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People are interesting… complex… at times dishonest. I got a call from a woman a few weeks ago. She told me some stories that sounded too amazing to be true about her husband (they live out of town). I was somewhat incredulous so I was interested to hear his side of the story. I spoke to him and got an entirely different picture. Unfortunately I was in no position to get the two of them together and I was in no position to find out the truth… but God knows. Someone wasn’t telling the whole truth, and perhaps the truth lay somewhere in between. I got a long email yesterday from one of them outlining their side of the story. I still have no way to verify the veracity of any of it… ever been in the middle of a situation like that? What would you do? I did two things: #1 I told both of them to find a godly counselor who could sort it out… I can’t do it long distance. #2 I told both of them that if what they said was true then certain biblical principles apply. They had two problems that many couples today have “trust” and “lust.” Without trust you don’t have much of a marriage. And with uncontrolled lust you’ll soon lack trust!
Today's Scripture reading is 1 Samuel 7; Proverbs 26; Romans 2
To Listen to Today’s Reading http://timewithgod.podbean.com - Archives can be found at http://timewithgod.mypodcast.com
Today’s thought comes from 2 Peter 3:3 knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, 4 and saying, "Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation." 5 For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, 6 by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. 7 But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
Preserved and reserved. Those are your two words of the day. “the heavens and the earth which are now PRESERVED by the same word, are RESERVED for fire until the day of judgment.” Preserve means “1) to keep or maintain in unaltered condition; 2) to conserve: keep in safety and protect from harm, decay, loss, or destruction; 3) to save: to keep up and reserve for personal or special use.” The biblical word reflects use #3. To keep in good condition for special use. The world is now being “preserved” by God. In this context it means that God will never again wipe the world out with a flood, but the idea is much deeper than that. It is the idea that the world will never be wiped out by anything until it’s time is up. Global warming won’t do it. Neither will a nuclear explosion, nor will a plague, war, alien invasion or any other thing real or imaginary until God’s time is right. So we Christians don’t need to be afraid of man’s evil inventions. That is not to say that man and nature will not destroy major parts of our world and cause massive destruction! That’s a given. But a whole scale destruction of planet earth will not happen until THE END because of God’s supernatural preservation. Reserved means “1) set aside for the use of a particular person or party; 2) marked by self-restraint and reticence.” Just because we can’t completely destroy the earth doesn’t mean that it won’t happen. God is holding that right for the Day of Judgment. God is restraining well deserved judgment on planet earth until the right time. Judgment day is coming! The earth’s destruction by fire is contingent upon the judgment and punishment of the ungodly! Since judgment day is coming how then should we live? That’s exactly what we are on earth to figure out.
Dear Gracious Father. Thank you for holding back your judgment so that men might come to a knowledge of the truth. Help us who know better to be aware of the reality of Judgment Day and warn an oblivious world of the consequences of disregarding their precious Savior Jesus Christ! Help us to live lives in keeping with the truth of a coming day of reckoning.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be filled
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