UCLA basketball coach John Wooden is attributed as saying, “It’s the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen.” The letter of Jude is little compared to other books of the Bible; however, it contains big and powerful lessons for us today.

First, we must “contend earnestly for the faith” (Jude 3). Contending for the faith often looks like taking a daily stand for the truth, no matter how small we think the battle is. Little things matter, so we must contend daily for God’s word’s truth.

The second lesson is that a little error can lead to wholesale apostasy. Jude warns these brethren about those who “turn the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord” (Jude 4). How did those people get like that? They did not contend daily, so error, oh so small at the beginning, began to creep into their lives. And because they did not contend earnestly, they drifted further and further down the path of apostasy. We need to watch out even for the small stuff.

A third lesson is that little acts of faithfulness pay significant returns for keeping ourselves free from error. Jude says if we seek to build up our faith, are diligent in prayer, keep ourselves in God’s love, and look to the hope of Christ’s return (Jude 20-21), that will keep us from error.

Jude is a little book, but we can accomplish big things for the Lord if we apply these lessons.