Measureless Grace

In Stuart Townend’s great worship hymn, “How Deep the Father’s Love for Us”, he adds in the second line, “how vast beyond all measure”.  Haldor Lillenas in his hymn “Wonderful Grace of Jesus” uses these words in the chorus, “deeper than the mighty rolling sea, higher than the mountain, all sufficient grace for even me”.  It is the incredible vastness of God’s grace, His love in Jesus Christ, which both overwhelms and blesses the believer.

In I Peter 1:6 Peter points out that the believer will encounter various (NKJV) or manifold (KJV) trials and temptations.  The word used here for various or manifold is used again by Peter in I Peter 4:10 to describe the manifold grace of God. What Peter has said is that in every need there is a grace to meet it.  In II Corinthians 12:9 Paul says that in his hour of frustration over his thorn in the flesh that God said to him, “My grace is sufficient for you.”  That wasn’t a need for saving grace; rather it was a need for supporting grace in his ministry.  It wouldn’t be Paul’s strength showing through; it would be the strength and grace of God being made manifest in his life.  In James 4:6 James says that God gives “more grace” to us.  Since we cannot be more saved than we are at the point of conversion, more grace means that it is grace to live our newborn life not just get newborn life. 

God’s grace is vast.  It is deep.  It is wide.  It is sufficient for all needs.  It is wonderful.  God’s grace is saving, enabling, sustaining, wooing, giving, rejoicing and we could go on and on.  At the table before a meal we say “grace” showing that we are thankful for God’s bountiful blessings.  Grace is the unmatched and unrivaled blessings of God toward His own children.  It is a general grace offered to all mankind in the rain that falls on the just and unjust.  It is a bidding grace to everyone to come to the cross and be born again.  It is a grace to strengthen the believer through the portal of eternity.  It is the old adage, “There but for the grace of God go I”.  God’s grace is beyond measure.  It can never be used up.  It springs from the very nature of God who is full of grace. 

John Newton begins his hymn “Amazing Grace” by telling how that grace saved him.  In the next verses he reminds us that it also sustained him in many dangers, toils and snares.  Then he makes us clear that the grace that began our walk with God will also finish it with Him.  In the original, not the American version of the hymn, Newton also assures us of the great promises of that grace for us that God has promised in His word.  Let us learn more of that grace and sing it with exuberance each day. 

  The Friday Benediction

Until Monday, my friends, may the good God envelop you with His grace; may you prove the common confession of faith, “I believe in the holy Christian church and in the fellowship of the saints”, and may you be enriched with joy and hope as you exercise that confession this weekend.  Amen

 

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Grace and Law

Philip Bliss, in his great Gospel hymn “Once for All”, begins with this glorious declaration, “Free from the Law, O happy condition!”  Indeed, the desperation of all who are trying to please God by keeping the Law has been overcome by God’s gift of grace. They have been given a gift of grace through Christ’s full obedience to the Law and then dying for all who break it.  We are no longer condemned by the Law that we cannot keep. We are pardoned through the shed blood of the One who kept it.  But does that mean that we are free from obedience to the Law of God?

Paul asks, “Shall we sin (break the Law) that Grace may abound? God forbid!”  Christ summarized the Law into two behavioral demands that illustrate that we can keep the Law while walking in the glory of Grace.  Jesus said, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength; and you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”  We might think of this as a Grace walk.  One foot walks in holiness to God and the other foot walks in love to mankind.  Both feet walk together in the path of Christ as revealed in God’s inerrant holy word.  The heart grows stronger in love toward God and man the more walking is done.  The brain becomes more focused on the beauties seen in the walk as the walk progresses more toward the image and glory of Christ.  

