Tag: God’s call

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Jude Devotionals

Called, loved, and kept: Our starting point

starting line

But you, dear friends, as you build yourselves up in your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting expectantly for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ for eternal life. (Jude 20-21)

“Build yourself up in your most holy faith.”

“Keep yourselves in the love of God.”

I was pondering those phrases today and what they meant.

And then, as usual, I started to pray one of the Psalms. Since it’s the 29th, I was praying Psalm 29.

Ascribe to the Lord, you heavenly beings,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.

Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness
(alternate translation in footnote: “Worship the Lord in holy attire”)

…The God of glory thunders—
the Lord, above the vast water,
the voice of the Lord in power,
the voice of the Lord in splendor…

In his temple all cry, “Glory!”
…the Lord sits enthroned, King forever. (Psalm 29:1-4, 9-10)

As I read that, I couldn’t help but think about the passage from Revelation 4 where the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders worship before God’s throne.

We see the living creatures praising his holiness and the twenty-four elders ascribing to him glory, honor, and power. (Revelation 4:8-11)

And John was watching all this, no doubt trembling, but knowing that by Jesus’ blood, he was accepted and loved by the Father (Revelation 1:5-6).

And then I thought about Jude’s greeting.

To those who are the called, loved by God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ. (Jude 1)

That was Jude’s starting point.

That was John’s starting point.

And that’s our starting point as well.

We are called by the Father, loved by him, and kept by and for Jesus Christ.

That’s our motivation for building ourselves up in our faith, reading his Word and praying, growing in his grace and knowledge.

That’s our motivation for staying in the love of God, trusting and obeying him each day, crying out with the 24 elders, “You are worthy to receive glory and honor from me. You are worthy to reign in my life.”

That’s our motivation for clothing ourselves in holiness, worshiping God not only with our mouths, but with our lives. (Revelation 4:10, Romans 12:1)

That’s far from the attitude of the people Jude warned against. (Jude 8-19)

But as God’s beloved children that’s our attitude. At least it should be.

And it will be if we keep in mind who we are.

Called.

Loved.

Kept by and for Jesus Christ.

And remembering these things, we sing with Jude,

Now to him who is able to protect [me] from stumbling and to make [me] stand in the presence of his glory, without blemish and with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority before all time, now and forever. Amen. (Jude 24-25, personalization of the verse mine)

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Luke Luke 5 Mark Mark1 Matthew Matthew 4

Called to follow

The gospels

I do have to back up in time a bit. I just noticed I missed some crucial passages, namely where Jesus first calls the fishermen to follow him. (I’m sure this won’t be the last time I skip something by mistake.)

At any rate, these passages are a little difficult to harmonize, namely Matthew and Mark with Luke.

Any harmonization is purely speculative, but it is my guess that the events in Luke happened first, and that the events in Matthew and Mark happened shortly thereafter, perhaps a day or two later.

One day Jesus was trying to teach, but was getting pressed all the way back to the water by the huge crowds that were surrounding him.

Seeing Peter and his friends washing their nets nearby, he got into one of their boats and asked them to go out from shore a bit, and he taught from the water.

I’m not sure how much Peter and his friends wanted to do that. They’d just had a fruitless night of fishing, were tired, and probably wanted to go home. But they did as Jesus asked.

After Jesus finished teaching, however, he told them to go out further into the water to catch some fish.

At that point, Peter reached his limit. He was tired, discouraged, and wanted to waste no more time fishing this day. He certainly didn’t want to take any advice on fishing from a carpenter.

So he said,

Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. (Luke 5:5a)

But Jesus never wavered and just looked at Peter until he finally mumbled,

But because you say so, I will let down the nets. (Luke 5:5b)

So Peter and his friends went out, probably totally embarrassed. After all, nobody went fishing at that time of day. There were simply no fish to be had, and their friends in the other boat were probably all laughing at them for following Jesus’ advice.

But when they let down the nets, there were so many fish, Peter soon called his friends in the other boat to come help them, and there were so many fish, both boats began to sink.

At first, Peter was probably exuberant. But then it sank down in his heart what had just happened. He realized that this Jesus was much more than just an ordinary teacher.

And so he fell to his knees, and said,

Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man! (Luke 5:8)

But Jesus answered,

Don’t be afraid; from now on you will catch men. (Luke 5:10)

Again this is pure speculation, but I’m guessing that Luke compressed what happened next.

I’m guessing that they all went home that night. It’s possible that Jesus wanted them to reflect on all that had happened and the words he had spoken to them.

And then, perhaps the next morning, or shortly thereafter, while Peter and Andrew were fishing, and while James and John were mending their nets, Jesus made his formal call to them saying,

Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. (Matthew 4:19)

And when they heard it, they left everything to follow him.

What can we get from this?

First, Jesus’ grace extends to us and covers all our sins and failures, just like it covered Peter’s. He didn’t condemn Peter for his sin. Rather, he called Peter into a new life.

Second, you don’t need special qualifications to follow Jesus. You don’t need to go to seminary or Bible school. Peter and his friends were simple, uneducated fishermen. But Jesus called them anyway as his primary disciples.

Third, the most important thing for us to do is to trust him and to obey him. We don’t need to understand all the whys for the things Jesus asks us to do.

But we do need a heart that says, “But because you say so, I will.” We need a heart that is willing to let go of everything we hold dear in order to follow him.

Finally, as his followers, we are called to join in Jesus’ work. To bring others into the kingdom of God.

Will you be like Peter and his friends. Will you follow the Master’s call?

Categories
Isaiah

Ignoring the call of God

Isaiah

I wonder sometimes how frustrated God gets with us.  I think we see some of his frustration here in this passage.  He’s talking specifically about Israel, but it could easily apply to us. 

He said,

I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me; I was found by those who did not seek me. 

To a nation that did not call on my name, I said, ‘Here am I, here am I.’ 

All day long I have held out my hands to an obstinate people, who walk in ways not good, pursuing their own imaginations – a people who continually provoke me to my very face.  (Isaiah 65:1-3)

The amazing thing about God is that he could’ve just left us to die.  He could’ve said, “Well, nobody’s seeking me, so why should I seek them?” 

But instead, even though no one pursued him, he pursued us.  And he does so much to get our attention. 

He’s constantly calling to us, “Here I am,” and holding out his hands towards us.

But instead of responding to him in love, we intentionally provoke him to his face with our actions. 

Instead of being a sweet incense to him, we become smoke in his nostrils.  And because of our willfulness, we will be judged.  God says,

I will not keep silent but will pay back in full; I will pay it back into their laps – both your sins and the sins of your fathers,” says the Lord…

I will measure into their laps the full payment for their former deeds…for I called but you did not answer, I spoke but you did not listen.

You did evil in my sight and chose what displeases me.  (6-7,12)

Still, judgment is not without mercy.  God will show mercy on those who respond to his call.  In verses 8-9, he says,

As when juice is still found in a cluster of grapes and men say, ‘Don’t destroy it, there is yet some good in it,’ so will I do in behalf of my servants; I will not destroy them all. 

I will bring forth descendants from Jacob, and from Judah those who will possess my mountains; my chosen people will inherit them, and there will my servants live.

Just as God did not completely forsake Israel, but spared those whose hearts were his, he will not forsake those today whose hearts belong to him.

Peter writes,

The Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials and to hold the unrighteous for the day of judgment, while continuing their punishment.  (2 Peter 2:9)

The question we need to ask ourselves is how do we respond to God’s call in our lives? 

Do we run to his embrace? 

Or do we obstinately turn our backs on him and provoke him to his face?