2 Peter 3 -- Are You Ready?

As I write this I am looking out the window at a gray and rainy day. If the weather people are correct this is how the last day of November for 2009 will go. As we welcome December first it become very real that Christmas is nearly upon us. Soon all the conversations will at some point turn to the question of whether we have all our Christmas shopping done. The real question that is being asked there is, are you ready? I wonder if we are ready for Christmas? Not the gifts and parties and all that. Are we ready to celebrate the coming of Christ to our world?

In 2 Peter the conversation is around the second coming of Christ. But whether it is the celebration of Christ's first coming, or the triumphal return of Christ, the question remains the same, are we ready? No matter what the so called experts say, and no matter what all the predictions might point to, we do not know when the hour will be upon us. Therefore we must always be ready for that moment. This is where being ready to celebrate Christmas collides with the second coming. Being ready means having our lives centered around Jesus Christ. There are many things which would distract us and draw our focus from Christ. Being ready means being deeply connected to God through Jesus Christ. Are you ready?

The moment will come when it is too late. That moment is not know by anyone except God. For this moment however, there is time to get ready. We have time to get our lives centered around Christ. We have time to get connected with God. So put down the credit card. Do not get that shopping cart. First, stop and ask God to meet you. Then follow what God puts in front of you. Conform your life to the life Jesus showed us in the Scriptures, and you will be well on your way to being ready.

2 Peter 2 -- False Teachers

It seems as though as long as there has been time, there has been the potential for people to teach about God in false ways and for false motives. What we read in 2 Peter 2 was not the firs occurrence of false teachers. The Old Testament is filled with false teachers. All through the New Testament we find false teachings. Since the Biblical record was established we can look through the history books and find false teachers about the things of God. Even with it being nothing new the questions remains, why?

The list of reasons is as varied as it is long. Some do it for personal gain. Others doing it in good faith that what they are teaching is pure. Still others knowingly deceive. Whatever the reason or the time, there will be false teachers. They key is not figuring out why, or how to eliminate them. The key is keep ourselves from being sucked in. Emotion, desire and weakness can cause us to follow after teaching which we know is not godly. We must find ways to recognize and test what we are being taught so that we might discern whether it is godly or not. The first and best measure is to look in the Scriptures. All things must be consistent with the Holy Scriptures, if it is not, the teaching is false. Just because we do not like what is being said is not a reason. The test of scripture is the ultimate measure.

For those who would be false teachers the future is not good. Destruction and death await. The same goes for those who forsake God and follow after the false teachings. The signs of false teaching are all around, and God will go through great lengths to show us the truth, i.e. Balaam's donkey. We must submit to the guidance of God, and test everything that we might not fall prey.

2 Peter 1 -- Keep Going

You know the day. It has been one of those long days where motion was constant. From the moment you stepped out of bed until the moment you find your bed again it has been go. There is something so satisfying about that moment. It seems as though we could stay in that moment forever. In our journey with God we have the same thing. We work hard to enter into a disciplined journey, curb the things which need it, and initiate the things which need it. The point comes when we are ready to sit back, relax and let our faith work for us.

Peter warns us not to do do this. We are in fact on a journey and we need to keep going. This does not mean we do not stop every once and a while to take in the view, or catch our breath. It means we continue to add to and build upon our faith. There is not a point when we are done. Being Thanksgiving, there is not a time when the little red timer pops us letting us know it is turkey time. The journey we are on is an effort. In the midst of the effort we find joy, peace and love, but it is an effort nonetheless.

The rest of our earthly pilgrimage is to be one where we continue to grow in faith, love and hope. Days when we are tired and just do not what to keep going. Take a few moments to catch your breath, rest a little, and then keep going. When on a journey that is the key to getting to the place of calling, keep going.

1 Peter 5 -- The Lion

One of my favorite places to go with my children is the zoo. The excitement the girls show, wait not show, they ooze, catches me every time. From the pacing tiger to the lazy alligator they love them all. The local zoos we go to do not have one of my favorite animals, the lion. There is just something about the lion which draws me in. It is a combination of fear and wonderment. This majestic animal who could tear me limb for limb also captures me. I love watching the shows which track the lion in the African Safari. Some poor unsuspecting wildebeest will be grazing and then wham the pride of lions is upon it. Before the attach there is a strange organization, followed by an intentional prowl, then the pounce.

Peter warns that Satan is the same way. This is where I break from liking the lion, love the lion, not at all a fan of Satan. The hunting technique is the same however. We go about our daily lives, doing what we always do. Often we are unaware of the danger which lurks around us. Satan is on the prowl like the lion. Measuring us up, planning and plotting for the opportunity to pounce. Like the wildebeest, we are oblivious to the fury that is about to be unleashed in our direction. Peter says be alert.