The conflict does not come in coupling Grace to obedience to the Law.  The Holy Spirit, who is God and loves man and indwells the believer, will strengthen us in this dual walk every day.  The conflict is that attempt by man to supplant God’s grace by our own obedience to the Law as being sufficient to please God.  That will never do.  It will end in failure, fatigue and Phariseeism.  But walking in graceful obedience to the law of loving God and man will bless us, will bless God and will bless man.  Jesus, led by the Holy Spirit, walked this Grace walk.  Let us sing with Washington Gladden, “O Master, Let Me Walk with Thee”, and then purpose in our hearts to walk the Grace walk with Him today and every day.  

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Beautiful Savior

The great German hymn “Fairest Lord Jesus” begins the third verse with the line, “Beautiful Savior . . .” This helps us make the connection between Grace and Jesus.  Grace, the beautiful woman, is the heart and soul of Jesus, the beautiful Savior. 

This does not mean that He was the handsomest man to walk in ancient Galilee.  In fact, the prophet Isaiah had said of Him that He would have “no beauty that we should desire Him.” (53:2 NKJV) What He did have was Grace.  What He was, was Grace.  He was the perfect embodiment of all the Grace of God.  He was full of grace, brimming over with it. 

Grace poured out of Him to the outcast leper that He didn’t hesitate to touch.  Grace poured out of Him to the little children he stooped to embrace.  Grace poured out of Him to the grieving mother whose son He raised.  Grace poured out of Him to the multitudes that He invited to come to Him and find rest.  Grace poured out of Him in His sorrowing with Mary and Martha and in raising Lazarus from the dead.  Grace poured out from Him to the sinful woman who had washed His feet with her tears.  Grace poured out from Him to the centurion who had supervised His crucifixion as He said, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.”  Grace poured out from Him as He returned to His doubting and mocking brothers James and Jude following His resurrection and said to them once more, “Believe in me.”  Grace poured out from Him to Peter the denier when He offered him a ministry during a seaside breakfast.  Grace was His nature.  Grace poured out from Him because that was who He was.

In Christ that is who we are to be as well.  We are commanded to grow in grace.  We have been saved to minister the grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to a world desperately needing someone to be gracious to them.  We are to be gracious in speech, gracious in actions, gracious in character.  We are to have Jesus alive in us and He is Grace.  Tom Jones, in his beautiful Gospel song, “Let the Beauty of Jesus Be Seen in Me”, challenges us to follow Christ in His expression of God’s great and wonderful grace to this world.  Sing it over and over today, “Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in me.” 

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Grace Revealed

Lela Long wrote, “Jesus is the Sweetest Name I know”.  The title sounds connected to John Newton’s “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound.”  John Newton wrote another hymn with a similar title, “How Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds.”  There seems to be a lot of “sweetness” in the air.  That fragrant smell all revolves around “The wonderful grace of Jesus”.

Jesus Christ is the grace of God revealed.  The Gospel of John tells us that Jesus was full of grace and truth.  John also tells us that the Law came by Moses but grace and truth come through Jesus Christ.  Paul’s benediction in II Corinthians 13 says, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.”  Grace and Christ are inseparable. 

How does that impact us?  How does this truth affect our lives?  Is it “stuffy doctrine” or is it something I can peacefully go to sleep on?  Can it help me when my boss yells at me for a mistake I didn’t make?  Can it help me when my boss yells at me for a mistake I did make?  Can it help my family?  Can it help my relationship with others?  Can it make my relationship with my dog any better?  Yes, it does impact us.  Yes, it does impact our lives.  Yes, it is something we can sleep peacefully on.  Yes, it can make a difference in all areas of our lives. 

Jesus Christ is alive.  He is risen from the dead.  Every day He is with those who love Him.  He is the all powerful God.  He is the strength of this life and the hope of the next.  He is the fullness of the measure of the grace of God.  Therefore He is able to impact us by and with His grace at all times and in all situations.  It is not idle doctrine; it is living, active, impacting power of the grace of God.  It makes the dead alive.  It makes the living into a new creature of grace to demonstrate the glory of God’s love to all they encounter.  It is meaningful on a grander scale than we can imagine. 

