A UNIVERSAL MOURNING

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“Look, He is coming with the clouds,” and “every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him”; and all peoples on earth “will mourn because of Him.”

So shall it be! Amen.

Revelation 1:7

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

When Jesus returns, it will be an event unlike anything the world has ever seen or ever will see again. And just as it is hard to read the end of Revelation and really have a proper image of the majesty, glory, and beauty of the New Jerusalem, the future eternal home for every person who has placed their belief in Jesus, it’s also difficult to grasp what His coming will look like.

Now, this doesn’t mean we are left with no idea for as we see in today’s passage, John shares a vision that informs us of what’s to come while we go back to Old Testament prophecy and connect the dots with this vision. Look again at verse 7 from Revelation, chapter 1:

“Look, He is coming with the clouds,” and “every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him”; and all peoples on earth “will mourn because of Him.”

So shall it be! Amen.

Think about this for a moment. There may be things coming with the clouds at one point of the world but completely oblivious to people to other. It could be raining in England (it does a lot, if you don’t know already) but the cloudy skies in America might only be slightly obscuring the bright sunshine emitted by the sun. There is really never a time when the whole world sees the same thing “coming with the clouds”.

This is what makes the coming of Jesus defy scientific reasoning but not spiritual belief. For as we read in the scriptures, when Jesus arrives “with the clouds”. There won’t be a single person who won’t see Him. “Every eye” will look upon Him, even those in the holy city of Jerusalem, where He was “pierced” while dying by crucifixion on Calvary’s cross. The sight will have a universal impact on every single person in the world for “all peoples on earth will mourn because of Him”.

What makes this verse even more fascinating and incredible is that it marries up with the prophecies of Daniel and Zechariah. Look at these two passages from their respective Old Testament books:

First, Daniel:

“In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a Son of Man, coming with the clouds of Heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into His presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and His Kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.” Daniel 7:13-14

And then Zechariah:

“And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on Me, the One they have pierced, and they will mourn for Him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for Him as one grieves for a firstborn son.” Zechariah 12:10

Here, we gain added granularity to John’s vision. For the Jesus “coming with the clouds of Heaven” comes with full “authority, glory, and sovereign power”. He said this had been granted to Himself by His Father God before He ascended.

“All authority in Heaven and on earth has been given to Me.” Matthew 28:18

Indeed, Jesus will return as the King of kings and Lord of lords, ruling over all creation with absolute and everlasting dominion, ultimately over a Kingdom “that will never be destroyed”.

And just as God’s heart broke when He sacrificed His only Son, His firstborn, so too will all creation share in His sorrow in what will be a universal mourning when they see Jesus come back, grieving “bitterly” over Him.

This mourning will be replaced by joy for all the followers of Jesus who join Him to inhabit the new Heaven and earth. Conversely, the sadness will continue eternally, a torment for those who will find themselves in the darkness of Hell, separated from the One who died to save them, the One they passed up. My prayer is that no one reading this today will be counted in that number.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

ALL PRAISE, HONOR, AND GLORY TO THE FATHER AND THE SON

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

John,

To the seven churches in the province of Asia:

Grace and peace to you from Him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before His throne, and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.

To Him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by His blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve His God and Father—to Him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.

Revelation 1:4-6

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

As we move past the opening three verses of the first chapter of Revelation, we see the intended audience of this amazing prophecy of the end times, a prophecy we learned was passed down from God to His Son Jesus who in turn dispatched an angel to convey it to John who obediently shared what he was commanded to share.

We see in our passage that he was writing “to the seven churches in the province of Asia” and later in this book, we will see each of these churches (Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea), receiving very personalized attention from the Lord.  Much more on these churches later in this book but for now, we will keep in mind that it is John who is addressing them specifically even though in a  much broader application, we know the Lord is speaking to all Christian believers – past, present, and future.

As we look at the two paragraphs that comprise these two paragraphs, we first see John sending a greeting from the Father and Son he is representing. He shares this:

Grace and peace to you from Him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before His throne, and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.

The Book of Revelation might be scary in some ways as we navigate through what the end times will look like but its Christian readers need to always keep the opening verses in mind. For the very Word of the Lord guarantees that anyone who reads the content of this book aloud or hears it and takes it to heart will be blessed (1:3). And as we carry on into verses 4 and 5, we see the blessings begin right away. For John makes sure that the members of the seven churches know that God - the One who is and was and is to come - and His Son Jesus – the “faithful witness”, “firstborn from the dead”, and “ruler of the kings of the earth” - were sending “grace and peace” to them, promises from the two people who never break them, their Maker and Master as well as their Savior who was One with His Father.

