Now I don’t know for sure, but I would not be surprised if research showed that Jude was the least read book in the Bible. (Did you have trouble finding it?)  Some students of the Bible think Jude was a brother of Jesus. Is he the “Judas” referred to in Matthew 13:55?  In any case, the author was one who wrote with considerable authority.Jude is greatly upset because there are those who have sneaked into the early Chrisian community, but whose false teachings and moral practices contradict the values and thought of the faithful (v. 4). He warns his readers that God does not hesitate to punish those who do these shameful things (vv. 6-7). In v.v. 12-13, Jude gets vigorously poetic in describing these troublemakers: “waterless clouds,” “autumn trees without fruit”, “wild waves of the sea,” “wandering stars.” That’s not something a Christ-follower would want on his or her resume!Jude’s advice is what we sing in this familiar Fanny Crosby hymn:   Rescue the perishing, care for the dying, Snatch them in pity from sin and the grace; Weep o’er the erring one, lift up the fallen, Tell them of Jesus, the mighty to save. Rescue the perishing, care for the dying, Jesus is merciful, Jesus will save.Take at look at all the stanzas of this hymn (No. 591). in United Methodist Hymnal)There is an interesting difference in how the closing benediction gets translated (v. 24). In the King James Bible, the injunction is aimed at those who can keep them (others) from falling and to present them in the presence of God. In the Revised Standard Version and in the Common English Bible, the blessing is so that you may be kept from falling and so you can come into the presence of God. It is as if these more recent translators have recognized that we ourselves are those who fall short of what God has intended.In either case (them or you), the one who can keep them or you---=and I say “me”, also—from falling into these wicked ways is Jesus Christ. I cannot do it on my own. If some have fallen, it is because they no longer let Jesus Christ shape their lives and decisions.

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