The "Missing Day": Fact or Myth?

The Missing Day

For all the scientists and students who have a hard time convincing people regarding the truth of the Bible, here's something that shows God's awesome truth and that He is still in control.

Did you know that NASA scientists involved in the space program have proven that what has been called "Biblical Myth" is actually true?

Mr. Harold Hill, former President of the Curtis Engine Company, Baltimore, Maryland and a consultant in the space Program, relates the following: "I think one of the most amazing things that God has for us today happened recently to our astronauts and space scientists at Greenbelt, Maryland. They were checking the position of the sun, moon, and planets out in space in order to determine where they would be both 100 and 1,000 years from now. This data is needed so we won't launch a satellite and have it bump into something years later. We have to plot the orbits in terms of the life of the satellite in relation to where the planets will be during that life-cycle, so the whole thing will not bog down.

The team of scientists ran the computer program forward and backwards through the centuries until the very complex program popped up an “error” signal. This told them that there was something very wrong, either with the information fed into the calculation or with the results, as compared to the known standards that had been set. When the diagnostic was run, they found that there seemed to be a day missing in the space/time result. Knowing that this was not possible, they talked, compared their notes and scratched their heads and. There was no answer. Then, a team-member said, "You know, when I was a kid in Sunday School, they talked about the sun standing still." While they didn't believe him, they didn't have an answer either, so they said, "Show us."

He got a Bible and looked in the book of Joshua and found a pretty ridiculous statement for any one with "common sense." There they found the Lord saying to Joshua, in Joshua 10:12‑13, "Fear them not, I have delivered them into thy hand; there shall not a man of them stand before thee." Joshua was concerned because he was surrounded by the enemy and if darkness fell they would overpower them. So Joshua asked the Lord to make the sun stand still and the Bible records theses words, “So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day." If the Sun “stood still” while the rest of the universe moved on, the result would be as if the Sun had moved backwards!

Reluctently, the scientists said, "There is the missing day!" They adjusted for the 24 hour day, ran the program again and found it was close, but not close enough for scientific evaluation. The actual elapsed time that was missing from THAT day was 23 hours and 20 minutes, not a whole 24 hour day. They read the Bible and there it was, "about (approximately) a whole day." This was too uncertain for them. 40 minutes were unaccounted for.

These little words in the Bible are important, but they were still in trouble because if you cannot account for 40 minutes you'll still be in trouble 1,000 years from now. Forty minutes had to be found because it can be multiplied many times over in all those orbits. As the scientist thought about it, he remembered somewhere in the Bible where it said the sun went BACKWARDS. The scientist told him he was out of his mind, but they got out the Book and found these words in 2 Kings that told of the following story: Hezekiah, on his  deathbed, was visited by the prophet Isaiah who told him that he was not going to die. Hezekiah asked for a sign as proof. Isaiah said "Do you want the sun to go ahead 10 degrees?" Hezekiah said "It is nothing for the sun to go  ahead 10 degrees, but let the shadow return backward 10 degrees." Isaiah spoke to the Lord and the Lord brought the shadow ten degrees BACKWARD!

Ten degrees is exactly 40 minutes! Twenty‑three hours and 20 minutes in Joshua, plus 40 minutes in Second Kings make the missing day in the universe!"

Isn't HE amazing!

References: Joshua 10:8 and 12,13 and 2 Kings 20:9‑11.

Church Bulletin for Father's Day, June 16th, 2013

FROM THE PASTOR’S DESK:

Today is “Father’s Day”, a day set aside to remind us to honor our earthly father’s. So, each year we have a day that is meant to remind us to keep number five of the Ten Commandments!

The first national celebration of Father’s Day was on June 19, 1924, by proclamation of President Calvin Coolidge. But it all started because of a lady named Sonora Smart Dodd. Sonora was sitting in church in 1909 listening to a Mother’s Day sermon when she began to think about her father. Sonora’s mother had died and her father had raised Sonora, taking her to church and doing his best to train up his daughter in the way she should go. Sonora wanted him to know how special he was to her for all his parental sacrifices and for being, in her eyes, so courageous, selfless, and loving. Twenty-five years later, through Sonora’s efforts, President Coolidge designated the 3rd Sunday of June as “Father’s Day”.

God did say, “Honor thy father” (Exodus 20:12/ Deut. 5:16), The word “honorable” means “praiseworthy”; “admirable”; “morally principled”. What are we to do if our father has missed the mark? We look to Matthew 6:14-15 and Matthew 11:25-26.

I have faced that in my own life and God allowed me to see that my own Dad was just a guy, struggling to get through life. All he needed was my forgiveness. That’s when Philippians 4:7 took on real meaning for me and caused me to have a “Happy Father’s Day”

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DEVOTIONAL FROM THE PASTOR’S WIFE:

The 14^th chapter of Luke tells of a man who planned a “great supper”. When everything was ready, he sent his servants to tell the invited guests, “Come; for all things are now ready.”

But, like a lot of people today, the invited guests began to make excuses for not coming. The man then told his servants, “Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind.”

When that was done, there was still room for more, so the man told his servants, “Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. For I say unto you, that none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper.” What a tragic thought! Invited, everything prepared but refusing to go! In John 14:2, Jesus said, “I go to prepare a place for you.” Revelation19:9: Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb.

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Here is something that you might find interesting.

In a recent survey, The Institute for American Church Growth asked 10,000 people the following question:

"What was responsible for your coming to

this church the first time?"

This is how they answered that question:

“I had a special need at the time”.............2%
“I thought I would try this church”.................3%
“I like the Pastor”...............6%
“I had visited here before”..................1%
“I like the Sunday School”........1%
“I like the social programs they have”.............3%
“Other”............................5%
“Someone invited me to come”……79%

Think about it! 79% of church visitors came because someone invited them! Someone listened to what Jesus said in, Luke 14:21-23, “Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind. And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room. And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.”

            He was saying to us, “Go out and invite people to come to God’s house, no matter their situation in life!

Now, answer these questions for yourself:

1 - If you knew that the world, as we know it, would end one month from now, how many people would you invite to church this month?

2 - How compelling would your efforts be?

3 - Would God be pleased with your efforts? (Matthew 25:21)

Invite someone to Church today!