The closing prayer for yesterday’s meditation is the sharpening of our sense of discernment. One way that this will become a reality is through spiritual exercises. A boy who is a freak in physical exercise appeared on Ellen DeGeneres’ show. He was asked when he took to walking out. “At 8”, he replied. Incidentally he was eight at the time. Not only was he fond of exercising, but he was also training other children in the neighbourhood. When he was asked about his motivation, his answer was both revealing and instructive. He always saw a lot of children bullied by others. To deter potential bullies, he began to build up. He desired to be strong and fit.

The Bible warns us of the presence of the devil and his network of evil being executed by hordes of demons. Precisely in John 10:10, Jesus said the mission of the devil, identified as the thief, is to steal, kill, and destroy. Put in context, he is the chief bully that prowls around the neighbourhood. Unless we build ourselves very strong, he will continually oppress us. It is in this light that the words of our text are very vital. Jude charged the believers to build up themselves. Note that while we can receive inspiration and guidelines from other people of like minds, the onus of building up rests squarely with individual believers. Failure to build up faith will make us vulnerable to diverse temptations and attacks. In addition, our spiritual faculties will remain undeveloped.