Jude 1

Jude, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to those who are called, beloved in God the Father, and kept for Jesus Christ:
Jude 1

I have always liked biblical introductions; it seems that in the epistles there is always so much work done in even the address.  There are two ways to read this text.  First, you can read it as a list of qualifications for the recipient.  With this we would be forced to ask, am I called? am I beloved? am I being kept? And if all the answers are in the affirmative then we may proceed.  However, I see a great fallacy in this way of thinking for I do not always feel called, beloved, and kept.  In fact, I am finding myself struggling to believe all three at the moment.  Reading it this way would result in the subsequent invalidation of most, if not all, of the epistles and the promises they contain.  A different approach must be taken, which leads to the second way to read this.  That is, not as a question of qualifications but a statement of identity.  Jude is not asking us to search ourselves to find if these things are true he is flat out telling us that they are.  I am called.  I am beloved of the Father.  I am being kept for Jesus Christ.  There is no room for uncertainty.

But why these three things?  How is it that Jude chooses that, of all the things he could tell us, we need to be told that we are called, beloved, and kept?  I think, only really knowing myself, it is because we struggle to believe these things.  I find myself often, as at the outset of writing this, fighting to believe that those three things are in fact true for me, that Jude meant what he wrote and that they were intended for me.  But, I also find its order important because a breakdown in the first results, possibly inevitably, in the breakdown of the second and then a breakdown in the third point of identity.  As this may be unclear I will use my own heart as a case study.

Today I woke up feeling like a failure; there was no clear focus of why I felt that way I just did.  Everything seemed off and I felt very out of place in life.  This then brought about the thought, though no so clearly articulated, “The Father must have made a mistake with me.”  Obviously, with relationships in rocky places, classes not where they should be, and a future so blurry and bleak I am not worthy to be chosen of the King, right?  But then if I am the product of some divine mistake I am surely not beloved either.  It may have started great and I may have been beloved of the Father at the outset but He has probably caught on by now and realized I am not worth His love or time.  And, if I am not worth that what assurance do I have that when Christ returns He will return for me, answer: none.

It may seem dramatic, and maybe it is but I don’t think I am alone in feeling this at times.  The fact that Jude chooses to address this is proof enough for me that we need to hear it because to believe any of the lies that we are not called, beloved, and kept will destroy you.

The Father has called, the word in the Greek has a connotation of an invitation to a banquet or a feast and that is precisely where we have been called to, the table of our Father.  It is not a mistake but an indelible invitation and purpose placed by the King.  The Father has also made those whom He has called His beloved.  He loves, is pleased with, and contented with His children, that’s what it means to be beloved.  His purposes, then, will not be left undone and that is why the Father keeps His own.   He has sent out a call  to those He loves to a feast of unknown proportions and He has promised that He will keep, or guard as it can be translated, His children until Christ arrives for them.

Do you believe this?

Is this promise for you?

I don’t know you, and I will probably never know you are reading this but I can say that if you confess and believe like Paul writes about in Romans 10 then the answer is a clear and definite yes.

I pray the Father would show you of His love for you.  Even more I pray that you would begin to see it, for it is all encompassing and wholly permeating for the believer.  May we be brought to our knees in thanks for the grace that has been poured out for us.

Grace and Peace Beloved.

In Christ,
AC

Doubt

Prone to wander L-rd I feel it. Prone to leave the G-d I love.


I remember reading through Exodus a while ago and being amazed at the Israelites. It takes no in depth analysis of the Old Testament to see that the L-rd provided for His chosen people. One of the greatest accounts of His provision is recorded in Exodus 14 as the L-rd parts the Red Sea. This epic saga is one so famous that many people outside the Church even know it, it is nothing short of a breathtaking miracle.

But what causes me to be amazed at the Israelites comes later at the end of Exodus 15 and the beginning of Exodus 16. What is recorded here (directly after a nationwide worship session might I add) is something i have unfortunately found to be true of humanity, they forget.

Coming out of one of the most impressive and memorable miracles in all of history the Israelites begin to grumble (Ex 15:24) and say to Moses, “Would that we had died by the L-RD’S hand in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat, when we ate bread to the full; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.” (Exodus 16:3) They forget that G-d has just delivered them and are now deluded into thinking that He may be trying to kill them.

Now it is easy, at least it is for me, to begin to look down on the Israelites and think foolish they are. But, how different am I? The L-rd provides for me in miraculous ways (and this is something, I am beginning to see, that happens daily) and yet I am so prone to forget and so prone to doubt. And just as I am beginning to see this happen I am also beginning to see a pattern; doubting follows forgetting. I think this makes sense because how could we doubt if we are constantly remembering what G-d has done (12 times the Israelites are told to "remember" what the L-rd has done in just the 5 books of Torah). And you see it elsewhere in Scripture for it seems that everything points us back to Him, reminds us of our Father and of His love and power.

An so now, even as I am writing this, doubt is no longer an infirmity but rather it is a symptom, one that calls me to remember the Father.

Maybe you are in a boat similar to mine, I do not know your doubts, and maybe you need to remember. Remember that you are in the Father's hands and cannot be snatched away. Remember that your Father will provide for your every need with the utmost love and attention. Remember that you have not been left alone as an orphan but given the indwelling Spirit and the title of Child of the Most High. Remember that He is working ALL things for your good. Remember that by the blood of Christ you now stand clean. Remember that you are incomprehensibly loved by the Creator of the universe.

