Acts 18-20; Proverbs 31:1-9
*Click here to read these passages:
“Be shepherds of the church of God, which He bought with His own
blood.” Acts 20:28b
I’ve grown up in the church, and through the years I’ve seen some
amazing and wonderful things happen in the church, and I’ve also seen some not
so pretty stuff. I’ve seen and
even experienced hurt and disappointment and division. I think this is one of Satan’s
strongest tools. But the Bible
tells us again and again that Jesus loves the church and died for the church. The Bible tells us again and again how
important unity within the church is.
And here today in the reading in Acts, it tells us to be shepherds of
the church. A shepherd
protects. A shepherd is willing to
sacrifice his own life for the flock. A shepherd knows, loves, and takes care of the sheep.
The church is made of people and people are sinful. There is going to be disappointment
sometimes, or miscommunication, or hurt feelings … but if we are to be
shepherds of the church we have to care more about “the flock” than our
personal feelings and opinions. We
have to look at the big picture … the God’s Kingdom picture.
In John 17:21 Jesus prayed, “that all of them [all who will
believe] may be one, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they be one so that the world will
believe.”
If you are a believer of Jesus Christ then you are part of the
Church. And the world, those who
do not believe, is watching. I’m
praying as Jesus did that we would be one so the world will believe. I’m praying as Jesus did that we would
not be led into temptation and that we would be delivered from evil. I’m praying that believers would take
on the role of shepherds of the church, which Jesus bought with His blood.
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