Day 257: No Sugar Coating

Jude; Ezra 9-10; Psalm 95

I love the book of Jude. He just spits it out, no sugar coating, just pure and simple truth. Primarily he talks about false teachers of God. He says that we must "defend the faith" because there have been people who have snuck in and been deceptive and misleading. I think there is something to this message: he doesn't say "attack others," we are not to be offensively powerful, but defensively strong. We are to defend, protect, remain strong for the Truth of God. Are we living our lives and willing to speak up for the Gospel, to protect the Truth? Do we even know what the Truth is? Jude tells us that there is judgment and eternal fire waiting for those who live foolishly, selfishly, against God's will. I pray that we do not get caught up in such things, but defend the holy Truth of God.

Another thing that I think is important about this book is that it doesn't deny the attack on God. It doesn't say that God is God and nobody messes with him. These people were there at the time this book is written, they came later, they are around today, and will be present in the future. These people will "start making fun of God. And now these people are already making you turn against each other. They think only about this life and they don't have God's Spirit." I believe that Satan uses whatever he can manipulate in order to turn faithful followers against God or one another. Distorting the truth of God is one way to cause dissension. Just look at the church! I don't even know how many different denominations of Christianity there are and many think that everyone else are idiots. The church divided is not as effective in growing the kingdom as a church united. Jude concludes his letter with these instructions in how to live and act: "keep building on the foundation of your most holy faith, as the Holy Spirit helps you to pray. And keep in step with God's love, as you wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to show how kind he is by giving you eternal life. Be helpful to all who may have doubts. Rescue any who need to be saved, as you would rescue someone from a fire. Then with fear in your own hearts, have mercy on everyone who needs it." Powerful. Urgent. Loving.

The Israelites, including the church leaders, were living just like the godless around them. This was BAD. So bad that Ezra tore his clothes and wept in sorrow for hours. So bad that drastic measures had to be taken. The Israelites were God's chosen and were supposed to live set apart, differently, following the instructions of The Lord. But they compromised and lived like those around them. I think this same epidemic is present in America today. Who is a Christian? It's sometimes hard to tell because they live exactly as their un-churched neighbors. As God's children we are called to live differently. How did the Israelites make right their wrong? Drastic measures. Let us look at our lives. Are we living according to God's word and truth, or do our lives look eerily similar to the godless around us?

This psalm simply reminds us to worship God, who is the Creator, who holds the ocean and mountains in his hands, who has been patient.