Hey everyone! ^^

The title's probably very foreign to some of you who didn't see my other blogs of this ongoing series, but this is just my own tribute to the Lord, here on AFF despite religious differences. My church receives little booklets that are like baby steps towards God every year and I thought I would post them here each and everyday! Or, at least I'll try to haha ^^;;

Journeys of love and reflection. How will it be for you?

[My apologies for not starting @ the beginning of May >_>]

-Love, GinniePark

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Memory Verse of the Week:

"Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." - 1 Peter 5:8

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Christ Will Return - 2 Peter 3:8-18

We Do Not Know the Hour

8: "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."

9: "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."

10: "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."

 

Living in Readiness

11: "Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 12: as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat."

13: "But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells."

14: "So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless, and at peace with him."

15: "Bear in mind that our Lord's patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him."

16: "He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction."

17: "Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure position."

18: "But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen."

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Jesus is patient.

He does not want anyone to perish, but wants everyone to come to repentance.

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief.

On that day, everything wil be destroyed by fire, and the earth will be laid bare.

We must be on our guard so that we are not carried away by lawlessness.

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Reflection

We Do Not Know the Hour (3:8-10)

The delay in the Lord's return does not mean it will not happen. To believers who are confused as to the delay of Christ's return, Peter lays out two points that must be kept in mind. First, we should not view Christ's return from simply our perspective, but remember that our perfect God's timing is also perfect. Second, God's purpose for the future is not merely about judgment and salvation on the last day, but also about salvation being worked out in the lives of people at this very moment. The fact that this takes time reflects God's patience with sinful people as He works out repentance in them.

 

Live in Readiness (3:11-18)

The reality that Christ will return demands two specific responses from believers. First, we ought to live godly lives. Peter urges us "to live holy and godly lives" (v.11b). The right response to the promises and works of God is to submit our lives to His will. And as we strive to live such lives, we ought to remember that "His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of Him" (2 Peter 1:3a). Second, we ought to live in joyful anticipation. We need not fear the coming of Christ for we are assured of salvation.

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Application

-The world is not forever the same, for God is working out His plan. God is active in creation even now, sovereign and in control of all. Let us trust in Him and effectively use our time until the very moment Christ returns.

-Let us strive to live out the very application with which Peter closes, that we may grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

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"Holiness is to be the touchstone of the Christian life."

-Donald Grey Barnhouse

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Prayer Guide:

Adoration

Confession

Thanksgiving

Supplication

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Waiting for Repentance

The world tells many lies. There are two prominent lies that much of the world believes about God's sense of justice. These are lies that, as bystnders, we often start believing. Rather than seeing the world with spiritual eyes, we see justice through the eyes of the world. Mike Anderson points to two of these lies. "Lie 1: God is okay with evil. Lie 2: Where is the God of justice?" These lies say that God is ether apathetic or incapable. These lies feed our pride by saying that we are more just than God is.

Anderson continues, "A lot of people joke about hell, not realizing that it may very well be their home in a short time. God's judgment is real, active, and not to be fooled around with." Don't fall into the lie that we are more just than God is. Our lives are relatively short, and our hearts are often pulled by the world around us. Determinations of what is good or evil will often change with time, place, and even our own age.

God is eternal, and His laws and expectations never change. God has no love for injustice or wickedness. But God is also not going to determine our own actions for us. If God exercised immediate judgment on every evil, no one would be alive. However, God abides our wicked nature, if only to see one more person turn to righteousness. We want Jesus to come back quickly, but at the same time, we want our family and friends to be saved first. And so judgment waits, if only for a little longer.

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A Letter to God

Loving Father, as we wait expectantly for the return of Your Son, help us to live godly lives that honor You, and to live with a joy that comes from the assurance of eternity in Your presence.

In Jesus' name. Amen.