Acts 4:24 - "When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. "Sovereign Lord," they said, "you made the heavens and the earth and the sea, and everything in them."
This did not happen accidentally, there was interaction amongst the 12 disciples, who all had pride mentality issues. They were being taught and had to make a personal goal for their lives
Acts 13:22 - "After removing Saul, he made David their king. God testified concerning him: 'I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.' ".
David was extremely sorry for lusting after a married woman which resulted in her husband being killed. Prophet Nathan confronted him and David's heart was still tender so God could still work with him.
It's easier to "Amen" to corrective behaviour advice than to actually put it into action. It is your job in this ungodly world to be the godly one. Get over the self pity and humble yourself under the mighty hand of God and do what he wants you to do. Be obedient, be faithful to your Saviour. God is looking for those who will do his job thoroughly and who can forgive in the way that he does. The concept of forgiveness is huge because it sets YOU free. It releases bitterness, anger and stress and allows the anointing of God on your life
Jesus came into this world to bring us righteousness, peace, freedom and hope but we can't have it with known disobedience in our life. Paul said 'I receive grace because I was deceived and didn't really know what I was doing.' Most of us are educated (on the Bible) far beyond our level of obedience. We need to up the obedience to get in line with our intellectuality. A fancy coloured in Bible doesn't impress God, our behaviour and obedience does. Jesus said "if you love me you will obey me" not "if you obey me I will love you". We don't buy God's love with our obedience, but we should respond to his great love by giving our obedience.
1 Corinthians 3:1 - "Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly, mere infants in Christ."
Paul was unable to give a Word as it would have been spat back at him.
1 Corinthians 3:3 - "You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarrelling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans?" .
These people were born again inside, filled with the Holy Spirit but because of the flesh, emotions, wrong thoughts, and saying inappropriate things they were keeping strife in the situation. No one is better than another person. Paul instructed them to get the strife out of their lives and start respecting one and other.
John 17:20-21 - " My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me."
Jesus prayed that we might one day have the same relationship with his Father as he had. We just need to get over the issues stopping that from happening, strife being one of those. Most of our problems are "people problems". We don't know how to cope with one and other but can't live without each other. God set this up on purpose and expects us to get along. He made everyone of us unique. God said that in a marriage that the couple should "become one", 'become', it's a process through the power of God in our lives. No one person has it all therefore we need other people in our lives. We are all important and should treat each person as such. The hardest people to take this attitude with are those people we are with the most. We put on our best behaviour and smiley face for guests, but for those we live and work with, we, for some reason, don't make the effort. The Bible says we have to strive to preserve the bond of unity and peace. Therefore we need to accept and respect that people are different and this will help with the battle on strife. When we come across people who are causing strife we need to pray for them that they will see a change in their lives.
Aggressively search for peace and do not be willing to live with strife in your life!!!
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