Read: Jude 5:17-19
Someone asked the Bishop, “Are these days the end times?” He answered, “If not, it’s a pretty good imitation.”
Only God knows when Jesus will return, when Gabriel will sound that trumpet. But today we see those scoffers Jude writes about. They’re everywhere, like the son of a past president whose brief commercial announcement for atheists to unite ends with “and not afraid of hell.”
Our natural instincts can lead to destruction. If others attack us, we want to fight back. “An eye for an eye,” we say. But follow that, and soon everyone will be blind. Instead, Jesus teaches us to turn the other cheek, to seek peace.
Society encourages us to embrace others in ways that won’t upset them or challenge their ungodly choices. How do we speak truth with love?
That takes courage because, without the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in people, truth threatens scoffers who become more entrenched in their errors. And some of those errors sound so appealing, so nice, so acceptable! It’s not always easy to deny ourselves something that seems on the surface harmless just because the Bible makes it clear it’s wrong in God’s sight.
“Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven,” we recite in the Lord’s prayer. But do we really mean it?
Dear Holy Spirit, we need Your wisdom to guide us as we go through our days, and convict us when we go in the wrong direction.
