That’s the question that everyone keeps asking me these days. For those who may visit this post at a later date, I recently resigned from a global bank based in America in order to take a role at a small web development shop, Signature Tech Studio. The answer to why is relatively simple, I love the guys at Signature Tech Studio, I desire to work with them, and I ultimately believe the experience will be both more fun and more rewarding than continuing in a role that, admittedly, is already fun and rewarding.

That doesn’t tend to sit well with most folks. I think they really want to hear some juicy gossip about how I feel the big corporate entity did me wrong and I simply can’t continue to work there in good faith. Perhaps something about how the man was keeping me down? I’m not sure. The simple truth is that I have loved working at the bank and found a lot of joy there. I was allowed the opportunity to serve on numerous teams, afforded to ability to move from Chicago to Charlotte and continue employment at the same firm, and ultimately, the past year, to exercise my passion as a IT artificer and technology smith.

It is seldom that one gets the opportunity to do what they love alongside others who have the same passions and aptitude for realizing those passions, and there is no doubt that this was the case for me at the bank. I have a love for enormous, complex problem spaces, and the global nature of the organization afforded me just as many of those types of problems as I had an appetite for. There can be no doubt that I had fun and you should get no inference that I believe that would have ceased had I remained at the bank. Good times, good people, and a win-win situation all the way around.

The Lesser Reason

Of course, no job is utterly without its frustrations and rough edges. The nature of a global enterprise is such that change is slow and hard to affect, while a smaller organization can necessarily be more nimble and react quickly to changes. As a harbinger of change, the enterprise architecture approval process was my nemesis, sort of a primordial change resistant undertow constantly wearing one down. The enterprise technology team wasn’t incented to help solve my business problems; for example, it recently took six months to just get a new server racked and stacked. The promotion process is absolutely not about doing the right thing or even rewarding performance, it is all about who you know and whether you worked on a project that was important to them (and they realize it) the past year. The bank laptop is so standardized and “protected” that I felt it a better substitute for an boat anchor than a forge on which I might pursue my craft; and any conversation that swung towards changing that was met with a group of mercenaries hired to inflict pain and suffering. But seriously, the need for such process, methodology, and even social networking in a large organization is certainly needful and I would not present any argument that it is unwarranted (though I do have some ideas about making the laptops more usable!).

There are definitely some fun contrasts, and unfortunately for large organizations they tend to be contrasts that drive someone like myself to the smaller shop. In the new role, I was allowed to choose any laptop (Sony Vaio F Series, i7 w/8Gigs) I wanted along with any operating system (Windows 7 Ultimate) I desired … hello! That tends to be a pretty big win right there. I know the Bank OS builds would simply ignore any RAM over 4 Gigs … but even if they didn’t, wscript.exe would eat up all the resources anyway!

I get to innovate, really. Big enterprise will say, “Oh, we encourage innovation here. We desire innovation here. We reward innovation here. As long as the innovation is done on the reservation, within pre-defined limits, with pre-defined tools and technologies, in such a way that looks exactly like the 20+ man oversight committee has agreed to.” So, most people immediately realize that the sentence is flawed. We did innovate at the Bank, we did some awesome stuff, and we have the ROI calculators in place to demonstrate how we can attribute Tens of Millions of US Dollars back to the bottom line in 2009 as a direct impact due to the innovation, the reward was ok, but was, dare I say, significantly out of proportion with the performance and impact of the team, particularly over the past two years.

It would be great if big companies really did take the Google Innovation Time Off approach, but seriously … there are way to many risk averse bean counters at a Bank in America to be comfortable. How would they know that you are doing anything, much less something that will ultimately be worth what they are paying you to do, which is not to be fooling around with technology but solving real banking business problems. My new company encourages me to do what I love, play with technology, stay on the cutting edge, and if at all possible … define the next horizon, we be risky adrenaline junkies — Can I get a Whoot! Whoot!

You simply do not find guys like Joseph and Josh in big corporate cubicle farms. Oh, you might meet them in passing there (Drew Shields for example), but they are only moving thru on their way to positions that will allow them to leverage their skills in wild, wild, west of the unexplored. I want to work side by side with these guys, they are doing cool stuff! They are thinking uniquely cool thoughts! They are converting that stuff and those thoughts into reward while they are at it! Just imagine what we can do together, because that thought makes me giddy with excitement.

So, to recap, the new position allows me to do more of what I love, it allows me to do what I love my way, I get to work with some awesome guys, and all the while maintain the same standard of living (which was slipping away at that Bank). Had the opportunity not presented itself, I would not have been looking for a new job and would still be tweeting about how awesome the work from home program is, how fantastic the innovation team is, and how you do not want to invest time and energy in comparing your job with mine because you simply wouldn’t fare well. Most of you can stop reading here – you have some idea as to why now and it most likely satisfies you. However, it is the lesser reason.

The Greater Reason

The single, primary reason that I left Bank of America to work for Joseph at Signature Tech Studio? I am convicted that it is the decision that will ultimately most glorify my God. If you know me at all, you had to know that was it. I was aware of the a calling to work for Joseph long before he made the offer and even after he made some tentative advances that I played down. Once the offer was on the table, Tracey and I spent a solid four weeks praying about the decision and determining that we are both in agreement that this is where our God leads us, as redneck as I might be, I certainly require Tracey’s conviction that this is the correct decision for our family. Additionally, I shared this information with a few friends trusted for their wisdom and counsel, and they all encouraged the move as well.

You see, as intellectually blessed, as cool as the stuff they are working on is, as ready as they are to dive into a crazy, chaotic, techno-challenge – these men, Joseph and Josh, love my God and seek to serve Him in all they do. They do this with a passion that humbles me and makes me desire to be more like them as they are more like my Lord. To simply be interacting with them on a daily basis with things so mundane as how to best configure scheduled tasks on MS Windows is fantastic, but we also praise God together. We have prayed together more than the number of day’s I’ve worked there so far, and that doesn’t appear to be slowing down! This relationship among the men I strive with is what I most covet.

