Devotion Jude 17-23 The True Conclusion
“They said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.” The Apostles understood that they were living in the broad (to us) period of time known as the “End Times,” the End of the Age,” and the “Last Days.” All these terms refer to the same time period. The Lord’s disciples asked Jesus about this time period and in Matthew 24:1-35 He answered them and gave signs to look for. Matthew 24:3-8 gives us the “birth pains” (world events that will happen that He said to note as what would reveal the timing of His return, the End of the Age). The Apostles had quickly contended against the rising up of scoffers. (Acts 13:41, 2 Peter 3:3, Jude 1:18) We know that the world is full of scoffers and mockers today. Know that those who scoff at the Gospel and who scoff at the prophecies of the Bible are not to be Christians. (2 Peter 3, 6-7) One sign of an errant soul is to mock the prophecies given by God through Jesus and through inspired men of God.
“These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit.” People who scoff and mock are among us. They are those who laugh with a sneer and roll their eyes, as if that is proof. Their derision comes from arrogance and ignorance, do not give them heed, they will repent or eternally perish. These are noted as contemptuous even in the times of David. (Psalm 35:21-26; 40:14-15; 70:2-3) Foolish people accept the argument of their sneers, scoffs, mocking laughter and pointing fingers. These are the empty arguments of a person of folly. Let no person who calls their selves believers be guilty of this as they may be dreadfully surprised. (Matthew 7:23)
“But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.” Family, continue seeking the understanding of the Word through the Holy Spirit, who is the giver of the mysteries of God to all who seek understanding through Him. Stay in fellowship with our triune God and remember that we were saved, and are sustained, only by His love and mercy through our Lord Jesus Christ.
“22 Be merciful to those who doubt; 23 save others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.” There are those who for their own purpose and evil edification and who are not His disciples, scoff. Yet some do so out of ignorance or because they genuinely are being led astray by haters of God (Romans 1:28-32). These people who do not hate God but are deceived by the agents of the enemy are those who have not yet, but will come to know Jesus as their Savior and Lord. Let us have our mercies focused on those, though certainly to all. Though we preach the Gospel to all, the Lord directs us to specific persons who will heed the call. Be careful, it is the Lord who guides and not our assumptions. It is a horrible error for us to try to determine such a thing. (Matthew 7:1) As in all things let the Holy Spirit guide. (Galatians 5:16)
As we reach out to these, be careful not to be drawn into their sin, as many are. We are to remain holy to God. (2 Peter 3:11) Holy means being separated from what is common to the world (sin) and to be consecrated to God. It means to be different from non-believers. So let us not be drawn into the lie of doing what is sinful in order to draw in the sinner. It is a lie from the devil and may prove deadly to the saint. Love the sinner but hate the sin is still true.
“To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— 25 to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.” As we know, only God is the Savior and Keeper of our souls. We, nor any other, can save us except Jesus. And for that we give to God the foremost and first honor, glory and acknowledgement. And we do that by, as God has ordained, bowing down in our innermost being to Jesus. Honoring God is honoring Jesus the Son. Not honoring Jesus as Savior and Lord is dishonoring God because that means we have rejected His plan to save us and indeed in rejecting the Son we reject God. God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit are one God. Our God is one. Let us always raise the name of Jesus above all other names and above every other priority in life. There is only one high priority in life and that is peace with God through Jesus Christ. For that our songs and proclamations are “Thank Your Jesus” and “Praise you Jesus!” Amen!
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown You, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of You but to do justly, to love mercy, And to walk humbly with Your God.
Numbers 6:24-26 “The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.”
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Devotion Jeremiah 23:23-24 Reason For Trust
Jeremiah 23:23-24 – “Am I only a God nearby,” declares the Lord, “and not a God far away? 24 Who can hide in secret places so that I cannot see them?” declares the Lord. “Do not I fill heaven and earth?” declares the Lord.
Psalm 139:7-12 – Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? 8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. 9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, 10 even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. 11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,” 12 even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.
