July 2, 2015: SOAP #2037: Isaiah 4-5; Psalm 115-116; Jude

What He Desires

Scripture: Jude (NIV) 5 Though you already know all this, I want to remind you that the Lord delivered his people out of Egypt, but later destroyed those who did not believe

Observation: Jude warned about evil teachers who taught that because God is so gracious believers were free to live in immorality. James reminds them of something these Jewish Christians should already know. Just because the Israelites were delivered from bondage in Egypt, they did not all make it into the Promised Land. They were free from the land of Egypt, but some of Egypt was still in them. Because of their unbelief and sin, God brought judgment to all who were older than twenty years of age when they left Egypt (Numbers 32:11; except for Joshua and Caleb.)

Application: God has freed me from the world, but I must be careful not to let the world back into my life. What was true for the nation of Israel is true for the United States. What was true for the Israelites is true for the Hiebert family. My past may be a blessing to me, but I am not saved by my past. I am not saved by what God did in the past. I am saved by maintaining a current, living relationship with the Great God of Creation. It is not a once-a-week thing, or something-from-the-past thing; it is a today thing! My past cannot guarantee my current relationship; neither can my past prevent me from enjoying a current relationship with the Lord!

Prayer: Heavenly Father, to walk and talk with you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week—that is what you desire. Amen