Dad used to tell me, “Son. The grass always looks greener on the other side. Remember that it rarely is when you look at it.” Dad was, as ever, correct.

The keyword is in the last sentence, rarely.

The good Lord has seen fit to let it be that the grass really is greener over here.

Last week I posted Approach to Doctrinal Triage – Part 1 and that generated some exceedingly good conversations with a number of people. There were some excellent questions asked that I had not properly addressed, and I so I updated the post to address these questions. Here’s a quick list of things added/changed:

New Section Why are We Talking About It? – I added this section because a number of people asked why.
Removed Priorities Hierarchical Diagram – The Venn Diagram communicates far more.
Added Priorities Venn Diagram – Further clarification, I believe the VENN diagram ultimately does a far better job of presenting the association between the classifications.
Added a Class A Example.
Added a Class B Example.
Added a Class C Example.

Part 2 is yet to come, it seems reasonable that I ensure this is nailed down well before getting ahead of myself. Thanks for all the feedback!

Our scripture today is meant to help us scrutinize our own lives and discern the degree to which we conform to Christ’s example and standard. Before we go into the text, I admonish you to resist the significant temptation to skip over applying this text to yourself and immediately begin judging others by the standard it sets. That act, in and of itself is counter to what we are teaching here.

So then, what is it that we are teaching here? What is the point of our review of these twelve verses? Quite simply to review what Paul defined a Christian as. Now, there are a number of layers to defining “what a Christian is” and we haven’t the time to go into all of them today. At some level, you can boil it down and simply say that a Christian is a disciple of Christ, one who believes in Christ for salvation, a follower of His ways.

Now that is a useful definition, and we could certainly go into greater detail in specifying exactly what justification, sanctification, and glorification have to do with being a Christian, or we could talk about what a sinner is and how grace makes a sinner a Christian.

But rather than go into so many technical details, we are simply going to take a mile high view of a Christian. Arguably, this view that we are going to take is the one that non-Christians should see – although in our society they rarely do.

This scripture in Romans provides us with a number of Apostolic Commands. Now you may think, what’s an Apostolic Command? Well, that my way of saying that an Apostle (in this case, Paul) made a directive statement (a.k.a. – a command) as to what Christian’s should do or how Christian’s should things.

I’m sure you are familiar with the Ten Commandments, which we are studying in the adult Sunday school at Christ the King church this Fall, and I highly encourage you to come learn more about them with us. So, as you are familiar with the Ten Commandments then let us say that these Apostolic Commands that Paul provides are a type of commandment, although we would certainly consider them of subservient to the Ten Commandments, they none the less carry all of the weight of scripture and are just as applicable to the lives of every Christian.

Lets read through the scripture one more time, and then let us break out the directive statements, or commands, that the apostle Paul is directing to those of us who claim Christ as our Lord and Saviour.

Romans 12:9-21

⁹Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. ¹⁰Love one another with brotherly affection. Out do one another in showing honor. ¹¹Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. ¹²Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. ¹³Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. ¹⁴Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. ¹⁵Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. ¹⁶Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be conceited. ¹⁷Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. ¹⁸If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. ¹⁹Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” ²⁰To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” ²¹Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Now, by my count, we have twenty seven directives in this scripture. That is twenty seven statements that give us direct guidance on how we live our Christian lives, what we should be striving to show the world, and what those who are not Christians should see as the marks of our service to Christ. Let me list them off for you, as you follow along with the scripture.

1. Let love be genuine
2. Abhor what is evil
3. Hold fast to what is good
4. Love one another with brotherly affection.
5. Out do one another in showing honor.
6. Do not be slothful in zeal
7. Be fervent in spirit
8. Serve the Lord
9. Rejoice in hope
10. Be patient in tribulation
11. Be constant in prayer.
12. Contribute to the needs of the saints
13. Seek to show hospitality to the saints
14. Bless those who persecute you
15. Do not curse those who persecute you
16. Rejoice with those who rejoice
17. Weep with those who weep
18. Live in harmony with one another
19. Do not be haughty
20. Associate with the lowly.
21. Never be conceited.
22. Repay no one evil for evil
23. Give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all
24. So far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.
25. Never avenge yourselves
26. “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink;
27. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

So then, I am tempted to go through the list, directive by directive and explain to you what each directive means, help associate it with some action that you might take in your own life, and thereby show you how each is applicable to you today and ensure you understand how to apply it in your own life.

But as I look through the list, most of them, if not all or them, seem quite self-evident. Perhaps it is more profitable to discuss the body of instructions themselves than to delve into the specifics that most children probably understand quite handily.

This body of scripture is one which I recommend that you study in whole and seek to apply in your life everyday. It is unfortunately quite easy to say that all of this can be summed up by the commandments to Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, body, and soul, – and to love your neighbor as yourself – and then ignore what that should look like. Our scripture today builds a framework for the Christian life on the foundation of those two commandments. It provides details that help enrich and clarify exactly how we love our neighbor as ourselves, it demonstrates precisely what it means to Love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, body, and soul.

Not only do I recommend that you study this scripture in whole, I would go so far as to suggest that it is well worth your time and energy to memorize it and make it a permanent part of your personal knowledge of scripture, to call it to mind regularly, and to use it as a template when you are making decisions.

It is certainly the type of scripture that is of the utmost applicability. While we can read any amount of other scripture, and walk away wondering how we apply it in our lives, this is scripture that is readily applicable. Read through it once every morning when you get up, perhaps before or after you do your daily devotions, maybe it is something that you could review at breakfast each morning. I promise you that such a practice would be ultimately rewarding once you attain the promise of Heaven.

