Learning to Walk

No kid learning how to walk and having fallen a hundred times gets up and says, "Maybe this just isn't for me."

Nope! And neither should anyone learning how to walk with Jesus.

John 6:45 – "It is written in the Prophets, 'And they will all be taught by God.' Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me."

Jesus was quoting from Isaiah 54:13 – "All your children shall be taught by the LORD, and great shall be the peace of your children."

As adults we take walking for granted, but there was a time when it was the most difficult thing to do.

If you're just learning how to walk with Jesus, I encourage you to NEVER give up! Keep Reading the Bible, Keep Praying, Keep Going to Church… just KEEP LEARNING.

One day you will look back and realize you've been walking upright for a while with the Lord and you're at peace.

Learn to Walk with Jesus and then Keep Walking.

And He said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men." – Matthew 4:19

Rejoice and Take Joy!

Feeling down, alone, or just out of sorts?

I believe we all do at some point or another. No one is exempt from feeling depressed; even when things seem to be going good and you're surrounded with people, you may feel alone and somewhat empty. It's at that time when we need to look to the Lord and fix our eyes on Him.

Habakkuk 3:17-19 - "Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. God, the LORD, is my strength; He makes my feet like the deer's; He makes me tread on my high places. To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments."

You often read verse 19, but hardly the verses before it... It puts things into proper perspective and helps you understand in what circumstances you can walk surely upon the dangerous cliffs of disappointment, of lack, of a desert-like season in life and of feeling alone.

Be encouraged, you're not alone. God is with you and He is your strength and He makes your steps sure...have confidence that He will not let you fall.

These verses are a song unto the LORD... praising Him.

Feeling down? Look up to the Lord, He will lift your head up. Feeling alone? Look around, the Lord is with you. Feeling out of sorts? Look within, the Spirit of God is holding you together.

Sing unto the Lord and trust in Him. Praise and Worship Him for He is worthy.

May He be your joy and your strength in all times and in all places.

God Bless you - Pastor Raul

Idolatry - The Worship of a Whore

Hosea is an Old Testament book that is shocking in its opening, a stern warning in its body and a call to discern the ways of the true God in its ending.

Idolatry is defined by God as NOT ONLY the worship of an image that represents a god, but the turning away from trusting the only true God and turning to trusting in anything or anyone other than Him.

It can NOT only be money, power, intellect, position, favor, possessions etc., but it can also be the arrogance of having and maintaining, in comparison to others, more money, power, intellect, position, favor, possessions etc. There is an arrogance that emanates a stench from such a person that reaches the very nostrils of God.

God hates idolatry and pride is the thought of superiority, which is another form of idolatry, as one puts himself in that place that only God should occupy.

James 4:6 - "But He gives more grace. Therefore it says, 'God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.'"

Israel thought it knew better than God, and trusted in riches, external favor and relationships with others, even worshipping foreign gods. But God deemed them a whore for this. It's a clearly defined position a nation chose and we can easily fall into if we are not choosing daily and even by the moment who is that Person we trust and walk with.

Know that this is who God is and He pursues and loves you perfectly - Hosea 11:4 - "I led them with cords of kindness, with the bands of love, and I became to them as one who eases the yoke on their jaws, and I bent down to them and fed them."

There is nothing and no one else that will satisfy a person - only the true God.

Hosea 14:9 - "Whoever is wise, let him understand these things; whoever is discerning, let him know them; for the ways of the LORD are right, and the upright walk in them, but transgressors stumble in them."

Ephesians 2:10 - You Matter This Much!

Ephesians 2:10 - "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."

There are times in my life that I have to admit that I need a little encouragement to keep going and there is no better encouragement that can come my way than from the Lord Himself.

Maybe you're like that also and you need a little reminder of your value in God's eyes. Ephesians 2:10 not only reminds us that our lives have purpose and we are to act in accordance to that purpose, but also that there is a work that God desires to do THROUGH us, and IN us, and BEFORE us.

This is absolutely INSPIRING and AMAZING when I thought about it.