This is the power of grace. It is the power of the risen Christ within us. It is the power of the living Christ manifesting the fullness of His grace through us.  This is the joy of living in the grace of God.  This is the point of this blog.  This is daily living in abundant grace.  As Paul would say, “Grace to you.” 

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Beautiful Grace

John Newton wrote, “Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound”.  Haldor Lillenas wrote, “Wonderful the matchless grace of Jesus”.  What better word can we know than “Grace”?  Grace is such a beautiful word. It is such a beautiful name. 

Grace is a name attached to a beautiful woman.  Imagine walking into a room, a crowded room, and there sitting alone at a small table is the most beautiful woman ever seen.  It is not Hollywood type beautiful.  There is no pretentiousness, no falsity, no made up charm to this woman. She is modest in appearance, demure in poise and fully calm in her manner.  The very nature of her demeanor is electrifyingly attractive.  She is a bright light in an otherwise dim room. It is as if a radiance from an ancient icon has been has settled on her head and singles her out from everyone else.  She is, in a word, irresistible.  In fact, you find yourself uttering that word audibly, yet unconsciously as you look at her. 

“Agreed!” says your friend with gusto. 

“Huh?” you mutter as your senses return. 

“Irresistible,” he replies.  “Just as you said.”

You follow his line of vision to a small bar set at the end of the room.  There sits a semi-inebriated woman who is halfway falling out of her clothes. 

You find yourself gasping at the stark contrast.  “No, not her.” Then turning your eyes back again to the woman who has caught your attention and your heart, you reply, “Her.” 

“No “old maids” for me,” your friend retorts as he briskly walks toward the bar.

“Old maids?” your mind reels at the description as you once again look into the center of the room and the most beautiful creature ever formed.  And you know, you know for an absolute certainty that this vision in front of you cannot be compared to anything that mere words could describe.  You know with an absolute certainty that any man lucky enough to have this woman as his wife would never be disappointed in all the greatest expectations of marital bliss. 

But the real question is, why would she have such a schlump as you?   A minute ago you had thought of yourself as the greatest catch a woman could land.  Now you see yourself as quite the opposite.  You see yourself as just another Joe trying to score a little action and that you are therefore totally unfit for such a woman as you see before you.

Then she turns your way.  She sees you staring, a bad beginning but you can’t help it, and she smiles.  It isn’t a condescending smile.  It isn’t a pained smile at your rudeness.  It isn’t a weary smile that another man has noticed her beauty.  It is a simple smile.  It could almost be described as a glad smile.  Yes, she seems genuinely happy to have you stare at her.  Even in that her beauty is enhanced and not marred.  She watches you for a minute, watches you watching her.  Then she nods ever so kindly at the vacant seat beside her and you know that she has beckoned you to come and join her.  There was no lurid signaling with one finger rakishly calling you to her table.  There were no raised eyebrows and pursed lips in a thrown kiss.  There was simply a smile that said come and a simple nod that said welcome.  In that simple gesture was the greatest and most irresistible invitation that could have been given. 

Your heart pounds, your feet move of their own volition and you find yourself seated next to her.  “I’m Grace,” she says.  “I am glad to meet you.” 

Everything else becomes a dream that is a reality.  She is indeed the best wife any man could ever have.  She is indeed always satisfying.  She is indeed all that had been imagined in that brief moment of first contact.  She wasn’t it for just a moment.  She was Grace, renewed and beautiful and satisfying each and every day. 

That is grace.  Grace is the gentle welcoming of God to a lifelong relationship of love.  Grace is the promise and the fulfillment of all God’s deepest care for mankind.  Grace is the overwhelming exaltation of God, not just for a moment at first glance, but forever.  And by the wonderful providence of God, the great blessing, the great hope, the great exhilaration, the great joy of that first meeting is renewed each day.  That is Daily Grace.  That is abundant grace. That is the grace of God in Jesus Christ our Lord. 