How could your life not change if you were thinking in terms of these directives on a daily basis? Certainly we each choose poorly on occasion, and we make mistakes in the directions we go and some things we do. I can attest that I struggle constantly to make the right decisions, and I occasionally deceive myself into believing that some action I would like to take is “right” under the circumstance, or that Scripture doesn’t necessarily cover this decision and while it might be borderline, certainly I can get away with it.

However, as I come to terms with this scripture, I find few decisions that some aspect of these directives do not cover. From how to interact with someone whom I think dislikes me and is out to get me, to how I should handle troubles when they descend upon me, to who I should hang out with and associate with (how many of you have associated with the lowly recently?), to whether I should cry or rejoice with someone else.

There is such a myriad of topics that are directly applicable that it is difficult to conceive of compiling a distinct list. And of all these directives, I would like to close by bringing two of them into focus for you.

The first, this scripture starts with the command to let love be genuine, do you hear that, genuine. Why genuine? Why not some other adjective? Because we have a tendency to “fake” love. Look to First Corinthians 13 to find a clear definition of what genuine love is and then ask yourself how often it is prevalent in your life. Without love, we can do nothing. None of these directives mean anything if they are not empowered by love. Do not “pretend” – but seek to genuinely care for others and God and let that Love breath strength and life into your execution of these other commands.

The last, this scripture ends with the command to not be overcome by evil, but to overcome evil with good. Every time you disregard one of the commands, you are being overcome by evil. That is to say, when you ignore the command to not avenge yourself, but you decide to “Get Even” – then you are being overcome by evil.

We are Christians, and our calling is a most holy and sanctified calling, we are to overcome evil with good. Not the self determined “good” by which we look at the world around us and declare ourselves “good” because in comparison we simply aren’t as “bad” as the rest of them. But with the “good” that God has defined and provided us amply example of in His Scripture. Remember these things, apply them in your life each day.

1. Let love be genuine
2. Abhor what is evil
3. Hold fast to what is good
4. Love one another with brotherly affection.
5. Out do one another in showing honor.
6. Do not be slothful in zeal
7. Be fervent in spirit
8. Serve the Lord
9. Rejoice in hope
10. Be patient in tribulation
11. Be constant in prayer.
12. Contribute to the needs of the saints
13. Seek to show hospitality to the saints
14. Bless those who persecute you
15. Do not curse those who persecute you
16. Rejoice with those who rejoice
17. Weep with those who weep
18. Live in harmony with one another
19. Do not be haughty
20. Associate with the lowly.
21. Never be conceited.
22. Repay no one evil for evil,
23. Give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all
24. So far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.
25. Never avenge yourselves
26. “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.”
27. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Happy New Year! Out with the old and in with the new. I particularly find the practice of making New Year Resolutions interesting. It is commonly looked at as a frivolous and fruitless exercise. Every year, people all around the globe “resolve” to do, or not do some action … and then begin waiting for the time when they lose their “resolve”, break the resolution, and can get on with their lives in much the same way they did last year. How rare is the individual that commits to a resolution and then doggedly pursues it through trials and tribulation?

Yet this is precisely what we as Christians are called; nay, commanded to do. Jim Petersen, in his book Living Proof, states that a complete definition of evangelism, as described by Jesus and expanded upon in the epistles, involves two aspects:

1. The Proclamation of the Gospel: an action through which the non-Christian receives a clear statement of the essential message.
2. The Affirmation of the Gospel: a process of modeling and explaining the Christian message.

We are more familiar with the first, often treating it as the comprehensive means of evangelism. Proclamation is essential, but it is not the whole of the matter. The second is what I would call Lifestyle Evangelism; this is where we as Christians are the salt and light in this world. The existence of a unique people, whose lives are marked by God Himself, has always been fundamental to His program for reconciling the world to Himself. His people incarnate His Character; we are meant to audio-visualize the nature of His eternal reign.

It strikes me that New Year resolutions are analogous with becoming a Christian; by the transforming grace and power of God, we now desire to live new lives. Out with the old and in with the new. We are resolved, as Christians, to do, or not do, some actions. How many claim this new life … and then begin waiting for the time when they lose their “resolve”, break the resolution, and can get on with their life in much the same way they did in their “old” life? How rare is the individual that commits their life to Christ and then doggedly pursues Him through trials and tribulation? We are the first account of the Gospel that most people will ever read. Either they will desire more, having read us, or they will decide that there is nothing there for them. So let us resolve to live out the new life we now have in Christ!

Pressing Toward the Prize in Christ Jesus

Contending or Contentious?

Beloved, I was eager to preach to you today regarding our common salvation; however I find it necessary to appeal to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.

Now, you might rightly ask, why? Why is it necessary to appeal to me to contend for the faith? Am I not a child of God? Haven’t I faith? What is to be contended for? What is this contention that you would encourage me to participate in? Can’t we all just be friends?

You might even be so clever as to quote 1 Corinthians 11:16 to me, wherein Paul states, “If anyone is inclined to be contentious, we have no such practice, nor do the churches of God.” Aha! Now you have problem preacher – Scripture clearly says don’t be contentious, so you need to back off on this idea of telling me to contend for something.

On the surface, that sounds like a case. Certainly the vast majority of Chri-Easters (Christmas and Easter Christians), nominal Christians, and non-Christians in our culture would argue this way. They would claim that “real Christians” do not contend and would rest squarely on this proof-text.

You have heard me say it before, and I’ll say it again – a text without context is a pretext for a proof-text. For in verses 17-24, Paul immediately dives into contending with the Corinthians regarding their practices around the observations of the Lords Supper.

It will do us well to take a look at the definitions of the words we use. To contend means to struggle in opposition, to strive in debate, or to dispute earnestly – while to be contentious means to tend toward argument and strife, to be quarrelsome, characterized by controversy.

