October 29

Kept For Jesus Christ

Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James, To those who are called, loved by God the Father, and kept in Jesus Christ: — Jude 1:1 BSB

The word keep resounds like a refrain throughout this letter. It points to a power that originates in God’s will and operates through the energy of the Holy Spirit within us. Behind our willing, choosing, and working—behind all the influences that shape us—there is a divine movement that ensures we are being “kept for Jesus Christ.” Our spirit is being kept so that His Spirit may dwell in it; our soul is kept so that His mind may direct it; our heart is kept like a fountain, flowing with His love; our imagination and creativity are kept so that He may use them as He did with Bunyan and Rutherford; our bodies are kept as vessels for His use.

Let us realize how much Christ needs each one of us and how much we miss if we fail to live out the purpose for which we were born. But do not take God’s keeping power for granted, as it is possible to neutralize it. Keep yourselves in the love of God. If you have the light, follow it. If you are in the current of God’s grace, do not let yourself be swept into a back eddy. If you are being used by God, discipline your body and bring it into submission, lest, after serving others, you yourself fall short.

There is One who is able to keep us from stumbling, both from within, by a fortress, and from without, by sentries. We are more valuable than the universe because the Lord has need of us. We are “kept for Jesus Christ,” so let us not be careless or ungrateful. For through the ages, our Redeemer continually prays for us: “I do not ask that You take them out of the world, but that You keep them from the evil one” (John 17:15).

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for calling us into the fellowship of Your Son. Keep us by Your mighty power, through faith, for Your salvation and service. Amen.