The Daily Word of Righteousness

Jude, #15

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 1:15—NIV)

The power of Jesus Christ is so massive, so total, that the spiritual struggle is not one of power against power but of truth against error; righteousness against wickedness. If we will keep our eyes on Jesus, doing His will each day, Satan will flee from us. He has no power whatever over those who are part of Christ.

Remember, all glory, majesty, power, and authority belong to God Almighty and He has entrusted the fullness of His Glory to the Lord Jesus Christ. As long as we follow the Lord, practicing righteousness, loving mercy, and walking humbly with God, Satan has no power to harm us.

Christ may permit Satan to pierce us with a thorn in the flesh, or to place us in prison. Such afflictions will serve to press us more fully into the Life and power of Christ.

In the Day of Resurrection all that is of eternal worth shall be restored to us. Let us put all of our treasures in Heaven and serve the Lord with gladness.

We understand, therefore, that the Book of Jude is very current. It describes the situation in the Christian churches in America as we approach the twenty-first century.

Our churches are not pure. They are filled with the works of the flesh of every sort. Also, in our midst are prominent "shepherds" who are not men of God at all. They do not know the Lord. They "serve" only to their own advantage. Yet we have not been careful to "try the apostles."

We of the Pentecostal persuasion are the most vulnerable to these wolves in sheep's clothing because we are not Bible oriented but experience oriented. If this were not the case we would not for one moment have accepted those who are telling us we ought to be rich in this world—in clear defiance of the writings of the Apostle Paul.

Jude tells us of the arrogance that was present in his day and remains to the present. There is a willingness on the part of many to charge about rebuking the devil and attempting to bind the angels who govern nations. It is true that we cannot enter the strong man's house until we bind the strong man. But we must make sure we are obeying Christ and He is directing us, that we are not acting in our own spiritual pride and self-assurance.

Cain is alive in our churches along with Balaam and Korah.

Perhaps the message that is the most significant for us concerns the return of the Lord. We are putting forth a false vision today, picturing the return of Christ as a giant celebration in which all who have made a profession of Christ will be caught up to the great Sunday-school picnic in the sky, even though we have never denied ourselves, have never taken up our cross and set out after Jesus.

Jude tells us that the Lord Jesus will return with His holy ones to judge the sinners in the churches—quite a different vision!

The Christian churches are sick unto death, and the Book of Jude is the cure if we will read it and apply the text to our lives. (from Jude)