So then, it is possible to contend (or dispute earnestly) which is something we see the apostle Paul doing throughout the new testament, while not being found contentious. We are going to look at how that works out today as we find encouragement to press on toward the prize.

Overview Jude

Our text is the book of Jude, second to last book in the Bible, twenty five verses in length. Jude, a half-brother of Jesus Christ and a brother of James probably wrote this around A.D. 69. This letter of Jude warns against those who, having gained admission to the church, are perverting the grace of God. He uses a number of Old Testament examples, denounces these individuals, and in contrast urges us to continue in Godliness and love toward them, convincing some, and “snatching them out of the fire”. The book ends with my own personal favorite doxology.

As a church who lays claim to being historically orthodox, and having a singular love of the Doctrines of Grace, we find that this letter particularly speaks volumes to us. So then, let’s see exactly how Jude will encourage us to follow Paul’s command to keep our eye on the goal, and press forward for the prize.

The Introduction

1:1 Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James, To those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ: 2 May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.

We find the typical greeting of the times, the author introduces himself and states his intended audience, and offers a short prayer for them. Notice that Jude in the same vein as James, does not presume to introduce himself as “Jude, the brother of Jesus”! Rather, he introduces himself in the context of being a servant of Jesus Christ.

It does my heart good to take notice of the audience, and I pray you will take great pleasure in this as well. This book is written to those who are called! Christian, that is you and I! The people of God are rightly described as those who are called (see Romans 1:6, 1 Corinthians 1:2, Hebrews 3:1) , the Chosen, and Elect. What a wonderful thing, to be so related to our God – Elected, Choosen, and Called.

Further clarification is made, not satisfied with simply stating that this message is to those who have been called – it is to those who have been called, and are beloved by God the Father! The King James interprets this as “sanctified by” rather than “beloved”, and to further drill it in, we see that the audience is only those who are kept for Jesus Christ! Christian, you have been Called and are currently beloved by God and kept for Jesus Christ! It that isn’t cause to shout hallelujah I don’t know what is!

So, while those who are not Christians, might very well read this and find some benefit, we see that Jude’s purpose is not to address the non-Christian, but rather that the Christian might profit from his work.

Thirdly, what a beautiful prayer! How often have we found ourselves praying that Mercy, Peace, and Love be multiplied to others? Oh, certainly one can be found praying that these be multiplied to themselves, I regularly cry out to God that He would shower me with these things. However, we find a fantastic example here of how we should be holding each other up in prayer. Let me challenge you to commit yourselves this week to praying for your brothers and sisters in Christ in specifically this manner. Whatever your daily practices for prayer, during that time, pray in this manner for some specific individuals you know. If you’re lacking in people to pray for, I always appreciate more prayer.

False Teachers

3 Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. 4 For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

The Occasion – Our Spiritual Welfare

Notice that his audience is beloved. In the English language, this word beloved is so vague; however, in the Greek the root is specifically agape, that unique love – spiritual in nature, which believers share with each other.

Then we see his self professed passion for writing, it is as if this is of the utmost importance, this desire to see after our spiritual well-being and how he might assist our growth in the faith.

Next, we see that he found it necessary to write. So, beyond his self professed love and desire to be of help, he perceives a specific circumstance which needs to be addressed.

The Theme – Contend for the Faith

This circumstance is the need to contend for the faith. The word faith could mean the Word that we believe, or that Faith by which we believe the word. Here, Jude is clearly referring to “sound teaching that is to be absorbed and believed for salvation, which Jude insists they must contend for, so that they may preserve it safe and sound for future generations (Manton, 1999)”.

Why is this sound teaching of such importance? We talked about this direct relationship to the Great Commission a few Wednesday nights past. Matthew 28:19-20 “¹⁹Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:   ²⁰Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” commands us to teach – twice! We are required to teach sound doctrine – whatsoever Christ has commanded.

I should like to take another opportunity to challenge you. Christian maturity is directly proportional to the soundness of that Christians Doctrine, and sound doctrine can only be obtained through sincere study of the Scripture. Many Christians read a Psalm or Proverb a day, many more daily read some other devotional book that quotes some small portion of scripture and then expounds upon it, some few read through one of the Bible in a Year programs.

Please be careful to hear what I am saying. Those are good and needful things for any Christian walk – but woefully inadequate on their own. A variety of medicines are prescribed for the Christian, devotional meditation on the Word, Prayer, Giving, regular fellowship with other believers, etc; and over compensation in one area does not negate the need for development in all of them.

Particularly, your need to actually study scripture as opposed to simply a daily devotional reading; I mean here that you must apply your mind to the acquisition of knowledge of God. I would encourage you to study the book of 2 Timothy. I would particularly encourage you to do so through an inductive method. If you aren’t familiar with this method, simply catch up with me and ask about it.

The Reason

We have an occasion and a theme, but why this theme? What circumstance would require it? False Teachers! They have crept in! Cleverly disguising themselves as Christians, they are teaching falsehoods! Leading people astray!

Notice that these individuals “crept in”, which demonstrates that they have and will spread their heresies by degree. They do not blow the doors down and proclaim that Christ is not divine, or that God and Satan are really the same being. They slowly, by slight degrees, begin changing the doctrine. A little semi-pelagianism here, a wee bit of denial of authority there, a mere touch of human assertion over yonder – nothing uncommon to young, immature Christians. Merely affirm that they are correct where they are wrong, and encourage them to go further where they should be encouraged to stop.

Soon, the foundation of the local church becomes rotten and Satan can move in full force. The Grace of God is perverted and our only Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, is denied.

Also notice that they were “designated for this condemnation long ago”. God is not surprised by this! Some would claim that reprobation is not taught in Scripture. I’ll not argue for it here, but I would be amiss if I did not take the opportunity to point out to you that these false teachers have in no way ambushed God – He saw it coming a mile away, and He designated them for this condemnation long ago. Do with that what you will.

