Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you….. Jude 3a

Has God ever redirected your life? You thought you were headed one way, in a predictable direction. You weren’t ready for a divine interruption.

I’ve been in ministry long enough to have God change my teaching plans just moments before stepping onto the platform. If I were an adventurer by nature, which I’m not, I would find it easier to flow with the urges of God’s Spirit.  As one who likes predictability and order, I can strain against the loss of control when God asks me to go another direction on the spot.  But at 71, He’s done it enough times that I’ve had some practice.  With history in my rear-view mirror, I trace His faithfulness and the miraculous fruit of holy spontaneity.

Jude started his letter to the whole church, intending to write about the glories of the Gospel message. As he began to write, God made him aware of the threats against the pure Gospel: those who would add to it, those who would delete from it, or twist it to advance their own causes.  What initially was a praise-filled letter about Christ’s message turned into a call to defend something so precious.  He started with an encouraging message but was redirected to take on a tougher, more confrontational tone. His original words might have inspired.  But this word was meant to convict. Jude was ready to commit his pen to a gritty piece of literature for the glory of Christ and the advancement of the kingdom.

I just came across this John Piper quote. “My prayer for you is that your life and your ministry take on a radical flavor. A risk-taking flavor. A gutsy, counter-cultural, wartime flavor to make the average churchgoer uncomfortable ~ a strange mixture of tenderness ~ a pervasive summons to something hazardous and wonderful ~ a saltiness and brightness, something like the very message of Jesus.”

I just wrote this out and put it on a card.  It’s propped up on my desk.  I believe it coincides with some place God is taking me. It’s not yet defined.  But wherever it is, I will stand on the tenets of the faith ~ fueled by the power of the Holy Spirit.

I will follow You even when You call me to something so radical it is out of my comfort zone.  Amen