Jude 1b

"To those who have been called, who are loved by God the Father and kept by Jesus Christ."

Jude uses the entire Trinity. We know the Holy Spirit does the actual work of calling a sinner to repentance and indwelling the believer. Then we have the love of God the Father and Jesus' sustaining power. It's so beautifully worded. Basically Jude is writing to all Christians, but in this opening he is reminding them of the loving, nurturing aspect of God's nature.

To be loved by God is huge and hard to grasp. He loved us because....? No answer. No reason. People love us because we're fun, loving, giving, helpful, encouraging, joyful, positive, forgiving...you name it. People love is seldom based on nothing we have done. A parent's love for a child comes closest to this kind of love that God has for us, for His love is truly based on nothing but His own plan and purpose.

We love Him because He first loved us. And we know that when He first loved us we were enemies of God (Ephesians), living for ourselves. So how great the Father's love for us!

Kept by Jesus Christ. A beautifull statement from Jude that his big brother is still watching out fo rhim. But not just him, but for everyone who has been called and loved by God. We know Jesus is alive today, bringing us up in conversation wtih the Father, holding back the prince of darkness and giving us everything we need.

One of the few "To" statements that is also doctrinal. Usually the author waits for the blessing to follow. Some can get quite elaborate. But Jude packs a lot in a very small letter.

Jude verse 1a

The opening verse of Jude is full of humility and makes me love Jude instantly. He could have said, "Jude, brotherof Jesus our Lord and of James, leader of the church in Jerusalem...." If Jude was James' brother, as most scholars believe, then he was Jesus' brother as well. Wouldn't dropping Jesus' name give him more clout? Draw more attention to him? It certainly would. That's why I love his opening. He does mention James, in case anyone is wondering, "Who is this guy? Why should we listen to him? But the way he calls himself a servant of Jesus Christ is humble and real. Jude really has been converted if he can call Jesus "the Christ" and place himself in the role of servant.

Anyone with siblings knows how much pride you have to swallow to either put a sibling above you or to submit yourself by placing yourself under them in any way. It's all about things being fair and equal growing up, but now Jude is not too proud to place Jesus on top where he deserves to be nor too proud to use his brother James' position to give authority to his own name so that the church will give weight to his words.

This reminds me of the verse that tells us not to think too highly of ourselves (Rom. 12:3) and of that other one that tells us to consider our sisters and brothers in Christ as better than ourselves (haven't looked that one up yet).

Jude, according to the list in Matthew 13:55-56, is the youngest son. James would have been his oldest full brother, with Jesus, of course, being the firstborn and probably much older than Jude. I wonder if Jude shortened his name from Judas because of Judas Iscariot. What do you think, Katie?

Mark 3:20-30

Jesus is too busy even to eat. People are following him into the house. When you have a sick family member with you and you've traveled for miles, you don't care what Jesus' needs are.

Jesus' mother, brothers and sisters think he's gone crazy. They want to bring him home. Then the Jewish leaders claimed he was possessed by Satan himself, for who else could drive out a demon but the demon's master? Makes sense...seems the only possibility.

But Jesus puts a big hole in their reasoning. Why in the world would Satan do that? Why would he give anyone the power to cast out demons? That would be stupid!

Jesus says to them that there are many spirits, but only one Holy Spirit. Don't deny Him, don't dismiss Him or you are forever damned.

I was watching Oprah being spiritual yesterday, and I thought of all the other demons that have people going in circles around Christianity and feeling good about themselves. Biblical truths applied in part, leaving out the sin part and the Jesus part, seem to be enough for our modern spiritual seekers. They have all the best motives and all the love and the seeking and the helping and the serving, but they don't have sin and they don't need a Savior.

Mark 3:13-19

Jesus choosees twelve to be apostles (sent out ones) for the purpose of preaching. They would have the power to drive out demons, which is great power, God's power. So of course they would also be able to heal diseases. The miracles would give backing to the message, proof that the message was from God.

Simon Peter, James and John of Zebedee, Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus,Simon and Judas Iscariot.

Jesus chose the one who would betray him. Knew it ahead of time, but treated him no differently. Gave the treasury to him, not to Matthew. Entrusted him with responsibility, even knowing that trust would be broken.

Mark 3:7-12

These verses tell us the impact Jesus has made. He is up in Galilee, but people are coming from across the Jordan River, from Judea (having to pass through Samaria) and up from Tyre and Sidon (usually inhabited by other nations but containing many Jews). Where's Idumea? The Biblical World resource says Idumea is a name given by Greeks and Romans to the area of the Edomites, which is down south of Judea and on the eastern side of the Jordan River.

The point is, people are coming from all over. They are making tortuous journeys with their sick in tow, suffering all the hardships of the journey in order to see Jesus and find healing. Every evil spirit recognized Jesus as the Son of God, but each time Jesus commanded their silence. They recognized Him, not by sight, but by His Spirit. But Jesus doesn't want Satan's help; He will reveal Himself by signs and wonders and by His authority and knowledge of God's Word.

Mark 3:1-6

Another Sabbath story: Jesus enters a synagogue to worship, probably to preach. He sees a man with a shriveled hand. He knows there are those in the crowd who are just waiting for him to do something wrong. Until now they probably didin't have the rule, "Don't heal on the Sabbath" since they didn't see much of that, but they've decided that healing must involve some kind of work, energy expended, so it must be a sin. They are so intent on every jot and tittle that they are blind to what the healings mean!

It means that God is in their presence, God is working in their midst! They should be following him, seeking him, spreading the news, asking him all their questions. Instead, from this point on a group of Jews begin to plot his death. We must get rid of this nuisance--he is going to ruin everything!

Mark 2:23

This is a toughie because God has always been very severe with people who mishandled items of worship, who lacked respect for the things of God. When Jesus uses the example of David and the consecrated bread, it's a point that man's needs are more important than things. You have a person dying from thirst and the only liquid around is the communion wine, you give it to him.

It's the Sabbath and the disciples are husking their own grain to eat. No one's feeding them lunch. The idea that they are "working" is really one of those extreme conclusions derived by religious leaders. The Sabbath was not intended to be a burden on the people, a list of do's and don'ts. It was a day set aside so people could step away from their ordinary routines and focus on the Lord.