Called. Beloved. Kept.

Daily Reading: Jude 1

Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James, To those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ: May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you. (Jude 1.1-2)

Devotional Thought: The book of Jude in the New Testament is short - just twenty-five verses.  But it packs a punch!  We quickly realize that when we read the salutation.  Consider:

·       We are called.  From the very beginning of time, God has been calling people.  In the Garden of Eden he called, “Adam, where are you?” In the tabernacle he called, “Samuel! Samuel!”  In the wilderness he called “Moses, Moses!”  In all these instances, the call of God was not only to follow him, but also to live in obedience and with purpose.  Jesus calls you to forgiveness and faithfulness.  How have you responded to that call?

·       We are beloved in God.  The Bible says, “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5.8).  Nothing can separate us from that love (Romans 8.35-39).  One day Jesus met a sinful woman who crashed a party where Jesus had been invited.  As she poured out her affection, Jesus said, “She loves much for she has been forgiven much.”  Having discovered that great love of God, are you loving God with abandon?

·       We are kept for Jesus Christ.  In September 1978, on a sandy beach in Sterling State Park, I asked Lana to marry me.  She said yes!  We did not get married until June 1979.  But in those intervening months, I kept loving her and helping her prepare for our wedding (mostly by staying out of the way!)  One day the Church will be presented to Christ as a beautiful bride.  Until then, are you, as Jude says in verse 21, “keeping yourselves in the love of God”?

Called, beloved, kept.  Oh, the wonderful grace of Jesus!

Prayer: Thank you, Jesus, for calling me, for loving me, and for keeping me.  I promise you to keep myself in the love of God.  Amen.

Psalm of the Day: Psalm 104.24-35

24 How many are your works, LORD! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. 25 There is the sea, vast and spacious, teeming with creatures beyond number— living things both large and small. 26 There the ships go to and fro, and Leviathan, which you formed to frolic there. 27 All creatures look to you to give them their food at the proper time. 28 When you give it to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are satisfied with good things. 29 When you hide your face, they are terrified; when you take away their breath, they die and return to the dust. 30 When you send your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the ground. 31 May the glory of the LORD endure forever; may the LORD rejoice in his works— 32 he who looks at the earth, and it trembles, who touches the mountains, and they smoke. 33 I will sing to the LORD all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live. 34 May my meditation be pleasing to him, as I rejoice in the LORD. 35 But may sinners vanish from the earth and the wicked be no more. Praise the LORD, my soul. Praise the LORD.