Word@Work 2Pet17 - 2 Peter 2:6-9
Published: Tue, 09/01/09
Word@Work from BeaconLight
Forward this message to your friends - they can subscribe at www.wordatwork.org.uk
KNOWING HOW TO DECIDE
2 Peter 2:6-9 ... if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the filthy lives of lawless men (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard) - if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials and to hold the unrighteous for the day of judgment, while continuing their punishment. (NIV)
"Rightly or wrongly ..." a friend was heard to say, "I made the decision". He implied that it was better to make any decision than not to decide at all. Alas too many businesses get trapped by decisions that they were not ready to make, and regret afterwards. Of course, it is important to make decisions, but they need to be the right choices. God always makes the right choice. He knows how to judge between what is good and evil, right and wrong. And therefore His judgements are always 'safe' (as our legal friends would say); in other words, there is no possibility of any valid objection, because He is always right.
Peter wants his readers, Christians who would suffer for the Name of Jesus, to understand that they will be vindicated in the end. Taking the example of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all the wickedness they represented, (cf Gen 19:1-29) Peter says that God knew how to rescue Lot and punish his neighbours. This is important. There is no suggestion that Lot had any idea that God had him and the city in such sharp focus. And however much the wrong attitudes and actions around him must have grieved Lot, he could not have imagined how God would sort it all out. But God did.
Some of our doubting, in situations that seem insoluble, stems from forgetting that God knows how to decide and separate the fate of the godly from that of the ungodly. If we ignore this truth, we will either be panicked into sorting it out ourselves, or despair because we cannot see how God can do anything, or end up joining the wicked (at least in thought) because we blur the distinction which God sees very sharply. If we are to live godly lives in a wicked world, we need to be certain that God knows all about it, and that in the end, He will know how to rescue the righteous, and bring the reward of punishment to the unrighteous. So, do not falter or alter your course away from Jesus! God always gets it right! And, please share these verses with your Christian friends and colleagues - without this encouragement we can all be tempted away from trusting the Lord when life is tough.
Prayer: Dear Lord. Thank You that You really do know how to make the right decisions. And also that You will rescue those who love You. I believe that you will do this at the end of time, but I am grateful that Your hand of kindness and protection is upon me now, as well. Please forgive me when I doubt that You know what You are doing. Help me to trust that You will always do the right thing, at the right time. For Jesus Christ's sake. Amen.
You can read the verses around this Bible passage from the Internet Bible: - in English, and many other languages
"Rightly or wrongly ..." a friend was heard to say, "I made the decision". He implied that it was better to make any decision than not to decide at all. Alas too many businesses get trapped by decisions that they were not ready to make, and regret afterwards. Of course, it is important to make decisions, but they need to be the right choices. God always makes the right choice. He knows how to judge between what is good and evil, right and wrong. And therefore His judgements are always 'safe' (as our legal friends would say); in other words, there is no possibility of any valid objection, because He is always right.
Peter wants his readers, Christians who would suffer for the Name of Jesus, to understand that they will be vindicated in the end. Taking the example of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all the wickedness they represented, (cf Gen 19:1-29) Peter says that God knew how to rescue Lot and punish his neighbours. This is important. There is no suggestion that Lot had any idea that God had him and the city in such sharp focus. And however much the wrong attitudes and actions around him must have grieved Lot, he could not have imagined how God would sort it all out. But God did.
Some of our doubting, in situations that seem insoluble, stems from forgetting that God knows how to decide and separate the fate of the godly from that of the ungodly. If we ignore this truth, we will either be panicked into sorting it out ourselves, or despair because we cannot see how God can do anything, or end up joining the wicked (at least in thought) because we blur the distinction which God sees very sharply. If we are to live godly lives in a wicked world, we need to be certain that God knows all about it, and that in the end, He will know how to rescue the righteous, and bring the reward of punishment to the unrighteous. So, do not falter or alter your course away from Jesus! God always gets it right! And, please share these verses with your Christian friends and colleagues - without this encouragement we can all be tempted away from trusting the Lord when life is tough.
Prayer: Dear Lord. Thank You that You really do know how to make the right decisions. And also that You will rescue those who love You. I believe that you will do this at the end of time, but I am grateful that Your hand of kindness and protection is upon me now, as well. Please forgive me when I doubt that You know what You are doing. Help me to trust that You will always do the right thing, at the right time. For Jesus Christ's sake. Amen.
Share Word@Work with your friends - they can subscribe at http://www.wordatwork.org.uk
If you value your free Word@Work, click here to make a donation which will help us to maintain and develop the ministry - thank you!
Your next Word@Work will be sent on
All the 'back copies' for the series in the Bible books of Mark, Ephesians, James and 1 Peter can be found on www.beaconlight.co.uk/email
If you value your free Word@Work, click here to make a donation which will help us to maintain and develop the ministry - thank you!
Your next Word@Work will be sent on
All the 'back copies' for the series in the Bible books of Mark, Ephesians, James and 1 Peter can be found on www.beaconlight.co.uk/email
W@W2Pet17 | Word@Work © Dr Paul Adams 2009 | Provided by BeaconLight | Contact us at wordatwork@beaconlight.co.uk