Diligence before the Lord's return
Key Verses: 1, 3, 8,
10, 11, 16,
Even the best of us need to be
reminded of the truth. It too easily slips away. Our natural tendency is to
think negatively when things get tough. We must make ourselves think
positively. That is when we need someone to come and help us think wholesome
thoughts. Even in election season we can think unwholesome thoughts.
Depression often starts with negative
circumstances. And then we get stuck on the negative thinking cycle, and it can
be very difficult to get off that downward spiral.
Or thinking that involves sinful
thoughts. It can be very difficult to change what we are thinking. We often
need an outside influence to change what we are thinking. Peter wrote both of
these letters to try to get them to change their thinking. We need to remember
the reality of Jesus’ promises. We need to know the God who parted the Red Sea.
We might need Him to part some large things in our life!
We certainly live in an era of
scoffers. Christians have become the butt of every kind of derisive remark. If
the same things were said about any other group, there would be a public
outcry. But there is silence when Christians are mocked. From the university
classroom to the public airwaves what we believe is dismissed. The world says
we are simpletons, fools, weak minded, and even stupid. But they forget that
most of the great leaps in science and all the institutions of higher learning
came because of Christians. The slaves were freed and women elevated because of
the work of Christians. The poor are helped today by Christian aid agencies.
How many atheist soup kitchens do you see?
It could be easy in the face of this
opposition to get discouraged. Peter encourages us by letting us in on God’s
timetable. God is not stuck in our time. He operates outside of years. A
thousand years in ancient time was like forever. He is not setting up a
time-converter for us. He is just saying that God is not slow, just in a
different time frame.
And He will return so we need to live
in a way that honors Him. Since we are aware of His coming, we will be ready.
It won’t take us by surprise because we know it is coming. Like when my
children are driving in for the holidays. I know they will arrive after dark,
so when the doorbell rings, I know it is them. I don’t know the exact moment
they will ring the bell, but when it does ring, I know who it is.
And because of this, we need to live
right.