#1 - We are HIS workmanship - Jesus is the Master Craftsman, the Potter and we are His object of art, of beauty - He sees what no one else does; His vision goes beyond the block of wood or the lump of clay; He holds us in His hands for the purpose of making us into a beautiful vessel that honors and blesses Him.

#2 - We are created IN Christ FOR GOOD WORKS - There useful, specific and practical reasons for the work that Jesus is performing in our lives; it is a good reason for good works that are established by our Good Shepherd. This is a plan that He had established BEFORE we were even formed in our mother's womb.

#3 - We are a God's workmanship and are designed to live out this plan in our lives.

AND, there is one more important point to consider - God goes before us and around us and is with us to arrange everything in such a way that we are capable of fulfilling His plans in our lives; we just need to be willing - acknowledging Him, growing in our relationship with Him through reading His Word, prayer and fellowship, and being aware of our surroundings so as to respond in ways that He is glorified.

God makes sure that everything is perfectly arranged for you, so that you may walk out the plans that He has established for you to accomplish - you are loved and valued that much!

This day matters and so do you.

All to His glory - Raul

Focus on YOUR Church

My Dear Wormwood,

You mentioned casually in your last letter that the patient has continued to attend one church, and one only, since he was converted, and that he is not wholly pleased with it. May I ask what you are about? Why have I no report on the causes of his fidelity to the parish church? Do you realize that unless it is due to indifference it is a very bad thing? Surely you know that if a man can't be cured of churchgoing, the next best thing is to send him all over the neighborhood looking for the church that 'suits' him until he becomes a taster or connoisseur of churches. - C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters

Focus on the church God has placed you in, get to work in building His kingdom from there.

Bringing our effort into a collective focus brings heat; anything else is a division of sight, cold blindness, or at best lukewarm spew.

Does Jesus Cut to the Heart or is He Just Over Your Heart?

Acts 2:36-39 - "Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified. Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, 'Brothers, what shall we do?' And Peter said to them, 'Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to Himself."

Jesus is a powerful Name! In fact, it is the Name above all names.

Salvation comes through Christ alone (Acts 4:12; John 14:6).

Prior to these verses, Peter preached to a multitude of men that had gathered, telling them about how Jesus had been prophesied about and those things had been fulfilled before their very eyes. And when Peter said it is He that they themselves had crucified, they were "cut to the heart" In other words, they realized what they had done and were remorseful. And then they asked, "What shall we do?"

Great question! Because when you realize how much God loves you, even sending His Son to die for your sins and through Him offers you eternity with Him you too will be cut to the heart and wonder what to do to make things right.

Peter said, "Repent and be baptized..." Repent is simply a turning away from sin and turning to Jesus. Jesus will meet you in the very spot you decide to turn around. The LORD simply asks you to receive His Son.

Some people just wear a cross over their heart, but will you be cut to the heart, knowing that God has called you to His heart with an eternal love?

Restore a kingdom for temporal people or people for an Eternal Kingdom?

Acts 1:6-8 - "So when they had come together, they asked Him, 'Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?' He said to them, 'It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by His own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.'"

This took place after Jesus' resurrection and just before His ascension.

Do you ever find yourself consumed with your current personal life, hoping that God keeps restoring the current kingdom instead of looking to and seeking the benefit of God's Eternal Kingdom?

I'm not saying that you should abandon life and commit to being a monk. God requires us to be good stewards of those things He's entrusted you with. 

The key word is "consumed". A Good way to find out what you are consumed with is to ask yourself, "What occupies my thoughts and time?" 

Is it finances (lack or pursuit of)? Is your career what you "eat, sleep and drink"?  Is your hobby what relaxes you and puts you in a peaceful state of mind?  Are you consumed with exercise? Are you consumed with food? You can even be occupied with "R&R" - Rest and Relaxation (too much).

Jesus' disciples were asking if He was going to restore their present, earthly conditions by ruling, but He wasn't concerned about that...that time will come. For now, Jesus simply commanded them to focus on building and laying up treasures in heaven.