What a wonderful way to begin this book and who wouldn’t be led to a place of thanksgiving after receiving such rich gifts from the most perfect Givers ever. As we look at the second paragraph, we certainly see John expressing his feelings openly with boldness. He proclaims:

To Him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by His blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve His God and Father—to Him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.

Here, we find John lifting up the name of Jesus, acknowledging the eternal glory and power found in Him. As we read these words, we see a praise proclamation grounded in the following benefits that Jesus brings to anyone who places their belief in Him. They include:

1. His love.

To Him who loves us...

In the Gospel written by the same John found here in Revelation, Jesus described the kind of love He was soon to bring to all mankind, a saving love that led Him to willingly bear the punishment due all sinners who that they might be made right with God and gain the assurance of eternal life. Here’s what He had to say:

Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are My friends if you do what I command. John 15:13-14

Indeed, through His deep love for all people, Jesus laid down His life, allowing those who would believe in Him and show obedience to His commands to be considered His friends. As the old hymn goes, “What A Friend We Have In Jesus”. We’ll never have a greater one than Him.

2. The liberation from sin He provided through His blood.

To Him who...has freed us from our sins by His blood

In the Book of Hebrews, we find this truth from the Word of God:

In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness (9:22).

In the case of complete atonement from sin for any sinner, no one gains it except by the shed blood of Jesus on Calvary’s cross, a blood that washes the sinner as white as snow (Isaiah 1:18). Indeed, through Jesus, the believer becomes justified or made just as if they had never sinned when they come to the judgment throne of God to give an account of the way they lived. Destined for a sure eternal damnation in Hell under the bondage of sin, Jesus breaks those chains the moment we place our hope and trust in Him as Savior and sets us free so that our eternal outcome might lead to our best life ever.

And this leads us to the third key reason we find John exhorting the Lord’s glory and power.

3. He made us into a kingdom, priests to serve Him and His Father God.

To Him who...has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve His God and Father

This statement “kingdom and priests” should be read as the church in the New Testament and what we’re reading about here is the incredible final destination for all Christian believers, the new Heavens and new Earth where all those who are saved, those whose names are found within the Book of Life, will abide with God and Jesus forever, serving and worshiping them both for all eternity.

That’s what is ahead, promised for all Christians through God’s amazing salvation plan, sealed by the obedient life and ministry of Jesus, His Son. With this truth in mind, how could we not, like John, offer up all of our praise and honor and glory to the Father and the Son, not just now but forevermore?

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

BLESSED READERS

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending His angel to His servant John, who testifies to everything he saw—that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.

Revelation 1:1-3

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Starting today, we’ll begin a study from the Book of Revelation and as we’ll see, we learn about this book’s origin as well as what it provides to any reader in the opening three verses of chapter one. Let’s look at those again now:

The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending His angel to His servant John, who testifies to everything he saw—that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.

We read in Paul’s second letter to Timothy, his partner in the Gospel ministry, that “all scripture is God-breathed” and we’re reminded of this as we come to the final book in the Bible, a book of revelation given to us by God and passed down to His Son Jesus who in turn sent it to John by way of one of His angels.

What was the revelation?

We find out in this passage as the scriptures tell us that John testified about “everything he saw” which was the “word of God and the testimony of Jesus”. What true Christian believer wouldn’t want to hear about that, especially about the end times when Heaven is their sure destination point.

This is why anyone who “reads aloud the words of this prophecy” found in the Book of Revelation will be blessed as will anyone “who hear” them “and take to heart what is written in it”. Because although no one knows what might play out in their life in the immediate future, they are reminded of their eternal future and the assurance that their best life is still yet to come by reading and hearing the words of prophecy contained within 22 wonderful chapters.

The overall message of Revelation is that judgment is coming to the heavens and earth as we know them and God is going to hit the reset button on creation, starting over and bringing anyone who believed in His Son Jesus along to abide with Him forever in the New Jerusalem. The saved will indeed be redeemed but unbelievers, those not found in the Book of Life, will be condemned to Hell forever along with Satan. Evil will be finally vanquished and everything will be made new, perfectly righteous, holy, and glorious.

