Expectation and Hope

Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace. And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures. You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.
2 Peter 3:14–18
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Expectation and Hope
Be diligent, dear Christians, for the devil is seeking a way to knock you out of the almighty hand of God. Lash yourself to your Savior and his Word. When the Lord showers you in his love, he fits you with armor and weapons for the fight. He established a church for you—where the Word is preached, where the Word is taught, where the Sacraments are given. He does this so that you can dive into his gifts, receive protection from your temptations, and wash your sins in the Blood of the Lamb. The Lord gives you other Christians to bear your burdens, encourage you with the Word, and pray for you. Avail yourself to the Church, and just as Paul and Peter encouraged the churches of God, so also you, encourage your neighbor. Take the Word upon which you meditate, and that which informs your prayers, and encourage the brethren—a Word of hope in Jesus’ victorious crucifixion and resurrection. Grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior. His gifts are for you and for the church.