Grace and Peace beloved,

In Christ,
AC

Jesus the Good Shepherd and Psalm 23

Hey guys,

As promised, here are some of the notes that I had to skip over on Friday. I really just wanted to share some quick thoughts I had on Psalm 23.


"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep." (John 10:11)

A. He is the shepherd.
Jews had their own ideas about who the Shepherd was.

“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me
In the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life,
And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”
Psalm 23

Quick observations about Psalm 23
1. God meets all the desires of the heart that we might not be in want. (v.1)
2. He is our peace. (v.2-3)
3. He has the power to make us righteous. (v.3) Man is evil but God can make us righteous.
4. There is comfort found in the rod. (v.4)
-The rod was used to protect the sheep from predators. (I will fear no evil)
-It was also used to discipline the sheep.
-It was used to keep the sheep from straying too far.
5. Because of the Shepherd, we receive blessings that overflow. (v.5)
6. Because of God’s grace (the mercy that follows him) the Psalmist is committed to “dwell in the house of the LORD forever.”

“God would never leave nor forsake him in a way of mercy; and therefore he resolves never to leave nor forsake God in a way of duty (Psa_23:6). In this he had certainly an eye, not only to the blessings of God's providence, which made his outward condition prosperous, but to the communications of God's grace, received by a lively faith, and returned in a warm devotion, which filled his soul with joy unspeakable.”
Matthew Henry Commentary

When Jesus calls himself the good shepherd, Jews associate the good shepherd with God who gives this kind of overflowing blessing and for whom they have an eternal devotion.

The Psalmist wrote ch.23 to speak of the great blessings bestowed upon him by the LORD his shepherd. This chapter follows immediately after ch.22, a chapter of great prophecy of the Christ.

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me,
From the words of my groaning?
O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer,
And by night, but I find no rest.”
(Psalm 22:1-2)
“All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me; they wag their heads;
‘He trusts in the LORD; let him deliver him;
Let him rescue him, for he delights in him!’”
(Psalm 22:7-8)
“For dogs encompass me;
A company of evildoers encircles me;
They have pierced my hands and feet –
I can count all my bones –
They stare and gloat over me;
They divide my garments among them,
And for my clothing they cast lots.”
(Psalm 22:16-18)

It is as if the blessings that the Psalmist receives from the shepherd follow the prophecy of the death and sacrifice of the Christ.

The sermon should be on the podcast soon enough. I hope this blesses you guys.

MTL

Passion for the Lost and for the Justice of God

Dears brothers and sisters,

I was reflecting a bit on some of the things that I have been learning, and I called to mind a conversation I had with a friend wherein he told me that he was wrestling with the thought of people we know and love never coming to the Lord and having to face eternity apart from Him and to face judgment without having the great priest to serve as an advocate. I was thinking about how there have been times where I am broken and upset to think about people that are close to me that will never receive the blessings that are given us through the cross unless God intervenes. When I step back from this train of thought, I recognize that my hurt for the lost leads me to wish that God would do things differently and I challenge His goodness and question His justice, which is not where I wish for my heart to stay.

I wanted to share this passage with you guys;
"What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory..." (Romans 9:22-23)

In reading this passage and turning my attention to Him, I realized my fault was that my attention was more on the pain of losing those close to me than it was on his goodness. This passage poses the question what if God has endured with much patience. We know that his desire is for all men to know Him (1 Timothy 2:4) and that seeing the creation made in His own image stray from His love causes him longsuffering (as it is translated in KJV and ASV) because it breaks His heart more than it breaks our hearts and more than our hearts can know to see man reject the very purpose for which he was created. We know that God is good in that he creates these vessels of destruction to make known His power, and furthermore, to make known the riches of his glory. So while I look to the lost and am confused sometimes at how God could punish, Paul looks at the lost and sees God's glory magnified for his vessels of mercy. Let us learn from Paul and see God's greatness in everything.

My desire is for us to be a people who have hearts for the lost and that we would break with compassion for those that don't know Him but that this brokenness would be born of a right and proper view of God. We should break for the lost because we have a passion for His righteousness, His justice, and His great love.

Love you guys, and I am praying for you.
In Christ,
MTL

1 John 1:10

Dear brothers and sisters,

I recently started a Bible Study with my brother Thomas through 1 John, and I wanted to share something that was ministered to my heart in studying ch. 1.

"If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us." (1 John 1:10)

If we have God's word in us, one of the first things it speaks into us is humility. We recognize that we are not without sin, we are not perfect, we need help, we need grace, and we need God. It is so easy to become discouraged when we see our sins, and we are right to be upset because our sins are an offense to our Father. But we rejoice in this, that where our sins are revealed, God is at work, humbling us and showing us where we need Him and His grace which He so willingly gives through the blood of His perfect and righteous son, Jesus (Romans 5:8-9). Mourn for your sins, for "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted," (Matthew 5:4) but do not let your mourning hinder your rejoicing in Him, because "where sin increased, grace abounded all the more" (Romans 5:20b).

I pray that this note finds you guys rejoicing in His love and grace.
Blessings!
MTL