A UNIFIED PEOPLE

        Unity is so important. "Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, 'Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand.'" (Matthew 12:25)

        I feel like there are too many designations, divisions and classifications in our society that continually fight against - we the people.  America has definitely moved away from being one nation under God to one nation under many gods and/or distractions. The color of your skin and one's gender have not only distracted us from moving forward and progressing as a leading nation, but set the spirit of confusion over the country as well. 

        Unfortunately, that same strife infected The Church many years ago, about the time America was being born. Christians have branches called Denominations (i.e. Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, etc...) because of disagreements on baptism, Communion details, worship, doctrine, political views and social views.

        For some time now leaders in Christianity have been promoting what St. Augustine (354–430 AD) said over 1500 years ago: "In essentials, unity. In non–essentials, liberty. In all things, love." But where in The Bible is there anything that is "non-essential"? 

        The entire Word of God matters or should matter, not just bits and pieces. Believers in Christ should not give up on understanding and believing correctly about the additional topics of Scripture after Salvation. Subjects like The Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues, laying on of hands and prophecy should not be shunned. As a whole body, believers should do the research and find that Scripture has plenty to say about them and incorporate them into our lives and local churches.

        Christ Jesus, The Messiah, is not a member of any particular denomination. The Imperials sing, "it won't be a Baptist that is sitting on The Throne, a Presbyterian or a Methodist that's calling us home and it won't be a Charismatic that plays that trumpet tune - so let's all just live for Jesus, because He is coming back real soon." (song, Imperials, "Oh Buddha")

        In Ephesians 2:14, 18 - Paul wrote about who God is and what He has done to make us unified with Him - "He Himself is our peace, who has made both one and has broken down the middle wall of separation...For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father." The torn Veil in The Temple at the moment of Christ's sacrificial death was testimony to the breaking down of this wall of separation.

        Also in Galatians 3:28 Paul continues this thought of family and unification when he stated - "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus."

        The day is coming when the perfect manifestation of unity will be on display for all to see and experience. This eternal day of unity will be all because of and sustained by Christ Jesus, King of kings, Lord of lords and Prince of Peace. But, until then The Church needs to be a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a Holy nation, God's special possession that we may declare the praises of Him who has called us out of darkness into His wonderful light (1 Peter 2:9). A Unified People.

    

SKILLED FOR THE DEFEAT OF YOUR GIANTS

        

        In case you did not know, faith is a struggle, it is a fight! Paul writes to his protégé, Timothy, saying - "Fight the good fight of faith." (1 Tim. 6:12)

        However, Paul does not simply stop there, he continues with the admonishment to - "Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses." (1 Tim. 6:12)

        There seems to be two levels of action implied here - striving (fighting) and seizing (taking hold). These descriptive words do not have anything to do with the initial Salvation of an individual. The Holy Spirit makes this point clear through Paul to the believers in Ephesus - "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9)

        The words in Ephesians 6:12 were meant for individuals who had already surrendered their lives to Christ. So, the striving and seizing that Paul communicates is a warning, encouragement and admonishment all wrapped-up in one package. Paul's words were a description of a lifestyle that would follow after one made the decision For Christ.

        There is no spurning any involvement in the fight. There is no promise of a bed of roses in this earthbound faith-journey. Persecution is promised (John 15:20). Why then select the Christian faith? Because the reward outweighs the cost. Christ Jesus is always the ultimate example and this is no exception - "For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." (Hebrews 12:2)

        Knowing that there will be hardships in life for everyone, especially Christians, The Holy Spirit encourages believers through Paul - "For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." (2 Cor. 4:16-18)

        So, what does it mean to fight the good fight of faith? I believe perspective is the key to the answer. Though struggles and battles may be physical, mental and emotional there is a spiritual side to them as well. And in all cases Christians have the help of the Holy Spirit.

"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." (Eph. 6:12)

        I believe David recognized this spiritual side to earthly obstacles early in his life. When David battled Goliath, he gave us a framework for tackling our giants of all kinds, shapes and sizes. David identified the problem from inquiring within Israel's own ranks, received permission to represent Israel against Goliath and then prophesied to Goliath's face the outcome.

"David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied." (1 Samuel 17:45)

        Notice even though Goliath has pride, a size advantage and large weapons, David has all that anyone will ever need in their life - the Lord Almighty. Not only did David proclaim this to his giant as we should to ours, he utilized his God-given skills, talents or gifts and charged Goliath. 

        David did not just happen upon this scene as a cocky, underdog kid who thought he would love to have a crack at the giant. David did not waiver, stumble or flee in this encounter. This young man sprinted toward Goliath with what God had always weaponized him with in the wild - a rod, staff and slingshot.  David had a track record of killing lions and bears. Goliath's size, pride and weapons were not going to be a problem. His skill-set and relationship with God prepared him for success. This was why David refused the armor given to him by King Saul, because not only did it not fit him, but it did not suit God's equipping of him as shepherd since birth.

        Fashioned by God's upbringing on the hills of Israel, I do not think David thought more highly of himself than he ought, rather he thought of himself, Israel and God with sober judgment in accordance with the faith God had supplied him (Romans 12:3).

        Courage to take on giants like Goliath comes from a healthy resume of defeating uglier, more menacing things in our world. Writing to the believers in Corinth and down through the ages, Paul attempts to bolster this courage as he says, "Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong." (1 Cor. 16:13) 

        We too, like David, must trust in what The Lord has blessed or equipped us with to defeat our mental, physical and spiritual giants. Later, in the New Testament, the Holy Spirit encourages Christians through Paul - "We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith;" (Romans 12:6).

