Friday Devo
Scripture:
Jude
20 But you, dear friends, must build each other up in your most holy faith, pray in the power of the Holy Spirit, 21 and await the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will bring you eternal life. In this way, you will keep yourselves safe in God’s love.
20 But you, dear friends, must build each other up in your most holy faith, pray in the power of the Holy Spirit, 21 and await the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will bring you eternal life. In this way, you will keep yourselves safe in God’s love.
Commentary:
20 praying in the Holy Spirit. That is, in the sense of praying in harmony with the leading of the Holy Spirit, rather than according to one’s own agenda (cf. Rom. 8:26–27; Eph. 6:18). The context here suggests the idea of praying in the Spirit in a general sense, rather than the specific sense of speaking in tongues described in 1 Cor. 14:14–19.
21 Keep (or guard) yourselves in the love of God is the main clause in vv. 20–21 and is modified by the two participles (“building,” “praying”) in v. 20 and the participle (waiting) in v. 21. Christians keep themselves in God’s love by growing strong doctrinally, persevering in prayer, and “waiting” for the Lord’s coming. Christians are to keep themselves in God’s love, and vv. 1–2 and vv. 24–25 teach that God keeps them as well. Ultimately, God promises to keep and preserve the faith of his own people, so that no true believer will ever lose his or her salvation (cf. notes on Heb. 6:4–8; 2 Pet. 1:10).
Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 2451.
21 Keep (or guard) yourselves in the love of God is the main clause in vv. 20–21 and is modified by the two participles (“building,” “praying”) in v. 20 and the participle (waiting) in v. 21. Christians keep themselves in God’s love by growing strong doctrinally, persevering in prayer, and “waiting” for the Lord’s coming. Christians are to keep themselves in God’s love, and vv. 1–2 and vv. 24–25 teach that God keeps them as well. Ultimately, God promises to keep and preserve the faith of his own people, so that no true believer will ever lose his or her salvation (cf. notes on Heb. 6:4–8; 2 Pet. 1:10).
Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 2451.
Questions:
- The final way we keep ourselves in His love is by ANTICIPATING the FUTURE. Jude says we are to await the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will bring us eternal life. This is speaking of looking forward to the day He returns. If you are truly living with the end in mind, it will change everything about our lives. Our priorities will be in order and we will be living for the right things. Most of us don't do this. How do I know? Just look at our choices. Look at the way we choose to spend our time, energy and money. Look at all the things we fill our lives with while neglecting the things of the Kingdom that matter most. We SAY we want to be faithful Christians, we SAY we want to lead our families to love the Lord, and then we DO the exact opposite by prioritizing everything else under the sun. We should, instead, live like we'll stand before the seat... that is the judgement seat of Jesus, where, though believers are saved and going to heaven, we will each give an account for how we stewarded all God entrusted to us. How would living with the end in mind change YOUR priorities and choices? What do you need to do to shift those priorities? What might you need to say "no" to?
- The final question on Sunday was this: Are you growing UP, or just growing OLD? Did you know you could be an old baby, spiritually speaking? Many Christians stay immature spiritually for their whole lives. Look at your life and your relationship with the Lord. What is your trajectory? Are you growing, slow and steady? Are you stagnant? Are you falling away? What needs to change?
Prayer Topics:
- That God would help you live with the end in mind.
- That you would do all you can to grow spiritually.
This Week's City 7:
Try to commit to memory!
7. How can I trust that the Bible is still God’s Word today? I trust the Bible is still God’s Word today because Jesus rose from the dead, proving He was God and said His words would never pass away. Through the Holy Spirit, God inspired the writing of the Scripture, determined the canon of Scripture and protected the copying of Scripture so that we might know Him and worship Him to this day.
(Matthew 24:35; 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:16-21; Revelation 22:18-19)
(Matthew 24:35; 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:16-21; Revelation 22:18-19)
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