Jesus said:
“Again I to you that
if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask,
it will be done for them by My Father in heaven.
For where two or three are gathered together in My name,
I am there in the midst of them.”
~ * ~
I don't know about you, but I simply cannot imagine Jesus being in our midst and being in agreement with two or more of His proclaimed followers, when what we 'two or three - or even more" are doing reflects the bitterness of our hearts rather than the goodness of God's.
If we are gossiping, damning, bitching, betraying, seeking to harm, hating anyone in our hearts and sharing that aggression with another, I'm pretty sure Jesus would not be in the midst of us agreeing, nor seeking to fulfil the bitter desires of our heart.
Saying we are followers of Christ does not give us the right to purchase any old desire we want. If it's not in line with God's heart, if it's not in line with "Love is patient, love is kind... etc etc" then it is NOT in Jesus' name we are gathered or asking... so, therefore, it would be safe to say if we gathered as believers with bitterness in our hearts and cursing on our tongue, Jesus is not with us. And we'd be a fool to expect Him to justify our unrighteousness, or deliver desires born of bitterness to us.
Ahh, but if we are gathered in love, then, yes, there He is in the midst of us. :)
If we are gossiping, damning, bitching, betraying, seeking to harm, hating anyone in our hearts and sharing that aggression with another, I'm pretty sure Jesus would not be in the midst of us agreeing, nor seeking to fulfil the bitter desires of our heart.
Saying we are followers of Christ does not give us the right to purchase any old desire we want. If it's not in line with God's heart, if it's not in line with "Love is patient, love is kind... etc etc" then it is NOT in Jesus' name we are gathered or asking... so, therefore, it would be safe to say if we gathered as believers with bitterness in our hearts and cursing on our tongue, Jesus is not with us. And we'd be a fool to expect Him to justify our unrighteousness, or deliver desires born of bitterness to us.
Ahh, but if we are gathered in love, then, yes, there He is in the midst of us. :)
1 Corinthians 13:1-8
1 If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love,
I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.
2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains,
but do not have love, I am nothing.
3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship
that I may boast,
but do not have love, I gain nothing.
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy,
it does not boast, it is not proud.
5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered,
it keeps no record of wrongs.
6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8 Love never fails.
1 John 4:8
Whoever does not love does not know God, because
God is love.
~*~
1 If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love,
I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.
2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains,
but do not have love, I am nothing.
3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship
that I may boast,
but do not have love, I gain nothing.
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy,
it does not boast, it is not proud.
5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered,
it keeps no record of wrongs.
6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8 Love never fails.
1 John 4:8
Whoever does not love does not know God, because
God is love.
~*~