By Request - A Keeper

Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James, To those who have been called, who are loved by God the Father and kept by Jesus Christ: Mercy, peace and love be yours in abundance.
Jude 1:1-2 NIV

I have several friends who are avid fishermen. Not only do they love to go fishing - they're good at it. All I can say about that is it's a good thing we all love the Lord, otherwise, we'd have nothing in common. That's not to say that I haven't been fishing - I have. But I'm not going out in the boat or going deeper than my knees, so, therefore, I don't get too many keepers. Even if you're not a fisherman, pretty much everyone knows what a keeper is when it comes to fishing or friendship. It's one you don't throw away.

Jesus promised that He would make us fishers of men. In John 10, Jesus makes the declaration that no one can remove all the people God has given to Him. Christ understands catching and keeping. The only catch and release He does involves raising up the ones He's caught and releasing them to go get others who need to be caught and kept. Scripture tells us that those who endure till the end will inherit the Kingdom of God. There may be times when following Christ is difficult. We fight against what seem to be restrictions, but are in reality, opportunities to put ourselves into submission to His will for us.

He didn't ask you to complete it on your own - under your own ability - in fact, you can't. He holds you in the palm of His hand and no one - NO ONE can pluck you out. Don't flop around in the net, either. You'll just get tired and want to give up. Don't. Jesus will keep you. His Word assures us...

If we finish Jude's letter, it reads, Remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. They said to you, "In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires." These are the men who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit. But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. Keep yourselves in God's love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. Be merciful to those who doubt; snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh. 

Remember this is not catch and release, unless it's release to catch others.

And finally - To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.

Able to keep you... God our Savior thinks you're a keeper.

Prayer:

Father,
            Thank You for loving us and keeping us from falling. We look forward to being able to stand in Your presence - without fault and with great joy - because of Your great mercy and provision toward us. Keep us close to You, Father, In Jesus' Name we pray

You're a Keeper +

Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James, To those who have been called, who are loved by God the Father and kept by Jesus Christ: Mercy, peace and love be yours in abundance.

Jude 1:1-2 NIV

Even if you're not a fisherman, almost everyone knows what a keeper is when it comes to fishing or friendship. It's one you don't throw away.

Jesus promised that He would make us fishers of men. In John 10, Jesus makes the declaration that no one can remove all the people God has given to Him. Christ understands catching and keeping. The only catch and release He does is raising up the ones He's caught and releasing them to go get others who need to be caught and kept. 

There are times when following Christ is difficult. Scripture tells us that those who endure till the end will inherit the Kingdom of God. We fight against what seems to be restrictions, but in reality, are opportunities to put ourselves into submission to His will for us.

He didn't ask us to complete it on our own - under our own ability - in fact, we can't. He holds you in the palm of His hand and no one - NO ONE can pluck you out. 

We get tired and we want to give up. Don't. Don't flop around in the net, either. Jesus will keep you. His Word assures us...

If we finish Jude's letter, it reads,

Remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. They said to you, "In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires." These are the men who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit. But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. Keep yourselves in God's love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. Be merciful to those who doubt; snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.

Remember this is not catch and release, unless it's to catch others.

And finally - To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen. 

To him who is able to keep you... Yes! God our Savior thinks you're a keeper.

Prayer:

Father,

         Thank You for loving us and keeping us from falling. We look forward to being in Your presence - without fault and with great joy - because of Your great mercy and provision toward us. Keep us close to You, Father, In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

* Would You?

Later, as Jesus left the town, he saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at his tax collector’s booth. “Follow me and be my disciple,” Jesus said to him. So Levi got up, left everything, and followed him.
Luke 5:27-28 NLT

Levi (also called Matthew - see Matthew 9) was a tax collector; despised by those from whom he collected money. Jesus knew this, yet called him anyway... To me, the wild thing is Matthew just got up, left everything (the Word says) and followed Him. 

Think about that for a moment. We hate to see the tax man coming. And I've heard enough grumbling in the last week to believe that tax collectors are as unpopular today as they were in Jesus' time. 

Matthew's next recorded act? He threw a party (held a banquet) and invited Jesus to meet all his former co-workers and friends. This from a man who had become instantly unemployed the moment he made the choice to follow Jesus.

You know Peter and Andrew, James and John were all fishermen. If they bombed as disciples, they could always go back to the fishing industry. When Matthew made the choice, there was no going back. AND he was immediately unemployed. We tend to panic when we even think our job may be on the chopping block.

What I find most fascinating about this story are the gifts God had given Matthew when He created him in his mother's womb. Record-keeping, organization, the mighty pen. And Matthew had used them in a way that was not pleasing to God. However, when God called Levi, all that changed. 

The mighty pen wrote the gospel of Matthew. His organizational skill was able by God's grace to keep it all straight. What a testimony!! Want to take a guess of how many people have been ministered to by Matthew's Gospel?

Even when we start out bad, when we make the decision to follow Christ, our gifts are washed white as snow, too. Levi left everything and followed Him. Would you if He asked? He's asking.

Prayer:

Father,
           Thank You for Your Word that gives us the comfort of knowing You have a plan for us, that You have gifted us to fulfill Your purpose and plan for each of us. Give us Your perspective on our lives. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen