Today's Reading: 2 Peter 3:3-14
Daily Lectionary: Jeremiah 33:1-22; Matthew 27:11-32
The Lord of the Promise is not slow, as some consider slowness, but He is patient towards all you, not wanting...
Today's Reading: 2 Peter 3:3-14
Daily Lectionary: Jeremiah 33:1-22; Matthew 27:11-32
The Lord of the Promise is not slow, as some consider slowness, but He is patient towards all you, not wanting any to be destroyed but all to reach repentance. (2 Peter 3:9)
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. You've got to admit things have been pretty bad in 2020. Pandemic. Riots. Economic trouble. Droughts. Fires. Earthquakes. And there's also been the US election. Why does it all happen?
Ever since Adam and Eve rebelled against God and threw each other under the bus, it's been this way. It's all rebellious--me against you, you against me--because we're selfish. The results of sin are evident in our world. It's not just how we treat each other. It's what happens to us, too! The world, the universe, even our bodies don't work the way God created them to be because everything has been affected by sin.
Why doesn't God put a stop to it? Peter tells us: "He is patient towards all of you." We're the reason God is slow in putting an end to it all. Do we even consider ourselves part of the problem? God doesn't act like He's got an Infinity Gauntlet to wipe out evil with a snap of His fingers, because then He'd have to wipe you and me out, too. He doesn't want anyone to be destroyed. He wants all to reach repentance. Yes, even you.
Soon everything will be done away with, "with a roar." And if you were on the receiving end, it would be scary, but you're not. There's a different cry that stands FOR YOU. "Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit" (Matthew 27:50). All your sins, all our diseases "in His own body." "By His wounds you are healed" (1 Peter 2:24). He wants you to receive this cross-won salvation and be baptized into it, made a new creation by water and the Word (2 Corinthians 5:17). He wants you to receive the medicine of eternal life, true healing, in the Supper of His Body and Blood. You have the promise of forgiveness and eternal life, for "whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me and I in Him, and I will resurrect Him on the Last Day" (John 6:56, 54).
God "desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time. For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle." (1 Timothy 2:4-7) Peter tells us that this includes you and me, too. Jesus' Word and Gifts make it so. He keeps His promise to you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.
Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch
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