Strength for Today

It hurts my heart when I see brethren who can't seem to get along. Imagine, then, what that does to the heart of God when he sees two of his children who somehow cannot manage to coexist in peace. Think what it does to heart of Christ who died to make us one. Abraham made a hearfelt plea to his nephew Lot: "Let there be no strife between you and me ... for we be brethren" (Gen. 13:8). The bond of brotherhood should be strong enough to keep us together. The fact that Christ shed His blood for us should make us realize the high cost of our being united in Him. "He made peace through the blood of His cross" (Col. 1:20). I shall never forget the last words of the late William "Bill" Jessup. Bill, the tireless president of old San Jose Bible College, was a good friend of mine. He worked for Christian unity all his life. He was preaching at a new church in Morgan Hill, California and was just finishing his evening sermon when he had a heart attack and died. Do you want to know what his last words were? I hope you will never forget them. The are branded in my brain. Let them be fixed forever in your heart. "And I believe, Christian friends, there isn't any problem that two Christian people can have -- who possess the mind of Christ and the spirit of Christ -- there isn't any problem but what those two can solve at the feet of Jesus!"