Building Yourselves Up

Day 342: Jude 1:1-25

“But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. And have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh.” - Jude 1:20-23 ESV

Have you ever looked at someone who has followed Jesus for 60 or 70 years and wondered, "How am I going to be able to stay that faithful to Jesus for that long?" I mean, temptation seems to grow stronger every day. The greatest temptation seems to be for us to go our "own way," and if we really want it, God will "hand us over" to that kind of life.

Jude is not what I would call a "soft preacher." The man (who was probably another one of Jesus' brothers) got right to the heart of the matter. He didn't need multiple chapters and verses to bring his point across. His advice to us:

Keep yourself in the love of God >> If not, we will lose ourselves in sin and shame.

Be patient for Jesus' return >> This is what we long for.

Show mercy to the doubters >> Thomas wasn't the only one to struggle with doubt. All of us have.

Fire-snatch >> We are helping people avoid an eternal hell, bottom line.

Don't dismiss the seriousness of sin >> We are compassionate to the people, but not to the sin.

Walking in this counsel will keep us focused on what matters most in this life, giving us the best perspective possible.

"One cannot fight for the faith without having the attitude of the one in whom our faith rests, the one who came to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10). The faithful are to do all they can in a spirit of gentleness and mercy to restore others to faith, and yet they must be cautious or they too will fall prey to temptation (Galatians 6:1–2)." - Holloway, G. (1996). James & Jude (Jud 23)