Thursday: United and Fearless
Daily Lesson for Thursday 15th of January 2026
Read Philippians 1:27-30. How does our unity and “striving together for the faith of the gospel” relate to fearlessness?
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Satan’s strategy is to divide and conquer. Disunity is deadly. Jesus said, “If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand” (Mark 3:25, NKJV). It’s a simple principle that Satan is delighted for us to forget. Our unity helps enable us to fulfill our prophetic role as the remnant of Bible prophecy (Revelation 12:17), proclaiming the “everlasting gospel” to “every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people” (Revelation 14:6). Because unity is crucial to fulfill our mission to spread this God-given message, and Jesus’ prayer in John 17:1-26 highlights “the truth” of God’s Word as one of the most important keys for unity (John 17:17,19), our message cannot be separated from our mission or our unity. All three stand or fall together. If one of these three keys is missing, we can’t succeed. However, if we have all three in place, there is nothing to fear. We need not be “in any way terrified” by opposition (Philippians 1:28, NKJV). Satan is a defeated foe. Even if we should be put to death for our faith, nothing can harm us if we “become followers of what is good” (1 Peter 3:13, NKJV). The devil is powerless to stop the onward march of God’s truth.
Read the following Bible passages and briefly summarize their common theme: Matthew 10:38, Acts 14:22, Romans 8:17, 2 Timothy 3:12.
Life itself in this fallen world is hard, even for the “best” of us. Job was a righteous man; even the Bible says that he “was blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil” (Job 1:1, NKJV). And yet, overnight, calamity struck him and his family. Who hasn’t learned, either by personal experience or by seeing what happened to others, that life here is lived, it seems, on a precipice, and you never know when you will go over the edge? Suffering, to some degree, is the lot of us all. In the end, though, better to suffer for Christ’s sake than for anything else.
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What hope, what comfort, should we, as Christians, have amid our suffering? |
Paul was very much aware of the personal cult style of religion. Read what he said:
Paul wanted their spiritual experience to grow without him being present. The divisions caused by personal cult following were evident in the Corinthian church:
In our modern era we see many churches where the glue that holds them together is the personality of the preacher. It is interesting and saddening to read of the demise of some of the mega churches where the big-name preachers have reached their use-by date, either through age or moral lapse. The glue has disintegrated and peope leave not only the church but their faith also.
Paul was quite clear that he wanted Christ-centred faith to exist beyond his use-by date and the only way to do that was to keep pointing towards Jesus.
I wholeheartedly agree with you! Too many churches fall into the “cult of personality,” where it’s about the preacher instead of the Lord. Jesus said that if he would be lifted up, He would draw all men to himself. The message isn’t about the messenger or else as you shared, when the messenger falls, or leaves, then some are swept out in a tsunami of disappointment and can lose their faith. Modern Christianity has become too consumer driven and focused, and not enough Holy Spirit empowered, and mission focused. “I’m sorry Lord for the thing I made it. When it’s all about you, Jesus.” Indeed, the Holy Spirit is the glue. Thanks for sharing.
Another way of looking at it is that for many it has become entertainment–spectator sport. There are definitely some ministers I enjoy listening to, because they shed new light on familiar subjects. There are also some I’d rather not hear, because they are disseminating misinformation, often driven by their political bias. But worship is much more than a sermon, and the more it can be made participatory, the better. That is one of the downfalls of the mega churches. The larger a church is, the harder it is for the congregation to participate, and the more likely they are to be spectators.
The center that holds us together as believers is the truth that we share. That truth is the gospel of Jesus Christ. “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.” This is what binds us together and unites us as people of common destiny. The Bible, on many occasions, teaches us that we should hold fast and boldly defend the truth that we know.
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. So never be ashamed to tell others about our Lord. And don’t be ashamed of me, either, even though I’m in prison for him. With the strength God gives you, be ready to suffer with me for the sake of the Good News” (2 Timothy 1:7-8).
How do we hold fast and defend boldly the truth that we know? The truth is not only something to believe, but something to live, guard, and speak.
