A Study of Jude
Reimagined Abundance
Jude vs. 2, “Mercy, peace and love be yours in abundance.”
When God gives, He gives in abundance. Oftentimes, we are caught up in how we think God should give, what He should give or are not paying attention at all, that we miss what He is giving us. Maybe we think we need more money, but in reality we need to get out of debt and be content with what we do have. Maybe we feel we need more time and to be less busy, when what we need is to learn to say no. Maybe we are struggling with our health, but we need to learn to take care of ourselves within the limitations of our illness. God has given us all we need - and abundantly at that - and while this is hard, we have to lean into the mercy, peace and love of God in order to have abundance in our lives. You have access to these things, and they are right in front of you! They may no look like you think they should, but they are there, waiting to be discovered. Remember, God doesn’t give stingily, He gives abundantly!
What in your life might be God giving you abundantly? Is there an area in your life that you think needs to change, but don’t see God working? Change your view point and ask, “What is God giving me in this area that I might not be seeing?”
Lord, Jesus - You are our everything. You have given us all we need, and abundantly so. I pray for your mercy, peace and love on all that I do, am and have. Thank you for providing more than I could imagine, even it is not how I imagine. Please help me see things from your point of view, and not miss all that you have done. In your name I pray, Amen.
A Study of Jude
Part 1
Jude is a very small book in the Bible. You blink, you miss it! Jude writes to “those who have been called, who are loved by God,” and is therefore inclusive to any believer. This is an amazing book, in that it is so short, yet so profound - even for today’s reader.
My eldest son loved puppets, especially when he was about 10 years old. We took him to see David Pendelton and he was hooked. He practiced making them walk and talk and everything about it was truly his natural bent. He would put on shows and make recordings of his skits. It was fun to watch but at the end of the day, the only life in the puppets were given to them by the puppeteer.
I think the whole book can be summed up in the one verse, “Keep yourselves in God’s love,” vs. 21. Every minute should be spent aware of God’s presence in our lives. We have no life without Him. But unlike a puppeteer, God loves us and wants the best for us. He gives us the choice to stay with Him, in His love, or to leave at any time. “Keep”, here, implies that we can leave at any time. May we always be like a tree planted by streams of water, firmly rooted in God’s love, never uprooted or dry or weak (Jeremiah 17:7-13).
What can you do today to bring yourself into God’s presence? If you’re already there, what commitment can you make to keep yourself there?
Father, thank you for loving us so much that you would never keep us against our will. We want to reflect Your glory to the world and I pray your powerful presence in our lives. Amen.
A Study of Jude
Part II
Have you seen the movie Beauty and the Beast? The main character, Belle trades her life for her fathers at a castle that houses a beast. At first she is resentful and scared, even though it was her choice to stay. But by the end of the movie, she chooses to stay because of love, not out of fear.
“To those who are loved God and kept by Christ,” vs. 1. I love the imagery of this - “kept by Christ.” It’s not a slavery term or even like keeping an animal chained up. It’s more comparable to a body guard keeping a celebrity close under an umbrella, a husband keeping his wife from stepping into a muddy puddle or a parent keeping his child from getting burned. It may feel restrictive in the moment, but in the long term it is for the best.
Because of love, being kept in someone's presence is a true treasure, not a burden. It’s like spending time with someone and you never want to leave, you don’t want the time to end. While our instinct may be to push against the feeling of being confined, our soul will eventually be able to rest in the love of God and safety of being kept in the presence of Christ.
In your day-to-day life, how are you responding to God’s safety with fear, resentment or false sense of sacrifice? What in your life is “Christ keeping you in His presence”? How can you cultivate more of this?
Father God, thank you for having our best interest at heart. Thank you for protecting us even when we don’t think we want it. I pray that we will always look to your faithfulness and reputation following You anyway, than to make decisions on the uncomfortableness of our present circumstances. Amen.
Our Focus - The Potter, Not Us
So much of our world today is broken, chaotic and so very busy. It can be very overwhelming and defeating. Jeremiah 18:6(b) says, "Like clay in the hand of the Potter, so are you in My hand." I think that when we hear this verse, it is such beautiful imagery. We speak of it in our lives like we are jars of clay. But the point isn't us, the point is God. It's His hands we are in, and that is what we must speak of. If we aren't willing to give up everything in our life hat He asks us to - fear, business, worry, etc. - then we are just old junkie, dusty clay jars. But if we surrender to the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, then His beautiful hands will create us into something beautiful as well, as reflection of the Potter Himself.