Encouragements to Persevere

5 Now I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that Jesus, who saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. 6 And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day— 7 just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.

Three examples that prove the dangers of defection from the faith.

· Israelites

· Angels

· Sodomites

It would perhaps be compelling to delve into the details of each example here, and there is certainly a wealth of information that we can mine from these.

However, we will apply ourselves to the most rudimentary elements at this point. Jesus destroyed those who did not believe after delivering His people out of Egypt. Do not presume upon Him by continuing in known sin, this would be a clear example of unbelief. The angels, those magnificent beings who stand before the throne of God, didn’t get any benefit from their station when they sinned. Don’t rely for a second that your station will be of such as to warrant some benefit for you before a Holy and Just God. Finally, Sodom and Gomorrah continue to stand continue to stand as an example of what happens to those who indulge in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire.

Let’s not mince words here – Christ said if you look at a member of the opposite sex and merely consider within your own “private thoughts” the prospect of having sexual relations with them, you have committed adultery, i.e. sexual immorality.

If God was strict in the Old and New Testaments, He continues to be holy and just now. The same God who struck Ananias and Sapphira dead because they lied, made Zechariah dumb for his unbelief, kept Moses out of the promised land because of a few unadvised words, turned Lot’s wife into a pillar of salt for looking back … is still the same God today.

Do not be seduced by these heretics. I urge you to apply yourself to an orthodox, or rightly understood, knowledge of Christ and His commands. Study, seek hard after Christ, and come to increasingly recognize the heresies that surround you. Contend for the Faith! Do not be found like a soldier sleeping at his post, you may wake up to discover the enemy holds you as a prisoner.

Recognizing a Heretic

8 Yet in like manner these people also, relying on their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority, and blaspheme the glorious ones. 9 But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you.” 10 But these people blaspheme all that they do not understand, and they are destroyed by all that they, like unreasoning animals, understand instinctively. 11 Woe to them! For they walked in the way of Cain and abandoned themselves for the sake of gain to Balaam’s error and perished in Korah’s rebellion. 12 These are hidden reefs at your love feasts, as they feast with you without fear, shepherds feeding themselves; waterless clouds, swept along by winds; fruitless trees in late autumn, twice dead, uprooted; 13 wild waves of the sea, casting up the foam of their own shame; wandering stars, for whom the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved forever.

Notice how they rely on their own dreams – as opposed to the Scripture; the reject the authority of God and substitute their own authority; ultimately – they blaspheme the glorious ones. Many here associate “the glorious ones” with angelic beings, powers and principalities in heaven; a reasonable thought, particularly given the following verse.

However, I do not believe that “the glorious ones” particularly mean angelic or heavenly beings. Let me set my case before you. Direct your attention to The Golden Chain of God’s Grace found in Romans 8:28-39 28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

This means that we, the true Christians, are glorious ones! We are God’s Servants, made Holy and Sacred through the blood of Jesus Christ. These false teachers then speak evil of true Christians, impiously or irreverently bashing those Christians for the Sound Doctrine evidenced in their lives, which will be found to be in opposition of the false doctrines the heretics teach and believe.

Thomas Manton (a noted Puritan nonconformist and author of the best commentary I have found to date on Jude) contends that phrase specifically implies their “scorn, curse, and reproach toward the officers of the church, who are the Glory of Christ.”

Verse nine can then be seen as an example from the greater to the lesser. Michael, being greater than we are – didn’t “presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment” upon Satan himself – being for more evil than anyone whom we might contend with.

Christian, does this not speak to you? Oh, my heart breaks when I consider how often I have spoken irreverently of certain men. I can but throw myself upon the mercy of Christ and purpose to order my life such that I do not repeat this mistake.

Here is the heart of contention without being contentious! While passionately defending sound doctrine, one might give over to temptation to blaspheme ones opponent – further stirring up dissent and division, rather than working towards a right understanding. Humility married to Graciousness while striving to correct.

I would challenge you as well, rise to this example of Christian behavior. Do not be found to be one who blasphemes others.

We see in verse ten that they blaspheme what they do not understand and are destroyed by what they understand instinctively. Have you never shared sound doctrine with someone and had them tell you that if you believe that you are a heretic? If not, I would encourage you to share your beliefs with more people – it will happen.

The unregenerate mind does not grasp the things of God, can find no pleasure in Christ, does not heed the direction of the Spirit. Unbelievers will certainly respond with blasphemy. However, here we will see so called Teachers and Preachers in the church blaspheming others – they verbally slander and murder the true worshipers of God in the same way Cain murdered Able! When you see this occurring, there should be warning bells, alarms, and klaxons going off in your head – beware! Certainly any man might stumble upon this; however, the false teacher will be found to consistently and unrepentantly follow this pattern. Keep a sharp watch for this!

You will also notice that they seek after gain, sacrificing their conscience to make more coin – like Balaam. They will be found to be seeking un-ordained leadership positions in the church like Korah. They will consistently place themselves and their concerns first and foremost when you come to fellowship, ensuring that their wants and desires are meet – regardless of the needs of others.

In the words of James “their faith is dead”, you will find no works of faith among them – waterless clouds, fruitless trees, waves in the sea. Notice these things, look out for them, and do not be seduced by slick talk, large numbers, promises of fame and fortune. Blab it and grab it is not sound doctrine, it is a pop culture self help program. Their fate awaits them, and our hearts should cry out for their souls, as it is a fate that we have narrowly escaped ourselves.

Further Indictment

14 It was also about these that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his holy ones, 15 to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” 16 These are grumblers, malcontents, following their own sinful desires; they are loud-mouthed boasters, showing favoritism to gain advantage.

These three verses serve as a dire warning, a lighthouse in the worst of storms by which we find caution to avoid these rocks. Particularly as we teach, which we see from the Great Commission that we are all called to do, then we should be desperate to teach aright. Look here at what awaits those who fail to teach correctly!

