“But the day of the Lord will come..." 2 Peter 3:10-15

“But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. Be steadfast therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless; and consider that the long suffering of our Lord is salvation. (2 Peter 3:10-15)

The question is not will He come…the question is when? Peter said the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night. Unannounced… unexpected… unprepared YET, He will come.. How easy it is to get caught up in just living life without much thought to the coming of the Lord. In light of the fact that Jesus could come at any day, hour or moment, how then shall we live? That question is so important that the Holy Spirit gives us an answer. Through Peter, the Holy Spirit said:

“Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to

be in holy conduct and godliness? Be steadfast therefore, beloved, looking forward to

these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless.”

Be holy in conduct and God-likeness. Churchy and Godly are not the same. “Goodly” and “Godly” are not the same. Obeying all the “church rules” does not necessarily mean we are Godly. Godliness is a result of God residing in us, which comes about the moment we put our faith in Christ and His shed blood for the forgiveness of our sins. Godly…”God-like”….holy, righteous, merciful, kind, patient, loving, forgiving, caring, compassionate…. we can’t produce those traits in and of ourselves. Character determines conduct. When the character of God resides in us, it will be evidenced to an unsaved world by the way we live. Peter goes on to say that we are to be steadfast. We are to be steady in God. Not in and out, up and down, back and forth, hot and cold… but steadfast. Not fickle but, faithful.

Because our God is a long-suffering God, He is not willing that any perish but, that all come to repentance. His delay is the church’s opportunity to win the lost. What we do we must do purposefully, persistently and passionately. The greatest days for God’s church are not somewhere in the distant past… they are here and they are now. That which must be done must be done quickly.

“For yet a little while, and He that shall come will come….and will not tarry.”

(Hebrews 10:37)