A Good Start
Jude 2 Mercy, peace and love be yours in abundance &
Jude 25 to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority
JUDE begins this short letter with a blessing. I think the blessing is appropriate for each day, but I think it especially right for today, January 1. What better thing could happen to you this year than to experience and enjoy an abundance of mercy, peace and love to give and to receive? A life filled with these blessings is a life God honors and a life that honors others (love God and love your neighbor?)
But there is a problem to live this way, and that problem is essentially the topic of Jude’s letter. He speaks of people who are disobedient to God’s Word, and those who take grace as a license to do evil. Disobeying God is the reason for strife, hatred and condemnation between people. Seeking our own way instead of God’s is the reason we do not have mercy, love and peace in our lives.
The answer to this problem, of course, is Jesus Christ. That is Jude’s encouragement and conclusion to his letter. When we experience God’s glory and his power in our lives, we know his majesty reigns over those who denounce and disobey him. When we look to the One Who Reigns, we know what mercy, love and peace are. From God we receive these great blessings when we recognize his authority.
Pray this year for yourself and for others to enjoy these wondrous gifts from God. Give grace, mercy and peace to all around you. You will see what a great difference that makes in your life and theirs.
Pause and Consider: Who is the first person you need to make peace with?
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