Truly, Christians are to see Revelation as the crowning affirmation of the good news God promised through Jesus Christ, His Son. So I encourage you to prepare yourself for a wonderful study ahead, knowing that along the way we will see how blessed we are by reading and hearing this special Word of God that was passed on to John to share.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

GIVING EXALTATION

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

To Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy—to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.

Jude 1:24-25

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Everyone loves a good ending. It’s true whether we are watching a movie, television series, or reading a book.

In regard to the latter, as we finish reading the letter written by Jude, the half brother of Jesus, we just don’t get a good ending but a great one, one that serves as a model for giving exaltation to the only One who is worthy of it. Let’s look at these two closing verses again here:

To Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy—to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen. 1:24-25

Before we dive into this declaration of honor to the God Most High, we should look at the definition of the word “exaltation”. In the dictionary, we find this:

The act of raising someone to a higher rank or more powerful position.

With this, we see that the matter of exalting has to be intentional by the exalter. It’s an act that needs to be carried out. In regard to giving exaltation to God, we shouldn’t see this as a duty. We shouldn’t treat it like, the Bible says I should do it and so I had better comply.

Rather, true exaltation comes naturally, born out of one’s natural awestruck adoration and humble acknowledgement of insubordination and servitude toward the Maker and Master of all things, the sole all powerful, sovereign authority over all mankind.

We see this mindset clearly modeled in the word of Jude in these last two verses of his letter. Let’s break down the specific elements we find within it.

1. An affirmation of God’s ability to help guide us away from sin and into righteousness in life.

To Him who is able to keep you from stumbling...

Without the strength found in God, we would be too weak to withstand the attacks of our archenemy, Satan. This is why we need to always be connected to Him as the Apostle Paul exhorts by using the analogy of wearing armor, much like a soldier would as they stepped out onto the battlefield. Here’s what he wrote in the sixth chapter of his letter to the Ephesians:

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Vv.10-17

If we have any hope of not stumbling, we must carefully ensure we are following this important guidance for when we do, and only when we do, will we be “strong in the Lord and in His mighty power”.

2. A confession and profession of God’s saving goodness and grace.

To Him who is able to...present you before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy- to the only God our Savior.

In what is probably the best known Bible verse, John 3:16, we are told by Jesus that God, His Father and ours, so loved the world that He would be willing to surrender and sacrifice His one and only Son (Jesus speaking about Himself) so that whoever would believe in Him wouldn’t perish but have eternal life.

In other words, the God of all creation willingly chose to take people who had stumbled into sin, sin He despises, sin that warrants the penalty of death, and offer up His perfect, sinless Son Jesus as a substitutionary sacrifice, one that atoned for all sin committed by anyone who would believe in Him as Savior.

The end result of this amazing act of mercy, forgiveness, and compassion was that the saved sinner, the Christ believer, would one day be presented before the glorious presence of God “without fault and with great joy”.

Brothers and sisters, isn’t this reason enough to give full exaltation to God along with the fullest measure of our praise?

Let’s make sure that we proclaim it every chance we get, declaring the goodness and grace of our Lord.

3. A total pouring out of respect, tribute, and honor for who God is.

...to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.

First here, we find a proclamation of God’s exclusiveness. For He is “the only God” and has no rival. His power and authority are unmatched. This is why He and He alone is the divine, endless fount of all glory, majesty, power, and authority. This has been true before anything was created and it will be true “now and forevermore” by way of “Jesus Christ our Lord, the only One who can bring anyone to God the Father for all eternity John 14:6).

Friends, as we begin each day with a renewed sense of thanksgiving for the gift of life God has given, now and forever through His Son, let us never miss a chance to give Him our praise and exaltation, showing our appreciation for all He has done, is doing, and is yet to do.

And as the letter ends...

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

THE POWER OF SPIRITUAL ENCOURAGEMENT (PART 2)

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

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** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.

Be merciful to those who doubt; save others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.

Jude 1:20-23

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

As Jude, the half brother of Jesus, gets set to close out his letter to fellow Christian believers, we find him offering seven exhortations that reveal to us the power of spiritual encouragement. In yesterday’s message, we looked at the first three of these urgings and today we will conclude this short series by examining the last four found in verses 22 and 23.

