September 3
Ecc 4:1-6:12 | PS 47:1-9 | Prov 22:16 | 2 Cor 6:14-7:7
As we view modern advances, one has to wonder whether they have been for the better or the worse from God's standpoint. Though we can find good and bad in most advances, consider the simplicity of life only one hundred years ago. Air travel, automobile travel was not as common. Therefore the family tended to remain as a central unit. Families did not disperse around the globe because when one left they would rarely be able to see one another again. The concept of business travel which commonly separates people did not exist. Families and communities were often centralized around a church, and fellowship took on a bigger role, as the rich would help the poor, being there was a paucity of government programs to help the less fortunate. People had to go to work, and had to work together. The concept of working alone was uncommon. The days of working in isolation on a computer in total isolation from outside contact did not exist. Now consider what these changes in the face of worldwide chaos has created. Mental illness, broken relationships, fractured families, increased suicide, etc. has been the result. Oh, there are certainly some positives, but one must wonder, at what cost?
We read in Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, :Two are better than one, Because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, For he has no one to help him up. Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; But how can one be warm alone? Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken." We should never miss that last portion of Scripture of the threefold cord. When two are bound together with the Holy Spirit, it is a bond which is not easily broken. God made us social creatures. back in the Garden of Eden we read in Genesis 2:18, "And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.”" When describing the closeness of this marital bond, we read in 2:24, "Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh." But this bonding, this closeness extends beyond marriage, as we read in Jesus' prayer in John 17:21, "that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me." The concept of fellowship with other believers, in person can not be overstated, as we read in Galatians 6:1-2, "Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ."
When we are bound together in the unity of the Holy Spirit it is hard to break. When we separate for any of a multitude of reasons, we are easily picked off and left isolated and vulnerable. Everything, and I mean everything, must be viewed from the lens of God. What we are doing, does it bring us closer to Him or further from Him? We need to look at our roles as spouse, as parent, as worker, as a member of a church, etc. Consider the tremendous increase in "attending" church online. Yes, you might be fed by the words of the pastor, and moved by the worship, but how can you influence others from the comfort of your couch? We need Jesus, and we need each other.
Messages from Pastor Lloyd Pulley: