Advent Themes in Conclusion - 2 Peter 3:14-18 - December 19, 2021

 2 Peter 3:14-18 Advent Themes in Conclusion

Good morning! 

Let’s pray.

We are finishing our work in 2 Peter this morning, so you can turn to 2 Peter 3:14-18, page 1019 in the pew Bibles.

So today  is the fourth Sunday of Advent, the season of preparation for celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, the incarnation, God putting on flesh and dwelling among us. I’d like to thank the kids who did the Advent readings each week and lighting the candles for us each week. At the Christmas Eve service we will light the last candle, the Christ candle as we remember His humble birth in Bethlehem.

Traditionally, each of the four Sundays of Advent has a particular theme. And I say, “traditionally,” because there is no command in Scripture that tells us the church to focus on these four themes, or even to celebrate Advent or Christmas for that matter. But we do it because it’s helpful, it’s helpful to remember, it’s helpful to focus on these themes.

The four themes of Advent are: hope, peace, joy, and love. 

And their order gets shuffled around sometimes, and sometimes peace gets swapped out for preparation, but like I said, there’s no rules for this so it doesn’t really matter.

Oddly enough, these four themes are present in our final text in 2 Peter, which is a huge relief because Christmas is next Saturday and we’ll all obviously be over it by next Sunday.

Let’s turn to our text and look for these four themes.

14 Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace. 15 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, 16 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. 17 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. 18 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.

So, remembering one of the golden rules of Bible study, we can’t start off with a “therefore,” until we know what it’s there for, and discovering what it’s there for is as easy as thinking back to last week’s text to see what Peter was referring to, and that is the Day of the Lord, the return of Christ, His Second Advent.

So Peter says, “Therefore beloved, since you are waiting for these,” meaning the return of Christ and the coming of the new heaven and new earth where righteousness dwells, since you are waiting, confidently expecting these things to happen, be diligent to be found by Him without spot or blemish…

What is the word that we use for “confidently expecting” something to happen? HOPE.

And hope is the first theme of Advent.

Hope is not a wish, though we often use the word that way, as in, “I hope I get an Xbox for Christmas.”

Hope is confidently expecting God to do what He said He would do. As Peter reminded us back in verse one of this chapter when he wrote, “I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, that you should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord through your apostles…”

Confidently expecting Jesus to return because the prophets foretold it and Jesus Himself promised it, that’s our hope!

The “people living in great darkness,” as Isaiah wrote, were looking forward in hope for the great light to shine. For them it was the first Advent of Jesus, for us it’s His Second Advent.

The second theme of Advent, and the one I struggle the most with personally, is peace.

Peter wrote in verse 14, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace.

The Scholars are divided on who it is exactly that we are supposed to have peace with.

Christ’s first Advent made it possible for people to have peace with God, in fact, peace with God is only possible through faith in Jesus Christ.

Romans 5:1-2 says,  …since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

And certainly to found by Jesus at His return to be without spot or blemish will be evidence of our peace with God, but I’m not sure that is the kind of peace that Peter meant.

John Calvin didn’t either, he wrote,

“The word peace seems to be taken for a quiet state of conscience, founded on hope and patient waiting. For as so few turn their attention to the judgment of Christ, hence it is, that while they are carried headlong by their demanding and persistent lusts, they are at the same time in a state of anxiety. This peace, then, is the quietness of a peaceable soul, which complies with the word of God.”

A quietness of soul… doesn’t that sound good? And also hard to achieve? Maybe even impossible…

Maybe it seems that way because the peace we are after has more to do with our desire to have a pleasant and quiet life than what it is that the Lord says will bring us real peace.

Like Paul said, peace with God comes through faith in Jesus, and peace in our soul, comes from exactly the same thing, faith in Jesus Christ.

Faith in Jesus is not merely believing that He exists, it’s not just agreeing with facts, faith in Jesus is trusting in Jesus personally, trusting that He did what was necessary to pay the penalty for our sin on the cross, but also trusting Him to guide and direct our lives and the affairs of this world.

Peter shows us that the source of this peace is the hope of Christ’s return because He trusted Him to do as He said He would do, and that same peace is available to us.

