The Everyday Prayer

Re:Verse passage – 2 Peter 3:8-9 (day seven)

[…] that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. vs 8b

We are linear. It is impossible for us to comprehend and understand how a day for God is the same as a thousand years. The comparison in and of itself can become problematic for the modern reader because of how linearly we think. Those reading Peter’s letter in the first century would have heard this much the way we today hear it in the words of C.S. Lewis:

“If you picture Time as a straight line along which we have to travel, then you must picture God as the whole page on which the line is drawn. We come to the parts of the line one by one: we have to leave A behind before we get to B, and cannot reach C until we leave B behind. God, from above or outside or all round, contains the whole line, and sees it all.” – Mere Christianity 

God is outside of time. If it ever feels that He is not working or moving too slow, we must remember that He is with us now and He is already with us tomorrow. He comforts us in the present, and He holds the future in His hands. We are patient, even in the midst of the Storm, because we know that the Sovereign Lord is in complete control.

Re:Verse passage – 2 Peter 3:8-9 (day five)

“But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.”

The most challenging class I took in college was Greek. It was a three semester class. It was fascinating and exhilarating to study a biblical language. Every test (weekly) was “comprehensive”- meaning that for a year and a half, we were required to remember everything learned and taught from the beginning. Something read or presented (grammar rule, vocabulary word) in August of one year could (and often did) appear on a test in December the following year.
The Christian faith is “comprehensive,” meaning that the truths, insights, and promises of God are meant to be remembered and retained. What we learn and experience from the Lord is meant to stay with us in our hearts and minds forever. These early believers were quick to forget. So Pastor Peter continues to challenge them to remember (today’s text refers to Psalm 90). This kind of remembering is a spiritual discipline and also a facet of spiritual warfare. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, “The devil doesn’t fill us with hatred for God, but with forgetfulness of God.”

Re:Verse passage – 2 Peter 3:8-9 (day four)

There is roughly a 400 year gap between the end of the Old Testament and the beginning of the New Testament. Malachi, the last book of the Old Testament, ends with a promise that sounds a lot like Peter’s words,

“For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and every evildoer will be chaff; and the day that is coming will set them ablaze…But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings; and you will go forth and skip about like calves from the stall. You will tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day which I am preparing,” says the Lord of hosts.

I’m sure this promise filled the Israelites with hope in the middle of the trying times they lived in. But 400 years later, many generations had passed without seeing this promise fulfilled.

The Greek language uses two different words for time. The time that we think about most is time that can be measured in seconds, hours, weeks, and years. This is “chronos.” The Greek language has another word for time, though, that represents something much deeper – “kairos” indicates the fullness of time, the right time, a divinely appointed time. When Jesus comes on the scene, he says “the time (kairos) has come for the Kingdom of God to be near.”

While there was a great deal of time (chronos) between the delivery of the promise in Malachi and its satisfaction, Christ fulfilled it at the exact right time (kairos). In the same way, though the time (chronos) is long and slow as we wait for Christ’s return, he will come again at the exact right time (kairos) to restore all things. He is not slow; he simply operates in the fullness of time.

Re:Verse passage – 2 Peter 3:8-9 (day three)

The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you…

Patience gets viewed through the lens of speed. In that sense, the definition becomes “waiting for the slow person who can’t keep up.” But it has nothing to do with the pace of life, and everything to do with knowing who people are and giving them space to live accordingly. Patience recognizes when certain things – fear, anger, destructive behavior, failure – are not the person. Patience looks on a person and sees deeply, through the shortcomings, weaknesses, and frailty to fathom who this person is at the core, at the place of creation in the image of God. Patience locks in on that true being and will not move on until that being emerges. God does this with you.

Re:Verse passage – 2 Peter 3:8-9 (day two)

…not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. v. 9b

We are all anxious these days. We look around and lament government, education, health care, and a whole litany of woes that are legitimate and worthy of our concern. The cry of the church is ‘how long, O Lord, how long’?  How long will these things continue to plague our homes, jobs, churches, and nations? It is instinctive to want to throw our hands up in despair and think about giving up. What we must remember is that none of this is a surprise to the Lord. He hears our groaning, but the very fact that he is tarrying is an indication that he’s not done yet. There is still work to do, and we are called to be a part of it. There are still those who need to hear that Jesus loves them, and our job is to tell them; to show them. You are right to be concerned, but don’t lose sight that he waited long enough for you to respond to him; be patient for your brothers and sisters walking in darkness, and help show them the light.

Re:Verse passage – 2 Peter 3:1-7 (day seven)

following after their own lusts… vs 3b

The issue with these scoffers was not that they denied the existence of Christ, but that they denied the authority of Christ. As it was then, so it is now. Modern scoffers will not blatantly say they reject the Lordship of Christ, but their priorities prove it.

The word “lusts” in this instance is not exclusively sexual but is used to convey the desires of one’s heart. For the scoffer, the desires of their heart are on things that feel freeing in the here and now. What they do not realize is that their own desires are the very thing holding them hostage from finding true freedom in Christ. In an attempt to appear resilient and self-reliant, they have made themselves lord over their own life – thus, denying the Lordship of Jesus Christ. The truth is, when we submit to Jesus as Lord and chase after His will instead of our will, He will give us the desires of our heart – because it is in that moment that the desires of our heart are intertwined with His heart.

Delight yourself in the Lord;
And He will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4

Re:Verse passage – 2 Peter 3:1-7 (day six)

God’s judgment isn’t destruction for its own sake; it’s restoration through renewal. Peter writes that “the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire,” but this fire is not the fury of an angry God. It is the refining blaze of a Creator committed to His creation. From the flood to the final fire, God’s purpose has always been the same: to burn away corruption and bring forth purity, to destroy what is evil so that what is good may flourish.

Judgment is mercy refusing to let sin and corruption have the last word. It’s God’s promise that the world will not stay broken, that love, justice, and truth will prevail. And in the end, when the smoke clears, the risen Jesus declares, “Behold, I am making all things new.”

Re:Verse passage – 2 Peter 3:1-7 (day five)

“that you should remember the words spoken beforehand by the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken by your apostles.”

Here we have again, another call to remember. Peter goes from fiery (Chapter 2) to focused (Chapter 3). From who the false teachers are (character) to what they’re actually teaching (content). We need to be reminded that what Pastor Peter wants them to remember is not a small nugget of trivia tucked back somewhere in the Old Testament, but rather a chief doctrine that runs throughout the scriptures (as Peter mentions- prophets, Jesus’ words, apostles teaching).  Did you know (from precept austin): over 1800 references to the Lord’s return appear in the Old Testament, more than 300 references in the 260 chapters of the New Testament, 23 of the 27 books have references to the 2nd Coming. Remembering helps us think, hope, and live for God’s glory!!