Leap Day! Leap Year! An extra day!

Joshua 10:12-14 (ESV)

12 At that time Joshua spoke to the Lord in the day when the Lord gave the Amorites over to the sons of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel,

“Sun, stand still at Gibeon,

    and moon, in the Valley of Aijalon.”

13 And the sun stood still, and the moon stopped,

    until the nation took vengeance on their enemies.

Is this not written in the Book of Jashar? The sun stopped in the midst of heaven and did not hurry to set for about a whole day. 14 There has been no day like it before or since, when the Lord heeded the voice of a man, for the Lord fought for Israel.

Leap Day! Leap Year! An extra day! What would you do with an extra day?

Joshua’s prayer for an extra day is an amazing Bible account.

The prayer was a dynamic mixture of God’s determined will and mankind’s bold request. The result was a miracle.

The Lord fought for Israel and protected her against her enemies, the Amorites. The Lord was with Joshua and the troops, He even rained hail down on the enemies (Joshua 10:11). The hail killed more Amorites than the sword!

That day was special. There has been no day like it. But what was more special than the sun stilled was the prayer prayed! There has never been another day where the Lord heeded the voice of a man like that.

Joshua wanted more time, an extra day, to fulfill the Lord’s determined will. The Lord fought for Israel and Joshua fought for the Lord. It’s exciting to see that when the Lord reveals His will, and His people are eager to obey, the only thing yet required is the time to do it. And God supplies the time!

For New Testament Christians, the apostles teach us to consider each day as time God has given to serve Him. Time is a valuable and limited resource. “See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is,” Ephesians 5:15-17.

It’s safe to say that Joshua understood what the will of the Lord was in his day.

So, it’s not beyond Christians to understand what the will of the Lord is either. The Scriptures teach us (2 Timothy 3:16-17). What remains for us to attain is an attitude of faith like Joshua. An attitude that says, “I will spend today serving God. I will not procrastinate but I will ask God to give me all the time necessary to accomplish His will. And if I get another day – even an extra day – I will use it in the same way: for the glory of God.”

Make the most of your leap day, make the most of every day!

Dear Lord, we pray that we would use the time You give us wisely. Help us to always look for ways that we can bring glory to You in how we use our time. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

Time to clean house?

Mark 1:3 (ESV)

The voice of one crying in the wilderness:

    ‘Prepare the way of the Lord,

    make his paths straight,’”

Clean House is a reality television show about three trained specialists who go into homes that are a mess.

In each episode, there is clutter everywhere. In some homes there is so much junk that visitors must remain standing because the furniture is covered with all kinds of stuff.

The Clean House specialists face the challenge of convincing the residents to get rid of their junk. And the strange thing often is—even though it makes their lives miserable, they don’t want to get rid of the clutter!

You and I can be the same way in our relationship with God and our neighbors.

We say we want to clean things up, and we can see what’s got to go. But so often we cling to things that make life miserable for us and for others.

In the opening verses of Mark, we meet John the Baptist. John was a specialist whose task was to get people to “clean house” and prepare for the coming of Jesus Christ. John’s message was simple: “Repent!” To repent means to turn back to God and confess our sins, clear the junk out of our lives, and do what God’s Word teaches.

Is it time for us to clean house?

Let’s ask God to help us get rid of the clutter that distracts us from truly serving him.

Dear Lord, forgive us help us to see our sin and dislike it. Help us to turn back to You today. And may your Holy Spirit cleanse us from top to bottom. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

Day of rest

Colossians 3:17 (ESV)

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

God’s invitation to pause from work doesn’t mean work is bad. Work is not to be seen strictly as a duty but, rather, as one of our main ways to serve God. When we do all our work as working for the Lord Jesus, then God is worshiped and receives the glory! In fact, one of the reasons God calls us to keep Sabbath is so that we will be effective in our work the other six days of the week!

There was once a man who challenged another to an all-day wood chopping contest. The challenger worked hard all day, barely taking a break. The other man, however, had a leisurely lunch and took several breaks to rest.

As evening fell, the first man was angered by the results. “Every time I checked,” he said, “you were taking a rest, and yet you ended up chopping more wood than I did.”

“But you didn’t notice,” said the winner, “that I was sharpening my axe each time I sat down.”

God calls us to stop working once a week so that we can “sharpen our axe.” He calls us to Sabbath so that we can be of greater service and of greater benefit in all our work—in our jobs and at home and with our church and family.

Dear Lord, thank You for the gift of work. Help us to learn how to regularly pause so that we are better equipped to serve You, bringing You glory in all our labors. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

Miracles

Acts 3:16 (ESV)

And his name—by faith in his name—has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all.