Even more for those who seek out teaching positions within the church, James said, “not all of you should seek to be teachers, as you know teachers will be judged more harshly”. While we are all commanded to teach those who are lost, and will find reason to teach in our homes amongst families and friends, some are called to teach within the church – these are the ones that James specifically refers to.

Yet regardless or your call to teaching, whether the general call of all Christians or the specific call of Preachers, Teachers, Elders, Deacons within the church – take heed of the warnings set forth here.

The Perseverance of the Saints

17 But you must remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. 18 They said to you, “In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions.” 19 It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit. 20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. 22 And have mercy on those who doubt; 23 save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh.

We can take great comfort in the fact that the apostles “told us so”. We see again that God simply isn’t surprised by this at all – it is all part of His ultimate plan to Glorify Himself! God revealed this to the apostles and they revealed it to us long before it occurred, in my case approximately 2,000 years before it happened!

This is of massive benefit to us as we run the good race! We recognize that we aren’t God, we don’t know everything, and we get so caught up in the here and now that we sub-consciously attribute our frailties to God. How easy it is to suppose that God doesn’t know that this is happening, or to throw ourselves into pondering that never ended question “why?” Bring to your remembrance regularly that our Sovereign God is so utterly in control of every minute detail, such that when we begin to feel that life is spiraling out of our control, we may rest assured in the promises of the Golden Chain of God’s Grace – all things work together for the good of those who love the Lord, who are called according to His purpose! Is that word all not a sweet and precious thing in this context?

So God has ordained that they come, cause divisions, propagate worldliness, and lack the Spirit. This only gives us cause to look at how we are ordained to react, because we are created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them! (Ephesians 2:10)

Isn’t that phenomenal, God new all about them, no surprises – and He knows all about us! He has prepared good works for us to walk in! Let us see how Jude encourages us to persevere here!

The Greek word translated “building yourselves up” signifies continuing to build a structure that has already been started – we refer to this as sanctification, or the steady increase in personal holiness over time after conversion. We also take the term “yourselves” to require us to build each other up. Each one should look first to their own salvation and then immediately care for one another.

This is done in the context of the local church. There we find the fellowship with other believers that provide them the opportunity to assist in building ourselves up, and vice versa. If you are not currently in a body of believers where this can take place, I urge you to find one. If possible, I encourage you to worship locally with us.

We again understand “most holy faith” here, as before, to mean Sound Doctrine. We must be building on that foundation which is Jesus Christ, as delivered to us through Paul and the other Apostles – and if anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one they delivered, let him be accursed (Galatians 1:9).

I urge you again to mine deep into the bedrock of Scripture – Study! As with the treasures of the earth, some few treasures of Scripture may be found raking the surface – but the most significant treasures require hard work and perseverance to dig deep.

Notice your prayer life is of importance to Jude here, as it must be to you. I have already challenged you to pray as Jude did, and here I will add to that challenge to Pray in the Spirit. Do not pray like a spiritual adulterer, asking for that which you would spend on your own lusts and passions. But pray like the priest you are called to be. It is noteworthy that you will find it exceedingly difficult to pray in the Spirit if you are not anchored in the Word. The two are tied at the hip – pray that the Spirit will grant you a greater desire to study and ability to understand the Word of God so that you might know how better to pray.

Now use these means of Grace (Sound Doctrine and Prayer) to keep yourselves in the love of God. There are two possible ways to understand “the love of God” here. The most common might be rephrased as “God’s love for us” – however, I find this repugnant. It indicates that there is some work or effort that I might do to either keep myself in God’s love or remove myself from God’s love.

We are Christians, God loves us for no other reason than His Sovereign Choice to love us, see Romans 9 if you need more convincing. On the other hand, the greatest commandment is what? To love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, body, and strength! Brothers and sisters, I urge you, as Jude urges you, to keep yourselves in this love of God!

Sound Doctrine – “the most holy faith” – will reveal to you more and more of the God you love! Prayer in the Spirit will take that revelation and expand it into a dynamic relationship with the object of our love!

This, indeed, is how we press on toward the prize – the mercy of our Lord. This mercy was bought by Jesus Christ and will be dispensed by Jesus Christ – and those of us to whom he dispenses it may be found in that blessed state referred to as eternal life.

All the while keeping in mind our mission to share the Gospel with others, we are to teach them through our lives, actions, and words what Sound Doctrine is. Always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks us for a reason for the hope that is in us; however we do this with gentleness and respect (1 Peter 3:15) as we saw previously.

Doxology

24 Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, 25 to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.

Sweeter than honey straight from the comb! I am unable to keep myself from stumbling, and I will never present myself blameless before God’s presence, much less with great joy! But I do not have to – it is all of God! God is able to keep me from stumbling! God will present me blameless before his presence with great joy! Oh how my soul profits from this verse – what I could never do, God will do for me. Nectar for the thirsting soul!

Followed on by the succinct Sovereignty of our God! Before all time, now, and forever – Glory, Majesty, Dominion, and Authority! Take heed of this God that we serve! There are no surprises for Him! How utterly mind blowing to be chosen and loved by God!

The story is told that Andrew Jackson’s boyhood friends just couldn’t understand how he became a famous general and then the President of the United States. They knew of other men who had greater talent but who never succeeded. One of Jackson’s friends said, “Why, Jim Brown, who lived right down the pike from Jackson, was not only smarter but he could throw Andy three times out of four in a wrestling match. But look where Andy is now.” Another friend responded, “How did there happen to be a fourth time? Didn’t they usually say three times and out?” “Sure, they were supposed to, but not Andy. He would never admit he was beat — he would never stay ‘throwed.’ Jim Brown would get tired, and on the fourth try Andrew Jackson would throw him and be the winner.” Picking up on that idea, someone has said, “The thing that counts is not how many times you are ‘throwed,’ but whether you are willing to stay ‘throwed’.”