We may not like our circumstances, we may not be happy about the challenges that we are facing or the losses that we feel, but we can still have peace, we can still have quietness of soul if we will trust the Lord Jesus to do as He said He would, to be with us always even until the end of the age.

The third theme of Advent is joy.

In the first Advent of Christ the joy is found in the incarnation of Christ, God taking on flesh and dwelling among us, the joy was that Messiah had finally come. We often experience joy when what we have been waiting for finally happens, I can only imagine the joy that those folks had who had so longed for Messiah to come, and there he was just as the prophets had foretold.

But the Joy that Peter alludes to is found in something that hasn’t happened yet, we are looking forward to it in hope, we have peace knowing that it is coming, but we find in joy the fact that it hasn’t happened yet. 

Verse 15 says, …count the patience of our Lord as salvation…

Because the Father has yet to send back His Son to earth that means countless people still have the opportunity to be saved, every moment he waits His family grows as people come to faith in Him.

As Peter wrote back in verse nine, The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

Every day that the Lord waits means that thousands more people won’t perish but reach repentance and that is cause for Joy, joy based on peace knowing that the Father is in control, and based on hope, confidently expecting to do as He promised.

The fourth theme of Advent is love.

15 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, 16 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. 17 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. 18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Peter loved Paul but recognized that some of the things he wrote were difficult to understand and after preaching through Paul’s letters for like seven years I can resonate with that thought. But Peter’s endorsement of Paul as a beloved brother, or his wisdom, or endorsing Paul’s writings Scripture, is not the love that is found in our Advent theme.

The First Advent showed the Father’s love for mankind, as was read this morning: “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever would believe in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.”

As we look forward in hope to Christ’s Second Advent and experience the peace of knowing that the Lord is in control, He has everything arranged, and knows the day and the hour that He will send the Son back with a new heaven and anew earth, as we experience the joy of seeing many more come to faith in Jesus Christ because the Father patiently waited another day, we can express our love for Him by growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus said in John 14:15, “If you love me you will keep my commandments.”

The ignorant and unstable twist the Scriptures to their own destruction, says Peter, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability. 18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

We grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, we stay stable and don’t get carried away into error, when we grow in the knowledge of the way that He has chosen to reveal Himself, when we grow in our knowledge of His Word, the Bible. When we get to know our Bible, we learn what He commanded, and so we express our love for Him.

Eva asked me this week about what to do for Jesus for Christmas, what to get Him for His birthday…

I think it’s this. Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love.

To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

Preparing for the Last Day - 2 Peter 3:9-13 - December 12, 2021

 2 Peter 3:9-13 Preparing for the Last Day

Good morning! We are going back to 2 Peter 3 this morning, we are going to look at verses 9-13, that’s on page 1019 in the pew Bibles.

I want you all to know that I am not unaware of what time of year it is, I know that Christmas is just around the corner, just because we are not hearing sermons about shepherds and angels and silent nights and all that doesn’t mean that there is no “Christmassy application” for our text in 2 Peter.

In fact, Peter’s main point is echoed in a very popular Christmas hymn. I’m not going to sing it but I will recite it for you.

You better watch out, you better not cry, you better not pout, I’m telling you why: Santa Claus is coming to town. He sees you when you’re sleeping, he knows when you’re awake, he knows if you’ve been bad or good, so be good for goodness sake! 

What does this have to do with 2 Peter? It’s a song of preparation, to get ready, to get your behavior in line in preparation for Santa Claus.

Well, Peter doesn’t have much to say about Christmas and Santa Claus, but he has a lot to say about how to live in preparation for Advent, specifically the Second Advent.

Let’s look at the text of 2 Peter 3:9-13.

9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. 

11 Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, 12 waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! 13 But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

Let’s pray.

Peter has been warning the church against false teachers and scoffers and now he turns his attention to encouraging the believers.

You’ll remember back to chapter one, verse thirteen where Peter says, “I think it right, so long as I am in this body, to stir you up by way of reminder…” And again in verse one of chapter three, “I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, that you should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles…”

Here in verses 9-13 Peter is reminding the church that this age has an expiration date, a day where all things will be brought to an abrupt end and so, we ought to be prepared.

