ONE Lord

Last night, the Lord had me read the book of Ephesians until a passage really grabbed me in chapter 4. I’ll write in caps the phrases that leaped from the page.

4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 ONE LORD, one faith, one baptism; 6 ONE GOD and Father of all, who is ABOVE ALL, and through all, and in you all.

One Lord. That’s the key to true unity. His Lordship. His absolute Kingdom rule of our lives. We who have been walking in Him for some years and have been taught by the Holy Spirit know something about His lordship. But still, we’re not FULLY surrendered. We want to keep a little of our old independent selves, our own will.

If we destroyed the concept of “inviting” Jesus in our hearts and admitted He is the legitimate, absolute owner of the house (us), not just a guest, if we ceased striving and let Him rule over us, we would see an end to contentions, dissensions, heresies, enmities, jealousies… and anything that prevents fellowship with like-minded believers. We would immediately be ONE in the spirit with those who have also accepted His lordship absolutely, or those who are learning to, like we are.

The fact that there are so many denominations, so many different concepts of God, so many interpretations of the Bible, means that most of us are carnal, and we still value our own ideas more than His truth.

Let us allow the Lord's dealings with us break us. Consider the image of Jeremiah at the potter house in Jeremiah 18. Also, look at the following words from Psalm 2:

Now therefore, be wise, O kings;
Be instructed, you judges of the earth.
Serve the Lord with fear,
And rejoice with trembling.

Even if you are an "important person", like a king or a judge, you need to remember there is one King and one Judge above you. Bow at His feet in reverence. Let Him take the preeminence in every aspect of your life. Do not deny the Lord His right of ownership over you. 

Kiss the Son, lest He be angry,
And you perish in the way,
When His wrath is kindled but a little.
Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him. 

Trust Him. You may have stumbled many times, but if you're willing to repent and take Him at His Word, He will restore you and give you a new heart that loves Him. He will not be angry at you for your failures, but He wants you to surrender. He will help you in that surrender if you're willing to deny yourself, take up your cross and follow Him.

We cannot change others, but we can choose to accept God’s invitation to radically surrender to Him, to let Him break us and change us, whatever it takes.

Elijah had such a heart, and at one point he felt lonely. The Lord reminded him that He had a remnant… and sent him to Elisha to share his last days.

May God lead us to people who encourage us to seek Him whole-heartedly and zealously!