Today's Reading:
Isaiah 54:1-57:14
Jude 1:1-25
Psalm 148:1-6
Click on Text Link to Read Online
Focus Verses: Jude 1:17-21
17 But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. 18 They said to you, "In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires." 19 These are the men who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit. 20 But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. 21 Keep yourselves in God's love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.
Insight:
The
Apostle Peter warned his readers to be discerning about false teachers
and heresy; Jude does the same. In fact, Peter may have been drawing
upon Jude in his second letter (compare 2 Peter 2 with Jude 4–18).
Jude
gives a number of markers for discerning heretical teachers and
leaders. These include: a twisting of God's grace that leads to
disregard for holy living (v.
4); a refusal to acknowledge Jesus as the only sovereign Lord (v. 4); a
selfish pattern of putting themselves first (v. 12); boastful arrogance
(v. 16); and being divisive and opposing the unity of the Spirit (v.
19).
Response and Action:
I
need to recognize godly teaching and leadership. It is essential for
the life and mission of my church family that our leaders follow the
Lord Jesus Christ, the only one who is able to keep us from falling.
In
order to live by the truth, I will build myself up in Christian faith. I
will pray and look to the Holy Spirit for guidance and integrity. I
will look to the Scriptures and the teachings of the Apostles for
direction and doctrine. In my Christian community, I will oppose
teaching and leadership that ignores Scripture or fails to follow in the
way of Christ. In all circumstances, I must be merciful and redemptive
toward others as I endeavor to be a voice for the pursuit of truth and
sound doctrine.
O
God, help me to know and live by the truth. Help me to be a student of
the Scriptures. Help me to follow Jesus with all my heart, soul, mind,
and strength. By the power and grace of your Holy Spirit, give me the
honesty and integrity to recognize your will and your ways. Deliver me
from pride, selfishness, and unholiness. Grant me the faith and the
perseverance of Christ Jesus, who is able to keep me from falling and
present me without fault before your throne with great joy. To the only
God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus
Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.
Spiritual Formation Verses: 2 Peter 1:19-21
19
And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do
well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place,
until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. 20 Above
all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the
prophet's own interpretation. 21 For prophecy never had its origin in
the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by
the Holy Spirit.
Resources:
Basic Christian Leadership: Biblical Models of Church, Gospel And Ministry
by John Stott
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