Jump Start # 2493

2 Peter 3:12 “Looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, on account of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat.”

Christmas is now just a few days away. The little ones are getting excited. It’s always a big day for them. Their little faces will light up with joy as they see all the presents around the Christmas tree. In many ways, it’s more fun for the big ones just to watch the shouts of joy and excitement from the little ones.

But as disciples of the Lord, there are things we look forward to. Our verse is the first of three immediate passages in which Peter uses the expression, “Looking forward.” Here in our verse, it’s looking forward to the day of God. The next verse, looking forward to a new heavens and earth. Then, looking for these things leads us to being righteous and holy people.

There are many things in life that a person looks forward to. Kids look forward to the end of the school year. Those in love look forward to their wedding day. Expectant mothers look forward to holding their baby. After decades of working, many look forward to retirement. I always look forward to the grandkids coming to visit.

Looking forward, anticipating, longing, wanting, wishing, hoping—those are all strung together within the heart. And, as disciples, there are things that we ought to be looking forward to.

Here are a few things that comes to my mind:

• Sunday Worship. Gathering with God’s people. Getting to blend our voices together. Being in the presence of God. Hearing God’s word taught. Opening the Bible and being taught, challenged and moved to be a better person. Things are so different on Sundays. Our schedules are different. Things seem to move a little slower on Sunday than they do a Monday morning. We tend to do better on Sundays. Satan seems farther away on Sundays. Encouragement, hope, Heaven, those are just a few of the things that fills our hearts on Sundays. I wish every day was a Sunday!

• Resurrection Day. I’ve done way too many funerals in my life. The heavy hand of death seems final. We know, by faith and by the Scriptures, that when Jesus comes, the dead will be resurrected. Not just a few of them. Not just the best of them. All of them. I’ve seen too many families walk away from the cemetery with tears in their eyes. The grave closes and that is it, so it appears. But a day is coming, and there will be a resurrection. The dead in Christ will rise first, is what the Thessalonians were told. That will be scary, wonderful and amazing.

• Reunions in Heaven. There are many beloved righteous people that I miss. I long to see them again, this time in Heaven. There, we won’t have to watch the time. There, we won’t have to go anywhere else. There, we won’t be bothered by weather, problems or troubles. I miss seeing Billy. He made me pens that I still use to this day. There are two men named Dick that I miss. They were encouragers in my life. I’d like to see my mom again. It’s been a long time. I’d like to tell her about all those great grandkids that she never got to meet. Can you imagine? It brings tears to our eyes just thinking about it.

There are always some who will doubt this. How do you know we will know each other on the other side? There are passages that indicate that. The rich man knew Lazarus. He knew him by name. Otherwise, what is Heaven like, a giant concert or ballgame, with thousands of strangers? That doesn’t sound very encouraging. We like being with people we like. And, then someone has to say, “Well, what if my mom isn’t there? There’s not supposed to be any tears in Heaven and if she’s not there, I will cry?” I don’t know. Trust God. If He can make this complex universe in six days, trust that He’ll take care of that. Maybe your memory will be adjusted. Maybe the righteous will seem like your only family. Don’t worry about it. Make sure you get yourself there.

• Seeing God’s face. That comes from a passage in Revelation 22. We’ve sung about God. We’ve studied God. We’ve told others about God. We’ve prayed to God. But, just imagine, we actually get to see Him. We get to see His face. That implies closeness. That implies relationship and fellowship. That implies love, acceptance and forgiveness. Here, we’ve seen sunrises and sunsets. We’ve seen rainbows and the birth of children. We’ve seen smiles and hugs. We’ve seen oceans and mountain tops. We’ve seen snow and rain and sunshine. We’ve seen the beauty of nature. We’ve seen unusual things. We’ve seen some things that we wish we never did. We’ve seen the ugly side of human nature. We’ve seen sin. We’ve seen temptation. We’ve seen hatred and prejudice. But one thing we haven’t fully seen, is the face of God. Someday, we will see Him. I expect no words will come out of our mouths. I expect we will just gaze upon Him. I expect we won’t believe that we are actually there.

Looking forward…there’s much for us to be looking forward to. The best is still yet to come. Hang in there. Keep marching toward Zion. Don’t let troubles and trials sidetrack you. Don’t give up. You have to finish. You have to keep the faith. Just think, what’s still to come.

Roger

Jump Start # 1120

2 Peter 3:12 “Looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat.”

 Peter is describing in our verse today a type of divine Anticipation. We are waiting on God. There is a lot of anticipation going on in the Shouse house this week. Our daughter is due with her first baby. We are excited. Another grandchild. She has chosen not to know the sex of the baby, so that makes the anticipation even greater. There are many moments in life that are filled with anticipation. Kids get excited when school is over for the year. There is a count down to how many days are left. The holiday season brings much anticipation as families gather and presents are exchanged. Weddings, and in our case, the birth of a baby are great moments of anticipation in our lives.

