Jun 24 2025

Afternoon Bible Verse

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!

Afternoon Bible study

Unity in the Body of Christ is beautiful. It is pleasing to God and brings joy to those who experience it. But how can we achieve unity in a world where people tend to only look out for themselves? It begins with seeking God's desire for our relationships, which goes beyond our own intent and expectations.

In order to live in unity with others, someone has to be willing to sacrifice their feelings and desires for the sake of living in harmony. When we seek peace, rather than always having to have our own way, we are demonstrating that unity is a priority.

When there is unity, people experience a kind of joy that goes beyond feeling happy. It's a feeling in our soul that things are good and right. It's a result of the unity that has taken place—everyone is on the same team, with the same purpose, wanting to accomplish the same goals.

Unity takes work and effort. It never just happens. Christian unity occurs when people come together, and their only purpose is to worship God. It means that we forgive others, instead of holding onto a grudge and harboring hard feelings. We sacrifice what we want for the sake of the whole group.

A disunified group of Christians speaks to the world—but not in the right way. It conveys the message, "We can't get along with each other, so there probably isn't much hope that we will get along with you". It mars the image of the Church and hurts its witness. Where there is disunity, God's blessing and His Spirit cannot abide among His people.

Unity should be our priority. And it is only accomplished through the power of the Holy Spirit. What can we sacrifice today to obtain unity with other believers?

Afternoon Prayer

God, help me to seek unity in my relationships with others. When I'm feeling selfish, remind me how you desire unity among your people. Help me to humble myself when I want my own way. God, I know you are patient with me. Give me patience with others even when they are selfish. Give your Church unity in our thoughts and actions as the Body of Christ. Help us to seek peace above everything. Thank you for bringing unity to your people so we can honor you with our lives. In Jesus' name, amen.

Jun 23 2025

Yesterday Afternoon's Bible Verse

Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord. :

Yesterday Afternoon's Bible study

Everyone needs God's grace. We may not always act like we need God, and sometimes we may not think we need God—but we do. As long as we are sinful, we need a Savior. We can try to hide our weaknesses and act like we have it all together, but in doing so we miss the opportunity to experience God's power that allows us to move forward in grace.

Pride can keep us from readily admitting and confessing our sins, but this afternoon's verse in Acts tells us to repent and be converted. When we repent, we're acknowledging things we have done that are not pleasing to God; things that go against His nature and who He is. Repentance is the act of admitting and turning away from our wrongdoing so we can know God.

By confessing our sins, our lives can change in profound ways. Once we have repented, God removes our sin and refreshes our souls.

Think of the various ways we use the word refresh. We say an ice-cold drink after chores or a workout is refreshing. When we forget something, we may ask a friend to refresh my memory. Even reloading a web browser is known as refreshing. If it freezes up and quits responding, we use the refresh command to make it reload and start working again.

Being refreshed by God also allows us to reload. But this time in His strength and power, so our hearts and minds are responding in the right way.

We must not allow pride to keep us from experiencing God's forgiveness and His times of refreshing. These are wonderful gifts that our hearts and souls desire.

Yesterday Afternoon's Prayer

God, thank you for refreshing me. Please humble my heart and help me turn to you instead of trusting in my own strength. I can't grant myself forgiveness or refresh my own soul, but you can. Give me a clean heart that desires to serve you more than my selfish desires. And when I sin, help me realize your great love for me and let me turn to you. In Jesus' name, amen.
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