Jude 20-21

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.

The book of Jude, it is a short little book that packs a wallop. It deals primarily with the entrance of wicked men into the church, men who use religion to further their own gains and to fuel and feed their own lusts. Religion is full of charlatans, there are many men who have no belief in God whatsoever. They couldn’t possibly believe for there is no fear of God in them. Scripture is pregnant with warnings of judgment and the condemnation and destruction coming to the deceiver and yet these men move boldly ahead with their plans of deception. 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. But then in the end Jude makes this beautiful distinction, “But you beloved.” He separates us! Paul the apostle makes this statement in his greeting to the Romans; Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God. He recognizes that he is set apart, not to be a part of the world, in it but not of it. We are called to a different set of standards, a very different way of looking at life and accordingly reacting to life. Paul says later in Ephesians 4 verse 1; I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called. Do we fully understand the calling with which we were called? It is a call to holiness. It is a call to seek after the face of God from the moment our eyes open in the light of a new dawn. When Jude says we are to build ourselves up on our most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit and keep ourselves in the love of God he is putting the responsibility of our closeness to God directly on us. We must be the seekers. God has pursued us and wooed us. He has romanced us and he has caused things to happen in our lives that have made us look up. Now that He has found us, now that we are His it becomes our responsibility to come to Him.

Let our prayer be as David’s, “Oh God, You are my God, Early will I seek You, My soul thirsts for You, My flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water. So I have looked for You in the sanctuary, to see Your power and Your glory. Because Your lovingkindness is better than life. My lips shall praise You, thus I will bless You while I live, I will lift up my hands in Your name. My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness, and my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips, amen.”

James 3:13-18

Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. 15 This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. 16 For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. 17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. 18 Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

How different the ways of God than the ways of man. What a contrast between Kingdom principles and the principles that govern the thoughts and actions of the natural man. The natural man operates by earthly motivation. This passage says that is sensual and demonic. This world is polarized around envy and self seeking. You might say, “Well I think that is a little harsh.” Think what you like but every billboard, every television commercial and every magazine have one goal and that is to make you become envious of what your neighbor has and then do whatever you must do to get it or something even better. “I should have a car like that, only mine will be a convertible.” But God’s way is first pure. That means it is free from covetousness, free from, needing to have what they have. No, in fact the opposite is true. God’s regenerating love causes us not to want what others have but instead to want to give others what we have. Peaceable, gentle, willing to yield. We demonstrate our lack of these qualities every time someone wants to merge in front of us in traffic. “But I’m in a hurry, I don’t have time to be, ‘willing to yield.” Then there is the mercy thing. How often we want to execute judgment on others, “What an idiot! Can you believe what that fool just did?” But God says in Proverbs 21 verse 21 He who follows righteousness and mercy finds life, righteousness and honor. The kingdom of God operates on principles of righteousness and mercy and these are so foreign to the ways that we have gradually and incrementally grown accustomed to living in this world. We as a people have fallen asleep and it is time for us to wake up! It is time for us to begin sowing the fruit of righteousness. “Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.”

“Lord today, wake me up, open my eyes to see the depravity of the world and to rebel against it. I want to live after the things of Your kingdom. I want to be willing to yield, full of mercy. Change me from the inside Lord and make a person who sows the fruit of righteousness, amen.”

James 1:19-20

So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; 20 for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.

Oh man, if only I had a grip on this little bit of wisdom for the better part of my life. Countless are the times when I have flown off the handle, refusing to listen, determined to make my point. So often I have gotten angry and that anger, it has always had roots in my pride. “Don’t they know who I am?” At every single incidence of my expressions of, opinion, there has been an unforeseen consequence, it has always reared up and bitten me back. I have in each and every one of those times been made the fool. I am slowly learning to keep my heart and my ears open and to ask God before I speak, “Is this a good thing I am thinking?” A mentor I once had said before we say anything we should ask ourselves three questions. Is it kind? Is it true? And is it necessary? If we all followed that process the world would be a quieter place.

One of the most beautiful passages in scripture is found in Ephesians chapter 4 verse 31 through chapter 5 verse 2. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. 32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you. 5 Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.

As Christ forgave you, as Christ has loved us, we must keep those monumental truths ever before our eyes and ever in front of our inclinations to speak in haste or in anger. How marvelous a thing that the Son of God hung on a cross out of love. How deep and eternal is that love, and how elementary that that truth should govern our every action, precede our every word. We need to learn that we don’t need to be right only to be right in the sight of the God who gave it all.

Rom 10:15 says, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!”

