how we might have caused or be causing discord. What are we saying, doing or thinking that might cause God to look upon us as an abomination? How can we change these things? And let us remember that as we examine ourselves and take what we find to the Lord, He is faithful to save and to forgive that we might be found in His righteousness.

I look forward to your comments, thoughts and/or questions.

Let's find ourselves in the fullness of God's love! God Bless!

Unified in Our Mind: Part 2

Before we continue I would be remiss if I didn't say another thing or two about how to renew our minds. As David did in Psalms 51 we have to ask God. Our minds are renewed through prayer and reading the Word of God. When we repent and ask God to cleanse and renew us He is faithful to do just that. Some things we might not yet understand, but still we learn to ask God to teach us, to show us and to help us. God's word says that wisdom is the principal thing, therefore get wisdom and with all your getting get understanding (Proverbs 4:7). Once we ask we believe that God has done what His word says He would do and then we work, by the grace of God, to maintain what He has renewed, cleansed and made whole. Reminds me of the song I Need Thee Every Hour.

I need Thee, O I need Thee;
Every hour I need Thee;
O bless me now, my Savior,
I come to Thee.

Another way to renew our mind is to find it in the Word. Reading the Word of God reworks and reconfigures the mind. It changes what we knew or thought we knew, what we thought about ourselves, the lies that were told to us and about us. 1 Timothy 4:13- 14 says this, Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery. Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all. Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee. Just as we are instructed by Jesus to always pray without fainting so must we continually read the Word of God and find ourselves mirrored by it.

What is a renewed mind?

Philippians 2:1 If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels (kindness) and mercies,
2 Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.
3 Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.
4 Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.
5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:

A renewed mind is one that is the same as his or her family in Christ. Its in unity by the Spirit of God with the rest of the body. It recognizes the need for the help of each member of the Church for God's work to be accomplished. 1 Corinthians 3:9 For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building.

A renewed mind is one that is humble. It is not puffed up. It does not think itself high. Rather it seeks to lift others up and to help others. 1 Peter 5:5 Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.

A renewed mind most importantly is the mind of Christ. v.5 says, Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus. A renewed mind is a mind that minds the things of God. When Jesus was a child before his public ministry even started He was about His Father's business. (Luke 2:42-49) So must we be like Jesus, our perfect model.

Some fruits of a renewed mind

Peace
Isaiah 26:3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.

Righteousness
James 3:18 And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.

Holiness
Romans 6:22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.

The Fruits of The Spirit
Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

Unity
1 Corinthians 1:10 Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.

Let's seek God to renew our mind on a daily basis so that we may reap the harvest of a mind like Christ's!

Until next time may God's grace, love and favor abound with you! God Bless!

Unified in Our Mind: Part 1

At the center of every believer's walk with Christ stands something that must constantly be checked and straightened out. This thing resides in each of us and if not balanced by the Spirit of God will keep us from entering into our rightful place with God. The thing of which I speak is the mind.

In 1 Chronicles 28, King David tells his people and his son Solomon that God has commanded Solomon to build a house of rest for the ark of the covenant. Before he gives Solomon instructions for the temple he says in v.9 And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off forever.

In 2 Corinthians 8:12 Paul says, For if there first be a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not.

In these 2 scriptures we begin to understand the importance of our minds in the work we do for God. Our mind's involvement in this process can sometimes be troublesome. The mind processes positive information; things that we have experienced through our senses. Things that we haven't experienced cannot be processed by the mind or at least not as easily. (This is where faith comes into play, but faith will be the topic of a future post.)

So a question must be posed.

How do we get willing minds?

As we know, its always God and His Spirit that does the work in and through us. When we move in faith to God he moves to us. Hebrews 10:22 says, Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith... This first happens through salvation. After we are saved we have the Spirit of God with us. God's Spirit equips us and quickens us to do His work. Ephesians 4:23 says, And be renewed in the spirit of your mind. Romans 12:2 says, And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind... So we find in order to have a willing mind it must be renewed.

How are our minds renewed?

