Live This Day for That Day

Some days change the way you live—just because you know they’re coming.

Graduation day. Moving day. A child’s due date. Even a snowstorm warning. When a day like that is on the horizon, it affects the way you think, plan, spend, and act. You don’t hit snooze the same way. You don't clean the house the same way. Why? Because expectation reshapes behavior.

Now imagine this: what if you knew the Day was coming—the Day when the sky splits, the King returns, justice is revealed, and everything temporary fades away?

The Bible says that Day is coming.

And here’s the question God’s Word asks: “Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be?” (2 Peter 3:11)

That’s not a rhetorical question. It’s a holy invitation.

Holiness Isn’t Optional

Peter’s first answer is simple: Live holy and godly lives.

Holiness has gotten a bad reputation in modern times. It’s often confused with stiff religiosity or judgmental behavior. But in Scripture, holiness is about belonging. It means living like you’ve been set apart—because you have.

“Holiness is living every day like you belong to Someone else—because you do.”

Holiness means refusing to blend into a world that’s burning down. It’s not about being better than others—it’s about being different for God.

And godliness? That’s holiness lived out loud. It’s character that looks like Christ—honest, pure, compassionate, joyful, faithful.

We all know what it’s like to prepare for a guest. You clean differently when someone’s coming over. You vacuum. You light a candle. You wipe the mystery goo off the table. Why?

Because presence changes everything.

And Jesus is coming. So live like it.

Eyes on the Horizon

Peter doesn’t just call us to holiness—he calls us to hopefulness. He says, “In keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells” (2 Peter 3:13).

Christians aren’t meant to be doomsday preppers or escapists. We’re meant to be future-focused. Not fixated on dates or speculation—but anchored in hope.

“Don’t let the brokenness of here make you forget what’s coming there.”

A new world is coming. Not a ghostly paradise. A real, restored, redeemed creation—where righteousness feels at home. Where justice rolls down like waters and joy never ends.

The prophets saw it: “Behold, I create new heavens and a new earth” (Isaiah 65:17).The apostles proclaimed it: “We do not lose heart… for what is unseen is eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:16–18).The Lord Himself promised it: “Behold, I am making all things new” (Revelation 21:5).

This is no fairy tale. This is a future so certain, it ought to shape our present.

Gospel Urgency in a Delayed Hour

Still, many wonder: Why hasn’t He come back yet?

Peter anticipates the question and answers with stunning clarity:

“Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation” (2 Peter 3:15).

God’s delay is not indifference—it’s mercy.

Every tick of the clock is another chance for someone to be saved. Every sunrise is another invitation to repentance.

We may feel like we’re in a holding pattern, but heaven sees a rescue window.

“This isn’t procrastination—it’s grace. The longer He waits, the wider the door stays open.”

So what are we doing with the time we've been given?

This moment is not meaningless. It’s charged with eternal potential.

That person on your heart—the neighbor, friend, family member—they may be one conversation away from forever.

Guard What Grounds You

Peter also warns us to stay grounded. He writes, “Be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure position” (2 Peter 3:17).

This isn’t about losing salvation. It’s about losing stability.

Drift doesn’t usually start with dramatic rebellion. It starts with subtle compromise.

• You stop clinging to truth.

• You settle for teaching that soothes but never stretches.

• You ease into compromise and call it maturity.

“The real danger isn’t a bold rejection of Jesus—it’s truth bent just a little. Compromise by degrees.”

Peter knows this personally. He once drifted himself—caving under pressure and separating from Gentile believers (Galatians 2:11–13). And now, like a scarred shepherd, he pleads:

Don’t let that happen to you.

Stay rooted in truth. Stay alert. Stay humble.

Keep Growing—Always

Peter’s final words are not a rebuke, but a blessing:

“But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18).

Spiritual growth isn’t extra credit. It’s the normal Christian life.

You don’t have to grow fast. But you do have to keep growing.

“You don’t grow in grace by accident. You grow by staying rooted, drawing life from the right source, and choosing faithfulness over time.”

Think of a tree. Its growth isn’t flashy. But year by year—ring by ring—it becomes strong, stable, fruitful.

If you’re in Christ, you’ve already been planted by the stream (Psalm 1:3). The Spirit lives in you. His Word is before you. His people surround you. The conditions for growth are already there.

So…

• Open your Bible—not just when life hurts, but because your soul needs food.

• Open your mouth in prayer—not just to ask, but to adore.

• Open your heart to community—not just friends, but truth-tellers.

• Open your hands to serve.

Growth happens when we show up.

To Him Be the Glory

Peter ends with this doxology:

“To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.”

That’s the goal of it all.

Not your success. Not your applause. Not your comfort.

His glory.

So live holy.

Live future-focused.

Live ready to speak the Gospel.

Live rooted.

Live growing.

Live this day—for that Day.

Because the King is on His way.