Open the Bible UK Daily

[Build] yourselves up in your most holy faith… Jude 20 Jude is talking about the same faith here that he mentions in verse 3: “The faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.” You can build up your faith by affirming what you believe. That’s why Christians throughout the centuries have recited creeds in their worship: “I believe in God the Father, maker of heaven and earth…” C.H. Spurgeon...

[Build] yourselves up in your most holy faith… Jude 20 There will be times when you seem to be making little progress, and you wonder, “What’s wrong with me? Am I a Christian at all?” Jude says, “You need to build up your faith.” How do you do that? Satan loves to point out how puny, pathetic, and embarrassingly small your faith is. You should counter by recognising the faith you have—however smal...

I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith… Jude 3 Evangelicals often emphasise spiritual life and the importance of the new birth. We rejoice when people give testimonies of how they came to faith in Christ. But spiritual life is no guarantee of spiritual health. You may be spiritually alive, but are you spiritually fit? We know what it’s like to be out of shape physi...

But you, beloved, [build] yourselves up in your most holy faith. Jude 20 Jude’s message is very simple: Keep yourself in spiritual shape. It is also very practical, because Jude breaks this down into seven workouts for a healthy Christian life. You may be committed to some kind of fitness programme. You may work out with a personal trainer who gives you an exercise routine to help you get in shape...

God… pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant. Micah 7:18 Micah preached this message to all the people of Israel. The sad fact is that to the vast majority of people, what Micah said didn't make the slightest difference. Life went on exactly the same as it had before. Another day, another pound (or shekel). The vast majority of people in Micah’s day were still caught up i...

He will tread our iniquities underfoot. Micah 7:19 If hurling your iniquities into the depths of the sea refers to God’s deliverance from past sins, then treading your sins underfoot must refer to temptations that still lie ahead of you. Here you are going out into another week, and Satan has already set some snares in your path. Every one of us will face specific temptations this week. And you wi...

You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. Micah 7:19 This is a marvellous picture: God hurling your iniquities into the depths of the sea. A pastor once said: “When God throws your sins into the depths of the sea, He puts up a big sign that says. No fishing!” When God forgives. He takes the past with all of its guilt, and it is gone. But there is something else here that comes fresh f...

He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love. Micah 7:18 It's hard to think of any issue that causes more difficulty in the minds and hearts of so many people than the anger of God. We tend to suppress the idea of God’s anger or deny it. You’ve likely heard someone say, “I grew up believing in an angry God, but now I believe in a loving God.” What do you do with the...

I will bear the indignation of the Lord because I have sinned against him, until he pleads my cause and executes judgement for me. Micah 7:9 All of our experience indicates that we seem more under God’s judgement than His blessing. Our culture is falling apart. Families are breaking up. God is hiding His face from us. We have sinned and we are under the wrath of God. Where do you go from there? Mi...

But as for me, I will look to the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation. Micah 7:7 God may seem hidden to us, but He is never absent. He may seem far away, but He is always at work. Micah knows God is near, and that is why He watches and waits. Fishermen know about this. You don't see any fish, but you know they’re there, so you watch and you wait expectantly. God may hide His face from yo...

Then my enemy will see, and shame will cover her who said to me, “Where is the LORD your God?” Micah 7:10 All Micah can say is that things will be different in the future, but as he writes, he has no compelling answer to offer the cynic who says, “Where is your God?” Micah is surrounded by trouble and God is nowhere to be found. He doesn’t know where God is, or what God is doing. This is wonderful...

Woe is me! Micah 7:1 In order to understand Micah’s misery, we must look at three things that were happening among God’s people. The loss of godly character. Micah says, “The godly has perished from the earth” (7:2). He is talking about a loss of godly character: “I look at how people are living, and all I can see is godly character being swept away. I look for models of upright living, but I’m no...

He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. Micah 7:19 When Jesus came preaching the message of the gospel, He said, “The kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15). But too often we’ve cut that in half. We sometimes drop the “repent,” and go strictly with “believe the gospel.” The...

What does the Lord require of you but… to walk humbly with your God? Micah 6:8 If you want to walk with God, you need to get on the path where He is—the path of justice and mercy. God says to us: "If you get on that path, you will find me there." God is the God of justice and mercy. This is what the cross is all about: God’s justice was poured out on Jesus so that God’s mercy could be poured out o...

What does the Lord require of you but… to love kindness? Micah 6:8 The second dimension of our calling is to love kindness or mercy. To love mercy is not merely to show mercy, but to love it. People who love mercy look for any opportunity to show it. We’ve talked about ways in which you may have wronged other people, but there are also situations in which other people have wronged you. Is there an...

What does the LORD require of you but to do justice? Micah 6:8 To “do justice” means you do what is right even when it is costly. You pursue integrity rather than convenience. It means asking, “How can I give full value?” rather than wondering, "What can I get away with?" It means refusing to take advantage of someone who is vulnerable. It means treating the weak the same way you would treat the s...

With what shall I come before the LORD… Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Micah 6:6 These are the words of someone who holds up his hands and says, “You got me. I’m guilty. Now what do I do?” Our first instinct when we feel guilty is to become religious (burnt offerings). “This doesn’t feel right. Maybe we could give something to the church? Or do some work arou...

The voice of the Lord cries to the city…"Can I forget any longer the treasures of wickedness in the house of the wicked?" Micah 6:9-10 Some folks had become pretty wealthy, but God has some questions about how they made all their money. This hits pretty close to home. Maybe you have done well in business, but you feel uncomfortable about how you made your money. You look back at the things you did...

“I brought you up from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery, and I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.” Micah 6:4 God was saying to His people: “Your parents were slaves. If it had not been for me, that would have been your life too. But I stepped in and brought them out of Egypt. I made them my own and brought them into an entirely new position—freedom and blessing.”...

What does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? Micah 6:8 If you want to know the kind of life that God is calling you to lead, you won't find a better summary than Micah 6:8. The best way to understand this verse is to get the big picture of the whole chapter. What God says to His people here is clearly a response to what they had been...

Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love. Jonah 2:8 How does a person turn from his or her idols? There’s a one-word answer to this question—“love.” Maybe you are drawn to God, and yet something inside you holds back. We want to draw near to God, but how can we overcome this impulse to avoid Him? That’s why Jesus has come into the world. He came to seek and save the...

You turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God. 1 Thessalonians 1:9 You were made for a God-centred life. You were made to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever. “Turning from idols” means that you let God be God. It means that you worship God and love Him for who He is, and not as a means to some other end. John Piper makes this point well: I cannot say to my wife, “I feel a strong...

I will cut off your horses from among you and will destroy your chariots; and I will cut off the cities of your land… and I will cut off sorceries from your hand, and you shall have no more tellers of fortunes; and I will cut off your carved images and your pillars from among you, and you shall bow down no more to the work of your hands; and I will root out your Asherah images from among you and d...

“I am the LORD, and there is no other.” Isaiah 45:6 Everything in the created order belongs to a class— planets, fish, birds, animals, and humans-but God is in a class of His own. That’s what we mean when we say, “God is holy.” He is set apart from everything else. John Piper says, “Diamonds are valuable because they are rare and hard to make. God is infinitely valuable because He is the rarest of...

“In that day,” declares the LORD, “I will cut off your horses from among you and will destroy your chariots.” Micah 5:10 Dr. Walter Kaiser points out four dimensions of idolatry that can be found in Micah 5: Self-help. “I will cut off your horses from among you and will destroy your chariots” (5:10). This is about self- confidence: "We can do it!" What room is there for God if there is nothing you...