Jude 1 - Randy

Verses 17-25: 17 But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. 18They said to you, "In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their 

own ungodly desires." 19These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit.

20But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit,21keep yourselves in Godʼs love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.

22Be merciful to those who doubt; 23save others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.

24To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— 25to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.

There seems to be a never ending array of distractions and dissenters (I am sure that I fall into one of these categories from time to time). Even well meaning believers can sometimes get caught up in petty arguments, or even issues that they (we) believe are of high importance to the Christian faith and our "religion".  These type of issues/behaviors come about as a byproduct of of our human nature. We are quick to point out someone's error or improper behavior. 

But in reading the Bible, its interesting to me as to who Jesus rejected versus who he accepted.  

I pray that I do not continue to fall into this type of behavior: "These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit."

I think the only  way that I can avoid failing into this trap of judgmental behavior, while ignoring my own faults, is to focus on "him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— 25to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen."