The Book of Jude

Hello Friends!

We live and serve in a culture that determines what is true by asking, "How do you feel about it?" As a result, the church is under attack for its stand on Biblical truth…

The Book of Jude

Sadly, many believers and even pastors today are ready to lay aside doctrinal differences in order to build an ecumenical Tower of Babel. Wait! Truth matters to God – and it must matter to us also! As the Scriptures declare – Jesus Christ is the Truth…

The book of Acts is known as the “Acts of the Apostles” – The book of Jude could be considered the “Acts of the Apostates” as it is the only New Testament Epistle written with the expressed purpose of exposing false teachers, their false doctrines and heresies that were leading believers away from the Biblical Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Jude's words of warning should challenge us as Christians – especially in today’s post-modern culture/church environment. He wrote:

Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints – Jude 3

We must defend the Christian faith that has been passed down to us through the millennia via the Word of God! Jude encouraged his readers to “contend earnestly for the faith” and warned about immoral teachers and dangerous doctrines which were endangering the faith of the true believers.

The late Christian leader John Stott also wrote:

"Jesus was no syncretist, teaching that contradictory opinions were in reality complementary insights into the same truth. No, He held that truth and falsehood excluded one another, and that those who propagate lies in God's name are false prophets, of whom His followers must beware."

These words should awaken us to the importance of spiritual discernment and of the need to know and embrace the core doctrines of our faith. That's what the book of Jude is all about!

Outline of Jude:

• Desires of Jude (verses 1-2) 
• Declaration of War Against Apostates (verses 3-4) 
• Damnable Outcome of Apostates (verses 5-7) 
• Denunciation of Apostates (verses 8-16) 
• Defenses Against Apostates (verses 17-23) 
• Doxology of Jude (verses 24-25)

In closing: 

My prayer is that each of us will read these Scriptures with a fresh commitment to stand for the Lord Jesus, to defend the faith and to protect the church from false teaching & dangerous doctrines.

May the Lord Jesus Christ continue to bless you with His perfect love, mercy and grace!

Keep looking up and sharing the Gospel while there is still time… Hallelujah and Maranatha – come quickly Lord Jesus!

 

Blessings!

Shane <><

 

The Pillar is in Front

22 Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people. Exodus 13

There are two important things to take away here.  First is the obvious: God never stopped leading his people.  He stayed in the front, day and night, and never left them.  He has that same commitment with us, although it's not as visible as a pillar of cloud or fire.  He will always lead us.

The second is something inferred: The Israelites followed the pillar.  They did not wander away, and more importantly, they didn't move in front of the pillar.  The Israelites trusted that God would lead them and stay with them.  They trusted that he had a plan for them.  They trusted that God knew more than they did about their situation.

We should be doing the same.  We need to recognize that God is always in the lead.  He is always in front, even if we can't see him.  He is there when things are bright and we can see clearly, and when we are in our darkest points, he is the light that guides us.  We also need to trust and follow God.  Sometimes, this can be hardest when things are bright.  You can see the distant horizon in every direction.  You can see where God is leading you and you don't like it.  For whatever reason, you're hesitating.  Trust that God knows more about the situation and can see even further than you can.  He knows the best path for you to take and will lead you on that path.

God's truth can be known

The lie that Jesus’ disciples stole his body while the guards were sleeping was accepted by many of the Jews and has deceived them for centuries.
 

Matthew 28:11-15      While the women were on their way, some of the guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened. ¹² When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money, ¹³ telling them, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ ¹⁴ If this report gets to the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” ¹⁵ So the soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has been widely circulated among the Jews to this very day.

 

Last week we focused on the guards and the chief priests and the difference between them and the women. This week, I wanted to think about the Jewish people. They were told a lie, and many believed it. However, they could have stopped to think about whether it made sense instead of accepting it at face value. First, they could have sent out search parties to look for the “stolen” body, questioned the disciples, and searched their homes. If the body was stolen and hidden somewhere, someone could have found it. Someone would have “leaked” the secret. Plus, if the disciples were such cowards to flee at Jesus’ arrest and not speak up at his trial, then why would they suddenly have courage enough to steal his body from a sealed and guarded tomb? 

 

Also, if the guards had really fallen asleep, the chief priests would have certainly had them killed. At a minimum, the guards would have been fired! Guards are trained to watch without sleeping. So, it wouldn’t make sense that ALL of the guards fell asleep! Why didn’t they say that the earthquake knocked them unconscious and the disciples stole the body then? Plus, it says "some" of the guards went to the chief priests, so maybe the others weren't bribed and actually circulated the truth.

 

Some of these details may have taken weeks to flesh out, but the truth could have been uncovered and known. Hundreds of people saw the resurrected Jesus and lived to tell about it. The people had to want to know the truth, ask questions, and stop and think.

 

What lies might you and I have accepted at face value?

What truth about God have others tried to discount or twist?

How will you and I stop and think, go to God with our questions, and study His truths in His Word so we aren’t deceived?

God’s truth can be known.

Alice

Remove Judgment, Insert God

When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: about sin, because people do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.  John 16:8-11

One of my favorite discussions about God involved my son.  He had done something that was within his right but what most people would consider as questionable.  In his youthful exuberance, he made the statement, “No one can judge me but God.” I responded quite simply, “Yes, that is true, but having made that decision, do you believe God would be pleased with your decision?”  It opened the conversation to where I could ask how well he truly knew God.  Additionally, it showed a clear vision on how one can avoid judgment by simply focusing on God and not on one’s own opinion.

The key to avoiding being judgmental is to separate ourselves from the situation and inserting God into it. We all have a sense of what is right within us.  As Christians, we are given that sense through the Holy Spirit.  Something says, “That does not ‘feel’ right.”  This guides us in our walk of faith.  However, I have to fight my own urge to project that onto others.  I will watch someone doing something knowing it does not ‘feel’ right.  My initial reaction is to pull them out and say to them, “That is wrong!”  But if I trust God, then my goal shifts toward awakening the Holy Spirit within them and less about judging their actions.  This does not say we should avoid saying something to someone who is living in sin.  Instead, we are to guide them to find God’s light, and say, “Don’t trust what I say. Ask God yourself.”

Today’s verses reiterate that Jesus is not only without sin and righteous but also perfect in His judgment. Jesus said, “The father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son.” (John 5:22)  If we trust in Christ as Lord, we can trust that the Holy Spirit will transform even the hardest of hearts and most sinful of sinners.  This is how we avoid judgment.  Where do you wrongfully judge?  How can we focus on what God places on our heart instead of our own judgment to win others over?  My prayer is that we remove judgment by inserting God.  Amen.  

Tues Devo: Growth patterns

Hello,

This week has me thinking about growth. My son turned 4, and it is crazy not just how time flies by but also how quickly physical and mental growth happen.

We tend to think about growth when we look at children and young adults – but should it stop there? As believers, our growth is to never stop. We are to continue to push forward, continue to learn and apply, continue to surrender ourselves, continue to grow.

Ephesians 4:14-16 “As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.” (NASB)

Have a great day as you grow!

Will Hill