My news feed Thursday morning had two stories I actually wanted to read. The first involved the massive heatwave hitting the eastern half of the USA. About 185 million people are under a heat watch as of Friday morning and the heat has the potential to break records and turn deadly over this weekend. Cities in the region are rushing to mitigate the heat for many of their residents. (According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration [NOAA], June was the hottest June on record for the world.)
The second involved homelessness in Los Angeles. More and more people are being forced to live in their cars as home prices and availability soar beyond the average persons ability to keep up. There are now companies parking “rental vans” along the streets. Renters have keys to the back doors, but not the ignition. That has various city councils scrambling to update ordinances.
Both articles made me wonder about God’s warnings. 2 Peter 3 tells us about those who scoff and wonder about the end times, saying “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.”
Peter reminded his readers that God can move in the blink of an eye; everything can change in an instant. Remember the flood which brought God’s judgment on the earth in the days of Noah? He also reminded that God is not slow in keeping His promise of judgment, He’s restraining His Hand because He doesn’t want any to perish, but all to come to repentance. [vs 4-19]
While God is restraining His Hand now, He won’t forever. “The day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.” [v 10]
