Clouds, Trees, Waves, and Stars

Clouds, Trees, Waves, and Stars
Words of Faith 7-18-24
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2024
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
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Jude 1
[12] These men are blemishes at your love feasts, eating with you without the slightest qualm--shepherds who feed only themselves. They are clouds without rain, blown along by the wind; autumn trees, without fruit and uprooted--twice dead. [13] They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shame; wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever.

Jude had to clarify that the selfish shepherds and false teachers infiltrating the Church were not just a matter of preference. This was not a case where you like one preacher and dislike another. Jude gave four powerfully poetic descriptions of the danger of leaders who do not have a genuine connection with the Lord. They are like clouds without rain, uprooted trees without fruit, frothy waves, and shooting stars.
As leaders, these infiltrators were clouds without rain, blown along by the wind. They appeared to bring much-needed rain but had no water for thirsty souls. They were pretenders that would soon be gone, as unstable as wind-driven clouds. They changed with the winds of popular movements and trends.
As leaders, these infiltrators were dead trees. Fall was the time for gathering fruit from trees, but these trees were without fruit and were, in fact, uprooted! The image is that of a tree that is considered healthy from a distance, but a closer look reveals that there is no fruit and that the soil has washed away from the roots. A fruitless tree that is uprooted is twice dead.
These false shepherds were like wild waves of the sea, raging back and forth but producing only foam on the shore. They spewed their foam but provided nothing solid, edifying, helpful, or nourishing. What they produced was, in fact, only shame caused by their actions.
Perhaps most vivid is the image of wandering stars or "shooting" stars. These brilliant stars shine briefly and then vanish without giving lasting light or direction. In the ancient world, navigators looked to fixed stars for guidance. "Wandering stars" were useless to them. Any shipmaster stupid enough to follow one would be led astray. In the same way, the prominence of a false leader is short-lived and useless. They lead unwary followers astray, pretending to be what they are not.
How do we avoid such deception?
First, we must recognize that the Lord is our Shepherd and Jesus is our Good Shepherd. Any human leader is an under-shepherd entrusted with caring for one part of the flock. The Word and the Spirit will give us discernment. We must seek the Savior rather than the excitement and charisma of human leaders.
We also do well to watch for genuine clouds that bring gentle rains- even without the excitement of thunder and lightning. We should look to leaders with deep roots and authentic fruit. We should respond to the gentle swelling waves of God's teaching without the foam. And we need to honor those who point to the brilliance of Jesus as our one guiding star.

Father God, in a world filled with shooting stars, frothy preaching, fruitless and rootless trees, and rainless clouds-- show me by the presence of Your Spirit and Word who I am to honor as one teaching under Your mantle. Purify Your Church as You send gentle rain, the fruit of Your Spirit, waves that lift, and light that guides. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2024
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2024 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.