Blending Our Voices – Romans 15:5-6

5 May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, 

6 that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
– Romans 15:5-6

Blending Our Voices
Our God is the God of endurance and encouragement – and boy do we need Him!  In a world that emphasizes promoting individual accomplishments, the Bible tells us that we need each other, so that together, we can glorify God.  It is clear to me though, that in order to be able to do that, we need to be in God's Word everyday, so that we can take advantage of His encouragement; to keep on enduring . . . together, and to put aside our own agendas and ideas of how the world should revolve.  The key is to strive towards harmonious living in unity with Jesus.  It isn't about you, and it isn't about me - it's about you and me IN Christ - that's how we will glorify our Father.

This has always been tough for me because I have always been a by-myself kind of guy.  I have always found it easier to handle things on my own so that I can have control over how things are done.  I guess I just like to have things done a certain way, and of course my way is always the right way (NOT!).  Letting go of pride in my life is not easy, but I am finding that as I move out of my comfort zone and I try to participate in ministries and in things like small groups, Bible studies, and other church activities, I am able to see that if Christ is the center of our efforts, the group thrives and the small part that I can play helps to make it all work.  God can then move and He is glorified through the concerted efforts of the group, and not the individual efforts of the group members.  It takes everyone working together to be successful, and in that, the individuals are then ministered to – by the other members.  It really is a wonderful concert and we are all designed by our Father to work best as members in His orchestra.

Prayer
Father I thank You for helping me to let go of my pride and to be a small part of something bigger than myself.  I am learning how to let go of my own ideas of how things should work and I am growing in You because of my relationships with other people.  I pray that as I continue to join myself to others, that I can bring peace and harmony to the relationships and that together we can grow in You and learn how to live, united in Christ.  

Have an awesome day everyone!

–Richard