A.W. Tozer wrote “Yet how He eludes us! For He is everywhere while He is nowhere, for “where” has to do with matter and space, and God is independent of both. He is unaffected by time or motion, is wholly self-dependent and owes nothing to the world His hands have made.”
Today most elevate earned knowledge above faith, but knowledge eludes those who trust self to gain knowledge and who sneer at faith. Yet wisdom and faith in God bring esoteric wisdom to those know what it is to sit at the feet of God and listen.
Oh Lord God Almighty we are enthralled by You!
Why should any part of Your creation
Distract us from the beauty of You?
Why should anything powerful bring us to awe
When You are before us?
Our amazement belongs to You Oh Lord!
We delight over a butterfly that
Lands and rests upon our palm.
As it stretches out its wings and
Rests upon our hand,
Though we have the might
To crush, it need not fear
And does not fear.
We are awed by its fragile beauty
And give it good reason
For its trust,
Which will not be betrayed.
We understand a sacred moment
Of protecting the given trust of one
Who seeks refuge in our hand.
Lovely is it and so trusting and fragile.
In the sanctity of its trust
And of the special moment,
We are moved to love and protect,
To guard from harm
With all our might.
We instantly love and delight
In this beautiful delicate creature.
Then, like a drawn horse
Our thoughts move from the butterfly
To our Lord who loves us so.
As delicate and trusting as the butterfly is
More so are we to the God.
As loving and protecting as we to the butterfly
Is the Lord to us.
In His palm we rest and trust,
We are safe and calm
In His palm,
Why would we jump from so sure a foundation,
To an unknown landing
Where death seeks to prey?
The butterfly cannot explain our existence
And it does not demand from us an explanation,
Or justify ourselves.
It merely enjoys the security we provide.
Lord, may we be as wise as the butterfly
That does not demand to fully understand,
Or explanations of why we are trustworthy.
May we live in faith
On the hand of You God
You hold us.
In the hand of God is peace and security
In the hand of God we are loved and kept.
In the hand of God may we be,
As wise as the butterfly,
Resting completely upon You.
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown You, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of You but to do justly, to love mercy, And to walk humbly with Your God.
Numbers 6:24-26 “The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.”
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Devotion Psalm 137 To Them Peace Remains
Psalm 137 – By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion. 2 There on the poplars we hung our harps, 3 for there our captors asked us for songs, our tormentors demanded songs of joy; they said, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!” 4 How can we sing the songs of the Lord while in a foreign land? 5 If I forget you, Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill. 6 May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you, if I do not consider Jerusalem my highest joy. 7 Remember, Lord, what the Edomites did on the day Jerusalem fell. “Tear it down,” they cried, “tear it down to its foundations!” 8 Daughter Babylon, doomed to destruction, happy is the one who repays you according to what you have done to us. 9 Happy is the one who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks.
From the evil in the world, there is no repentance for their evil deeds. Never do we hear from them “I regret, I’m sorry, I went too far, I now regret my actions.” They tear down what you treasured. While we mourn they rejoice in the cold ashes from the fires they lit, and the graves of those they killed bring them no remorse. Instead they have a party in the ashes and dance atop the graves. They are lost in their new positions of power but they do not rebuild because they only know destruction and their ideas to rebuild fail. Knowledge and wisdom to rebuild they don’t have.
Destruction was not necessary. Loss of blessings came from rejection of He who gave them. Then those who remember what once was, who lived in blessings but were not thankful to the giver of them, to them comes regret and mourning. In regret of foolishness the ashes and graves loudly mock them. Why did they acquiesce to evil? Now they wonder if God will restore those who have hated Him. Without repentance, they only have memories that torture them.
Yet for His faithful children, for those who love and serve Him, the Lord says “Forever you remain in my love and peace. You will be comforted. My high blessings remain forever to my faithful. Your hearts will stay in peace, hope will never leave you, and you will soon be brought home. In your hearts you hurt for the lost, but in your spirits, you will walk forever be in peace with me. Fires cannot eat and the evil cannot steal or kill the life I have given to you. Nothing can separate you from me. You will rejoice even amongst the tears. Soon, the tears will be no more. I am faithful.”