It's no different today. 

How do we focus on building and laying up treasures in heaven?

By leading people to Jesus Christ and teaching them the Bible. Your life for God will be a treasure you send out ahead of you that will be waiting for you in heaven.

Matthew 6:19-21 - "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where you treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Be a witness to people for Jesus for an Eternal Kingdom and lay up treasure in heaven.

Money is for Using

"True stewardship requires investing and spending, not just guarding and saving." - Sutton Turner in "Invest Your Gifts for His Mission"

D.L. Moody on Evangelism

Mr. Moody was adept at turning adverse circumstances into favorable witnessing opportunities because he was always on the alert to win souls. Dr. Clinton N. Howard relates the following interesting incident which occurred in Moody's Buffalo, New York, campaign in Howard's boyhood:

As Moody was returning after a night meeting on a crowded Madison streetcar as a strap-hanger, a rider asked who the big man was. Told he was Moody, the revivalist, the scoffer asked him a question, "Hey, Sky Pilot! How far is it from Chicago to heaven?"

Quick as lightning, Moody answered, "One step; will you take it?"

Pushing his way to the door, the man dropped from the rear platform into the street, followed by Moody, who reached the platform, funneled his hands, and shouted to the fleeing sinner, "One step from Chicago to heaven. One step! Will you take it?"

On the following night, Moody related the incident at the close of his sermon, and repeated, "One step-one step-one step, from Chicago to heaven. Who will be the first to take it tonight?" Out from the rear of the house came a man pushing his way to the platform, saying, "I'll take that step tonight!" It was the man who had asked the question of the "Sky Pilot" the night before! 5

D. L. Moody recognized that no two persons were exactly alike and that it was impossible to lay down hard-and-fast rules for dealing with inquirers. But he did practice and teach some general principles for dealing with souls. A few of them are included in the following quotation from Mr. Moody:

Always use your Bible in personal dealing. Do not trust to memory, but make the person read the verse for himself. Do not use printed slips or books. Hence, if convenient, always carry a Bible or New Testament with you.

It is a good thing to get a man on his knees, but don't get him there before he is ready. You may have to talk to him two hours before you can get him that far along...

Sometimes a few minutes in prayer have done more for a man than two hours in talk. When the Spirit of God has led him so far that he is willing to have you pray with him; he is not very far from the Kingdom. Ask him to pray for himself. If he doesn't want to pray, let him use a Bible prayer; get him to repeat, for example, "Lord, help me!" Tell the man, "If the Lord helped that poor woman, He will help you if you make the same prayer. He will give you a new heart if you pray from the heart." Don't send a man home to pray. Of course, he should pray at home, but I would rather get his lips open at once. It is a good thing for a man to hear his own voice in prayer. It is a good thing for him to cry out, "God be merciful to me, a sinner!"

Urge an immediate decision, but never tell a man he is converted. Never tell him he is saved. Let the Holy Spirit reveal that to him...

Always be prepared to do personal work...

Do the work boldly. Don't take those in a position in life above your own, but as a rule, take those on the same footing. Don't deal with a person of the opposite sex if it can be otherwise arranged. Bend all your endeavors to answer for poor, struggling souls that question of such importance to them, "What must I do to be saved?"

Lead Others to Jesus by Word and Deed

Hebrews 12:1-2 - "Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God."

Is the subtlety of seemingly inconsequential compromises undermining your Christian witness?

In other words, is what you determine to be insignificant in your life making Jesus insignificant to others in their lives?

Keep in mind that most Christians never lead anyone else to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ after they themselves have come to be forgiven and know God's grace through His Son for their own sins.

Today, we use the word "liberty" as if it's a Christian right to exercise "slight" compromise and still maintain our salvation and the assurance of heaven, but the Bible is clear that we are to "be holy, because I am [God is] holy" (1 Peter 1:16)

As Christians we serve as examples of a Christ-follower for others to see and benefit from our lives to God's glory - to lead them to God, not to draw them away.

