Paul says in Romans 12 that God wants unity between the Jew and the Gentile. He’s teaching them about the unity that God is creating in His body. We are members of the body of Christ. 

So, Paul is telling them, “Listen, you are all members of one body, so for this conflict over who is circumcised and who is not circumcised, who is going to follow the feast and who is not going to follow the feast, and who wants to blend it all up—it is not about that. It is about the living God sending His living Son to die for us that we might have life and we are to walk together in unity. We are to walk together as members in unity.”

Can you imagine looking at your left hand every day and saying, “You know, I am really frustrated with you because you are not doing what I expect you to do. You are not complying with the rest of the body and if you don’t straighten up, I might just have to cut you off!” Omitting a member of the body over technicalities would be like cutting off your left hand. The enemy brings strife and division in the body because it keeps us from focusing on our purpose—from the reason we have been created. Paul saw the Christians as a threat and he sought to imprison and destroy them. The minute Jesus revealed Himself for who He was and how He fulfilled the law, Paul refocused Himself and His life was forever changed because he saw his purpose in the body of Christ was to bring unity in the body of Christ and spread the message of the Gospel—not get caught up in a bunch of divisive nonsense.

Have you ever had something come into your life that makes you just feel so frustrated? Try as you might, you cannot think of an answer or come up with a solution? Something that is causing strife between you, your brother or your sister and it is almost overtaking your days, weeks or month and you find it begins to interfere with your relationship with God, because you are in so much anguish? I have felt that and I finally decided that it was just the enemy stirring up this level of strife. Why? Because it is a distraction. It is a distraction from my purpose in life and the minute I came to understand that what God is calling for is unity within each of us as a member of one body that remembers who our Head is— Jesus Christ—peace settled over me. It was a clear decision on my part, no waffling back and forth, but when I made it, His peace was granted.

He is our Head and we need to be following Him, not man; Him, not rules and ideals. This isn’t a license to throw out the rules either—if we are truly following Christ, we will submit to His will and His ways and strive to walk in obedience. We need to follow Christ and if someone has a difference of opinion, we need to agree to disagree and come together with the purpose. Why? Because the enemy will keep you so tied up and distracted that it literally will stunt your growth in the Lord. 

You know, I can think of many, many times where the enemy has tried to distract me, keeping me so focused on this or on that, that I forget that it is not about me. It is about the Head and I need to line my thoughts up with His, focusing on His plans and purposes for my life and my part in this body of Christ. The enemy knows our weaknesses. I know I say it over and over again and I will continue to say it over and over again—there is a move of God that is coming that will be so powerful! The truth is that I have seen it, and what it is going to do will transform the Church—heal the brokenhearted, save the un-savable, heal the lame and transform them from deep within their core that they might come into and fulfill their call in God. We must remain on alert; the enemy knows this is on the horizon, he knows it, he feels it and will do anything and everything he can to stop it. We have got to set aside those things that are not of God and press in and ask the Lord what is my part in this move of God and if there is anything in me that I have got to get rid of so I can be a part of it.

This study of Romans has taught me so much, and it’s caused me to let things go in this last year and has changed who I am. It has changed me from deep within, giving me a foundation in Christ that is unshakable. You think I have been walking with the Lord a long time and yes, I have, but until I came to a place where I pulled myself into Him, and He showed me what was coming, I had to make a decision—am I going to be a part of this or not? And if I am, then I need get it together! Let me tell you, it is hard to see that about yourself. It is hard to see that you may not be playing your part in the Body of Christ.

Paul is telling the people, “Listen, the just are saved by faith. God is calling forth a Body of Christ that walks forward in unity, fulfilling the Word of God.” He was calling for it then! There was a move of God entering the Church in Paul’s day that got stifled and it has been re-released into our day. We get to witness and be a part of it in this hour! But if we are not ready, we are going to stand on the outskirts and watch other people’s lives transform while we sit on the sidelines wasting the talents God has given us.

Have you ever sat and watched somebody move in the gifts of the Spirit and you think, I want that? And your heart and spirit and everything in you hungers to have God use you like that? And the enemy says, “Why are you jealous of your brother?” But God is saying, “That is not at all what should have come of that experience. Do you want that? Because I want to use you like that. Hunger for it! Seek Me until you have it. Crave it. Let it be the reason you wake up in the morning. Let it be the reason you exist. Strive until every part of your soul, flesh, spirit, and mind begins to crave Me so deeply that you too can be used by Me.”

It is not about your brother’s call. It is about being used by God and I can promise you that He wants to use all of us in a powerful way. It is not limited; remember the Word God gave me for 2017? Know No Bounds!

To be continued next week…

Blessings and Love,

Ricci