Good morning and welcome to Starting Right with Danny Mac . I'm going to be here every Monday to Friday to help you get a great five-minute start to your day . So grab your cup of coffee , sit back , relax and let me help you start your day right . I don't spend a lot of time on social media , but I do have a Facebook page .
In fact , starting Right is posted on that page every day . The rest of the time my page is fairly quiet .
Sometimes I'll find some puns that I'll post just because I think they're funny , or share some pictures of places I like to go and things I like to do , but really I don't spend a whole lot of time on it , and that's because at one point I did spend a lot of time on it .
I particularly wanted to focus on the posts coming from Christians , but that soon really discouraged me because I found that there were many people spending a whole lot of time trying to discredit other Christians and other Christian ministries . The name-calling that went on from Christians about other Christians I found really disturbing .
And despite all that these people say that they know about God's Word , they're missing one very crucial fact that we are all brothers and sisters in Christ . We're part of God's family , and God wants His family to get along with one another family , and God wants his family to get along with one another . Romans 12 , verse 16 puts it very clearly .
It says Live in harmony with each other . Do not be arrogant , but associate with humble people . Do not think that you are wiser than you really are . That's a message for all of us . We come humbly before our God and we receive the forgiveness and life that he has for us , and then we need to work on how to get along with everybody else around us .
I just recently received a story that I want to share with you this morning . I think you will enjoy it . There was once a town with an orchestra . The orchestra had every kind of instrument you could possibly imagine , from banjos to bagpipes , piccolos to pianos , castanets to cornets .
It was an honor and a privilege to be a member of the orchestra , though there were no musical requirements to get in . The conductor had offered a standing invitation to anyone who would like to join , with one stipulation the contract was for life .
Some instrumentalists refused to join because they were afraid that such an agreement would stifle their artistic creativity . Others worried about what would happen if they didn't like the music the conductor would give them to play .
The conductor had given all his musicians the score of a piece he had composed called the Grand Finale , and he asked them to practice it in preparation for the coming of a concert day . Each section took its part seriously and practiced very diligently .
But the musicians couldn't help noticing that some of the other sections were practicing differently than they were . Look at those violins groused the French horn section . There is no rhyme nor reason to the way they practice . It's something different every time . Why don't they do what we do and practice the scales and etudes ?
They have no understanding of the fundamentals . I declare , sniffed the violinist , as they observed the French horn rehearsal . It's hard to believe they always do the exact same thing . It must be so boring . Why don't they do what we do and let the joy of the music take them wherever it will ? Can you believe it , said the drummers ?
All those bassoonists ever do is go to their stuffy practice room and back home again . They don't have any experience playing for other people at all . They've got to be getting stagnant . Sometimes it makes you wonder if they really signed the contract , sighed the bassoonist .
Those drummers are so busy out on the town every night , playing in the worst kinds of places . They probably don't spend any time practicing at all . Once some of the musicians chanced to meet and of course the conversation centered on the way to interpret the music . It's a victory march , the trumpet player announced decisively .
It's meant to be played with a solemn yet triumphal air . No , no , no , said the harpist . It's a love song , sweet and joyous and tender . That's crazy , the clarinet player interrupted . It's a hymn , reverent and worshipful .
Though there were many sectional rehearsals , the players could never agree on when to rehearse as a full orchestra , so no one knew how the piece would finally sound , and they disagreed so violently about the time and conditions of the performance . It was better not to bring up the subject at all .
The town still has its orchestra , the sections are still rehearsing , but those who hear them wonder will they really be ready to play together when the conductor raises his baton on the concert day ?
Hebrews , chapter 10 , verses 24 and 25 , says Let us think of ways to motivate each other to acts of love and good works , and let us not neglect our meeting together , as some people do . My hope and prayer is that today we will do exactly what that verse says that we will encourage one another .
We will not focus on the differences that we may have with other Christians , but we will instead focus on what we have in common . We have Jesus Christ as our Lord and we are following Him , and we will encourage one another and not let ourselves be divided . I hope you have a great day , my friends .
Enjoy it , share some love and joy wherever you go , and we will talk again tomorrow . You go and we will talk again tomorrow . Thank you for listening today and I invite you to join me Monday to Friday , right here , on Starting Right with Danny Mac .