Expansion of Torched Churches

Here is portion of Scripture from 2 Peter 3:10-18

¹⁰But 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.^a]"

¹¹Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives ¹²as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.^b]"That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. ¹³But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.

¹⁴So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. ¹⁵Bear in mind that our Lord's patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. ¹⁶He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.

¹⁷Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position. ¹⁸But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.

Peter saw ahead that everything will be destroyed. And what did he say in response to what is to come? Lead holy lives; spotless and blameless. Preach the Gospel, spread the Good News! But what do we do? Many churches focus on building 'stuff' that will be burned down in the end. What has happened, ironically, is like a wake up call. We have let down our guard and fallen asleep. Now it is time to wake up.

As I said countless times, the 'stuff' is not bad. It is good that the people of God can gather reasonably together. But the 'stuff' shouldn't be the focus of our energies. What is the focus then? It is as it is written in the above passage.

Another one of my thoughts. Feel free to comment.

Ian

PS: Even though I am in Canada, I am not 'Canadianized'. My heart is for Malaysia, and will forever be. Born a Malaysian, die a Malaysian. I am greatly saddened and worried by the turn of events. Be assured, my prayers are with all my fellow brothers and sisters in Malaysia.