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The Grand Benediction

“Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, To God our Savior, Who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, Dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen.” Jude 24-25

     There are many great benedictions in Scripture. There is the Aaronic benediction, “The Lord bless you and keep you . . .”. There is the II Corinthians benediction, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.” There is the II Thessalonians benediction, “Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace always in every way. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.”

     This benediction in Jude covers them all. Pause to think about all the areas covered in this closing statement. It includes multiple promises. It includes the power behind those promises. It includes the character of the promise giver. It gives the full weight of eternal power to keep the promises. And it is sealed with the great Amen meaning This is most certainly true. May this benediction be fully realized in the lives of all His saints. Amen

  The Friday Benediction

Until Monday, my friends, may the good God envelop you with His grace; may you prove the common confession of faith, “I believe in the holy Christian church and in the fellowship of the saints”, and may you be enriched with joy and hope as you exercise that confession this weekend.  Amen

 

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He is Able

  “Now to Him who is able” Jude 24

     Two quick things come to mind when I read these few words. One is the great hymn, “He is Able to Deliver Thee.” This hymn fits well with the previous verse about saving others from sin while preserving us from the same. “He is able to deliver thee, He is able to deliver thee; Though by sin oppressed, go to Him for rest; Our God is able to deliver thee.” (William Ogden – 1887) We all need this message as an ointment for our souls. God has the power to give us victory over living a corrupt life of willful sin.

     The second thought that comes to me is from Ephesians 3.  “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,  to Him beglory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” This is a promise, an assurance, that God is able to sustain us in life, deliver us from sin, and empower us for service even when we are humanly weak. Remember, He is able.

Father, Thank You for being able and willing to sustain Your children. Amen

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Sin is Sin

“But others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire,” Jude 23

     As humans we have lost sight of a simple truth, all sin is sin. We try to divide it up into categories. We see sin as running a scale from insignificant to unspeakable. God sees sin as sin without our human categories. What is different about sin is how the sinner sees his sin. The pastor rushing to the hospital knows full well that speeding is a sin and knows full well that the police officer is fully right if he gives a ticket. But there is also the person who knows that sin is sin and that he loves being in that sin and has no concern about the consequences.

     Toward such sinners we need to save them with fear. Fear of what? Fear of finding that there is a certain pleasure in their sinful acts that could also entice us. Fear that keeps us from falling into their sinful behavior. Fear for their eternal soul and ours. Hating the sin enough to be very afraid of its consequences in this life and the next.

     Father, Keep me from the love of sin. Amen

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A Little Compassion

“On some have compassion, making a distinction.” Jude 22

     “I’m sorry, officer, I have an emergency to take care of at the hospital and I lost track of my speed.” Those simple words are a plea for mercy. We fell into the sin of speeding and it looks bleak for us. We know we are wrong and that the officer has every right to judge us, but we could really use his help and understanding.

     People fall into sin and we as believers have a couple of options. First, we can condemn them for their foolishness and turn our back on them for their shameful behavior. Or we can talk to them, love them, encourage them, and forgive them if they are repentant. We can restore them in the hope of Christ. Too often we are tempted by or enemy to turn our back. But that is not what Christ has done for us or we would all be hopelessly lost. Since we are all in the same boat of humanity, we need to have compassion on those who are imperfect like us.

     Father, Thank You for forgiving me and help me love and help others likewise. Amen

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Be Prepared

“Looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.” Jude 21

     I like to be prepared. Before I go on vacation I like to make reservations where I plan to stay. Before I go shopping I like to have a list. Before I die I want to know where I am going. Jude has made clear from verse one onward how to know where we are going. It has everything with knowing the one who handles reservations. Jesus said, “I Am the Way, the Truth, and the Life, no man cometh onto the Father but by Me.” (John 14:6) If we have trusted Christ as our Savior, then we know where we are going. If not, then we don’t.

     But we must always remember that it is not our work but His that merits a heavenly home. Jesus, in the grace and mercy of God, died for our sins, the Just for the unjust, the pure for the impure, the Holy for the profane. This is the mercy of God that saves and keeps us and that we need to pass along to others.

     Father, Thank You for mercy and help me to share that mercy. Amen

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The Right Position

“Keep yourselves in the Love of God.” Jude 21

     Did you ever hear something you think you really didn’t hear or what you didn’t understand? Our response is often, “WHAT!” How do we keep ourselves in the love of God? Doesn’t He always love us? Well, He loved us enough to send His Son to die for us. So, He loved us when we were truly unlovable.

     A married couple can understand this passage quite easily. We had a great dating time, a wonderful engagement period, and a beautiful wedding where we promised to love and cherish each other as long as both lived. Then comes marriage where it isn’t always the same. We clash with our ideas, our needs, our wants. Sometimes many couples begin to question if they love each other. Of course, they usually do, but it is hard to see. They haven’t left their love, they have left the joy and commitment of their love. Christians sometimes feel estranged from God because they have lived so contrary to His will that they expect only the worst from Him. We are to keep from letting that happen.

Father, We want to truly guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen

  The Friday Benediction

Until Monday, my friends, may the good God envelop you with His grace; may you prove the common confession of faith, “I believe in the holy Christian church and in the fellowship of the saints”, and may you be enriched with joy and hope as you exercise that confession this weekend.  Amen

 

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A Strong Foundation

“Building yourselves up on your most holy faith” Jude 20

     Peter tells us to “grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ”. (II Pet. 3:18) The psalmist said that for the believer “his delight ourselves in the law of the Lord”. (Ps. 1:2) Paul told Timothy that he should continue in the “Holy Scriptures which will make you wise unto salvation.” (II Tim. 3:15) Since Timothy was already saved and a leader in the church, this makes us understand the words unto salvation means to live like a saved person, not just become saved. Again, the psalmist says, “How shall a young man keep his way pure? By taking heed according to Your word.” (Ps. 119:9)

     The Holy Scriptures not only teach us the way to salvation, they teach us the way to live in our salvation. We must have faith in the word of God, the Bible. Jesus said, “sanctify them in Thy word, Thy word is truth.” John 17:17 We need God’s word for our daily sanctification. If we are to build ourselves up in our most holy faith, then we must be in God’s word each day.

Father, We than You for Your perfect Word. Amen  

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Building Materials

“Building yourselves up on your most holy faith” Jude 20

     Peter tells us to “grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ”. (II Pet. 3:18) The psalmist said that for the believer “his delight ourselves in the law of the Lord”. (Ps. 1:2) Paul told Timothy that he should continue in the “Holy Scriptures which will make you wise unto salvation.” (II Tim. 3:15) Since Timothy was already saved and a leader in the church, this makes us understand the words unto salvation means to live like a saved person, not just become saved. Again, the psalmist says, “How shall a young man keep his way pure? By taking heed according to Your word.” (Ps. 119:9)

     The Holy Scriptures not only teach us the way to salvation, they teach us the way to live in our salvation. We must have faith in the word of God, the Bible. Jesus said, “sanctify them in Thy word, Thy word is truth.” John 17:17 We need God’s word for our daily sanctification. If we are to build ourselves up in our most holy faith, then we must be in God’s word each day.

Father, We than You for Your perfect Word. Amen  

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Rebuilding

“Building yourselves up on your most holy faith.” Jude 20

     The Great Armistice Day Blizzard started out on the west coast of Washington four days before hitting the Midwest. The winds from the storm brought down the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, the third longest suspension bridge in the world. Obviously, there was a time of great rebuilding across America after the storm. From the devastation of nature’s wrath there were ruins to be rebuilt.