Our minds are renewed by God's Spirit. But the renewing must happen first in your spirit man. David understood this well. After he committed adultery with Bathsheba he prayed to the Lord, Psalms 51:10-12 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. What might have happened if David wasn't convicted in his spirit? Maybe his kingdom would have fallen like Saul's before him. Thank God for David's desire to be renewed because Jesus was a descendant from the line of David.

But let's not be mistaken. A sin doesn't need to be committed in order for our minds to need to be renewed. The need for a daily renewing is imperative. We need God's grace to help us through every choice we make, every word we speak, every move we make. Our flesh needs to die so that God's purposes, plans and perfect will can be done. Its only when we take a seat that God can rise within us. He can't use us if we are allowing our minds to be used for or by other things. Its not that we lose who we are when our flesh dies out; we become a much better version of ourself as God's Spirit indwells us because we become who God created us to be.

In part 2 of this post we will discuss what a renewed mind is and what some of the fruits of a renewed mind are. Look for it later this week.

Until then may God keep and bless you greatly! And may the grace of God be with you!

Unified by the Word of God

A few weeks ago, while in prayer, God spoke to me and said, "I am calling My people to a higher way of living." (I've learned the hard way to listen and obey when God speaks. Though this was spoken to me I know that God has spoken this to others. And if you are one of God's people your spirit will agree with this.) Then the Spirit of God began to lead me in prayer for the raising up of people that would do and proclaim the will of God. As I prayed God showed me people all over the world who are being raised up for this purpose. People of different cultures, languages and ethnic backgrounds but unified by faith in Jesus Christ.


Who are God's people?

Simply answered, God's people are the Church.

Those who believe in salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ comprise the Church. There are many that believe in God but not that God sent His only begotten Son. They don't have faith in Jesus Christ. We know "without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is..." (Hebrews 11:6) Who God is includes His Son and His Spirit. This is why God said in Genesis 1:26 Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. I point this out because there are many people who subscribe to the belief that you don't have to change your sinful behavior because God loves you just the way you are. So they think there is no need for salvation. But I rebuke those thoughts in the name of Jesus.

Yes it is true that God loves us all but God has never neither will He ever love sin of any kind. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved." John 3:16-17


What is the higher way?

It is the way of holiness and righteousness.

God said in Leviticus 20:7-8 says Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the LORD your God. And ye shall keep my statutes, and do them: I am the LORD which sanctify you.

To sanctify means to set apart for a holy purpose and to free from sin. So in Leviticus we learn that we must set ourselves apart for God's use. This is initially done through salvation. But the work of sanctification does not stop there. Once we have found ourselves before Jesus on the cross and have confessed our sins there is still a daily dying out to our flesh we must do. The spirit is indeed willing but the flesh is weak (Matthew 26:41).

We also learn that we must keep God's statutes or commands. We must obey His Word, all of His Word not just the parts that appease our flesh. We can't claim to love God and not keep His commandments. (1 John 5:3, Ecclesiastes 12:13)

And the most important thing we learn is that although God commands us to sanctify ourselves its not we who do the work of sanctification. The end of verse 8 says, I am the LORD which sanctify you. So we find here that when we move in obedience and faith toward holiness and righteousness God will draw near to us and do the work. 2 Corinthians 8:12 For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not.

How do God's people accomplish this?

2 Chronicles 7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

So often Christians believe themselves to be holy when many of their actions and thoughts are contrary to the Word of God. If we would all allow the Spirit and the Word of God to permeate us through and through we might be surprised by what is found. Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Its not a coincidence that in the same sentence God says my people and turn from their wicked ways. But perhaps some think how can we be God's people and have wicked ways? Wicked doesn't just mean idolatry or witchcraft. All sin is wicked and abominable to God and deeply grieves Him. So often Christians regard their sin as 'mistakes' and by so doing attempt to lessen its burden. Not so, as Paul wrote in Romans 6:23 The wages of sin is death. There is only one way to pay for sin. Thank God for His grace and mercy and for the opportunity to get it right.

