Christian Devotional – April 24, 2025

Go and Do, Day 4

Selfish gain. Read Jude chapter 1, focusing in on verses 9-11.

These verses have been a source of much discussion by scholars. In some cases, people were unsure of whether or not to include Jude in the Bible because of these verses and the stories they represent. Reading through verses 9-10, it is not referencing stories in the Old Testament that we are generally familiar with. But in researching, these are stories that are mentioned in the Apocrypha, a set of books that are often included in the Catholic Bible. However, they are not included in the Bible for other denominations, as they were not deemed to be part of the holy scriptures or inspired by God.

However, Jude was included in the scripture, and we can still learn from these verses. The stories they reference talk about the importance of relying on God for everything, including our justification and revenge. We must not be so self focused that we think we can do it all. Cain thought he could do everything himself, and we read that in Genesis. Balaam, when he wouldn’t curse the people of Israel, did give advice that if the people got the people of Israel so distracted in the things of this world, then they would be able to be overcome. Korah’s rebellion in Exodus was all about the selfish desire to do things his own way.

This is a common theme throughout scripture. The battle between our own selfish desires and God’s. Will we come to the place where we recognize that God’s will is over everything and that we must submit to him? Part of our ability to stay focused will be contingent upon our ability to bend our will to his. If we struggle to do that, we will struggle to remain obedient, and we will find ourselves being tempted with these very things. Are we staying focused on God’s desires, and his alone? We cannot allow ourselves to become distracted by anything else.

Video devotional can be found here: https://youtu.be/PK_1GfEjpjY