     Paul told the Ephesians that they had been “dead in their trespasses and sins” (Eph. 2:1) Their new lives in Christ had to be rebuilt from the days of sin and death. We often don’t stop to think how disgusting our lives were in the sight of God before we were saved. We had no foundation, only a slippery slope to eternal damnation. Every believer must be built up from the ruins of his lost estate. We cannot use old ways to build up the new man. We must be built up on what brought us to Christ – faith in God’s Word about who we were. That same Word is now the foundation of what we are to become.

Father, Convict us to long for Your Word. Amen

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Change of Direction

“But you, beloved” Jude 20

     In 1940 the Great Armistice Day Blizzard raced across the upper Midwest leaving hundreds dead and even the nature of farming changed in Iowa for the next 78 years. In the morning it was fifty plus degrees and it was a holiday. People went out to enjoy “nature” and many hundreds to go hunting. By nightfall in Iowa alone, there were 150 people dead, trapped by the fast-moving storm. This verse reminds me of that historic day. From the pits of hell, we now soar to the heights of glory. “But you, beloved” changes everything. Only this time it is to the good.

     Jude is done with the wicked. Now he wants to encourage God’s people. The last six verses of the book simple directions and promises to the Church. The Church is the Beloved bride of Christ. We are His and He loves us more than we can imagine until we see Him face to face. These final six verses are for our encouragement and edification.

Father, Thank You for Your boundless love to us in Christ. Amen

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Arrogance, Error, and Division

“These are sensual persons who cause divisions, not having the Spirit” Jude 19

     For forty years in the ministry I have witnessed arrogant people trying to take control of church boards and entire congregations. Sometimes, I have seen them win and I have seen churches die and some even close. A church can die long before it closes. I have also seen some of these churches thrive for a time while offering sawdust instead of water to thirsty souls. The president of one denomination, a denomination in fellowship with the denomination where I served, but no longer serve, said, “Who cares whether the Bible is true or not? It doesn’t matter.”

     eHe wanted people to truly experience freedom to do as they pleased as long as they could do it with self-justification. After-all, God is within all of us, right? This man’s attitude brought about over a thousand local congregations to leave his denomination. Good for them. He caused divisions, along with his seminary teachers, in order to encourage people to follow their lusts and not their Lord. These are truly men whom we must avoid. Sound doctrine does matter.

Father, Strengthen us in Your true Word. Amen

  The Friday Benediction

Until Monday, my friends, may the good God envelop you with His grace; may you prove the common confession of faith, “I believe in the holy Christian church and in the fellowship of the saints”, and may you be enriched with joy and hope as you exercise that confession this weekend.  Amen

 

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Watch Out

“How they told you that there would be mockers in the last time who would walk according to their own ungodly lusts.” Jude 18

     I read a book, taken from his lectures, by a professor of theology at a noted seminary. What did it say? Blasphemy on page one and blasphemy on page three hundred. He mocked God and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ all the way through. He didn’t want anyone to be deceived by the Bible. Sadly, your read that last sentence correctly. He is a mocker of great swelling words, a cloud without water, a wandering star destined for destruction. He is an ungodly teacher. In my book Deceived I take on another mocker who teaches that immorality is really purity in love.

     These are mockers of God, along with all the media that try to tell us that no one is in control and our world is spinning without direction or hope. They are Satan’s tools to destroy faith in God in every area of our lives. They have been marked out for condemnation and we need to stay away from them.

Father, Strengthen me in Your true way. Protect my faith. Amen.

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Crux of the Matter

“But you, beloved, remember the words which were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord, Jesus Christ.” Jude 17

     Here is the crux of the matter. Who is the source of our information? Is it the media? Is it our friends? Is it our neighbors? Is it the world in general? Who shapes our thinking? Who shapes our mood? Who shapes our desires? Who shapes our attitude toward life?

     In 2007 I suggested to my congregation that we fast from the news media for Lent. I made it simple. We could still read the local paper and we could still watch the local news at ten. But that was to be our news intake for Lent. As far as I know, I am the only one, beside by wife, who did that. It was so refreshing that I have kept it up ever since.

