Passion. Prayer. Patience. Privilege.

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. (Second Peter 3:9)

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. (John 3:17)

In Sunday’s sermon, Pastor Althea shared that God is patient. He waits. And our pastor, speaking as God’s oracle in a nation of impatient people, gave us an important word to remember: The waiting is salvific. God is giving us a chance to get it together.

Oh, how quickly we forget. There was a time when you and I were separated from God by our sin. Our unwillingness to surrender our lives to the One who specializes in forgiveness of sin kept us in a state of wickedness. But, praise God, a day came when our eyes were opened, we realized our deep need for Jesus, and we asked Him to save us.

Perhaps we who are Christians now can tell stories of past days when we were hell-bent on promoting evil, or engaged in aberrant acts, or had hearts full of pride and jealousy-- but Jesus transformed us, and is still transforming us, by the power of His Spirit at work in us.

Shouldn’t we want the world to have that same transformation experience?

Shouldn’t we want our enemies to taste and see that the LORD is good?

Sadly, that’s the scary part of this salvation thing: sometimes, after we get saved, we refuse to extend the patience of God to those who are standing where we once stood. We refuse to labor in prayer for the deliverance of others because, somewhere along the way, we decided that they aren’t worth the effort… or that we don’t like them… or that they’re “too far gone” for even God to reach. And there are plenty of “isms” that fuel the feelings. We may have been victims of racism, ethnocentrism, gender bias, or other systems in which the hurts were so deep that we cast a net of indifference over individuals, communities, and people groups. As for me, though, I’m glad that God found a few people on this planet who prayed for me when other believers thought I was “too far gone.”

Today, do you know of any cases that seem hopeless? Pray. It’s your privilege.

Lord God, our almighty King, we need Your passion and patience. Give us grace to continue bombarding heaven on behalf of those who need salvation and deliverance. This is Advent: You will show up; You will save. Hear us as we pray, and help us as we wait.

Scripture references are from The Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.®Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Maybe Tomorrow. Maybe Today.

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives. (Second Peter 3:9-11)

“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” (Matthew 24:42-44)

“We need to live in that mode of expectation all the time.” –Rev. Ronald Benjamin

As we consider the coming of Christ, we read in Scripture that the day of the Lord will arrive “like a thief.” In Sunday’s sermon Pastor Benjamin noted that thieves do not announce their arrival, because to announce arrival is to present to persons a ‘last chance’ to secure their homes or their valuables. Our guest pastor said, and I paraphrase here, A thief does not send you a notice saying ‘I’m coming between 2 and 3.’ In the same way, no person will receive an announcement of the exact time when our Lord will return. But, even though we do not have an exact date nor time, we do know that Jesus will return.

Concerning His return, Jesus used a particular analogy that Scripture records for us: lightning. “For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.” (Matthew 24:27) His appearing will be swift, and it will be seen by all.

How are we to live in light of this truth? We are to live in a state of readiness. The apostle Peter wrote, “You ought to live holy and godly lives.” And, we do so: not merely because we don’t know when our Lord Jesus will return, but because we love Him deeply and want to walk in obedience to His word.

Scripture references are from The Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.