A daily devotional moment by Chris Garcia
John 17:20–24 (NKJV): “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.
“Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.
Something that is really sad, is that I have unintentionally broken off relationships on secondary issues and it really should not be that way. It is not what we are called to do. It is ok to have differences and be convicted about a secondary topic. But what is not okay is to have a judgment on the other that has an opposing view on a secondary topic on conviction. I have seen this happen so many times. Where for example, someone judges someone else because they are not of God as they are not keeping the Sabbath. Really? Well, they have just violated Romans 14. "Oh, you are not a brother in the faith because you are not observing the 7th day of rest." Really? I just finished giving you Romas 14, the whole chapter in context. We should be ashamed of ourselves for arguing and bickering over holidays and over days. That is not the point. The point is that whether you do it or not, you are doing it. The point is that we love one another. Now, if I am over here preaching another Jesus, I am over here saying that there are many ways to God or if I am saying something like, "Jesus is not the Son of God," well then we have a problem. Then there is a point of division. Then there is a point where we now have to separate. But if we are preaching Jesus and we are loving Jesus, maybe you are convicted of keeping the Sabbath. Yet, I am convicted and convinced in my own heart that every day is the same. For me, my personal conviction is that every day is the same. Why? Because the Sabbath for me is not a day, it is a person. Everyday is the Sabbath for me. Now for some, you may be convinced and convicted of keeping the Sabbath. Hey, I celebrate that, and I celebrate that with you. Come on let us go to your house and let us observe Sabbath together. You know what is funny is, that I can do that and be flexible but not so easy from the other side.
Some that are on the other side of it, like Sabbath keeping, are unable to be flexible. They are like, "Oh no we cannot change and will break fellowship over the difference." Why? Because legalism kills the flow of the Spirit. Faith in Christ is what matters. What’s wrong with that? John 17:20, “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.” There is nothing more powerful than to see the Body of Christ expressively being different from all sorts of different backgrounds to make a blend of oneness. The Father is not the Son. The Son is not the Father. The Spirit is not the Father nor the Son. There distinctly different, yet one and the same. One in person. So is the Body of Christ. We're different. There might be secondary convictions. There might be different cultural expressions. For you, when you feel the presence of God, you might shout and shake. But for others, they may feel the presence of God and go quiet and still. It happens to me in both ways at different times. But we are called to be one. John 17:21-23, “That they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, Now the word "perfect" means, telos. It means maturity. The oneness is in maturity. Another way to say this I am them or you are me. That they may be made one in maturity. It takes maturity to prefer one another. It takes maturity to endeavor the unity of the bond of peace. Verse 23-24 continues, “That the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them as you have loved me. Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world."
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