2 Peter 3:10-18

2 Peter 3:10-18

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.

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 guardso 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.

Not sure there is much else to be said about this passage.  Obviously Jesus is coming and the key is that we are ready and that others are ready.  

James 1:2-4

James 1:2-4

² Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, ³ because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. ⁴ Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

This has been an important passage in my life.  When I was 11 my brother was diagnosed with Leukemia and for 9 years he struggled until Dec. 24, 1993 when He was finally healed and went home to be with the Lord. This trial was the most intense of my life.  For many of the years my reaction to it was not at all consistent with this passage.  But as I entered college and came to understand that my life was missing a relationship with Christ things changed drastically.

Fast forward to January 1992 when God finally got my attention and I turned from being a carnal Christian to one who wanted to follow Christ.  That year was especially difficult as my brother had been very sick.  But it was through this trial that God got a hold of my attention.  It was during this time that this passage became very real.  The hardest part was "consider it pure joy".  What I came to understand is that this does not mean be happy.   Rather I have learned that this means a steady trust in God that He is in control and knows what is best for my life.  Joy is a choice that I make each day to trust God with my life and the details of it.

This is where I find myself again today not necessarily a trial like what we faced with my brother but rather a trial of waiting.  Waiting to see what God wants and the direction of my life.  It has been difficult to trust God and continue in prayer and seeking His face.

My prayer is that I will seek first the kingdom and His righteousness so that the joy I should consider will be a reality in my life.  

Luke 12:16-21

Luke 12:16-21

¹⁶ And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. ¹⁷ He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’¹⁸ “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. ¹⁹ And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’²⁰ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’²¹ “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”

After spending the last month in third and fourth world countries this passage has really renewed meaning for me.  Over the past month I have spent much of my time with people who have very little yet have an abundance of joy.  From our perspective here in the US, one might ask, how is that possible?

Especially when in our culture it seems that happiness or joy is based on what or how much of something one has.  Or how secure their future is or whether or not all of our wants are being met.  This was epitomized the other night when I was watching HGTV House Hunters.  A single man was living get this in a 5000 square foot home with 2 dogs.  He was looking to downsize and had over $500,000 as a budget.  He ended up choosing a 2800 square foot home on a golf course.  But at the end of the show he is quoted saying this house is to small so I am adding a 2000 square foot addition.  I was blown away and thought to myself how sad.  

On the contrary I sat in a home no bigger than 10x15 that housed a couple and 5 children in a slum.  They had enough room for a very small bed and some cooking utensils.  I heard the testimony of the mother as she shared about her love for Jesus and her desire to serve Him.   I heard her ask us to pray that their home would stand the monsoon rains that would inevitably be coming.  I heard her ask us to pray for safety for their family.  I heard her ask us to pray for her husband to find work and a good paying job.  But most importantly I heard her praising the God for all that He has blessed them with and given to her family.

The reality of this verse rings true as I think about this man and this woman, and as I think about my own life.  The problem is not necessarily in the things, though the Bible is clear not to store up treasures here on earth.  The problem is the very last part of the very last verse, "rich toward God."  I am confident that someone cannot pursue material possessions and be rich toward God.  That does not mean that someone cannot have great wealth and do great things for God, because I have seen that in action as well.  But what it does mean is simply what Jesus himself said, "you cannot serve both money and God, either you will love the one and hate the other."  The man as far as I could tell had no real contentment which honestly can only come from God.  The woman had joy, contentment and a desire to serve God.  I want to be like the woman, I want to be so dependent on God that I cannot help but praise Him for the smallest of things.  I cannot help but turn to Him when needs arise.  I cannot help but realize without Him I have nothing and am nothing.  The allurement of this life we live in the US is strong but may we realize that in an instant it can all be gone.  May we hold loosely to things of this earth and tightly to things of God.