1 Jude, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James,
To those who are called, sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ:
2 Mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.
- Image by jurvetson via Flickr
3 Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. 4 For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ.
5 But I want to remind you, though you once knew this, that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. 6 And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day; 7 as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.
8 Likewise also these dreamers defile the flesh, reject authority, and speak evil of dignitaries. 9 Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” 10 But these speak evil of whatever they do not know; and whatever they know naturally, like brute beasts, in these things they corrupt themselves. 11 Woe to them! For they have gone in the way of Cain, have run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.
12 These are spots in your love feasts, while they feast with you without fear, serving only themselves. They are clouds without water, carried about by the winds; late autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, pulled up by the roots; 13 raging waves of the sea, foaming up their own shame; wandering stars for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.
14 Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, 15 to execute judgment on all, 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.”
16 These are grumblers, complainers, walking according to their own lusts; and they mouth great swelling words, flattering people to gain advantage. 17 But you, beloved, remember the words which were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ: 18 how they told you that there would be mockers in the last time who would walk according to their own ungodly lusts. 19 These are sensual persons, who cause divisions, not having the Spirit.
20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
22 And on some have compassion, making a distinction; 23 but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh.
24 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,
25 To God our Savior,
Who alone is wise,
Be glory and majesty,
Dominion and power,
Both now and forever.
Amen.
Jude 1 (New King James Version)
Just A Little…
After stuffing myself with lemon pepper rotisserie chicken and tortilla chips I decided to brave the cold, drizzling weather and take a walk in the park downtown. Grabbing my coat and a co-worker’s umbrella, I set out.
Tiny Steps
I tapped my feet in the water pooling on the landing. “Why are you about to walk in the rain?” I asked myself. But deep inside I knew what it was.
Finally, strolling down the sidewalk I watched the ducks around the pond: some swam, some sat on the edge resting, others played in mud puddles along the sidewalk, while others ran around in circles happily chasing each other.
I admired them almost to the point of jealousy. They were chillin’ and content where they were, enjoying the weather, enjoying the comraderie, oblivious to anything but what was in front of them.
The rainy day never caused them to wonder about God’s provisions for them. Would there be enough fish in the water to eat?
And the fish were even more content. As I crossed the bridge I peeked over the side and watched them float in one spot, conserving their energy I guess since it was cold. They only moved when I startled them. I was amazed to realize they could see up that far.
And even though they were spooked, they didn’t go swimming off to another section of the pond. They didn’t jump out the water and decide to chill with the ducks for a safer place. Nope; they didn’t allow a scary situation to push them into something worse. They trusted the provision God made for them.
Still Small Voice
“What do You have for me, LORD,” I began to pray. “What do You want me to do? I just don’t want to make the wrong move.”
I stopped and stared across the pond at my office building draped in the sheer covering of drizzle. I sighed. A dark, thick cloud of dispair hovered in my department as we awaited news as to when job cuts were being made… again; and, who from our team of five was being cut. Thoughts of walking aimlessly downtown through the mist intrigued me.
“Maybe, I’m talking too much, Father. Have You already told me what I need to do? I know this, LORD, wherever I need to be to continue growing spiritually is where I want to be. I don’t want to be a castaway. Similarly, wherever I will be a blessing to people and bring glory to You is where I want to be. If that means staying where I am then that’s cool. Everyone keeps bringing up things to look out for with this other company. Why can’t You just tell me where You want me to be?”
And like a sweet whisper in the dark of my thoughts I heard, “Noah.”
This was no mere glimmer of hope. The answer was a beacon on the rough waves of impending meltdown. God gave me the story of Noah in Genesis 8 back in 2006 (along with the story of Joseph) as reassurance that He wanted me to take a full-time position with my company. He reminded me of this fact last Thursday night when I was heating up His ear with jumbled excitement.
As I walked up to the landing I smiled inside.
“You did answer me. I didn’t have to waste energy walking into a closed door. You want me here. This is the provision You’ve made for me and You’ll let me know when it’s time to leave.”
I looked at my reflection in the window.
“Dude, you need to walk more often.”