*DAILY DEW 21/JUNE/2023* *EXHORTING YOU TO CONTEND* (IV) _Key Bible Text:_ *"For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth."* (2 Timothy 3:6-7 (KJV)) _Bible Insight:_ In the book Habits of the Heart, Robert Bellah and his colleagues wrote about an interview with a young nurse named Sheila Larson, whom they described as representing many American’s experience and views on religion. Speaking about her own faith and how it operated in her life, she said: “I believe in God. I’m not a religious fanatic. I can’t remember the last time I went to church. My faith has carried me a long way. It is ‘Sheilaism.’ Just my own little voice.” We might say that this highly individualistic faith is the most popular religion in the world, but the idea that we can or should put together our own faith is wrong. Christianity is based on one faith, which was once for all delivered to the saints. We need to contend for the faith because there are dangerous men among Christians. For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ. Certain men have crept in unnoticed: In part, this is what makes them so dangerous – they are unnoticed. No one noticed that they were dangerous. They didn’t wear a “Danger: False Teacher” name tag. These certain men probably claimed to be more Biblical than anybody else was. Crept in means, “To slip in secretly as if by a side door.” (Robertson) “Satan knows right well that one devil in the church can do far more than a thousand devils outside her bounds.” (Spurgeon) Who long ago were marked out for this condemnation: These certain men have a destiny – the destiny of every false teacher and leader. They are marked and destined for this condemnation, and it is enough to say that they are ungodly men. They are ungodly simply in the sense that they are not like God and no matter the outward appearances, they disregard God. _MEDITATION:_ *“They were unnoticed by men, but not by God. The Lord is not wringing His hands in heaven, worrying about those who deceive others through their teaching and through their lifestyles. They may be hidden to some believers but as far as God is concerned, their condemnation was marked out long ago. Their judgment is assured. The truth will win out; our responsibility is to be on the side with the truth."* *#David_Guzik* *#Daily_Wisdom_for_living* *#Becoming_More_Like_Jesus* *#The_Rise_of_An_Army* *#Daily_Dew_Devotional* *#Hello_JUNE,2023* ❤ *#Guest_Message* Links To Visit: *FB Pages* https://www.facebook.com/DavidJoshuaEgbochuo/ https://www.facebook.com/thedavidgen/ https://www.facebook.com/THEREVIVALCORPS/ *Telegram Group:* https://t.me/joinchat/NzXQlVc9Hx7LfaRSnh9fHg Feel Free to Share with Friends. God bless you.....

*DAILY DEW 20/JUNE/2023* *EXHORTING YOU TO CONTEND* (III) _Key Bible Text:_ *"Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt compelled to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God's holy people."* (Jude 1:3 (NIV)) _Bible Insight:_ Few points to note about the faith we are to contend for:- i. “The faith” doesn’t mean our own personal belief, or faith in the sense of our trust in God. The phrase the faith means *“The essential truths of the gospel that all true Christians hold in common.”* The faith is used in this sense repeatedly in the New Testament (Acts 6:7, 13:8, 14:22, 16:5, 24:24; Romans 1:5 and 16:26; Colossians 2:7, and 1 Timothy 1:2 are just some of the examples). We must contend earnestly for the truth. “The faith is the body of truth that very early in the church’s history took on a definite form (cf. Acts 2:42; Romans 6:17; Galatians 1:23).” (Blum) ii. Once means that the faith was delivered one time, and doesn’t need to be delivered again. Of course, we distribute this truth again and again. But it was delivered by God to the world through the apostles and prophets once (Ephesians 2:20). God may speak today, but never in the authoritative way that He spoke through the first apostles and prophets as recorded in the New Testament. “There is no other gospel, there will be none. Its content will be more fully understood, its implications will be developed, its predictions will be fulfilled; but it will never be supplemented or succeeded or supplanted.” (Erdman) iii. For all means that this faith is for everybody. We don’t have the option to simply make up our own faith and still be true to God. This faith is for all, but today, it isn’t popular to really believe in the faith once for all delivered to the saints. *Instead, most people want to believe in the faith they make up as they go along and decide is right for them. More people believe in “the faith that is in my heart” than the faith once for all delivered to the saints.* _MEDITATION:_ *“The faith” doesn’t mean our own personal belief, or faith in the sense of our trust in God. The phrase the faith means *“The essential truths of the gospel that all true Christians hold in common.”* *#David_Guzik* *#Daily_Wisdom_for_living* *#Becoming_More_Like_Jesus* *#The_Rise_of_An_Army* *#Daily_Dew_Devotional* *#Hello_JUNE,2023* ❤ *#Guest_Message* Links To Visit: *FB Pages* https://www.facebook.com/DavidJoshuaEgbochuo/ https://www.facebook.com/thedavidgen/ https://www.facebook.com/THEREVIVALCORPS/ *Telegram Group:* https://t.me/joinchat/NzXQlVc9Hx7LfaRSnh9fHg Feel Free to Share with Friends. God bless you.....

