Monday, August 21, 2017

Three Hours One Monday ... and One Friday

Today is the day. This day has had about as much press as the last Presidential election. What a stir God has created when he created the universe and put into action what would happen today in the heavens.

We will experience a total solar eclipse in our part of the world. Apparently the last one around here was in 1978. The next will be in 2024. This is the first one in the digital information age where everyone is a reporter. With cameras in hand and social media apps at our fingertips, this may break the internet.

Where I live, the eclipse won't be 100%. I think we max out at 89%. The moon will begin to nip into the sun at 11:48 this morning. The maximum eclipse will be at 1:18. It will be over at 2:47 this afternoon.

Matthew 27:45 tells us that during the crucifixion of Christ an unusual darkness fell on the earth from midday to mid-afternoon. Some say it was an eclipse like we'll have today. Some say a windstorm created such thick dust that the sky was darkened. I believe God supernaturally hid the sun because the of terrible scene of Christ taking on the sins of the world and absorbing the punishment for sin: death.

The three hours of darkness today will not be like the darkness when Jesus died. The sun is too bright for the moon to completely block its light. But we will get a sense of what it might have been like. And we certainly will be reminded of a great day in history when our sins were dealt with once and for all.

The darkness on this Monday afternoon will be pretty cool. The darkness on that Friday afternoon was part of an awesome plan of God to bring sinners into right relationship with him through the death of his son Jesus on the cross.

Wednesday, August 09, 2017

A Time to Laugh

From King Solomon's wisdom we get the third chapter of Ecclesiastes. That's where we read there is a time for everything. Today is a time to laugh.

It's the first day of school for my son. He starts his junior year of high school.

A popular children's cartoon's theme song says there are "a hundred and four days of summer vacation." Not anymore. This year the summer break for high school students at Baptist Prep was 75 days. As much as kids moan about the school year being too long and the summer being too short, Riley has been ready to go back to school for a few weeks.

That makes me laugh. But I completely understand. I was the same way. Summertime was isolation time. Away from friends. Away from routines. We usually took a vacation trip somewhere but that was over way too soon and then it was back to the house. Just me and my sister. And we didn't get along too well back then.

I am a really good card shuffler. My mother-in-law thinks I have a Vegas background. All I'll say is that I didn't learn that in church! Actually, I learned that during those long summers. That makes me laugh.

I spent a day earlier this week driving to all the schools that kids from our church attend. I took a selfie in front of each school sign. And I prayed for the school. I prayed for students, families, administration, faculty, and staff. I prayed that believers would influence their schools. I prayed God will be glorified in each school.

I laugh because schools (even Christian schools) are not places students expect to experience a movement of God. Honestly, I don't know many students who EXPECT God to move in their schools. But I believe he will. And I laugh. Not a gotcha kind of laugh but a joyful expression of knowing God is up to something.

I extend my prayers for the schools I visited to the schools your family is involved in. May God do something great and may our response be to laugh because of the joy that will bring.