The other part of 2 Chronicles 7:14 tells us if we humble ourselves and pray God will hear from heaven, forgive us and heal the land. God is saying not to think more highly of yourself than you ought to (Romans 12:3). And as we rearrange our thoughts in Christ we should pray for God's will. How much does the bible give instruction to pray? (Luke 18:1, Luke 21:36) As we pray we loose the hand of God to move in our lives and for His people. Its not that we control the hand of God, of course not. But prayer is the way we communicate with God. Ask, seek, knock! (Matthew 7:7)

God is waiting on His people to cry out to Him in prayer! James 5:16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man (or woman) availeth much.

God wants so much to heal, restore, rebuild, renew, cleanse and deliver but that is predicated on God's people turning to Him in obedience.

I pray that there begins the greatest crying out to God we have known thus far. Let's cry out that others would cry out. Let's cry out for the Holy Ghost to rest upon the Church, to move and breathe freely. Let's cry out for purity in the Church, for holiness and righteousness and godly love to abound. Let's cry out for nothing less than the model that Jesus Christ was and is! We were made in the image and likeness of God the Father, His Son and His Holy Spirit. Its time for us to lay aside every weight (Hebrews 12:1).

Let's find ourselves in Unity, starting individually by mirroring ourselves in the Word of God!

God Bless and Keep you!

Hope for Unity

The Birth of the Idea
God placed the idea for this blog in my spirit a few days ago. He woke me up with words. Often as I am going throughout my day an idea for a message title or something encouraging will come to my heart. I write them down as they come. This was no less of an occurrence. The words Unity Project came to me and with such a resounding force that I knew it was God. I heard and saw the words simultaneously. Also I sensed deeply what the words meant. I wasn't exactly sure what to do at that point. A little later that day God gave me the idea to start this blog.

The Birth of the Name
As I said God gave me the name. When I was setting up the blog I found that the name Unity Project was already taken. I thought to myself that maybe someone else had the same idea. After checking that blog out I found that it had nothing to do with God or the idea God had birthed inside of me. Nevertheless the name was taken. So I tried a combination of things: reversing the words, adding words and every idea I thought was good was taken. Then the thought came to add numbers to the name. Numbers do have biblical significance. I did some searching about the meanings of single digit numbers. Then another thought came to mind, add the numbers 1357 to the title. I searched to find if this number had significance. And it turns out that it does. Although I didn't find the number itself referenced in the bible as my mind thought and was hoping. (Anyone who knows God will also know that often He doesn't work as we thought He would. That causes us to rely on him and not on our self, intellect, experience, etc.)

The number 1357 is linked to a word in the Strong's Hebrew and Greek Dictionary.
The word is diorthōsis (dee-or'-tho-sis).

In Greek its definition:
1) in a physical sense, a making straight, restoring to its natural and normal condition something which in some way protrudes or has got out of line, as broken or misshapen limbs
2) of acts and institutions, reformation

In Hebrew its definition:
to straighten thoroughly; rectification, that is, (specifically) the Messianic restoration: - reformation.

So God had spoken! This word, DIORTHOSIS, was the exact match of what God had placed in my spirit when He woke me that morning. How like God?! He makes us do some of the work. He knows its much more rewarding that way.

The Birth of this Blog
So with the idea and the name firmly established, I set forth to do as God has placed in my heart.

The purpose of this blog is to help unify the body of Christ. The bible tells us in Psalms 133:
1 A Song of degrees of David. Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!
2 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;
3 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.

As King David wrote these words I imagine that his heart was grieved about the conditions of his people. Perhaps he was thinking about the many, including his own son, who turned against him and God. David was a man who knew and loved God. Not a man without fault, who of us is, but he fervently and fearfully loved and served God.

Although thousands of years have passed we still find there is dissention and division. Of course we recognize this is true between those that follow Christ and those who don't. But more importantly there is a division among believers, those of us who confess Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. How do we expect God to bless us when we can't walk in unity? The word of God came to the children of Israel in Amos 3:3 saying, Can two walk together, except they be agreed? The answer of course was NO. This is no less true today. God is looking for a Church without "spot or wrinkle."

There must be a unifying of faith!

From time to time as the Spirit of God would lead me I will write. As you join me in reading and discussions on this blog I ask that you would pray for unity amongst God's people and for the perfect will of God to be done.

I pray God's blessings and ever abundant favor over your life as you walk upright before Him!