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown You, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of You but to do justly, to love mercy, And to walk humbly with Your God.
Numbers 6:24-26 “The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.”
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Devotion Matthew 9:46 The Steadfast Rock
Matthew 9:46 – Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
Psalm 18:2 – The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
Matthew 16:18 – And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.
Along the California coast, at Ventura, is Mugu Rock. It is a popular landmark for those who travel Highway 1. It is on the ocean side of the road and it is beloved milestone to many over the years.
The Lord has given us places like this rock, and also mountains, lakes, oceans, sunrises, sunsets, beautiful daytime and nighttime skies, and so much more, as a reminder of His love for us. He has also given us little rocks, saints who have held strong to faith, through the ages. They, like the Apostle Peter, are also reminders of the Lord’s love of us and from that love, His mercy, grace and faithfulness. Speaking most clearly is His Word, that is opened by the Holy Spirit to all who love and serve Jesus Christ.
Yet the ancient Rock, the Foundation that never is moved and always faithful is our God. Genesis 49:24b-26a “ because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel, 25 because of your father’s God, who helps you, because of the Almighty, who blesses you with blessings of the skies above, blessings of the deep springs below, blessings of the breast and womb. 26 Your father’s blessings are greater than the blessings of the ancient mountains, than the bounty of the age-old hills.” Family and Friends, as we are comforted by all the physical things of the world, and are comforted by mini rocks of the faith, let us take comfort that the our eternal rock always loves us and no force can move Him from us. Psalm 62:2 “Truly He is my rock and my salvation; He is my fortress, I will never be shaken.” King David had a close personal relationship with the Lord. (Acts 2:25-28) Since that is true, how much more so us who have the Holy Spirit living within as proof or our eternal salvation and communion with God. Family and Friends this gift is for the present, for the now, as well as for the eternal future.
God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, our eternal Rock whom we live in the shadow of lovingly watches over us every moment of our lives. Let’s encourage each other with the knowledge of His love and steadfast faithfulness to us. Peace, deep and abiding peace from God is what He gives to us now and as we keep our eyes on Him, we cannot lose them. Praise God! Stay close to God and praise Him! Praise God!
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown You, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of You but to do justly, to love mercy, And to walk humbly with Your God.
Numbers 6:24-26 “The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.”
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Devotion Matthew 27:46 How Deep Is His Love
Matthew 27:46 – About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).
Psalm 22:1 – My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish?
Oh my Savior and Lord, You Lord God who is the lover of my soul, may I never forget how great a price You paid! Help me Lord! Sometimes my lack of obedience and commitment reveal an ugly and conscious setting aside of what You did for me so that I may have what my nature immediately, temporarily, and tragically wants. Oh Lord God, may I live my life in a manner that shows I love and appreciate You. That shows what You have done for me. Lord Jesus, please help me! Lord God, when I consider the severity of Your sacrifice that came from the depth of Your love, I weep in sadness over my sin and rejoice in gratefulness for the remedy you paid for. Thank you Lord! Truly I live only because of You! Thank you Lord Jesus! Thank you!
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown You, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of You but to do justly, to love mercy, And to walk humbly with Your God.
Numbers 6:24-26 “The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.”
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Devotion Matthew 6:25-34 Lasting Peace Is Possible Now
Matthew 6:25-34 – “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? 28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
What worries us? What do our minds repeatedly wander back to? What keeps us awake at night? As we are mired in our concerns we have tired ourselves to be released, and what is the result? Isn’t there always a next thing? After we have taken care of whatever it is that has worried us, isn’t there always something else?