Jesus said in Matthew 24:36,

36 “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. 37 For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, 39 and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. 41 Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. 42 Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. 43 But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”

As I considered this prediction and the words of Peter I couldn’t help but wonder, if we knew the date that Jesus would return how would we live our lives, would anything change?

If the coming of Santa Claus is enough to spur kids on to good behavior, how much more should we be motivated to good behavior knowing that Christ is returning and returning at an hour that we don’t expect?

Peter makes a powerful statement in verse 9, 9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

This is a powerful reminder of two things, number one: that the Father does not operate on our timeline but on His, He stands outside of time; and two: in His great love for the world, for all mankind, He doesn’t wish for any of us to be destroyed but to come to repentance, to turn away from our wicked ways and follow after Him through faith in Jesus.

This is not merely a New Testament idea either, God is immutable, unchanging, and His desire has always been for the wicked to turn to Him in faith. 

God said in Ezekiel 18:23, “Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord God, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live?”

And also Ezekiel 33:11, “As I live, declares the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?”

Paul echoes this thought in 1 Timothy 2:4, …God our Savior, 4 who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all…

You may be wondering, “If God wants everybody to repent and be saved, why aren’t they? Why do people still die without faith in Christ?”

The Father doesn’t want any one of us to perish, He wants us all to be saved, and He has provided the means for our salvation- faith in Jesus Christ. Sadly, not all choose the way of salvation. Even though God wants everybody to be saved, we will all still be held accountable for whether or not we reject Christ.

Peter doesn’t bring this idea up so we can have a theological debate on the doctrine of predestination but because of what follows in verse 10.

10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.

I would remind you again of Jesus’ words from Matthew 24, “43 But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”

So what is Peter trying to communicate to us? The Lord is coming back, He’s coming suddenly at a time we won’t expect, and when He comes all the works that are done on earth will be exposed to judgment.

Peter is telling us the same thing that Jesus told him, “you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”

It is far too easy to get distracted, to take our eyes off the Lord and His coming and focus on this world, this life, and on the pursuit of happiness. 

This world is going to be burned up, and all the work we did to ensure our happiness and ease and comfort will be dissolved. 

When we take our eyes off the coming of Christ we stop preparing for it and we get back to living as if happiness is our goal and not holiness.

And that’s Peter’s main point here.

11 Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, 12 waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! 13 But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

What sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God?

JP Lange wrote, “You must evidence yourselves as persons of more noble origin, as citizens of the heavenly kingdom that are only strangers here on earth.”

We must live lives of holiness and godliness as we wait, eagerly expecting that day, watchful, prayerful, and zealous for evangelism and so hastening the day when our faith shall be sight and the clouds be rolled back as a scroll.

Paul wrote of this day in 1 Thessalonians 4,

15 For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.

The Lord said Himself through the prophet in Isaiah 65:17,

For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind.

And again in Isaiah 66:22-23

22 “For as the new heavens and the new earth that I make shall remain before me, says the Lord, so shall your offspring and your name remain. 23 From new moon to new moon, and from Sabbath to Sabbath, all flesh shall come to worship before me, declares the Lord.

What a wonderful reminder that this world is not our home, we are waiting for a new world that is being prepared for us to live in for all eternity face to face with the Lord.

…according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

In order to dwell on that on that new earth where righteousness dwells, we must ourselves be righteous, and the only way to be declared righteous by God is through faith in Jesus Christ.

Amen.

Facts Overlooked - 2 Peter 3:1-8 - December 5, 2021

 2 Peter 3:1-8 Facts Overlooked

Good morning! We are going back to 2 Peter this morning, we are going to look at verses 1-8 of chapter 3, page 1019 in the pew Bibles.

Just as a reminder, all of  chapter two was dedicated to a warning about false teachers that have always been around and will continue to be; to be wary of them and to be sure to not be like them.

Here in chapter three Peter warns again of scoffers and he also has some very important reminders for his readers, which includes us. So let’s look at the text and let it speak for itself.

This is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved. In both of them I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, 2 that you should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles, 3 knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. 4 They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.” 5 For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, 6 and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. 7 But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. 8 But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

Let’s pray.

