He Wants All People To Turn Away From Their Sins
Dear
friends, this is now my second letter to you. I have written both of them as
reminders. I want to stir you up to think in a way that is pure. I want you to
remember the words the holy prophets spoke in the past. Remember the command
our Lord and Savior gave through your apostles.
First of all, here is
what you must understand. In the last days people will make fun of the truth.
They will laugh at it. They will follow their own evil longings. They will say,
"Where is this 'return' he promised? Everything goes on in the same way it
has since our people of long ago died. In fact, it has continued that way since
God first created everything."
Long ago, God's word
brought the heavens into being. His word separated the earth from the waters.
And the waters surrounded it. But those people forget things like that on
purpose. The waters also flooded the world of that time. It was destroyed.
By God's word the
heavens and earth of today are being reserved for fire. They are being kept for
the day when God will judge. Then ungodly people will be destroyed.
Dear friends, here is
one thing you must not forget. With the Lord a day is like a thousand years.
And a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow to keep his promise.
He is not slow in the way some people understand it. He is patient with you. He
doesn't want anyone to be destroyed. Instead, he wants all people to turn away
from their sins.
2 Peter
3:1-9
God demonstrates His
patience by giving people more time to repent, and also being true to His
character, as in patient or slow to anger.
We too must be slow
to become angry – and slow to speak.
In our rush to meet
goals and deadlines, remember to speed up your listening and slow down your
temper and tongue.
When you
are tempted to lose patience with another,
think how patient God
has been with you.
Our Daily Bread –