Paul also talked about a divine anticipation. He told the Corinthians, “For indeed, in this house we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from Heaven” (2 Cor 5:2). Longing, looking for, hastening, anticipation, wanting—there is an inner desire found within our souls that wants to be with God. This world isn’t it. There is much disappointment in this world. This world is cursed and we suffer because of that. We feel pain, sorry and the crushing affects of sin. We know of divorce. We know of indifference. We know of rebellion. We know all too well and all too much about sin. We may know more about what’s wrong than we do with what’s right.

For the righteous, these things weigh upon us. They can get us down. We know because of Scripture, that a world exists that is separated from the broken and the wrong. This is why the N.T., written almost from the perspective of an ancient mariner, speaks of looking for that distant land. We are reminded that our citizenship is not here. We are sojourners and pilgrims. This world, as we sing, is not our home. As the book of Revelation ends, “Come, Lord Jesus.”

This divine anticipation does a few things for us:

First, it motivates us and keeps us going. More bad news. More disappointments. More people doing wrong. This weighs upon us. We can feel like throwing in the towel ourselves. We sense that Satan has the upper hand. But this divine anticipation, this longing for Christ, puts us back on course and keeps us going. Someday, we are out of here. Someday, none of this will bother us. Someday we will be with the Lord and that will never change. That thought, that hope, makes us strive harder. It pushes us to tell others. It drives us to continue the journey. There is no glory for those who quit. God is counting upon us and that divine anticipation keeps us where we need to be.

Second, it keeps us from being bogged down with things that do not matter. Greed, worry, arguments that are superficial and shallow don’t distract us like they do other people. We are looking for something. This is not it. There is something better than this. There is something God has planned for us and we don’t want to miss that. It is amazing some of the current TV shows on today. Can things get any lower in the gutter? Violent, argumentative, immoral, offensive—and this is driving primetime. It’s dumb. It’s not helpful to our character. They won’t last long. We have better things to think about and be engaged in. We can become so earth bound that we forget that we are heading somewhere else. When a man interrupted Jesus and demanded that Jesus settle a family dispute about inheritances, Jesus refused. He told the man to quit being greedy. The man probably went home disappointed in Jesus. Many do today. They want the church, they want God, to dive into the trivial and superficial matters that have no impact upon our souls. Jesus wouldn’t do it. He had a mission and He stuck to that. We need to be the same. There is a wonderful, wonderful place that we are headed to, and we cannot take our eyes off of that.

Third, this divine anticipation helps us to keep our priorities in line and to remain spiritual. After Sunday, it’s easy to turn off the spiritual radar. Back to work. Back to the business of life. We forget about the spiritual until we are in the church house again. So sad. Shouldn’t be that way. Daily praying. Daily Bible study. Daily longing helps us remain spiritual. Being spiritual helps us to think about choices and consequences. Our attitudes and our words become what they should when we walk by faith. Worry is lessened when we are spiritual. What’s the worse thing that can happen to us? Jesus said do not fear the one who can kill the body and do no more. Death is not the end. The story doesn’t end at the cemetery. Because of the grace of God we live on. Death is simply a door to the next room and what a room it is. It is where God is. It’s a room that only the righteous in Christ are allowed in. Satan won’t be there. Death, sorry, tears, heartache, bad news, disappointments, frustrations—all those things are kept outside. Most of us keep our garage cans out of our living room. It may be in the garage or it may sit outside. When our waste baskets get full of trash, out it goes. Out into the trash can. The trash is kept outside, away from us. Isn’t Heaven going to be the same. The trash that smells, is ugly and is not wanted, is not allowed in where God is. This longing for Christ allows us to face terrible things with our chins up. It doesn’t matter what the doctor finds, this is all temporary. Soon, very soon, we will be with Christ. There is a joy, a hope and a divine anticipation in all of that.

Fourth, this divine longing, makes us pick the pace up. It’s easy to let temptation side track us. It’s easy to take our eyes off of Jesus. It’s easy to succumb to things we know that are wrong. Sometimes we don’t resist as hard as we ought to. Sometimes we let Satan push us. Sometimes we flirt with wrong. Keeping this divine anticipation before us will help us to remain focused, serious and sober about the things of God. We can’t miss Heaven. We get only one shot, this life. We must get serious about things. We must stop laughing at wrong. We must stop flirting with wrong. We must not wink at wrong. It’s time to stand up, stand up for Jesus. No longer taking God’s name in vain. No longer playing church. No longer sitting on the sidelines of faith. Involved. Growing. Active. Getting after things. Why? Something is coming. We long for it. We want it.