The Apostle Paul said, "All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be dominated by anything." (1 Corinthians 6:12)  He also said, "Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble." (1 Corinthians 8:13)

I pray that our focus today is not on ourselves, not on others, but rather our focus is on the "Founder and Perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God" that we may lead others to the very place of God's grace that they also may come to know salvation in Jesus.

I pray that we don't deem inconsequential what God has determined to be sin and undermines our Christian witness that we may see more people led to Jesus Christ Who saw us as His joy and purpose for dying on the cross.

Run the race to win...to win souls to God's glory.

Will You Stand in the Gap?

Ezekiel 22:30 - "And I sought for a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the breach before Me for the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found none."

God described Israel at this time as a nation of disgrace - abomination. Why? Guilty of shed blood (v.4); defiled by idols made (v.4); father and mother are treated with contempt (v.7); those who visit suffer extortion (v.7); they despised God's Word; commit slander (v.9); are lewd (v.9); sexual immorality, rape women etc.

But although God was about to execute judgment on the sin of Israel He would relent if a man would STAND on His behalf, STAND in the GAP torn down, and BUILD to His glory.

There are many movies today with fictional characters who will stand for various reasons and the world stands and applauds. There are few today who in REALITY stand in the gap because they fear no one will notice them...no one will pat them on the back and give them words of encouragement.

The Apostle Paul said, "For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ." - Galatians 1:10

The Church needs men! Men that will stand in front of their families and in front of their wives and at the front of their churches - Leading, Growing, Sacrificial, and God-fearing.

God desires for Men to Stand Up and Build to Hold what's been gained and Gain what's been destroyed and held by the enemy - to "Stand in the Breach" before God that the enemy will not enter through.

What does your family need? A man who prays, reads the Bible and leads in the home and at church.

What does your Wife need? A man who prays, reads the Bible and leads in the home and at church.

What does your Church need? A man who prays, reads the Bible and leads in the home and at church.

Would God find in you that man that is standing in the gap before Him to His glory? A man who is tearing down or building up?

Know God's grace - Men, let's stand together and build before the Lord!

Unbind Him, and Let Him Go! (John 11:44)

Jesus performed many miracles, but there was one that involved a very dear friend, Lazarus. It was a difficult roller-coaster of emotions for the family during the time Lazarus found himself deathly ill.

You see Mary and Martha of Bethany were Lazarus' sisters and when they had no other alternative but to call on Jesus because Lazarus was dying, they did. They sent for Him because they believed that Jesus could heal him, but even though He loved Lazarus, Jesus delayed His coming to His friend's bedside by two days.

I'm sure this was a disappointment to Mary and Martha as Jesus was their only hope, but Jesus delayed for a reason. Jesus said that it was for His glory, for the sake of the disciples' faith, and also for the faith of those who would be witnesses to Lazarus' resurrection after four days of being in the grave.

Yes, Jesus came, He wept with family and friends; yes, He went to the grave, called out for Lazarus to "come out"! And we know that Lazarus indeed rose from the grave.

But what we often miss is what Jesus didn't do but ordered those gathered around Lazarus to do instead. Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, but He commanded everyone else to "unbind him, and let him go".

As Christians gathered around those brought to new life in Christ, we too, may miss the command to "make disciples of all nations" as the Great Commission commands us to do. It's God's work to save them, but He left the leading and teaching up to us to do for these souls that have been raised from the grave unto new life in Jesus Christ.

Discipleship can be a difficult, time-consuming work, but it is also a blessing to see layer after layer come off until you see the new person that was wrapped up under the grave clothes of sin and ignorance.

Jesus gives new life as He saves people from the grave, but you and I are to then "unbind" under the work of discipleship and "let [them] go" in service to God.

I pray you don't miss this very important work and take the time to help those who can't themselves unwrap the grave clothes they may still be wearing because no one else has taken the time.

Jesus said, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." - Matthew 28:19-20

Unbind Him, and Let Him Go to God's glory!