“Lord today I will walk out in my actions the two greatest commandments, to love You with all my heart, my soul and my mind and to love my neighbor as myself. I will listen carefully and speak even more carefully. I will not allow pride to govern my thoughts or what comes out of my mouth. I will seek Your face and live in grace, amen”

2 Corinthians 10:3-5

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.

Many of us know how to fight. We aren’t the least bit alarmed when we are invited to, “Put em up”. We fought in bars, we fought on prison yards and as kids we fought on playgrounds. The Bible speaks a lot about fighting, about war. But it is not the kind of fighting we have always done and it is not over the kinds of things we have fought over, the girl, the drug deal or some other perceived act of disrespect. No, the apostle Paul describes this war this way in Ephesians chapter 6:

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

In this kind of fight our pugilistic skills will do us no good. The only trait left over from our days in the world that may be to our advantage is courage. God told Joshua, “Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

What this war requires is absolute surrender. We must surrender to win. We must surrender to the absolute Lordship of Jesus Christ. We must, “Bring every thought into captivity.” All of our confidence in ourselves must be sacrificed at the altar of obedience to God.

Jesus said in Luke 9:23-24

“If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. 24 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.”

“Lord today, teach me to put down whatever I think I know and teach me to fight the good fight through faithfulness and obedience. Teach me that I can only win through the total death of myself and my preconceived ideas. Lord teach me to surrender fully to You as Lord, amen.”

Proverbs 9:10

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,

And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”

All one has to do is to walk into the supermarket to see that this world has no fear of the Lord. Proudly displayed at the checkout counter are dozens of magazines chronicling the lives and affairs of people who never even think about God. There are even some who have the ear of the masses who vehemently and publicly deny that God even exists. Many of these people are highly regarded as intellectuals and indeed they may have lofty educations from prestigious universities but none of this has anything to do with wisdom.

You see wisdom is a godly trait, it is spiritual in nature. All of the intelligence and education of this world is futile without a knowledge and understanding of who God is and who we are in relation to Him. Wisdom is really only seeing the truth clearly and then acting accordingly. The problem lies in one’s interpretation of the truth. People have written for themselves their own truths totally apart from God’s prescribed truth. But the truth lies in the scriptures and nowhere else.

Hebrews 4:12 says; For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

We as a people have heaped up or ourselves philosophies that give license to our anti-god behavior and the result is the world as we see it, filled with self centered, egocentric gluttons for sensuality.

Galatians 6:7-8; Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. 8 For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.

“Lord today please wake us up to the truth that lies only in you. Cause our minds to become sensitive to the plight of this world as it is in its total depravity. Then Lord, cause us to seek your face and to seek your wisdom, to humbly and without condemnation become a witness to the majesty and grace of Your way. Please Lord cause us to walk in You in such a way as to inspire others to follow, amen.”

Titus 2:6-8

Likewise, exhort the young men to be sober-minded, 7 in all things showing yourself to be a pattern of good works; in doctrine showing integrity, reverence, incorruptibility, 8 sound speech that cannot be condemned, that one who is an opponent may be ashamed, having nothing evil to say of you.

Plenty of evil things could be said of me and rightfully so. How many times have I said something off kilter or discolored to try to get a laugh or to enforce my opinion? It is a human condition to want to make an impression on others but our culture has deteriorated morally so much that often we try to make an impression using crass or shocking language. You can’t watch a movie today without hearing a virtual cavalcade of profanity and sexual innuendo.

There are even people who claim to live in pursuit of spiritual matters that often pepper their speech with unbecoming phrases in order to sound, “modern or contemporary”. Paul tells Titus to show himself a pattern of good works, with reverent speech, sound speech. Does this mean that we are to forego laughter and humor? No, I am sure that there was much laughter and banter between the apostles as they traveled with Jesus and I am sure there were more than a few occasions when they crossed the line, just as we are apt to do. But because they were constantly in the presence of the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords they were surely very thoughtful and chose their words carefully. When we are walking next to the King we are apt to behave more royally.

“Lord today, keep me mindful that I am walking with the King. Help me to glorify You in my speech and my actions. Help me to be an example of good works, integrity, reverence, incorruptibility and sound speech. Help me to desire to make popular a clean vocabulary in a world given over to vulgarity, amen.”

Colossians 3:1-2

If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is,

sitting at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.

When I was walking a prison yard alone with no God except the god of my own proclivities all I had to think about were the cares and concerns of this earth. Was the racial tension on the tier going to break out into a war? Would the wine I had fermenting in the mop closet in the chow hall be discovered? Would they find the syringe ensconced deep in my mattress? When parole day came would I spend my gate money on booze and drugs? Every single one of my concerns was centered in my own perceived needs, wants and desires. I never had an upward or an outward thought unless it was something directly affecting my little world. Then came God…

This little tiny world, this whisper of time we call life, it is so insignificant in the light of the truth that there actually is an “above”, There is a heaven and Christ the Lord is truly there, seated at the right hand of the Father. He is not pacing back and forth wringing His hands, anxious over the affairs of men. He knows that those He called will hear His voice and respond in the appointed time.

Ephesians 2:10 says: For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

God knows those who will be His and if your heart is stirred by the mention of His name, if you feel a longing at the hearing of the truth then rest assured you are soon to be His.

“Lord Grant us that today we would not be more concerned with the affairs of this life than we are with seeing you seated in heavenly places. Quicken our spirits to hear the beat of your heart over the beat of the heart of this world. Give us a clear line of sight into your version of our lives and help us to seek after that first and foremost, amen.”

Philippians 4:8

Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy meditate on these things.

Why is it we tend towards the opposite of this? Aren’t we often consumed with thoughts of imminent danger and impending doom? Even if they are not right there in your face it seems that lurking just beneath the surface, kind of humming a dark dirge lays this sense of something bad. I have spent hours thinking a comment someone made was directed in a negative way towards me only to find out later it had nothing to do with me at all. A small group of us were watching a college football game on TV and our team went into a huddle. One of my more humorous friends said, “I know they’re talking about me right now.”`

When are we really going to understand that God loves us and that He wants nothing more than to bring us to our full potential? He wants to cause us to live in all the wonderful gifts He has made into us.

Jeremiah 29:11 says, For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Above all it is a choice where we direct our minds to dwell, we choose the direction our thoughts take, but our thoughts are what control the direction our feet take. Am I going to walk in newness of life, with my face set toward God or am I going to be held in a prison made of self centeredness, fear and resentment?

“Dear Lord, today help me to see everything in the light of your Spirit and not in the shadow of my old ignorance. Help me to reach for you, to trust you and keep my mind on all of the good things you have in store for me, amen”

Philippians 2:3-4

Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. 4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.

I heard a description that fit many of us very well. “He is an egomaniac with an inferiority complex.” Everything I did, I did for me, to get what I wanted. I was completely consumed with thoughts about myself. As a dope fiend I was one of those who would steal your dope and then help you look for it. “It must be around here somewhere, where was the last place you saw it?”

Oh, I had lowliness of mind and I knew others were better that me but I did not esteem them better. I had a sense of inadequacy that caused me to think of others as better in a resentful way. To esteem others better is to think of them as better or more important in a humble and loving way. It is to have a sacrificial attitude towards other people. There was no one better than Jesus. As a man He never uttered a word out of place, He never spoke a lie, He never misjudged a situation or a heart and yet He was and is the exemplar in this command to esteem others better than ourselves. Peter was shocked and dismayed that Jesus was going to wash his feet as an example of how we are to treat others.

In John 13:8 Peter said to Him, “You shall never wash my feet!” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.”

If we do not give Jesus free reign to wash us completely then we have no part in Him.

“Lord today I want nothing more than to be washed by you so that I may esteem other better than myself. Help me that I may be more concerned with the welfare of my friends and family than I am with myself. Take my will and my life and conform them to the way you see me, amen.”.

2 Peter 1:5-7

But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, 6 to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, 7 to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.

These are not traits you readily find on any prison yard I have been on. We know that to each is given a measure of faith, it is a gift. Yet here we are being asked to add to that faith certain characteristics that will give that faith the power to take action, juice to move… It says we are to do this with diligence. Like a pit bull guarding a junk yard, wide awake, focused, on point. Look at these traits, virtue, knowledge, self control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and finally love. This little passage is divided into three parts. The inward looking part, the upward looking part, and the outward looking part. Inwardly we are to prepare ourselves developing virtue, knowledge, self control, and perseverance. We are to man up, and get right. Paul said in 1 Corinhtians 13:11; “When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.” When we have fulfilled our end of the bargain, when we have been diligent to grow up, we are free to look upward, now more concerned with the things outside ourselves than with our petty needs. We can see God more clearly once the bondage of self has been lifted. The result is the third part, looking outwardly. Brotherly kindness and love. It always comes down to love. Love is the final draft of the story of life. It is the thing we are to learn above all other things. How can we know what love is? Love is always sacrificial, it always costs to give it, and it is the pinnacle of self denial.

“Lord today, please give me the eyes to see where I need to grow and to change to have virtue, knowledge, self control and perseverance. I truly do want to see You above all things. Help me to die to myself and to look upwardly and outwardly, at you and at my fellows rather need, amen.”