Category: 2 Peter

  • Patience

    Herons can teach us something about waiting for the Lord

    Blue heron

    Wow, it’s October already. Where did September go? I had just  managed to start writing dates as September rather than August, and it’s gone. The month felt about two weeks long.

    I’ve been down with a nasty cold for the past week or so and have been largely stuck in the house. Yesterday, we took some time to drive to a local area park, where we could sit in the quiet and sun, while remaining a safe distance from others.

    We enjoyed watching the ducks and seeing a great blue heron work its way along the opposite bank from us. In this area, we are blessed to have a plethora of herons, mostly great blues, but also some greens, and bitterns.

    Herons are masterful and patient hunters. They can remain motionless for an extended period of time and then extend their necks and beaks forward at explosive speed to nab unwary prey. Every move is calculated and often in seemingly slow motion.

    Yesterday’s heron managed to spear a few small fish and some other unidentified prey as it worked its way down the shore. Now and then it seemed to miss, but it was successful more often than not.

    I confess that I’m nowhere near as patient as a heron. I keep praying for patience, and God answers by giving me things to be patient about. Still, I’m glad He is patient with me because I seem at times to be a very slow learner and prone to wandering.

    Like children in the days before a birthday party or Christmas, we impatiently long for His return. Almost every day, someone seems to claim to know when that will be, usually based on a tabloid theological interpretation of some world event combined with a misinterpreted passage of Scripture.

    There is no doubt that His return is coming; Scripture speaks of it often. The long-awaited Day of the Lord will arrive. But, When?

    It will happen when God deems the time to be right.  Second Peter 3 is entirely about that day and speaks of God’s patience.

    But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. 2 Peter 3:8-12 NIV

    It’s coming at the perfect moment, and Jesus has told us that no one will know the day or time. 

    How do we live in that tension? We stop worrying about when it will happen and live like it might be today. We love our neighbor, share the good news, and keep short accounts with God.

    That might not make us any less impatient, but it will sharpen our walk and enhance our witness as we wait.

    Trust His timing, live for Him, and He will be glorified.

    Kevin

    You might enjoy

    Right belief or right living?

    Read the Word – Read the Word

    When is He coming back?

    Running late?

  • In Bloom – In God’s perfect timing

    magnolia blossoms

    The magnolia trees are in full bloom. Actually, they are nearing  the end of their blooming season.

    I typically think of magnolias as “tulip” trees because their blooms remind me of tulips, but I have learned that the tulip tree is another species altogether.

    Whatever they are called, they certainly make for fantastic floral displays in the spring. Here in the Lower Mainland, they are grown in large numbers, so you can drive down entire streets full of them. It is a beautiful sight.

    Magnolias are not winter-hardy trees. I don’t recall ever seeing one in Northern BC or the prairies. There are many varieties ranging from near dwarfs to massive specimens over 100 feet tall.

    The magnolia blooming season is short, lasting only a few weeks in the spring. Afterward, it fades into the realm of being “just another tree” on someone’s lawn. I hardly even give them a glance when driving by.

    We don’t pay attention, not thinking the tree must put in another full year of growing to put in net spring’s blooms.

    It can be that way in our relationship with God. We notice if He is working in some spectacular way, forgetting that He is at work in us every moment of every day. Many times, a great deal of work comes into play behind the scenes to make it happen.

    Many people I know consider their conversion experience to be some decision made instantaneously. They forget that God orchestrated things behind the scenes their entire lives until that moment. 

    He knew what you would have to go through and how many times you would need to hear the gospel before you would bend your knee. He put people in place to pray for you, sometimes for many years before you truly hear and respond.

    We can get frustrated, waiting for our friends and loved ones to have that magnolia bloom moment and accept Christ. We cannot give up on them. God knows His elect and will not abandon moving heaven and earth until they are all sealed with His Spirit.

    The Lord hears our prayers.

    But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. 2 Peter 3:8-9

    Hold steady. Continue to pray, to love others, and to share the gospel. God is faithful even when we feel we can endure no more. He is working behind the scenes, even when the results are not apparent to us yet.

    Hold fast and be encouraged. God is working on a more beautiful harvest than a street full of magnolias.

    Be blessed

    Hallelu Yah / Praise God 

    Kevin

    Gleanings From The Word
    Experience an extraordinary God in ordinary life. 

    __________________________________________ 

    Beautiful Roses

    A lesson from the lilies