Guard and keep yourselves in the love of God.
Jude 1:21a AMPC
Fasten your hearts to the love of God.
Jude 1:21a TPT
Guard. Keep. Fasten yourself to the love of God. These words literally mean we should be like a warden and keep an eye on and observe attentively the love of God.
Human love, our love, can be fickle. It can be weak. It can fail daily. We can find ourselves reacting to someone else’s words and actions out of our flesh rather than responding with the love of God, which is what we know we should do.
But God’s love never fails. It never runs out. It never weakens. And it is God’s love for us, not our love for Him, that is the strength of our relationship with Him. God’s love to us is what will pull us all the way through to the end.
There are two men in the book of John that stand out to me, especially during the last days of Jesus’ life, and they are Peter and John.
Jesus told Peter He would deny Him three times and Peter wasn’t in agreement with that at all. He vehemently declared his love for Jesus. “No! I love you, Jesus! If I have to die, I will NEVER deny you.” But he did. And he was devastated.
Then we have John, the one who described himself as the disciple whom Jesus loved, who is the only one who stayed with Jesus to the end.
What was the difference? One relied on his own love for Jesus to keep him strong. But the other knew how loved he was, and it was the revelation of the depths of that love that sustained him to stand strong under pressure.
We love God. Of course, we do! But we can only love Him because He first loved us. Our love can and will fall short, but God’s love never will.
Let’s pray together.
Father, Thank You for Your love. We pray that You give Your Church in the city of Warren a revelation of just how loved they are today. Let Your love permeate and saturate every part of their being wherever they are right now. Whether they’re driving in their car, sitting at a desk, standing on the line at work, or sleeping in their bed, give them a revelation of how loved they are and let that bring strength to stand under pressure. In Jesus’ Name, amen.