What do we need in order to have true and everlasting peace in our lives? What we need is the actual peace of God that is able to change our spirits, to change our souls into a different spirit and soul that attains the peace that can elude us. (2 Corinthians 5:17)
Family and Friends, whatever it is that troubles us will pass. People are born stained by original sin and yet, through Jesus, even that can change. The death of our physical bodies is inevitable, but not so our eternal souls. To this day mankind seeks to overcome the consequence of original sin (death). From pride death begins and through pride it continues. Death has not and never will be overcome by our efforts. (Ephesians 2:8-9) Yet we are not inescapably doomed, at least not spiritually. The death of the body gives way to the eternal life in the spirit. (2 Corinthians 5:8) So why do we worry most about the shortest part of our lives and neglect the eternal part? If we have something to eat and drink, if we have clothes to wear, and if we have shelter to sleep in, we have enough for this physical body. The list is simple, but the variety of options is vast. In these varieties and options we torture ourselves.
Jesus asks us “What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?” (Mark 8:36) Family and Friends, why do we chase the fleeting as we flee from what pursues us.
Peace and happiness in this world is a pile of leaves that gets scattered by even a soft breeze. True and lasting peace is found in the spirit, but not any spirit, but only from God, who is Spirit. (John 4:24, 4:16) Finding the peace this world offers is temporary and circumstantial. Nothing physical brings permanent peace. However our spiritual God the Father has given us Jesus His Son to bring permanent peace to us. (John 14:27, 16:33) He brings us from enmity with God to peace with God, and only He can. (Romans 5:10)
Jesus said that the two greatest commandments are to love God with all that we are, and to love each other. (Mark 12:30-32) Family and Friends, if we do that, we have peace with God and man. In that we have peace. Peace is not hard to have and not hard to find as God gives it freely through Jesus our Savior and Lord. Thank you Jesus! Thank you God!
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown You, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of You but to do justly, to love mercy, And to walk humbly with Your God.
Numbers 6:24-26 “The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.”
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Devotion 2 Timothy 3:14-17 Staying In The Spirit, Learning By The Spirit
2 Timothy 3:14-17 – But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.
1 Thessalonians 5:17 – Pray continuously.
1 Thessalonians 5:11 – Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.
Evangelist and Pastor Billy Sunday lived from 1862 to 1935. He was a popular baseball player during the 1880’s. It is said that he later became the most influential evangelist during the first two decades of the 20th century. He famously once said “Temptation is the devil looking through a keyhole. Yielding is opening the door and inviting him in.”
Pastor Sunday would give his converts three rules for success in the Christian Life. “Each day they were to read the Bible and let God talk to them. They were to pray; in other words, they were to talk to God. And they were to witness and talk to others about God.”
It’s hard to improve on that advice. Yet in this, we know that we only understand as the Holy Spirit reveals. So let us start by being in prayer and as we are, by remembering who He is, and who He is to us. Then let us start our studying of the Word by being the presence of God. Then, by God being gifted with understanding let us encourage each other. And always and forever, the Lord is with us to help us. (Isaiah 41:10) Praise God!
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown You, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of You but to do justly, to love mercy, And to walk humbly with Your God.
Numbers 6:24-26 “The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.”
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Devotion Numbers 22:18-19 It Is Impossible To Have Both
Numbers 22:18-19 “But Balaam answered them, “Even if Balak gave me all the silver and gold in his palace, I could not do anything great or small to go beyond the command of the Lord my God. 19 Now spend the night here so that I can find out what else the Lord will tell me.”
Even though Balaam said this words, he was not committed to obedience to the Lord. His obvious desire to disobey the Lord is on full display. He is clear in his knowledge that God does not desire the Israelites to be cursed. What is he hoping? Is it that God may change His mind because the reward to Balaam will now be higher? Why does Balaam, having this personal relationship with the Lord, consider anything of the world worth having above or equal to the blessing of God? Or did he think he may have both? Even today too many who profess to love and follow Christ also, like Balaam, want both, the blessings of God and the things of this world. But The Lord’s Word is clear “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. 16 For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. 17 The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.” 1 John 2:15-17
1 John 2:16-17 was also expressed by Joshua “Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. 15 But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:14-15) Both of these verses instruct us to make up our minds to love God above all else and don’t be wishy washy. Jesus told us that we can love the world or we can love the Lord, but we cannot love both. (Matthew 6:24) The problem is that people think they are wiser than the Lord. They think they can figure a way to do both. Jesus said that is not possible. So believe either Jesus, or the lies of corrupted hearts (Jeremiah 17:9) and the lies of the enemy (John 8:44). What God said is true and anything and everything that contradicts God and His Word, is wrong, it is a lie from the enemy. Of that, there is no exception.
