Jude 5 – Though you already know all this, I want to remind you that the Lord at one time delivered his people out of Egypt, but later destroyed those who did not believe.
Jude refers back to when God supernaturally rescued Israel from Egypt. There was no doubt that it was God who provided the miraculous that saved them. It sent notice to the world that the God of Israel was the one true God, or at least they understood that He was the most powerful God. (Exodus 3-14)
Jude reminded them of what they already know. Family, it is extremely important that we acknowledge and thank God for His blessings to us as much as we can. Not for His benefit, but for ours. Being thankful builds faith. As our faith builds we are increasingly able to withstand future trials. Please don’t let anyone discount experience such as when we pray and the Lord answers the prayer. The next time we pray, we remember that God, as He knows best, has answered our prayers. Experience (as understood through the Word of God), as we remember and thank God, builds our faith and so encourages and edifies us. And not only builds our faith, but the faith of our children and grandchildren. We share with them our experience of God answering prayer, of Him meeting our need, of His love, faithfulness, healing hand, goodness, provision and kindness with our children and they learn that God will also always love and be good to them. When times are really hard, severely hard, and the Lord works a miracle for our benefit we must not only ourselves thank Him, but we must gather our family, recount the blessing and everyone thank Him. That is a way, and of course through the Word, that we build our children. So don’t shield kids from family trials (using discretion), but include them in praying to God and when the answer comes, they will rejoice that God not only answered their parents prayers, but also theirs. This is a way that God uses to build their faith.
Family God uses experience, again understood through His Word and by His Spirit, to build our faith and make us stronger to fight the good fight of faith in even more intensive battles. So we acknowledge God for the blessing, then we thank God for it, and we remember it. We recount the faithfulness of God to our children and they to their children. So a legacy of experience is built of the love and goodness of God. It settles in the mind and heart that God is faithful and dependable, even when we don’t understand. When the answer doesn’t come for one prayer in the way we expect, we, and our children, still know that He is good and loves us because we have a vast supply of remembered answered prayers. Praise God! He is good and He loves us. He has proved it through Jesus, He illustrates it in His Word and daily He pours His blessings on us. The blessings, the blessed experiences that God gives us are fuel for the engine of faith. So we are thankful, we remember and we tell others of God’s goodness. Praise God! Yes, praise God! He is so very good to us! 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.”