A Strong Tree
Jesus told the Samaritan woman, "I am the living water, thirst no more." She was a nobody, an outcast, ridiculed. But Jesus loved her, sought her out, knew her past and drew her into His family. He wants you to know you're loved too. When we have a relationship with Christ, we "will be like a tree planted by the water, that sends roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; it's leaves are always green. It has no fear in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit." (Jeremiah 17:7-13)
This is so beautiful - the image of a strong, huge, seasoned tree, standing strong when so many trees around it are not. Do you feel dry, weak, small? What can you do to send roots out to the living water? What can you do to drink of the living water today?
The Light
Some of my fondest memories are of times when the electricity went off. Growing up in a third-world country, the electricity was only on half or one-third of the time. When we had no electricity, we weren't allowed to open the fridge. But that was OK, because my mom would pop popcorn over the gas stove and we'd play board games by candle light. Other times, she'd read us stories, like The Hobbit or Little House On the Prairie. Looking back, it was almost magical.
Matthew 5:13-16 says, "When you light a lamp, you put it on a stand and it gives light to everyone."
This what I want my life to be like - for everyone to know that God is the light of my life. That I am simply the lamp He uses to shine through; I'm just the stand He uses to display His glory to the world.
Jesus Sees Us!
Part 1
I was at a tennis match several weeks ago, watching my 17 year old, senior in high school playing his last season of tennis. While there, I was talking to another mom and in the course of conversation she said, “It’s so hard to manage everything, all the little day-to-day things we have to do. It’s hard to care for my littler kids when I feel I have so much to do with the to the bigger kids (like these events).” I could sense her dispiritedness and see her inner struggle.
I have been reading the story of the woman who was bleeding for 12 years (Mark 5:21-36). This woman was so discouraged by all that life had dealt her over the past decade plus. And it showed me that God cares about our lives - the big picture but also the little, seemingly insignificant moments of our lives.
The woman was bleeding for 12 years - and because of this, she was an outcast, shunned, disregarded. She knew that Jesus was her last hope. She had tried everything else to get better, spent all the money that she had, and was at the bottom of the barrel of options. There was a huge crowd around Jesus, and the woman pushed through it, knowing that if she could just touch a small scrap of His coat, she would be healed. After she touched Him, Jesus felt His power go out of Him. Jesus then asked the crowd around Him who touched Him. But Jesus knew - as omniscient as He is! He is God, the Creator of the entire universe (big picture) and also Creator of the woman (little picture). He knew exactly who had touched Him, but He asked the question anyway.
Why? Because Jesus knew the woman needed to know that He saw her. Jesus cares for her, and her faith in who He is, healed her. He could have healed her quietly and walked on, but instead Jesus pointed her out in the crowd. He wanted her to see how much she meant to Him - so much so that He called her “Daughter” and at that moment, adopted this disregarded, outcast woman into His family. She was no longer unwanted, but a daughter of the King!
When we are struggling, trying to juggle all the “little things”, remember that Jesus is already here, waiting to meet you and me in our time of need. Faith like a mustard seed was all it took to touch the very periphery of Jesus’ coat. So go in peace, my dear friends, for your Faith has healed you.
Jesus Sees Us, Continued!
Part 2 -Continuation of Mark 5.
In this same passage, book-ending the story of the woman, is the faith of Jairus. Jairus was a leader in the community, well-respected and loved by all who knew him. His daughter was sick and dying and everyone was afraid for her sake. Jairus went to find Jesus to see if He would heal his daughter. Jesus, when the woman touched Him, was on His way to Jairus’ house.
Jesus points out the woman (literally) and that her faith healed her, a woman no one wanted to be with nor near to. Jairus, however, was an official and everyone wanted to be near him. While Jesus was ministering to the woman, Jairus got word that his daughter died. But Jesus said to him, after the woman was healed, “Jairus, your daughter is a sleep, don’t listen to them, listen to me.”
Jairus didn’t have faith; he simply believed that Jesus could heal his daughter, but didn’t believe that Jesus was the I AM, the Son of God, the Creator of the universe. Jairus was sidetracked with his own little moment and couldn’t see Jesus in it. But Jesus could - He knew what was about to happen. This highly thought of man didn’t have the faith of a lowly woman - and Jeus calls him on it. Jesus still healed his daughter, but in secret, and told them not to say anything to anyone.
Yet, Jesus calls out the woman in front of “a great crowd” and makes a big deal about her faith. Jesus cares about us, no matter who we are, what we’ve done, or what we have. He cares about us in the big mountain top experiences but also in the day-to-day, moment by moment experiences of our normal lives.
Will you have faith today like the woman, or like Jairus? I pray you’ll let Jesus draw you closer into His family, calling you daughter or son, and experience the joy that faith in our Creator will bring.