1. Be merciful to those who doubt.

Life is hard, sometimes very hard. We can find ourselves in circumstances where our foundation of faith can be rocked and we can end up in a Job-like environment, caught up in the midst of our hardship and wondering where God is and how He is working within it.

So yes, Christian believers, both weak and strong in faith, can be taken to a place where doubt might happen. When it does, those who are near them, those they may feel comfortable enough to share their feelings with, aren’t to judge or condemn them for their uncertainties within their faith. Rather, as we see in this exhortation, we are to show mercy “to those who doubt”, listening and allowing them to express their feelings and process what they are going through. For it’s there, where we create an environment of safe and open dialogue, that the power of spiritual encouragement can begin. It allows us to validate the other person’s feelings and allow the Holy Spirit to guide to lead us in the best way to provide caring and love for our brother or sister believer.

2. Seek to save others.

As we used to say in the military when I served, this is a “daily one”, simply meaning that it’s to be on our daily Christian to-do list. This is because Jesus, the One whom which we are saved through belief, tasked us as His disciples to do this:

“...go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” Matthew 28:19-20

Note two things about this.

First, it’s not optional. Jesus didn’t say, “I think you should go and make disciples”; rather, He said to “go and make”, and that’s just what we should be doing.

Secondly, this isn’t something that is to be treated as if we should do it when convenient. We are told to “go and make disciples” and this applies to every single thing we do in the course of any one day.

At work, we should openly talk about our faith and the hope we have in Jesus with others. If we’re truly walking with Him and the Holy Spirit, we will stand out, set apart by the holiness we gain through our faith, and trust me when I say that people take notice and want to hear more about what makes you do different from the world and its ways.

You can do this at work. You can do it with conversations with your family and friends. And you can do it in chance encounters like when you are shopping in a store, especially when waiting in line to check out.

The point is that the Lord presents us with ample opportunities every day to seek to save others by pointing them to Jesus. We just need to take advantage of every one of them to His glory and the salvation of the lost.

3. Show mercy in general.

This is something I think a lot of people struggle with and it easily happens, even to the strongest believers. I say this because there are so many people in the world who seem to make it a mission to do wrong to others. Giving into sin and therefore directed by Satan, anyone can become a victim and no one likes that experience, at least no one I have ever met.

Given this and how we will almost certainly be mistreated and victimized by others through the course of life, usually many times over, the surface challenge becomes dealing with the way we have been abused but it has an underlying spiritual test attached to it and that is the matter as to how we should respond to being done wrong by someone else.

This is why this guidance mentioned in Jude as well as many other places in the scriptures is so valuable. For if we’re not careful, the same Satan that led someone to do bad to you will in turn come into your heart and lead you to do likewise, and we can’t afford to let that happen.

Jesus sure didn’t.

For when we look to the cross and see the very sinless, innocent Son of the God Most High, crucified and suffering as He bears the sins of all mankind on the way to death while being mocked and ridiculed by those on the ground who didn’t know Him, we don’t find Him beckoning legions of angels from the heavens to destroy those who were heaping derision and disrespect on Him. Rather, He makes the following merciful request to His Father:

“...forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” Luke 23:34

I have always referred to this as the measuring stick for forgiveness in the scriptures for if Jesus could do it while being murdered on the cross, asking for pardon for those who either put Him there or endorsed it, then my brothers and sisters, we can forgive and show mercy to anyone ourselves.

4. Have a sense of fear over sin and its effect on people.

Every day, the news lets us know that sin and its associated evils are alive and well. We’re bombarded with story after story of atrocious acts carried out on others, often blatantly inhumane in nature. In fact, this happens so much that I am afraid that most people, including those who are faithful Christian believers, become numb to all the atrocities they hear about.

As we see in this final exhortation and spiritual encouragement, this indifference to the wickedness of the world runs counter to the way that Jesus disciples are supposed to respond. For as we read here in Jude, Christians are to feel fear, a healthy fear grounded in respect over what sin can do to anyone. This fearful consideration for sin is intended to lead a person to despise every transgression, “hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh”, corrupted flesh that gives into ways that dishonor the God who made them, the God who reigns over them and punishes those who give into the desires of the enemy.