Family and Friends, Jesus, the Word in the flesh, and the written Word are always right and never needs to be updated. As if God didn’t know what sinful man would be saying in our days. Believe God and have eternal life. Don’t believe Him and perish. It really is that simple. (John 3:18, 36). Jesus said all the law hung on the two laws of love, to love God with all that we are and to love each other. (Matthew 22:37-40) If we truly love, then we obey. (John 14:15) If we don’t obey, we don’t truly love. (1 John 5:3, 1 Samuel 15:22) Sound harsh? Well it’s not harsh, it is pure truth given with love to save our souls. Trust God and be eternally blessed God. (Proverbs 3:5-7) The key that opens the doors of heaven is to love and obey Jesus. We must truly love God and then we will cast the world aside as our love is totally focused on Him. And God has made it easy, because it is not our works, but rather it is trusting solely on the work of Jesus. Praise God!
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown You, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of You but to do justly, to love mercy, And to walk humbly with Your God.
Numbers 6:24-26 “The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.”
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Devotion Jude 14-16 Using Blessings To Chase Away Complaining
Jude 14-16 – Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about them: “See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones 15 to judge everyone, and to convict all of them of all the ungodly acts they have committed in their ungodliness, and of all the defiant words ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” 16 These people are grumblers and faultfinders; they follow their own evil desires; they boast about themselves and flatter others for their own advantage.
“Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about them: “See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones 15 to judge everyone, and to convict all of them of all the ungodly acts they have committed in their ungodliness, and of all the defiant words ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” Because Jude quoted from the Apocryphal book of Enoch does not mean that the whole book should be canon. The Apostle Paul quoted the Cretan poet Epimenides in Titus 1:12-13 but that did not mean that all the poet said should be canonized. A drunkard may point out hypocrisy to a Christian who touts faith but is drunk at a family wedding. Truth is truth no matter the fountain the spouts it. The Lord can remind us of truth using anyone or anything.
The point here was to illustrate the truth that our righteous God has always, and will always, judge sin. We know that the only escape from the punishment of sin is through Jesus, if indeed He is both our Savior and Lord. (Galatians 6:7, Ezekiel 18:20)
Jude calls their acts “ungodly” and even refers to the person doing ungodly acts as living in ungodliness. In the Merriam Webster “ungodly” is defined as “1. A: denying or disobeying God: impious, irreligious. B: Contrary to moral law; sinful, wicked.” Ungodly refers to things that do not come from God or honor Him, but instead are contrary to Him. Jude is describing such people who live in rebellion against God and the defiance in their heart overflows out of their mouths. They boldly speak heresies against God, as if their foolishness is bravery. They may put on the appearance of being bold, brave and assured, but deep in their spirit, in their soul, they fear the coming and certain wrath of God that comes to those who reject Him, the triune God. Unless their hearts are hardened beyond repentance, and that is something only God knows. It is also noteworthy that God will judge people not only for what they have done, but for what they have said. (Matthew 12:36-37, Romans 2:6) Of that judgement Warren W. Wiersbe writes “There will be a sentence, but no appeal, for there can be no higher court than God’s final judgement. The entire procedure will be just for the righteous Son of God will be in charge.”
“These people are grumblers and faultfinders; they follow their own evil desires; they boast about themselves and flatter others for their own advantage.” These grumblers and faultfinders not only come to deceive others, but have already deceived themselves. They grumble about everything which is an insult to God. People who always grumble are those who blaspheme God by, in truth, telling Him that what He does is not good enough. In effect, that He is inept.
