Morning Meditation: "As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit - just as you were called to one hope when you were called - one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over and through all and in all."- Ephesians 4:1-6

As believers, we have been united together into one Body, the Church, under one Head, which is Christ Jesus, and have been given one Spirit to drink from the Father, so we can become one family. We have been brought together into the same family as children of the same loving Father, who desires that we depend on Him for all our needs, and care for one another with all that He provides. "I will be a Father to you, and you will be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty" (2 Corinthians 6:18). As a loving family unit we are called to live in unity and to encourage and exhort one another, and to build one another up in love. The Father desires that, as a spiritual family, we would live in harmony with one another just as we would in our earthly families. Our unity as His family on earth honors our Father and provides a powerful testimony in the heavenly realms to the wisdom and worth of God who has given us every manner of spiritual provision and blessing to mold and shape us into the image of His beloved and holy Son.

It is extraordinary that the Creator - the Infinite, Self-Existent, Eternal, Immutable, All-Sufficient, Omnipotent, Omnipresent, Omniscient, Transcendent, Three-in-One, would also make Himself known to us in such an intimate way as Father. He is not a God who is far off, but is a God who is near, who desires that we would know Him personally and intimately as a loving and compassionate Father who will provide for all our needs. It is a difficult for many in the world today to trust Him as such, because they have not had the benefit of a present and caring earthly father in which to model Him after. The breakdown in the family unit, because we have not honored marriage as God has purposed it, has damaged lives and society in many ways, but none so great as to prevent children from trusting the embrace of the loving arms of the heavenly Father. The enemy's assault on the home has this one goal in mind: to wound the heart of God by keeping from the Father what He desires most of all - the loving trust and dependence of His children. "My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of My Father's hand. I and the Father are one" (John 10:29-30). May we not fall for Satan's deceptive plots to sow seeds of discontent and division in our homes and churches, but rather build for ourselves a wall of protection through prayer as we strive for greater unity in our relationship with God and with each other as His family, so we will be healthier and stronger and provide the Father the godly offspring He desires. "As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him...But from everlasting to everlasting the LORD's love is with those who fear Him, and His righteousness with their children's children - with those who keep His covenant and remember to obey His precepts" (Psalm 103:13, 17-18). Heavenly Father, thank You that we are safe and secure in Your loving hands and that there is no one more powerful than You who can break this holy bond we have with You. Help us to depend more fully on the Holy Spirit whom You have given to us for the strength of our homes and the life of the church. Amen.

"As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires

you had when you lived in ignorance.

But just as He who called you is holy,

so be holy in all you do; for it is written:

"Be holy, because I am holy."

Since you call on a Father who judges each man's work impartially,

live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear.

Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth

so that you have sincere love for your brothers,

love one another deeply, from the heart.

For you have been born again,

not of perishable seed, but of imperishable,

through the living and enduring word of God."

(1 Peter 1:14-17, 22-23)

Afternoon Devotion: "Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful." - Colossians 3:12-15