We’ve read about this sure judgment that can be imposed on anyone who adopts ungodly behavior throughout this letter of Jude. The question is, “How will we respond?” Will we become so desensitized to sin that we treat it as just something that happens and isn’t preventable or will we as Christian believers take a daily stand to speak out against the evil behavior we see in our world, loathing it at the same level as God Himself?

I think the answer is obvious. There’s no other option than to ensure that we are a constant adversary, partnering with our Lord against the works of the devil. For if Christians don’t do it, who will?

In today’s message, we add four more specific exhortations to the three we covered yesterday. Taken as a sum, they show Christian believers the power found in spiritual encouragement and my prayer for us all, is that we make a renewed effort to exercise all that we’re being called to do here. For when we do, we can’t help but make our homes, our communities, our workplaces, our churches, and our world overall a better place, doing so through following the lead of Christ, the Father God who sent Him to save us, and the Holy Spirit who provides us daily guidance and direction as we live this thing called life.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

THE POWER OF SPIRITUAL ENCOURAGEMENT (PART 1)

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.

Be merciful to those who doubt; save others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.

Jude 1:20-23

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

For most of the Jude’s letter to fellow Christian believers, we find him invested in warning against the impact of ungodly people on the church and the sure judgment of God that would come on them for choosing their own sinful desires over His. But as he finishes out his correspondence, we find him first exhorting his brothers and sisters in Christ toward behaviors that would be pleasing in the sight of their Lord and in step with the Jesus they followed, before closing with as beautiful benediction that will form the foundation for the last message from this letter.

Let’s look at the exhortations now as we see the power of spiritual encouragement at work. They are found in verses 20 through 23 of chapter 1.

But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.

Be merciful to those who doubt; save others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.

Through these words, we can see seven specific recommendations that are even demands in a few places. We’ll look at across two messages, covering them one by one with three today and the other four tomorrow. And we’ll receive them today just as the believers did more than 2,000 years ago, as these exhortations translate through the ages and transcend human history.

1. Build yourselves up in your most holy faith.

I think the most important word here is “build” and I say this around the truth that every single Christian believer is a work in progress. None of us have reached the point of righteous perfection and that’s spiritually encouraging good news. It means that we have an opportunity each day to become a better version of ourselves in Christ than we were the day before.

To that end, we can start every single day with a simple prayer:

Dear Lord, thank You for the gift of life and the opportunity to live and love and learn with You leading the way through the Holy Spirit. I offer myself to you as a living sacrifice and submit myself to do whatever you would see fit to bring the Gospel to others and further advance Your kingdom here on earth. I pray this knowing you will use me for Your purposes that are always good and look forward to fulfilling them in Your precious and holy name. Amen.

When we do this, when we surrender our will for His, then we can expect that our holy faith will be built up, edified and fortified by the mighty power of our Lord Most High.

2. Pray in the Holy Spirit.

You know, the preceding prayer was a perfect lead in to this second exhortation, the invitation to pray to the Lord “in the Holy Spirit”, a Holy Spirit who will always be there to help us be heard and even give us the words when we don’t know what to say. Here’s what we read in the eighth chapter of Paul’s letter to the Romans:

...the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God. Vv. 26-27

We also find Jesus telling His disciples this in the Gospel of Luke, letting them know that in a time when they are up against things and don’t know what to say, they can always count on the intercession of the Holy Spirit to enter in to help them in their time of need.

“When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say.” 12:11-12

No matter what our circumstances, we can turn to the Holy Spirit in prayer and know He is there to help us through in accordance with God’s will.

I don’t know about you but this is a deep encouragement for me as a believer of Christ Jesus.

3. Keep yourself in God’s love.

Our final exhortation in today’s message is centered on staying within the love of the God Most High.

What’s the best way to do that?

By following this greatest commandment, spoken by Jesus when asked about it. He said:

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” Mark 12:30

Here we find that the way to keep yourself in God’s love is to love Him first with every fiber of your being.

With all your heart.

With all your soul.

With all your mind.

And with all your strength.

When we truly do this, when we love the Lord our God with every part of who we are, then we become immersed in Him and His love, saturated with a perfect devotion and compassion found nowhere else.

I don’t know about you but this is the kind of love I want so I can share that love with others.

