Earnestly Contend

Jude 1:3 Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.

My husband built our first church in a tiny village situated along a tributary of the Rio Negro in the Amazon.  It was a simple wooden structure up on stilts under a huge mango tree.  We had been traveling to this spot for several months and holding Bible studies and our children had become friends with all the families.  One day, as Mark built benches for the church house, I sat talking with one of the teenage girls while the kids from the village and my own children played.  They would run up the stairs to the church, jump into the open window, climb on the boards that Mark had stacked for the benches, and then back out the door.  They were having a blast and this went on for quite some time.  They had just jumped through the window when Mark walked over to get another plank for a bench.  He saw something on the floor and called us over.  It looked like a couple of oreo cookies laying there until we took a closer look.  Curled up and ready to strike was one of the deadliest snakes in the world, the fer de lance.  Now, I don’t have to tell you how quickly I moved, got the children outside and jumped into a window sill on the opposite side of the church and out of harm's way.  But do you know what amazed me the most?  The teenage girl I had been talking to.  She calmly got a stick and held the snake down while my husband killed it.  She didn’t even blink an eye. 

That took place many years ago, but I still think back on how differently everything could have turned out.  My children must have jumped over that venomous snake a hundred times that day.  Mark had been working beside it all day long, and worse yet, we had slept in the same room with it the night before!  We never even knew it was there, waiting and able to kill or maim one of us at any moment. 

Did we know we were in the jungle?  Yes. 
Did we know venomous snakes dwelt there?  Yes. 
So why weren’t we prepared to see one?  I’ll tell you.  We had “heard” about them, but we had never truly seen one with our own eyes.  So up until that moment, they weren’t “real”. 

Do you and I live in a world dominated by principalities and powers?  Yes. 
Do we know the devil is a roaring lion out to get us and attack the Faith we hold so dear?  Yes. 
Then why are we so unprepared when we run into him?  Why are we so weak when it comes to really contending for the Faith?

Our last “Weekend Getaway” was to read the book of Jude where we are told to earnestly contend for the faith.  It is the only time these words are mentioned in the Bible.  We are in a fight against wrong teaching and false doctrine more than ever before and we need to open our eyes and wake up.  Let’s not be weak women of God as we live here during our moments in this world.  This is our turn in the history of humanity to make a difference for the Lord and we can, IF we aren’t being lulled asleep in laziness.  It is time to make up our minds to be vigilant in protecting our homes, our hearts and our faith.  Just because we haven’t seen the enemy, doesn’t mean he isn’t lying in wait, ready to destroy everything we hold dear!

Over the next couple of posts I am going to share some practical thoughts on being prepared to contend.  God has given us tools to use as Christians and He wrote us a letter telling us about them in His Word.  So, we are going to take a look at what He wants us to know and learn how to put them to use!

Come back Friday and we will begin!

Until next time, Lord willing,

Sheri