The God Shot With Tara-Leigh Cobble

The God Shot: Jude 1:24-25

"To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen." (Jude 1:24-25)Earlier in this letter, Jude encouraged the believers to keep themselves in the love of God. And here he circles back to remind them that it's ultimately God who keeps them. He does the doing and He's keeping you forever, Christian. He's moving you toward ultimate joy through the finished work of Christ, our Savior and King. He's crowned with glory, majesty, dominion, and authority. He has been always, as God the Son, Jesus is God. He has always existed and He has always had authority over all creation. That's our Savior! He's where the joy is!

The God Shot: Jude 1:22-23

"Be merciful to those who doubt; save others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh." (Jude 1:22-23)Do you find it challenging to deal with people who doubt God and His Word? Or maybe you are a person who has trouble believing God and His Word. The good news for doubters is that God calls Christians to extend mercy to them. That means He has mercy on them. Mercy is when we don't get what we deserve. It's often displayed through acts of patience, compassion, and kindness. But Jude says sometimes our mercy can be severe, taking action to try to rescue people from judgment, standing firm against sin. God hates sin in part because He loves people and sin is harmful to people. So it's merciful to call them out of sin and into joy. He's where the joy is!

The God Shot: Jude 1:20-21

"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 1:20-21)Jude calls believers to build themselves up in the faith to strengthen their love for God. How do we do that? How do you build and strengthen any relationship? You do it by spending time with the person. Scripture and prayer are two ways we move God to the foreground of our lives. We spend time with Him, we read His word to see what he has to say to us, and we talk to Him. Scripture tells us that God's Spirit, who lives in believers, equips us with words to pray. God enables us to grow in faith and love assuring us into greater intimacy with Himself. As we grow, we continue to fix our eyes on the merciful return of Jesus. He's where the joy is!

The God Shot: Jude 1:18-19

"They said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.” These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit." (Jude 1:18-19)Jude was almost certainly the son of Joseph and Mary, which means this letter was written by Jesus' half-brother. Here he references the words of the Apostles who warned the early church about unbelievers who were causing division in the church. As we look at the church today, we certainly see division. Each side points to the other side, accusing them of not hating Christ words and living out His priorities. It's messy, isn't it? For many people, it can be very confusing. So how do we know what's true? We start by reading His word, all of it. Otherwise, we may take it out of context and twist it to fit our own desires. Have you read His word? All of it? Start today! He's where the joy is!

The God Shot: 3 John 1:11

"Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil but what is good. Anyone who does what is good is from God. Anyone who does what is evil has not seen God." (3 John 1:11)In John's third letter to the church, he reminds us of who God is and calls us to imitate Him, His action, and His character. Once we have beheld God, fixed our eyes on Him, and yielded to Him as Lord, our whole lives are transformed. He changes us, He gives us new hearts, we find ourselves moving toward new desires. We have a peace that somehow stands even in the midst of trials and chaos. Everything is new and because Jesus triumphed over sin and death, we are no longer bound to our sin. We can actually do good, not evil. Before we knew Him, we were slaves to sin, but now we're slaves to righteousness. Today, walk in your freedom over sin, imitate God and His goodness. He's where the joy is!

The God Shot: 2 John 1:6

"And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love." (2 John 1:6)When you love someone, you want to do what honors them, and our relationship with God is no different. When we honor Him, it reveals our hearts all through Scripture. God reminds His people that He isn't just after our obedience, He's after our hearts. Once He has our hearts, everything else will follow. Once when a group of people ask Jesus what God requires of them, Jesus replied that the work of God is that they believe in the one He sent that is Jesus, our hearts and minds and actions are all bound up together inextricably. That's why Jesus also said we should love God with all our heart and soul and mind and strength so may you love Him even more today. He's where the joy is!

The God Shot: 1 John 3:24

"The one who keeps God’s commands lives in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us." (1 John 3:24)If you love someone, you want to honor them. When we love God, we want to do what honors Him, which is to obey His commandments. However, that's impossible. Yes, that's one of the reasons why Jesus is such a gift to us. He did what we cannot do. He lived a righteous life and then his righteousness was assigned to us. Then why do we still need to obey His commands of Jesus did it for us? Because of love. These are the things that please Him. It's not box checking, it's joy inducing, and it also creates a deeper intimacy with Him. His Spirit lives in us and empowers us to obey God and bring Him glory and He's the source of supply and the goal of all our obedience. He's at work in you today Christian, and He is where the joy is!

The God Shot: 1 John 3:23

"And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us." (1 John 3:23)Jesus lets everyone know that the Old Testament is about Him and points to Him. Wait a second. All those Old Testament laws point to Him? How? There are different types of laws in the Old Testament, but they all serve to point out that we need a Savior. We can't live up to these laws, we'd all fail even if we were judged only on the 10 commandments, not to mention all 613 laws in the Old Testament. We need a Savior! We can't fix ourselves, but His law is still good for our hearts. Jesus said the first and greatest commandment is actually to love Him. The second commandment is to love others. He says that's the summary of what all those laws point to: love God, love others. Today, may we live out the love that rescued us. He's where the joy is!

The God Shot: 1 John 3:21-22

"Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him." (1 John 3:21-22)Christian, God has adopted you into His family and you are His child forever now. His Son Jesus has paid for all your sins and His righteousness has been assigned to you. His Spirit lives in you to bear fruit in you and shape your new heart and your new life to look more like Jesus. Because you belong to Him, there is no condemnation for you. When your heart is aligned with His and you approach the Father in prayer, you can do it without fear of condemnation. You can do it with full confidence that He will say yes to everything we ask that lines up with His heart. He's here to bless you with His 'yes' for everything that is best. He's where the joy is!

The God Shot: 1 John 3:20

"If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything." (1 John 3:20)Have you ever felt like your heart is condemning you when you're confronted with your own sinful actions and desires? Doesn't it feel like a ton of bricks on your heart? It's good to be mindful of the weight of our sins because that's what points us to our need for a Savior. Once we know that Savior and have been saved by Him snatched from the clutches of sin and death and brought to life, we can rest in the words of Romans 8:1 which says, "therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." God knows everything, every sin you've ever committed, every sin you haven't committed yet, and He says Jesus' death was sufficient to cover them all. As His child, there is no shame in His presence. There's peace, love, and joy because He's where the joy is!