Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace. – Romans 6:14
 
The problem with the Law is that it only points out what we already know by nature; we fall far short of God’s intention for us. Though we know that we are sinners by nature, without the rules and commands of the law we would not know the full extent of how offensive our behavior is to the Lord.
That’s all the Law does. It gives us a standard by which we can compare our own performance, but it gives us no power to overcome the issues of life that negatively affect us. The Law reveals this one thing; in our natural state we are slaves to sin.
But thanks be to God, through Jesus Christ, we have been freed from the Law and sin is no longer our master. The grace which comes from God through faith in Jesus Christ has dealt with the issue of the sin in our hearts and has freed us from its tyrannical grasp. Sin is no longer our master, we are free.
Continue to walk daily in the grace of God because sin eagerly waits at the gate of your heart to reestablish itself as master of your life.  
 
Prayer: Lord, I keep drifting back under the law and trying to perform according to the rules. Grant me the grace to allow you to change my heart so that your will lives in me and flows from me giving me freedom from sin. In Jesus name. Amen.  

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. – Jude 24-25
 
The message of this short letter to the churches from Jude focuses upon keeping the faith. He writes about those who are seducing believers to following after deceitful doctrines. He writes, “I urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints” (v3).

It’s as if Jude were writing to the church today. He speaks of those who abuse the grace of God and justify their immoral, and even perverted, behavior under the banner of tolerance, love and grace.
Our battle today is no less intense than it was when Jude wrote this letter to the church. We who contend for the pure and undefiled faith delivered to the saints sometimes grow weary in our defense of this wonderful salvation.

In this context Jude reminds us that the Lord himself will keep us from falling prey to the defilement of this deception and keep us pure and without fault to stand accepted before Him.
We must always remember the warning Jesus gave us all when he gives the parable of those coming before him in the end time declaring, “Lord, we did great works in your name,” and Jesus replies, “Depart from me, I don’t know you” (Matthew 7:21-23).
 
Prayer: Thank you Lord the promise of strength to endure to the end. Grant me the grace to be strong in the face of compromise and to hold to the truth of the gospel. In Jesus name. Amen.
He Will Keep Us From Stumbling
  
Message:  We who contend for the pure and undefiled faith delivered to the saints sometimes grow weary in our defense of this wonderful salvation. Jude reminds us that the Lord himself will keep us from falling prey to the defilement of this deception and keep us pure and without fault to stand accepted before Him.
  
Affirmation:  When I grow weary from the battle against the world, the devil, and the flesh, I am reminded that He is able to keep me from falling and to present me before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy.
 
 Reflection:  Enough said.

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You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.   –    John 13:13-15

They called him “Teacher,” then he taught them the lesson of serving one another. I find a very interesting point in this story. He washed the feet of all the disciples – He even washed the feet of the one who would betray him. 

It is easy for us to serve someone who will return the favor some day, but it is unheard of to serve the one who you knew would ultimately betray you. Jesus knew that love knows no boundaries and when we are driven by love (not duty) we know no boundaries of service.

A common question today is, “What can I do to help you?” Or it may be phrased, “How can I serve you?” Those phrases are usually thrown around by customer service reps on the telephone. They often really mean, “How can I get you off the phone quickly so I can get credit for another call?”
It is different for we who are representatives of Christ. Our offer to help, even to those who would use us unjustly, should be genuine and come from a heart of love.

If you are willing to love the unlovely and serve God through serving them you will find that others will respond to the love of God which flows from you.

Prayer:  Yes Lord, I need to learn this lesson of serving others. Too often my “self” and ambition drive me rather than your love. Grant me the grace to serve with your love. In Jesus name. Amen. 

Message:  If you are willing to love the unlovely and serve God through serving them you will find that others will respond to the love of God which flows from you.

Affirmation:  When we love the unlovely we don't see that they are unlovely. We just see them as opportunities to express God's love.

Reflection:  Jesus was our example in every way. In our devotion today he is being the example of servanthood. We should learn from this lesson that great leaders are also effective servants.

How gracious he will be when you cry for help! As soon as he hears, he will answer you… Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” –Isaiah 30:19-21
 
Isaiah had been prophesying a time of great distress that was coming upon the people because of their waywardness. Then in the middle of this time of judgment he writes, “How gracious he will be when you cry for help!” Isaiah is telling us, and the people of his time, that God is like a loving father; when we have done wrong he disciplines us and when we turn from our waywardness he is gracious to us.
When we come to realize that our way is in conflict with God’s way and approach him with a repentant heart, his grace is released upon us. He will speak gently to us with direction for our life. When we would turn to the left or to the right he is there to guide us in making the right choices.
Has disaster come to your life? Do you feel the frustration of your life being out of order and you feel the creeping tentacles of chaos trying to destroy you? If you do, take hope in this passage. He is gracious when you cry for help and “as soon as he hears , he will answer you.”
Do not despair! If you veer from the path He will be the voice behind you saying, “This is the way, go this way, and I will be with you.”
  
 Prayer:  Lord, I need answers. Grant me the grace of clear direction for my life, and give me the ability to hear your voice. In Jesus name. Amen.
 
Message:  When we come to realize that our way is in conflict with God’s way and approach him with a repentant heart, his grace is released upon us. He will speak gently to us with direction for our life. When we would turn to the left or to the right he is there to guide us in making the right choices.
  
Affirmation:  I have found the Lord to be gracious when I cry for help. He is always there when I need him.
  
Reflection:  Think about the setting of this prophecy by Isaiah. Israel is facing God's wrath for centuries of failing to follow him. Yet, in the middle of pronouncing calamity God says he will be gracious when they call on him. What does this tell you about the nature of God?
 

​Out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.” – Matthew 12:34-37
 
 Jesus is addressing a very critical issue in this passage. He is instructing the people that the things which are in their heart, whether it is good or bad, is what comes out in their life and in what they say.
He then says that our words will either acquit us, that is, give us life, or condemn us, or give us death. It seems that what He is saying is not so much that the words themselves have that much power, but that the words are a statement of what is in our heart. It is what is in our heart that will actually give us life or death and we speak out what is in our heart.
In verse 33 Jesus says, “Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit.” It is the same concept. An apple tree will only grow apples, and an orange tree will only grow oranges.
A pure heart will only produce pure thoughts and pure words, but a polluted heart will at least be conflicted between good and bad and will not be consistent with either.
What kind of fruit (words and thoughts) do you produce?
 
Prayer: Sometimes I am surprised by what comes out of my mouth. I didn’t know that was in my heart. Father, I need your grace to make my life a good tree; change my heart to be more like you. In Jesus name. Amen. 

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