Now every first shift fisherman knows that you have to get up early to catch them fish during sunrise...and we do. We get up very early and get the boat hooked up that we prepared the night before and get it put into the water in the dark so we can be at the right spot as the sun comes up. That way we can catch a load of fish.
And we also know...that at some point in the dark...just before the sun begins to make itself known that we always get cold...so cold that we think about getting a jacket or sweater even though the rest of the day will be warm. It truly is usually the coldest part of the day. And for those in Israel...it is one of those things that is truly known. Sunrise usually takes hours. It is light without the sun. As the Sun breaks over the Himalayan Mountains over in China and Afghanistan it races across the desert and due to the refractory nature of the atmosphere of the below sea level landscape...its light without the sun. But in the dark...the temperature really drops just before this happens. Its the coldest part of the day.
I have witnessed this effect for myself...it is truly amazing to behold. But for many this early morning stuff along the banks of the glass like Sea of Gallillee is when people sleep a little harder, wrapped up in their dreams.
And this was when Adam and Eve met God on a regular basis.
This was also the time when Lot was rescued from Sodom.
This was also when Jacob wrestled with God and got his name Israel.
This was also when the Israelites moved out of Egypt, crossed the Red Sea, and found Manna laying on the rocks.
This is the time period that walls of Jericho fell
Its the same time of day that Gideon got his fleece confirmation of what to do.
Same time of day Elisha's helper got to see the protection of God.
That famous time of day was when the Seige of Jerusalem by Sennacherib was lifted.
The early morning hours was when the worm ate the vine giving Jonah protection.
These early morning hours was when Daniel got his answers to the King's questions, when he got released from the Lion's den, and when the Persians took over Babylon.
And...it was Sunrise when the stone rolled away to let the people in to see that Jesus wasn't there...HE WAS ALIVE.
In each of these cases...
There was a sense of hopelessness by everyone. That the end was coming. The outlook was bleak. They had been bickering amongst themselves about what they shoulda, coulda, woulda done...but the end is now inevitably coming...they were up all night...a very long night that seemed to get so cold they didn't know what to do.
And in each of these special cases...God had something else in mind. A world of difference in what the expected outcome would be. A whole world had changed for the better because of a small little thing that no one saw coming. BUT GOD DID.
The priests in charge of the clock and time would look for the "morning star" rising up just to the left of where the sun is to come up. That morning star that lets you know that the long night is over.
That magic hour when God makes the whole world very different from the world you were in the day before. Its colder then, the world has changed but it doesn't know it yet...You have changed...but everyone else is asleep. And that is the power of the Morning Star rising in your heart.
Happy Easter!
Are you waiting for YOUR SUNRISE?
And we also know...that at some point in the dark...just before the sun begins to make itself known that we always get cold...so cold that we think about getting a jacket or sweater even though the rest of the day will be warm. It truly is usually the coldest part of the day. And for those in Israel...it is one of those things that is truly known. Sunrise usually takes hours. It is light without the sun. As the Sun breaks over the Himalayan Mountains over in China and Afghanistan it races across the desert and due to the refractory nature of the atmosphere of the below sea level landscape...its light without the sun. But in the dark...the temperature really drops just before this happens. Its the coldest part of the day.
I have witnessed this effect for myself...it is truly amazing to behold. But for many this early morning stuff along the banks of the glass like Sea of Gallillee is when people sleep a little harder, wrapped up in their dreams.
And this was when Adam and Eve met God on a regular basis.
This was also the time when Lot was rescued from Sodom.
This was also when Jacob wrestled with God and got his name Israel.
This was also when the Israelites moved out of Egypt, crossed the Red Sea, and found Manna laying on the rocks.
This is the time period that walls of Jericho fell
Its the same time of day that Gideon got his fleece confirmation of what to do.
Same time of day Elisha's helper got to see the protection of God.
That famous time of day was when the Seige of Jerusalem by Sennacherib was lifted.
The early morning hours was when the worm ate the vine giving Jonah protection.
These early morning hours was when Daniel got his answers to the King's questions, when he got released from the Lion's den, and when the Persians took over Babylon.
And...it was Sunrise when the stone rolled away to let the people in to see that Jesus wasn't there...HE WAS ALIVE.
In each of these cases...
There was a sense of hopelessness by everyone. That the end was coming. The outlook was bleak. They had been bickering amongst themselves about what they shoulda, coulda, woulda done...but the end is now inevitably coming...they were up all night...a very long night that seemed to get so cold they didn't know what to do.
And in each of these special cases...God had something else in mind. A world of difference in what the expected outcome would be. A whole world had changed for the better because of a small little thing that no one saw coming. BUT GOD DID.
The priests in charge of the clock and time would look for the "morning star" rising up just to the left of where the sun is to come up. That morning star that lets you know that the long night is over.
That magic hour when God makes the whole world very different from the world you were in the day before. Its colder then, the world has changed but it doesn't know it yet...You have changed...but everyone else is asleep. And that is the power of the Morning Star rising in your heart.
Happy Easter!
Are you waiting for YOUR SUNRISE?