Beloved, press on towards the prize – contend earnestly for sound doctrine! You may very well find yourself, much like I often find myself, laying flat on your back and wondering which artillery division of Satan’s God allowed to hit you, and why.

Yet herein lies the power of Sound Doctrine for the Christian. When the pretenders get knocked down by that incoming round, they “roll with the flow”, try to take as little damage, and by all means keep their heads down in a vain effort to preserve themselves. Doctrinally – they holler throwed.

Our God is the Sovereign I AM. We wake to the angelic trumpets calling the charge. We roll out of the bunk each morning and if we aren’t facing Satan we get that way quick. Our brothers and sisters in the faith man the lines around us, and when that round comes in, and we get knocked down …….

What better perspective for looking up to the cross of Jesus Christ, wherein our victory is assured – and God Himself fills us with His Spirit, imparting the strength necessary to shake it off and stand back up. We are never willing to say “throwed” – because we are pressing toward the prize in Christ Jesus.

A buddy of mine and I were talking tonight about the the game Settlers of Catan, and the fact that I had commented the other day that I consider a win based on heavy investment in Development Cards to be lucky as opposed to a viable strategy. It turns out that we had both recently been beat (same game) by another young man who, as I see it, got very lucky with Development Cards; to the tune of getting three Monopoly (combined with perfect opportunitiest to leverage them), one Road Building, one Victory point, and just enough Knights to take largest army.

Given the fact that you can indeed win a game by primarily focusing your resources on Development Cards, it seems necessary to concede the point that “you can win a game this way”.

However, the odds of winning a game this way are against you, and thus, I do not see any viable strategy herein; though there are certainly points that it lends itself to good tactics. The only time I see it as a good overall tactic is once you have built all five villages and you are going for a Cities + Largest Army win. My reasons are statistical, so lets look at some numbers – the percent chance that one will get a specific development card, assuming a new game begins, is as follows:

Knight: 48%
Year of Plenty: 12%
Road Building: 12%
Monopoly: 12%
Victory Point: 16%

A Knight simply isn’t worth the three resources you just spent, unless you are going for the largest army, which I wouldn’t begin doing until I had completed my expansion. Why? Of the three resources spend, two of them could be used to build a city, which not only yields a Victory Point, but also provides increased resources/production which can be used to upgrade other villages for even more points and resources; thus we loose opportunity when we get the Soldier. Of course, getting the largest army will provide two Victory points, but that is a lot of resources poured into Soldiers and something I simply wouldn’t do until latter in the game when I have the extra resources to spend as such.

The Year of Plenty card isn’t worthwhile, three resources (two of which help build a city) for any two resources you want? Absolutely not worth it in general, as the astute trader can typically trade those valuable city building resources to other players at profit and get what they want. The one time that this card is of value is when there is a shortage of some resource that you very much need, then this card becomes tactically viable – however, you are left with a situation where you must not only be fortunate enough to draw this card, but the games economy is also demonstrating the lack of a resource you are desperate for.

Road Building is arguably a cost effective card, you the get the production of what would typically cost you four resources for only three resources. However, I continue to believe that this is of little strategic use, while it can be good tactically. That is, you need to be in a situation where you can’t get the correct combinations of wood and brick in order to build your road, then you have to be lucky enough to pull this card out. However, with a 12% chance of pulling this card, you are likely to spend 24 resources before you see it (3 per card, 8 cards at 12%).

Monopoly is ranked right up there with Year of Plenty; however, this card as the tactical possibility to be devastating if played at the correct time. For example, suppose you know that all of your opponents have 2+ sheep in their hands, and you happen to have the wool port!? Now you have not only robbed your opponents of their investment opportunities, but you have significantly enhanced your own. That being said, the odds of you both obtaining the card (as with Road Building, you are looking at investing 24 resources to see it) and having such a stellar opportunity to leverage the card, are extremely low. Tactical, but not strategic.

A Victory Point is certainly worth three resources; yet it only has a 16% chance to be drawn, which means that you are typically spending 18 Resources (on average) to obtain a single victory point. Clearly this is a worse choice than investing in roads, villages, or cities; the later of which also increase your productivity.

As stated earlier, there are a couple of cases where Purchasing Development Cards lends itself to good Tactics:

1. You have Seven Cards, need to dump some, and haven’t the ability to trade them in for a specific resource you need in order to build.
2. You have all your villages built and are looking to finish up the Largest Army.
3. A lot of cards have already been bought (by the other players) and the vast majority of those cards where Knights (increasing your odds of not getting stuck with a Knight).

However, they are all situational. In general, a strategy that invests resources into production that will increase resource yield will statistically prove to be the best overarching strategy and win more games in the long run, while playing the odds and getting lucky with Development Cards can win a game, and sometimes win it in a spectacular fashion.

1 pkg. Chocolate Cake Mix (18 1/4 oz.)
1 pkg. Instant Pudding (3.9 oz )
4 Eggs
1 Cup (8 oz.) Sour Cream
3/4 Cup Water
1/4 Cup Canola Oil
4 oz. Semisweet Chocolate, melted

FROSTING
2 cups butter, softened
4 cups confectioners’ sugar
3/4 cup baking cocoa
1/2 cup 2% milk

GARNISHES
2 oz. Semisweet Chocolate, melted
1 lb fresh strawberries, hulled

GANACHE
4 oz. semisweet chocolate, melted
1/2 Cup Heavy Wipping Cream

CAKE
Combine Cake Ingredients; beat on low for 30 seconds. Beat on medium for 2 minutes. transfer to two greased and floured 9-in round baking pans.

Bake at 350 degrees for 28-32 minutes or until toothpicks come out clean. Cool for 10 minutes in pan, remove from pans to wire rack to cool completely.

