2 Peter 3 Scoffers Abound

2 Peter 3 NIV
Scoffers abound! Peter wrote: "But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare." (vs 10) The disciples expected an almost immediate return of the Lord. 2000 years later, we are still waiting and watching for the final judgment on the world. It's a fairy-tale, a fable, a myth, I am told. Just because you do not believe; that does not make it an untruth. "But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." (vss 8-9)

Scoffers abound! I'm not sure if people have forgotten that the Lord will come again or maybe they just don't believe. The world lives as though they have eternity to live for their own pleasure. Some might even live under the delusion that they can repent on their death beds and they will be saved. That is true, if one truly turns to the Lord. But, one never knows when our final moments will come. It would be wise to be prepared before that day comes. He will come like a thief, without warning, except for the word which we already have.

Be prepared and be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of the lawless. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to the glory of God.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Mark 13 - Keep Alert! He Will Come Again!

Mark 13 NIV
No one knows. No one knows when our end will come; not for the individual; not for the world. There have been days when I thought "isn't it about time, LORD?" So many wars and threats of wars; families fighting within themselves and with their neighbors; congregations and communities battle with one another; will there ever be peace?

These are not things that should lead us to despair. Jesus tells us that all these things and more will and must happen before the end. We must be prepared. We cannot give up hope. We cannot let our faith lie dormant or die. Be alert! Watch! Wait! He has come. He is present now. He will come again. “At that time people will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. And he will send his angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens." (Mark 13:26-27)

“Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’” (Mark 13:35-36)

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Isaiah 64 - Potter and Clay

"Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains would tremble before you!" (Isa 64:1 NIV)
     I know this prayer from Isaiah. No, I haven't memorized it. But, I know it. I've prayed it at least a few time: "O that you would tear open the heavens and come down, so that the mountains would quake at your presence!" And, I have a feeling that I'm probably not alone in having prayed a prayer similar to that one from time to time - when things get tough - when you feel persecuted or all alone. Haven't you ever thought or prayed: "This is enough. Please, make your presence known o all people so they'd straighten out and we cold live in peace already!"?
     Yet, Isaiah reminds us, that it’s not everyone else, but me, too. Isaiah reminds us that we have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy cloth. It’s not just everyone else. We are all guilty and our iniquities – our sins – just as the wind - have taken us away – out of God’s presence. 
     But, we’re not out of God’s presence. He is with us. In spite of the fact that we often do not hear nor do we see the answer, the prayer has been answered. For God did indeed come down to us. The great God Almighty came down to earth to meet humankind right where we are. As we drifted further and further away from God’s good will for us, He, Himself, broke open the heavens and came down, as a little child, to be one of us. 
     The one who formed us with his own hands, who breathed His breath of life into us, took on the form of man in order that he might live with us and that we might have whole and abundant life in Him.
     This potter, (potter and clay; vs. 8) who as the water receded to form dry land, took the wet sticky clay from beside the sea and formed humankind with His hands continues to mold us. The one who formed us out of clay and breathed His life into us, came among us when His clay vessels were cracked and broken. He came to repair what we had damaged. The great sculptor came down to earth so that he could continue the work of his hand - molding all His people into what he intended us to be.
     There may be and probably will be days when we will think: "Oh, Lord God, break down the heavens already and come down - show us your majesty - show your greatness - make the mountains quake - so that all the nations will tremble and fall down to honor you." Then may God help you to remember that He, the Potter, the Great Creator, in fact has already broken through and come down to earth. He assumed the nature of His created humankind and came down, not to destroy His or our enemies, but to save, to renew His work - His creation. As Jesus the Christ, He picked up all the broken potsherds and continues His marvelous work of creating in you and throughout the world.

 

God's Peace - Pr. J

P.S. Not getting why I can't fix background colors.... I appear to lack the gifts of a good sculptor as I cannot even sculpt a simple blog post in the way I would like it to look :)