Pastor Raul

Marriage: Real Life Can Never Compete with Fantasy by Gregory L. Winfield

Marriage: Real Life Can Never Compete With Fantasy

Marriage: Real Life Can Never Compete With Fantasy

Marriage is something that most girls dream about from childhood. Everyone loves the story of Cinderella to the point where we have coined the terms “A Cinderella Wedding” or “A Fairy Tale Wedding”

Likewise, young men dream of having the ideal wife with an ideal body all the days her life. The dream is of marrying this perfect person and living happily ever after.

It’s very hard to accept anything in real life other than the fairy tale union when such visions of perfection have been ingrained within us for so many years prior to marriage.

When real life slaps us in the face and we wake up next to Mr. or Mrs. imperfect, some people are left feeling a little disappointed.

A fantasy marriage is perfect, a real life marriage isn’t

None of us fantasize about going to the alter with the ugliest guy or girl in town.

We don’t have dreams of growing up and living in government assisted housing for the rest of our lives.

No one has ever imagined having the worst job and the worse car in the neighborhood and set out on a trek to make these dreams come true.

No, quite the contrary. When we dream, we dream about having the best. We imagine ourselves in nice cars, living in nice homes, and having the perfect spouse.

So when reality gives us a less than perfect car, a less than desirable house and a spouse that isn’t necessarily what we envisioned, we can be tempted to look at our lives and feel a little let down.

Marriage is definitely not Fairy Tale

Marriage is never about finding the perfect partner. There is no perfect partner. Marriage isn’t even about finding someone that you’re most compatible with.

Marriage is about finding the partner that is willing to allow God to mold and shape them individually and as a partner in the union that He is sanctioning.

If I could sum up marriage in one word it would be “yielding”. Yielding to one another and yielding to God. Submitting to one another as you both submit to the Lord is key to making a Christian marriage work.

As you yield to God and allow Him to create something beautiful between the two of you, you will look up one day and find that the imperfect person you married is still imperfect, but he or she is perfect for you and vise versa.

Have you ever had a key that would fit into a lock, but yet the key wouldn’t turn the lock to unlock the door? Couples who refuse to yield to one another and/or to God are like a key that fits into a lock, but are incapable of unlocking the door.

It takes God, our great locksmith to reshape and cut the keys of our lives and personalities so that they not only fit into the lock, but are able to turn and unlock the barriers within our marriages.

Unrealistic marriage fantasies kill marriages from the start

Folks, marriage is work. It’s work that doesn’t offer any vacation time. It doesn’t offer sick days, and the shifts run 24 hours per day with no days off.

Marriage is about finding a lump of coal and working together to create a diamond. When you both realize that you will have something precious at the end of the refining process, working together becomes enjoyable.

Get rid of the romance novel version of marriage

Your marriage will go through countless changes over the years. Likewise, your spouse will go through changes spiritually, emotionally and physically during the course of the marriage.

What do you do when changes occur in your marriage that are outside the scope of the fantasy union you had prior to your marriage?

How you respond will determine if you’re still chasing a fantasy or are ready and willing to put forth the effort to make your marriage work in the real world.

Trust God to make something beautiful of your marriage

The institution of marriage was created by God. Ask the Lord to bless your union. Trust Him to work miraculously in your marriage.

Pray for your spouse and come together in agreement that your union will be one that is an example of what God intended when He created the institution of marriage.

My prayer is that God will grant you a marriage that surpasses even your wildest dreams and that a union that began as just another Christian marriage heading for divorce court will be completely renewed and held up as an example of what the power of God can do, in Jesus Name!

The Dew of Hermon by C.H. Mackintosh

"The dew of Hermon"

Psalm 133.

By C. H. Mackintosh.

The expression "the dew of Hermon" has, it seems, long proved "a geographical puzzle" to some. But to one who has the mind of Christ it is no puzzle, but a most striking and beautiful figure. Hermon is the very loftiest peak in all the land of Palestine, and from its snowy cap, when all the surrounding country is parched, the refreshing dew descends upon the mountains of Zion; and this is one of the figures used by the Holy Ghost to illustrate the beauty and pleasantness of brethren dwelling together in unity.

