Daily Bread Pastor Mike Anderson 2026

14 So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. 15 Bear 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. 16 He 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. Today, as Peter finishes his second letter to the early church, he uses this opportunity to challenge them in their own relationship with The Lord. He uses the term again, "make every effort". People get nervous about this saying as they fear this might lead people back to a "works mentality". Meaning our relationship with God is based on what we do for him. But in this context, Peter is writing in regard to Jesus' return. He is getting them ready f...

10 But 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 done in it will be laid bare. 11 Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 12 as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. 13 But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells. As Peter finishes his 2nd letter to the church, he discusses the day of The Lord. This is frequently referred to as a day of judgment, and with Jesus' teachings his own return to judge the living and the dead. Of course Peter doesn't know more any more than we do as to when that day is going to come. But what he does know is that it is going to come in a way which he describes as a ...

8 But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. 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. When people wonder why The Lord hasn't returned yet, this passage gives us insight as to why. This letter is addressed to Christians in the 1st century, but has obvious relevance for us today. First of all, it shows that God's timing is not our timing. God lives outside space and time and not according to our time table. You may have heard this already, but it bears repeating. There are two types of time in the Greek language. "Chronos" time represents time that keeps rolling on. Day 1, Day 2, Day 3 and so on and so on. This time will keep ticking until the day God decides to bring an end to time. On the other hand is "kairos" time, which is often chara...

3 Dear friends, this is now my second letter to you. I have written both of them as reminders to stimulate you to wholesome thinking. 2 I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the command given by our Lord and Savior through your apostles. 3 Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. 4 They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” 5 But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water. 6 By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. 7 By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. As Peter goes to finish he letter his friends, he addresses the second coming of Jesus. There were som...

17 These people are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them. 18 For they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of the flesh, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error. 19 They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity—for “people are slaves to whatever has mastered them.” 20 If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and are overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. 21 It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. 22 Of them the proverbs are true: “A dog returns to its vomit,” and, “A sow that is washed returns to her wallowing in the mud.” Peter continues to point out the error in the false teachers. The false...

13 They will be paid back with harm for the harm they have done. Their idea of pleasure is to carouse in broad daylight. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their pleasures while they feast with you.[e] 14 With eyes full of adultery, they never stop sinning; they seduce the unstable; they are experts in greed—an accursed brood! 15 They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Bezer,[f] who loved the wages of wickedness. 16 But he was rebuked for his wrongdoing by a donkey—an animal without speech—who spoke with a human voice and restrained the prophet’s madness. Today Peter tells the story of Balaam, the prophet in the Old Testament, as an example of the false teachers in the early church. If you don't know the story of Balaam here it is. Balaam was a well known prophet, who was summoned by the King of Moab, King Balak, because of the Israelites advancing. Balak hired Balaam to put a curse on the Israelites. On the way over to Moab an a...

Bold and arrogant, they are not afraid to heap abuse on celestial beings; 11 yet even angels, although they are stronger and more powerful, do not heap abuse on such beings when bringing judgment on them from[d] the Lord. 12 But these people blaspheme in matters they do not understand. They are like unreasoning animals, creatures of instinct, born only to be caught and destroyed, and like animals they too will perish. Peter continues to describe these false teachers. Not only do they distort teachings about Jesus, but they even presume to have knowledge of celestial beings, like angels. Even angels who are stronger and more powerful do not assume to make such judgments. There are a lot of teachings about angels in the church today. Sometimes we read back into the bible all kinds of modern ideas about angels and demons. What relationship there is between the celestial beings and the angels in verse 11 is not clear either. Some suggest they are different than angels, others think the...