“Building up ourselves”

“But you, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.” Jude 1:20-21 ASV

Verse Reflections: We are beloved. That word seems to take love to a higher level. The definition says “much loved”. Breathe it in. Breathe in God’s love this day. Feel it to your bones because it is not skin deep. It is not dependent on how you look, how you act, how you feel, what you say. God loves us despite ourselves. And yet God calls us to ACT. We are to” build ourselves up” through holy (set apart) faith. We are to pray in the Holy Spirit. And we are to keep ourselves in the love of God. Today we get to have faith in God and therefore ourselves. We are to build ourselves up in the knowledge that we CAN eat right. We are to build ourselves up in the faith that God will give us the strength to resist temptations, to make the right choices. We are to keep ourselves in the love of God. This alone will give us power. Don’t let this world pull you away from this love today. The action words in this verse speak clearly.

He loves us beyond our imagination but we have to build ourselves up by staying close to that love, having faith and praying in the Holy Spirit. We can’t just go about our day and expect change. We can’t change our bad patterns without action. God gives us the ability but He is telling us to build ourselves up one brick at a time. Our first brick is to have “set apart” faith in His power, no doubts, no wavering. Our second brick is prayer, talk to Him all day long, you will begin to hear His Holy Spirit talking back inside your heart. Our third brick is staying close to His love, walk confidently today knowing you are “much loved”. Our fourth brick is to accept His mercy, allow forgiveness to wash over you. Imagine a strong fortress of love surrounding you today that you have built with God’s love. You’ve got this. No one can destroy this power. Eat right, make great choices and feel His love, build up yourself in faith in Him and yourselves. You’ve got this!

Prayer: Father, My faith is starting out strong this morning with this verse. There is nothing inside wavering in thinking through my choices for the day. Thank You for giving me that Holy Faith. I love that term “Holy Faith”. I am going to have Holy Faith in You and Holy Faith in myself. I am going to set myself and my life apart today with Your help by changing my life, changing my habits. Thank You for Your mercy. Thank You for Your love. Thank You for Your Holy Spirit. Wash over me God. I am going to pray in the Spirit all day today. I am going to light a candle in my office to remind me of Your beautiful Holy Spirit. I am going to not rush through my day but instead rest in the knowledge that You are in charge. I can get everything done because I have surrounded my life with Your bricks. I have built a fortress around my life with Your bricks, Your instructions, Your power. MMmmm, it just makes me relax and know I can do this. I love You so much, thank You for making me Your beloved.