8 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. 9 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.
(...puts waiting in perspective...)
10 But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment.
11 Since everything around us is going to be destroyed like this, what holy and godly lives you should live, 12 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.
(...puts eternity in perspective...)
13 But we are looking forward to the new heavens and new earth he has promised, a world filled with God’s righteousness.
14 And so, dear friends, while you are waiting for these things to happen, make every effort to be found living peaceful lives that are pure and blameless in his sight.
(...puts the hope & the present in perspective...)
15 And remember, the Lord’s patience gives people time to be saved...
17 I am warning you ahead of time, dear friends. Be on guard so that you will not be carried away by the errors of these wicked people and lose your own secure footing. 18 Rather, you must grow in the grace and knowledge of
our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
All glory to him,
both now and forever! Amen.
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- We are in no hurry, yet there's urgency.
- Making the most of everyday is unto the Lord and not unto man.
- We can let time and timing keep us in bondage or we can surrender to the funnel, which is His hand shaping our lives, and an all-wise Sovereign God orchestrating a beautiful story. He is so much bigger than our best and worst day put together.
- We can lose hope when it seems that things aren't just right (lose secure footing by formulating our own circumstantial hypothesis) or look to Christ to grow in grace (supernatural life of Christ living in us) and knowledge of our Lord to move us forward as He builds His kingdom here and now and that He is surely coming again!!!