Imagine a morning when you wake up and you have never felt so well in all your life. You feel good inside and outside. You open your eyes and you realize that you are not in your bed and you are not in your house. You are not afraid. You see that you are in Heaven. You see the heavenly host. You recognize the faithful of God from long ago. You see people, righteous people, many that you remember from your life. Gone are the thoughts about bills, worries about leaky roofs, aging cars, sore knees, and lawns that need to be mowed. You’re in Heaven. You made it. You are with Christ. Things are so beautiful. Things are so nice. It is better than you ever dreamed. You don’t want to be anywhere else. For the first time you have no burdens, cares, worries or fears. You have never experienced this before. You are in Heaven. You are here to stay. It seems as if you were made just to be here. You have never felt as loved and wanted as you now do. This is so great. It is so amazing. It’s not a dream. It’s something that you have looked forward to for a long, long time. And now, you are here.

Divine anticipation. How much do you want that to be a reality for you? Would you change something in your life if it meant it could be a reality? Would you apologize and drop the ill feelings toward someone if it meant it could be yours? Would you step up your faith if it meant it could be yours? What price would you pay? What commitment would you make? What would you be willing to give up, do, become if Heaven could be yours?

Many talk a sweet game, but when it comes down to it, they are not very serious. How about you?

We are one day closer to Heaven. Live as if one foot is already in Heaven.

Roger

Jump  Start # 534 

2 Peter 3:12 “looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because  of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat!”

  Peter is detailing the coming of the Lord in the context in which our passage today is found. He says that the coming of the Lord will be unexpected (like a thief in the night); it will change everything we know (the earth, the heavens and the elements will be burned up) but we will remain. This passage is not intended to scare but rather prepare people. Peter asks, “What sort of people ought you to be?” He answers his question by reminding the readers to be holy. Twice he states that there was an anticipation for these coming things.

  There are many things we look forward to in life. Weddings are one such occasion. The end of school is something that many children look forward to. Workers look forward to retirement. Soon to be grandparents, as I found out recently that I will be, look forward to the birth of that grandchild.

  Nothing is like what Peter described. It only happens once. If you’re still around, you won’t miss it. Jesus is not coming to start things, it is an end to things. He’s not coming to establish a kingdom, that was done, He’s coming to deliver the kingdom to His Father (1 Cor 15).

  Peter says in these verses that everything will be destroyed, except the people. He uses the flood as an example. Then God destroyed everything with water, this time it will be by fire. The flood reshaped things and changed things. Have you ever noticed that in Genesis one when God made everything He gathered the water in one place and the dry land in one place? That’s not the picture you get when you look at a globe. There are “seven seas” and many continents and islands all over the place. Some of the continents look like they could fit together like a puzzle piece. Very possibly, the opening of the earth to release the flood water, reshaped the continents. Have you noticed that before the flood people lived hundreds and hundreds of years, but after the flood they didn’t? It was a different world after the flood.

  Why would anyone be excited about our world burning up? Why would anyone anticipate the coming of the Lord? Why would this be something that people longed for? It seems that they would dread it and hope it never happened.

  The answer lies in what is beyond this world. Peter has told the disciples that we are pilgrims and sojourners here. This is not our home land. This is not where we belong. That’s hard to grasp, because this is the only place that we have been and the only place that we know. It sure seems that we belong here, but we don’t. We can really like it here. We can become settled and satisfied here, but we shouldn’t. We shouldn’t because this isn’t Heaven. This world is on a schedule to end someday. This world has a harshness to it. The weather isn’t always nice. Disease, disaster and bad news are a regular part of our world. Worse than that, death is a part of this world. We bury our loved ones. We bury our young people. We bury those that we are not ready to part with. That’s this world. It’s always been that way. Every family history has sad stories in it about death.

  The coming of Jesus puts an end to all those things. The coming of Jesus defeats Satan’s greatest tool, death. Before Jesus, death was the most feared enemy. Jesus died, but was resurrected. He was the “first fruit.” Others would follow. All will follow. Death doesn’t hold us any longer. Death ends when Jesus returns.

  Peter is looking not so much to the blowing up of everything and the total destruction of everything as he is what lies beyond, Heaven. How beautiful Heaven will be. Peter’s words remind us that we are getting out of this world with only ourselves—our character, what we have done, our relationship with the Lord. That’s it. All the things we’ve collected and treasure—not going with us. Those family heirlooms that we pass on from generation to generation—not going with us. Which tells us that we often put more interests and more time into things that will not last rather than the things that will. If we dusted our character as much as we dusted our collectables, we’d be a better people. If we took inventory of our spiritual well being as much as we did our coins, baseball cards, autographs and so forth, we’d be a better people.

  Peter is telling us to put out attention into the things that will last, our souls. We sing a song down at the church house that goes, “There’s a great day coming, a great day coming…” There sure is. And all of this sure makes you think…just about everything you touch today will be destroyed sooner or later. It also makes you realize that as nice as our world can be, Heaven will out shine it. No one will be disappointed who is in Heaven. No one will think that it ought to be updated, improved or larger. No one. No one will say, “This reminds me of Disney.” Nope. Nothing like it.

  Until then, we must carry on. Catch your breath, pick up your bags and keep journeying. We’re not done yet. There are things God needs you to do, even today. So onward we march, ever closer to that wonderful land.

  Roger