THIS IS THE DAY

SHEPHERD TO SHEEP 

THIS IS THE DAY 

(Psa 118:24) This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. 

I don’t know about you but mornings are not the easiest time of day for me.  I usually wake up groggy and it takes me a good cup of joe and a little time to ease into my day.  My brain will then finally begin to fire on all cylinders and I’ll be good to go.  All the while my prayer will rise to the Lord as I claim the day for Him and choose to rejoice and be glad in it.   

There was one special day when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey and the people greeted Him with shouts of hosannas (Mat 21:1-11).  We call this the Triumphal entry or Palm Sunday and we count it as a week before Easter Resurrection Sunday.  But did you know that Psalm 118:24 has special significance to this day and is a fulfillment of Daniel 9:25?:  “Know therefore and understand, That from the going forth of the command To restore and build Jerusalem Until Messiah the Prince, There shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; The street shall be built again, and the wall, Even in troublesome times.    

Sir Robert Anderson in his book, The Coming Prince, has worked out the time schedule. Using a 360-day year (which Israel used in Daniel's day), he calculated 173,880 days (69 weeks) from the decree of Cyrus to restore and build Jerusalem to the triumphal entry, fulfilling the prophecy to the day.  On this day Jesus rode into Jerusalem, offering Himself for the first time, publicly and officially, as the Messiah.  What an amazing prophecy fulfilled in the Bible!  This was the day the Lord has made…the day Jesus rode in on that donkey as predicted by the prophet Zechariah: “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, Lowly and riding on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey. (Zech 9:9) 

When we wake up it’s time to give the Lord the day and say This is the day the Lord has made; I will rejoice and be glad in it.  No matter what lies ahead you know the Lord has gone before you and you can face the day confidently.  (Joshua 1:9)  Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”  We can then yield our bodies as a living sacrifice to serve the Lord throughout the day: (Rom 12:1) I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 

All we have is today.  We can grunt it out or we can praise it through.  (Heb 3:15)…“Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.  (Deu 30:19)…choose life, that both you and your descendants may live.  (Heb 13:8) Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, TODAY, and forever.  Let’s say it together:  This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it! (Psa 118:24)  I’m ready for a good day, aren’t you?   

Louie