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WRITE YOUR PERSONAL THOUGHTS ON THESE QUESTIONS
Did you know that Jesus prayed for you? In the book of John, Chapter 17,
you can read that prayer yourself, but one of the things that Jesus fo-
What feelings do you have when you hear the word “Submit”? cused on at the end of His prayer is that He desired that we would be
united, just like He is to God. Why would he pray for that? Well, He knew
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that we would run into issues that could drive a wedge between us. If
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you look at the history of the Church, different sections of the Church
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have gotten into some arguments that have caused rifts. Each of these
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rifts then caused harm because people with differing views would fight
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each other to the death, trying to prove their view was correct.
Jesus knew that no matter what differences arose, we needed to
In your opinion, why do we need to submit to one another? Does that learn how to submit to each other in love, just like He, the Father and
mean we won’t ever disagree if we are truly united? the Holy Spirit submit to each other. Submit, seems like an odd word. It
______________________________________________________________ can incorrectly imply the giving up of control by force, but in God’s eyes,
______________________________________________________________ submission is not a surrender of power but rather the proper use of it.
______________________________________________________________ When we learn to surrender to each other, whenever we have issues
______________________________________________________________ that may cause rifts, we can choose to let love override the need to be
______________________________________________________________ right and surrender our “rightness” for the sake of peace and harmony.
That is not to say that we do not stand up against issues that are
evil or contrary to what scripture says. After all, we are to guard our
Do you believe that it is your duty to ensure that we are not only united hearts above all things. We must also stand against injustice and uphold
but are united around what God desires? How can we guard this? the truth. Jesus hoped that, instead of fighting over who is right, we
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could be open and loving enough to receive correction. He also wished
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that we could be sufficiently strong and merciful to admit when we are
______________________________________________________________ wrong, and to forgive those who ask us for forgiveness over their errors.
______________________________________________________________ Jesus prayed for us to be united because He knew that one of the most
______________________________________________________________ effective tactics of the enemy is to divide us. When we are divided, we
don’t pose a threat. If we were to unify and act as one body, then we
could be much more effective and dangerous at being the beacons of his
Grace. Jesus prayed for our unity because He knew that united as one,
we would be a benefit for all.
