Guard The Peace

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You are listening to the My Morning Devotional podcast, episode 1387. Today's episode is called Guard the Peace. Hey there. We're the Alessi's, a ministry family working together in our church in Miami, Florida. And if you're like us, when days get busy and to do lists get longer, it can be hard to find devotional time.

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That's why we've partnered with our friend Allison to produce a five minute daily dose of heaven. This is the My Morning Devotional podcast. Hello everyone. Happy Tuesday.

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My name is Lauren Alesti and I am your host for this week.

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This month we've been talking about overcoming October, but this week we are talking about unity over division. And I'm just gonna ask for forgiveness ahead of time if I rabbit trail off whatever or if I get too heated because I just really love this topic. Unity over division, especially in today's society. I just think everyone has such strong opinions and it's like, why, like, where do you get these opinions from? And why do you think you're the smartest person in the room?

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And so just the thought of Christ calling us to be united and not to be divisive amongst each other, we forget that so often because everyone just thinks they're just so right and just, I'm just so wise and I know everything and I have all the answers. And um, anyways, so again, forgive me if I rabbit trail a little bit. I just love this topic.

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Today we are speaking out of Ephesians 4, 3, and it says this. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. I'm going to repeat that. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. So what we're seeing here is that unity and the bond of peace. So, so unity and peace, it takes effort, it takes intentionality to be united. It's not just something that happens. It's not just something that we're like, oh, we disagree on everything now.

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No, it takes intentional effort. And you know, just thinking about this right now, I'm thinking of friends or family members that I know.

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We don't agree on everything. We don't agree on everything that's happening in culture.

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Maybe we don't even agree on certain, you know, theological thoughts when it comes to the Bible or, or we don't agree on politics.

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You know, how we navigate that. We just don't talk about it.

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We, we, we are making an effort to keep the peace when we are together. And sometimes keeping the peace means, why am I even gonna Trigger that. Why am I gonna trigger the disunity? We like when we're together, but we know that that causes disagreement. So I respect you, you respect me, let's not talk about it.

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And that's not always easy because if you're like me, sometimes it's fun to just like, you know, poke the bear a little bit. And you kind of like to get on people's nerves. I can be like that. And if you, if you dislike people like me, I'm sorry. Sometimes it's fun for me, but I'm trying not to be that way. And that's what I'm trying to say.

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But that's what's so important about guarding the peace.

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And sometimes that's unity in and of itself. Just don't talk about it, just don't touch it with a 10 foot pole. Don't go there. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. So maybe that's not talking about it. Or maybe that's you going, you know what, maybe I'm not the smartest person in the room. Maybe I'm wrong here.

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Let me do my research. And again, like we said yesterday, let me submit my thoughts and opinions to the word of God. And maybe that the other person isn't always in the right, but maybe I've got something wrong here and I am not always the smartest person in the room. That's you. Making intentional effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. Here's the ultimate point of this episode. We're trying to guard the peace. Whether it comes to family, friends, church, whether it's something a pastor says, something that you disagree with.

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Make every intentional effort not to get offended, not to create disunity within your church, not to create disunity between you and your pastor, maybe giving somebody else the benefit of the doubt. You don't know if that's what they meant to say. It's making every effort not to go, well, I just disagree and I get offended. And here's the other thing. The Spirit gives us unity because the Spirit gives us fruits of the Spirit, which is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness and self control. Against such things, there is no law. So if we're not using self self control, if we're not using goodness, patience, kindness, we're not applying that to unity. We're not utilizing the gifts of the Spirit that God has put on the inside of us. We're completely ignoring them.

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And we're not saying, you know what, I'm going to use my self control here and even though I want to get angry, maybe that's not what that person meant to say. Or Instead of utilizing the kindness of the spirit and the gentleness that the fruit of the spirit has given inside of me, let me not jump to conclusions. Let me not jump to divisiveness here. Let me not create a spirit of disunity. Let me just guard the peace of this relationship. Let me guard the peace of people within my church. That's the fruit of the Spirit. That's what the Lord has put within us. So let's remember to always guard the peace that God has given us. Let's pray Dear Lord, thank you so much for your word again, Lord, how it is made to sharpen us Lord, we also thank you for the gifts of the Spirit, the fruits of the Spirit that you've given inside of us, Lord, that we can lean on when we need to not be so focused on disunity and disagreement. And ultimately, Lord, help us to guard the peace in our life and not always be focused on disagreement and disunity. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.

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So there you have it. Your 5 minute daily dose of heaven. Thank you so much for tuning in today. We pray these devotionals empower you to take on your day. If you found value in this devotional, share it with a friend. Leave a comment or review for us on the app you're using right now. Until tomorrow. We pray that your latte is strong, but your love for Jesus is stronger.