Henry: Welcome To Immerse: The Daily Bible Reading Experience.
Day 50.
the letter to Jude.
This letter is from Jude, a slave of Jesus Christ and a brother of James.
I am writing to all who have been called by God the Father who loves you and keeps
you safe in the care of Jesus Christ.
May God give you more and more mercy, peace and love.
Dear friends, I had been eagerly planning to write to you about
the salvation we all share.
But now I find that I must write about something else urging you to defend
the faith that God has entrusted once for all time to his holy people.
I say this because some ungodly people have warmed their way into your
churches saying that God's marvelous grace allows us to live immoral lives.
The condemnation of such people was recorded long ago for they have denied
our only master and Lord Jesus Christ.
So I want to remind you though you already know these things, that Jesus
first rescued the nation of Israel from Egypt, but later he destroyed
those who did not remain faithful.
And I remind you of the angels who did not stay within the limits of
authority God gave them, but left the place where they belonged.
God has kept them securely chained in prisons of darkness, waiting
for the great day of judgment.
And don't forget Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighboring towns, which
were filled with immorality in every kind of sexual perversion.
Those cities were destroyed by fire and serve as a warning of the
eternal fire of God's judgment.
In the same way, these people who claim authority from their dreams
live immoral lives, defy authority and scoff at supernatural beings.
But even Michael, one of the mightiest of the angels did not dare
accuse the devil of blasphemy, but simply said, the Lord rebuke you.
This took place when Michael was arguing with the devil about Moses' body.
But these people scoff at things they do not understand.
Like unthinking animals, they do whatever their instincts tell them, and so they
bring about their own destruction.
What sorrow awaits them for, they follow in the footsteps
of Kane who killed his brother.
Like Balaam, they deceive people for money and like Cora, they
perish in their rebellion.
When these people eat with you in your fellowship meals commemorating
the Lord's love, they are like dangerous reefs that can shipwreck you.
They're like shameless shepherds who care only for themselves.
They're like clouds blowing over the land without giving any rain.
They're like trees and autumn that are doubly dead for they bear no fruit
and have been pulled up by the roots.
They're like wild waves of the sea churning up the foam
of their shameful deeds.
They're like wandering stars doomed forever to blackest darkness.
Enoch who lived in the seventh generation after Adam prophesied
about these people, he said, listen, the Lord is coming with countless
thousands of his holy ones to execute judgment on the people of the world.
He will convict every person of all the ungodly things they have done,
and for all the insults that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.
These people are grumbler and complainers living only to satisfy their desires.
They brag loudly about themselves and they flatter others to get what they want.
But you, my dear friends, must remember what the apostles of
our Lord Jesus Christ predicted.
They told you that in the last times there would be scoffers, whose purpose in
life is to satisfy their ungodly desires.
These people are the ones who are creating divisions among you.
They follow their natural instincts because they do not
have God's spirit in them.
But you dear friends, must build each other up in your most holy faith.
Pray in the power of the Holy Spirit and await the mercy of our Lord Jesus
Christ, who will bring you eternal life.
In this way, you will keep yourselves safe in God's love, and you must show
mercy to those whose faith is wavering.
Rescue others by snatching them from the flames of judgment.
Show Mercy to still others, but do so with great caution, hating the
sins that contaminate their lives.
Now, all glory to God, who is able to keep you from falling away and will
bring you with great joy into his glorious presence without a single fault.
All glory to him.
Who alone is God our Savior, through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
All Glory, majesty, power and authority are his before all time, and in
the present and beyond all time.
Amen.
This concludes today's Immer reading experience.
Thank you for joining us.