The Grands Letter (Jude/GLJ)
Dear Grands,
Jude 1:1-4 “Jude, a bond-servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to those who are the called, beloved in God the Father, and kept for Jesus Christ:
2 May mercy and peace and love be multiplied to you.
3 Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.
4 For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.”
It is always exciting to receive a word from a friend. I received one recently, however, that was anything but exciting, for it was a notification of the termination of his earthly life. Knowing, however, that he was a strong believer and a dedicated advocate for our LORD Jesus Christ, lessened my natural emotional distress.
Were my friend still among us, he would contend that we, who loved him, would do well to concentrate that love on those who have yet to receive Jesus in salvation. He would advocate Jude’s emphasis because it is additionally focused on those who are not saved.
Do you have friends who have never accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior? Are you praying for them? Have you spoken to them about Jesus? We are not responsible for their acceptance of Jesus, but we are responsible for sharing with them His plan of salvation.
As we pray, the LORD enables the lost to receive our witness. Sharing Jesus Christ is our chief responsibility. We must be clear and prayerful as we share Him with others. We can always trust Him to be faithful. The heavy question is: Can He trust us to be prayerfully faithful in sharing Him? I pray that He can.
Heartily yours in Christ Jesus,
Gene
Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.
United States of America
“We will never know that Christ is all we need
Until He becomes all that we have.”
–Corrie ten Boom