Author: mary

And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.

Hebrews 11:6

A Rewarding Life

Without faith, we cannot please God. Without faith, we cannot bring joy to His heart. Without faith, we cannot live for Him, but instead live for the temporary things of this world. Without faith, we fall down and can’t keep back up. Without faith, we are nothing but a bunch of cells. God created us to love and please Him. He created us to walk through this life with Him. IF we want to come to Him, we must first believe He exists and rewards those who seek Him.

Do you believe He rewards His followers. Look at the lives of the disciples. Their lives became purposeful when they chose to follow Jesus. He gave them life. They walked with Him even after His death and all the way until their dying days. It’s not that life was easier for them, but it was more rewarding. That is what God will do for you if you choose to follow Him. Your life won’t necessarily be easier, but it will definitely be purposeful and more rewarding!

A Prayer to Remember

Dear Lord,
A life with you is a rewarding and purposeful life. You give life and reward those who seek you. May I walk with you all of my days. Amen

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith…

Hebrews 12:2

Keep Your Eyes on Jesus

There are many who have gone before us that were men and women of faith. They are witnesses to the life of faith. We know God exists because of this great crowd of witnesses. They ran the race and received the prize because of their faithfulness. Yes, they stumbled and fell sometimes, but they finished the race.

In the same way, we ought to take off every single thing that hinders us whether that be relationships, friendships, addictions, or false beliefs because these things slow us down. You can’t run very good when you have so many things slowing you down. Let us throw off the sin that entangles us and trips us up! Then we will be able to run the race that is before us. We will be able to run without hindrance when we keep our eyes on Jesus, our champion, who perfects our faith so we can run a good race. He did it for so many generations before us and will do it again.

A Prayer to Remember

Dear Lord,
Thank you for the race. Thank you for never giving up on me. May I bring joy to your heart as I run this race. Help me keep my eyes on Jesus as He perfects my faith. Amen

And so, dear friends, while you are waiting for these things to happen, make every effort to be found living peaceful lives that are pure and blameless in his sight.

2 Peter 3:14

Live a Peaceful Life

While we wait on the Lord and eternity, we should not be found wasting time on the things of this world. Instead, we should be making every effort to live a peaceful life that is pure and blameless in the eyes of the Lord. In our jobs we should be striving to be at peace with those around us. In our families, we should be blameless, forgiving and reaching out in love to those around us.

Pray about how you can live a peaceful life in your job, your family, and your community. Only then can you be a light to everyone you meet.

A Prayer to Remember

Dear Lord,
I long to live a simple and peaceful life. Keep my way blameless and pure in your sight so I can glorify you! Amen!

Since everything around us is going to be destroyed like this, what holy and godly lives you should live, looking forward to the day of God and hurrying it along. On that day, he will set the heavens on fire, and the elements will melt away in the flames.

2 Peter 3:11-12

Living in the Eternal

Everything around us is temporary. The birds and the trees. The sunrise and the sunset. Even man is temporary. God is the only one who is eternal. One day everything will be destroyed and we will no longer live in this world.

We must live our lives in such a way that is focused on the eternal instead of the temporary and the here and now. We must keep our eyes on all things eternal, knowing that the spiritual will last forever.

A Prayer to Remember

Dear Lord,
Help me focus my eyes on you and on what is eternal rather than the things of this world. You are worth more than anything in this world. Amen.

But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment.

2 Peter 3:10

The Day of the Lord

No one knows when the Lord will come. Many have tried to speculate and guess. However, only God knows the day and hour. This verse says that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. This tells us two things. First, God has all authority and is the only one who knows. We can trust him since he knows when that day is. Second, we need to prepare for that day. We need to make sure we are focusing on him and getting to know him better so that we will recognize him when he comes.

The things of this world will pass away, so we should not focus our time on them. This verse says that even the heavens will pass away. Make sure you are spending time with the Lord so you are ready!

