A Faith Foundation for the Last Days (Jude 1:17-20
Jude 1:17 (NLT) But you, my dear friends, must remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ told you, 18 that in the last times there would be scoffers whose purpose in life is to enjoy themselves in every evil way imaginable. 19 Now they are here, and they are the ones who are creating divisions among you. They live by natural instinct because they do not have God's Spirit living in them. 20 But you, dear friends, must continue to build your lives on the foundation of your holy faith. And continue to pray as you are directed by the Holy Spirit.
There is often something providential in daily devotional readings. On one hand, we encounter these pre-selected Bible readings by chance. On the other hand, God's Word is always relevant to our lives, whenever we encounter it.
My devotional reading today (9/30/09) from the book of Jude, reminds me that changing times do not change human nature. This ancient text reads like current events. Interestingly, Jude seemed to think of his day as the "last times." If Jude was living in the "last times," we must be living in the "last minutes." The wording of the New Living Translation offers some fresh insights.
Jude paints a grim picture, "...There would be scoffers [both in the world and in the church] whose purpose in life is to enjoy themselves in every evil way imaginable." The definition of scoff is, "To mock at or treat with derision." These last days and minutes are certainly characterized by mocking and deriding people, presidents, preachers, churches and more. The world witnessed a member of Congress call his president a liar during an internationally televised speech. We've witnessed countless instances of God's church and His servants being mocked by the media. Other examples abound.
While this text provides many descriptive statements of the problem, there are also prescriptive statements of hope and direction for believers.
One powerful descriptive statement of the problem is,
"They live by natural instinct because they do not have God's Spirit living in them."Living by "natural instinct" accounts for 99% of what's wrong with ourselves and our world. Perceiving and deciding based on raw feelings, appetites and emotions cannot lead people to a fruitful and godly place in life. When people do not have the Holy Spirit in them, or (as believers) do not follow the leading of the Spirit of God, all that is left are instincts such as survival, self-preservation, territorialism or worse.
However, Jude's prescriptive statement of hope and direction is far more powerful!
"... Continue to build your lives on the foundation of your holy faith. And continue to pray as you are directed by the Holy Spirit."Building our lives on a faith foundation is the answer to 90% of our problems. (The final 10%–or more–is the mercy of God!) Add to this, praying "as you are directed by the Holy Spirit" keeps your heart full of hope and sustains your faith walk.
Today and everyday, do not allow our natural instincts to become a greater force in our lives than our faith and prayers. Amen!