     What do we need to know about the world? God is in control. What do we need to know about tomorrow? God is there. We can’t change the sinfulness of mankind, but we can learn to trust or loving Father more.

Father, Let the words of Your Word give me peace each day. Amen

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Too Much Grumbling

“These are grumblers, complainers, walking according to their own lusts. They mouth great swelling words, flattering people to gain advantage.” Jude 16

     Don’t we all grumble and complain at times? Does that put us among the ungodly? We are certainly acting in an ungodly fashion. First, we shouldn’t be grumblers and complainers because that shows a lack of faith in God’s goodness and care for us. It reveals that we are sinners, but it doesn’t mark us among the ungodly.

     Their grumbling is because they are not in control of their lives and the lives of others. They want to have the power that God has to run things and dictate the direction all things go. They are braggarts who live an ungodly life and grumble about restraint. They try to persuade others to join their cause. Everything is all about them. Their grumbling isn’t just expressing a momentary lack of faith, it is displaying a heart that resents anything that impedes their will. Watch out for these

.

Father, Forgive our grumbling lack of faith. Give us true daily trust in You. Amen

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How Ungodly Can You Get?

“To convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.” Jude 15

     I think that Jude, through the direction of the Holy Spirit, is trying to make a point. Just how ungodly are the ungodly? And who are the ungodly? The ungodly are those who don’t have a sense of or a concern for the sinful way they live. They simply disregard God in their words and actions as if God either doesn’t care or doesn’t exist. They will repent at the consequences of sin, but not for the sins they commit.

     This reminds me of a study on animals. They have no real moral compass. We train them to behave, and they do when we are around. But they do as they please when we aren’t. They show regret when we scold them, but that is not repentance, just sorrow for the scolding. The ungodly are like that, and God will judge them for it.

Father, Help me to be conscious of, and care about, Your directions for Your children. Amen.

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Not Even Michael

“Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil about the body of Moses, dared not to bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, ‘The Lord rebuke you’.” Jude 9

In modern Christianity we often take Satan too lightly. That is to our harm. Even Michael realized who Satan was in the order of creation. Lucifer was the highest archangel in heaven He was so persuasive that he led thousands of angels in rebellion to God. In order of creation he was higher in status than Michael. Michael recognized this and called for a higher power to forestall Satan’s desires. Only one power can quell Satan and that is God Himself, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

When Satan attacks us today, our only hope and strength is in God. He alone can support us against this powerful angelic foe. God’s word is given to us as a weapon against Satan’s designs on our life and soul. Not in our own strength, but through prayer and God’s Word can we oppose our foe and prevail in doing the will of God.

Father, Keep us alert to our enemy and protect us from him. Amen

Don't Underestimate

“Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil about the body of Moses, dared not to bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, ‘The Lord rebuke you’.” Jude 9

In modern Christianity we often take Satan too lightly. That is to our harm. Even Michael realized who Satan was in the order of creation. Lucifer was the highest archangel in heaven He was so persuasive that he led thousands of angels in rebellion to God. In order of creation he was higher in status than Michael. Michael recognized this and called for a higher power to forestall Satan’s desires. Only one power can quell Satan and that is God Himself, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

When Satan attacks us today, our only hope and strength is in God. He alone can support us against this powerful angelic foe. God’s word is given to us as a weapon against Satan’s designs on our life and soul. Not in our own strength, but through prayer and God’s Word can we oppose our foe and prevail in doing the will of God.

Father, Keep us alert to our enemy and protect us from him. Amen

  The Friday Benediction

Until Monday, my friends, may the good God envelop you with His grace; may you prove the common confession of faith, “I believe in the holy Christian church and in the fellowship of the saints”, and may you be enriched with joy and hope as you exercise that confession this weekend.  Amen

 

For quality inspirational, educational, and fictional Christian books visit www.davidccraig.net