4 ESSENTIALS FOR THE CHRISTIAN LIFE
But you beloved, building yourselves up 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 20-21
Jude gave these commands to help his readers as they contend for the faith. They make great building blocks for any Christian. They will not make the sorrow or pain of persecution and tribulation any less, but they will give you a firm foundation.
First, build up your faith. Good, deep, daily Bible study is essential. Sound preaching and teaching are not enough by themselves. You must spend time digging into the Bible and applying it to your life.
What does it mean to pray in the Holy Spirit? It is the same thing as praying in the name of Jesus. That does not mean tagging His name at the end of your prayers. Pray according to God’s will. We know that it is God’s will for people to live holy, but there are many times when we don’t know the will of God. That is when we pray as Jesus did by submitting to the Father’s will, not our own. In this process, don’t forget to believe for miracles. We are commanded to do both.
God will never cease to love us, but we show our love for Him by obedience. In John 15:10, Jesus said, “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love,” Obedience keeps you right in the middle of God’s blessings. Disobedience puts you in the place of His chastisement.
The final building block in Christian living is hope. Christians should live in the hope of the second coming. This is a purifying hope and it should cause Christians to witness to the unsaved. The greatest mercy we will receive is eternal life.
Build a good foundation that will withstand the storms of life. Deep Bible study, praying according to the will of God, obedience and hope are good Christian principles.
Copyright 2013 Carolyn Dale Newell.
A Mountain of Faith 