I haven't posted for a few days so I hope you are still ready to think about some of the scriptures I was mentioning. I was so moved by the last chapter of 2 Peter.
Starting again at verse 7, we are told that the earth is literally being preserved still today for a time yet to come when everything will perish with fire. This should actually be comforting to us since we are so often deluged with people claiming the earth will be destroyed by disease, global warming, another ice age, and on and on. It's comforting to me to realize that the earth is kept until the day of judgement and then we are clearly told it will be fire that will be faced, not all this other stuff.
Going on to verse 8 we are reminded that this "waiting" for the return of the Lord is actually an indication of His mercy. If He were to end everything now, there still would be so many unsaved. We've got work to do, for the Bible says clearly that it's not His will that any should perish!
Moving on to verse 10 we have a description of the destruction of the earth. It's very plain and re-supports verse 7. From verse 11 to the end of the chapter Peter goes on to admonish his readers to live in such a way as to please the Lord in light of what's going to eventually come. The works of the earth will be burned up (verse 10) and all that remains is what you have done for the kingdom! What a motivating thought that should be! Verse 13 reads, "Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells."
Won't that be awesome! I am looking forward to that. I've noticed as I get older and have grown in my relationship with the Lord, I long for heaven. I grow weary of the systems and injustices and heartache of this world. Yet I am here to live and make a difference. Do I take that seriously every day?
Going on to the last few verses, I really love verse 15, "and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation--as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you." The apostles are endorsing each other and that's another wonderful evidence that the Lord has brought the scriptures together to perfectly agree and complement each other. The very thing that the scoffers were attacking is actually the goodness of the Lord--their opportunity to be saved--"the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation."
More on the last few verses on the next post!
I picked tomatoes today. Trying to get a good bunch of them ripened on my deck table for spaghetti sauce. Things in the garden are rapidly slowing down. Next week is our county fair and I've got a few projects that have to be entered later this week. I always love that. I will take at least two knitted items and Emma's placemat pantsuit. Blessings, LORI
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