Andy Capp is a comic strip written by British cartoonist Reg Smythe. He once wrote something about grumblers. “You’re satisfied by nothing that befalls you; you complain at everything. You don’t want what you’ve got, you long for what you haven’t got. In winter you wish it were summer, and in summer that it were winter…” It is mindful of the saying “You would complain if you had nothing to complain about!” The problem with complainers is that there illness is contagious. Do we too often find that describes us?
The word behind faultfinders brings the picture of somebody who is constantly grumbling, a person who is always cursing their luck. Their circumstances are never a fault of their own, but rather the fault of “bad luck” which in reality, is an accusation of God. They accept no responsibility but rather blame their situation on circumstances, or person, beyond their control. They are never satisfied and are blamers. The spirit of a faultfinder is contagious and if they will not desist, they should be avoided, lest their spirt leap upon another who made the mistake of being too close.
Being free of responsibility of their circumstances, they are proud. Not accepting responsibility for one’s own circumstances and blaming others is a dizzying action like a dog who chases his tale. Though better is a dog who chases his tale because he hurts no-one. But the person who grumbles and fault-finds hurts oneself and also infects others who lack the wisdom to keep a distance and to certainly not to join in.
We need not be like these described, it is a travesty if we are. Those who act in such ways ultimately most hurt themselves. But the Lord has enabled us to not be as they are. He is within us to cleanse us from such things, transforming who we were to a new creation that is increasingly like Jesus. (2 Corinthians 5:17, Romans 12:2) Besides, we have everything to be thankful for and that should take up all our time so that we don’t sink into complaining. If we feel such a perverse urge upon us, let us count our blessings from God and that will chase away our complaining and faultfinding. It will certainly leave not time for it. After all, God is good all the time and He loves us. Let our hearts be full of peace and joy as we keep that on our minds.
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown You, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of You but to do justly, to love mercy, And to walk humbly with Your God.
Numbers 6:24-26 “The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.”
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Devotion Psalm 106:6-12 What Is Never Okay
Psalm 106:6-12 – We have sinned, even as our ancestors did; we have done wrong and acted wickedly. 7 When our ancestors were in Egypt, they gave no thought to your miracles; they did not remember your many kindnesses, and they rebelled by the sea, the Red Sea. 8 Yet He saved them for His name’s sake, to make His mighty power known. 9 He rebuked the Red Sea, and it dried up; He led them through the depths as through a desert. 10 He saved them from the hand of the foe; from the hand of the enemy He redeemed them. 11 The waters covered their adversaries; not one of them survived. 12 Then they believed His promises and sang His praise.
“We have sinned, even as our ancestors did; we have done wrong and acted wickedly.” Yes these verses speak of Israel but really, they are true of any country and of any people. The rebellious in all lands are numerous and hate the thought of following God, but the Lord God always has His remnant. Too often it is not the good in the land who are bringing the change in people, rather, it is the bad changing the good to forget who they are. Who God is. It is the reason that God did not want Israel, or Christians, to marry the unbelieving. The flesh in all of us is powerful and the temptations of the world are an electrical current that do not release till death happens and the body burns. (Deuteronomy 7:1-4, 2 Corinthians 6:14-18)
“When our ancestors were in Egypt, they gave no thought to your miracles; they did not remember your many kindnesses, and they rebelled by the sea, the Red Sea.” On Israel’s behalf the Lord did ten signs and also plagues to cause the Pharaoh to release the Israeli people from their slavery in Egypt. He turned Aaron’s staff into a snake that showed the surpassing power of God as the snake from Aaron’s staff consumed the snakes of the Egyptian magicians. Also the Israeli’s were witnesses that God brought plagues of blood, frogs, gnats, flies, livestock, boils, hail, locusts, darkness, and a plague on the firstborn. (Exodus 7-11) After all these mighty signs, and after He lead and provided for them through the desert as they fled the slavery of Egypt to travel to the land that God had promised to their father Abraham, they doubted and rebelled. Even after the Lord led them by His Shekina Glory in the form of a pillar of smoke by day and of fire by night. After His glory went before them to lead them and when the Egyptians caught up to them to kill them, it moved from in front of them to behind them to protect them from their enemies, as He was protecting them they rebelled. (Exodus 14:19-20) With the mighty hand of God doing such great things for them, they became frightened by the world and rebelled against God.
