Are you easily amazed? Yes, no, maybe, sorta, kinda, naah. What’s it take for you to say Wow, that’s incredible! Does the birth of a baby rank high? Does the latest movie with epic cosmic special effects make you yawn? Are you becoming less and less impressed with the extraordinary and demanding the super-duper high-octane gee-whizzy spectaculoris? Has great news become merely interesting? Are you becoming immune to the super deluxe and impatiently waiting for “the voila”? Has your mental acuity been dulled by the sensation that bigger is better?
Let me ask you. Is a secret the same as a mystery? No. A secret is generally something at least one already knows (and will likely divulge it). On the other hand, a mystery is something or someone you can’t explain. What do you consider a mystery, or, a mysterious secret? Sherlock Holmes, DNA, UFO’s, political minds, what? There were some mysteries revealed in the New Testament, for example:
Ephesians 6:19 “Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains”.
Mark 4:11 “The secret to the kingdom of God has been given to you”.
Colossians 2:7 “My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches to complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge”.
1Corinthians 2:7 “No, we speak of God’s secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began”. (This secret mysterious wisdom was his offer of salvation to all people)
The Bible records an event that has never happened before and will never happen again. You may have heard the story when you were a kid but never allowed your left and right brain hemispheres to fully measure its impact.
Our journey begins in the Old Testament when Joshua follows in Moses’ footsteps. God had given the Israelites the Promised Land and Joshua was instructed to “deliver the goods”. Joshua was personally assigned the task of cleansing the land of idol-worshipping denizens. Some neighboring armies tricked Joshua into moving his entire army to Gibeon, but not God. He used the occasion to help Joshua achieve His ultimate goal.
After an overnight march, Joshua and his soldiers surprised and routed their enemies in an early morning attack at Gibeon. The enemy scattered and Joshua chased them in a lethal pursuit. About noon there were still enemy soldiers to deal with and Joshua didn’t want daylight to end before the job was done! He prayed a bold, amazing, audacious prayer, “O sun, stand still over Gibeon, O moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.” And it did! For the better part of a day, the sun halted in the middle of the sky, refusing to budge on its normal course westward. Or maybe the earth stopped turning, making it appear that the sun had come to a halt. However you want to explain it, Joshua got several more hours of daylight to accomplish his task. God gave his servant, a diamond in the rough, the time he requested – to shine! :
The Lord has many things secret, and kept secret, but he has revealed to us, in the mysteries in his word, those that he wants us to have. Perhaps, instead of saying “I’ve got a secret” like the old TV program show hosted by Gary Moore, we should be proclaiming the mysteries that God has shown us, particularly the mystery of the Gospel.
HyperSmash
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