"¹⁵Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. ¹⁶Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. ¹⁷And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." -- Colossians 3:15-17

How it must pain our Father to see His children fussing and fighting with one another, and ultimately fragmenting the family Jesus shed His blood to establish. What greater affront to deity could there be than these seemingly endless sinful sibling squabbles; these food fights at the Father's table?! Brethren, we ought to hang our heads in shame at our behavior; not only those engaged in factional feuding, but those who have stood by silently much too long and let it happen. The time has come to put this devilish dysfunction forever behind us and begin behaving as God's family. "This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are ..." (1 John 3:10). Let's pause for a moment and do some reflecting. What do you suppose that identifying mark IS? Is it preciseness of practice with regard to some religious ritual? Are God's children distinguished by words on signs in front of a building? Number of cups in a communion tray? Line items in an annual budget? How one sings praises? Where one eats a meal? Listen to John! This inspired apostle declares: if anyone does not love his brother, he is a child of the devil. Listen to Jesus! "By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another" (John 13:35). Listen to Peter: "Love the brotherhood" (1 Peter 2:17). Listen to Paul, who declares that no matter what gifts we may have or what gifts we may give, if we have not love ... it all profits us nothing (1 Corinthians 13:1-3).

We can try and lay the blame for our dysfunction and division at the feet of many possible culprits, but the genuine cause is perceptively pinpointed by a minister of the gospel when he simply stated, "Maybe it is just a lack of love!" No maybe about it ... that is exactly the cause! Yes, lack of love will manifest itself in any number of loveless actions and attitudes, but these are merely symptomatic of the deeper affliction of heart. "For out of the HEART come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders" (Matthew 15:19). The rigid Jewish religionists were condemning the Lord and His disciples for various departures from their legalistic traditions. Jesus rebuked them, and set them straight, by declaring unto them what truly mattered in the sight of the Father --- it wasn't the outside, it was the inside. It wasn't unwashed hands, but an impure heart that defiled a man! Sadly, misguided disciples today are still focusing on fingernails, while the Father focuses on hearts. Therein lies the distinction between law and love.

Why do so many disciples lack love? I believe it is, in part, because they lack the Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit is LOVE, and the various visible aspects of that fruit are displayed in joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). We live by the Spirit, therefore "let us also walk by the Spirit" (vs. 25). Led by the Spirit of Christ we will cease challenging and contending with one another (vs. 26). If one will carefully examine the fruit of the Spirit, one will soon perceive that these are all qualities of love which build relationships. Division will cease when disciples allow the fruit of the Spirit to increase within their hearts. That increase will then spill over into their lives, affecting both their attitudes and actions. Harmony and unity will be natural by-products of siblings led by the Spirit.

When we fail to "walk by the Spirit," however, we will "carry out the desire of the flesh" (Galatians 5:16), "for the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit ... these are in opposition to one another" (vs. 17). When one examines the deeds of the flesh, one finds qualities that destroy relationships --- enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, to name a few --- and where these are evidenced, division follows quickly in their wake. Wherever division exists in the Body of Christ Jesus you will find lack of love and a very noticeable lack of the Holy Spirit. The deeds of the flesh will be abundantly evident, the fruit of the Spirit will be visibly lacking. Just prior to listing the deeds of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit, Paul wrote: "For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' But if you bite and devour one another, take care lest you be consumed by one another" (Galatians 5:13-15).

For generations, for centuries, brethren bereft of the Spirit and lacking in love have bitten and battled and castigated and consumed one another. There have been countless acts of "enmity, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, and factions" perpetrated and perpetuated by pathetic partyists devoid of any spiritual discernment. The result has been schisms, factions, divisions, cliques, splinters and splits. The One Body has been dismembered; the family has been fragmented into feuding camps of fussing cousins; the army of God is AWOL -- adrift without love! We have brought shame and reproach upon the Father long enough. It is time for prideful partyists to abandon their dogma and return to being humble, loving servants of God and their fellow brethren. It is time to cease judging those who differ with us, and begin accepting them, as indeed God has accepted them.

Someone recently asked me, "Have our traditions and opinions become doctrine?" The answer is an unequivocal and resounding YES. "This people honors Me with their lips, but their HEART is far away from Me. In vain do they worship Me, teaching as doctrine the precepts of men" (Matthew 15:8-9). Yes, we have indeed "sought to justify our marginal relationships based on our perception of what constitutes being 'faithful to the Scriptures.'" Conceding to party perceptions is a far cry from being "faithful to the Scriptures." Equating the tenets of the former with the truths of the latter is a leap that will only send those who make it into a chasm of confusion and conflict! We will never achieve genuine unity of the Spirit when we seek only to enforce the uniformity of some sect. Before we can ever become family, we must cease being factionists.

Our greatest challenge as the people of God has always been to rise above ourselves. Before we can ever accomplish our purpose and mission as the called out of the Lord, we must come out of our buildings, embrace our fellow brethren and move together into the field white unto harvest. Lost souls are too precious to leave lying on our doorsteps as we eviscerate fellow believers over petty personal preferences. Wake up, brethren!! ... it is later than we realize. The Judge is standing right at the door (James 5:9)!

¹⁵Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that confess his name. ¹⁶And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased. -- Hebrews 13:15-16

The author of Hebrews tells us to bring a “sacrifice of praise” to the Lord. We are all familiar with praising God, but a sacrifice of praise? Is praise really a sacrifice? Doesn’t it feel good? When a bunch of Christians are worshiping together, singing and praising our Lord, it hardly seems like a sacrifice. I think it goes more to the attitude of praise. Do we always want to praise God? It’s easy to praise Him when things are going well or when we are surrounded by our family in Christ, each of use singing our hearts out. However, what about when we are alone? What about when we are alone and things are not going well? How easy is it to praise God then?

When Hurricane Katrina struck the gulf coast of the United States, my family and I lost everything we owned. I found a lot of solace in my Contemporary Christ CD’s. Richard Mullins, in particular, had some great songs: Hold Me Jesus and If I Stand were wonderful. Right after If I Stand, was the song, Sing Your Praise to the Lord. That was a much tougher song for me, given the circumstances. I needed to be held by Jesus; I was in no position to praise Him. Then that verse in Hebrews came to mind, “let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise.” Notice it says “continually,” not “when things are going right.”

I believe a “sacrifice of praise” is just that: when praising God is a sacrifice. Sometimes it is easy to sing praises. Other times, it is not so easy. When you are in a position where you need to be held by Jesus and choose to praise Him instead, you are bringing a sacrifice of praise.

When we are together with our church family or when things are going well for us, it is easy to praise God. However, when the chips are down, and we alone, that is when praise becomes a sacrifice. It is also the most important time to praise Him. I drew strength from my Savior through my sacrifice of praise. When you offer praise in spite of your circumstances instead of because them, you are offering up a sacrifice of praise and will draw your own strength from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.