“Yet He saved them for His name’s sake, to make His mighty power known.” God cannot deny Himself. He is not a human who can rebuff the good that is within him. He is purely good and can be nothing else. Even as He is faithful to Himself, He is faithful to us. In His faithfulness He reveals to all who will see, His goodness, His love, and His faithfulness. God revealing His power is not for His sake, but for ours.
“He rebuked the Red Sea, and it dried up; He led them through the depths as through a desert.” To those who will trust God rather than oneself or the world, God creates ways where there seems to be no way. (Isaiah 43:19) He supernaturally made a way of escape where there appeared there was no escape. (Psalm 55) The Pharaoh intended on wiping them out, and if there were survivors, they would be his slaves again.
“He saved them from the hand of the foe; from the hand of the enemy He redeemed them. 11 The waters covered their adversaries; not one of them survived.” The Egyptians, who had lost their firstborn, were blind with hatred, not foreseeing that the God who brought the Israelites out of Egypt is same God who would keep them and protect them. They pursued the Israeli’s across the desert, were stopped by the pillar of smoke and fire that led and protected them, and then still raging, sought to catch and kill them on the other side of the Red Sea, and so they all perished as the Lord closed the Red Sea upon them. Not one of the Egyptians lived. All of the Israelites lived. What a clear contrast of the different destinies between those who love God and those who don’t. How visibly mighty was the hand of God for His people Israel! How awesome is their God, is our God!
“Then they believed His promises and sang His praise.” How wonderful that they were grateful to the Lord! How marvelous that they acknowledged the goodness, kindness and love of the Lord. It would seem that they would all feel eternally grateful! But, as one reads on, we see the poisonous pattern that plagued Israel of forgetting what God had done for them. It is easy for us to look back and think that we would never forget His goodness. That we would never forget all the good things He has done for us. Yet, isn’t it true that this same pattern besets most (all?) of us even today. As long as God is blessing, we are praising. But if we don’t understand our circumstances, be they trifling or severe, we forget who He is and what He has done for us. It is easy to fall back and accuse and blame God. Some, to their shame, even turn from Him. Instead of heeding the words of Jesus in Matthew 11:28-30 too many blame Him, accuse Him and turn from Him. Even more shameful are so called mature leaders who excuse that behavior as “natural,” as if giving in to what is natural is right, or even acceptable.
Yet we know Him, we know our God, we have not merely heard of His goodness, but we have lived in it and been blessed by it. Job learned to never accuse God and to always remember who He is and to honor and trust Him. (Job 40:3-5, 42:1-6) Family and Friends, run from any preacher, all preachers, who would tell you that is okay to berate God when you are hurt. They should be reminding us of God’s goodness and not saying it is okay to act like angry and petulant children. For the mature in Christ, this is totally unacceptable and the immature should be encouraged to wisdom. Let it never be said of us that we doubt God, or defame or attempt to chide and correct God. To doubt God is not of faith. That is never acceptable. Let us instead, always remember His love, His goodness and His kindness and so live in thankfulness to Him and in the deep and eternal peace that comes only from Him. For those who struggle, let us lovingly remind and encourage. In that our peace will be unshakeable as He is within us and from His very being we are kept. Praise God! Always and amen, praise God!
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown You, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of You but to do justly, to love mercy, And to walk humbly with Your God.
Numbers 6:24-26 “The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.”
by Bob withWarning: count(): Parameter must be an array or an object that implements Countable in /homepages/4/d182552187/htdocs/b4g/wp-includes/class-wp-comment-query.php on line 399
Warning: count(): Parameter must be an array or an object that implements Countable in /homepages/4/d182552187/htdocs/b4g/wp-includes/class-wp-comment-query.php on line 399
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