Saturday, February 16, 2013

Hey Jude

"But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life." Jude 1:20-21 (NKJV)

There is only one chapter in Jude, but hidden in that little book are some wisdom to remember. This verse reminds us that once we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, the journey does not end there. Our Christian walk is an active one where we must constantly work at it. There are four distinct parts to this verse and I will touch on each one…

1. Building yourselves up on your most holy faith
The saying “Rome wasn't built in a day” applies here as well. When we accept Jesus into our hearts, our foundation becomes Christ, but we need to continually build on that. Our work is never done; we will have a mansion, but it isn't built until we reach Heaven. I am not talking about earning our way into Heaven by our works either; I am talking about building our faith so that we are always growing closer in our relationship in God.  By having your faith properly placed in Jesus, talking with Him regularly and being grounded in His Word, you will grow and build in your relationship in Him as well as in your testimony to others for Him.

2. Praying in the Holy Spirit
Our prayer life should be an active part of our Christian walk and when we pray it should always be in the power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit teaches us to pray, acknowledging that all things come from God, leading and guiding us in truth, and giving us a heart of worship. In Romans 8:26 it says the Spirit even intercedes for us when we don’t know what to say. Praying with the Holy Spirit is a prayer of faith, obedience, and praise as well as strengthens our relationship with the Lord.

3. Keep yourselves in the love of God
In Romans 8:38-39, Paul reminds us that absolutely nothing than separate us from the love of God that is found in Jesus. There are so many distractions that continually try to pull us away from Christ, but the closer we remain to our Lord, the less affect the world has on us. The best way to keep in the love of God is to abide in Him and hold on your faith by praying, being obedient, and not allowing your circumstances to convince you that God does not love you. Paul says that God loves you no matter what, but Jude wants us to remind ourselves and keep focused on that every day.

4. Looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life
Here is the key to the entire verse, without the mercy of Lord and Savior; we can’t achieve anything in our own spiritual life. Only through His mercy can we live for Him; only through His mercy can we build we found building, praying, and keeping. We need to constantly look to Jesus with repentant and humble hearts for His mercy and be forever grateful that He gives it to us because without it, we would have no hope for our eternal life. What an amazing God we have for that! J

Those are the four commands, all different but all very much intertwined and needed in maintaining a close and healthy relationship with Christ.

Lord, Thank you for reminding me that I need to continually strive to grow in my relationship with you. I ask that you fill me with your Spirit and help me to walk by faith so that I may build up my life according to your will and making my testimony shine for your glory and for others to see and desire. I thank you for your never failing love and help me to remember and keep my eyes focused on that. I am at your feet Lord; humbly and repentant praising you and thanking you for your mercy that I so lovingly give to me who is so unworthy of it. I pray all this in your precious name Jesus. Amen

No comments:

Post a Comment