But you, beloved, remember the words which were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ:
Jude 17
Dear Heavenly Father, please be with all the people impacted by Hurricane Irma. Please take away all their cares, attitudes, and worries. Please comfort, encourage, and meet their needs. Help them to see and believe on You. Protect all the first responders, linemen, police, firefighters, doctors and nurses as they are Your hands and feet in this recovery. Please be with the volunteers – help them to shine Christ so many will believe and have hope. I thank You for protecting my family, my work and my church during and after the storm. Help me to concentrate on You during this study. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.
Jude transitions from describing the fate of the false teachers to exhorting the believer. To bring deeper understanding to today's text, let's examine some key words and their companion or similar verses.
"But" in the Greek is de which means on the other hand, and, but, moreover, opposed to previous statement. "You" represents the members of the church in Jerusalem. "Beloved" in the Greek is agapetos which means beloved by God and one another, personally experiencing God's agape love, divinely loved ones, esteemed, dear, favorite. After describing the false teachers and their fate, Jude switches to the believers in Jerusalem. The believers are the opposite of the false teachers. They are esteemed and beloved by God.
"Remember" in the Greek is mimnesko which means call to mind, recall, mention, remind oneself actively and purposely, mindful. "Apostles" in the Greek is apostolos which means messenger, envoy, delegate, one commissioned by another to represent him in some way, especially one sent by Jesus to spread the Gospel, commission, send forth, one sent on a mission. "Lord" in the Greek is kurios which means master, sir, person exercising absolute ownership. 2 Peter 3:2 states "that you may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior." Remember what the Apostles (ones chosen by God to instruct the believers) said, not these false teachers (who are not sent by God). Actively and purposely remind yourself of the teachings of the people chosen to represent Jesus, our Lord who owns us.
After studying this verse, I've asked myself several questions. Do I feel God's unconditional love? Do I represent Jesus well? Does Jesus own my life? I don't know if I'll ever have the answers. The Christian life is a daily life. Each day is taken separately and has it's own battles. Sometimes, the battles are won and Christ is glorified and sometimes they aren't won. I can only keep my eyes fixed on Jesus daily to help me grow in my belief and service. I developed my personal Mission and Vision for my life to aid me with that focus. To Be a Man of God. To Lead Like Christ, To Walk with Christ, To Love my Wife and Children in a Way that They Understand.
But as for you, beloved, remember the [prophetic] words spoken by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ.
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