KEYS TO A GODLY LIFE PART 12/12 - JUDGMENT DAY COMING

THE DAWN OF GLORY SERIES:

PLEASE READ THE PASSAGE, THEN - WATCH THE BRIEF EXPOSITION FROM THE PLUMBLINE VIDEO:

2 Peter 3:1-16

This is now, beloved, the second letter I am writing to you in which I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, 2 that you should remember the words spoken beforehand by the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken by your apostles.

The Coming Day of the Lord

3 Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, 4 and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.” 5 For when they maintain this, it escapes their notice that by the word of God the heavens existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water and by water, 6 through which the world at that time was destroyed, being flooded with water. 7 But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.

8 But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. 9 The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.

A New Heaven and Earth

10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.

11 Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, 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! 13 But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.

14 Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless,15 and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation; just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you, 16 as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction. 

17 You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard so that you are not carried away bythe error of unprincipled men and fall from your own steadfastness, 18 but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation

ALL SCRIPTURE FOR PARTS 1-12 OF THIS SERIES FROM BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

THINK ON THESE THINGS - FRIDAY

STRESSED AND DISTRESSED

Yesterday's message/devotional on "CRUSHING" seemed to have touched a nerve on an issue we must address. There was some amazing response, which you will not see in the comments section of the blog. Therefore, I have postponed the daily look at Hebrews 11 (the Faith Chapter) until Monday. Today, I wish to speak to what is becoming a huge problem in families...and that thing is RESPECT.


My friend Lynn Mosher spoke about the 'Aroma of Crushing'.  It was a beautiful premise which underlined Christ's teaching about the grain of wheat having to fall to the earth and "die" so that beautiful wheat fields can be produced.

What also seems to be dying daily is the spirit of many young people - women and men - in the workplace! It is especially so for many young mothers, who are moms of kids from toddler to college age. It pertains to an increasingly out of whack balancing of a stressful work environment , where the demands to excel are increasingly conflicting with the duty of childcare, education and well-being of the family unit!


In the Sunday Message, I will go in depth into Anxiety and other issues and how to deal with them, using the Word of God. Today, I wish to briefly look at one side of this equation to inspire any mom reading this to not let the hyper-caffinated daily drumbeat devour her in a hostile, oppressive environment.  


"Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?" 1 Corinthians 6:19 (New American Standard Bible).

More and more women in the workforce are being viewed as sex objects and I have witnessed this first hand. Most men like myself have no problem with women supervisors as most of my own supervisors have been women. Having been brought up by a single mother (after my dad died when I was 11), I have nothing but respect for women.


But what is disconcerting, after a generation where the clouds of "sexual harassment" hung over the workplace (especially after the 1980's and 1990's Tailhook and Clarence Thomas scandals), is a brand new paradigm of "whatever"! This paradigm is powered by the ease and seemingly lack of accountability in social media relationship; sleazy reality shows on almost EVERY TV channel in America and a culture where more and more young women are using their bodies shamelessly.


As a result, because some working and/or professional women find themselves stretched by the demands to help pay (with their husbands, if they are married) the bills; pick up the kids at daycare or run Joey to football practice, they are sitting ducks for exploitation. What I am witnessing with great shock, is the ease some of this is manifesting itself in flirting, inappropriate lunch dates and extra-marital flings. To be sure, any man who has an affair with a married woman is both culpable and out of his mind.


While yesterday's message was on "Crushing", today's focus is all about on "Respect"....namely - "Self - respect". Nothing can be done, in the short run, about the demands of family, if we have children. This is called life. What we can affect is our conduct.  Some of my fellow male employees have to keep their eyes in their heads and have some sense of morality, for goodness sake. Exploiting a vulnerable stressed out lady is as despicable as attacking a referee at a school soccer game for making a call against your son.


At the same time, there will be less stress in those situations, which you and I observe, could be diffused and avoided, if appropriateness in dress and demeanor is practiced. I am not picking on women here. This is a suggestion which may lead to some pigs, who call themselves men, from taking advantage. Whenever possible, we men of God also need to step in, pull some of these men aside (whether they are Christian or not) and tell them to knock it off, respectfully. In some cases, we will have no influence or opportunity as some of the men are in higher positions than we are. In this case - PRAY!! Yes, pray!


While we are at it, let's pray for families; latch-key kids and all moms of all ages who have to work just to survive and make ends meet, just like the rest of us. Remember...the Key Word for today is  RESPECT....and it all starts with knowing who you are in Christ and WHOSE YOU ARE! Once this is understood, we can handle any situation! Agreed?


"....but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin..."1 John 1:7 (NASB).