Have you ever taken a look at the book of Jude? It is only a short 25-verse letter, but it is packed with very colorful imagery and deep theology. Jude, one of the Lord Yeshua’s earthly brothers, intended to write his letter to the believers about their faith, but then devoted two-thirds of his message to a strong invective about false teachers who had infiltrated the Body of Messiah. Most people dig deep into the imagery and theology in his warnings about the imposters, but I want to look at what he said about the believers today. Let’s start with verses 1-2,
“To those who are called, sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ: Mercy, peace and love be multiplied to you.”
You, as a child of God, have been called for a purpose. God has a special job for you to do, a divinely-designed direction for you to walk.
And in order to do that assignment, He has sanctified you. In my Bible, the footnote for sanctified says “beloved by God the Father”. God loves you and wants you to succeed! You are dear and precious to Him! He will make sure you have everything you need to fulfill your calling.
And you are preserved in Jesus Christ. He safeguards you and your faith from those who would come and try to lead you away from Him.
And as you walk in your calling, you will be showered with God’s mercy, peace and love–more than you can contain or even imagine.
That by itself is a beautiful picture of how the Lord God views His children. But Jude has more to say about believers and how we do this assignment that God has called each one of us to Let’s jump to verses 20-21 to see,
“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 gives us a four-fold plan to help us reach our potential in God’s calling for our lives.
First, we must have our faith firmly established in Yeshua our Messiah. He is our foundation, the chief cornerstone that we build everything else on. Without faith in the Lord Yeshua, it is impossible to please God in anything we attempt to do.
“As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.” (Colossians 2:6-7)
Secondly, we have to not just read, but diligently study God’s Word to build our holiness and faith.
“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man [or woman] of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17)
Next, we need to be prayed up every day. We need the Holy Spirit infilling our being, empowering us to understand God’s love and mercy so we can, in turn, reflect those qualities to the world.
“Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.” (Romans 8:26)
And finally, we must continue our faith walk, through the mercy of the Lord, until we receive the reward of eternal life that has been promised to those who overcome to the end.
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.” (2 Timothy 4:7-8)
Keep your chins up! Don’t give up! Don’t get discouraged! You are most loved and cared for by God today, and He wants you to succeed. He is your biggest fan and supporter, cheering you on from the sidelines as you run the race set before you. Keep up your good work and hold fast to your faith–there are great things awaiting you ahead in your journey. And may you feel His multiplied mercy, peace and love all through the coming week.
–dmrf