Now unto
him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before
the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, To the only wise God our Saviour,
be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and for ever.
Jude
1:24-25
The things
that occur upon this earth are not surprises to the Lord and should not surprise
those who are in the body of Christ… This world that we live in is filled with
filth and temptation, there are many who fall each and every day of our lives;
however, Jude reminds us today that we must keep our attention fastened on the
Lord… In this chapter, Jude writes about prophesies being fulfilled and men
walking in the world verses the spirit of God… The message today is do not be
fooled or become ensnared by the appearance of things around you… There are
people who appear to be prospering without the divine direction of God and it
is when we encounter these situations that we must maintain our faith in Him
even when it seems like the grass could be greener on the other side… The trap
of the enemy lures you by appearance; he catches your eye just like Eve in the
garden and then slowly begins to reel you in; there are several snares along
this path and the biggest mistake you can make in this journey is believing that
you can handle the unseen dangerous along the way… Notice how Jude starts off
by saying, Now unto him that is able to
keep you from falling; we just talked on yesterday about how the Lord gave
His angels command over you and today Jude reminds us that the Lord is the only
one who can keep you from falling… You will not make it on your own, you will
not overcome without the Lord and you will not reach higher heights without the
wings of His angels… When I imagine the beauty of heaven I cannot wait to see
it; however, the key to the pearly gates is only found in the blood of the lamb…
Not only is Jesus the one source to keep from falling, He has the ability to
make you a co-heir and justify your entry to Eternal Life… This is why Jude
doesn’t stop at saying that He can keep you from falling, he goes on to say and present you faultless before the
presence of his glory with exceeding joy… Christ finds joy in your commitment
to His will and plan… Christ knows the bumpy road you travel, He knows the
scars that you have picked up along the way and this devotion today reminds us
that as long as we continue to look to Him, He will continue to prepare that
special place for us… As a child I often wondered why I heard this particular
passage so often in church, I don’t know about you, but often times I hear this
scripture repeated at the close of worship service as part of the preacher’s
Benediction… It took me some time to really grasp what was being said; when we
live the church we are leaving likeminded believers (hopefully) and going into
the spiritual battle taking place in the world; the benediction reminds us that
we must keep looking up as my father would say…
Faith is
something that we must display in the world and not speak it just in church… This
is the crux of what Jude is saying, the men that are trying to lure you from
God path, the situations that are trying to deter Gods plan; whatever it is,
keep looking up, trust that He won’t fail you and believe that He is stamping
your life with His divine seal of approval which means there are better things
ahead… There is only one wise God; however, there are so many of us who have
small gods in our lives that we worship daily, some of us doing this without
even really knowing it… Jude wants you
to know that the glory, majesty, dominion and power of God will be established
in your life… You are on the right path and charting the right course; all other
avenues will fail and fall; only Christ will last both now and for ever… I cannot help but to repeat the fact that Jude
is closing his message (just like a benediction) where he begins, with his eyes
focused on the Lord! It is very important that as we leave the place of worship
that our eyes remained focused on God, we must remember who has kept us from
falling, who has interceded on our behalf and presented faultless through His
sacrifice on the cross… Jude is saying today that we must keep these things in
mind, when we leave the church we need to keep these things near our heart…
Once we walk out the doors we have re-entered the world and surely there are
many things that will try and distract us or cause us to lose focus; we surely
have test awaiting us when we leave the church [sometimes before we even get
out of our pews] and Jude is reminding us how important it is to remain focused
on the Lord… It is through God that you are here; it is by His power that you
have the breath of life in your lungs and it is by His might that you have the
activity of your limbs and are clothed in your right mind… We look unto God
thanking Him for His goodness; we look unto God thanking Him for allowing us to
partake in every moment of life… There is only one wise God who has all
dominion and power; his name is Jehovah, He is the prince of peace and the
sustainer of Heaven and Earth… Don’t be
fooled by the things of this world, don’t be caught up by what man may say or
try to do to you… You may slip here and there, you may make a mistake here and
there, but you will not fall because of the God you serve, you will not be
found full of fault, because He has already paid sins’ penalty for you…
Jude says we look to the Lord because He is able to keep us from falling, but
he also says that He can present us faultless before the presence of His glory,
Jesus is always making intercessions on our behalf… The blameless lamb always
has you and I on His mind and He will not allow a day to go by without trying
to bring us back in to the right relationship with God… There is only one wise
God and Savior, He poured out His life on Calvary
and sits at the right hand as we read this passage… He will keep you in perfect
peace as long as your mind stays on Him! Take courage today in knowing that if
you keep your eyes focused on the Lord you will not lose balance in the
world!!!!!
So as we
close today, let us NOW LOOK UNTO HIM THAT IS ABLE TO KEEP YOU FROM
FALLING!!!!
BE BLESSED!!!
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