Of the Same Mind. This is Day Three of my devotional book, The Gift of Unity, which is available at wwwthegiftofunity.com.

Unity among believers requires a measure of maturity within each believer. Are you maturing in Christ?

The Gift of Unity Day 3

In what land do you live? Do you live in the spiritual land the Lord has given you? The Romans destroyed the Second Temple of Solomon in 70 A.D. and the people of God still want to rebuild it…The Greeks aren’t rebuilding the temple of Zeus and the Italians aren’t rebuilding the temple of Jupiter. Never give up hope of living in the land of God’s promise. Are you living God’s promise, or have you given up? Don’t reject the promise the Lord has given you. Bloom in the land where He planted you…the place He called you to live your life…and the people He has placed in your path. If you’re a parent, love your children like no one else will…because no one will love them quite like you can! Teach them the way of the Lord, for spiritual prosperity comes only from Him! Deuteronomy 5:22-33. Live the life the Lord intends for you in the place He intends for you to live it so that your children can inherit your good name and testimony…so they can prosper spiritually! Are you ready to pray this prayer: Lord, I want to live in the land you have given me, I want to love others the way You do, and I want to passionately follow You!

In what land do you live?

If the Lord is One (Father, Spirit, Son—one God in three persons), the Lord has won!  Jobless? The Lord has won! Depressed? The Lord has won. Anxious? The Lord has won! Lonely? The Lord has won! Grieving? The Lord has won! Fearful? The Lord has won! Poor finances? The Lord has won! Family issues? The Lord has won! Addicted? The Lord has won! The Lord is One. The Lord has won!

If the Lord is One, He has Won!

Idols stand in the way of us seeing God’s holiness. 1. God’s promise is better than our plan. 2. How easily we forget God's blessings and mercies. 3. All idols are NOTHING in the long view of eternity. 4. There is a price to pay for going astray. 5. You can be owned by your idol, or righteousness can be yours through faith in God.

What's your idol?

Idolatry challenges God's sovereignty and attempts to offer alternate resolutions to the issues of life. Scripture not only records people's failures, it also records the hope of repentance. In his mercy, God raised up the faithful to call His people back to a right relationship with Him and authentic worship of Him. What will you cast away and build today? An idol is anything that we put before God, between us and God, that we prioritize before God, and that we value more than God. In my track titled, "What's your idol?" we talked about our idols…in this track we’ll talk about casting them aside. When you do, you’ll write your personal testimony just as the Israelites were writing their collective testimony.

Casting out idols and writing your testimony!

Four reasons to share your personal testimony:

•	Your salvation
•	Rededication of your life
•	Service and generosity
•	Sharing a story for God’s glory

Sharing Your Personal Testimony

We should endeavor to live not by our power, our righteousness, and our perfection, but by our weakness, humility, and by God’s faithfulness. Stop clinging to this fragile life and start living for eternity in Christ!

By Whose Power?

Don’t turn the love of God into an idol that lets you do whatever you want. Holiness is God’s primary attribute…therefore His holiness comes before His love for you. He will defend His holiness before He defends you. He will defend you…will you treat Him as holy? People love to say that God loves them so much they can do anything. The real issue is, if we love God so much we should do what He commands.  

Deuteronomy 11:26–32 “Look, today I set before you a blessing and a curse: there will be a blessing, if you obey the commands of the LORD your God I am giving you today, and a curse, if you do not obey the commands of the LORD your God and you turn aside from the path I command you today by following other gods you have not known. When the LORD your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess, you are to proclaim the blessing at Mount Gerizim and the curse at Mount Ebal. Aren’t these mountains across the Jordan, beyond the western road in the land of the Canaanites, who live in the Arabah, opposite Gilgal, near the oaks of Moreh? For you are about to cross the Jordan to enter and take possession of the land the LORD your God is giving you. When you possess it and settle in it, be careful to follow all the statutes and ordinances I set before you today."

Do You Really Love God?

The Lord tells us there will always be poverty, not necessarily desperate destitution but most certainly poverty. We will always have this kind of relative poverty, where some have much and some have much less; where some lend and some borrow. 
The Lord calls us to a charitable orientation because there will always be a charitable occasion. It is true that there will never cease to be poor people. Yet, the much deeper message is that God expects His people to never cease being generous. The command isn’t to solve their poverty problem. He commands us to solve our stinginess problem.

Be Generous

As a follower of Christ you are not permitted to transgress the commands of God. 

One way we overcome a worldly heart condition is through discipleship. We must model right attitudes and behavior for others to follow. That means staying clean in Christ.

Be careful who and what you follow so that you’re not led astray. 

Stay clean in Christ.

Shaped By Grace