The Light in the Dark

the people living in darkness

have seen a great light;

on those living in the land of the shadow of death

a light has dawned.

Isaiah 9:2 & Matthew 4:16

Two things stand out in this verse. First, it accurately describes the world we live in. Ours is a dark world filled with pain and difficulty and hardship. It's a world of confusion and deception. It's a world in which we all live constantly under the shadow of death. 

But if you keep reading, the second half of this verse tells us where to find comfort. When it's dark, you look to the light. Even in the midst of all the darkness of this world, there is a light. That light is Jesus! Jesus alone stands in stark contrast to the darkness of the world around us. He alone is truly different.

His life on earth sets an example for us and reveals how we ought to live. His death paid the penalty for our sins and shows that forgiveness is found only in Him. And His resurrection lights the way to eternal life. All of this taken together (His life, death and resurrection) lights the way to the great Christian hope of salvation. Jesus is that way. Anyone who repents of their sins, places their faith in Him as God's perfect sacrifice for their sins, and confesses Him as Lord of their life will be saved. 

And those who are saved no longer live in fear of the shadow of death. And we no longer stumble along in the darkness of this world. We have the Light. If you have the light, then the way you conduct yourself and walk through this world ought to reflect that. 

Mary Magdalene: First Witness to the Resurrection

Now after He had risen early on the first day of the week, He first appeared to Mary Magdalene, from whom He had cast out seven demons.

Mark 16:9

Why Mary Magdalene? Jesus could have chosen anyone to be the first witness to the resurrection. He could have chosen Peter, James, John, or His own mother... but He chose Mary Magdalene. Why? I think part of the reason is because Mary Magdalene was the perfect first witness to the resurrection for God’s purposes. 

Mary Magdalene had been possessed by seven demons. In biblical times, the number seven was often seen as symbolic of perfection or completeness. So, a person who was possessed by seven demons was perfectly, fully and completely under the control of the Evil One. Mary was under Satan’s hold. He had possessed her completely... and Jesus set her free.

Mary Magdalene is the message of Easter! Her life proves that it doesn’t matter how strong a hold Satan has on you... Jesus can set you free. It doesn’t matter how low you are or how bad your life is right now... Jesus can redeem you and give you new life.

You want proof that Jesus beat the power of sin and the Devil? Look at Mary Magdalene! You want proof that Jesus offers you new life, not only in eternity but even now? Look at Mary Magdalene! By choosing Mary to be the first witness to the resurrection, Jesus shows us that anyone can be saved. Anyone can be changed, made new, redeemed. No one is too far gone.

No matter how strong a hold the Enemy has over you… Jesus can break it.

No matter how sinful you are… Jesus offers you forgiveness.

No matter how lost you are… Jesus can save you.

No matter how bad your life is… Jesus offers you new life and a fresh start.

If there was hope for Mary Magdalene… then there’s hope for you.

Build Yourself Up

But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.

Jude 20–21

In these two little verses at the end of Jude's book, he gives the believer four ways we can protect ourselves from false teaching. I want to focus on the first, which is building ourselves up in the Christian faith.

One of the very best ways for you to protect yourself from false teaching is for you to fill yourself up with good teaching. One of the best ways to ensure you don’t settle for a cheap knockoff is for you to increase in your knowledge of the real deal.

Are you growing in your Christian faith? Are you increasing in knowledge? Are you building yourself up?

Think about the kinds of buildings you would find at the heart of major city. Most of them would have many floors, many levels. The Christian life is like that. There are many levels to Christian maturity. But far too many Christians got saved and started to grow in their faith... then just quit building themselves up. Our churches are full of abandoned building projects. Christians that are no longer under construction in any real sense of the word. They aren’t growing in their faith. They aren’t increasing in their knowledge of God's Word. They are simply taking up space.

Jude speaks against that. He says you need to keep moving forward in your faith. You have to build yourself up. You need to keep growing, increasing in knowledge, and drawing nearer to the Lord. No matter how young or old you are, never stop building yourself up in your most holy faith.

Describing the Ungodly

These people are grumblers and faultfinders; they follow their own evil desires; they boast about themselves and flatter others for their own advantage.

Jude 16

In verse 16 of his little New Testament book, Jude gives us four descriptions of the ungodly people who will face God’s judgment. 

First, he says they “are grumblers and faultfinders.” They’re complainers! They’re never content. They’re constantly finding fault either with God or with others. This is the sin of ungodly people in every age. It was the sin of ancient Israel in the desert. It was indicative of the false teachers in Jude’s day. And it’s far too present in the church today. Don’t grumble, find fault or complain. Believe it or not, our churches don’t need any more people like that.

Second, Jude tells us that these men, “follow their own evil desires.” They don’t follow God’s commands. They follow the lusts of their own flesh. They’re slaves to their desires. Again, this is true of ungodly people in every age. Ungodly people lack self-discipline. They haven’t learned to say ‘no’ to their desires. What about you? Do you follow the Lord and His Word? Or are you a slave to desire?

The third thing Jude says is that these false teachers “boast about themselves.” They speak arrogantly. They’re experts at self-promotion. That’s not what Christians are supposed to be. Believers are called to declare God’s glory… not our own. We’re called to value others above ourselves and look not only to our own interests, but also to the interests of others. (Phil. 2:3-4) Yet, too many of us are arrogant, self-promoting boasters just like these false teachers. Don’t be that way. Don’t let boasting, arrogant words come out of your mouth.

The fourth and final description Jude gives is that they “flatter others for their own advantage.” When these ungodly people actually do think of others, they only do so to benefit themselves. They use flattery to manipulate people into doing what they want. Sadly, this is all too common in the church today. Fake politeness, flattery, manipulation, and political calculation are far too common in smalltown churches. But they ought to have no place in the body of Christ. 

Jude reminds us that God's judgment is coming on those who behave in these ways, so be very careful not to fall into the trap of living like the ungodly. Don’t grumble and find fault. Don't follow evil desires. Don't speak in boastful and arrogant ways. And don't flatter and manipulate others for your own benefit. 

Wandering Stars

They are... wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever.

Jude 13

Stars were very important in ancient culture. We have GPS, they had the regular course of the stars. That was how they navigated. Stars that were fixed or regular in their orbits meant everything to them. But, if a person were deceived and tried to navigate by a wandering star (a star that didn’t have a regular orbit), then they could very easily end up lost or even dead.

Jude says that this is what false teachers are like. They claim to be guides, but they only deceive people and lead them astray. Jude says that these false teachers will end up in the blackest darkness just like a shooting star that disappears into the black emptiness of space.

This leads us to a question that every single believer should ask about anyone who would step forward to teach or preach God's Word to them. Here it is: "Does this person adhere to the predictable pattern of sound doctrine or are they a wandering star?" In other words, if you navigate your life based on their teaching, will you arrive at spiritual maturity or be lost to the Christian faith? Where are they leading you?!

You don’t sign up to go on a trip with somebody until you know where they're going. And you shouldn’t let someone teach God’s Word to you until you’re confident that they can lead you back to Jesus over and over again consistently.

Believers today have more choices than ever when it comes to which Bible teachers and preachers they choose to listen to. Whether it's the number of churches in your community, the number of podcasts available on your cellphone, or the number of religious-themed videos and memes you come across on social media; you have more teachers and preachers vying for your attention than ever before. Be very careful who you listen to and who you follow. Make sure you know where they are leading you.