Peter has written this second letter as a reminder, his goal was to remind his readers of the things that were most important. Verse two shows us exactly what that was: the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles…

Not to beat a dead horse but I would also remind you of our one sermon point from last week: get to know your Bible!

This is exactly where Peter starts off this new chapter. He didn’t stick that big number three in there anyway, that’s just for reference.

Remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles, remember what the Bible says!

It will not only protect us from false teaching and false teachers but it will also protect us from people that Peter calls, “scoffers.”

If a false teacher is someone who teaches what is false, a scoffer must be… someone who scoffs…

As far as the Bible is concerned scoffers are not the good guys.

Psalm 1 says, “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.”

There is 107 references to scoffers in the Bible and not one of them is positive, they reject wisdom, the reject rebuke, they get beat up a lot, but they never learn their lesson.

A scoffer, biblically speaking, is a person that mocks that which is most important. According to Peter these scoffers first of all, in verse 3, will follow their own sinful desires.

Martin Luther wrote, “These are our Epicureans and Sadducees, who believe neither one thing nor the other, who live as they think best and walk after their own lusts, considering permitted whatever suits their pleasure; examples of such are met on every hand.”

What Luther called, “Sadducees,” other scholars call, “Antinomians.” It’s time for some fun scholarly vocabulary! Don’t worry, even if you forget these words, their meaning will ring in your ears.

An Epicurean was someone who saw a pleasant and smooth life as the highest aim, while an Antinomian held that because faith alone is necessary for salvation morality is of no use.

These are two types of scoffers that were active in Peter’s day, and are alive and well today. They may not have their own websites but they certainly can be found everywhere, maybe even inside our own houses, maybe even inside our churches, you may have brought one to service with you this morning… even if you rode alone.

When we hold a pleasant and smooth life as our highest aim, we scoff at the will of God and His desire for our holiness. When we act as if sin has no consequence just because we’re already forgiven we scoff at Christ’s sacrifice on the cross.

But Peter points out another kind of scoffer, one who scoffs at the promise of Christ’s return.

4 They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.”

We are in the season of the year that we call Advent where the world draws its attention to the First Advent of Christ. The word Advent simply means, “coming.” Advent celebrates Christ’s first coming.

But on the horizon is Second Coming, a Second Advent. Jesus is coming again.

Do you know how I know that? Just as Peter wanted to remind his readers: we know that because the Bible says so!

Jesus said in John 14:1, “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.”

And in Luke 21:25, 25 “And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, 26 people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 27 And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

Matthew 24:29, 29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.”

Acts 1:9, 9 And when [Jesus] had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10 And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, 11 and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

1 Thessalonians 4:14, 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 15 For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.

Hebrews 9:27, 27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, 28 so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.

James 5:7, 7 Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. 8 You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. 9 Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door.

This is by no means a comprehensive list!

But the argument of the scoffers is that that was all written 2000 years ago, where is He?

4 They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.” 5 For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, 6 and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. 7 But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. 8 But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

By the Word of God the heavens and the earth were created, you can look that up in Genesis 1, and by the Word of God the world that then existed was deluged by water and perished, you can look that up in Genesis 7.

The word Peter used that we translate, “deluge,” is the Greek word from which we get our English word, “cataclysm.”

God intervened cataclysmically once, in the flood of Noah, and He will do so again, next time with fire.

According to Peter those scoffers deliberately overlooked the facts of creation by the Word of God, they overlooked the fact of the cataclysmic flood of Noah by the Word of God in which all of mankind except Noah and his family were destroyed, and they overlook the fact that by the same Word of God the heavens and the earth that now exist are being stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.

But Peter has a reminder for the church. Scoffers overlook those facts, but you beloved, do not overlook this one fact, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

The Bible Knowledge Commentary says, “People see time against time; God sees time against eternity. In fact time only seems long because of Man’s finite perspective.”

God’s eternal-ages-measurer differs completely from man’s hourglass.

Just as God the Father began creating on the day He intended, He started it raining around the ark on the day He intended, He sent the Lord Jesus to be born in Bethlehem on the day He intended, He will send Jesus back to judge the living and the dead on the day he intends.

Again, Jesus said, “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.” -John 14:1

Amen