Today, Thursday November 18
“Remember the Words”
Jude 1:17-19 “But you, beloved, remember the words which were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ: how they told you that there would be mockers in the last time who would walk according to their own ungodly lusts. These are sensual persons, who cause divisions, not having the Spirit.”
Jude has been warning his readers about the apostates, the false teachers and now as we come to the close of this epistle he wants the believers to be faithful and stand firm against them. A strong defense depends on strong people, and this applies to spiritual battles as well as military contests. If the church is to oppose and defeat the false teachers, then all of us in the church must be strong and able to "stand against the wiles of the devil" (Ephesians 6:11).
There is always the danger of stumbling and Jude tells us that “the Lord is able to keep us from stumbling” (Jude 24). Remember that a stumble is the first step toward a fall. Today, Satan and his false teachers are still working overtime to cause God’s people to stumble and fall. They want us to fall away from the grace of God that is only found in Christ Jesus.
In this closing paragraph, Jude addressed his beloved readers and gave them four instructions to follow if they would stand firm and resist the apostates. We are to remember God’s Word (Vs. 17-19). We are to building up our Christian life (Vs. 20-21). We need to exercise spiritual discernment (Vs. 22-23). And we need to commit ourselves to Jesus Christ (Vs. 24-25).
First, we should always remember God's Word: “Remember the words….” (Jude 17-19). From the very beginning, Satan has attacked the Word of God. "Yea, hath God said?" was his opening thrust when he led Eve into disobedience in the Garden (Gen. 3:1). Once we begin to question God's Word, we are vulnerable to Satan's other attacks, for only the truth of the Word can protect us from the lies of the devil.
Isaiah warned Israel about the false teachers and prophets of his day with these words: "To the Law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this Word, it is because there is no light in them" (Isaiah 8:20). If we are to “remember” something we must first have a knowledge of it. The sad truth is that too many of us have nothing in the storehouse of our minds and hearts because we have never taken the time to read, study, memorize and meditate on God’s Word!
If we know the truth and remember it, we will immediately recognize the lies that the false teachers are trying to tell us! Light always overcomes the darkness! Please today make sure that you are taking time, to first have a reserve of God’s Word in your heart and mind, and then “remember the Word.”
God bless!
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