"But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life. And have mercy on some, who are doubting; save others, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh" (Jude 20-23, NASB).
Praise for a firm foundation. When someone we know comes to receive Christ and be a follower of Him, they have a firm foundation to keep going because they are rooted in who God is. As believers, we have access to talk with Him and pray with Him because of Christ's sacrifice, and we can depend on Him to receive us with mercy. Let us pray thanks and celebrate that this new believer has Christ as their firm foundation!
Prayer for perseverance. Also, we can pray this person looks to keep following Christ's lead and growing in their faith in who God is. Hebrews 9:28 reads, "so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him" (NASB). We can pray that even as this person falls into sin again, we can remember we are all human and pray this person sees they still need God. Thank God that when we sin, God does not wish to destroy or to banish His children. It's His desire to win us back, forgive us for our sins and lead us into lives of repentance. So for this new believing brother or sister, we can pray they continue to love and follow God.
Lord, thank You that this new believer has a faith devoted to trusting in You. Help their faith grow and help them persevere in following You.
Above study based on the workbook HeartCall: Women Sharing God's Heart (Jaye Martin, 1999)
See music video by David Barnes, "Carry Me Through" on www.youtube.com