FROSTING
Beat butter, confectioners’ sugar, and cocoa until blended; add milk and beat until smooth. Frost the Cake.

GANACHE
Place chocolate in a small bowl. Heat cream to just before boiling; pour over chocolate, whisk until smooth. Drizzle over top of cake, allowing ganache to drape down sides.

GARNISHES
Pipe or spoon melted chocolate onto waxed paper in decorative designs; let stand until set. Arrange strawberries on top of the cake.

Most of you will be familiar with my rural upbringing, redneck ways, and generally unsophisticated approach to life. So you should also appreciate that when I first moved to Chicago and took a management position with UBS Warburg that I was really out of my element. My peers were primarily white middle to upper class Chicago Suburbanites with a good college education and an appreciation for finer things in life; while I had barely stayed awake long enough to graduate from a Mississippi Public High School, served a few years in the Army National Guard, many more enlisted in the US Navy, and the closest I came to going to college was driving over to the Mississippi State University pool on a hot summer afternoon.

I hadn’t been in the new position more than a month when my boss called me in and explained that I was to travel to California and beat a large, well known software company about the head and shoulders due to their inability to deliver on a ten million dollar contract, which they were six months behind on and our project was subsequently five months behind. I was to either obtain a clear conviction that they would deliver in the next month and understand why they had failed to deliver up to this point, or cancel the contract and come home.

The administrative assistant put the whole travel together and was handing me a packet with everything I would need as well as debriefing me. I warranted a corporate credit card, which she assured me had no credit limit – she said she didn’t know if I could get away with it for long, but that if I took to the local Lexus dealer I could buy any car I wanted on it. She then handed me round trip, first class tickets, and membership to the airline’s Platinum Club. By the time she was done, I was pretty well convinced that I had arrived!

When my team and I stepped off the plane in California, we were met by this fellow holding one of them nameplates, with my name on it. He put us in the huge stretch limo and drove us into town where we checked into our hotel. I must tell you, that up to this point, I really believed that hotels like this one only existed as mockups in movie studios for use in James Bond movies. The suite they put me in was bigger than any house or apartment I had ever lived in!
After checking in, we traveled (via limo!) out to the company’s campus where we began to engage in the process of getting assurance of delivery in the near future. It was harder than it sounds, and we spent the balance of the day locked in battle over this contract. By then end of the day I was exhausted, and we were going to have to come back tomorrow to pick up the conversation. I was looking forward to getting back to the hotel and relaxing in style, when our opponents mentioned that they would like to take us all out and treat us to dinner.

I was poised to say no thank you, when the unspoken communication and quick glances from my team assured me that such an action would likely end in them doing violence to me. So I acquiesced and we agreed to be dropped off at the hotel long enough to freshen up and then head out with them. Upon returning to the limousine we discovered that is was filled with “administrative assistants” (that’s how they were introduced, I swear!) who were associated with the project. It was never quite clear to me precisely how they were associated, but I suspect it was something to do with encouraging customers to continue to fund projects.
Anyway, they took us out to this swank little French restaurant, set me up as the guest of honor at the head of the table (apparently having the go/no-go decision for a $10M contract comes with this sort of arduous responsibilities) and we proceeded to have a good time and order drinks. I wouldn’t pretend to lie to you here, my head was swelled up the size of a hay roll; not a hay bale, but one of them big rolls you see in the pasture.

I reckoned I had indeed arrived! If only the folks from the trailer park could see me now! Yep, I was about as puffed up and full of myself as a man could get, and I was probably even breaking new ground in the field of self satisfaction as well. As I cast my eye over the table, and considered how awesome and cool I was, the waiter made his way to me and asked what sort of appetizer I would like.

I casually reached for the menu, and after a short double take, realized the thing was written in some language I didn’t know, presumably French! As I struggled to contain shock, I cast my eye for anything that made any sort of sense whatsoever, and my attention was drawn to what appeared to be Steak TarTare and I thought, I recognize that! I’ve heard of it in movies and what not, it is clearly something fancy that folks order. So I ordered it.

Everyone at the table congratulated me on my selection, and bemoaned the fact that they did not actually order it themselves. Needless to say, I was that much more impressed with my own prowess in navigating this new culture. Drinks came out, people were laughing and having fun, and I was enjoying myself to the hilt. Eventually, everyone had an appetizer, except me. At which point, the waiter asked me if I wanted my food prepared at the table or just brought out from the kitchen. I was all about seeing the show, and encouraged him to bring me said show, table side. He brought out this huge silver tray with a couple of mounds of raw chopped steak, some bowls a fresh diced vegetables, and some eggs.

Now, most of my readers are better educated than I, and likely already know what this fabled dish actually consists of, I was utterly ignorant. When the fellow asked me what I would like, indicating the vegetable, I just told him to put it all in there. He had these two massive sporks (that is a cross between a spoon and fork for those who don’t know) that he used to crack the eggs, dish up the other ingredients, and go about mixing them all together. I was getting hungry watching, thinking that any minute he would fire up one of those cool little Bunsen burners and make me a miniature meatloaf right there at the table. As I sat there salivating at the idea, he just up and dumps all the raw mixture in the middle of my plate, stuck a stalk of celery in the top of it, and sat back all self satisfied, beaming back at me as if he had just done something good!

I might not be well educated, but it only took me a second to figure out that the raw stuff was what I had actually ordered, and everyone at the table was waiting on me to taste it and pronounce judgment! I managed to do so, and ate enough that I could claim I had eaten it without taking one bite more than absolutely necessary. I managed to finish the meal without losing it, and as the rest of the group determined they would go out for drinks, I begged off with the excuse that I needed to spend the night reviewing the contract and headed back to my hotel room. I may have arrived, but I really wasn’t so sure that the place I had arrived was where I wanted to be!