*DAILY DEW 19/JUNE/2023* *EXHORTING YOU TO CONTEND* (II) _Key Bible Text:_ *"Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt compelled to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God's holy people."* (Jude 1:3 (NIV)) _Bible Insight:_ 2. Exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith: If we emphasize the word YOU, we see that this was something that Jude wanted each individual Christian to do. There are many ways that every Christian can contend earnestly for the faith. i. We contend for the faith in a positive sense when we give an unflinching witness(evangelism), distribute tracts, make possible the training of faithful ambassadors for Jesus, or when we strengthen the hands of faithful pastors who honor the Word of God in their pulpits. These are a few among many ways that we can contend earnestly for the faith in a positive sense. ii. We contend for the faith in a negative way when we withhold support and encouragement from false teachers. iii. We contend for the faith in a practical sense when we live uncompromising Christian lives and give credit to the Lord who changed us. iv. Obviously, faithful missionaries and evangelists contend earnestly for the faith. But so does the Sunday School teacher or the home group leaders, who is faithful to the Scriptures. People like this contend for the faith just as much as a front-line missionary does, and each one of us should contend for the gospel wherever God puts us. _MEDITATION:_ *"Contend earnestly for the faith once for all delivered to the saints: Here, Jude tells us what we are contending for. There is a lot of earnest contention in the world but usually not for the right things. The faith once for all delivered to the saints is something worth contending for.* *#David_Guzik* *#Daily_Wisdom_for_living* *#Becoming_More_Like_Jesus* *#The_Rise_of_An_Army* *#Daily_Dew_Devotional* *#Hello_JUNE,2023* ❤ *#Guest_Message* Links To Visit: *FB Pages* https://www.facebook.com/DavidJoshuaEgbochuo/ https://www.facebook.com/thedavidgen/ https://www.facebook.com/THEREVIVALCORPS/ *Telegram Group:* https://t.me/joinchat/NzXQlVc9Hx7LfaRSnh9fHg Feel Free to Share with Friends. God bless you.....

*DAILY DEW 18/JUNE/2023* *EXHORTING YOU TO CONTEND* _Key Bible Text:_ *"My dear friends, I really wanted to write you about God's saving power at work in our lives. But instead, I must write and ask you to defend the faith that God has once for all given to his people."* (Jude 1:3 (CEV)) _Bible Insight:_ 1. Exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith: This was the great need that Jude interrupted his intended letter to address. The ancient Greek word translated “contend” comes from the athletic world – from the wrestling mat. It is a strengthened form of the word meaning “to agonize.” Therefore “contend” speaks of hard and diligent work. i. The verb translated contend earnestly is (in the grammar of the ancient Greek) in the present infinitive, showing that the Christian struggle is continuous. ii. We contend earnestly for the faith because it is valuable. If you walk into an art gallery and there are no guards or no sort of security system, you must draw one conclusion: there is nothing very valuable in that art gallery. Valuables are protected; worthless things are not. _MEDITATION:_ *"How have I contended for the faith today? Can I do better tomorrow? What exactly do I do as a means of contending for the faith?"* *#David_Guzik* *#Daily_Wisdom_for_living* *#Becoming_More_Like_Jesus* *#The_Rise_of_An_Army* *#Daily_Dew_Devotional* *#Hello_JUNE,2023* ❤ *#Guest_Message* Links To Visit: *FB Pages* https://www.facebook.com/DavidJoshuaEgbochuo/ https://www.facebook.com/thedavidgen/ https://www.facebook.com/THEREVIVALCORPS/ *Telegram Group:* https://t.me/joinchat/NzXQlVc9Hx7LfaRSnh9fHg Feel Free to Share with Friends. God bless you.....

*DAILY DEW 16/JUNE/2023* *SERIOUS SALVATION* (X) _Key Bible Text:_ *"Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities. Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee."* (Jude 1:8-9 (KJV)) _Bible Insight:_ Still calling out the shortcomings that serious believers must seriously contend against, Jude cited how these "certain men" who "crept in unawares" are filthy dreamers who defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignitaries. He contrasted them with the archangel who when contending with the devil over the body of Moses, was quite modest and restraint and rather called upon God to rebuke the devil. We learn again that God does not approve of defilement of the flesh, despising of dominions and speaking evil against dignitaries. New Living Translation rendition of Jude 1:8-9 is helpful: *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.)* We understand that immoral living (defilement of flesh), defying authority, and scoffing at supernatural beings are practices we see around us today. We must be wary. But even more importantly, we must be wary to conclude that we are discussing certain men and not "some of us". Check the list again, of the things Jude warned against. Anyone can be guilty of this. No believer should assume they are above the errors on the list. The devil takes advantage of the unsuspecting the most. Let him that thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. Check your life again! Do you subscribe to any known immoral living? How do you deal with issues against authorities!? Note that authorities may be wrong but there is a God approved way to address such errors. Also how do we speak when dignitaries or highly placed spiritual or supernatural beings are involved? This calls you to examine our approach and our lives. And not just assume it does not concern you. May we not participate in things that will bring us to destruction. _MEDITATION:_ *"But these people sneer at anything they can't understand, and by doing whatever they feel like doing--living by animal instinct only--they participate in their own destruction."* Jude 1:10 (The Message) *#David_Joshua_Egbochuo* *#Daily_Wisdom_for_living* *#Becoming_More_Like_Jesus* *#The_Rise_of_An_Army* *#Daily_Dew_Devotional* *#Hello_JUNE,2023* ❤ Links To Visit: *FB Pages* https://www.facebook.com/DavidJoshuaEgbochuo/ https://www.facebook.com/thedavidgen/ https://www.facebook.com/THEREVIVALCORPS/ *Telegram Group:* https://t.me/joinchat/NzXQlVc9Hx7LfaRSnh9fHg Feel Free to Share with Friends. God bless you.....