“kept for Jesus Christ”
“Jude, a bond-servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James,
(The Letter of Jude 1- 3 NASB)
To those who are the called,
beloved in God the Father,
and kept for Jesus Christ:
May mercy and peace and love be multiplied to you.
Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith
which was once for all handed down to the saints.”
Suppose you are truly sick, so sick in fact that no surgery, no therapy, no transplant can cure you. Then you hear of a pill, a medication you can take; however, on the label of the bottle, you read these ominous words—“These tablets will either cure or kill you on the spot.”
At that point, you just don’t know what to do:
- Take the pills, take the chance ‘hoping’ they will cure your sickness—OR—
- Do not take the pills because you are fearful that in taking them, you might just die.
Your decision holds your fate.
- Your decision has the power to save your life.
- Your decision determines your future.
- Your decision is one of desperate ‘hope.’
Can you decide to do nothing & just ‘hope’ for the best?
- Some make that choice, while ‘hoping’ they will do all the right things, live good enough, be good enough & just maybe, they will be saved in the end.
- Others cling more securely to the person of JESUS!
ETERNAL HOPE!
The saints of God are “kept for Jesus Christ” by a fixed HOPE!
The apostle John was led by the Holy Spirit to record the words of his Savior Jesus Christ, writing to the disciples in the world, to the saints, to the redeemed children of God. John records a prayer Jesus Himself prayed for the believers, for the disciples of Christ who were alive, & so, to us still alive today. Will you read with me Jesus’ words and be encouraged by the HOPE you have received?
“But now I come to You;
(The Gospel According to John 17: 13-21 NASB)
and these things I speak in the world so that they may have My joy made full in themselves.
I have given them Your word;
and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
I do not ask You to take them out of the world,
[Jesus is praying directly to Father God for each one of His disciples]
but to keep them from the evil one.
They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
Sanctify them in the truth;
Your word is truth.
As You sent Me into the world,
I also have sent them into the world.
For their sakes I sanctify Myself,
that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth.
I do not ask on behalf of these alone,
[Jesus is not just praying for His disciples who walked during His earthly ministry]
but for those also who believe in Me through their word;
[Jesus is praying directly to His Father for God’s children who have accepted His gift of Salvation]
that they may all be one;
even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You,
that they also may be in Us,
so that the world may believe that You sent Me.”
MercyMe sings a beautiful song: “On Our Way,” one that melodically displays the JOY found in our HOPE. Pause to listen and be reminded.
- Remember the grace we received from God.
- Open to read God’s Word—every single day you live.
- Share the Gospel with others.
- Offer hospitality to those who need to see Jesus.
- Show others how we depend upon the Lord, even when we are in our weakest moments.
- SEEK GOD!
- Seek to produce the “fruit of the Holy Spirit.”
- Love beyond small talk.
- Love by showing real concern for another.
- Love by praying for a brother & sister’s spiritual walk.
- Love as Jesus Himself loved.
“Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling,
(The Letter of Jude 24-25 NASB)
and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy,
to the only God our Savior,
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
be glory,
majesty,
dominion,
and authority,
before all time and now and forever.
Amen.”
May we recall the HOPE we have received.
Many people in this world ‘hope’ for the best when it comes to believing in God’s existence, but the question is Not Only—IF GOD EXISTS—but—WHAT WILL I DO WITH THIS MAN SENT BY GOD, WITH JESUS?
- If a person ‘hopes’ for the best in life decisions, then he has little to lose: a little money, a little time, a little frustration, or a little inconvenience.
HOWEVER—
- If a person ‘hopes’ for the best in his eternal decision, then he has much to lose: His Eternal Destination is at Stake!