In other words, the power of spiritual encouragement that comes from being fully invested in my Lord allows me to then extend that power to others. The perfect gift from the perfect Giver gets shared, one Christian to another, and as a result, life becomes blessed, joyful, and glory-filled, just as God intends for it to be.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

JUDGMENT REMINDERS (PART 9)

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about them: “See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of His holy ones to judge everyone, and to convict all of them of all the ungodly acts they have committed in their ungodliness, and of all the defiant words ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.”

Jude 1:14-15

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Over the past eight messages, we have found Jude, the writer of this letter that bears his name, warning the Christian church against ungodly people who were in their midst. We have covered the character traits of the ungodly and how they are destined for God’s judgment and punishment, the latter the highlight of today’s passage and the final message in this series, Judgment Reminders. Here’s what we read in verses 14 and 15:

Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about them: “See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of His holy ones to judge everyone, and to convict all of them of all the ungodly acts they have committed in their ungodliness, and of all the defiant words ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.”

Of interest here is that the quote used by Job is from a writing that isn’t in the Bible.

The First Book of Enoch was written around first century B.C. and is included in a series of writings referred to as the Apocrypha. Some bibles you may see on the market might include this as an appendix to the established 66 books of the Old and New Testaments.

But here’s the thing. Not all of what one finds in the Apocrypha is accurate or trustworthy. If it was, God would have included it within the Word He created and inspired. In fact, most Bible scholars believe that much of the letter wasn’t written by Enoch at all.

With this, then the question is, why would a quote from the First Book of Enoch find its way into the perfectly true scriptures, words that are God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16-17)?

The answer to the question is that although the Apocrypha which includes this First Book of Enoch are inaccurate as a whole, there was at least one statement that was valid and that’s the prophecy we find in these two verses in the Book of Jude regarding the judgment of the ungodly. If it weren’t true, God would not have permitted it in His Word.

Okay, so who was Enoch?

We definitely know he is in the scriptures and the Old Testament Book of Genesis. For in our passage today, we read where he was the seventh from Adam, a statement confirmed in Genesis, chapter 5.

There we find the genealogy line from Adam which progressed from him to Seth, then Enosh, then Kenan, Mahalalel, and Jared before we get to Enoch. Seven men in the line of Adam so we affirm and validate that Enoch is who Jude states he is.

So this brings us to the prophecy, one grounded in the sure judgment of God on those who rejected and, as a result, disrespected the Sovereign Maker and Master of all creation. Speaking on behalf of the Lord, Enoch said this:

“See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of His holy ones to judge everyone, and to convict all of them of all the ungodly acts they have committed in their ungodliness, and of all the defiant words ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.”

Of course, the Lord in this prophecy is none other than Jesus Christ, the Son of God who sits in power at His right hand after having been given “all authority in Heaven and on earth” (Matthew 28:18). The scriptures are clear that while He came to earth the first time to be its Savior, His second coming will be as Judge and we see this highlighted clearly in this prophecy from God through Enoch.

The imagery here is both awe-inspiring and terrifying at the same time. For picture for a moment, Jesus descending from Heaven along with “thousands upon thousands” of “His holy” angels, a divine force coming to “judge everyone” and “convict all of them of all the ungodly acts they have committed in their ungodliness” as well as every defiant word an ungodly sinner may have “spoken against Him”.

Friends, no mere human can withstand such an onslaught and all the ungodly who have not believed in Jesus as Savior should tremble in fear over what’s to come. For after the judgment and condemnation will be a sentence of eternal darkness, torment, and damnation in Hell. That’s the future of anyone who is not in Christ at His second coming.

Now, all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. The saved sinner still has a past record of wrongs that more likely than not may have included ungodliness and defiant words against God.

So do they get a pass?

Not if they have failed to repent of the sins they have committed. In those instances, judgment can come but that judgment will not remove the Christian’s future destiny in Heaven. For as we are reminded in the first chapter of Romans, chapter 8, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. They are justified by the redeeming work of Jesus on the cross, a redeeming work that bore the sins of all mankind and allowed the punishment that every sinner deserved to fall on Him.

The Gospel truth is that anyone who has believed in Christ Jesus will be pardoned and gain their part of the blessed inheritance of Heaven, the very Kingdom of the God Most High.

So what is your destiny today? Where would you end up if Jesus was to return with His thousands upon thousands of holy angels to bring judgment on the ungodly?

If you’re not a Jesus believer, please do yourself a favor and surrender your life to Him today. You’ll never regret that decision, now or forever.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.