The end of Daylight Savings Time is just around the corner in central Pennsylvania. More than any other official designation, the changing of our clock settings, back one hour, may serve as the unofficial declaration that winter is upon us. The shortened hours of daylight during the winter months has a tangible effect on the temperament of many people; I’m one of them.
The beauty of the clock change is that for one night a year we gain an extra hour of sleep. This year on Sunday morning November 6, 2022 at 2am the official end of Daylight Savings Time occurs. I don’t know anyone who actually changes their clocks precisely at 2am. Everyone I know changes their clock before they go to bed on Saturday evening (in our electronic age many devices make the change automatically). The result is that magically during the wee hours of the morning we gain an extra hour to sleep. Unfortunately, our “body clock” doesn’t align with a physical clock and the enjoyment of sleeping an extra hour often doesn’t take place. The delight of having an extra hour of sleep gets lost in the disappointment of losing an hour of daylight. One anticipated night doesn’t make up for many days of added darkness.
As I thought about the perception of one glorious night in view of many resulting nights of disappointment, it turned my thoughts to how differently we view sin. The enticement of a short-term perceived enjoyment seems to always overpower the resulting ramifications of our indiscretion. I think it would be great if we had the ability to view our lives with the same clarity that we approach one night of extra sleep. The enticement of sin blurs the reality of the results. “Sin” is not a word people like to hear and unfortunately it is not mentioned enough in the 21st century church. No one wants to hear that somehow they have missed the mark. The Greek word for sin actually has the association of the archery idea of missing the mark or the target. As disciples of Christ, we aim to live our lives in a Christ-like manner in line with His teachings and actions. Yet we miss the mark continually.
Today as you consider pausing at noon to Bend-A-Knee in prayer may you earnestly seek God’s help to represent His Kingdom well. May God allow you to be able to clearly see the results of your sin and avoid the enticement of Satan’s ploy. May you follow the advice of the Apostle Paul in what has been delineated for us as the second letter to Timothy chapter 2 verse 22, that you may flee your evil desires and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace. May all you do bring glory to God.

Stay connected to God & to others

God’s Peace,

Pastor Mike