Tag: Patience

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God is waiting – for what?

Reading Time: 3 minutes

And remember, our Lord’s patience gives people time to be saved. This is what our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you with the wisdom God gave him— speaking of these things in all of his letters. Some of his 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. ‭‭2 Peter‬ ‭3‬:‭15‬-‭16‬ ‭NLT‬‬

The Apostle Peter seems to just toss this brief, but powerful thought into his letter to the Church.

God gives the gift of time for people to be saved!

The context of these verses is Peter expanding on the “Day of the Lord.” An ominous reckoning of all time and space where people have been allowed to do as they please, making their eternal choices all through their life. This culmination, this final accounting, is coming, but not yet! What holds back God’s judgment, wrath and justice, even in these days, thousands of years later? God’s own long suffering, His patience so that none would suffer eternal destruction.

Earlier in the letter Peter writes, “”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,”(‭‭2 Peter‬ ‭3‬:‭9‬). Patient for our sake? How awful for folks to throw their fist in God’s face and arrogantly defy his grace and mercy thinking that the finality of all things, the accounting, reconciliation of all deeds will not be judged! Why do they test God? Do they think this ancient document is too old, being written thousands of years ago?

Peter’s haunting words still ring true – “…in the last days scoffers will come, mocking the truth and following their own desires. They will say, “What happened to the promise that Jesus is coming again?” Peter warns the reader, you don’t understand two things: One: God is outside of time, He created it. To God, time is different. “A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day,” (2 Peter‬ ‭3‬:‭3‬-‭4‬, ‭8‬). Two: This apparent pause of time is purely because of God’s patience! So God has delayed the final day, that “DAY of the Lord,” a few “days” just so that of our stubborn stone hearts might be softened, our concrete conscience might be broken. The Apostle Paul mentions similar in Romans 2:4, Romans 9:22 & 1 Timothy 1:16. What a warning for those who mock God even as He extends His grace to accommodate our foolishness!

God waits for people to turn to Him and come home!

Prayer

​Dad,
I have seen too much! I know too much to allow myself to take your grace, mercy and extended patience for granted. Even while I was opposed to You, You extended a chance at redemption, a life filled with so much joy and adventure. I grasped it by faith and I will never let go. I am extremely grateful You made yourself real to me, even as a teenager. So much of life was yet ahead and even though I was slow learner, I had time to grow and mature in my walk with you. I took advantage of your patience and was the beneficiary of a great life! I do not fear that “Day,” because I have been spared. My sin and shame have been wiped clean because of Jesus. Yet, I long for those who do not yet know you or have wasted their years trying to run from your grace. Thank you for your loving patience towards them as well. Amen.

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Rule Followers?

Reading Time: 3 minutes

“These are the commands, decrees, and regulations that the Lord your God commanded me to teach you. You must obey them in the land you are about to enter and occupy, and you and your children and grandchildren must fear the Lord your God as long as you live. If you obey all his decrees and commands, you will enjoy a long life.”‭‭ Deuteronomy‬ ‭6‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Alright, I can admit this right up front. I’m not a great rule follower. I try to justify it by my own origin story being a chaotic mess, our blended-family lacking the basics of safety, consistency and definitely boundaries. At some point I had to face reality – rules, laws and boundaries are good and I missed out and messed up by not understanding that. It didn’t help much that before Jesus, I had no guilt triggers either.

There are so many lessons to be learned from these books of the law. One big one, God, being the creator, gets to set the rules. We, as the created, do not. That’s a hard one for us. In our humanness there is a massive, “I get to be my own god” syndrome. The other huge lesson is so practical, so pragmatic – if we obey, we will enjoy a long life. I guess it’s parenthetic that we don’t agree with God on what the “good life” looks like.

I look at the ten commandments from my past non-churchgoer perspective. They are not that hard to understand or obey. It seems the biggest issue is a perceived loss of autonomy. For example, God says, “take a day off and give it a rest,” to which we say, “I don’t want to.” Just below these demands to obedience comes an even stricter law – “Listen, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength.” Notice both the absolute, declarative truth – The Lord IS our God, the Lord ALONE,” and the following mandate… “you MUST.” God was not gentle parenting here! There was no, “I would suggest,” or “It’s in your best interest to.” And, we find no echo from God’s children (Israel) asking… “WHY God?” Isn’t it obvious? Because God said so!

