SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 06-02-04
My Worship Time Focus:
The Apostates Reject Divine Authority
Bible Reading &
Meditation Reference: Jude 8-11
Message
of the verse: “8 In the very same way, these dreamers
pollute their own bodies, reject authority and slander celestial beings. 9 But even the archangel Michael, when he was
disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not dare to bring a
slanderous accusation against him, but said, "The Lord rebuke
you!" 10 Yet these men speak
abusively against whatever they do not understand; and what things they do
understand by instinct, like unreasoning animals—these are the very things that
destroy them. 11 Woe to them! They have
taken the way of Cain; they have rushed for profit into Balaam’s error; they
have been destroyed in Korah’s rebellion.”
(NIV)
The key word in this section is
“reject or rejection.” The apostates
reject the way that God has ordained things and are doing things the way that
they want it to be done. Satan told Eve
“the lie” in Genesis 3:5, which is “that you shall be like God,” and this is
exactly what these apostates are doing, for they are making up their own rules
that go against the authority of God, and that is rebellion against God.
In verse nine Jude gives an example
of one who knew proper authority, and that was the archangel Michael, who did
not argue with Satan, but rather told him “the Lord rebuke you.” Satan does have great power and authority, so
Michael did not go against that, but appealed to the Lord, who has power and
authority over everything.
In verse ten Jude describes these
apostates in a similar way Peter described them when he said that they were
like animals, and animals live only by instinct, and he goes on to say that is
what destroys them.
In verse eleven Jude writes about
three men from the OT who rebelled against God, they are Cain, Balaam, and
Korah. Cain killed his brother Abel
because God accepted Abel’s sacrifice, but had rejected Cain’s. The sin of Cain was the rebellion of God’s
way for salvation. Cain did it his way
and that was not God’s way. Jesus said
in John 14:6 “I am the way the truth and the life, know one comes to the Father
except through me.” People today still
try to come to the Father through there own way, which is the sin of Cain.
Balaam tried to merchandise the
gifts that God had given him to make money, which is rebellion against God’s
authority in separation, for he prostituted his gifts to make money and led
Israel to mix with the nations of the world when they were suppose to be
separate.
Korah rebelled against God in
service, and this means that he did not accept the authority that God had given
Moses, and went off and did what he wanted to do, not listening to Moses words.
The Word
of God has taught me new insights, and has also convicted me about some things
that I already know.
My Steps of Faith Today:
To continue to trust the Lord with the things He is doing concerning our
investments, to trust the Lord as to whether or not He wants me to work in
South America, and also to trust the Lord will take care of Kim as she travels
with her class in Washington D.C.
Memory verses for the
week: 1Cor. 13:1-3
If I speak
with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a
noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I
have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I
have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am
nothing. And if I give all my
possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do
not have love, it profits me nothing.
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