Friday July 15, 2011

Read 2 Peter 3:10-14

It would be grossly unfair if the Lord omitted vs 13-14 from 2 Peter 3. All too often we see people who think that Christianity is merely an avoidance tactic. If you do this and that, you’ll avoid hell! That’s not Christianity, that’s religion. All religions are based around doing and working off your debt to ensure some level of salvation. Christianity is primarily about grace - God calls us to Himself, justifies us and glorifies us through His unmerited and undeserved GRACE.

You and I look beyond the Day of Judgment to a new heaven/earth where we will dwell with God for all eternity. We know the judgement is coming and we take the necessary precautions but that’s only half the story. Jesus has suffered for us at the cross and has taken our punishment upon himself - that’s GRACE. We therefore look beyond punishment to the new world that God will create. We live in anticipation of a better world where sin is totally removed, where pain and sorrow are removed and where the curse of death is annihilated!

That joyous anticipation motivates us here and now to live spotless and blameless lives. It motivates us to be constantly at peace with God through Christ Jesus.

I  know that many believers do not have total peace with God. They have some past sins weighing them down with guilt and self hatred. Some have shoved past sins into the closet of their heart and have been trying to keep the doors closed ever since, only to find they keep breaking open and spilling out everywhere. And when they do, others usually get hurt in the fallout.

So how do I find peace with God? A lack of peace, what we might call “unpeace” arises from undealt with sin in our lives. Guilt is good if it drives us to God in repentance to seek His forgiveness. When we have sinned or when we feel guilty, rather than running away from the light of God (and hence John 3:20 is true) we need to run to God and consciously ask His forgiveness. When we have confessed our sins, we need to rejoice in His promise - see 1 John 1:9 and Hosea 14:1-4, mainly verse 4. Initially satan will seek to convince us that we cannot be forgiven for such heinous sins but we need to listen to the truth of God’s Word and nothing else!

Prayer:

V Pray for the children we are sponsoring through Compassion that they will grow and mature into a strong faith that changes the world they live in.

V Pray for the people surrounding these children and their families and the local community that their lives will also be touched so that they become aware of and accept God into their hearts.