Amos 3:3: “Can two walk together except they be agreed?”
Psalm 23:2 ”He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside he still waters.” Sheep need peaceful pastures where they are not threatened by raging, dangerous waters. In the same way, how can God’s sheep feed and grow healthy if the leadership are in conflict and disunity? How can the sheep be healthy and strong in the midst of in-fighting and strife among themselves?
Even though our Shepherd “prepares a table for us in the presence of our enemies” you can guarantee the table and immediate surroundings would be safe and the sheep would feel safe. Enemies are forced to retreat from the immediate presence of our great Shepherd.
We must not allow the spirit of criticism, gossip, and back-biting to invade our immediate presence--not even our home tables, let alone our church gatherings.
We desperately need to have our heads anointed with the oil of the Holy Spirit every time we meet together. We desperately need our cups to run over with the water of life. All too often we allow unforgiveness, jealousy, and envy to destroy the precious moving of the Holy Spirit in our marriages, our families at home, and our church family.
It is not ISIS, Boko Haram, Hamas, or a suicide bomber we should fear gate-crashing our gathering together as much as critical and judgmental attitudes that divide the brethren and hinder the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. These chains must be broken.
Be encouraged.
Colin Campbell