I think God puts up with plenty of “why’s” from us, and He is so long suffering and patient towards us. “Why did I get cancer?,” “Why did he leave me?,” “Why did my child die?,” “Why don’t you give me a house, car, job, money, or success?” Ask away, no problem. But on the matter of who God is and will He be shared with other fake deities? Absolutely not.

There are far more than just boundaries and truth in these rules that come from the character of who God is. There is safety, security, hope, love, assurance and complete confidence in our obedience to God. Would you really want God to be more like us? For God to be duplicitous, fickle, selfish and ultimately undependable? That’s just silly. We need God to be God over all, over everything – over us. And, we need to quit pretending that our versions of God would be much better. God knows what He’s doing, so let Him do it – ultimately it’s in our favor!

Prayer

Dad,
Even knowing your ways are above my own. Even knowing your will is right and good, beyond my own understanding and expectation. Even knowing that, I still see rebellion rising within me. I still feel the tug of sin which is determined to find a different way, a better way, a faster way to get what I want, when want it. I want to obey, but I struggle in submitting to your way of doing life! Help me, Oh Lord. Forgive me, Oh God. Your way, your will, be done in me and through me.

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The Scoffer’s Antidote.

Reading Time: 2 minutes 
“But you, my dear friends, must remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ predicted. They told you that in the last times there would be scoffers whose purpose in life is to satisfy their ungodly desires. These people are the ones who are creating divisions among you. They follow their natural instincts because they do not have God’s Spirit in them.” ‭‭Jude‬ ‭1‬:‭17‬-‭19‬ ‭NLT‬‬

It was predictable. It was inevitable. Scoffers will be mockers. It’s become a ubiquitous, socially praised art-form. Their numbers are low, but their voices are so loud and obnoxiously consistent. Scoffing, mocking and trash-talking truth is somewhat of a new source of side-gigging income. It’s the scourge of social media. Jude writes out their motivation and job description; their purpose in life is to satisfy their ungodly desires! They are just following their natural instincts.

Then Jude quickly shifts to the answer, the antidote that must be constantly and consistently administered. Here’s the list of ingredients that must be combined to make the cure.

  1. Build each other up in your most holy faith. Turn to, lean on one another to counteract the cultural poisons. Reminding each other of our faith, our self-differentiated belief in what God has said.
  2. Pray in the power of the Holy Spirit. Now is not the time to be weary or succumb to being a faulter, knowing that a noisy mob doesn’t mean their right or even aware of what they do.
  3. Await the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will bring you eternal life. In this way, you will keep yourselves safe in God’s love. Have patience under pressure. God is faithful to be present even under the most dire circumstances.
  4. Show mercy to those whose faith is wavering. This word, wavering, “diakrínō” is “judging back and forth,” or negatively “over-judging.” Don’t return to judging or predicting the outcome of someone else’s weakness, failure,or sin. Throw them mercy, toss them regular life-lines of grace.
  5. Rescue others by snatching them from the flames of judgment. Love them enough to be honest and supportive. Don’t let them go dark or silent, ghosting you without a fight for their soul.
  6. Show mercy to still others, but do so with great caution, hating the sins that contaminate their lives. Love the sinner, hate the sin. Just as you know how much God loves you and hates your own sin. Don’t give mercy from a high moral position, rather humbly boost others from below. Let our mercy lift and not pity!

These six ingredients are the contents of the antidote to scoffing and mocking that is now a constant thread and threat of every conversation. We need to be united in our attitudes and behaviors against towards those who would cause “division” or apodiorizó, “marking off boundaries” to separate us from each other and from God.

Jude knew we needed one another. And, through the Holy Spirit, he knew that this would only intensify as we get nearer to the end. Don’t let anyone lay down fake or false issues or boundaries that would separate us. Let’s stick together in our holy, humble faith!

Prayer

Dad,
We need you so desperately as times darken and shadows seem to be everywhere. And, we need each other more than ever before. Help us help each other to follow Jude’s prescribed antidote against disunity and tearing each other apart because of scoffer and mockers. Let God arise and His enemies be scattered!