Jude’s short epistle begins with the change of plans he had on the occasion of writing his letter. “Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints” (v. 3). Although he intended to unpack the depths of “our common salvation,” he changed course to exhort them to do all they could to fight for the faith that had been entrusted to them, that confession which had been given once and for all for them to guard and protect.

The Word of God is the truth. The Church has received the scriptural witness to the person and work of the Triune God, focusing especially on Christ and his Kingdom, confessed in our theology, retold and reenacted in our worship, embodied in our spirituality, and continued in our witness. We faithfully believe, live, and teach this message in fresh and creative ways. We entrust it to faithful people who will guard it and entrust it to others.

The apostles of the first century delivered to the Church the faith that we still confess today. The body of truth that believers everywhere hold dear has once for all time been given through the apostolic testimony in the Scriptures.

Thank you, heavenly Father, for the faithful confession of the apostles, and how they have once for all delivered to your Church the truth in Christ Jesus. We hold their confession in our hearts. In Jesus’s name, amen.

Priests are peacemakers. To reconcile is to make peace. Peacemaking is high on God’s agenda. We worship the God of peace (Heb. 13.20) and the people of God are his primary agents of peace (2 Cor. 5.18-20). We are priests in the order of Melchizedek “king of Salem” or “king of peace” (Heb. 7.2). It is therefore the business of priests to be peacemakers.

~ Scott Breslin, Embracing Our Priestly Nature at Work: A Theology and Practice for Ordinary Saints. Eugene OR: Resource Publications, 2017. p. 43.

Let God Arise! Seasonal Focus
Live a Baptized Life, Romans 6.1-5

Book Reading
Breslin, Embracing Our Priestly Nature at Work

Our Corporate Disciplines
Prayer and Fasting: Thursday, July 21, 2022