Daily Devotion: Repentance = Forgiveness and Salvation

Scripture:
2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

Observation:
Peter gave Christians both a warning and a reminder about waiting for the second coming of the Lord. He warns them about skeptics who do not believe in Christ's second coming. He warns them of scoffers, as they will mock the faith of those Christians who believe that Jesus will come again soon. Peter warns his Christian friends so that they can be prepared when they encounter these unbelievers, and reminds them to patiently wait for that day when the Lord comes again to bring us to His Kingdom. When God created the world, a day could have been a thousand years to Him, and vice versa. If Jesus said that He is coming soon, "soon" might be anytime soon!

The Lord has never broken his promise or any of His covenants with his people. All throughout the Bible, it was his chosen people, Israel, who always broke their covenant with God first. But he was a patient God. How many times did Israel ask for forgiveness? How many times did the Lord wait for them to realize their sins? How many times did God forgive them? Verse 9 shows us God's immeasurable mercy. He is patient with us because He does not want ANYONE to perish. That does not only include Israel, the Jews, or the first twelve apostles or the first disciples. He wants EVERYONE to understand that they have sinned, and that they need to turn away from sin and reject it so they can be saved.

Application:
If God is patiently waiting for others to come to repentance, we should do our part as his follower to show to others how they can receive this salvation from Christ. The Lord himself has said that He does not want anyone to die spiritually. If we have received his gift of salvation, it is then our responsibility to share this gift to others, and help accomplish the Lord's goal of everyone hearing the Gospel of Christ. I do not want my family, my relatives, my friends and people close to me to perish. I want them to be part of God's family and experience the blessing of Christ's salvation.

Prayer:
Lord, please create opportunities so I can share your gift of salvation to others. Touch the hearts of those people close to me. And when the time comes for me to share your Word, let them see a genuine kind of love and concern. Let your light be manifested in me. AMEN.