It is all our responsibility to protect the unity of God’s Church.

Unity is so important to God that the New Testament gives more attention to it than either heaven or hell. Break unity with your own desires, & you rip the heart out of the Body of Christ. Nothing on earth is more valuable to God than His Church!

Paul says in Ephesians 4:3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. You see, you have a responsibility to protect unity!

How do we do that?

1. Focus on what we have in common & not our differences.

Conflict, is usually a sign that the focus is on our own desires. Whether you like this Minister or that Minister, whether you like the music or not, or whether you think Children’s or Youth ministry is done right or not, is not as important than the unity of God’s Church.

It’s OK to disagree, but too many times we do that at the expense of loving one another.

2. Choose to encourage rather than criticize.

It is always easier to stand on the side lines & take shots at those who are serving.

The Bible calls Satan the accuser. It’s the Devils job to blame, complain & to criticise.

Don’t do his work!

3. Refuse to listen to Gossip.

Remember people who gossip to you will probably gossip about you!

They are the people who often want to criticize anonymously.

4. Practice the Matthew 18 Principle.

15 “If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you.”

The principle is, if you have a problem with someone don’t try to win favour with others to criticise & carry on like a turkey. Go to your brother or sister lovingly without triangulation & explain your difficulty.

5. Support your leader.

There are no perfect leaders, but God gives leaders the responsibility & authority to preach & pastor people & to do what’s best for the whole of God’s Church not just the individuals that support him. When leaders are involved with other things at the expense of their God given responsibilities, he will not be effective at his ministry.

God blesses churches that are united. So protect, promote & pray for unity above your own agenda’s & let’s give Ron & Julie Irving every possible reason to do their ministry with the greatest of joy & pleasure!

Tony Galea

John’s letter has been compared to a spiral staircase because he keeps returning to the same three topics: love, obedience, and truth. Though these themes recur, it is not true that they are merely repetitious. Each time we return to a topic, we look at it from a different point of view and are taken more deeply into it.
We have already learned about our love for other believers—“the brethren” (1 John 2:7–11)—but the emphasis in 1 John 2 was on fellowship. A believer who is “walking in the light” will evidence that fact by loving their brother and sister. In our present section, the emphasis is on his relationship with other believers which will create unity & harmony in the Church.

Christians love one another because they have all been born of God, which makes them all brothers and sisters in Christ.

We are Family. We are One In Love!

Tony Galea

Christians are called to belong, not just believe. From the very beginning God said: ‘It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him’ (Gen 2:18)

We were created to be family, for community, for fellowship, for partnership with each other and with God. We were not created to be independent and fly solo. We were created to belong. The Bible says we are put together, joined together, built together, members together, heirs together, fitted and held together.

Even in Acts 2:42-47 the first noted Christian Church, they did everything together.

They ate, shared, learnt the Word of God and prayed together. They were generous with what they owned for each other.

When the community around them saw how much they loved each otherand how they all belonged to God’s family. They thought to themselves: “I want what they’ve got!”

What a great witness!

All through the Bible, it speaks if we are genuine Christians we belong to the Lord, we belong to Christ, we belong to the family, the household, the body, the church we belong to each other! As the body of Christ, if we are disconnected, cut-off from each other we cease to grow in our faith.

The difference between being a church attender and a church member is in our commitment to belong. Genuine Christians belong to Jesus but at the same time, belong to each other. Attenders often want the benefits of church without sharing the responsibility, it’s like couples who live together without the commitment to marriage.

You become a genuine Christian by committing yourself to Christ and then committing yourself to God’s Church. The first brings salvation, the second brings fellowship.

Both bring an awesome sense of belonging!

Rom 12:5 so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.

Tony Galea

What is the difference between a fake and genuine Christian?

The difference is that a true Christian knows God. A fake Christian may talk about God and get involved in “religious activities,” but he does not really know God. The person who has been “born of God” through faith in Christ knows God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

So a genuine Child of God knows God and, they live lives a life of obedience. They do not practice sin, even though from time to time they will sin. Isn’t so good we can confess our sin & be forgiven!

Satan baits his traps with pleasures that appeal to the old nature. But none of his bait appeals to the new divine nature within a Christian. If a believer yields to his old nature, they will hanker for the bait, take it, and sin. But if they follow stay close to the Lord, they will refuse the bait, obey God and live a genuine life pleasing to God!

Tony Galea

“He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart.” Ecclesiastes 3:11

After Solomon in Ecclesiastes 3 talks about the seasons of life we might experience, a Time for this & that….. he concludes that this life can be difficult & burdensome. Yet positively he concludes: This life is not all there is. Even though people might be considered successful in this life. Every-body knows in their hearts of hearts, something is still missing in their life despite their success. There is more to life than this life.
God has created us in his image & we therefore have an instinct & longing to live for eternity.
We were made to last forever. Our earthly body is a temporary residence for our Spirit. Jesus is the only one who can fill that missing hole in our lives. He is the way to eternal life.
CS Lewis said, “There are two kinds of people; those who say to God “Thy will be done” and those to whom God says, “All right then, have it your way”. Tragically, many people will have to endure eternity without God because they chose to live without him here on earth.
Despite living in this life, as Christians, we need to live in light of eternity. Death is not the end for us. Death is not our termination but our transition into eternity & everything we do here on earth has eternal consequences. When we live in the light of eternity our values change. We use our time & money more wisely. We have a greater heart for the lost & we have less chance in breakdown of relationships as we consider that life is not about me, but about God’s eternal plan for all to be forever young.

Question:
Since I was made to last forever, what is the one thing I should stop doing & the one thing I should start doing today?

Tony Galea

“And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming.” 1 John 2:28

The Bible continually warns of “being led astray.”
We have been warned that this would happen.
Jesus called Satan the “father of lies” (John 8:44) The devil’s purpose is to lead Christians astray by teaching them false doctrines. We should not accept everything a person tells us simply because he claims to believe the Bible, for it is possible to “twist” the Bible to make it mean almost anything. Satan is not an originator; he is a counterfeiter. He imitates the work of God to lead us astray so that we may fall from grace.
You remain in Christ by believing the truth, obeying the truth, and loving other Christians. The fact that Jesus Christ may return at any moment ought to be an incentive for us to live in fellowship with Him and each other.
So, hang in there and don’t give up!

Tony Galea