UNITY

SOUTH PUGET SOUND CHAPTER WOV DEVOTIONAL 7/22/09

. WV Vision Statement
Our vision for every child, life in all its fullness. . .our prayer, for every heart, the will to make it so.
Statement of Faith
• We believe the Bible to be the inspired, the only infallible, authoritative Word of God.
• We believe that there is one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit.
• We believe in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His vicarious and atoning death through His shed blood, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the right hand of the Father, and in His personal return in power and glory.
• We believe that for the salvation of lost and sinful man, regeneration of the Holy Spirit is absolutely essential.
• We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit by whose indwelling the Christian is enabled to live a godly life.
• We believe in the resurrection of both the saved and the lost; they that are saved unto the resurrection of life and they that are lost unto the resurrection of damnation.
• We believe in the spiritual unity of believers in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Devotions: Unity
We have now come down to the “nitty gritty” of our first big event together and we are in the throws of busyness and the fullness of activity that makes for the fun of the furious flurry of energy required for a successful happening. So, how are we all doing? Have you found yourself thinking any of the following? “How will I ever get this all done in time?” or “She knows way more than I do about what’s going on!” or “I must be doing more than the next person on this one!” Let’s pause and consider how Jesus stressed the importance of unity within the Body of Christ.
Psalm 133 is one of the unity chapters that starts with the verse “How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!” (v.1) And ends with the promise “For there the Lord bestows his blessing, even life evermore.” (v.3) In John 17 Jesus addresses unity in detail with verses 21-23 as the core purpose on the topic “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. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.” So Jesus is saying to us that if we are one, if we are like-minded and we show His love then the world will know that God sent Jesus and Jesus sent us. The world will see something supernatural. Anytime a group of ladies can work together and be unified, clearly that is evidence of God at work! When the world sees women working together with common heart, purpose and mind they will hopefully want to know our “secret”.
So what does unity look like? Ephesians 4 is all about unity in the Body of Christ. “As a prisoner of the Lord, then I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” Why? Verse 12 in the same chapter tells us “to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up.” And for how long do we do this? “until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ .” (v 13)
How can we attain unity with others? Colossians 3:12-14 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other, and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.”
Let it be so with us as we undertake this exciting partnership kickoff meeting and all subsequent events. Let us pray for unity to prevail as we plan, prepare and present. Let those watching and those receiving wonder at our love for one another as evidenced by our unity. What a privilege we have as Women of Vision in the South Puget Sound Chapter to be used by Him.