Wednesday January 20, 2021

Today’s Reading: Jude 1:1-4

 Dear friends, although I was eager to write you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write and exhort you to contend for the faith that was delivered to the saints once for all.

Jude 1:3

Reflection: Because we have been saved, we are able to contend for the faith that we have been given through Jesus Christ. Jude exhorts the Family of God to not rest on our laurels as Christians, but to contend for the faith that we have received. We do not work to earn our faith, but because we have been given this precious gift from our Lord, we strive to uphold Him by it at all costs. We are to treat it as the gift of great value that it is. Think of a prized possession of yours, a tangible treasure, whether it be an object or a loved one. How do you treat this treasure? Don’t you spend your day minding it, ensuring it remains protected, caring for it and nurturing it? The same is true of our faith. Jude says that while he desired to write to his Family in Christ about our shared salvation, he deemed more important the encouragement to work for sake of the faith with which God has blessed us. For if our earthly treasures are guarded and kept with the utmost care, how much more should our heavenly treasures be minded?

Our faith is not safe when it is left neglected, for the enemy wants to snatch it away from us when we least expect. Or otherwise, by our own carelessness, our faith can become forgotten and lost. This is why Jude urges us to contend for our faith: to work for it’s sake, struggle for it, mind it and guard it at all costs. As vessels of our faith, we must keep ourselves away from temptations that might lure us into exchanging our faith in Jesus for faith in other entities. In keeping our faith, we must fill ourselves with God’s Word and work to practice His commands in our daily living. Of all God’s blessings, the faith He has given us through Jesus Christ our Lord is of the utmost value. Therefore, we must contend for it with all of our ability.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, You are so good to bless me with the knowledge of Your Son Jesus. Thank You for the Joy You have granted through the understanding of His Salvation. Thank You for the blessed faith You have given me by the revelation of Yourself. It is a gift to know You, LORD. It is a humble treasure to live in faith in You. Please grant me the perseverance to contend for this faith which You have so graciously given. I pray all of these things in the Name of Your Son, Jesus Christ my Lord, AMEN.

Thru the Bible in a year (credit: Biblestudytools.com): Jude 1; Ezra 9-10; Psalm 95