TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
“But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. They said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.” These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit. But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.” (Jude 17-21)
The author of Jude was the brother of James and the half-brother of Jesus. This book of the Bible is a general letter to Christians everywhere, in which Jude urges readers to build themselves up in the “most holy faith” and to “keep themselves in God’s love.”
There is an urgent tone to this epistle, as Jude exhorts his readers to stay faithful to the teaching of the Apostles. There is the sense is that these are dangerous times for believers. Scoffers will attempt to turn people from God. They will also sow disunity in the Church and will try to lead people away from holiness into debauchery.
The key to protection from these evil forces is the Holy Spirit. As you read these verses, prayerfully examine yourself. Do you have the Spirit, live in the Spirit, and pray in the Spirit? If you do, praise the Lord and thank Him for His mercy in giving you eternal life. Anticipate Jesus’ coming…He will be here soon!
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