1. We must abide in Christ – “Abide in me… If you abide in me, and my words abide in you…”(John 15:4–7)
2. We must speak and talk of the truth – “We cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” (Acts 4:19–20)
3. We must live the truth – “Whoever says ‘I know him’ but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” (1 John 2:4, ESV). We must not only be listeners of the Word, but also doers of the Word. ”Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” (James 1:22, ESV).
4. We must be led and strengthened by the Holy Spirit – “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.” (John 16:13, ESV).
Unity is more than an idea; it is a reflection of what Christ has done for us. In John 17:20–21, Jesus prays that we would be one, just as He and the Father are one. This unity is not about shared opinions or uniformity in our way of thinking; rather, it is founded in the Spirit and maintained through humility and love. The devil’s strategy is to divide and conquer, knowing that disunity is deadly. In the words of Christ, “If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand” (Mark 3:25).
As humans, Christians also suffer; simply for being human and/or Christian! But a Christian may have the comfort that his Lord suffered much more while on this planet, and that He will never abandon His followers! Christ can make all the difference in any crisis!
I remember as a young Christian some 34 years ago I made a decision that wheneverI attended church it didn’t matter how boring the preacher was I would learn something from that message. Preachers have come and gone the Holy Ghost kept me. Thank you Jesus we must set our wills on the side of the Lord Jesus Christ He is faithful to perform. Bless God
Thursday’s lesson mentions that there are three keys for unity. The truth of God‘s word is one of the most important keys for Unity. It says. What are the other two important keys for unity?
[Moderators note: Please use a name rather than just initials. Others, Maurice Ashton (me), for instance, have the same initials.]
I was wondering the same thing. Under unity The truth is one with no mention of the other two.
Yes, it looks like some editing of the author’s orginal has left the “three” up in the air, doesn’t it? From the text of the lesson it appears that the others may be, “our prophetic role”, and “the everlasting Gospel”. But that is just my guess after going back and reading the original. It would be interesting to hear what others think the “three” refers to. Analysis of a mistake often leads to a better understanding.
Might the three be mission, message, unity?
I like those three (mission, message, unity) but the author says: “the truth” of God’s message is one of the most important keys for unity. What are the other three for unity?
“United we stand, divided we fall”. United in our faith in God, we can advance the cause of God to greater heights. For hope and comfort in times of sufferig, we can draw ispiration from predecessors such as Joseph,and Daniel in the Bible as well as men of God in recent and past eras. Personally,the story of George Mueller’s faith and trust in God inspires me.
Acts 14:22 strengthen the disciples’ souls and encourage them to continue in the faith. I think I often overlook the importance of strengthening and encouraging our souls. Perhaps having a ministry just designated to strengthening and encouragement may be something to consider. I appreciated this aspect of today’s study.
United we stand divided we fall. Jesus is coming for his church and the church is you and me watchful praying AND TELLING the truth of GOD. Lets fill our lamps with oil ready for the marriage feast, WHEN THE BRIDEGROOM shall come.
What is meant by “the Faith of the Gospel”? Why did God find it important to provide His Gospel to mankind by Jesus Christ? Because He desired to demonstrate to us how to live the ‘Way of Life’ by Faith! Instead of being ensnared by the many lies of His adversary, trapped in confusion and hopelessness leading to death, God showed us how to live victoriously leading to everlasting life!
Eph.4:4-6
”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 all and through all and in all”.
‘United and fearless’ by Faith! A promise the Christian can enjoy simply through believing, trusting, and following Jesus Christ’s example by faith – shown and described by Scripture.
When the Ecclesia begins to squabble with each other, singling out this or that part of God’s Truth to be more important than another, dismissing or selecting to promote one aspect over another, disunity will follow. Pride and ambition within the body of Christ will cause disunity. We are called to submit to one Spirit – the Holy Spirit of God. He promotes only one Truth to live by:
Gal.5:23-26
”But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
Since we live by the Spirit, let us walk in step with the Spirit.
Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying one another.”
Thursday:United & Fearless
The 3 keys : Everlasting Gospel, Holy Spirit & Unity. Is these correct?