II Peter 3:16-18
“Some things Paul writes are difficult to understand. Irresponsible people who don’t know what they are talking about twist them every which way. They do it to the rest of the Scriptures, too, destroying themselves as they do it. But you, friends, are well-warned. Be on guard lest you lose your footing and get swept off your feet by these lawless and loose-talking teachers.”
“Some of his (Paul’s) comments are hard to understand, and those who are ignorant and unstable have twisted his letters to mean something quite different, just as they do with other parts of Scripture. And this will result in their destruction. You already know these things, dear friends. So be on guard; then you will not be carried away by the errors of these wicked people and lose your own secure footing.”
The institutional church can be a controller; set boundaries, stay inside them, and all will be well. But this is fear, not freedom. Besides, we bring sin into the enclosure and the boundaries are porous anyway. Force feeding the Bible does not develop soldiers. Peter calls us to be on guard in our faith. That means drilling through our doubts with critical thinking skills, skirmishing with the worldly crowd, getting bumped, bruised and shot at. Setting aside control to develop skilled soldiers, false teachers don’t have a chance.
Lord, please allow me to assist my grandchildren as their minds grow. May I help them to learn and test their faith, to make it their own. Grant me time and opportunity to do this. And, lead me to put my own faith into practice, as a soldier out on patrol.
II Peter 3:11-13
“Daily expect the Day of God, eager for its arrival. The galaxies will burn up and the elements melt down that day—but we’ll hardly notice. We’ll be looking the other way, ready for the promised new heavens and the promised new earth, all landscaped with righteousness.”
“Since everything around us is going to be destroyed like this, what holy and godly lives you should live, looking forward to the day of God and hurrying it along. On that day, he will set the heavens on fire, and the elements will melt away in the flames. But we are looking forward to the new heavens and a new earth he has promised, a world filled with God’s righteousness.”
This promise of a new earth, along with that of our salvation, gives believers reason to hope. Hope is in short supply around the world right now. Political uncertainty and upheaval along with anxiety over a worn and weary earth are major causes. The Lord graciously assures us he has plans for healing these. I should do a better job at sharing my hope in his plans with those terrified with hopelessness.
Lord, I can easily let my hope become apathy for the world’s sorry state. Instead, help me tune into other’s anxiety, validate it, and share my hope for a glorious future. Make me your ambassador of love and hope to the world.
II Peter 3:8-9
“Don’t overlook the obvious here, friends. With God, one day is as good as a thousand years, a thousand years as a day. God isn’t late with his promise as some measure lateness. He is restraining himself on account of you, holding back the End because he doesn’t want anyone lost. He’s giving everyone space and time to change.”
“But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day. The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.”
This is the answer for those who rail against evil and suffering, wondering why God does nothing. It is because of his great love and longing for each human. He asks that we who believe be patient in the our own suffering and that which engulfs the earth so that more brothers and sisters may discover the One who perfectly loves them. Suffering gets our attention. The Lord’s focus is adding souls to eternity. Again, reality is upside down from our expectation. We should not be surprised. Our Lord is completely other from us, as is his purpose.
Lord, may I grow facile in adapting to your upside down way of doing things. May I learn to value the addition of souls to your kingdom over my own and others comfort and freedom from pain.
II Peter 2:19
“They promise these newcomers freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption, for if they’re addicted to corruption—and they are—they’re enslaved.”
“They promise freedom, but they themselves are slaves of sin and corruption. For you are a slave to whatever controls you.”
In our time the world looks to early childhood for the roots of various dysfunctions. Therefore, no one is guilty of their sin. It was, “someone else’s fault.” If we fix early childhood, all is well. Easy. That may be partially true, but here Peter speaks of being addicted not to a behavior, but to sin and corruption itself and that is something else. Dysfunctional behavior is a repeated choice, made so often a soul craves ever more dysfunction and eventual longs for destruction. Those who learn of absolutes in childhood are fortunate. They are guided to choose good which builds over evil that destroys. Would that all were so blessed.
Lord, when you came you spoke of sheep without a shepherd whom you loved, and I know you love them still. Make me a vessel of your love to them now. Help me to share your story so those who wander may hear their shepherd’s voice, be set free by the truth and be healed.
II Peter 2:15-16
“They’ve left the main road and are directionless, having taken the way of Balaam, son of Beor, the prophet who turned profiteer, a connoisseur of evil. But Balaam was stopped in his wayward tracks: A dumb animal spoke in a human voice and prevented the prophet’s craziness.”
“They have wandered off the right road and followed the footsteps of Balaam son of Beor, who loved to earn money by doing wrong. But Balaam was stopped from his mad course when his donkey rebuked him with a human voice.”
This chapter warns believers against corrupt leaders. Peter compared these leaders to Balaam in Numbers 22. Balaam was a false prophet the Moabites hired to curse Israel on their way from Egypt to Canaan. God stopped him by speaking to him in an extraordinary way, through the vocal cords and mouth of an animal.
I have loved ones who follow someone like Balaam. I will pray that God speaks to them in an extraordinary way, just as his did to the Balaam of Numbers 22. And I will pray that they listen.
Lord, open the eyes of the Balaam types in my life. Shout a warning that will stop them in their tracks and may they head it. Make me faithful to pray for them and point them to you.
II Peter 1:3
“Everything that goes into a life of pleasing God has been miraculously given to us by getting to know, personally and intimately, the One who invited us to God.”
“By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence.”
Christ is the center. He shares what pleases the Father with us, inviting us into a personal relationship with the Trinity. He makes us part of the miracle of restoration he is doing in the world. We cannot go wrong in following him. Conversely, we should beware anyone or any idea that shifts the focus away from him and his saving work amongst mankind.
Lord, I am grateful for knowing you these many years. Looking back, I see you always at work in my life. I feel so loved! May this security bubble up out of me, bringing hope and light into the world. I want them to feel loved too.