Let us quote the entire psalm.

"Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard, that went down to the skirts of his garments. As the dew of Hermon that descended upon the mountains of Zion; [The interpolated words, "and as the dew," spoil the beauty of the figure.] for there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life for evermore."

Here we have two lovely illustrations of unity among brethren. It is like ointment descending from the head of the high priest to the skirts of his garment; and it is like the dew descending, in refreshing power, from Hermon's snowy top.

How truly delightful! And yet they are but figures used to set forth the divine idea of unity among brethren. But how is the unity to be promoted? By living sufficiently near to our great priestly Head to catch the fragrant ointment as it descends from Him — to be living so near the Man in the glory as that the refreshing dew of His grace may drop upon our souls, thus rendering us fragrant and fruitful to His praise.

This is the way to dwell in unity with our brethren. It is one thing to talk about unity, and another thing altogether to dwell in it. We may profess to hold "the unity of the body," and "the unity of the Spirit" — most precious and glorious truths surely — and all the while be really full of selfish strife, party spirit, and sectarian feeling, all of which are entirely destructive of practical unity. If brethren are to dwell together in unity, they must be receiving the ointment from the Head, the refreshing showers from the true Hermon. They must live in the very presence of Christ, so that all their points and angles may be moulded off, all their selfishness judged and subdued, all their own peculiar notions set aside, all their cues and crotchets flung to the winds. Thus there will be largeness of heart, breadth of mind, and depth of sympathy. Thus we shall learn to bear and forbear. It will not then be loving those who think with us and feel with us as to some pet theory or other. It will be loving and embracing "all who love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity."

The blessed Head loves all His members, and if we are drinking into His spirit, if we are learning of Him, we shall love all likewise. No doubt, those who keep His commandments enjoy His special love — the love of complacency; and so we cannot but specially love those in whom we trace most of His blessed Spirit. But this is a totally different thing from loving people because they adoptour line of truth, or our peculiar views. It is Christ, and not self; and this is what we want, if we are to "dwell together in unity."

Look at that charming picture presented in Philippians 2. There truly we see, first of all, the divine Head Himself, and from Him the ointment descending to the skirts of His garments. Where did Paul get the grace to enable him to be ready to be poured out as a drink-offering upon the sacrifice of his brethren? What was it that made Timothy care for other people? What led Epaphroditus to put his life in his hand to supply his brethren's lack? What is the one grand answer to all these questions? Simply this: these beloved servants of Christ lived so in their Master's presence, and drank so deeply into His Spirit, they dwelt so near the Man in the glory, that the fragrant ointment, and the refreshing dew, fell upon their souls abundantly, and made them channels of blessing to others.

This, beloved Christian reader, be assured of it, is the grand secret of getting on together. If brethren are to dwell together in unity, they must have the "ointment" and the "dew" dropping continually upon them. They must live close to Christ, and be occupied with Him, so that they may show forth His virtues, and reflect His blessed image.

Then, what joy to be enabled, in any little measure, to refresh the heart of God! He delights to see His children walking in love. It is He who says, "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!" Surely this ought to stir our hearts to seek in every possible way to promote this lovely unity. It should lead us to sink self and all its belongings, to surrender everything that might tend in any measure to alienate our hearts from Christ, or from one another. The Holy Ghost exhorts us to "endeavour" to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." Let us remember this. It is the unity of the Spirit, not the unity of the body, we are to keep in the uniting bond of peace. This will cost us something. The word "endeavouring" shows that it cannot be done without sacrifice. But the One who so graciously exhorts us to the service will ever supply the needed grace. The ointment and the dew will flow down from Him in refreshing power, knitting our hearts together in holy love, and enabling us to deny ourselves, and surrender everything which might tend to hinder that true unity which we are imperatively called upon to maintain.