My heart is so heavy for "the church" to come together. What might God do if we stopped living in our own compartments? Catholics over here, Methodists over here, Pentecostals over here, Wesleyans over here.........., not failing to mention how prejudice churches can be. My wife and I visited the multi-ethnic and multi-denominational Brooklyn Tabernacle Church on Sunday. We were so blessed by our time there. The choir voices (all 300 of them) sounded angelic and we could truly see God's heart for his people. It was beautiful to see every tribe of God's kingdom represented. Revelation 7:9, "After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. 10And they cried out in a loud voice: 'Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.' "
God, please reveal to us your heart for church and people. Break down every barrier, our own doctrines, and our "religion". God, please send your Spirit and heart to our communities. John 6:63, "The Spirit alone gives eternal life. Human effort accomplishes nothing. And the very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life."
I am so thankful for my Catholic brother, Coach Z. Three years ago we formed a strong friendship and have become very close friends as a result of our willingness to look beyond the doctrines with which we have been exposed. God gave us spirit eyes to see beyond our denominations and many lives have been impacted for Christ. The Wesley Lacrosse team has experienced revival, praying before and after every game, players attending Bible studies and many surrendering their lives to Christ. Two breakfast events were organized by the Fellowship of Christian Athletes for our brother (Coach Z) and $120,000 was raised for his son, Collin (who has cerebral palsey).
Brothers and Sisters, God's Kingdom is not of this world, it defies logic. We all have been called to fulfill the Great Commandment before we can love others of a different color and denominations. Mark 12:29, "Jesus replied, 'The most important commandment is this: "Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord. 30 And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength." 31 The second is equally important: "Love your neighbor as yourself." No other commandment is greater than these.' â€
Our world will not change as long as we are too busy to love God this way. Our agendas are more important than God's agenda. We settle for "Jesus in A Box" served on Sundays when God has so much more for us.
We struggle so much because we fail to be obedient to do what Jesus is asking us to do. To individually love God and through our changed hearts unconditionally love others. Vertical love before horizontal. We cannot love others until we love God first. Search our hearts, dear God, and send revival one heart at a time. And start with me.
Make it a great day!
Coach Chambers
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Do we compartmentalize your faith?
Do we obey the Great Commandment?
What neighbor are we refusing to love?