Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “Strength and Compassion”
Our Bible verse for today: “I found it necessary to write to you to contend for the faith that was delivered to the saints once and for all.” Jude 3 (HCSB)
Our thought for today: “Dangerous times call for people of strong faith.”
These are indeed challenging times we live in. For Christians in the USA the cultural landscape has changed quickly and dramatically, and we increasingly find ourselves out of step with much of what is being promoted in our society as right and good. It might be popular and widely accepted, but it is unbiblical.
As Bible-believing Christians who are committed to remaining faithful to Biblical principles, there are two Biblical injunctions which will have to govern our personal conduct and our interaction with others. The first is Acts 5:29, “We must obey God rather than men.” We must be resolved to remain faithful and obedient to the standards God has set, regardless of the pressures or consequences.
And second, we must do what Jude called his readers to in Jude 3, we must contend for the faith. It’s not enough to simply obey Biblical truth in our personal lives but we must also share Biblical truth with others. We must speak the truth in love. A little later in that same letter, in verses 22-23 Jude continued, “Have mercy on those who doubt, save others by snatching them from the fire;”
“Have mercy, save others, snatch them from the fire.” That won’t happen if we remain silent.
Many years ago my family and I were enjoying a winter vacation in the mountains of Southern California. We were staying in a rented cabin right on the lakeshore. It was cold, and the lake was partially frozen, but the ice wasn’t thick enough to walk on. At one point I was standing in the kitchen looking out the window towards the lake and I saw my twelve year old daughter hand-in-hand with my toddler son, walking on the partially frozen ice about 15 yards from shore. Needless to say I burst out of the cabin, sprinted to the lake, and frantically called for them to return to the shore. They were on thin ice and in great danger and so of course I took immediate action to alert them to it.
Many in our society today are on thin ice and in great danger. They have wandered far from God’s standards of morality and it is up to us who know better to sound the alarm and speak the truth. Doing so may not be popular or welcomed, but it must be done just the same.
By the way, my daughter was irritated with me for insisting they come off of the ice. She didn’t understand the danger she was in and so she didn’t appreciate my intervention. But I spoke it anyway.
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 