Tag: build yourselves up
Day 2–Snatching them from fire
Scripture reading for May 12: Jude 19-23 “But you, beloved, building yourselves up in you 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.”
As a volunteer firefighter and a follower of Jesus, this verse has always caught my attention and given me a vision for the purpose of our department. We are here in our community to save lives of those who may be caught in a fire. Our first priority when arriving on the scene is to ascertain if there are any persons inside the structure and where they might be in relation to the fire. If we know that someone is inside, we make every effort to locate them and remove them from the smoke and fire that can quickly take their lives.
In doing this, we use the equipment provided to protect us as we go in to rescue the victims. We have fire-retardant suits that are designed to protect us to 600 degrees. We strap on air tanks with masks to supply smoke-free air and protect our lungs. We work in teams to watch out for our safety, often dragging a rope with us to guide us back out or a fire hose to suppress the fire. Our goal is to reach the trapped person and quickly remove them from danger and to make it out ourselves.
We can see the spiritual parallel in yesterday’s devotion and today’s passage. We, as God’s beloved, are to prepare ourselves to walk by faith each day and show God’s love to those we are sent to. Prayer in the Holy Spirit empowers us to intercede for those needing rescue from sin and fires of human passion apart from God. God empowers us by the Holy Spirit to show mercy on all and at times, to snatch the doubters from the fires that would destroy them. We must do this with humility and love, being careful not to get caught in the fire ourselves.
Prayer: Father God, build me up today as I pray in the Holy Spirit. Keep me in Your love and show Your great mercy by enabling me to snatch from the fire those caught by their bad decisions and flesh. Amen.
Building Yourselves Up!
Scripture reading for December 23rd: Jude
“Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints. For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.” (Jude3-4)
Jude was the half-brother of Jesus. He became a follower and disciple of Christ and understood the salvation that Jesus bought and paid for. It was not the cheap grace that was being peddled by some of the false teachers of his day and ours! Jude wanted the church to contend earnestly for the faith that brought true repentance and a changed life. This was the only kind of faith that could save and deliver a person from eternal condemnation.
The false teachers had come from the ranks of the church. They were evidently taking the wonderful message of God’s grace and forgiveness of sins and making that a license to continue living in sin. In doing so, they were actually denying Jesus Christ and His sacrifice of His own body and blood to deliver us from the power of sin. (Romans 6:11-14) Sin is no longer our master, but by His Spirit we can overcome sin’s grip! These false teachers were teaching believers that they could continue to live in sin and that God’s grace would cover their sins, thus dividing the church. Jude wrote that this lie would lead to eternal condemnation and separation from God!
Jude had a remedy: “But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. Keep yourselves in the God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you eternal life. Be merciful to those who doubt; snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear–hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.” (Jude 20-23) The fight of faith requires Spirit inspired prayer! This builds us up and keeps us in God’s river of love. It enables us to reach out to those who struggle and snatch them from the fire! Fight the good fight of faith!