How in this world can someone get into trouble for helping to restore a crippled man to health? The Jewish leaders didn't care about the wonderful healing of the man who had begged every day at the temple gate. His healing meant nothing to them, because it did not happen under their control. They didn't even consider that this healing displayed the glory of God. They couldn't see beyond the problem they had with the name under which the healing took place. To the Jewish leaders, Jesus was not the Messiah because he did not free the people politically from Roman tyranny.

Theological squabbles often lead to spiritual blindness and dryness. Why did such a powerful healing not touch the Jewish leaders? Because they had closed themselves to the message and mission of Christ.

Why don't we hear of more miracles like these today? Most of us do not doubt that God could perform miracles if he chose to. But have we perhaps allowed secularism and theological pride to affect our teaching and belief about miracles?

Today's story teaches that Jesus' name had the power to heal. Today the name of Jesus still has the power to save the soul and heal the body. Our belief or unbelief doesn't change the healing power of his name. But have we changed? Do we believe in that power?

Dear Lord, forgive us if we have not acknowledged the power of Your name in our lives and in the world today. Heal us of spiritual blindness, we pray. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

How our Lord meets us today

John 5:5 (ESV)

One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years.

Picture the scene: a pool of water surrounded by covered porches. Bethesda was known as a place of healing. It was often crowded with destitute people who were blind, lame, and paralyzed. Among them lay a man who had been lame for thirty-eight years.

Jesus asked the man, "Do you want to get well?"

On the surface, the answer would seem obvious. Of course, the man wanted to be well! But Jesus was asking a deeper question. He was probing the man's heart. Did he really want to be made whole--transformed inside and out, healed in body, mind, and soul?

Jesus spoke to him a second time: "Get up! Pick up your mat and walk."

From a human standpoint, it was impossible for the man to get up. To others who were listening, this may even have sounded a bit cruel. But at that moment the healing power of Jesus touched the man, filling his body, mind, and spirit with wholeness. As Jesus healed the man, he was saying, in effect, "Pick up your mat and be out of here. You never have to think of coming back to this kind of life again."

The steps Jesus took in healing this man give us an example of how our Lord meets us today. He probes our hearts, commands the impossible, provides the power, and tells us to leave our old life behind. What a Savior!

Dear Lord, we surrender everything to You. Lift us up, make us stand, and never let us slip back into ways of sin. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

Now is the time to share the good news

Mark 1:15 (ESV)

And saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

Peter the Great led the Russian Empire from 1682 until his death in 1725. While he reigned, he expanded the empire into eastern Europe, initiated a cultural revolution, and built the Russian military into a formidable force.

Napoleon Bonaparte was the emperor of France from 1804 to 1814. Through a series of military victories and key alliances, he expanded the influence of France throughout Europe. He changed the political structure of France and influenced the development of legal codes around the world.

Jesus Christ was born in a small town in Judea, a nation that lived under Roman occupation throughout his lifetime. He never commanded an army. He did not travel outside of a small region stretching from Judea to Galilee. His followers were an unrefined group who lacked the courage to stay with him when he was arrested. When he died, it looked as if his influence had ended.

Today, the Russian and French empires have long ago fallen from their peak of influence, but the kingdom of Jesus continues to expand. Millions gather every week to worship him. Organizations bearing his name provide relief, food, medical help, and education. His good news is proclaimed on every continent in countless languages.

Are you part of this kingdom? Are you sharing the good news?

Dear Lord, stir our hearts so that we too will participate in spreading Your kingdom vision and renewing Your world. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

Communication

Hebrews 1:2 (ESV)

But in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.

When we are away from family and friends, it’s good to keep in touch with them. Today we can do that by phone, text message, e-mail, Facebook—and even by the old method of sending postcards or letters.

God’s message comes to us in his Word, the Bible. And the Word of God has become flesh in the person of Jesus Christ (John 1:1-5, 9-14). As believers today, we can now hear and receive and live by the Word of God, and we experience something of the life God intended for us when he created the universe.

In the Old Testament God spoke through the prophets, but that communication was often limited to the situations of the people in those days. Prophets were spokespeople for God; Jesus is the Son of God. Prophets grasped part of the mind of God; Jesus is the mind of God. What more can be said than what God has spoken to us through his Son?

There are many ways in which God continues to communicate to us through Jesus, by the power of his Spirit. Today God’s Word is proclaimed all over the world. May people receive it for what it really is: good news that opens us to new life with God. Daily we read Scripture not simply for information but to hear how God is directing and sustaining us through his Son. As we follow Jesus, we also learn to pray and work, spreading the good news of salvation to build up the kingdom of God.

Dear Lord, speak to us so that we may speak in living echoes of your tone.  Bring your Word to reach into all our hearts, that we may live by the truth. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.