Daily Devotions: Too Much Truth - Jude 1:1-7

Jude 1:3           Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints. 

Sharing salvation is one of the greatest joys that Christians can ever experience. Contending for the faith, however, can be one of the hardest tasks that Christians endure.

These days, a lot of people want the blessings of salvation without the burden of commitment. They want the Gospel to be glamorous and the Bible to be light. They want God to accept everything and they want to give hardly anything in return. In other words, there’s a market out there for cheap grace, so whoever can provide this will win the most shallow of followers.

But Christianity is not glamorous; instead it is onerous. Jude makes this quite clear in his letter’s opening remarks and in terms that make post-modern people wince. He doesn’t pull any punches, nor does he accommodate any societal sensitivity. He is very candid about the divine judgment and everlasting punishment that will befall those who are sexually immoral. In other words, Jude condemns the whole of our present progressive and permissive society to Hell.

Whether or not we agree with Jude’s statements is left to us. But we should bear two things in mind as we consider his words. Firstly, he is writing to the Church about the sinfulness of the Church and not the world. Secondly, this letter is in our Bibles, so it must have sacred and eternal truth attached to it. Can we same the same for our thoughts, our letters, and our own opinions?

The problem with Jude has always been a problem for the Church: he is far too blunt. However, the question we need to ask ourselves is this: is he also being completely truthful, which is why his letter offends us?

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, in every generation we have to find and face the truth about ourselves, about You, and about God. We struggle today with issues of our own making, and we wrestle with problems that we have created. Reclaim us as Your own, and set the Church back onto the right and truthful path, even when it offends us. In Your Holy Name, we earnestly pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to respond to today’s message, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.

Westboro Baptists plan to picket Ledger’s funeral

The controversial Kansas church is at it again. Known for picketing funerals of fallen American soldiers, the Westboro Baptist church announced it will be sending picketers to Heath Ledger’s funeral. In a regular show of insensitivity and a complete lack of Christian compassion, the Topeka church is targeting both Ledger’s funeral and the Oscars to promote their unChrist-like hatred for the gay community.

They are picketing Ledger’s funeral because of his starring role in the movie “Brokeback Mountain.” In a press release they stated: "He got on that big screen with a big, fat message: God is a liar and it's OK to be gay.” They further went on to declare that the actor is now in hell, wresting that act of judgment from God. It seems that the Topeka Church is now in control of divine authority throughout the universe.

Perhaps if they hate sinners and like sending people to hell so much, God, in His infinite wisdom, should send them all with their posters and placards to picket inside the gates of hell. The whole world and heaven would eternally applaud such a divine deployment.

The Southern Poverty Law center has classified the congregation as a Hate Church.

Going to Hell the easy way: Playing Games with our Faith

It’s not what we want to hear – that the Lord blesses and curses. We just want the good parts of the Bible to apply to us and reject the rest. Our generation of Christians is pampered compared to previous ones. We want things the easy way; we want our faith to be unfettered by commandments, demands, and curses from the Lord. We want God to accept us and never want Him to change us, before we will accept Him. We want to make God into our personal assistant, dumping our burdens on Him, and fully expecting Him to bail us out. Instead of revering the Almighty Ruler of the Universe, we want the genie from Aladdin’s lamp. In other words, we want to be in control of every part of our lives.

It doesn’t work that way and never has. We fool ourselves everyday if we think that God doesn’t judge our deeds. And if we turn off just because we read in the Bible something we don’t want to see, or hear from the preacher words we don’t want to accept, then we’ve become the biggest fools in all the centuries of Christendom.

I see people playing with their faith instead of practicing it. I watch folks indulge themselves at this time of year, instead of giving thanks and being grateful to God. I look at our depraved society and it sickens my heart, not because I’m better than anyone else, but because I’m part of the disease itself.

I want to tell people about Jesus and how stern He could be at times, but people don’t want to hear it. I want to preach a Gospel that demands an unconditional surrender to God, but people don’t want to do that. I want to shake up the whole of our civilization and shout out: “Don’t you realize we’re all going to Hell in a hand barrow?” but nobody wants to listen to that kind of Holy Roller talk anymore. We just want to be happy and have a good time. We just want to say to God on Judgment Day, what happens on Earth, stays on Earth.

I won’t play this game anymore because I love the people around me. I won’t dance with the devil any longer in order to keep the peace. I’ll do what the Lord calls me to do – to prepare people for His Coming and to help them get ready for judgment. To do anything less is to disobey God. To do anything other is to come under His curse.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, we don’t want to think about judgment or accept Your non-compromising Gospel. We want to be happy, not harassed by You. We want to feel good, not to face God. We want to get to heaven, but none of us wants to die to our sins. O Lord, help us and save us; rebuke us and restore us. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor at Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee.