But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit.
Jude 1:20 NIV
Building Yourself Up
According to a 2021 report in Breach Media, Canada is building up its military presence globally by establishing small military bases in strategic locations. The bases in Kuwait, Senegal, and Jamaica have been used as staging grounds for military operations and anti-terrorism trainings throughout Africa, the Middle East and the Caribbean. The plans follow a US shift towards what Pentagon planners have dubbed “lily-pads” – smaller military bases that can serve as jumping off points for larger-scale operations. Three more locations are being considered.
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It isn’t easy living consistently for Jesus in this world. The world and its desires stand in opposition to the principles of the Kingdom of God. Followers of Jesus are called to live life led by the Spirit of God, living out the call of God to be holy as He is holy. The world consistently calls us to follow its ways. In Jude, Paul prophesies about what things will look like at the end of the age, and what he says is descriptive of the age in which we life. In Jude 1:19 he says, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.” Paul then goes on to contrast that by saying, in Jude 1:20: “But you, dear friends, [build] yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit.” We are called not to follow the desires of our flesh, but to keep connected to the Lord Jesus through building ourselves up in the most holy faith – we do that with consistent time in God’s Word – and prayer. As we do, we will find ourselves walking in victory.
These have been words from the heart.
Bob Beasley