I do not thing we need to run around in fear of Satan, "Greater is He who is in us than he who is in the world". Still we have to be aware that he is out there looking to have us for lunch. Fear is one of the greatest tools used by Satan to keep the Body of Christ at bay. Fear does not need to be our response. Awareness and connection with God are the ways we overcome.

May we know the lion is on the prowl. May we also know the Lion of Judah is a bigger, stronger and more powerful lion. May we be aware of the threat, but also the victory we have in Jesus Christ.

1 Peter 4 -- What Makes You So Different?

There is an expectation that life will be easy. I am not sure where this expectation comes from, and I am pretty sure this expectation changes depending on the culture you emerge from. Here in the West, the expectation is life should be easy and when it is not we are really good a complaining. Peter seem to know that people would expect life to be easy, and that we would be confused when it was not. Most of his letter is spent reminding us that living for God will bring challenge and suffering with it. Yet, we fall prey to the idea that life should be easy.

What makes us think we will so different than all those who have come before us? Better yet what makes us think that we should have it any different than the One who sets us free, Jesus Christ? Sure because of Jesus we do not suffer in sin, that was cared for at the cross, but we suffer at the hands of those who knew how we use to be. A nasty gravitational like pull exists in our society which pulls us to a life filled with all the earthly pleasures. It is not that God does not want us to have any earthly pleasures, it is simply we must pursue God more than these pleasures.

For centuries the people called Christians have faced persecution and trail of many kinds. Living for God through the grace of Jesus Christ, empowered by the Holy Spirit will cause you to be at odds with the standards of this world. If it does not, then it is time to take a good look at your journey and see how closely you are walking with God. It seems pure pride and audacity to think we should have it different than all those who have come before us. The only time when the persecution and trail will end is when Jesus returns. Until then we can expect life to have challenges. The easy life is a myth the world offers to sidetrack humanity. The good life is not found in the stuff acquired, rather in the path followed.

May we all join the cloud of witnesses who remained faithful in the face of trail. May we know that part of our unity with centuries of followers before us, is the suffering, trails and tribulation. May we count is all joy to be considered worthy of suffering for the sake of Jesus Christ.

1 Peter 3 -- Suffereing For Good

The beginning of this chapter starts on a subject many are afraid to handle nowadays in the Western world. This hesitancy comes in part because of how the short passages have been lived out. Often the focus is heavily upon the role of the wife to submit. This is short sighted for two reasons, one there is plenty of evidence in the scriptures that husbands have some work to do as well. The second is our understanding of submission. We have taken the word to mean a form of weakness. This is not the original intent, it means yielding to a husband, but not simply allowing whatever the husband wants.

However that is not the focus today. This idea of suffering for doing good. Few things fly in the face of modern Western culture more than the concept of suffering for doing good. Evidence is seen early in life when we are encouraged to do the right thing in classrooms and school yards. While there might be some accolades from teachers, much suffering comes at the hands of peers for those who are the "good" kids. Rarely is doing good or the right thing rewarded in our culture. Yet the prevailing thought of many is if I do good things, I should get rewarded.

Peter tells us that we do in fact get rewarded, but it is a different kind of reward. Like Noah, our reward is from an eternal perspective not an earthly one. I cannot imagine the ridicule and out right persecution Noah faced as he was building the ark. I am sure Noah suffered for doing what was right and what God called him to do. The same is true today. The culture we live in has a distorted view of what is good and right, and often in conflict with the call of God. When we begin to follow God more than culture, we will suffer. The reality is we are all going to suffer in some form, why not suffer for doing what is godly and eternal?

Doing the good and right thing might be difficult. We must still however, continue to do it. Additionally we must not look around us for encouragement and support, sometimes our only support in doing good is from God. May we be found as people of God doing what is right.

1 Peter 2 -- Cornerstone

The stone that the builders rejected has now become the chief cornerstone. In many forms and variations this quote has echoed through time. In the world of the church we know the chief cornerstone, or capstone, is Jesus Christ. A building is not complete without the capstone, and the capstone was the primary identifier of the building. It is not an easy job being the cornerstone, but it is the role Jesus plays.

All people must decide what they are going to do with the cornerstone of faith. Will we be counted in the people who celebrate Jesus, or will we be counted in the people who reject him. As the writer here in Peter says, those who believe will see Jesus as precious, those who do not will see Jesus as a stumbling block. Filled with all kinds of rules and regulations. For those who reject the cornerstone, all they will see in Jesus is someone who limits their freedoms, and someone who's name has been used to justify horrible things. These people will not see the true Jesus.

The true Jesus gives us freedom, but not as we are accustom to having freedom. Freedom in Christ comes from denying ourselves and the desires which rage with in. The greatest freedom is not defined by being able to do whatever we want to do, it is defined by not be captive to whatever we do. When we allow our desires to drive what we do, often the result is guilt and regret. If we allow Jesus to be our cornerstone, the completing force and primary identity, we will follow his ways. His ways lead to life, fullness and freedom.