Good morning devoted people of God
Jude 20,21 But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray 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.
This verse is a great exhortation for us all today. The world and all its passions scream at us loudly every day and in so many ways. We live in a society that is all about ‘me’ and it’s commonly accepted to blame others for our lives.
I see in this verse a great way to live life and some important things that every one of us should intentionally focus on and pursue.
We need to build ourselves up. Sometimes it’s easier to wait until everything changes; to wait until ‘one day’; to wait until it doesn’t cost so much or require so much; to wait until someone else changes first. No, we are responsible for ourselves and we need to take responsibility to build ourselves up…
…in our most holy faith. Our faith should never be a flippant part of our lives but rather the core of all we are that is cherished as a gift from God. Our faith, our God, our call, our eternal home, in fact all that comes from our Maker is holy, sacred, set apart and worthy of the highest reverence and respect. Our faith is a holy thing and some of us need to remember this today.
I believe praying in the Holy Spirit is a key to building ourselves up. In fact, this is a large part of the purpose of our heavenly language; to edify ourselves (1 Corinthians 14:4). Speaking in tongues is misunderstood by many but I encourage you to speak to God about it. I know it is a gift from God and I know the power of it in my own life. I pray you too receive this gift and that you are strengthened in your spirit as you commune with God’s Spirit.
Finally we would all do well to keep ourselves in God’s love. Truly there is no greater power in existence. But again, we need to intentionally keep ourselves centred in God’s love. It’s too easy to get distracted with hurt, disappointment, frustration, doubt, worry, fear and anxious thoughts. God’s love, and keeping ourselves in it, is our hope and our life.