January 2026

Happy New Year! The year was 1979. The day was Monday, December 31. I was 5 years old, and my brother told me the most sobering truth I had heard in my short life: “You will never be able to live in 1979 again.” I remember my response, “Really, why not?” My brother explained to me that time is linear and once the day has passed there is no way to relive it. Of course, his response was phrased in the argot of a 7-year-old. Now, 46 years later, the linear nature of time and the inexorable passage of time strikes hard at those wishing for a brief pause in chronometry. Thanksgiving, Christmas, and now the New Years have come and gone. We are now 26 years past the dreaded Y2K meltdown. Time marches on and does not stop for anyone or anything.
 
 Well, that may not be correct exactly. There was one time in the history of time in which time stood still. Israel and Gibeon had made peace and formed an alliance. Five of the surrounding kings formed an alliance and attacked Gibeon. Gibeon turned to Israel for help. God blessed Israel and Gibeon and gave them victory. In the midst of this battle, we read the following: Joshua 10:12-14 12 On the day the Lord gave the Amorites over to the Israelites, Joshua spoke to the Lord in the presence of Israel: “Sun, stand still over Gibeon, and moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.” 13 And the sun stood still and the moon stopped until the nation took vengeance on its enemies. Isn’t this written in the Book of Jashar? So the sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed its setting almost a full day. 14 There has been no day like it before or since, when the Lord listened to the voice of a man, because the Lord fought for Israel.

            To think about the unstoppable being stopped, the unassailable being assailed, and the undeniable being denied is amazing. God did what no one else has done nor will ever do: God stopped time. There have been so many times in my life when I wished God would stop time; but, no such stoppage occurred. The miracle of God on that day in the Valley of Aijalon reminds us of two great truths: God is sovereign but time conquerors humanity. The only reality I know that keeps me from becoming depressed, cynical, and jaded by the latter truth is that Jesus Christ will culminate linear time and bring His people into an eternal state of hope, peace, and joy at His Return.

            As we enter into another year, never forget that the indomitable tyranny of linear time will be fully vanquished when Jesus descends once more and restores the created cosmos to a pre-fall garden-like state. Regardless of what tragedies or triumphs may be in store for 2026, never forget that this current realm of existence is not our forever home. God has so much more in store for those who love Jesus. John caught a glimpse of eternal glory in the Revelation. Due to the work of the Lord Jesus Christ, John beheld this certain reality in its full consummation: Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea no longer existed. 2 I also saw the Holy City, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband. 3 Then I heard a loud voice from the throne: Look! God’s dwelling is with humanity, and He will live with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will no longer exist; grief, crying, and pain will exist no longer, because the previous things have passed away (Revelation 21:1-4).

Thank You Jesus, You have defeated the undefeatable foe!-Pastor Clint Miller