December 12, 2023 

Today’s Reading: 2 Peter 3.8-14

Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 29:1-14; Jude 1-25

The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. (2 Peter 3:9)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.  The heavens will pass away with a roar.  The earth and the works done on it will be exposed.  So be diligent to be found by Him without spot or blemish, and at peace.  And until that last word, it’s all a threat.  Hey everyone, Jesus is gonna show up when nobody expects Him, set everything you love on fire, and expose everything you’ve ever kept secret.  But be at peace when it happens. This is fine. 

Because the timing matters.  The last day isn’t a trap. He doesn’t delay so that more people will be lost, but out of a desire that more would be saved.  It isn’t time yet because there’s more preaching to do. More forgiving sinners to do.  More hope to receive.  Jesus isn’t waiting for the right time to pull your shame out into the open so more people can see it. He already did that. He bore it on the cross.  Every evil deed. Everything you’d have nobody see. All of it hung on Jesus as He bore your sins.  None of it comes back down from there. You are forgiven.  You are baptized.  Blameless, and without spot or blemish.  

So wait that way.  Baptized.  The promise of the last day should make you feel better, not worse. It’s a harbinger of peace, not anxiety.  Jesus will Advent, one last time, and then we can be rescued from the darkness that feels so overwhelming. We can stop counting the days we wish we could forget. They’ll be burned up.  And we’ll be taken through death and unto the same resurrection that we saw in our Lord. The last day isn’t one we can predict. But we don’t need to run from it. We pray for it. Come, Lord Jesus. But even while we wait, we can be at peace, because we have the very things we need to sustain us until the last. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

He comes the broken heart to bind, The bleeding soul to cure, And with the treasures of His grace To enrich the humble poor. (LSB 349:3)

-Pastor Harrison Goodman is content executive for Higher Things.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.

Study Christ’s words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.