A Prayer to Remember

Dear Lord,
I trust in you. I know you know when you will return for your people. Oh what a glorious day that will be. May I always take hope in that day! Amen.

The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.

2 Peter 3:9

God is Patient

God is a patient God. This verse says that he does not want anyone to perish, but he wants all to come to know his saving grace. This could be one reason why time means nothing to him. He is patient and waiting for people to come to know Him.
The King James Version of the Bible uses the word “longsuffering” instead of the word patient. Even though God is patient, that does not mean he doesn’t suffer when his people reject him. He is a gentle and gracious God.

A Prayer to Remember

Dear Lord,
Thank you for your grace and love. Your love is everlasting. I praise you that you waited on me and gave me your salvation. Amen.

But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day.

2 Peter 3:8

God’s Timing

A day is like a thousand years to the Lord and a thousand years is like a day. What this verse tells us is that God knows no boundaries. As people we are often limited by the boundaries of time. We must complete something in a certain amount of time. We feel like there are not enough hours in the day to accomplish everything we need to accomplish. Even our own lives are constrained by time. However, God knows no time boundaries. That means that his plans are not always our plans and our plans are not always his plans. He may not necessarily answer a request immediately since he is not restrained by time.

When we pray and bring our requests to Him, we must understand that he will answer them in his own time. His timing is always perfect.

A Prayer to Remember

Dear Lord,
Help me trust in your time and your plan. I know that your timing is perfect. Amen.

Most importantly, I want to remind you that in the last days scoffers will come, mocking the truth and following their own desires. They will say, “What happened to the promise that Jesus is coming again? From before the times of our ancestors, everything has remained the same since the world was first created.”

2 Peter 2:3-4

The Last Days

Ever since Jesus ascended back into heaven, We have been living in the last days. We do not know when the end will come or when Jesus will return for his people. But we do know that we are one day closer than we were before. So this verse is very true. Today scoffers have come and they mock Christians and their beliefs. They do follow their own desires, rather than following Christ.

It can be so easy to follow the world instead of following the Lord, but we must keep our eyes on the prize. We must remember why we are here. We became followers of Christ at the moment of our conversion. That means that we will spend our lives following after him. Do not listen to the world and their lies. Only rely on Jesus Christ and His redemption.

A Prayer to Remember

Dear Lord,
Help me not listen to the scoffers and their lies. May I stay close to you so I can hear your voice. Amen.

And when people escape from the wickedness of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and then get tangled up and enslaved by sin again, they are worse off than before.

2 Peter 2:20

Entangled Again

As Christians we must be careful when it comes to our past. Even though God has rescued us from our former lives, we have to guard ourselves against the devil and his schemes. If he can entice us with our past sins or former lives, then that is what he will do. He will do anything he can to take our focus away from the Lord.

This verse is very clear about going back to our former lives. If we become entangled in sin again, then we are worse off than we were before. Spend some time in prayer every day, thanking God for rescuing you from your past sins.

A Prayer to Remember

Dear Lord,
May I stay close to you and bask in your love and grace so that I will not become entangled in sin again. Amen.

So you see, the Lord knows how to rescue godly people from their trials, even while keeping the wicked under punishment until the day of final judgment.

2 Peter 2:9

A Redeemed Life

God is a just God. He will punish the wicked and reward the righteous. Sodom and Gomorrah, is a good example of this very thing. God punished the wicked, and destroyed the two cities. Yet he rescued Lot because he was the one righteous person living within those cities. God is able to rescue you. And the beautiful thing about it is that no matter how deep your sin is, how much you’ve done, or how ugly your past is, he will rescue you anyway. Lot had made that decision to live near Sodom and Gomorrah. However, he turned from sin and followed the Lord.

All it takes is a true repentance of turning away from sin and wickedness and following after the Lord. If you do that, he will be able to rescue you, no matter what.

A Prayer to Remember

Dear Lord,
May you rescue those I love. May I lead them to you so they will see what a redeemed life looks like. Amen.