But are we doing the right things? Are we right people?
(quick disclaimer... everything i write, everything i 'preach' to other people, i'm either going through, or end up getting tested on. im not writing because i feel im superior, i just have a huge passion for the word. if you're convicted by anything i've written, we're learning it together.)
I am a big lover of the underdog in every situation. I have never heard anyone bring up the book of Joel in a sermon, so I wrote about it. Today, the book of Jude was totally sitting on my heart and playing with the strings. Underdog is also a loose term; after all, Jude made it to the bible, right? But I think there's so much gold in this book that we can't afford to hear another sermon about HOW GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD.
Jude starts this book out saying that he had planned to write about the salvation we all share, but God changed his plans. He had to write about the ABC's of Christianity:
Defend. The. Faith.
Not that salvation is more or less important than defending our faith, but you cannot preach one without the other. We can't offer the salvation of Jesus Christ to others without defending who we are and what we do.
We need to defend our faith because there are our brothers and sisters in Christ who have been attacked by the fiery darts of the enemy. We need to defend the faith for the kids we'll have one day, and the kids they will have. W need to defend the faith because, personally, I am sick and tired of going to funerals of people under the age of 21 who have died of drug overdoses.
Defend the faith because since before time, God has been defending you. Defend your faith because Jesus was literally crushed to a pulp for your freedom. Defend your faith because you've got the God of the universe on your side.
Defend your faith, and defend it gladly because it's not easy to be where you are.
Quick story:
I don't want to call it a storm, but recently, I've been going through an adventure with God about my future, realizing that what I was doing at the time was not it. After praying, fasting, freaking out, crying and seeking wise counsel, no I don't have it figured out but I know the next step God wants me to take. Then came the scariest, hardest, most gruesome part of the whole adventure: I had to tell my mom. Long story short, she told me that I was taking that step because I wanted to take the easy way out.
My heart broke. There is nothing easy about slaying your giants. There is nothing easy about trying to get the druggie to see what life could be like without being chained. There is nothing easy about getting a suicidal person to see the value behind their lives that the enemy has lied to them about for years. There is nothing easy about loving people so much you want to throw up. There is nothing easy about doing the opposite of what the world wants you to do.
That's why I defend the faith. Because the faith needs defending. Because the world puts the blindfold on us of either, 'Faith is too easy or faith is too difficult,' but no one defends the beauty.
Okay Jackie, great passion. How do I defend the faith? Great question, glad you asked.
- Know the Truth
The one person you'll be defending your faith to, more often than not, is the enemy. I've said this a thousand times and will probably get this engraved on my tombstone: There is no way to fight the KING OF LIES other than the ULTIMATE TRUTH. If you don't know the truth, do you even know what to defend?
Know it, because the enemy will twist it and manipulate it to get us to do something wrong or to condemn us. We need to know and recognize these things as a lie because what if we don't? What do we think if we thought the only truth in the entire world was a lie?
Knowing the truth is also acting on the truth. Like I said, we're learning this together so I'll be bold and be the first to say I've JUSTIFIED sins with the sufficient grace of God (2 Corinthians 2:9), or with Jesus saying, "In this world we will have trouble" (John 16:33). Using verses like these, I've justified sins, addictions and temptations. But my study bible puts it this way: Twisting the word is playing with fire... and I think they mean literally. Not only does this lead you into a chain-dominating, addictive lifestyle that will be a (bad word) to get out of, it belittles who God is, as if He won't judge those thing when we get to Heaven, like He won't know our motives when we quoted those verses for our own selfish benefit.
When you give those "properly excused" sins leeway in your life, there is no way you can defend your faith. How you live after you have a grasp on who Jesus is and what He did for us has everything to do with your faith.What you believe, what you think will always show up in your actions.
- Know the Author of the Truth
The knowledge of the Truth, which is the Word of God is so important, but that relationship with Christ needs to be there. Why? Because He loves us and wants it, because He knows what's best for us and does what's best for us, and if we didn't have that relationship with Christ... well, as my Pastor Miriam has said before, we become Christians that just know stuff. We become Christians that just come to church and warm up a seat.
If anyone knows me, I am one of the silliest people you'll ever meet and that doesn't change when I'm meditating on the Word: I advise all of you to DANCE with Jesus.
What?
Is?
She?
Saying?
Talking with Jesus is one thing, because for the most part we talk to Him and we don't wait for Him to talk back.
Walking with Jesus is cool, but all that's done on walks is observing.
Dancing is like this crazy thing where you need to work on yourself to better the person you're dancing with so as not to make them look bad, especially if they're not. Though there are no words, dancing is this crazy-intimate thing where the silence shared between the two partners is the loudest, most beautiful sounding passion ever. It takes trust to know your partner will catch you. It takes encouraging. And like all relationships, it takes time and patience to perfect.
Dance with Jesus.
Defend your faith in this way, by knowing Jesus personally because you will never understand God. That's like the understatement of eternity. You won't ever completely understand God. But if we are lacking in relationship with Him, we will start to belittle what we can't understand. What kind of defender of the faith puts their treasure in a box because they're not sure how it works? Without knowing Him personally, we can't let His beauty shine and defend the beauty.
- Keep in mind the ABC's of faith.
Christians, as ironic as this sounds, don't agree on much.
Contemporary or traditional?
Jeans to church, or skirts down to our ankles?
Should we keep the organ or get a guitar instead?
Those things don't even matter. They don't. What matters is the ABC's of Christianity. Prayer. Fasting. Breaking Addictions. Reading the word. Making a commitment. Before all else, defend the ABC's.
I mentor someone who I call my little sister. And though she has come such a long way, I still bring up the ABC's. Its not enough to just know it. As a mentor- no, as a BROTHER OR SISTER IN CHRIST, it is our responsibility- no, PRIVILEGE to make sure that the ABC's are defended and people are reminded of them. THIS is the common ground you will find between every Christian. Stick to it.
- Produce fruit
In Jude 1:12, Jude says that false teachers are like 'trees in autumn that are doubly dead; they bear no fruit and have been pulled up from the roots.' If apple trees do no produce, they are useless. Keep your faith alive, safe, radical and defended by producing fruit. Mentor. Volunteer in your church with kids. Sow seeds of encouragement to your enemies. Produce fruit. Don't allow yourself to be pulled up from the roots.
- Make sure God has good roommates
Towards the end of the book, Jude talks about bad people with ungodly desires but tells us we know better because the Spirit of God lives in us.
Who is God's roommate in your heart? Who is He sharing the space with? The entertained thought that will lead to sin? The addiction to things you know that will destroy you?
Defend your faith, because it's worth defending, but defend your faith with a clean and right heart. Make sure the greater Spirit who lives in you compared to the one who lives in the world is GLAD to share room in your heart. Passions. Love. Care. Cleanliness. Good roommates.
Remember, you will be the only Jesus some people may EVER meet and the only Bible some people may EVER read. My friend Cathy told me this once, and since then, that is my main motivation to want to keep a clean heart. I want the Spirit of God who lives in me to flourish and pour out to others, not be suffocated by crappy roommates.
PS: In about a month, I will be in CHINA! Woop woop! God bless.
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