Today’s scripture: 2 Peter 3:8-9
Ahh. Two of my most favorite verses. And wonderful words of encouragement for
any of us who have family or friends who aren’t believers.
Many of us live by the calendar or by the clock. I confess: I’m one of them. I
plan. I organize. I keep “to do” lists. And each day seems to fly. Seems like
one day you’re graduating high school, and then the next, you’re 52 writing a
daily blog … But as fast as time seems to soar by, it’s nothing to God.
He’s not hampered by time as we are. He can be as patient as He wants. Which is
why this earth still exists. Which is why He hasn’t fulfilled His promise of
Christ’s return. Because it His desire that everyone—everyone—“come to
repentance.” He wants to give each and every person a chance to find Him.
So we who know Him can be encouraged. God still has His heart set on your friend,
your family member’s coming to know Him. And He’s given us the chance to be
Jesus to that friend, that family member. He’s allowed us time to tell truth.
But remember: One day, time as we know it will end. God’s patience will end.
Jesus will return.
Don’t waste time. Make each moment count. And continue to share God’s truth.
Each and every day.
Today’s scripture: 1 Peter 4:17-19
Today’s verses hurt my heart. Peter asks, “… what will become of the godless
man and the sinner?” The answer is, he’ll be eternally separated from God.
We all know people who aren’t followers of Christ (my greatest burden on earth
far above health issues is my sweet husband’s lack of faith), and verses like
these should urge us to share the wonderful truth of salvation with them, as
lovingly as we can. They will face
judgment. They will spend eternity
apart from Creator God.
We need to pray for softened hearts—every day. We need to reflect Christ by
being loving, patient, peaceful, gentle, kind. We need to remember that we
could very well be the only example of Christ they see.
Wow. I don’t know about you, but that makes the preceding verses even more
convicting. We need to obey God. We need to live according to His commandments.
We need to consistently spend time with Him, learning more, becoming more whom
He created us to be.
Yes, the bottom line is it’s between our unbelieving friends and God. We cannot
save them. But we can be salt and light to a dark world, especially to those
closest to us.
Today’s scripture: 1 Timothy 2:3-4
Friday, we talked about how we, as children of God, should pray for
everyone, including our leaders. Today, Paul reminds us of why: because doing
so is “good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior.” Doing so pleases
our Lord God.
But I want to focus on the second of today’s verses. God “desires all men to be
saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”
A similar verse is 2 Peter 3:9. God’s heart is for all men to come into relationship with Him. So why are there
comparatively so few who choose to follow Him? If it’s God’s desire for all to
be saved, why do we have so many friends and family members who aren’t?
Because our loving Father gave us the choice to follow Him. Some don’t want to
give up control of their lives. Some are too enamored with the world’s
temptations. And some have never really heard the truth.
What can we do? Well, we can certainly pray as we’re commanded. But we can also
be Christ’s light to those around us. We can share God’s truth to everyone in
our circle of influence. And some of us can even answer God’s call to go out
into the world to minister to others.
Just as it is our Father’s heart that all should come to salvation, so should
our hearts desire the same.
Today’s scripture: 2 Thessalonians 1:9-10
Each of us who follow Jesus Christ has someone very special in her life who
doesn’t yet know the Lord. In my case, the most important is my husband. And
when I read verses like this, my heart breaks for him.
For you, it may also be a spouse. Or a child. Or a parent. Or a sibling. Or a
best friend. If our special people continue to refuse to give their lives to
the Lord, they “will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the
presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power.”
Heartbreaking.
I’m sure you, as I do, sometimes get discouraged. When will they find the
truth? we ask ourselves. We pray every for them every day. We keep the lines of
communication open.
And we cling to verses like 2 Peter 3:9, reminding ourselves that God is “not
willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” Or like Matthew 18:14, “Even so it is not the
will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should
perish.” Or even Ezekiel 33:11: “Say to them: ‘As I live,’ says the Lord GOD,
‘I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from
his way and live.’”
And
above all, we can be assured that God loves our loved ones more than we ever
could.