        Part of the believer's daily armor for giant and non-giant challenges is The Shield of Faith. The Shield of Faith, spoken of in Ephesians 6:16, is the equivalent of David's proclamation to Goliath before the battle. Remember David's words to the giant? “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied." (1 Samuel 17:45)

        Revelation 12:11 reminds Christians of the offensive and defensive weapons Christ has fitted believers with against their giants - the blood of Christ (offensive) and the word of their testimony (defensive).

        The believer's Shield is their testimony. Christians are encouraged to claim their triumph over the enemy by the blood of Christ and the word of their testimony, not even shying away from dying for Christ Jesus (Rev. 12:11). In addition, God's Shield, perfectly fitted for the believer by the Holy Spirit, is able to quench not just some "arrows" from the enemy but "all" the "flaming arrows" (Eph. 6:16).

        I find interesting that Paul also labels the breastplate as having the characteristics of Faith and Love in 1 Thessalonians 5:8. In both instances, Ephesians and 1 Thessalonians, the Christian is covered with protection and has numerous chinks in the shield or breastplate to testify of God's provision.

        

        Before the Goliath takedown, David prepared himself in a nearby stream by selecting stones he might use against his foe. It only took one, well-placed, experienced stone/shot according to Scripture. 

        David was shepherd of his earthly father's pasture and with the defeat of Goliath would become a Shepherd of Israel. Please do not sit on the skills, talents and gifts God has blessed you with. I encourage you and I believe Scripture encourages you in this David-Goliath example to speak to your giants in The Name of The Lord, using what God has skilled you with for the defeat of your giants.

        

THE THREADS OF HIS LIKENESS

            

             The idea of walking around naked everywhere as the norm, like Adam and Eve experienced before The Fall, is hard to imagine now-a-days, but not impossible. Clothing is essential - mentally, spiritually and physically.

        Clothing has gone a lot of different directions since God clothed Adam and Eve with garments of skin (Genesis 3:21). Besides the fact that clothing is used as a sanitary function and cultural expectation, we observe clothing used for status, protection, making a statement, as a disguise and simply as a comfortable covering.

        We have certain, one-time outfits or at least far-and-few-between apparel in our closet. There are clothes that show we are in mourning. There are clothes that display we a part of a wedding party. There are clothes that hint at a Prom nearby. There are clothes we wear for Graduation. There is even a designation for special clothing we have that is brought out every-so-often, it is called "Your Sunday Best". In order to impress her suitor, Ruth was instructed to - "Wash, put on perfume, and get dressed in your best clothes." (Ruth 3:2-4). 

        However, there are daily clothes that we put on and go about our lives, with a range of people giving tremendous thought to their outfit to those that do not give any thought. Scripture tells us God has a Wardrobe and He desires to share some of it with us with a tailor fitting.

• “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?" (Matt. 6:28-34)

        Here are the main points -

1. Don't worry
2. Trust God and what He wants to clothe you in
3. Seek Him first (verses 31-34)

        Notice God desires to clothe us in better things than mere physical, material, eye-catching clothing. He wants to clothe us in His mental, spiritual and physical Wardrobe!

        You have heard the saying, he/she wears his emotions on his sleeve. In Galatians 3:27, the thoughts, words and actions of Christ should not only be on our sleeve but should be our entire outfit!

• "...for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.

        Consider our Fashion Conscience God.

• God is clothed with Creation in Proverbs 30:4.
• God is clothed with Majesty in Zechariah 6:13. 
• God is clothed with Splendor and Majesty in Psalm 104:1.
• Christ Jesus clothed Himself in humility in Philippians 2:6-8.
• God is clothed with empathy. He knows and shares what we have been through and are going through in Matthew 25:36.
• Jesus was clothed by man in a Royal color – Purple in John 19:2. 
• Jesus transfigured was clothed brilliantly in Matthew 17:2.
• The revealed and Glorified Jesus is someone to behold in Revelation 1:12-14!
• The Present and Future clothing of Christ displays His price for our eternal redemption in Revelation 19:13.
• God is clothed as a Warrior in Isaiah 59:15-17.

        In addition, notice in Ephesians 6:11 the armor spoken of is not mine or yours, but The Armor of God (perfect fittings available by the Holy Spirit).

        God has arrayed Himself in many splendid things and in many splendid ways. But everything He clothed Himself with, including humanity, had a grand purpose. As stated before, we get up and may or may not put a lot of thought into the clothes we wear for the day, but God has an entire Closet that He has drawn from and would like to see us wear.

        Major people in the Bible were clothed in different things. Job was clothed with physical sores and worms (Job 8:22). 

        David was clothed in sackcloth (1 Chronicles 21:16). Then David turned his description of clothing to more of a mindset and/or lifestyle instead of material or physical things. David describes "joy" to be something to be clothed with from the Lord in Psalm 30:11. Also "shame" and "grace" were to be worn for his enemies in Psalm 35:26. 

        David continues by sharing an emotional description of clothing with nature when he says in Psalm 65:12 - "The grasslands of the wilderness overflow; the hills are clothed with gladness."

        David sings to the Lord a desire from his heart that a holy characteristic of the priests be worn as clothing - righteousness.

• "May your priests be clothed with your righteousness; may your faithful people sing for joy." (Psalm 132:9)

        Isaiah proclaims this truth over his own life, but throws in "salvation" as a garment in Isaiah 61:10.

       Getting in God's dresser, as studied above, means that we should be daily clothing ourselves with the likes of the joy of the Lord, righteousness, His continuing saving favor, love, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Also, His truth, faith and revealed word are in His attire. And these are not just to wear on our sleeve, remember? We are to wear entire outfits with our clothing being interwoven with The Threads Of His Likeness.