Keeping Me From Stumbling

For the past two weeks my Care group here at church studied the small book of Jude in the Bible.  There is some fun stuff in that little book.  There is also a very encouraging ending, which is what I want to share with you today.  Many of you out there are in the midst of a trial or crisis of some kind.  May this passage of scripture be an encouragement to you!  Some of you are riddled with doubt and full of questions, may this passage give you a hope that is unwavering.  Some of you are stuck in the monotony of life, may this passage spur you on to pray, to go, to do, to serve, to live!  May this passage change us all to reflect more of Christ and bring glory to our God in Heaven.

Jude 17-25

¹⁷ But you must remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. ¹⁸ They said to you, “In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions.” ¹⁹ It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit. ²⁰ But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, ²¹ keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. ²² And have mercy on those who doubt; ²³ save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh.

²⁴ Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, ²⁵ to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.

Things to think about:

·         Read through the passage again and list the things we are commanded to do – then list the things that are given/provided to us.

·         How do we “keep ourselves in the love of God” from verse 21?  Can I take myself out of the love of God?  Can I live in such a way or believe something that might cause me to think of myself outside of God’s love?  If I listen to the scoffers and the ungodly or even to my own heart on occasion I may be tempted to think that God has truly stopped loving me.  Let me agree with Jude here and say “No!  Continue to wait for the mercy of Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.  You have a hope that goes beyond all such lies.

·         Once you are busy waiting have eyes of mercy for others.  Be patient with those who doubt and share the love of Jesus with those that need to hear about his saving message.  You need not listen to the false teachers and lying spirits for you know that God is able to keep you from stumbling.  He is able to present you blameless.  Don’t have faith in yourself – have faith in Christ! 

·         Don’t lose sight of the “great joy” in verse 24.  Who has great joy?  Christ?  Or You?  Can I say BOTH!  Think about that for a minute.  The joy of Christ and your joy meeting in perfect conclusion ready to live forever in a state of praise and satisfaction.  No wonder Jude ends his short letter with such a list – May God truly receive glory, majesty, dominion, authority, and so much more for all time.  He deserves it!  He always has, always will. 

·         For those that are suffering today, may this simple reminder that God is keeping you, holding you, and with you through it all be an encouragement to your soul.  Continue in prayer, ignore the lies of the evil one, and bask in the love of God holding on to His eternal mercy.

Weak Hands Strong God

Have you ever built a sandcastle on a beach?  You work real hard digging the moat, building the walls, using some washed up trash to add character to your castle…only to have it washed away by the waves.  All that work, for nothing.  Do you ever feel that way in life?  You put in all this work, and for what?  It feels like you are bailing water out of the back of the boat only to throw it to the front of the boat.  An exercise in futility.  Today, I want to look at a passage of scripture from the Old Testament book of 2 Chronicles.  There is a new king of the southern nation of Judah named Asa.  For the most part Asa did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and there was peace in the land.  God sends a prophet to speak to the people to tell them why they have peace.  That is where we pick up the story today.  Let’s see if we can learn anything.

2 Chronicles 15:1-7

The Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded, ² and he went out to meet Asa and said to him, “Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: The Lord is with you while you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you. ³ For a long time Israel was without the true God, and without a teaching priest and without law, ⁴ but when in their distress they turned to the Lord, the God of Israel, and sought him, he was found by them. ⁵ In those times there was no peace to him who went out or to him who came in, for great disturbances afflicted all the inhabitants of the lands. ⁶ They were broken in pieces. Nation was crushed by nation and city by city, for God troubled them with every sort of distress. ⁷ But you, take courage! Do not let your hands be weak, for your work shall be rewarded.”

Things to think about:

·         Look at verse 2 again.  When/why is the Lord with the people?  Is this same kind of language repeated in the New Testament where God is with us if we are with him, or against us if we are against him?  How does that sit with you?  What about the gospel?  (See 2 Timothy 2:12, Matthew 10:33)

·         If the distress in verse 4 served to draw the people back to God after they had wandered so far would you call the distress a curse or a blessing?  Why?

·         Do you feel like your life is verse 5 sometimes?  No “peace” “great disturbances”, “afflicted”?  Then hear verse 7…Take courage!  Do not let your hands be weak, your work shall be rewarded.  Listen to a few of these promises by God to those of us who belong to him through faith in Jesus Christ:

o   “He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”  Philippians 1:6

o   “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”  1 Corinthians 15:58

·         When we are far from God there is no peace, there never will be peace, and all of our work is a striving after the wind building sandcastles at the beach only to watch them get washed away.  Seek the Lord and serve Him and build upon a foundation that will last forever! 

Too Scared To Pray

      Are you afraid to pray?  I am not talking about facing persecution from others because you are praying to God; that may be a real fear for some, but probably not many of us.  I am talking about fearing God in your prayers?  I had a great conversation with someone this morning about prayer and how we approach the Almighty God.  So, let me change my opening question.  Should we be afraid to pray?  Can we come to God in confidence free to share our hurts, feelings, pain, and maybe even anger? Should our respect and awe of God keep us from telling him how we really feel?  Can we hide things from God anyway?  If we are angry with him or feel hurt by him or want to complain to him, doesn’t he know that already?  Should we pretend that our feelings don’t exist?  Lots of questions, huh?  Let’s look at a passage from the book of Hebrews that may help us find some answers.

Hebrews 4:11-16

“Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. ¹² For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. ¹³ And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

¹⁴ Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. ¹⁵ For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. ¹⁶ Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

Things to think about:

·         This section starts with a “therefore” so it would be valuable to go back and read the beginning of chapter four to get a context on what the author is talking about.  To summarize though he is talking about a “rest” that we can have with God.  A type of rest that goes beyond a break from work, or a temporary relief from struggle.  He wants us to have an eternal rest that is lasting and can only be supplied by Jesus Christ.

·         Verse 12 is a pretty common memory verse, but look at it again.  God’s Word divides your heart and your intentions.  There is no hiding from God, no secrets, no places in your mind in which God does not go.  So, why not talk about those places in prayer?  Why not deal with them in plain sight before a loving and merciful God?  What good does it do to pretend you don’t have those thoughts and feelings?  I’ll answer that question for you…No good at all. 

·         If God knows everything about me, even my sinful thoughts, won’t that go poorly for me?  Should I not cry out like Isaiah “I am a man of unclean lips and live among a people of unclean lips?”  Read verses 14-16 again.  Jesus Christ is our high priest who goes before us perfectly.  He gave his life as a ransom and payment for mine.  He makes me clean.  He removes my sin.  He changes my heart.  He makes me new.  He makes me holy.  He gives me life.  And the list goes on!  With all that Christ does we can now “with confidence draw near to the throne of grace.” 

·         I am not saying we should approach God flippantly or without reverence or fear.  He is God after all!  I am saying that we should not be afraid to approach him and tell him how we are feeling, we should not be afraid to be honest out of fear that God will condemn us.  Christ has already paid the price and he brings you into the presence of the Father.  While we are there why not share how you feel?  Don’t worry, God can handle it, He is pretty amazing after all.